Worldwar is a series of novels by Harry Turtledove whose premise is an alien invasion of Earth in the middle of World War II.
The armada of bombers is under attack from German anti-aircraft weapons and fighters when the Race's killer craft descend upon the unsuspecting humans.
They go on to serve as arbitrators between the Russian partisan forces and German Wehrmacht troops in the town; eventually, Bagnall and the others except of navigator Alf Whyte (who is killed in action) can return to England.
When the Race carries out air reconnaissance in the months before their attack, Goldfarb and his fellow radar specialists are confused by readings indicating aircraft much faster and high-flying than anything known to humans: the RAF men nickname those echoes "pixies".
He takes part in decoding the Lizards' solid-state electronics (integrated circuits and microprocessors, which should be familiar to any 21st-century reader).
Stationed at an airfield near Kharkiv in Ukraine when the invasion begins, Ludmila witnesses the destruction of most human aircraft, both Soviet and German, at the hands of the alien invaders.
The character is inspired by members of the historical all-women Soviet unit known as Night Witches, many of whom were decorated for their World War II service.
His first task is to get a batch of captured alien plutonium from Boston, Massachusetts to Denver, Colorado where the Metallurgical Laboratory developing the atom bomb has been relocated.
He is very well aware that the Soviet Union and Germany are also working fervently to develop the first human atomic weapons and he is eager to win the race.
Colonel Heinrich Jäger: A tank commander in the German Sixth Army advancing on Stalingrad when the alien invasion begins.
Jäger fought in the trenches of World War I as a teenager and saw firsthand the devastating effects of armored vehicles on infantry.
His small knowledge of the Holocaust and German atrocities in Eastern Europe leaves him sickened; he is later arrested by the Gestapo for treating the Jews of Lodz and is rescued by members of his regiment.
This attempt at subterfuge fails since electronics of the 1940s use vacuum tubes rather than integrated circuits, making the effect of EM radiation minimal.
He shoots two people and attempts to desert Lizards, intending to betray the US atomic bomb project to them, but is stopped by a cavalry company and is killed.
He becomes cruelly disillusioned as to the nature of their "liberators" when he is told by the new Race governor to make a radio propaganda broadcast praising the subsequent nuclear destruction of Washington, D.C.
His passion for science fiction during his long stint as a minor league player makes him a choice pick as "Lizard liaison;" he becomes one of the most valued interpreters for the United States' interrogations of Race prisoners.
Ironically, these experiments are not done for the reptilian humanoid Race's perverted enjoyment, rather it is a dramatic species reversal as humans often observe the mating habits of animals.
Thanks to some negotiation, he finds his stay aboard the Race's ship rather entertaining as he is subjected to "experiments" which effectively give him a harem of women to mate with.
In the course of the series it is revealed that aptitude tests back on Home indicated Atvar would either be a proficient architect or military officer.
At the beginning of the conflict he is faced with the decision to invade Earth or return home to ask for directions (the latter apparently having a humiliating and degrading connotation.)
However, got discouraged as he is faced with a significantly more technologically advanced species than initial reports suggested: The most recent intelligence on Earth (Tosev-3 as labeled by the Race) dated back to the Middle Ages.
By the end of the first few weeks, the Race achieves air superiority over the planet, forcing human pilots to engage in small limited attacks upon isolated targets or risk nearly certain death.
While he is somewhat curious (and rather condescending) of Japanese imperial customs, he is even more afraid of their officers, who seem all too happy to want to extract as many Race secrets as they can from him, by cruel physical torture if need be.
At first, Ussmak and his crew mates revel at the ease with which they manage to destroy T-34's and Panzer IVs, the most advanced armored fighting vehicles available to the Soviets and Germans, respectively.