Saving Private Ryan Wiki
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"Gib' auf, du hast keine Chance! Lass' es uns beenden! Es ist einfacher für dich, viel einfacher. Du wirst sehen, es ist gleich vorbei.[1]"
—Waffen SS Soldier to Stanley Mellish

A Waffen SS Soldier was one of the German soldiers who took part in the battle for Ramelle. He served as Private Mellish's personal antagonist.

Biography[]

Under the command of Major Hoess, this soldier was led to attack the town of Ramelle, which was being held by some American Defenders. During the battle, his group was suffering heavy casualties from two Defenders named Henderson and Mellish, who were firing from a ruined house.

He and two other soldiers chose to sneak around them and take them out. While going up the steps, one soldier was killed by Henderson's Thompson Submachine Gun when he fired through a wall. Another soldier fired a burst of MP-40 rounds back at them, critically wounding Henderson in the neck.

While trying to storm into the room, the other Soldier was killed by Mellish, who then started wrestling with this Waffen SS Soldier as Mellish's gun had jammed. Struggling to overpower him, Meillish drew his bayonet, but was quickly pinned by the German, who turned his own bayonet on him and proceeded to slowly sink it into Mellish's chest (despite his protests to stop) killing him.

He then walked outside, where he noticed a young American soldier named Upham, who was cowering against the wall (shell shocked from hearing Mellish scream when fighting the soldier). The soldier let him live and went out to resume the fight.

Trivia[]

  • Some fans commonly mistake him for Steamboat Willie as when he stabs Mellish and it zooms out, he looks almost exactly like Willie.
    • Also, since Willie and this SS soldier wear the same clothes during the battle at Ramelle, they look similar from certain angles because of this.
    • Also the soldier doesn't take his helmet with him when he leaves the house after killing Mellish and since Steamboat Willie isn't wearing one when he runs up to start shooting with the rest of his squad. This further contributes to the fact that some fans mix them up.
    • Additionally, because Upham again encounters Steamboat Willie shortly afterwards and works up the nerve to shoot him, some viewers mistakenly believe that Upham was making up for his earlier cowardice by finally killing the soldier responsible for Mellish's death.
    • The Waffen-SS soldier also speaks an audible Bavarian dialect.  On the other hand, Steamboat speaks a relatively neutral German.
  1. Translates from German to: "Give up, you don't stand a chance! Let's end this here! It will be easier for you, much easier. You'll see it will be over quickly."
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