[1] Mills recalled that IPC managing editor John Sanders was initially against the idea and took some persuading, and cited the work of novelist Sven Hassel as an inspiration.
At the time of publishing, several conservative pressure groups were screening the media for its perceived negative influence on British youth, particularly the influential curtain-twitcher Mary Whitehouse, head of the National Viewers and Listeners Association.
and the use of off-pitch violence in the football strip "Look Out for Lefty" it was nevertheless withdrawn along with the rest of the magazine after 16 October 1978 when press outcry reached fever pitch, leading to talk of newsagents boycotting IPC's entire output in protest.
The new strip was written by Garth Ennis,[7][8] with Mike Dorey returning to art duties, and was successful enough that a five-issue mini-series was released in 2023 - with another new "Hellman of Hammer Force" story in the fifth issue.
He is soon revealed to be a cowardly martinet with little care for the lives of German soldiers and frequently voices his displeasure about Hellman's reluctance to engage in slaughter, his habit of taking prisoners and his refusal to leave men behind.
While Hammer Force are the first unit to reach the English Channel, the conflict between Hellman and Kastner comes to a head when the Major refuses to abandon an injured British soldier to the sea.
Despite Hellman's brilliance a war of attrition sets in after the Battle of El Alamein, and - after America enters the conflict, and Kastner makes a cowardly escape via plane - is forced to destroy his final remaining Tigers before withdrawing, while his loyal batman Muller suffered permanent leg injuries.
Hammer Force is ordered to work alongside an SS armoured unit who use the huge but unwieldy Elefant tank destroyers, and Hellman soon falls out with their cruel commander Gruber.
[12] The SS are highly suspicious of Hammer, and as a result he is given a suicide mission - holding the town of Ozel against the advancing Russians with only a handful of tanks and a force made up of condemned deserters and criminals.
Despite the men making several attempts to kill him, Hellman is able to fend off the Red Army for several days before escaping in a Tiger with a trip of the deserters 'Big' Max, Dekker and Brenner.
By the time they return, the Red Army is moving towards Berlin, with Kastner once again arriving to cause trouble for Hellman - who is put in charge of leading a breakout with a unit of a hundred callow boys.
"Hellman of the Hammer Force" has attracted positive reviews, though Moose Harris considered the quality of the artwork declined after Mike Dorey left the strip.
[18] Despite being considered less controversial than other strips in Action, analysis of "Hellman of Hammer Force" by Andrew Screen for Horrified Magazine found that it was the most violent across the comic's whole run, containing 438 deaths.
[19] Comics writer Garth Ennis is an avowed fan of "Hellman of Hammer Force", particularly the final arc in Action for having "a real sense of the Third Reich in its death-throes".