World at War: Escalation - Spoiler Season Kickoff

Welcome to the first card reveal of our upcoming update, World at War: Escalation.

[h2]World at War: Escalation[/h2]

This second World at War update is themed around the build-up to the war and focuses on the three nations USA, Japan, and the Soviet Union. World at War: Escalation comes with 18 total cards, of which 7 are entirely new. Similar to the first World at War update, there are several options to receive the new cards:

1. Get the standard World at War bundle for in-game gold or real currency
   
2. Get the premium World at War bundle for real currency
   
3. Use wildcards to create some or all of the cards you want

[h2]Spoiler season[/h2]

Every day until the release on the 20th, we will reveal new cards, their stats, and interesting background info.

Subscribe to our social media channels to stay up to date and never miss any reveals:

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Especially join our 👉 KARDS Discord server! Get first-hand information, discuss the revealed cards and their potential use in existing and new decks, and speculate about unrevealed upcoming cards.

Let's have a look at the first new World at War Escalation card!

[h2]Spoiler season starts now: First new World at War Escalation card[/h2]

We kick off the spoiler season with the legendary 60th Cavalry Regiment.



The 60th Cavalry Regiment was a military unit of the 3rd Cavalry Division of the Red Army of the Soviet Union. The division was first formed in 1923 and participated in the invasion of Poland in 1939, but at the start of Operation Barbarossa in 1941 it defended against the Axis invaders as part of the 5th Cavalry Corps of the 6th Army of the Southwestern Front. That same year the division was redesignated to 5th Guards Cavalry Division for its skillful combat performance against the Axis forces. From 1944 to 1945 the division served under the 1st and 2nd Baltic Front, but was moved to 3rd Belorussian Front where it served until the end of the war.

Stay tuned for more as we approach the World at War II release on January 20th. There are card reveals now every day!

[h2]Card reveal updates[/h2]
Since the initial announcement, more cards have been revealed.

[h3]SOUTHERN PLAN[/h3]


Imperial Japan’s ultimate goal was to conquer China, but they knew they couldn’t subdue this large country without clashing with other great powers, the Soviet Union in the north or the United States in the south. Several reasons led to the choice of the southern plan, that was led by the navy, over the northern plan that would rely on the army.

One was the raw materials such as oil and rubber in the American, British and Dutch possessions in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. Another reason was the defeat of the Japanese Army in the Soviet–Japanese border conflicts in the 1930’s and the Japanese believed that the Soviet Union was too powerful to conquer. Last but not least was the trade embargo imposed by the Americans and the British that was intended to pressure Japan to withdraw from China.

The Japanese southern plan worked great for the first 6 months, but once American industrial and military capabilities reached their full potential, and after the devastating defeats in the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Japanese war machine was fated to fail in its efforts.

[h3]5th MEDICAL BATTALION[/h3]


A medical battalion was a divisional unit that offered medical support to the division in the field. Its main role was to conduct necessary evacuation and to administer medical care for the casualties of the division.

The 5th Medical Battalion was attached to the 5th Infantry Division, aka “Red Devils”, of the US Army during WWII. In 1942 the division was shipped to Iceland, where the British occupation force was replaced by the US forces, but from there it was sent to England in 1943 to prepare for the Allied invasion of Europe.

After two years of training the 5th Division landed in Normandy in 1944, over a month after the D-Day landings, and in the following months it participated in heavy combat during the Battle of France. In December 1944 the division was sent to reinforce the Allied southern flank in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. Later, that the division fought its way towards Germany along with the Allied forces and ended the war in Czechoslovakia in 1945.

[h3]M4A2[/h3]


The Sherman M4A2 medium tank variant was nearly identical to the Sherman M4, but it had a diesel engine and came with a pair of vented armored grates on the rear hull deck.

This variant saw limited combat with the US forces, some were in service of the US Marine Corps, but mostly it was used by the British forces. Some M4A2’s were shipped to the Soviet Union through the Lend-Lease program. The tank fitted the needs of the Red Army perfectly as they were using diesel tanks only.

A total of 10,968 M4A2 tanks were produced from 1942 to 1945.


[h3]MACHINES OF WAR[/h3]


During the opening stages of the German invasion of the Soviet Union the Red Army faced a serious shortage of weapons. The course of the war went on in such a way that most of the available munitions were lost, along with its troops who were either killed or captured, destroyed during a retreat or captured by the enemy in warehouses.

The development and manufacturing of munitions in the Soviet Union had begun before the invasion, but in 1941 they stepped up their game and most of their weapon production was done during the invasion, in some cases under siege and isolation.

From 1941 to 1945, the Soviet Union managed to produce over 30 million rifles and submachine guns, 1,476 million machine guns, 516,648 artillery guns, 347,900 mortars, 119,769 tanks and self-propelled guns, 265,600 army trucks, 213,742 military aircraft, 2 cruisers, 25 destroyers and 52 submarines.


[h3]52-K[/h3]



The Soviet 85 mm M1939, aka 52-K, anti aircraft gun was used by the Red Army during WWII.

The gun entered service in 1939 in regiments of 16 guns each and was used effectively against German aircraft between 1941 and 1945. In its secondary role the 52-K was used as an anti tank weapon and some gun barrels were mounted on vehicles such as the SU-85 tank destroyer.

After the war most Soviet nations had the 52-K in its arsenal and in some cases they were refitted for peaceful purposes as anti-avalanche guns.


[h3]SAKURA REGIMENT[/h3]



The 57th Regiment Sakura was a regiment of the 1st Division of the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII.

The division was sent to the Philippines to participate in the Pacific War in 1944 and was initially based in Manilla before being shipped to Leyte to defend against the Filipino and US forces which had reoccupied the island.

The 1st Division participated in fierce combat during the Battle of Leyte where it was nearly annihilated. Of the 11,000 soldiers only 800 managed to evacuate to Cebu island where they would participate in the Battle for Cebu City.


[h3]Alternate Artwork[/h3]

The premium bundle also contains the new alternate artwork for three popular cards: The War Machine, Ural Factories, and Last Rites.

Once you have received the premium bundle, this alternate art will get automatically activated.