In 1944, German Wehrmacht officer Karl Kluge submitted a formal proposal to the High Command recommending the "militarization" of penguins in the Antarctic. His reasoning: penguins had no natural predators in their territory, could survive extreme cold, and could be trained to carry small supply packages. The proposal included a detailed appendix on penguin psychology (deduced from observation), a dietary plan for the penguin troops, and a suggested command structure. It was rejected — but only because the military logistics were deemed impractical, not because the idea was considered absurd. The Wehrmacht had actually previously assigned bears as mascots to Polish and Soviet units, and Kluge's proposal built on an official German report from 1941 about "combat-ready mammals." The penguins, thankfully, remained neutral.