1. Verdun
  2. News

Verdun News

Update v54578

We made some improvements to the TAA Anti-Aliasing setting, making edges of objects (including foliage) look more smooth.

The patch download size is expected to be around 17 mb.

Commemorate the start of WW1 - Film Memoir Screenshot Contest

This Sunday 110 years ago, the first World War had officially begun. At the time, no one could've predicted just how large and significant this conflict would become, how many lives would be lost or changed forever.

Every year we commemorate this day, and as customary we've enabled the Film Memoir mode for free on PC. While normally exclusive to the owners of the Supporter Pack DLC, everyone on PC can now enable the Film Memoir mode in the popup window or by going to the Options, then Graphics. It'll be available until August 5th!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]Film Memoir Screenshot Contest[/h2]
This year however, there's more! Let's take a moment to stay away from the bloodshed and instead put our focus on the footprint of WW1. This war left a mark on the continent, much still visible to this day.

We invite you to take the best possible Film Memoir screenshots of the environments in Verdun, Tannenberg and Isonzo that show both the beauty of the many theaters of war and the marks WW1 left behind. Think trenches, barbed wire, craters, destroyed trees, you name it! Remember that Film Memoir needs to be turned on and we highly recommend you disable the UI.

You get two entries for this contest: 1 by posting a screenshot on Discord in the dedicated channel and 1 by posting a screenshot on Reddit with the Memoir Contest flair. These should not be the same screenshots! We'll select 5 winners on Discord and Reddit each, who'll win a DLC pack for Isonzo or the game itself if they don't own it yet. One person cannot win on both platforms and the contest will be closed on August 5th. Good luck!



[h3]Montello Teaser[/h3]
As a little extra, here's a small preview of the flyover for Isonzo's next map: Montello!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The Second Battle of the Aisne Campaign has Ended

So ends another campaign. It was a closely fought battle, with 538,375 Central Powers casualties to 528,779 Entente losses - a difference of less than 10,000. The Entente came out on top again, but not by a huge margin. In the historical battle there were probably somewhat more losses for the Entente, but the overall outcome of the battle was complicated. Parts of the French army actually made some of the largest advances since trench warfare began in earnest, but nothing close to what General Nivelle described before the battle. He claimed that a breakthrough could be achieved within two days, which absolutely did not happen.

A village devastated by fighting during the Second Battle of the Aisne.

The morale impact of this failure, alongside heavy casualties, led to French mutinies and Nivelle's replacement. While the new commander-in-chief General Petain immediately established a more defensive posture and took time to restore morale among his troops, the British continued offensive action for the rest of 1917. Later in the year there were some limited French offensives such as the successful Battle of La Malmaison, which built on ground captured during the Second Battle of the Aisne.

[h2]Good luck out there soldiers![/h2]

The Second Battle of the Aisne Campaign

[h2]New Campaign Event in Verdun & Tannenberg[/h2]
From today until next Friday 24th, the Second Battle of the Aisne Campaign will be running in Verdun and Tannenberg. Will the Entente or the Central Powers emerge victorious in this epic battle of attrition?

[h3]What is a campaign event?[/h3]
For those who haven’t fought before, our campaign events are special multi-front battles in Verdun and Tannenberg, where every kill is tallied up, and the side which manages to lose the least troops wins. You can earn a medal for participating in the campaign, with a shinier medal for fighting on multiple fronts. The Second Battle of the Aisne Campaign will run from Friday May 17 and end on Friday May 24.



[h2]The Second Battle of the Aisne[/h2]
French General Nivelle planned the Second Battle of the Aisne as a breakthrough offensive for early 1917, following the major battles of Verdun and the Somme in 1916. He expected the German Army to be exhausted. His vision was for a decisive victory in 48 hours, and he put his reputation on the line by threatening to resign if the offensive wasn't approved.

It involved a massive coordination of troops, starting with British attacks towards Arras, then French forces beginning their assault further south in the direction of the Aisne river. Ultimately the battle was not a clear defeat for the French, but Nivelle's grandiose claims about achieving a decisive victory made it feel like that for the soldiers suffering massive casualties in the battle. Morale fell throughout the French Army, with units starting to mutiny - often taking the form of holding a defensive position but refusing any orders to attack. Desertions also increased.

Nivelle was fired and replaced with General Pétain, who moved quickly to stamp out mutinous sentiment with a combination of carrot and stick - though mostly carrot. A small number of soldiers were shot for mutiny, but he mostly put effort into improving food, providing better equipment, increasing pay, and allowing for more leave. This worked, and the morale crisis was defused.



Interestingly, there is some debate as to when the Second Battle of the Aisne officially ended. While mid-May is commonly taken as the end point for it (along with the wider Nivelle Offensive itself), some historians have argued that the Battle of La Malmaison in October 1917 should be considered part of the battle as well, since it built on ground captured during the action in April-May. That would matter because the Battle of La Malmaison was actually a clear victory for the French - credit for which should partially go to Nivelle, if considered part of the Nivelle Offensive.

[h3]Quiet on the Eastern Front[/h3]
In the East, the Russians were no longer fighting under a Tsar - the February revolution had dethroned Tsar Nicholas II, and since March 2 the country was governed by the Russian Provisional Government. There would be no grand Russian offensive until the Kerensky Offensive in June, intended to knock Austria-Hungary out of the war. Instead it would effectively break the back of the Russian Army. But that's a story for another time.

The Tsar blessing troops earlier in the war.

However, it wasn't all revolution and disaster in the East. The Romanians successfully fought off a major German - Austro-Hungarian offensive from July to September, halting the Central Powers advance and inflicting heavy casualties.

[h3]Another Battle of the Isonzo[/h3]
Under pressure from France, Italy would launch a new offensive in mid-May to try and build pressure on the Central Powers. Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna obliged with... the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo. In fairness, this was not entirely Cadorna's choice, with the idea of an offensive along the river suggested by the French. He attempted to change tactics, aiming for an advance across a broader 40km front in contrast to the smaller, shorter actions planned with the previous three Battles of the Isonzo.

Artwork portraying battle between Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers in an earlier battle.

Where the Second Battle of the Aisne was a mixed bag in terms of results, the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo was a clear Austro-Hungarian victory. Key objectives were not achieved, and an Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive (launched even before the Italians had ceased their own attacks) would recapture almost all the lost territory.

[h3]If you want to join the campaign, just hop into Verdun or Tannenberg and play some Frontlines or Maneuver battles![/h3]

[h2]Be careful out there soldiers![/h2]

Join the Ascent Event in Isonzo from today until April 24th!

Join the limited-time Ascent Event in Isonzo!


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The Ascent game mode brings mountain climbing to our Italian Front FPS Isonzo, with a team of Alpini needing to scale a sheer cliff face and capture an Austro-Hungarian outpost. Climbing is freeform so you can choose your own route up the mountainside - and you'll need to make use of that to try and catch the defenders by surprise!

The Austro-Hungarians will need to stay vigilant against sneaky climbers assaulting or bypassing their forward positions lower down the mountain. Piles of rocks will provide excellent improvised weapons to use in situations where a rifle might not be handy.

Read more about the Ascent mode on last week's blog, which goes in-depth on how the special mechanics work.

The Ascent event is free for all Isonzo players to join, and will run until April 24th. If you don't own Isonzo yet, now's the perfect time because it's on discount!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1556790/Isonzo/

Climb for Victory!
We'll see you on the cliff face, soldiers.