Downfall (campaign)

''Redirected from Downfall (Disambiguation). For the multi-player level from Call of Duty: World at War see Downfall (Multi-Player).''

"As long as you live, the heart of this army can never be broken."

"Capture the Reichstag to claim ultimate victory for Mother Russia over the German war machine"

- Mission Description

Downfall is a single-player mission and the last mission in Call of Duty: World at War of the Eastern Front.

Walkthrough
In this sequel to Heart of The Reich, you fight inside the Reichstag, a building in which your final fight will take place. You must first enter the lobby of the Reichstag, eliminating all Germans inside. Then you must proceed up the stairs to encounter more Germans.

Eliminate them all then proceed down the hall. You will see some scenes of Russians brutally murdering Germans inside rooms that they barricaded themselves in. Continue to a theater room with plenty of Germans taking cover. Sergeant Reznov will tell you to go upstairs and provide cover fire. Near the door upstairs is a sniper rifle, and upstairs there is another. Use what you learned in Vendetta and shoot the fuel tanks of Flamethrower Germans to blow them up. When you run out of ammunition go downstairs and grab weapons from the Germans, such as StG44s, MP40s, or Gewehr 43s. A last objective in this room requires you to find a Panzerschreck and use it to shoot down the huge eagle symbol on the front wall of the room. Once you do, two Russians will try and force open a door held by Germans, and Reznov will assist them, once the door is broken down, go through, a small party of Germans will be waiting for you. Once they are neutralized, proceed upstairs to the roof, which will bring the final and hardest battle of the mission.

It is advised that you take cover and use any remaining grenades you have or go to the small cubicles at the left side as you can flank the Germans. Once all the remaining Germans are killed, follow Reznov to the front entrance. The soldier holding the flag will be killed, but do not fear, a missile strike (presumably from the trucks in the beginning of Heart of the Reich) will take out the Germans that shot the flag bearer. Take the flag and move towards the Nazi Flagpole. Once there a German soldier will pop up out of hiding, and shoot you almost fatally with a Walther P-38, only to be sliced twice then impaled in the back by a machete-wielding Reznov. Reznov then carries you forward a bit, assuring you that you will make it, since you have cheated death before. Keep moving forward once Reznov cuts the Nazi flags ropes, and the player plants the Soviet flag, ending the mission. The National Anthem of the Soviet Union is played during the end of the mission.

Once finished the credits will roll, but you do not have to read them. After finishing this mission, Nacht Der Untoten, a bonus zombie mission will be unlocked. To access it go to mission select and select on "Nacht Der Untoten". Note: Nacht Der Untoten is not on the Wii or the PS2 version.

Trivia

 * At the last part when you're heading upstairs into the dome, you should notice that Sgt. Reznov doesn't come and help to kill the Nazis, all he does is wait down near the stairs until you clear them out.
 * Occasionally German soldiers will walk in front of flamethrowers while they're firing, but they don't get burned.
 * If you look out the door to the Reichstag that the Russians are closing, you can see that the environment is extremely downgraded, and there is absolutely nothing there besides the stone floor and a stone structure. This same place can be seen in Spectator mode on Dome.


 * In the first cutscene you will see the part from "Eviction" where the Russian is about to kill a Nazi Soldier, Look closely! He is using a Tokarev TT-33, Not a Mosin-Nagant. It is possible that it was a different execution. Or it is possible that in Eviction, he was originally going to use a pistol


 * This level is possibly named after the 2004 German film, Downfall (Der Untergang in German).


 * The SS soldiers' helmets strangely display the Wehrmacht decal. This is odd since the soldiers are wearing a black uniform with a swastika armband and an SS logo on their collars.


 * This level portrays the relationship between Reznov and Dimitri, as when you are injured, he rushes at the German soldier who shot you, to protect you and in anger slashes the troop twice in the neck and face then stabs him through the heart and tosses him over the edge, then he gives you the flag, and tells you that you will make it, something only a true friend would do.


 * The level begins with Chernov's diary being read out, which is different depending on the player's actions. It is speculated that Sgt. Reznov is the reader, but it is in Chernov's voice, so it's possible it is Petrenko reading while imagining Chernov's voice.


 * The SS honor guards in this level are actually members of the Allgemeine-SS, indicated by the cuff titles on their arms.


 * If you go up to the Germans with a flamethrower and knife them, they will blow up, but instead of saying, "You were killed by an exploding flamethrower", or something along those lines, the text reads as if you were blown up by a grenade.


 * If you shoot the Germans with the flamethrowers in their legs, you can't use their flamethrower, and they will not explode either.


 * At the beginning Reznov will say "Fire the Panzerschreck" But instead of a Panzerschreck there will be an American Bazooka.


 * The ending sequence of this mission is the only time in the Wii Version that is HD and features normal gore. Like in the other console versions, the sequence is demonstrated in slow-motion. The reason behind this is unknown, but it is likely due to the issues with the Flag at the end (which is depicted as a flat, motionless flag in actual gameplay), or to simply treat the players to some HD action.


 * The scene where Reznov cuts the German soldier with his machete is one of the goriest moments in Call of Duty: World at War, because of the blood flying around when Reznov cuts him and when you listen carefully you can clearly hear blood drop when Reznov kicks the soldier out of the screen after impaling him, especially if you slow it down.


 * Very rarely, at the part where Reznov orders the two Russian soldiers to open the door, a glitch will occur, in which Reznov will not yell the order and the two Russian soldiers will just stand at the side of the door and not attempt to open it. Although you can throw grenades at them, they will run from the grenades, but will just run back to where they were and still not do anything. Molotov Cocktails won't work either. Even if you kill yourself and respawn at that checkpoint, they will still not open it.
 * On the Xbox 360 version if you look in the very corner (front to the right) of the room where you snipe from the balconies there may be an empty Thompson sticking from the wall.


 * This is the only mission where the Bazooka is available in a Russian mission.


 * This is the only time you see your enemies using Molotov Cocktails.


 * A strange thing to note is that if you stand in front of the flag bearer when he is shot, the bullets from the machine gun that hit him go straight through you, without damaging you, and kills him. Also, he actually doesn't die until during the rocket strikes.


 * Oddly, it takes two Molotovs to kill a German wielding a flame-thrower.
 * It is odd that when you are sniping on the balcony your men are standing up and shooting but if you stand up, the Germans will start shooting at you.
 * The song that is played when storming the Nazis for the last time (on the roof of the Reichstag), is called The Final Push from the Call of Duty: World at War soundtrack.
 * The half of the door where the Russian is about to push has different material as pictured below. The left side seems to be made of metal while the right side is made of wood.
 * On the Xbox 360 version, sometimes Reznov will have his PPsh while he is killing the German with his machete


 * Reznov states that they will defeat the fascist rank inside the Reichstag; however, the Third Reich didn't dissolve until May 8th (official date).
 * There are many SS soldiers with bandages around their wounds, and a few people have bandages around their jaw (indicating that they have a broken jaw)
 * This mission has the most enemies using STG-44, according to count. Heart of The Reich has some soldiers defending the Reichstag with STGs.
 * In some instances, Germans crawling near the roof don't have legs, maybe due to Katyusha (or other artillery) fire.
 * If the player watches the Germans with Panzershrecks below the balcony, they will notice once the Panzershreck is out the German will take out a weapon and fire it, but hold it as if he were using a Panzershreck.
 * The final scene at the top level of the Reichstag, there is a "blind spot" that you can go to, where the enemy cannot see you. You can then shoot enemies at your leisure. Once you reach the top of the stairs and the large masonry falls through the middle spot, run for that spot. You cannot fall off the edge and once you cannot run any farther, you are in the blind spot.
 * Outside the room where the death card is located, if you shoot, Molotov, or grenade the two Russian soldiers who open the door before they open, they will do their animation, walk through the doorway and die whilst the headshot sound is heard.
 * If you listen closely after you clear out the chamber (with the Eagle and Swastika, after sniping from the balcony), you can hear the Königgrätzer Marsch being played over the loudspeakers (the victory song for the Wehrmacht in multiplayer).
 * In reality, it took two days for the Red Army to secure The Reichstag. As a result of the 1933 Reichstag fire and Allied bombing throughout the war, the building was mostly rubble by the time the Soviets reached Berlin and the SS used this rubble to defend the interior and eventually re-took the building after the Soviets initially captured it- only to lose it a final time.
 * There is a hidden PTRS-41 at the beginning of the level. In the area before the lobby, look in the front left corner. (Assuming you're looking towards the lobby)
 * Occasionally, Germans will be immune to PTRS bullets.
 * The flag you plant on the roof has taken three people to place it there, Chernov, the Russian soldier and you, who have all suffered injuries or even death.
 * In the end, you can hear the end of the real Russian national anthem playing in the background.