WARNO News

Hello, hello, hello!

Welcome back. After last week’s mini-insight on “what’s to come”, in today’s DevBlog, we’ll circle back to WARNO’s Army General campaigns.

We will focus on the so-called “Kassel Axis” of our World War III scenario in West Germany. Contained within are the Airborne Assault - chronologically speaking, the first campaign - plus the follow-up larger Left Hook campaign.

Let’s go!

[h2]Army General explained[/h2]
Once again, to make things clear: WARNO will ship with five campaigns, of which one—Bruderkrieg—has already been released. The remaining four campaigns will be part of WARNO’s upcoming official launch out of Early Access. Bruderkrieg is an extra campaign we managed to add on top of the four promised initially.

The base game’s campaigns are set in central West Germany during the first week of the Warsaw Pact invasion. These can be divided into either the Frankfurt axis or the Kassel axis. If you want to read more about the Frankfurt campaigns, check out this DevBlog here, detailing the Fulda Gap and the massive Highway 66 campaigns.

The incoming milestone BERNADOTTE will add new functionality to the Army General campaign mode, allowing you to play with or against other players in either Versus or Coop mode. This means that Bruderkrieg will be - once more - our testing grounds for a little while, while the other four campaigns will be playable both in single-player and online at launch!

Each Army General campaign will feature strategic options, from bringing extra reinforcements or choosing between two different units.

[h2]Airborne Assault[/h2]
The first shots of the war happen on the Kassel axis, specifically the Kassel-Calden airport, which is seized in a daring but risky covert operation by Soviet and East German special forces before daybreak. With more and more Soviet VDV air assault troops being ferried in, an airhead is established in the rear of NATO’s West German 2. Panzergrenadier-Division in the northern sectors of CENTAG.

[previewyoutube]{color:#d04437}insérer vidéo{color} https://youtu.be/4LO1tgdSfX0?si=JHcWCvJoO6x0wUjH[/previewyoutube]

With CENTAG’s attention focused on the Fulda Gap, the communist threat on this part of the front was considered secondary by NATO command. Call it faulty intelligence, Soviet misdirection, or complacency. At dawn, massive artillery bombardments and continuous aerial strikes descend on Bundeswehr forces in the Kassel sector. Arrayed in front of the NATO defenses is the Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army, a powerful force keen to join up with friendly paratroopers. For the hard-pressed Bundeswehr defenders, the communists seem to attack from all sides. A Warsaw Pact breakthrough threatens to rip a dangerous gap between NATO commands, bisecting the lines of communications between the north and the south of West Germany.



The Airborne Assault campaign calls on historical air assault landings made by the Soviets and, more recently, Russian forces on airports behind enemy lines. Kassel-Calden’s mission also reflects the use of elite special forces and saboteur squads, with inspiration drawn from the Soviet Operation Storm-333 in 1979.

[h2]Airborne Assault Insights[/h2]
In this campaign, unlike Bruderkrieg or Fulda Ga, NATO starts with an entire division - the Bundeswehr’s 2. Panzergrenadier-Division - already deployed. Some additional smaller formations are on the map as well. However, the West German brigades are spread out, while some require a few turns before they are ready to move.



The Warsaw Pact forces are all Soviets except for a single Nationale Volksarmee battalion. Their attack on Kassel and Göttingen is full-on. A key aspect of this campaign is the communist coup de main behind NATO lines, smack in the middle of the 2. Panzergrenadier-Division’s deployment area. The West German mechanized infantry is torn between performing two missions at the onset of the Pact’s invasion: safeguarding CENTAG’s flank at Fritzlar in the south or maintaining the vital link with NORTHAG in the east.

Not only that, they need to muster forces as soon as possible and crush those pesky paratroopers, sowing chaos in the rear. Aside from a single advanced Belgian recon battalion, the only help CENTAG can spare is air support from USAF and Luftwaffe air squadrons.



Having to focus on two different combat missions while the full weight of the invading Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army bears down on you… NATO is clearly stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Market Garden Revisited
For the Warsaw Pact, the situation on the ground echoes a Market Garden-style operation. A pocket of paratroopers is isolated behind NATO lines and needs to be relieved by friendly armored forces trying to break through the enemy frontline as soon as possible. As long as the communists hold on to Kassel-Calden airport and thus maintain the air bridge, fresh battalions of the 35th Guards Air Assault Brigade will be fed into it. This increases your chance of holding on to the pocket and maybe even increase its size. However, the paratroopers are lightly equipped and armed, and will have a difficult time standing against a concerted attack.



On the ground, the 20th Guards Motor Rifles Division is supported by an armored regiment from the 9th Tank Division, as well as independent helicopter and Spetsnaz forces. This is a powerful formation, but it has to break through the West German defenses, clear the Kassel urban sector, and then split between two distant objectives: either Diemelstadt in the east or Fritzlar in the south. Not an easy task!



[h2]Left Hook[/h2]
The initial Soviet offensive on Kassel didn’t create the breakthrough envisioned by high command, but did result in a large salient in NATO lines. The fighting has been hard for both sides and after a momentary pause, more and more units are being deployed. The front is far from stable. A new phase in the war begins around Kassel after four days of intense fighting. Success for the Warsaw Pact can only come from seizing their objectives, while NATO needs to defend tooth and nail both West German territory and their allies on the battlefield.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

A regrouped and reinforced Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army will push again and try to break out of the Kassel bulge. The objective is Dortmund. However, unlike the chaotic first hours of the war, NATO has rallied. Under British command, the Belgian I (BE) Corps is being deployed with additional British units. The Bundeswehr is also reforming. As such, both sides are planning their own counter-attacks.



Both sides see the stakes raised in Left Hook. NATO did not collapse as easily as predicted by the Soviet high command, while the Soviet Army was far from being a spent force with a vast number of soldiers and equipment still available to resume the attack.



[h2]Left Hook Insights[/h2]
This larger campaign takes place a few days after Airborne Assault. Kassel has fallen, the heavily mauled 2. Panzergrenadier-Division pushed back towards NORTHAG. This isolates the West German formation from its parent Bundeswehr’s III Korps in CENTAG. However, the Soviets have failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough.



The timely intervention of a British brigade plugging the line and holding along the Diemel River (the battle depicted in theWARNO’s Operation Hold Until Relieved, linking the two Army General campaigns), has given NATO critical time to regroup and reorganize.



While most of the forces from Airborne Assault have suffered losses, the Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army and NORTHAG are fielding reinforcements. For NATO, it means the whole Belgian I (BE) Corps plus the British 3rd Armoured Division and other smaller formations. The Pact fields the additional 9th and 11th Guards Tank Division. Both sides plan to launch a new offensive to regain the initiative before their opponent can launch their own operations.



The Belgians were initially only meant to be featured as a teaser for the future NORTHAG expansion, but they ended up being added in strength to represent almost half of the campaign’s NATO forces. Other units will be featured more as cameos, including a strategic choice that lets you deploy heavy Buccaneer bombers.



[h2]Until next week[/h2]
That’s it for this deep dive into Army General. Let us know what you think! We’ll be back soon!

Join the passionate 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, commander!

Hello commanders!

In today’s DevBlog, we’ll look ahead at what’s coming to WARNO soon. This will include the next major milestone, BERNADOTTE. And… it will be the final milestone before the official launch of WARNO out of Early Access!

Milestone BERNADOTTE will feature:

• Army General will gain Versus and Coop mode (see below).
  
• Previously detailed latest batches of divisional ”Housecleaning”. Read more about them here, specifically Part V and The Big Split.
  
• The new Command&Control setting (more on that below)

This last milestone will not feature the remaining Army General campaigns. These will come with WARNO’s launch out of Early Access.

[h2]Army General’s Coop and Versus Modes[/h2]
As it says on the tin, the Army General’s upcoming Coop and Versus update will allow you to play any Army General campaign with or against other human players. It will retroactively apply to Bruderkrieg, already featured in WARNO, but will be - of course - a standard setting with the launch of the remaining Army General campaigns.



There will be some restrictions to both the Versus and Coop mode.

• Four human players max.
  
• Three human players top on the same side.

In Coop, all players will be able to perform all the game’s actions. So, be sure to be on the same page and have a plan - hence “cooperation,” commanders.

Once a battle is met in Army General, but before a tactical game is launched, players can distribute the battalions among them. Then, if needed, you’ll be able to switch companies from one to another to make things more balanced. Note that battles featuring fewer companies than human players on one side will be autoresolved.



[h2]Command & Control[/h2]
What’s the new Command & Control (C2) setting? In short, the more units you call in as reinforcements, the less income you get. It is an “upkeep” system adapted to WARNO, bringing several key elements:

First, it offers the advantage of letting commanders focus more on the tactical aspect of the game. It limits the number of units a commander can control on the battlefield at any time. This is especially useful for players wanting to deal with fewer units simultaneously.



Another element is that it releases players from constantly bringing reinforcements to use up their Command points. As we know, in a regular game, you are forced to spend your points as fast as possible; otherwise, you’ll field fewer units than an opponent, which puts you at a disadvantage.

Lastly, the new setting prevents an over-dominant player from increasing their lead during a battle in an insurmountable way, giving a real chance for the underdog to make a comeback.

[h2]A Setting Not a New Game Rule[/h2] Command & Control is a setting, not a new game rule. It can be applied on top of the classic Conquest and Destruction Combat Rules, only affecting the players’ income, not the victory conditions.

Your income is reduced by an amount of Command Points equivalent to a percentage of the cost of each unit deployed on the battlefield. Hence, the more units called in, the less income. Currently, we have three settings: 0% (no upkeep, the current setting), 5%, and 7%.



There are a few caveats:

• LOG units are not counted in this upkeep. This means that maintaining your logistic lines will be crucial in the battle. As the famous quote goes, “Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.”
  
• AIR upkeep is half that of ground units, regardless of the setting you choose.
  
• You can’t accumulate more than 5.000 Command Points.

The new Command & Control setting will be included in the next milestone BERNADOTTE, both available in Skirmish and multiplayer game creation lobbies (but not in Ranked). We will also convert 10vs10 lobbies to feature this new setting.

[h2]British Textures[/h2]
Last but not least, some British Army textures! In the wake of the CHIEFTAIN MK.9 remodeling, which we talked about previously, we made a pass on several British vehicles, giving them brand-new textures and markings!



[h2]Until next week[/h2]
All right, that’s all for this DevBlog. As always, until next week.

Join the passionate 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, commander!

Hello commanders,

Welcome to a new DevBlog, your favorite thing besides wreaking havoc on the WARNO battlefields!

Starting today, we’ll be taking a good look at the upcoming Army General campaigns, which will be featured in the WARNO’s launch out of Early Access.

We have divided the four campaigns into two pairs, following the two different axes of attack of our fictional World War III in West Germany.

In today’s post, we detail the “Frankfurt Axis,” which contains both the Fulda Gap and Highway 66 campaigns (and Bruderkrieg, but this one is already out in the wild).

Let’s go!

[h2]The Frankfurt Axis[/h2]
As you know, WARNO will feature five Army General campaigns at launch, all set in central West Germany during the first couple of days of the Warsaw Pact invasion. These can be divided into either the Frankfurt axis or the Kassel axis. One of the campaigns, Bruderkrieg, has already launched, part of the Frankfurt axis.



Chronologically, Kassel will go first with the Airborne Assault campaign before we transfer the action to Frankfurt with Fulda Gap and Bruderkrieg. We return to Kassel before finishing after a week of hard fighting with the colossal Highway 66. Be warned that some of these Army General campaigns are massive in scale and will take many hours to complete. Of course, you can play these campaigns in whatever order you prefer and across both sides, whether in single-player or online (versus or cooperatively).

Note that each Army General campaign will feature its own set of strategic options, chiefly about which unit or formation to deploy. We highlight a few examples in each section.

[h2]Fulda Gap[/h2]
Ah, the famous Fulda Gap. What Cold War source about a potential World War III conflict has not written about this location? Due to the constricted terrain in this part of West Germany, the actual axis of advance would be narrow, with the offensive corridor running through the Kinzig Valley.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The Fulda Gap Army General campaign centers on the initial Warsaw Pact assault on Fulda, including their efforts to break out of the valley. The Soviet's overarching objective on this part of the front is Frankfurt-am-Main, a key logistical hub and military target, housing the American V Corps HQ. The immediate aim of the campaign is to breach NATO defenses around Fulda, enter the Kinzig Valley, and break out towards Frankfurt.

In Fulda Gap, you will see the full might of the Soviet 8th Guards Army arrayed against a light screen of American and West German forces. You might have guessed, and you guessed right, that the biggest among these troops is the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment manning posts such as the infamous O.P. Alpha.



With devastating air attacks, continuous artillery bombardments, and wave after wave of Soviet motorized riflemen, the NATO defenses must be pried open. Warsaw Pact tank divisions wait to exploit the success and use their mobility and firepower to tear through NATO’s rear areas.

In Fulda Gap, both sides race against time, as the longer NATO can resist, the more reinforcements can be brought to shore up its defenses. On the other hand, the Warsaw Pact’s war plans underline the critical importance of speed and initiative in their attempt to break out of the Kinzig Valley; getting bogged down on the frontier would be considered a disastrous failure.

[h2]Fulda Gap Insights[/h2]
In the campaign, NATO’s battalions are clearly outnumbered. Yet, remember that the 11th ACR squadrons are each worth a small brigade and can beat back several enemy attacks - even by numerically superior forces. The American cavalrymen Achilles' heel is Fatigue, however. They might win a few fights, but they’ll end up spent and unable to continue to do battle.

You must preserve them as much as possible. Fight only the “good fight,” even if you can win more. By chance, a few of the forward NATO battalions, whether West German or American, are close enough to support the ACR’s squadrons or replace them on the line if needed. Besides, additional reinforcements are rushing to the front. In some instances, you’ll be able to select which fresh units you want to deploy, including Green Berets from the 1-10th Special Forces Group.



Although the 11th ACR will have to prevent the enemy from reaching Frankfurt, you can trade some space for time. If you must, fall back. It would be suicide to try to hold back the Soviet Army on the Fulda-Bad Hersfeld line.

The Soviets
For the Warsaw Pact, the numbers are in your favor, but a tight schedule hamstrings you. Your superiors are breathing down your neck for not falling behind the operation’s strict timetable. You can choose your combat units from the start, forming your strategy to overcome NATO defenses in the Fulda Gap. For instance, select the 21st Independent Flame Battalion (with its Buratino and TO-55) to immolate NATO resistance at close range, or opt for the powerful 303rd Guards Artillery Brigade (2S5 Giantsint-S) instead. If you can’t break NATO’s resolve, further reinforcements will come at a cost.



Time is of the essence. Losses are irrelevant. Don’t let NATO delay you too long, especially the 11th ACR. Crush the Americans quickly, even if it will cost you dearly. If you don’t achieve a breakthrough, reinforcing NATO units will undoubtedly hamper or even halt your advance through the Kinzig Valley.

[h2]Highway 66[/h2]
Let’s skip ahead a couple of days of very tough fighting. When we return to the Frankfurt-Fulda axis a week later, World War III is well underway. Highway 66 is a massive showdown on the CENTAG front. Both sides will have access to a large number of units and formations spread out across a map that stretches from Bad Hersfeld in the north, Fulda in the middle, and Würzburg in the south.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The Soviet offensive through the Fulda Gap has penetrated far through the Kinzig Valley, along Autobahn 66. However, the communist forces failed to seize Frankfurt, being held at the gates by a solidifying defense of American and West German forces. A deadly stalemate has descended on the front.

One more push by the Soviet 8th Guards Army will be made to seize Frankfurt, throwing the last Warsaw Pact reserves into combat. However, NATO is stronger than ever, with elements from U.S. V Corps and VII Corps backed by part of the Bundewehr’s III. Korps getting ready to take the fight to the enemy. Powerful NATO forces are concentrated on the flanks, choosing to attack north or south of Frankfurt.



This means that Highway 66 is, by far, the largest Army General campaign in WARNO. Furthermore, it is the culmination of all the CENTAG campaigns that came before, with commanders able to play out their own strategy to achieve victory. NATO has a chance of success attacking over the flanks, while the Warsaw Pact can strike - in one massive push - through Hanau and seize Frankfurt in a frontal attack.

[h2]Highway 66 Insights[/h2]
This is the big one. Highway 66 lets you play with most of NATO’s US V and VII Corps and West-German III Korps, plus other elements, versus the whole of the Soviet 8th Guards Army and East German III Armee.



Many of the battalions have already been engaged in the opening phase of the campaign (featured in Fulda Gap and various WARNO Operations) and are now a shadow of their former selves. Battalions from the Soviet vanguard divisions and most of the U.S. V Corps start the campaign with losses, depleted units, and some Fatigue.

Aside from the size of Highway 66, the first turn of the campaign allows you to plan the axis of your main thrust. This increases replayability, especially online versus players of flesh and blood.



Where does the main blow land?
NATO receives the U.S. 1st Armored Division from the VII Corps. You can choose where to deploy it when the formation becomes available. An option is Miltenberg, behind the main battle line, which can be used as a reserve to reinforce or even counter-attack the center. However, there it might encounter some of the Soviet Army’s strongest units. Or select Würzburg, at the extreme right of your front. While a more isolated location, it is still a good place to strike the Soviet 8th Guards Army line of communications, defended by weaker units ... but that will leave your battle-weary center to fend for itself.

For the Warsaw Pact, you have the choice to deploy the Nationale Volksarmee’s 7. Panzerdivision, the last fresh armored reserve. It can be posted on the right flank, the shortest way to combat, where the West and East Germans are still fighting for control over Alsfeld (see Bruderkrieg). Or deploy them more centrally, near Fulda, where they will have to travel but have more flexibility in which part of the front they can reinforce.



Unlike Fulda Gap, which has an attacking and defending side, Highway 66 will be a head-on clash, with the choice of where to attack left to the player. The Soviet 8th Guards Army’s momentum is almost spent, but it can still throw its remaining reserves into a last assault on seizing its objective. Meanwhile, NATO’s first units in action have taken horrible casualties and are close to breaking point; however, more fresh troops are poised to reach the front. This is the tipping point of the Fulda campaign, but which side will be victorious?

[h2]A Chieftain rework[/h2]
Apart from all these glorious tidbits on WARNO’s Army General, some other news as well. We have been reworking the CHIEFTAIN Mk.9 model. Currently, it is a reskinned Mk.10 model, despite the turret having a different shape from the earlier version due to a lack of Stillbrew armor. Not happy with this oversight, we have redone the Mk.9 model, complete with new texture and markings, to be shipped in WARNO’s next update.



[h2]Until next week[/h2]
That’s all for this DevBlog. We will be back soon!

Join the passionate 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, commander!

Welcome to the Big Split, commanders!

What are you talking about, you might think? Well, we have been detailing WARNO’s divisional “house cleaning” in the last couple of DevBlogs. In today’s post, we tackle a major one: the Warsaw Pact’s Berliner Gruppierung division.

The proposed changes to this Berlin-focused urban combat formation grew to be so encompassing we decided to divide the battlegroup into two!

Yes, this means a brand-new division will be made available for free to all current Early Access owners of WARNO.

Hence, this House Cleaning Part 6, to be known as the Big Split, covers the changes to Berliner Gruppierung and the new Soviet Soviet 6-ya OG Motostrelki Brigada, or 6th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade.

Let’s go, commanders!

[h2]A special kind of “Housecleaning”[/h2]
In our Berlin war scenario, the Berliner Gruppierung was tasked with taking that pesky Western imperialistic and hedonistic enclave, West Berlin, through furious house-to-house combat. As such, it would regroup one Nationale Volksarmee division (1. Motorisierte Schützendivision), one Soviet brigade (the 6th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade), one artillery brigade, four to eight K.d.A battalions, two Volkspolizei, two assault engineer battalions, one airmobile battalion, nine Grenzer regiments, ... That’s well above two divisions in total strength!



A little bit too much, creating a “bloated” battlegroup worth two WARNO divisions. High time for some trimming and streamlining. Furthermore, we saw a “real” reason by looking again at the Warsaw Pact’s offensive plan, Operation Zentrum, for taking West Berlin. It called for a two-pronged assault: one from the outer ring, so East German territory, attacking inwards; and one from within East Berlin advancing through the city.

The other main reason for splitting Berliner Gruppierung into two was that the Warsaw Pact has fewer divisions compared to NATO in WARNO’s roster. Adding a new division would level the playing field a bit, giving players more choice.

[h2]Berliner Gruppierung and 6-ya OG Motostrelki Brigada[/h2]
Creating two new divisions from the original Berliner Gruppierung means some major changes and updates.

The Berliner Gruppierung will stay, but focus more on the 1. Motorisierte Schützendivision at its core, performing the “outer ring” attack. The new Soviet 6-ya OG Motostrelki Brigada will detail the “within Berlin” offensive, attacking out of East Berlin. Both divisions will see a significant transformation, removing and updating units in each T&OE.



So what’s in store?

[h2]Berliner Gruppierung[/h2]
The main change to the Berliner Gruppierung will be the removal of all Soviet units and transferring them to the Soviet 6-ya OG Motostrelki Brigada. However, some additional East German units will also find their way to the new Soviet division, see for all the details below, according to Unternehmen Zentrum's town-pronged plan.

• All VOPOS and Fs.-JÄGER will be removed from Berliner Gruppierung.
  
• One of the 1. Motorisierte Schützendivision regiments will be made available to the Soviet 6-ya OG Motostrelki Brigada. This is the sole BMP-equipped regiment. This means Berliner Gruppierung retains only the BTR-70-mounted MOT.-SCHÜTZEN (which will be expanded with new units, see below).
  
• The 1. Motorisierte Schützendivision, expected to fight against an enemy within the tight confines of Berlin, never upgraded its KPZ. T-55A to KPZ. T-55AM2 standards (surely because there would hardly be any tank-versus-tank engagements envisioned). This means the latter tanks have been removed from the division.
  
• Unlike other NVA motorized rifle divisions, this one had no MT-LB STRELA-10 (again, because the air threat wasn’t that critical around Berlin, far in the rear). Instead, it had almost three times the allocation of STRELA-2M. This will be represented in-game (see below).

Having seen what gets removed, let’s turn the page now to see what will be added.

• The 1. Motorisierte Schützendivision’s core troops will be BTR-70-transported infantry with some extra training and equipment for urban warfare. To represent this, we added some new squads:
  
  • MOT.-SCHÜTZEN (SVD) replacing their RPG with a Dragunov marksman rifle.
    
  • MOT.-SCHÜTZEN (Strela) replacing the RPG, but this one with a Strela-2M MANPAD.
    
  • MOT.-SCHÜTZEN (Metis) with the short-range ATGM.
    
  • And of course, the regular MOT.-SCHÜTZEN (BTR).
• With the several battalions in support, the division gains access (and extra cards) of K.D.A. and K.D.A. AUFK. squads, plus SPG-9 recoilless rifle teams.
  
• The WACHREGIMENT will also be expanded into several more squad variants.
  
• More artillery will find its way to the Berliner Gruppierung. These include SFL-H 2S1 122mm plus D-20 152mm howitzers and the (new) World War 2-era M-30 122mm.
  
• And while the KPZ. T-55AM2 gets removed, they are replaced with extra cards of the KPZ. T-55A.
  
• Air support will feature several new MiG-21bis loadouts, as well as the brand-new L-39ZO trainers, used in a light bomber role - the Warsaw Pact counterpart to NATO’s Alpha Jet.
  
• The slot distribution of each Berliner Gruppierung category has been reworked, with a greater emphasis placed on LOG, INF, and ART.

[h2]Soviet 6-ya OG Motostrelki Brigada[/h2]
Now onwards to our new Soviet Soviet 6-ya OG Motostrelki Brigada, with as its core, the East Berlin-based 6th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade. Created after the Berlin Crisis of 1962, this formation was directly subordinate to the Soviet Group of Forces Germany, and took care of security duties within East Berlin. Next to featuring a sizable contingent of military police and ceremonial troops, it was nonetheless well-equipped and trained for any potential urban warfare conflict within the city.



As mentioned previously, the Soviet 6-ya OG Motostrelki Brigada will get from the original Berliner Gruppierung the following:

• Most of the Soviet troops and units (see below for more details).
  
• All VOPOS and their (vintage) artillery ZIS-2 and ZIS-3 pieces.
  
• East German MOT.-SCHÜTZEN with their BMP-1s, as well as a few KPZ. T-55A (in a Soviet division, nonetheless!).

However, not all units removed from Berliner Gruppierung will find their way to the new Soviet division. Some units we opted to cut entirely, for balancing and historical reasons.

• BURATINO. There were only a handful available in real life. They were more fitting to be featured in the Soviet “armored fist” division 119-ya Odtelniy Tankoviy Polk, where they can be found now.
  
• Su-17M4 and MiG-23ML.
  
• Fs.-JÄGER and variants (see below for what happened to the East German air assault troops).
  
• MOTOSTRELKI and BTR-80. The Soviet brigade was entirely equipped with BMPs only.

So, what’s new?

• As you saw in the previous list, we decided not to port the NVA’s Fs.-JÄGER squads but instead, create new units fitting their Operation Zentrum’s role better. The East German paratroopers were meant to seize the American and French sector’s airports by an airmobile coup de main, using assault helicopters. Therefore, we created the (new) LUFTSTURM-JÄGER, without the Forward Deployment trait, but transportable in an assault-equipped Mi-8 helicopter.
  
• To escort the East German paratroopers, we added (new) armed Mi-2URN and Mi-2URP ADDER helicopters ; as well as a Soviet Mi-8MT ESKORTNIY gunship.
  
• Much like the NATO’s PSSE-B’s false flag unit in West Berlin, we added new elite KGB SPETSGRUPPA “A” (aka Alfa Group) recon saboteur squads, making use of our full range of late 80’s civilian models.
  
• Artillery support includes the (new) self-propelled 2S5 GIATSINT-S 152mm artillery.
  
• Not new, but returning in full glory: the T-64 family with the Soviet division’s access to the T-64B, T-64BK and T-64BV variants.
  
• And taking its cue from the Berliner Gruppierung, we also added the new Soviet L-39ZO trainers and new MiG-21bis variants.

Furthermore, the Soviet 6-ya OG Motostrelki Brigada’s air support will be mostly provided by the East German air force, the Luftstreitkräfte, fielding older MiG-21bis strike aircraft, as well as the L-39ZO trainers.



However, there is one more change. We will transfer the 79th Guards Tank Division’s long-range MiG-31M interceptor to the new Soviet 6-ya OG Motostrelki Brigada. This particular plane was operated by the Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) and patrolled Soviet airspace against NATO nuclear bombers and intruders. As a long-range, high-flying, fast-moving interceptor, it was not meant to be used near or over the front line.

It makes more sense that the MiG-31B were to be found further back, closer to Berlin, busy guarding the air space in East Germany in general. It would have pushed forward to fill the gap left by the Soviet 16th Air Army’s frontline aviation or used to counter the MIRAGE IV and F-117A from NATO’s Berlin Command.



To compensate for this change, the 79th Guards Tank Division’s will gain the new MIG-29 [AA3] with a new anti-air loadout.

[h2]Addendum to the UK 2nd Infantry Division[/h2]
With the new and updated East German and Soviet divisions out of the way, let’s return to a NATO formation already featured in last week’s divisional house cleaning: the British Army’s 2nd Infantry Division. There is an addendum coming.

We were still working on (and testing) the introduction of the (new) Lynx AH.7 HELARM with FITOW (Further Improved TOW) missiles. This unit was developed by the United Kingdom in 1988 and saw limited production in 1990 as one of the first OTA (Overflight Top Attack) missiles. The United Kingdom created this new weaponry to compensate for the lack of TOW-2 missiles in its helicopter fleet.

This type of attack profile means that instead of aiming at a target’s center mass, the missile will gain some altitude at the last moment before flying over it and exploding above the target. The missile’s warhead will riddle the weaker top armor with cluster shrapnel.



In WARNO, this missile will be deadly to light armor or first- and second-generation tanks, but much less against the latest main battle tanks (featuring, for instance, Top Armor 3 or more in-game). It also doesn’t benefit from positioning on the flanks or the rear of the target.

The new LYNX AH.7 FITOW will be an anti-tank helicopter alongside the existing LYNX HELARM.

This new addition reinforces the UK’s 2nd Infantry Division airmobile component. The new OTA trait was created specifically for this, as well as a dedication top explosion SFX.

[h2]New Infantry Cards[/h2]
Something else we’ve been working on is making a pass on all infantry card portraits. We wanted to add diversity and make them more photorealistic at the same time. Check out the first examples!



We will improve the infantry portraits, nation by nation, one at a time.

[h2]Divisional House Cleaning Explained[/h2]
Why “divisional house cleaning”? We want to ensure that each division is up to scratch on the battlefield. We also wanted to better differentiate the battlegroups on each side, from armor composition to adding (new) or removing units.

Our intention is for each of the WARNO divisions to have a unique “personality” with better-defined advantages and drawbacks.

All the divisions previously talked about (see the list below) are already updated n WARNO.

• ”House Cleaning” Part 1, featuring the Soviet 35th Guards Air Assault
  Brigade, NATO’s U.S. 8th Infantry Division and Territorialkommando Süd can be encountered here.
  
• Part 2, dealing with NATO’s U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, the U.S. 3rd Armored Division, and Warsaw Pact’s Kampfgruppe der Arbeiterklasse Bezirk Erfurt can be checked in this DevBlog.
  
• ”House cleaning” Part 3, featuring the Soviet 39th Guards Motor Rifle Division and 79th Guards Tank Division and East German 4. Motorisierte Schützendivision, are detailed in this post here).
  
• Milestone GROUCHY also included the updated West German 5. Panzerdivision, 2. Panzergrenadierdivision, Territorialkommando Süd, and to the British 1st Armoured Division, which you can read about here.
  
• House Cleaning Part V takes care of the U.S. 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), French 11e Division Parachutiste, and UK 2nd Infantry Division. Read all about in this DevBlog here.

[h2]Until next week[/h2]
That’s all for this DevBlog. Until the next one!

Join the passionate 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, commander!

Hello commanders,

We hope you are well! With the recent release of GROUCHY behind us, it’s high time we dive into our divisional housecleaning again.

Before we continue, we want to express our thanks for the great (and constructive) feedback the community has been giving to the Eugen team. We are set on continuing to improve both Army General and WARNO as a whole, from bug fixes to crashes to updating weapons, stats, and balance. Keep the comments and support coming!

And now, let’s check out what’s in store for some of the NATO divisions. And, keep reading to find out more about the upcoming online tournament organized by the excellent War-Yes community website.

Let’s go!

[h2]Housecleaning Part V Explained[/h2]
Why “divisional housecleaning”? We want to ensure that each division is up to scratch on the battlefield. We also wanted to better differentiate the divisions on each side, from armor composition to adding (new) or removing units.



Our intention is for each of the WARNO divisions to have a unique “personality” with better-defined advantages and drawbacks.

All the divisions previously talked about (see the list below) are already updated n WARNO.

• ”House cleaning” Part 1, featuring the Soviet 35th Guards Air Assault
  Brigade, NATO’s U.S. 8th Infantry Division and Territorialkommando Süd can be encountered here.
  
• Part 2, dealing with NATO’s U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, the U.S. 3rd Armored Division, and Warsaw Pact’s Kampfgruppe der Arbeiterklasse Bezirk Erfurt can be checked in this DevBlog.
  
• ”House cleaning” Part 3, featuring the Soviet 39th Guards Motor Rifle Division and 79th Guards Tank Division and East German 4. Motorisierte Schützendivision, are detailed in this post here).
  
• Milestone GROUCHY also included the updated West German 5. Panzerdivision, 2. Panzergrenadierdivision, Territorialkommando Süd, and to the British 1st Armoured Division, which you can read about here.

[h2]Housecleaning Part V detailed[/h2]
We’ll be passing the magic wand over the U.S. 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), French 11e Division Parachutiste, and UK 2nd Infantry Division today.

24th Infantry Division (Mechanized)
This American division was a bit too good for our tastes, with a quite generous slot distribution compared to other battlegroups. We didn’t overhaul the 24th too much, just a few tweaks to curb its power.



This means:

• Removed one 1-point TANK slot.
  
• Changed one 1-point RECON slot into a 2-point slot.
  
• Removed KIOWA WR.
• Replaced (a very cramped!) M151 MUTT with a M35 truck as a transport option for FIRE TEAMS.

11e Division Parachutiste
Once pretty powerful, this division lost some of its splendor in subsequent rounds of updates and changes. The French paratrooper division was also a battlegroup with one of the most limited slots distribution, missing some compared to other formations. In this round of divisional housecleaning, we gave it the “airborne treatment” (removing the FOB, see below) plus update some categories.

• Removed the FOB.
  
• Changed one 2-point INF slot into a 1-point one.
  
• Changed one 2-point HELO slot into a 3-point slot.
  
• Added one 2-point RECON slot.
  
• Added one 2-point AA slot.
  
• Removed one card of ERC-90 SAGAIE.
  
• Added one card of (new) ERC-90 SAGAIE PC (command variant).
  
• Added one card of (new) ERC-90 SAGAIE RECO (recon variant).
  
• Added the PUMA HET flying jammer (already delivered with GROUCHY).

Another change that will affect not only the 11e Division Parachutiste but all other airborne divisions (so U.S. 82nd Airborne Division and Soviet 35th Guards Air Assault Brigade):

• Added one card of non-Forward Deployed AA MANPAD teams with helicopter transport.

2nd Infantry Division
The United Kingdom’s 2nd Infantry Division is the one formation in WARNO that, arguably, will receive the biggest facelift. With Airmobile, Territorials, West-German Jäger, Heimatschutzen, ... this division was (like US 8th ID once) a jack-of-all-trade without a real personality. Especially not considering its function as BAOR’s light and airmobile screening force.

In real life, the formation didn’t have a single tank (not even Scorpion or Scimitar light tanks, their role being taken by Fox armored cars). The ones currently featured in-game are all from local attachments. We will only keep the British 3rd Armoured Division one with its CHALLENGERS, and we will remove the Heimatschutzbrigade 53 and their older M48A2Gs.



We focused the 2nd Infantry Division more on its “Britishness” and airmobile aspects. its 24 Airmobile Brigade was divided into two “heliborne” airmobile battalions and one “motorized” airmobile battalion equipped with Saxons, which we are now representing with separate AIRMOBILE and MOT. AIRMOBILE squads, each with its specific transport, weapon loadouts, and unit organization.

The changes:

• Removed all West German units, making the division “fully British.”
  
• Removed one 3-point TANK slot.
  
• Removed one 1-point AA slot.
  
• Changed one 3-point RECO slot into a 2-point one.
  
• Changed one 3-point AIR slot into a 2-point one.
  
• Added (new) ROVER 101FC supply truck.
  
• Added (new) ROVER 101FC prime mover for the L118 howitzer.
  
• Added CHINOOK HC.1 as a transport option for the L118 howitzer.
  
• Restricted AIRMOBILE and AIRMOBILE LDR. to LYNX transports (but not AIRMOBILE GUN GROUP, being identical in heliborne and motorized battalions).
  
• Added (new) LYNX AH.1 MK.1 [RKT] with rocket pods as transport options for AIRMOBILE, AIRMOBILE GUN GROUP and AIRMOBILE LEADER.
  
• Added two cards of (new) MOT. AIRMOBILE with SAXON transports.
  
• Added one card of (new) MOT. AIRMOBILE LDR. with SAXONs.
  
• Replaced PIONEERS with (new) AIRMOBILE PIONEERS (which already have been featured in the latest GROUCHY milestone).
  
• Restricted AIRMOBILE PIONEERS to LYNX transports, but with the addition of the CHINOOK HC.1 as an extra option.
  
• Added one card of ROVER MILAN 2.
  
• Added two cards of (1x) M270 MLRS with cluster ammo. These were among the first ones delivered to the BAOR in Germany in 1989.

Electronic Warfare planes
The EF-111A RAVEN returns! This will happen in the next patch. Once improperly used as a SEAD plane with anti-radiation missiles, we removed it and reworked the plane. The updated EF-111A RAVEN will be found with the 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized). Now completely unarmed, it will fly over the battlefield with:

• An impressive 60% ECM.
  
• SEAD planes’ optics, meaning it will spot enemy radar SAM from afar.
  
• The new EW trait. This trait projects an area of effect, inflicting a 20% accuracy penalty to all radar SAM. See it as the RAVEN projecting some of its ECM, and disrupting enemy signals.
  

The Soviet counterpart, Su-24MP [EW], will soon be added to the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division.

[h2]WarYes Tournament[/h2]
One of our favorite community-powered websites - WarYes is organizing a WARNO tournament. The DEFCON 2 tournament, hosted by War-Yes, features top players from the WARNO community battling it out, as well as games cast by some of WARNO’s most well-known content creators, and a prize pool that has already reached a whopping $1000!

Check out all the juicy deets on this dedicated DEFCON 2 2v2 Tournament Page here.

[previewyoutube]{color:#d04437}(insérer vidéo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVOA31ohntc){color}[/previewyoutube]

And, the pièce de résistance: some Eugen devs will join the online team 2v2 battles. So, don’t hesitate, create a team, get battling, and sign up for DEFCON 2!

[h2]Milestone GROUCHY features[/h2]
The major milestone GROUCHY has brought the new Army General mode to WARNO, with the first (small) campaign, BRUDERKRIEG playable now in single-player. Cooperative and Versus will come in the future.

GROUCHY delivered the following new:

• Army General’s four tutorials.
  
• The first small Army General campaign, BRUDERKRIEG. This is an “extra” campaign on top of the four Army General coming to WARNO.
  
• A brand-new urban map, HESSE.
  
• Tank Rework and divisional “house cleaning” Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
  
• New vehicles and unit Traits: Electronic Warfare helicopters with the Jammer trait.
  
• New configurable map ambiance.Players can choose which lightning setting they prefer for the map in the game creation lobby.
  
• Major SFX pass, including:
  
  • Tracer rounds for machine gun, flak, autocannon, etc. will have their correct NATO/Warsaw Pact specific colors.
    
  • More compression effects on explosions (read: shockwaves).
    
  • Reworked and optimized MLRS smoke trails.
    
  • Reworked and optimized airplanes and helicopter flares.

[h2]Until next week[/h2]
That’s all for this DevBlog. Until the next one!

Join the passionate 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, commander!