Edytha Rossmann is a veteran witch of the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing, originating from Karlsland.
Background[]
A veteran witch with a lengthy military service record. Despite having a confirmed kill count of less than 100 Neuroi. While this is not uncommon in the Karlsland Air Force, her ability is still evaluated as that of a top ace.
Born in Gera near the border of Ostmark in the middle of Karlsland. She suffered a serious illness when she was a child, which stunted her growth, and took a toll on her physical strength.
She was aiming to become an aviation witch on account of the early emergence of her magic abilities, but was unable to meet military recruitment standards due to her low physical strength. Despite giving up at first, the military, which was forced to increase the number of witches due to the mysterious outbreak in Hispania, relaxed its physical standards, especially for those with excellent magic. She was then able to become an air witch just as she had always dreamed of. However, recruitment standards for officer training schools were not relaxed, so she was accepted as a general witch.
After a test and brief training, she was appointed as a sergeant and sent to Hispania to be assigned to the 88th Fighter Squadron. Her small body and lack of strength could not be covered by training and effort alone, and she couldn't keep up with standard witch dogfight tactics.
To overcome this, she developed an effective and possible strategy for herself. Studying the enemies patiently from a certain distance, observing their movements and flight characteristics, and suddenly approaching from a blind spot and hitting a critical point, and quickly leaving. With less energy needed and less wasted ammunition than with standard dogfights, this tactic was noticed by Wing Commander Moelders at the time of seeking new tactics, and she created the Rotte tactics. This consists of a team of two witches, one attacking and one supporting from above. Research on Rotte tactics with Wing Commander Mölders was quickly refined, especially considering that it was a suitable tactic to use with the latest unit, the Bf109.
After the Hispanian campaign, she was promoted to Warrant Officer and transferred to JG52. She was appointed as an instructor to teach her new tactics to other witches and improve their general skills. After the invasion of Neuroi in her home country, her number of shoot downs increased while training and educating new witches in actual combat. It was at that time that she first met then Pilot Officer Erica Hartmann during her dismal wartime debut. Her teaching skill, thanks to a talent for deftly influencing people meant much of the efforts of instructing new pilots were left up to her, and Erica learned most of the basics of dogfighting under her tutelage. She became Hartmann's wingman for a short while.
She brought up a large number of new pilots, drilling them that the one thing a dogfighting ace should rely on was not unpolished nerve or some innate "genius" sense, but rather a reliable combat methodology. A large number of them became important aces later on. She acknowledges that her abilities are limited, so she looks forward to the students she reared herself eventually surpassing her own kill count.
She constantly works to defend the new pilots in their unit from Flight Lieutenant Krupinski, saying "...and after what you did to that cutie Hartmann?". However, it's generally said that this was just bit of half-joking between trusted comrades-in-arms.
She later participated in Operation Barbarossa and became a member of the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing formed in Saint Petersburg, where she is mostly referred as "teacher". She taught Karibuchi Hikari how to use her magic properly. The level of her magical control and technical magical acumen is high enough that Edytha can use her magic shield to walk across water as if she were walking across the land; far beyond merely using her shield as a mere, momentary stepping stone like the Karibuchi siblings can. As well, she's capable of teaching the principles and technical aspects required to achieve the magical control to accomplish this feat as well as teaching a witch how to use their shield as a handhold of sorts to climb smooth 90 degree angles without natural handholds.
Personality[]
A serious senior commander on the battlefield, but otherwise a girl with a cheerful sort of "face forward" personality. Her fighting style is the very essence of cleverness. Because her body can't handle the high-speed maneuvers of dogfighting for an extended period of time it was necessary for her to learn a style that married careful observation of the target to a single decisive blow and follow-through escape.
Edytha has a fondness for caviar and often stockpiles a large supply of caviar in the base's food stores. She becomes short tempered if it is wasted fecklessly. Edytha has a fondness for junk food and snacking, and it's a habit for her to spend her days off buying snacks.
Equipment[]
Edytha switched from the MG 42 to the Fliegerhammer on account of her power beginning to decline on account of her age and the 502nd is full of close combat witches. This allows a way of fighting prioritizing support from a distance, suiting her strategy of Rotte tactics.
Quotes[]
"What kind of trouble am I going to have to break up today... Hey! You Fake Countess, what do you think you're doing forcing alcohol on that recruit!"
Appearances[]
Anime
Manga
- Strike witches: Chii Sanya, cameo in chapter α-8
- Brave Witches: Dai 502 Butai Hasshin shimasu!
- World Witches: Contrail of Witches
- Brave Witches: 502nd Joint Fighter Wing
- Brave Witches Prequel: The Vast Land of Orussia
Light Novel
Audio Media
Video Games
- Strike Witches: Kiseki no Rondo, in a group card
- Brave Witches VR: Operation Baba-Yaga - Counter attack in the snow
- World Witches United Front
Other
Trivia[]
- Her Pilot archetype is Edmund Rossmann. According to her profile in SWII Vol. 3's booklet, her nickname "Paula" is based on the Latin "Paulus," meaning "small." (This also parallels Edmund Rossmann's nickname of "Paule," a male variant.)
- Its heavily implied in series and in art by Humikane, that she is in some sort of subtle sexual and romantic relationship with Waltrud Krupinski.
- Due to her childhood illness, and despite being the eldest in the 502nd, she is very small at 4'11, she is slightly taller than Kanno but will probably eventually be outgrown.
Gallery[]
