Battle of Finow

"There was no battle of Finow." "Because you Nazis ambushed the Russians at night." "No German fought any Russian at Finow. What we found can only be described as a massacre... Bodies piled high and ripped apart. Whoever attacked them was long gone."

- Ernst Mueller and Roger Dooley

The Battle of Finow was the name given to an incident that happened near the city of Finow, Germany in 1944, during World War II.

The Midnight Oil
"You designed a poison gas, Howard?" "No! Well, not intentionally. The army wanted something that would keep soldiers awake for days at a time, but it failed. Caused symptoms similar to sleep deprivation, anger, hallucinations, psychosis."

- Peggy Carter and Howard Stark

During World War II, the industrialist Howard Stark was ordered by the US Army to design a gas that would keep soldiers awake for days. However, his experiments failed. The final product, which he named the Midnight Oil, caused symptoms similar to sleep deprivation, anger, hallucinations, and psychosis. Stark decided to not hand it over to the Army. However, the man who ordered the making of the Midnight Oil, General John McGinnis, had other plans.

The Massacre
"Do you know what your creation does?" "I saw it afterwards." "And I saw it while it happened. I was only spared because I had a gas mask to protect myself. My comrades were not so lucky."

- Ivchenko and Howard Stark

In 1944, General McGinnis' soldiers raided Stark's laboratories, stealing the gas and all documents about Stark's research. They took the gas and the Air Force planes flew over the battlefield on the Eastern Front, near the city of Finow in Germany. They wanted to help the Soviets in crushing the German defenses in the area. However, the released gas had a different effect on the Soviets than they expected. Hundreds of soldiers went mad, with the sole thought on their minds - kill everyone around them.

The Soviets started behaving like animals, biting each other, slitting each others' throats, gouging their eyes out, and cutting their skin. In the end, the field was filled with dozens of bloody corpses. Only a few soldiers managed to survive, but at the cost of their voices, not being able to speak anymore. A Soviet medical officer, Dr. Fennhoff, survived by putting a gas mask on his face. His brother was not as lucky, having been killed like the rest of his comrades.

Aftermath
"I've got a new wrinkle for your forehead. Log at the Finow airfield. One day after our supposed battle, a plane lands. Guess who's on it?" "I don't know. Bob Hope?" "Howard Stark."

- Jack Thompson and Roger Dooley

After the massacre, a group of German soldiers led by Colonel Ernst Mueller investigated the area, discovering the corpses. A day later, Howard Stark arrived and saw the horrific sight. General McGinnis did everything in his power to cover-up the incident. The few survivors of the massacre, including Leet Brannis, Sasha Demidov and Johann Fennhoff, were later recruited by the Soviet spy agency Leviathan.