Steel Divisions 2 is headed North

Started by Jarhead0331, January 14, 2021, 10:24:16 AM

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Jarhead0331

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Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics takes place in, you might have guessed it, the Baltics. To be exact: our new History Expansion features Nazi-Germany's last big counter-attack, Operation Doppelkopf, which kicked off in August 1944, in the region south of Riga, the Latvian capital. The offensive's aim? To re-establish communications between Army Group Center (holding on to parts of Lithuania and Latvia) and Army Group North (cut-off and fighting further north of Riga).

Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics will feature:
1 massive, new Army General campaign.
8 new Divisions, including 6 which took part during Doppelkopf and 2 Divisions from Army Group North.
120+ new units, including a variety of new models such as Aufklärungspanzer 38(t) recon tank, Soviet MT-13 160mm super-heavy mortar and the BS-3 100mm heavy AT gun.
1 gigantic 10v10 map, as well as the new Very Small map edit.
2 new Nations: Lithuania (Axis) and Estonia (Allies) and 2 new Aces.

New Army General Campaign - Operation Doppelkopf

Let's look at the historical background of Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics. The Wehrmacht is reeling from the massive blows inflicted during Operation Bagration. In the northeast, the Baltics, the German defensive lines have crumbled.

Having punched through the German lines, a Red Army spearhead reaches the Baltic shoreline in the Gulf of Riga by the end of July, west of the Latvian capital.

This severs the connection between the Wehrmacht's Army Group North and what is left of Army Group Centre. Reestablishing this link becomes the prime objective of Operation Doppelkopf: one of the last, major victorious Axis offensives on the Eastern Front.

Having turned their attention to Riga, the Soviets are besieging the city. The covering and flanking troops are stretched thin, but the mighty Red Army, even though tired, is still a force to be reckoned with. At this critical point, the Germans group together elements from no less than five Panzerdivisionen, one Panzergrenadier-Division (the mighty "Grossdeutschland"), and one armored Kampfgruppe. That's a mighty powerful armored fist!

For once, it is the Soviets that are taken by surprise. The Red Army's delaying actions are moderately successful, buying critical time for emergency Allied armored reinforcements to be brought up from the rear. However, the Germans push through. After heavy combat, including artillery support from Kriegsmarine cruisers in the Baltic Sea shelling enemy positions, the German troops managed to establish a tenuous link with Army Group North.

The victory (and the coherent front that comes with it) is short-lived. Less than two months later, the Red Army attacked again. In the resulting Memel Offensive Operation, the Soviets manage to reach the Baltic Sea once more. This time, the German forces in the Baltic States are cut off for real, and for the remaining of the war, a sizable portion of German formations are held up in the Courland Pocket and at a bridgehead at Memel.

In the new Army General campaign of Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics, you'll take command of either the 3. Panzerarmee or 1st Baltic Front. And this time, the traditional roles on the Eastern Front are swapped around: the Axis attack, and the Allies are put on the defensive.

Eight New Divisions

All of the following divisions, playable in all solo, cooperative or multiplayer modes, will be extensively detailed in future blog posts.

The Axis
Panzerverband Strachwitz - Armored
Panzergrenadier-Division "Grossdeutschland" - Mechanized
52. Sicherungs-Division z.b.V. - Infantry
11. SS-Freiw.Panzergrenadier-Division "Nordland" - Part of Army Group North

The Allies
19-y Tank Korpus - Armored
Rezerv 43-y Armii - Mechanized
Podv. Gruppa Fedyunkin - Infantry
7-ya Strelkovy Div. (Est.) - Part of Soviet operations further north.

Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics will feature two brand-new nations, fully voiced: Lithuania (Axis) and Estonia (Allies). We haven't forgotten Latvia, though. Troops from this nation were fighting as part of the Waffen-SS, and as such will be featured as fully voiced, unique German unit (in the same vein as French LVF or Italian SS-Legionari).

Two new Aces will also be included in Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics. They will be highlighted in a future blog post.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


hellfish6

I really enjoy this game. Yeah, I think it wastes a lot of time and energy on multiplayer (and those who play multiplayer never seen satisfied by anything) but for quick skirmishes, I have fun. And Army General isn't too bad either.

Destraex

Looking forward to it as somebody who enjoys coop vs the ai.
Game needs a map editor badly and one is supposed to be coming.
New mechanics are more important to me than sides but I will generally buy to support their efforts.
Such a great improvement over steel division 1.
"They only asked the Light Brigade to do it once"