Commander

> Like they taught us back in boot camp. Take out the commanders first.
>
> B.J. inside the Ausmerzer., Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

**Commanders (German: Kommandant)** are officers of the Nazi military that B. J. Blazkowicz encounters throughout his adventures in *Wolfenstein: The Old Blood*, *The New Order* and its sequel *The New Colossus*.

## Overview

Commanders are easily spotted thanks to their peaked cap, lack of protective gear, the formality of their uniform and the radio chatter emanating from their glowing red headset which they use to summon reinforcements in the event of a shootout. They commonly serve as coordinating officers of other units on the field rather than actual fighters, and as a result tend to hang back and let their subordinates take care of the player instead of actually fighting. Their only line of defense is a handgun.

The presence of Commanders often means a stealth section is right up ahead where their (preferably silent) elimination is key to avoiding a drawn-out firefight. As they don't have a lot of health, a single Throwing Knife, Throwing Hatchet, or suppressed Handgun shot is usually enough. There are only a few times where the player will have to deal with Commander that is alarmed, an example being the ending of Section F after destroying the signal.

Unlike regular Soldiers, if a Commander detects the player, all of the other officers in the area will sound an alarm, though he can be silenced before he can do so if one reacts quick enough. Commanders are usually found working in pairs.

Commanders stationed in America in 1961 have several notable differences from previous Commanders. They have a parade uniform cord and a Feldgendarmerie (Field Military Police)shield on their chests. Their headset also lacks a red light and they wear a padded black duster. Atom Commanders wear a yellow hazmat suit beneath their dusters and a gas mask beneath their peaked cap. Venus Commanders have uniforms similiar to the ones of Atom Commanders, but colored in orange instead of yellow. The Diaries of Agent Silent Death introduces Moon Commanders, who have the same uniforms as Atom and Venus Commanders, but colored white.

## Variants

* Commander 1946 (Jahr 1946-Kommandant)
* Commander 1960 (Jahr 1960-Kommandant)
* Air Force Commander (Luftwaffenkommandant)
* Captain (Kapitän)
* Space Commander (Mondkommandant)
* Prison Commander
* Camp Belica's Commander

The Nazi commanders in General Deathshead's regiment are pencil pushers with a sadistic streak. They would rather avoid getting in the line of fire, but are forced into action in order to get a promotion from their general. The radio headset attached to their peaked caps allows them to call for backup. The best way to deal with commanders is to take them out silently, before they sound the alarm.

The 1946 variant is only encountered in *The Old Blood* and the prologue level of *The New Order* before being replaced by their 1960 counterparts.

Even though their combat skills may be limited, Nazi commanders are essential for coordinating tactical reinforcements. Through their communication headset, they can radio for reinforcements, and will continue to do so until they're dead.

Commander 1960s are encountered throughout the game after the completion of the prologue.

Commanders in the Nazi Air Force are often cowardly paper-pushers who got promoted because they had the right connections. They carry hand guns and try to stay behind the other soldiers as much as they can. The radio headset attached to their peaked caps allow them to call for backup. Just like normal commanders, the best way to deal with Air Force commanders is to take them out silently, before they sound the alarm.

Air Force Commanders are rare finds in the campaign. Only four of them are encountered throughout *The New Order*: at the end of the first London Nautica level, and at the start of the revisit, a few minutes before fighting against the London Monitor.

U-boat captains of the Reich are tough-as-nails war veterans who would rather go down with their ship than surrender to the enemy. U-boat captains, during their training, are sent up to the lunar base to be taught the code for their vessel's nuclear shells, and then they memorize this code to prevent hostiles from taking control of those warheads. Only one captain is fought in the game, and despite his headset, he does not use it.

The Captain is encountered at the end of the U-boat level.

This variant of the commander is seen on the Lunar Base, and nowhere else. They use the unique Lunar handgun, which has a permanently attached silencer.

 File:Prison Commander.webp
They are commanders of the internal security forces of Germany. Unlike other commanders, they are more relaxed and easily dealt with. If they find the enemy, they ready a nightstick but act rather glitchy and cannot call reinforcements. One of commander armed with Handgun 1946.

They are commanders of the security forces in Camp Belica under command of Irene Engel. Cannot be directly fought. The most well–known camp commander – The Knife. They wear an uniform the same as Bubi's, but with an officer cap and radio headset.
## Strategy

* It's best (and sometimes absolutely necessary) to kill them in the area so they won't sound off the alarm.
* Some Commanders will charge at the player once you killed all of their reinforcements, this is noticeable on their radio chatter (as the numbers slowly go down towards your position).

* Once the player leaves the Commander section with them alive (or going on alert), they will disappear from that section and allow the player to go back to collect supplies. This comes in handy in *The New Colossus* if the player needs ammo for the next section. If the Commander sounds the alarm, the player can leave the area and their radio will disappear alongside reinforcements. That being said, robots and creatures (e.g. super soldiers) will stay if you return.
* If the Commander sounds the alarm, it's best to find a place to hold ground and funnel the reinforcements to you.

* The player can avoid most Commander sections by sneaking around the area, only having to kill a few enemies to get to the next section. That being said, most commanders will sound the alarm in un-skippable fights, an example is the Commander at the end of Section F.

## Trivia

* There is a Commander positioned in a hidden area during the prologue. After sneaking through a painting you will come upon a room with this Commander talking to Deathshead via phone. If you stay there and listen, the Commander will start talking about his family and his wife's pregnancy. He then suddenly panics after this, and begins to assure Deathshead that everything is under control, and that the attacking Allied troops will be dealt with. Also, he is only commander armed with Assault rifle encountered before time-skip.
* The Nazi Chief of Science is presumably another Commander type in a similar vein to the Lunar variant judging by his uniform and headset, however the actual unit is not fought in the game and only appears a corpse, and also is viewable in the Characters section. Their uniform is white with small dashes of yellow with a black 1960 varient of the luger holster
	+ Despite his massive build, Blazkowicz is somehow able to fit into the normally slim outfit of the Chief of Science.
* There are no Commander models specific to the Afrika Korps or the Kriegsmarine, though the U-boat Captain can arguably be considered one for the latter. A standard Commander appears at the beginning of the level, though.
* In The New Colossus, they have a different animation when not aware of the player. While they patrolled with a holstered pistol in The New Order and The Old Blood, in The New Colossus they have their pistol drawn and in their right hand at all times, with their left hand behind their back.
* There are some commanders who can't be avoided and unavoidedly sound off the alarm in *The New Colossus* (e.g. Section F after killing Fischer).
* In chapter 12 from The New Order, there are apparently no commanders. This statement is false, since you can find one near the end of the level. He'll be sitting on a unaccessable area of the bridge, just sitting down watching the sea. You can't interact with him, except for killing him.
* Commanders can use assault rifles, if there is one.
* 1946 Commanders wear the same uniform as the real life Allgemeine-SS.