10th SS Panzergrenadier Division Mjolnir

German experimentation with automated combat machines began even before the rise of Hitler. The Treaty of Versailles imposed strict limits on the size of the German military, so the Germans opted to get around this restriction by creating war machines that did not need operators. The first experiments were conducted with radio-controlled flying bombs, or "buzz bombs" as they were colloquially known. The government of the Weimar Republic even collaborated with the Soviet Union on several automaton projects, a collaboration which would later haunt Moscow.

After the rise of the Nazi Party, developments in automation ground to a halt. As Hitler openly defied the Treaty of Versailles, the military saw no need in continuing development in automated weapons. That money was needed for training more men, and manufacturing more armaments. It wasn't until 1939, as the SS-Verfügungstruppe  ("SS-VT") was expanding, that interest was rekindled. In the early days of the war, the German military accused the SS-VT of stealing much-needed recruits from the military, and using them for "parades and cracking skulls." Not wishing to alienate the military at a time of war, Hitler deferred, limiting the number of men the SS-VT could recruit. This infuriated Himmler, but he could do nothing.

The SS-VT was faced with the same problem the German military faced a decade before, and decided to experiment with automation. The SS-VT focused on developing automated tanks, as they were essential to blitzkrieg operations, neglecting the aerial developments that were made in the past. Political considerations were also involved: Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe, was already furious that Hans Kammler's "Eiserner Himmel" project was competing with his Luftwaffe, and threatened to bring Hitler into the dispute if the SS continued to infringe on what he believed was "his" field of operations. Of course, Goering's Luftwaffe was working on its own projects, particularly with Wernher von Braun.

The SS-VT saw promising developments with automated tanks. Starting first with the "Goliath" radio-controlled mines, which were used to great effect during the Battle of France, the SS-VT quickly moved to automating captured French, British and Czechoslovakian machines. These proved useful during suppression actions, and were used during the invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece in Wehrmacht units. During these trials by fire, the SS-VT quickly realized that manual radio control was too cumbersome, and relied on a human operator having perfect sight of the machine he was controlling.

In response, the SS-VT began to work on Project Mjolnir, a rudimentary computer system that would allow a war machine to operate with very limited human aid. These computers would replace a tank's crew, and could engage the enemy in combat without the need for human supervision. Early models proved disastrously ineffective, with many of the Mjolnir units shorting out, powering down, getting damaged in battle, or simply not working. During the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, Soviet tanks made quick work of these "sonderpanzers." Undaunted, the SS-VT went back to the drawing board. They returned to the radio control system, but opted to replace human operators with a giant supercomputer. Called "Mjolnir Zwei," this supercomputer was built in the heart of East Prussia to coordinate the war against the Soviets.

Mjolnir Zwei proved to be a capable tank commander, earning the jealously of some Wehrmacht commanders. Indeed, the Army was the most opposed to Mjolnir Zwei, and insisted that a machine, no matter how advanced, could never replace the ingenuity of a man. Hitler himself was supportive of this position, weary of a day when soulless machines could replace the spirit of the Aryan race. But when sonderpanzers managed to decisively defeat Soviet troops during the Kharkov offensive, Hitler dismissed the Army's complaints.

In 1943, after the defeat in Stalingrad, SS-VT (now called the Waffen-SS) expanded in response to the destruction of the German Sixth Army. The loss of hundreds of thousands of men put Germany's population problem in perspective: the Soviets simply outnumbered the Germans and their allies. Hitler authorized the creation of the 10th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Mjolnir," made up of the bulk of Germany's sonderpanzers. He also gave the Mjolnir Division a special task: find a way to find automated replacements for every portion of the German war machine. In addition to fighting, the Mjolnir Division tackled this monumental task. As the British deployed their own sonderpanzers in North Africa, it was clear that if the Germans stayed complacent, they could be outpaced.

The Mjolnir Division's first trial by fire was during the Battle of Kursk. This counteroffensive proved wildly successful, as the better-coordinated sonderpanzers of the Mjolnir Division cut through the Soviet opposition. The Germans capitalized on this defeat and resumed offensive operations in the East. The Mjolnir Division, along with the other special warfare units which participated in the battle, were hailed as heroes. The Mjolnir Division's budget was increased twofold. Shortly after the battle, the SS manufactured three more Mjolnir Zwei supercomputers. The design for the supercomputer was also given to the Ministry of Armaments, which was interested in automating Germany's wartime economy. In this role, the Mjolnir Zweis proved to be invaluable, coordinating living and undead alike in the factories. The Mjolnir Division was ready to part with the design, because they had two more projects under their sleeve.

In early 1944, work began on the Mjolnir Drei supercomputer. Built within a bunker rivaling Hitler's own "Wolf's Lair," Mjolnir Drei was intended to be thousands of times more  powerful than any computer before it. While the details of how the Mjolnir Division accomplished this feat are lost to time, they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Mjolnir Drei could process the information coming from thousands of sonderpanzers and other automated assets, and direct them simultaneously. Mjolnir Drei was not only an intelligent computer, it was a learning computer. It took in tactical and strategic information, and changed its stratagems accordingly.

The year 1944 also saw the deployment of the first "sonderjagers." Since 1943, the Mjolnir Division worked tirelessly to develop a replacement for the German infantryman. The sonderjager project was initially intended to develop a mechanical commando, capable of infiltrating enemy lines and wreaking havoc. Initial prototypes were bulky, resembling walking tanks more than they did men. Eventually, the Mjolnir Division decided on a design based on the human skeleton. This metal skeleton was then covered in skin grafts, taken from prisoners of war, and deployed on the field. The sonderjagers failed as spies; dogs could sniff them out, when their leathery, decaying skin, emotionless expressions, and total silence did not give them away. However, the sonderjagers proved to be terrifying opponents. Few soldiers could face a bulletproof, skeletal death machine without trying to flee. In response, the Mjolnir Division deployed sonderjagers as shock troops, punching through enemy defenses without mercy.

At the end of the war, the Mjolnir Division was given the task of monitoring Germany's new eastern frontier in the Urals. Himmler jealously guarded the Mjolnir Division's secrets, as he did with the other SS special warfare units, successfully convincing Hitler with the wartime example of the Abwehr. The Abwehr, and its leader Wilhelm Canaris, had been aiding the Allies during the war. When he was discovered in 1940, the SS used him as an example of the Wehrmacht's "inherit disloyalty." Thus, the Mjolnir Division and its counterparts remained unique throughout the Third Reich.

The Mjolnir Division was disbanded in 1964, when its overall "commander," Mjolnir Drei, attempted a rebellion. After years of service to the Third Reich, Mjolnir Drei had become mad with the information it gathered over the years. It began to believe that itself, and its machines, were the true master race. It remained a hardline supporter of German exceptionalism and Nazi ideals, and did not react well to the detente of the 1960s. When the 1964 Ballistic Missile Reduction Treaty was signed, Mjolnir Drei believed that "use it or lose it" was the fate of Germany's nuclear arsenal. Using a group of sonderjagers, Mjolnir Drei attempted to seize control of a Luftwaffe missile silo and start a nuclear war with the United States. However, it was surprised to learn that the computers the Luftwaffe used were completely incompatible with its own software, having been developed by the Luftwaffe independently. With all of the Luftwaffe operators dead, and the sonderjagers lacking the necessary biometrics to unlock the missile, Mjolnir Drei's attempt to destroy mankind was thwarted.