A teaser site for Call of Duty: WWII has surfaced and it has tons of information hidden away behind an enigma machine. There's quite a bit hidden, but using what has been found so far, we have been able to begin drawing links between what has been found and the game.
What the Redditors have confirmed thus far:
Confirmed Steps
- Input IUFDJ BHLOP JMUBA, the Nazi Zombies Reveal Image Cipher, into the machine. Returns 3 Dossiers and a Text for WWII Zombies:
- Unknown if this is the only thing to do on the page.
Potential Leads
- Coordinates located at the bottom of the machine, 51.0344 N 2.3768 E, lead to Dunkirk, France.
- Image 2 is Operation Barbarossa, when the Nazi's invaded the Soviet Union.
- Image 3 is a Portrait of a Young Man (Raphael) who was lost during WWII.
- Mobile Site shows a Folder with another code on it, can be replicated by zooming in on Desktop site. FORM – YMF – 212514 – 12123 – 131.
BREAKDOWN:
Using the information Reddit was able to gather, I did some research on the items pictured. Dunkirk, France was the location of a battle between the Allies and Nazi Germany. The battle was a long one (May 26 – June 4, 1940, before the Call of Duty: WWII story takes place) but is highlighted by Germany's decision to halt their advance for three days, which gave the Allies time to evacuate Dunkirk and build a defensive wall. This move allowed 330,000 Allied troops to be saved.
Portrait of a Young Man (Raphael)
Image 3, named 'Portrait of a Young Man (Raphael)', is a painting that was stolen by Nazi's when they invaded Poland in 1939 and ended up in the hands (and home) of Hans Michael Frank, a German war criminal, lawyer who worked for the Nazi Party and later was Hitler's personal lawyer. Frank oversaw the Warsaw ghetto and the use of Polish civilians as forced labor, however, he was removed from that position in 1942 – before Call of Duty: WWII began.
Frank was captured by American troops on May 3rd, 1945 – during the game's timeline. This could very well be something we see in the game!
Operation Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emporer, a Zombie
As for Image 2, aka Barbarossa, there's more than just the link to it being the name of a plan that Germany used when they intended on invading the Soviet Union in 1941, there's also an undead legend associated with Barbarossa.
Frederick I, also known as Frederick Barbarossa and the Holy Roman Emporer, was elected the King of Germany in 1152 (then the King of Italy in 1955, then the King of Burgundy in 1178). Legend has it that Barbarossa never died, instead, he is asleep in a cave with his knights in German. The story says that "when the ravens cease to fly around the mountain he will awake and restore Germany to its ancient greatness. "
Operation Barbarossa was a failure and a major turning point for the Third Reich, it's pretty much what began a downward spiral for the Eastern Front. The German armies captured 5,000,000 Soviet prisoners, a majority of which were never returned alive.
This idea of 'being dead, but not really' and Operation Barbarossa tie in together pretty well when you consider the game's zombie co-op mode.
Sledgehammer has detailed the game's co-op mode as "The story of the Third Reich's desperate attempt to create an army in the final stages of the war." So, they make zombie fighters to help turn their fortunes around – something they'd need dead bodies for, which is something they'd conveniently have with the Soviet prisoners…
What do you think?
Call of Duty: WWII is set to release on November 3rd, 2017 on PS4, Xbox One and PC. The game will have timed-exclusive DLC for the PS4 and will get a beta on the PS4 first as well. Other platforms will be getting the DLC and beta afterward.
