Verdun News

On Christmas Eve 1914, soldiers of both the British and German empires decided to lay down their arms and sing Christmas carols across the trenches. What followed was a rare occurrence during World War I, where troops of opposing sides would meet each other, shake hands, share drinks & food and play games like football.

A truly historical moment where humanity won over conflict.



[h2]Join the Christmas Truce in Verdun![/h2]
From today until January 2nd 2021, you can join the Christmas Truce and even win a special medal for doing so! Jump into a special map where all players have the same loadout. Stories to tell, snowballs to pick up and a football to kick. Celebrate Christmas in a unique way with your fellow soldiers and earn the Christmas Truce medal by participating in the festivities.
[previewyoutube]https://youtu.be/LqSbWDa-RyU[/previewyoutube]

[h2]The gift that keeps giving[/h2]
This year’s Christmas will be very different for a lot of people due to everything that has happened. It can be hard to come up with something original. How about something similar to the Princess Mary Christmas gift box? The British member of the royal family set up a fund to send every soldier of the British soldiers a gift. It became a tin box with small presents. Most of them contained cigarettes, a Christmas card, a photograph of Princess Mary and some of them also contained sweets and chocolate. It is perhaps one of the most well known Christmas gifts to have ever existed.


[h2]A cold winter sale[/h2]
If you are looking to enlist on the battlefields of World War I, now is the perfect time! Verdun is -70% off and could be gifted to a fellow soldier. Looking to head over to the Eastern Front? Tannenberg is -60% off as well!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/633460/Tannenberg/
[h3]From the development team of the WW1 Game Series, we wish you a merry Christmas and a healthy new year![/h3]

Just a quick note today to let any console fans among you know that we have released an update allowing Xbox and PlayStation gamers to play Verdun and Tannenberg together!

Sadly we couldn’t add cross-play for PC users due to differences in their game versions, such as 64 player matches rather than the 40 player games on console, and other cross-platform balance issues like controller auto-aim.

It's also a free weekend on consoles from December 11-13, meaning Verdun and Tannenberg are open to everyone to try out!



[h3]Celebration giveaways![/h3]
Even if you don’t own a console, you might be interested in the giveaways running on our Twitter – you’ve got a chance to win some tasty mints!

[h3]Holidays are coming to the Western Front[/h3]
With temperatures and snowflakes that are starting to fall, we do not only remember those who have fallen or the conflict they were involved in, we also remember the rare moments of humanity during the war. But more on that later...

[h2]Thanksgiving in WW1[/h2]
As you would expect, US soldiers fighting abroad in 1917 had a very different Thanksgiving than they would be used to, even though efforts were made to at least have something a little fancier than usual on the menu for soldiers in France or getting ready to cross the Atlantic.

A photo of Camp Lewis in the US on Thanksgiving Day in 1917. It was still finishing construction.

But things weren't 'normal' for the civilian population either. The US did have rationing in effect in 1917, albeit mostly in a voluntary form. Wheat flour and sugar was regulated, but otherwise it was merely encouraged for people to try and minimize their food usage, with ideas like “Meatless Tuesdays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays”. Local food boards were formed around the country to offer advice and recipes that avoided use of foods that were most suitable for sending abroad - whether to feed US soldiers in France, or simply to support the allies of the United States.

The United States Food Administration encouraged Americans to save food to aid European soldiers and civilians.

[h2]Meanwhile on the Eastern Front...[/h2]
Winter is drawing near, and on the Eastern Front, hungry packs of wolves are looking for some fresh meat and the only tasty things around are you, your squadmates, and your enemies!

When you hear the wolves howl on the battlefields of Tannenberg, a massive pack of wolves will approach. At this moment, both sides have the opportunity to uphold the truce and fight together against the hungry beasts... or just try to take advantage of the chaos. The event started yesterday, running from November 25 to December 2!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The Wolf Truce is based on accounts of Russians and Germans on the Eastern Front holding this unique truce in 1917 to fight off ravenous wolves, which appeared in American newspapers such as the New York Times. There are also more sober accounts in Russian history books noting that hungry wolves certainly were a threat, though they generally suggest it was to civilians or isolated soldiers.

Discount time!
If you don't own Tannenberg but fancy some wolf hunting, now's a great time to join in because there's a 70% discount! But the entire WW1 Game Series is part of the Steam Autumn Sale, so Verdun is also 50% off.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/633460/Tannenberg/
[h2]The war in the palm of your hands[/h2]
Finally, for enthusiasts of physical video game releases, we also have some great news! Both Tannenberg and Verdun have a limited boxed release on PlayStation 4. For now, we have a release in selected German and Austrian retail stores. However, you can get international shipments from Amazon DE, with extra postage costs:
https://amzn.to/3lGEX4j

We are looking at having a international physical release, but we require your feedback. Would you be interested in a PlayStation 4 boxed release of the WW1 Game Series titles? Vote here to let us know:
https://forms.gle/8h67ftBCJEU3u2CQ7


[h3]Happy Thanksgiving![/h3]

At 11 am on November 11th 1918, the Armistice of Compiègne went into effect and, for many, marked the end of World War I. A good moment to remember those who have fallen during this long and bloody worldwide conflict.

In Verdun (and Tannenberg, our Eastern Front World War I game), you have the optional to commemorate the Armistice in-game. Watch the poppy flower turn red in two minutes of silence and earn a special remembrance medal. There is also a filter overlay for your Facebook profile picture to show your compassion. You can simply add the filter on you Facebook profile image by clicking here: https://bit.ly/3iCMVcq

[h2]Learning from the terrors of war[/h2]
The Armistice was a strange event for the soldiers still fighting. The last soldier to officially be declared KIA in the war, a minute before the Armistice came in effect was US Sergeant Henry Gunther. He was demoted from the rank of Sergeant to private. Seeking to reclaim his rank, he rushed into battle and fell, just a minute before the fighting stopped. It teaches us that life is more important than ambition.

Henry Gunther certainly wasn’t the only one to fall on November 11th, 1918. In fact, the day had over 11000 casualties. A part of which was because of continued artillery fire, because the soldiers did not want to bother loading up all the remaining ammunition once the fighting would stop, since rumors of an Armistice would have reached several trenches already.

You might think that after the Armistice went into effect, the whole world would burst into song and cheers. This didn’t happen everywhere though, as apparently on the front, the soldiers felt empty and there was a lot of silence among them. A British corporal said: “…the Germans came from the trenches, bowed to us and went away. There was nothing with which we could celebrate, except cookies.”

[h2]Life during the war[/h2]
What it must have been like to be a part of World War I is something that generations born after the conflict ended have been wondering. We have records, diary entries and other accounts to remember what it was like to fight in the trenches or forts. Something we try to share with all of you on a daily basis.
More information on the Armistice can be found on our social media channels.

The Bloody Autumn event has come to an end in Verdun. This seasonal event was based on The Battle of Ypres 1914, which was one of the most violent battles of World War I. While historically, that battle ended in a stalemate, the results during this event do have a winner!

The Entente suffered 1.537.161 casualties while the Central Powers lost even more with 1.604.116 fallen soldiers, which makes the Entente faction the winner of the Bloody Autumn 1914!
Considering the Battle of Ypres 1914 had around 295.000 casualties in total, it’s pretty clear that the digital Battlefields have seen a lot more blood spilling than in real life, thankfully!

The number of casualties includes the struggles on the Western Front as well as the Siege of Przemyśl on the Eastern Front of Tannenberg. For this event we only counted the kills that involved a player, so bots vs bots fights have not been counted.

Look out for more Seasonal events coming soon where you can earn more special medals across Verdun & Tannenberg!
A tense screenshot by Verdun player ‘Jon Pettet’ on Steam!

[h2]Remembering the end of WW1[/h2]
On the 5th of November 1918, allies agreed to take up negotiations for a truce. French general Ferdinand Foch would be writing up one of the most important documents in human history soon after. The Armistice of Compiègne was signed on November 11th 1918 and went into effect a couple of hours later. A day to be remembered, but we will have more on that next week…