Devblog #81: A Crunching Crimean Clash

HD Link

Hi everyone, time for another dev update.

We had loads of reactions to the previous one, which is very nice to see! However, we do not sit still and right now it’s time to showcase another mission that will be in Early Access. This one will be included in the USSR campaign.
Besides working on missions, we are putting in a huge amount of work porting the new GEM engine to GoH, which is progressing well; but that is too boring to write about in a devblog.



This update is about the battle of the Kerch peninsula, the scene of bitter fighting in the spring of 1942.
The struggle for the peninsula had already started in december 1941, when a daring counterattack was planned by chief of staff Fyodor Tolbukhin. The operation started with an amphibious landing of the Soviet army at Kerch, followed by more landings in Feodosia.

By I77 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33341035

The German 46th infantry division, tasked with holding the peninsula, was overextended badly and the Feodosia landings forced the Germans to retreat 120 Kilometres west to avoid encirclement.
In the months that followed, attacks and counter- attacks were conducted by both sides.
All the time, the Soviets were constructing defensive lines, hoping to be able to halt the German attack which was being planned by von Manstein. When the fifth (!) offensive started, the German attack broke through the first defense line in the marshy south of the peninsula; the place where an attack was least likely.
This is where our GoH mission takes place; you (the player) will not be spared!



It is now may 1942, and you have orders to re- deploy your unit a couple of kilometres east at the next defensive position. You have been granted use of some trucks to move your men and equipment. Neighbouring units will do the same.

HD Link

After loading up, your column moves east. But after a few kilometres, a nasty surprise appears on the flank!
Somehow, an enemy tank has broken through with infantry support! What now?
Get those trucks to cover, get your men to spread out, deploy the anti- tank gun! A fight develops in which you need to destroy the enemy tank.
It’s fine if you succeed, but surely there will be more enemies soon. This could be a matter of minutes! You need to dig in for cover immediately, or get overrun by the next attack.

HD Link

Indeed, there is evidence of an enemy breakthrough. You will have to dig in and defend while waiting for orders from your commander. Wave after wave, the Germans come forward. The battle is fierce and bitter. Meanwhile, you see air battles taking place right above your position. Fortunately, the VVS can operate from the nearby Taman peninsula to defend against the countless tactical support missions by the Luftwaffe.

HD Link

After fighting off a number of attacks, the order comes to retreat to the main defensive position. Get a move on! You can’t afford to lose too many vehicles though, as the supplies they carry will be needed for the next attack wave. Will they be able to get to the next line in one piece? Maybe, if they use the beach instead of the road? Whatever they do, you will stay behind to cover the retreat.

HD Link

So you stay and fight, but things get worse; the enemy has also broken the second defense line and you are being threatened from multiple directions. What now? You have nowhere to go while the roar of aircraft engines and explosions gets louder. You think to yourself: “surely, this is what hell looks like, and I am in front of its gates”.
Then you decide to fall back to the evacuation point, save yourself from hell and fight another day.

That’s the mission. We expect you will find it really intense; what do you think?

General Tolbukhin fought in both world wars and his ashes are buried in the Kremlin wall
The landings at Kerch were the first ever large scale amphibious operation of the red army
von Sponeck, the commander that retreated from Kerch against orders, was court- martialed and sentenced to death in january 1942
The Luftwaffe used SD-2 bomblets to attack the retreating soviet infantry, causing horrific casualties
Operation “bustard hunt” lasted 11 days and inflicted a total of 28.000 Soviet casualties with some 155.000 being taken prisoner. German casualties were 7600, of which 1700 killed.
Traces of the fight, remains of the tank ditches, bomb craters and trenches are still visible today. You can use the satellite view in google maps to see it.

That’s all folks! Do you like this mission? Let us know! We will publish the next update in 4 weeks; in the meantime, feel welcome to share your views in our forum!