Task Force Vanguard — hero

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“	The SOE had recruited the six of us, under my command, for one reason. To retrieve files on the top secret Project Phoenix, the last gasp of the Third Reich. A coalition of Allied commandos thrown together and aimed at where our enemy was most vulnerable. This was meant to be our first and only mission...	„
	~ Arthur Kingsley's opening narration in the campaign.

“	Our mission was complete, but there'd be more. Forged in the fires, we were the tip of the spear. We... were the Vanguard.	„
	~ Kingsley's final narration after the mission's success.

Special Operations Task Force 001 (Task Force One), also known as Task Force Vanguard are the titular protagonists of the 2021 video game Call of Duty: Vanguard and the comics.

It's a military unit created by the Special Operations Executive during World War II, recruiting Allied operatives across the continents to perform one mission - find intel on a top secret Nazi project codenamed "Project Phoenix". The team then uncovered the truth behind the project and stopped its leader, Herman Fresinger in Berlin.

History

Formation

Towards the end of the Second World War, the Special Operations Executive learned of "Phoenix", a secret project in development by the Nazis in Berlin, Germany. Wanting to gather intel on the project, they assigned British Captain Carver Butcher to recruit Allied officers to perform the mission. Traveling to France, Butcher enlisted British officer Arthur Kingsley to join, and the two worked together to find candidates from different continents. The two chose the dreaded Soviet sniper Polina Petrova, the Australian demolitionist Lucas Riggs, American pilot Wade Jackson and undercover partisan agent Milos Novak, as Kingsley vetted for his friend Richard Webb if Butcher wanted to join.

Project Phoenix

On April 27th, 1945, the operatives meet with Butcher in Hamburg, whom explains the mission before leaving them to board a freight train to Berlin. The team fight against Nazi forces to a submarine base to gather intel, but they (excluding Wade) are captured by Hermann Freisinger. The Nazi lieutenant interrogates the team for information, but decides to send them to the Gestapo headquarters after killing Novak with a chair. Inside the Gestapo, Kingsley forms a plan to gather information and escape by having the others buy time with Jannick Richter, whom is oblivious to Freisinger's ties with the secret project. However, Webb is killed by Richter due to the team lying that Jackson, the "sixth man" was killed earlier in their mission when they captured him.

During their imprisonment, the team discover that Freisinger is the leader of Project Phoenix, which is a coup formed by him and fellow conspiring officers to form the Fourth Reich and go into hiding until they can return. After escaping from their cell and killing Richter, the team fight their way to reach the Nazi lieutenant as the Soviets attack Berlin following Hitler's death. The group stop Freisinger at the airstrip, deciding to kill him instead of bringing him to custody due to his gloating of how he will live in luxury despite his actions. Leaving Berlin on his plane, they discover countless secret projects that the Nazis were performing across the world, and Kingsley tells Jackson to fly them where Operation Aggregat (a secret V2 rocket facility) was located.

Post War

Following the end of the war, Butcher assigned Kingsley, Petrova, Riggs and Jackson to lead their own task forces as he formed others to stop the Nazis' projects.