WARNO News

Hello commander!

We hope you are ready for some single-player WARNO fun! Today marks the day of the new milestone BERTHIER, bringing you a new duo of Operations!

In today’s update, we present you two new, fully voiced, and scripted single-player Operations we already highlighted before: Backhand Blow and The Kitzingen Ruse.

Before continuing, a bit about the milestone’s historical namesake: Louis-Alexandre Berthier.

[h2]Introducing BERTHIER[/h2]
We always name our milestones after important French military commanders (chiefly high-ranking generals and marshals from the Napoleonic Wars). This one is no exception: Louis-Alexandre Berthier was born in 1753 in a military family. Although not noble, his father was a lieutenant colonel in the artillery, a branch where commoners could make a career in the royal army.

Trained as an engineer officer, he joined the army at 17 and took part in the American War of Independence with Rochambeau’s staff. Already a colonel by 1789, he held staff positions during the early Revolutionary Wars until appointed in 1796 as chief of staff of the Armée d’Italie, commanded by a young general Bonaparte. The two got along so well that from that day, Berthier would not leave Napoléon’s side.



[h2]An adept organizer but weak commander[/h2]
His power of work, quick comprehension of Napoléon’s intentions, and organizational skills made him the Emperor’s most valued assistant and a key cog in the Grande Armée. While Napoléon outlined his plan on a map in a few (very Corsican-accented!) sentences, Berthier would take brief notes, which he would immediately transform into dozens of marching orders, instructions, logistic movements, …

But Berthier was a pure “desk officer,” having barely ever commanded men on the field, only staff officers. When left to his own devices in Bavaria in 1809, he didn’t show any initiative, only implementing Napoléon’s outdated instructions. By chance, the able Marshal Davout was present, who decided not to obey Berthier’s obsolete orders and take matters into his own hands.

[h2]Downfall in Russia[/h2]
In 1812, during the retreat from Russia, Napoléon left the disintegrating Grande Armée to return to Paris and raise a new one. Before leaving, he appointed Berthier as the commander-in-chief. It was a terrible choice, for Berthier fell to his knees, begging and crying for Napoléon not to leave him behind … in front of the other marshals, who lost any respect they may still have had for the “pen marshal.” Napoléon stuck to his decision, but soon after he was gone, Berthier declared himself sick and left the army too, as did Murat, the next in line! Only Napoléon’s adopted son, Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, and Marshal Davout (again) remained firmly at their post and saved what they could from the Grande Armée of 1812.

Berthier was the antithesis of most other marshals: a cultivated and refined man of a weak personality and quick to break under pressure, but with immense organizational skills. Loyal to the end, Berthier took his own life in 1815 when Napoléon returned from exile in Elba and recalled him. Torn between his loyalty to his old master and his oath to the new king, he jumped out of a window to his death.



A testimony to this unsung but key man behind the scene: after his death Napoléon appointed another Marshal, Soult, as his replacement as chief of staff for the 1815 campaign. From the start, the Grande Armée’s movements were plagued with missing marching orders, delays, miscommunications and badly written orders, leading many historians to state that Berthier’s absence at his master’s side may have played a major role in the ultimate defeat at Waterloo less than a week later.

[h2]The details of BERTHIER’s Operations[/h2]
So, what can you expect with this milestone?

The Kitzingen Ruse
In this exciting operation, you take command of the VDV’s 900th Air Assault Battalion, part of the Soviet 8th Guards Army, in a surprise strike against the city of Würzburg in one of the very first actions of the war. Your mission will be to establish a bridgehead on the river Main and hold it against a mass of counter-attacking NATO forces, chiefly West German but also American, as you wait for reinforcements.



The daring VDV-led surprise attack near Würzburg during the opening stages of World War III can be read about in this this detailed DevBlog.

Backhand Blow
An operation that focuses on a NATO counter-offensive north of Hanau aimed at breaking the mass of Soviet armor threatening Frankfurt. This mission will see the 3rd Armored Division perform a lightning strike, with lots of tanks, against the Soviets.



The NATO tank-heavy counter-strike Backhand Blow mission can be checked out in detail in this dedicated DevBlog here.

[h2]Action Against Hunger Charity Event[/h2]
In case you missed it, the Action Against Hunger charity community tournament is back again. By playing both Steel Division 2 and WARNO competitively, you’ll be able to support the funraising effort for the Action Against Hunger charity.

The charity tournament event will take place on the 27th and 28th of May. The first day, the 27th, will be exclusively dedicated to Steel Division 2, while the 28th of May will be all about WARNO.



You can sign up for the tournament by following this link: https://playsdl.com/tournament/4th-SDL-charity-tourney.

More information about the fundraising can be found by following this link:
https://actionfundraisers.funraise.org/fundraiser/sdl. You can also check out this new video prepared by the organizer himself, the dedicated Protosz.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
Let us know what you think. And a gentle reminder. When there are incessant, non-stop demands along the lines of “but what about X, or what about X,” the Eugen team is small but very dedicated and very hard working. Everything the WARNO community brings up gets checked, reviewed, and vetted. Changes take time, updates require work. Moreover, some suggestions or comments might not fit our vision of WARNO or how to make it pass a feasibility, technical, or fun check. Thank you for your understanding and patience!

Don’t forget to 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, it’s good to be back! As promised in last week’s highlight, in today’s DevBlog, we look at another Operation coming to WARNO in the not-too-distant future: The Kitzingen Ruse.

Let’s detail how you will play this audacious VDV operation, set at the very beginning of our World War III.

[h2]War is coming home[/h2]
As you know, WARNO’s World War III begins on June 21st, 1989. As we explained in our previous DevBlog, which highlighted the NATO Operation Backhand Blow, our missions have not been released (or revealed) in exact chronological order. However, with Warsaw Pact’s The Kitzingen Ruse, we have a contender for our conflict's very first combat operation.



You might recall that the The Kitzingen Ruse is a critical VDV (Vozdushno-Desantnye Voyska, or Soviet Airborne Forces) mission deep behind enemy (NATO) lines. It takes place in the opening hours of our war, with a surprise strike of air assault units descending on the outskirts of Würzburg, with several landings in the area envisioned. This medium-sized Bavarian city is located 60km away from the Inner German Border. It lies southeast of Frankfurt.

The secret surprise attack, while very risky, if successful, would place Soviet forces on the doorsteps of Würzburg. Taking this city would open up the key southern flank, to be used by the Soviet Army to encircle Frankfurt by rapidly using the multilane Bundesautobahn 3 in the opening days of the war.



[h2]The VDV lead the way[/h2]
The light air assault troops of the VDV lead the attack in the The Kitzingen Ruse, specifically the 900th Separate Air Assault Battalion. Their target is the small town of Kitzingen, east of Würzburg, where a bridge over the river Main is a critical objective. If seized and held against invariable NATO counter-attacks, follow-up ground forces from the 57th Guards Motor Rifle Division coming from East Germany will provide the necessary reinforcements.

The surprise attack would not be easy, but the elite VDV have trained hard and in absolute secrecy for such a daring operation. Ferried in by Mi-8 and supported by Mi-24 gunships at treetop height, taking control of the battlefield, and then defending for as long as possible were all mission objectives these Soviet air assault units would have been trained for. Furthermore, 2S9 Nona mortars, BM-21V Grad-V, and BMD-1 and BMD-2 fighting vehicles support the various Destaniki troops.



Local opposition would be lighter Bundeswehr reserves as the Heimatschutzen, even though heavier units from the U.S. 197th Infantry Brigade are likely also to make their appearance.

In this Operation, the nerve-wracking ride toward the target has already been successful. But lo-and-behold, that was not the most challenging part. The real fight for the Kitzingen bridgehead is about to kick off. As the VDV commander, you’ll have access to a wide range of equipment, including light vehicles, AA, and artillery units. They might not carry the heaviest of guns or toughest armor, but the experienced soldiers under your command will make do with what they have as they defend against West German and American forces.

[h2]The Kitzingen Ruse in-game[/h2]
In the Kitzingen Ruse, you can only gain Command Points by controlling Command Zones. However, one of the primary objectives, DMITRI, does not provide any points. The income is critical to deploy a sizable force in the field; lose too many zones, and it will become increasingly more difficult to hold the bridgehead.

[previewyoutube](insérer video KitzingenIntro)[/previewyoutube]

Extending the perimeter from the Kitzingen bridge and positioning your troops well will be one of the first objectives. The bridge itself contains the BORIS sector, your lifeline for relief forces coming from the opposite bank.

You have some light BMD vehicles, but your force is mostly made up of infantry squads, ATGM teams, and recon troops. A defense in depth will be key to success. The Command Zones, which radiate outwards from the bridge, have a combination of forests, treelines, small settlements, and fields, all rather crowded but with good roads. This means the terrain is excellent for infantry ambushes.



Be aware that the NATO counter-attack will begin almost at once.
Additional light artillery forces and AA units provide some fire support. Moreover, you’ll have several variants of Mi-24 helicopter gunships at your disposal, but they must be deployed expertly and carefully. Enemy air forces will try to attack your bridgehead with everything they have.

The Kitzingen Ruse is not for the faint-hearted, as increasing pressure will probably make any commander fall back on their positions, ever closer to the bridge. The aim is to hold on until the reinforcements arrive. If you manage, you’ll go down in the history books for being instrumental in the subsequent Soviet successes in CENTAG’s area of West Germany.



[h2]An updates on updates[/h2]
We take our passionate community seriously, especially when it comes to comments and feedback on the current state of the game, new units or nations, changes needed to mechanics or stats, and the like. However, at Eugen, we are only a small team of dedicated developers, with multiple feature pipelines, updates and projects happening at the same time, and some things… take a bit longer (yes, you can imagine the Eugen trademark here). Things break, things get delayed, and things need to be redone - all realities of game development.

We only want to say that we hear you, especially when balancing patches or updates, improvements to existing game modes, or how to make multiplayer even better. But be respectful to us and other players. Repeatedly demanding changes, unreasonable or demeaning remarks, insulting the community, and other childish behavior are not to be respected or tolerated by us, our fans, or our player base.



We are hard at work, and only together we can make a better WARNO. We take all constructive criticism to heart, and trust us, we read and check all the feedback. As WARNO is still in Early Access, frequent updates, patches, and changes are to be expected up to the full launch (and after, not to worry!). We hope to provide you more info on what to expect soon!

So, once again, enjoy WARNO, and stay cool, calm, and collected, commander!

[h2]Action Against Hunger Charity Event[/h2]
Before we leave you, we have a message from our dedicated Protosz asking us to spread the word about the upcoming Action Against Hunger charity community tournament. After a very successful 2022 edition, in which more than $2100 was raised, Action Against Hunger event is back in the same format. Once again, by playing both Steel Division 2 and WARNO in a competitive setting, you’ll be able to support the funraising effort for the Action Against Hunger charity.



The charity tournament event will take place on the 27th and 28th of May. The first day, the 27th, will be exclusively dedicated to Steel Division 2, while the 28th of May will be all about WARNO.

You can sign up for the tournament by following this link: https://playsdl.com/tournament/4th-SDL-charity-tourney.

More information about the fundraising can be found by following this link:
https://actionfundraisers.funraise.org/fundraiser/sdl.

We’ll be sharing more info leading up to the tournament. Please note that this event is not organized by Eugen but through the community. Much like previous editions, and other player initiatives, we wholeheartedly support the event. If you have any questions, please contact the organizers directly.

[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
That’s all for this week. We’ll return with more on WARNO next week!

Don’t forget to 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.

[h3]Operations[/h3]

• Fixed conquest points needed in hints panel in Operation Black Horse's Last Stand
  
• Improved English writing in first two operations

[h3]Tutorials[/h3]

• SEAD airplanes tutorial : Dismissal of a redundant dialogue line.
  
• SEAD airplanes tutorial : Slight improvement of the final dialogue sequence tempo.
  
• SEAD airplanes tutorial : The last dialogue sequence no longer blocks the player's camera movement
  
• Sead Airplanes Tutorial : Correction of an error in a dialogue by replacing it with another one, previously removed.
  
• Airplanes tutorial : Fixed objectives validating on their own
  
• Tutorial Camera & Control : Slight improvement of the initial camera position, in order to avoid some minor graphical artifacts.
  
• Tutorial Camera & Control : The unit to select in the first objective has a new base position, making the process of moving it less painful and faster.
  
• Recon Tutorial : The starting positions of each humvees have been modified to better suggest the optimal path of each vehicle.
  
• Infantry - Basic Combat : The 2nd Position to reach during the "Forward Defense" Objective has been corrected to match a modification of the industrial zone layout.
  
• Infantry Advanced Combat Tutorial : The time between voicelines have been rightfully set to more than 0 seconds. Therefore, the Voicelines of a dialogue sequence do not start immediatly after the previous ones anymore.
  
• Aviation Basics I Tutorial : The starting units (Ally and foe) have been placed further away from the player starting position, in order to give enough time to the hint sequence to properly finish.

[h3]Code Fixes[/h3]

• Slightly change ground vision from planes
  
• Fixed KH23 AT missile not engaging at max range
  
• Fix an issue with AMX-10 firing his MMG from coaxial instead of turret

[h3]Generic[/h3]

• Overall pass on SEADS missile, smaller miss dispersion, better splash
  
• Units with the Reservist trait takes +10% time to reload
  
• Infantry transported in a vehicle is visible in several models (more to come)

[h3]Model and Texture Fixes[/h3]

• Texture fix: KPz. T-55A
  
• Texture fix: FüPz. T-55AK
  
• Texture fix: KPz. T-72M1
  
• Model fix: KPz. T-55AM2
  
• Model fix: FüPz. T-55AM2K3
  
• Model fix: KPz. T-55AM2B
  

[h3]Nato forces[/h3]

• Added ESCORTE PC the Security trait
  
• BRD command tanks renamed PZ.BEF. [xxx]
  
• Decreased PZ.BEF. M48A2GA2's price from 105 to 95
  
• Decreased PZ.BEF. LEOPARD 1A1A1's price from 115 to 105
  
• Decreased PZ.BEF. LEOPARD 2A3's price from 320 to 300
  
• Decreased GUNNERS' price from 55 to 50
  
• Increased AB MILITARY POLICE (M67)'s price from 40 to 45
  
• Decreased MECH. RIFLES' price from 75 to 70
  
• Decreased AIRBORNE (DRAGON)'s price from 80 to 75
  
• Decreased GREEN BERETS LDR.'s price from 155 to 130
  
• Decreased command M60A3 TTS's price from 125 to 120
  
• Changed FIRETEAM (AT-4)'s base availability from 9 to 8
  
• Changed FIRETEAM (DRAGON)'s base availability from 9 to 8
  
• Changed AB FIRETEAM (DRAGON)'s base availability from 9 to 8
  
• Decreased AMX-30B PC's price from 145 to 125
  
• Decreased AMX-30B2 PC's price from 185 to 165
  
• Decreased ROLAND 2's price from 120 to 110
  
• Decreased ROLAND 3's price from 150 to 135
  
• Decreased AMX-10 HOT's price from 115 to 110
  
• Increased MIRAGE III E's price from 145 to 155
  
• Changed GROUPE ANTICHAR's base availability from 8 to 6
  
• Changed DRAGONS-PARA.'s base availability from 6 to 4
  
• Decreased command M551A1 TTS' price from 110 to 90
  
• Changed SAS' base availability from 4 to 3, but number of cards increased from 1 to 2
  
• Changed SAS PATROL's base availability from 6 to 4
  
• Increased JAGUAR GR.1A [CLU]'s price from 240 to 275
  
• Decreased LYNX AH.1 HELARM's price from 50 to 45
  
• Decreased LYNX AH.7 HELARM's price from 80 to 55
  
• Re-roled VAB T20/13 into a transport/SPAAG, on par with BTR-ZD Shrekzet
  
• VAB T20/13 is now restricted as trasport option to MISTRAL teams only
  
• Fix a typo, F4-F, one F4-F [HE2] renamed [HE1]
  
  2ID
  • Removed WARRIORS as transport options for TERRIER GUN GROUP
    
  • Add two cards of new HSF
  Berlin
  • Replaced the card of AML-60 with another of AML-60 GENDARMERIE
    
  • Replaced the card BGS with one of new SEK
    
  • Replaced one card BERLIN RIFLES (RCL) with one of new BERLIN RIFLES (LAW)

[h3]Pact forces[/h3]

• PKM teams in 4.MSD now have only UAZ as transport option, on par with other HMG teams
  
• Increased KPZ. T-72's price from 110 to 125
  
• Increased KPZ. T-72M's price from 135 to 150
  
• Decreased KPZ. T-72M FÜH.'s price from 185 to 180
  
• Increased KPZ. T-72M1's price from 160 to 165
  
• Decreased T-80B's price from 200 to 185
  
• DDR command tanks renamed FÜPZ. [xxx]
  
• Increased Su-22M4 [CLU] from 290 to 305
  
• Changed Su-22M4 [CLU]'s base availability from 3 to 2
  
• Changed Su-22M4 [HE]'s base availability from 3 to 2
  
• Changed Su-22M4 [NPLM]'s base availability from 3 to 2
  
• Changed Su-22M4 [SEAD]'s base availability from 4 to 3
  
• Changed MiG-23MF [HE]'s base availability from 3 to 2
  
• Increased T-55AM's price from 55 to 60
  
• Decreased FÜPZ. T-55AM's price from 145 to 125
  
• Changed SPEZIALAUFKLÄRER's base availability from 6 to 4
  
• Changed LRS' base availability from 6 to 4
  
• Changed SPETSNAZ G.R.U.'s base availability from 6 to 4
  
• Decreased PULEMETCHIKI's price from 55 to 50
  
• Decreased DESANT. PULEMETCHIKI's price from 60 to 55
  
• Decreased T-80BK's price from 230 to 215
  
• Decreased FÜPZ. PT-76B's price from 105 to 65
  
• Decreased FÜPZ. T-55A's price from 115 to 90
  
• Fixed BERLINER GRUPPIERUNG's official deck's name according to its new designation
  
• Fix a typo on Su-22 [AT]
  
• Fix typo & missing elements on ZiS-3 howitzer gun
  
  35GvDShB
  • Adding one card of elite AFGANSKY
  39GMSD
  • Increased the number of T-80B's cards from 1 to 2
    
  • Decreased the number of T-80BV's cards from 4 to 3
  4MSD
  • Adding one card of SICHERUNGS
  7PzD
  • Adding one card of SICHERUNGS
  Berliner
  • Replaced one card of GRENZER with one of new GRENZER (FLAM.)
  KdA
  • Replaced one card of MOT-SCHÜTZEN by one of new RESERVISTEN
    
  • Replaced all SPW-50PK as transport option with SPW-152K & SPW-60PB, but for PANZERJÄGER having only access to the former.

[h3]Disclaimer[/h3]

• decreased ROLAND 2's price from 120 to 110
  
• decreased ROLAND 3's price from 150 to 135
  
  Not yet applicable to German versions of these units. Coming in a next patch
  
  For the T-55AM2 and his command variant models, further improvements are still to come, work is still in progress

Hello there!

Today is the day we’ll look at another Operation to be featured in WARNO in the near future: Backhand Blow.



This Operation focuses on a daring NATO counter-attack close to Hanau, east of Frankfurt, during our fictional World War III.

Let’s look at what’s in store!

[h2]A bit of imagined history[/h2]
The Operations currently playable in WARNO, Black Horse’s Last Stand, and Red Juggernaut, or having been revealed (Backhand Blow, The Kitzingen Ruse, and Götterdämmerung), all take place in the same World War III timeline.

WARNO’s Operations, planned to be included before and at launch, are all battles that occurred across a two-week period in June 1989, chiefly centered on CENTAG’s area of operations, including Fulda, Frankfurt, Würzburg, Bamberg, and other locations.

However, because of our development pipeline, we are not releasing the Operations chronologically. As our war begins on June 21st, 1989, one of the first battles is depicted in Black Horse’s Last Stand. Two days after the invasion, on June 23rd, we switch our perspective to Warsaw Pact, with the Soviet armored attack in Red Juggernaut, northeast of Frankfurt.



Backhand Blow is even later, almost a week after the Soviet offensive into West Germany, taking place on June 26th. After heavy fighting and the surge of NATO reinforcements directed toward V Corps, the Warsaw Pact attacks aimed at encircling Frankfurt have ground to a halt - for the time being. Some ferocious defensive fighting and NATO counter-attacks to the south have frustrated the Soviet planned encirclement. But time is still of the essence, as the Soviet pause will probably not last long.

Taking advantage of this lull, NATO command organized a lightning counterstrike near Hanau. This will regain the initiative, at least locally, and inflict a crushing defeat on the concentrated Soviet armor found in the region.

[h2]Backhand Blow[/h2]
We love our history. And with WARNO, this is not any different. When looking at names for Backhand Blow, we focused on a famous counter-offensive on the Eastern Front in 1943, the so-called Third Battle of Kharkiv. Led by the German Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, this counterstrike eliminated the threat from the Soviet offensives in the wake of the Battle of Stalingrad. The German attack destroyed the Soviet spearheads south of Kharkiv and led to the city's and Belgorod's retaking.

This offensive would later be known as the “Backhand Blow” from von Manstein, referring to the German strategy of letting the Soviets penetrate the lines, take ground, overextend themselves, and then strike. This was subsequently presented as the “reactive” option for the Battle of Kursk and the strategic conduct in the summer of 1943. Instead, the real-life “active” option was taken by Hitler, which resulted in the massive Operation Citadel and the success of the Soviets.

Back to more modern times. Different actors and battle conditions are at play, but the essence of Backhand Blow is the same as its historical namesake. A counterstrike aimed at an enemy that (by the looks of it) is overextended. This time, the parts will be played by NATO’s American 3rd Armored Division and the Soviet 79th Guards Tank Division. The battlefield is northeast of Frankfurt, at Hanau and the recently occupied Bruchköbel.



[h2]Backhand Blow in-game[/h2]
In this Operation, as NATO, you will have to strike fast and hard. The Soviet tank forces in the field are reorganizing after their head-long dash from Fulda. Destroying the mass of armor, or at least damaging them, would allow local NATO units to regain the initiative and keep Warsaw Pact units threatening Frankfurt off-balance.



To accomplish this mission, you’ll have access to heavy-hitting tank forces of the American 3rd Armored Division, specifically the 2-32nd Armored Battalion, as well as a recon company from the 4-7th Cavalry.

At your disposal are plenty of M1A1 Abrams, M3A1 Bradley CFV recon units, some Scouts, and several supporting units, including M163 Pivads AA, M48A1 Chaparral, and M106A2 Mortars. A drawback is that your air forces are limited, two A-10A Thunderbolts (AT), as is your infantry, which includes some Mechanized Infantry, as well. Don’t get bogged down in drawn-out urban fighting.



Backhand Blow will require commanders to focus on speed and mobility to control the battlefield, which is relatively open. In this Operation, Command Zones give you Command Points, which both sides need to win the scenario. These Zones are located in the middle of the map. There is just one minor issue: you start with zero Command Zones and the enemy with all. And the clock is ticking.

That means that if you want to have a shot at success in Backhand Blow, you will have to use your tank forces’ mobility and superior firepower to take each of the three Command Zones as quickly as possible. The Command Zones themselves are on small settlements surrounded by scattered woods.



A silver lining is that in Backhand Blow, you have the element of surprise, at least in the beginning. Move swiftly, use your M1A1 Abram’s to dominate the battlefield at long ranges, and defeat the Soviet's armor in a lightning counterstrike.



[h2]WARNO’s Operations in more detail[/h2] Backhand Blow is in development, but we have already released two Operations in the recent SOULT milestone: Black Horse’s Last Stand and Red Juggernaut. Read more about these Operations by clicking their name. You can also find an in-depth intro video in their dedicated DevBlogs.

In case you missed it: what are Operations? They are single-player scripted tactical battles, playable from one side only, NATO or Warsaw Pact. These World War III scenarios contain historically realistic formations, special gameplay objectives, and mission parameters. Not only are we working on quite a few more

Hello commander,

We hope you are well! The Eugen team is never idle. While busy getting even more Operations in tip-top shape and working on the upcoming Army General campaigns, we always keep an eye out for our existing features and how to improve them.

We love all things historical, especially when they are accurate. That’s why some of our Divisions are getting a bit of Eugen-branded attention in making them even more realistic.

In today’s DevBlog, let’s look at some changes and new units coming to some of the new divisions.

[h2]Battle for Berlin Revisited[/h2]
We are never afraid to go back and improve our older work. It was brought to our attention - with our never-ending gratitude to our passionate and knowledgeable community - that our “Berlin” battlegroups (from the OUDINOT milestone) needed a bit of care. In our latest patch, courtesy of the SOULT, both NATO and Warsaw Pact already received some missing units, transferred from existing divisions.

But there is more!

[h2]Berlin Command[/h2]
First up is NATO’s Berlin Command. The biggest change to this division is the federal border police of the Bundesgrenzschutz, or the BGS. By 1989, these troops were demilitarized, but not in the eyes of the international treaties governing the presence of military forces in West Berlin. And since West Germany was banned from having any such troops, BGS did not serve in the enclave city. Rather, frontier security and border portal were left to NATO military police or the regular West German polizei units.

As such, we will remove the BGS as a deployable unit from Berlin Command. They will find another lease on life in the Territorialkommando Süd division, since in the case of war, light frontier troops would have been withdrawn from the border and used in the rear as security units instead.



In Berlin Command, the BGS will be replaced by the SEK (for Spezialeinsatzkommandos), a West German SWAT counterpart. Or, the civilian version of the more famous GSG 9 (which, being part of the BGS, is considered military police, much like the GIGN in France).



Used in a recon role, as more experienced 6-man teams, the SEK will field MP-5s and a PGS-1 (a police sniper rifle, which we replaced in other military squads by the G3A3ZF). The SEK specialized in tactical urban operations, including assault, which gives them the Shock trait.

Some more changes
As a side note, the SEK trained with the U.S. Green Berets’ Detachment “A”, with whom they had close ties. The latter unit was disbanded in 1987, likely to disrupt Soviet surveillance, and a similar unit (possibly the same) was recreated. This new outfit was the rather unusually named Physical Security Support Element - Berlin, a supposed military police unit. Considering all this, we renamed Detachment “A” to PSSE-B.



Another minor change, related to some chromed firepower, concerns the French AML-60 from the local West Berlin garrison. These older armored cars were actually from the Gendarmerie (French military police), which didn’t use the same models as the army. The West Berlin AML-60 featured two 7,62mm coaxial guns instead of a single 12,7mm machine gun. We also took the opportunity to reskin the existing AML-60 in 3-tone Army camouflage, while the new AML-60 Gendarmerie keeps the military police’s green paint job with specific markings.



Regarding the U.S. Light Infantry battalion in West Berlin, even though they will retain their M67 RCL (recoilless rifles), they weren’t only equipped with this weapon. That’s why we created a separate Light Rifles (LAW) unit, dividing the current load-out of the RCL between the existing units and the new variant.

[h2]Berliner Gruppierung[/h2]
As you surely have noticed by now, the Warsaw Pact’s battlegroup has been renamed from Unternehmen Zentrum to the new Berliner Gruppierung. The reason was that the East German NVA (Nationale Volksarmee) had several divisions, including two “special groups”: Besonderen Gruppierung I (Berlin) and Besondere Gruppierung II (Rügen). Simply said: Berliner Gruppierung and Rügen Gruppierung.

The former regroups all the forces already described in taking part in Unternehmen Zentrum, the Warsaw Pact’s assault on West Berlin during the opening days of our World War III conflict. Hence Berliner Gruppierung, which was the correct name for the division. The latter formation was a much smaller, brigade-size battlegroup tasked with defending the Volksmarine’s strategic naval infrastructure on Rügen island in the Baltic sea.



In the last patch, we already added quite a few missing units to Berliner Gruppierung, especially artillery. But there was one unit that wasn’t ready, but we can add now. The Grenztruppen surrounding West Berlin covered the flanks during Unternehmen Zentrum, as well as mobbing up any remaining NATO pockets. These forces had a special unit for these missions, equipped with flamethrowers. One of the unit cards of Grenzer will be converted to Grenzer (Flam.). These will be the first recon troops fielding flamethrowers!



[h2]K.d.A Bezirk Erfurt[/h2]
As mentioned in the Warsaw Pact’s K.d.A Bezirk Erfurt description back with the release of the MASSENA milestone, one of the Kampfgruppe der Arbeiterklasse’s (K.D.A.) missions was to screen the regrouping area of reservist mobilized divisions, which we represented by some Mot.Schützen in the division. However, that left the East German battlegroups with no reserve troops, an oversight compared to other nations. That’s why we replaced some of the division’s Mot.Schützen with the new but lesser experienced Reservisten.



Since one of East Germany’s defining features in WARNO is to have the Resolute trait in-game (thanks to the severe drilling and political conditioning), and we already have the K.D.A. troops with the Reservist trait, this new unit will be neither one nor the other - just plain ‘ol regular infantry with more soldiers but wielding the older AK-47.

Another change is the removal of BTR-50 as transport options for the Mot.Schützen (and Reservisten), which will now only be able to choose between BTR-60 and BTR-152.

[h2]Some other new units[/h2]
The fun doesn’t end here. We have also added some other new units to other divisions. These include the new Soviet Afgansky elite paratroopers, to be found with the 35th Guards Air Assault Brigade. A nickname given to Afghanistan War veterans (which still happened in our timeline), one additional card of these hardened soldiers has been added to the VDV battlegroup. They come equipped without any AT weapons but carry two light machine guns and a sniper rifle, as well as sporting the Resolute trait.



Another new unit are Sicherung troops. These are the NVA counterpart to the Bundeswehr namesakes and fill the same role as security troops. Patrolling the rear and guarding key infrastructure, these soldiers lack AT weapons but feature the Security trait and are transported in the SPW-60PB. One card of this new unit is added to both the East German 4. Motorisierte Schützendivision and 7. Panzerdivision.



And finally, a new NATO unit, to be homed with the British 2nd Infantry Division. The HSF (Home Service Force) are “true” reservists, pretty much like “Dad’s Army.” While the British TA - Territorials - or Terriers in-game are army reserves or former servicemen recalled to active duty, the HSF are closer to civilians with a few weeks training under their belt. Some were attached to Territorial brigades to act as security troops. In-game, they’ll field Sterling SMG, L1A1 SLR and receive the Security as well as Reservist trait.



[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
That’s all for this little round of divisional updates. Let us know what you think!

Don’t forget to 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!