SOUTHAG Army General #1 - Holding Attack
Hello commanders!
At long last, in today’s DevBlog, we will be able to share the very first (of two) Army General campaigns to be featured in WARNO - SOUTHAG.
What do we have in store for you with Army General’s Holding Attack?
Let’s find out!
[h2]WARNO - SOUTHAG’s Strategic Situation[/h2]
To recap: in WARNO - SOUTHAG, the Warsaw Pact sees the southern stretch of the Iron Curtain, from the CENTAG to the border with Austria, mainly as a secondary effort. The Czechoslovakian People’s Army (ČSLA) attacks across the frontier, into West Germany, but doesn’t advance much. The dallying communists are more than happy to fix local NATO units in place.
This gives NATO a chance to reform SOUTHAG under French command, and bring in reinforcements from its allies, including forward-deployed Canadian units, and mobile forces from Spain. It is a risky move, as in the north, the Warsaw Pact seems poised to break through.
[previewyoutube](insérer vidéo AG08_Fixation)[/previewyoutube]
Another opportunity is presented when the Soviet Group of Central forces opens up a new offensive axis towards Nuremberg, which gets crushed by a combined West German and American task force. This puts the communists in this theatre of war on the back heel.
Meanwhile, SOUTHAG command is cooking up a storm, and NATO plans to take the fight to the Warsaw Pact. This strategic counter-offensive will be the focus of WARNO - SOUTHAG’s two Army General campaigns. It will be played out in two distinct phases, of which the first is Holding Attack.
[h2]WARNO - SOUTHAG’s Holding Attack[/h2] Holding Attack is, chronologically, the first of the two Army General campaigns. In it, we focus on the West German and Canadian divisions fixing the Czechoslovak People’s Army’s 1st Army in front of Plzeň.
The Army General campaign will feature a number of divisions already presented as multiplayer-capable battlegroups. However, Army General will also contain some campaign-only divisions.
NATO
On NATO’s side, you get to play with:
Warsaw Pact
For the communists, from north to south, the following divisions will be available:
The three Motostřelecká divisions follow roughly the same structure with the 2. Motostřelecká Divize and the 20. Motostřelecká Divize featuring one BMP-1 and two OT-64-equipped infantry regiments, while the 19. Motostřelecká Divize has one BMP-1, one BMP-2, and one OT-64 regiment. All of these motorized infantry divisions field the T-55A as their main battle tank in their infantry regiment, while the improvised T-55AM-1 forms the backbone of the tank regiments in these divisions. The 1. Tanková Divize is equipped with T-72s and BMP-2s.
The 2. Motostřelecká Divize and 20. Motostřelecká Divize occupy a wider front, while the 19. Motostřelecká Divize has a shorter stretch, but deploys more in depth, covering Plzeň to the rear. The Czechoslovakian city is furthermore garrisoned by security troops and the famous 22. Výsadkový Pluk, which are the ČSLA’s elite special forces airborne regiment, acting as the ultimate 1st Army reserve.
[h2]The Campaign Itself[/h2]
A special note, but Holding Attack is - for once - an Army General campaign that will not feature any US or Soviet troops. This is (mostly) a West German versus Czechoslovakian affair, with the Canadians lending a hand when they hear another “brawl” is happening in Czechoslovakia (of course, this is a reference to the infamous Canada-USSR "Punch-Up in Piestany" from 1987).
Unlike most other Army General campaigns, where there are multiple far-away objectives, to be captured by rupturing the enemy front and breaking through, Holding Attack represents a grinding offensive. In this campaign, you need to repeatedly attack and erode the enemy’s will for resistance, and achieve victory through a slow but steady advance.
NATO’s goal is to secure the intermediate objectives within a given time frame. This should wear down (but also concentrate) the enemy in a specific number of locations, one by one. However, the ultimate price is the capture of Plzeň.
The Warsaw Pact will need to hold the outer defenses before falling back around Plzeň and “doing an Alamo.” Their hope is that the reinforcing 1 Tanková Divize would prove ultimately more reliable than Colonel Fannin in the aforementioned siege.
[h2]WARNO - SOUTHAG Expansion In Short[/h2] WARNO - SOUTHAG is WARNO’s second expansion after WARNO - NORTHAG and showcases the fighting in southern West Germany near the Alps and on the Czechoslovakian frontier.
In the southern reaches of Germany, the Warsaw Pact with the Soviet Central Group of Forces, bolstered by the communist Czechoslovakians, battles against a counter-attacking NATO SOUTHAG command led by France, with American, West German, Canadian, and reinforcing Spanish troops.
[h2]Until Next Week[/h2]
As always, we’ll be back with another WARNO DevBlog in the near future!
Don’t forget the vibrant WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.
See you on the battlefield, commanders.
At long last, in today’s DevBlog, we will be able to share the very first (of two) Army General campaigns to be featured in WARNO - SOUTHAG.
What do we have in store for you with Army General’s Holding Attack?
Let’s find out!
[h2]WARNO - SOUTHAG’s Strategic Situation[/h2]
To recap: in WARNO - SOUTHAG, the Warsaw Pact sees the southern stretch of the Iron Curtain, from the CENTAG to the border with Austria, mainly as a secondary effort. The Czechoslovakian People’s Army (ČSLA) attacks across the frontier, into West Germany, but doesn’t advance much. The dallying communists are more than happy to fix local NATO units in place.
This gives NATO a chance to reform SOUTHAG under French command, and bring in reinforcements from its allies, including forward-deployed Canadian units, and mobile forces from Spain. It is a risky move, as in the north, the Warsaw Pact seems poised to break through.
[previewyoutube](insérer vidéo AG08_Fixation)[/previewyoutube]
Another opportunity is presented when the Soviet Group of Central forces opens up a new offensive axis towards Nuremberg, which gets crushed by a combined West German and American task force. This puts the communists in this theatre of war on the back heel.
Meanwhile, SOUTHAG command is cooking up a storm, and NATO plans to take the fight to the Warsaw Pact. This strategic counter-offensive will be the focus of WARNO - SOUTHAG’s two Army General campaigns. It will be played out in two distinct phases, of which the first is Holding Attack.
[h2]WARNO - SOUTHAG’s Holding Attack[/h2] Holding Attack is, chronologically, the first of the two Army General campaigns. In it, we focus on the West German and Canadian divisions fixing the Czechoslovak People’s Army’s 1st Army in front of Plzeň.
The Army General campaign will feature a number of divisions already presented as multiplayer-capable battlegroups. However, Army General will also contain some campaign-only divisions.
NATO
On NATO’s side, you get to play with:
- The 4.Panzergrenadier-Division is situated on the northern part of the Army General battlefield. This is a standard Bundeswehr Panzergrenadier division.
- The 1. Luftlande-Division (as previewed in this DevBlog) holds the center. It is here that the terrain of Holding Attack is the most rugged. This formation also acts as a link between NATO’s two main mechanized divisions. The 1. Luftlande contains a very useful airmobile infantry battalion, which can be used as a mobile projection force.
- The 10. Panzerdivision in the south, but still assembling. This means one of the division’s panzerbrigades has yet to arrive at the start of the Army General campaign. While the German II. Korps in SOUTHAG was the only one to be assigned a single Panzerdivision, this particular formation was special in the way it was the first to be entirely equipped with Leopard 2A4 across its three brigades. This makes it the most powerful Panzerdivisions of the Bundeswehr in the late 1980s.
- The 1st Canadian Division, likewise, isn’t deployed at the beginning of the campaign, instead expected later as reinforcements. The formation includes the 4 CMBG (the powerful brigade deployed in West Germany), the 5 GBMC (the light air-transportable brigade from Quebec), as well as the 1 CMBG (a reservist brigade arriving last). The Canadian CF-188 squadrons are available as air support from the start.
Warsaw Pact
For the communists, from north to south, the following divisions will be available:
- The 2. Motostřelecká Divize, which is a typical ČSLA motorized infantry division, modeled along Soviet lines.
- The 19. Motostřelecká Divize (as previewed in a previous DevBlog).
- The 20. Motostřelecká Divize, in the same vein as the formations mentioned above.
- The 1. Tanková Divize (as previewed in this DevBlog) isn't deployed at the start, only arriving later as reinforcements from the east.
The three Motostřelecká divisions follow roughly the same structure with the 2. Motostřelecká Divize and the 20. Motostřelecká Divize featuring one BMP-1 and two OT-64-equipped infantry regiments, while the 19. Motostřelecká Divize has one BMP-1, one BMP-2, and one OT-64 regiment. All of these motorized infantry divisions field the T-55A as their main battle tank in their infantry regiment, while the improvised T-55AM-1 forms the backbone of the tank regiments in these divisions. The 1. Tanková Divize is equipped with T-72s and BMP-2s.
The 2. Motostřelecká Divize and 20. Motostřelecká Divize occupy a wider front, while the 19. Motostřelecká Divize has a shorter stretch, but deploys more in depth, covering Plzeň to the rear. The Czechoslovakian city is furthermore garrisoned by security troops and the famous 22. Výsadkový Pluk, which are the ČSLA’s elite special forces airborne regiment, acting as the ultimate 1st Army reserve.
[h2]The Campaign Itself[/h2]
A special note, but Holding Attack is - for once - an Army General campaign that will not feature any US or Soviet troops. This is (mostly) a West German versus Czechoslovakian affair, with the Canadians lending a hand when they hear another “brawl” is happening in Czechoslovakia (of course, this is a reference to the infamous Canada-USSR "Punch-Up in Piestany" from 1987).
Unlike most other Army General campaigns, where there are multiple far-away objectives, to be captured by rupturing the enemy front and breaking through, Holding Attack represents a grinding offensive. In this campaign, you need to repeatedly attack and erode the enemy’s will for resistance, and achieve victory through a slow but steady advance.
NATO’s goal is to secure the intermediate objectives within a given time frame. This should wear down (but also concentrate) the enemy in a specific number of locations, one by one. However, the ultimate price is the capture of Plzeň.
The Warsaw Pact will need to hold the outer defenses before falling back around Plzeň and “doing an Alamo.” Their hope is that the reinforcing 1 Tanková Divize would prove ultimately more reliable than Colonel Fannin in the aforementioned siege.
[h2]WARNO - SOUTHAG Expansion In Short[/h2] WARNO - SOUTHAG is WARNO’s second expansion after WARNO - NORTHAG and showcases the fighting in southern West Germany near the Alps and on the Czechoslovakian frontier.
In the southern reaches of Germany, the Warsaw Pact with the Soviet Central Group of Forces, bolstered by the communist Czechoslovakians, battles against a counter-attacking NATO SOUTHAG command led by France, with American, West German, Canadian, and reinforcing Spanish troops.
- 2 new Army General campaigns, including Holding Attack.
- 4 new Operations, such as Delayed Retribution, Glory or AttritionHydra
- 10 new Divisions, featuring Canada, Spain, and Czechoslovakia as new nations. These include NATO’s 1st Canadian Division, the Spanish División Mecanizada «Brunete» n.º 1, the French 6e Division Blindée Légère and Division du Rhin, plus the West German 1. Luftlandedivision. The Warsaw Pact features the Czechoslovakian 1. Tanková Divize, 19. Motostřelecká Divize, and 303. Tanková Divize, while the Soviet Central Group of Forces deploys the 31-ya Tankovaya Diviziya and the 17-ya Gvardeyskaya Tankovaya Diviziya.
- New voice acting.
- New units and models.
[h2]Until Next Week[/h2]
As always, we’ll be back with another WARNO DevBlog in the near future!
Don’t forget the vibrant WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.
See you on the battlefield, commanders.
