Wizards in WW2

[Chirios]

The air is fresh with the stench of rotting empires. The citizens of Kyneas yearn escape the yoke of their noble masters. Alliances have been made with vassal states, and newly-formed republics and communist states seek to break the control Kyneas has over world politics. Meanwhile the Red Masters play both sides. New and terrible weapons are made to overcome the monopoly of wizards on war.

...And the Gods are dying.

This the outline of my story. In my world, ever since electricity and power generation have been discovered the arms industry has grown massively in order to overcome the fact that wizards are essentially nukes on legs. During this year thus, the world is currently experiencing WW2-era technology. Basically, I need information on both military tactics in WW2, and the technological difficulties, problems soldiers would have in fighting i.e weapon jamming etc.

Magic

Magic in my world is based on the idea of a war amongst the gods. Dead gods can be absorbed by wizards, and then their powers can be used by the wizard. This has risks, the most prominent being that absorbing the god often leads to the wizard acquiring it's characteristics, and depending on the willpower of the wizard, the wizard's personality can be destroyed entirely. Another risk is that the more power the wizard channels, the greater the effect on his or her body, i.e, the wizard can experience lesions, blinding pain, even rapid cancerous growths if he decides to start trying to bring down a mountain with his mind.

What do you guys think of this magic method? Is it too overpowered? Is it too underpowered?

 

[Arthur_Connelly]

I like the idea. Warren Ellis has combat magicians in his William Gravel works (Gravel, Strange Kiss, Strange Killings, etc). But they most function as up close soldiers. And Charles Stross' A Colder War, showed what happens when gods are used in war. I like the idea, it'd be something I'd read. Your more powerful mages can be somewhat analogous to WMD's.

If you're looking for info, Osprey Publishing has the best history books imaginable when it comes to warfare, with entire volumes dedicated to everything from German field uniforms to M1 tanks and beyond. No matter the era, they have you covered. You might also check out a few of the World of Darkness supplements to brush up on the implementation of warfare and the supernatural.

What you do, depends on your writing style. I've always liked the up close and personal approach, but a broader view of the war, if handled correctly can be nice. You might also want to check out Robert McCammon's The Wolf's Hour as well, its a good read.

 

[clippedwolf]

Yikes! It's such a huge idea. Individual motivation, national goals, war, economics, religion...
The real world equivalent of a wizard is artillery. Wizards would have individual egos which need to be taken into account wizard per wizard. Not all artillery units are the same, but in theory given the same equipment and training they could accomplish the same goals.
If you want to get an idea of what is like in the trenches read Ambrose's Band of Brothers or D-Day. If you want to get the idea of what it is like behind a smoking rifle read Dave Grossman's On Combat and On Killing. I'm saying that what's going on between your ears is just as important as the moving parts of your weapon.