Announcing Battle of the Bulge - New update on March 31st
We continue to expand our series of historically themed updates with a new episode on March 31st. This fourth installment focuses on the famous Battle of the Bulge and brings new cards for the main adversaries in this battle, Germany and the USA. The general theme is, as the name suggests, the last major offensive of the Germans in the West and the largest battle of the USA during World War 2.
Before we go further into the details of this update, let’s have a quick look at the historical Battle of the Bulge.
[h2]Battle of the Bulge - Brief history[/h2]
The Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region of Belgium was Germany's last major offensive in World War II against the Western Front. This battle lasted for six weeks from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945.
Over one million troops were involved (some 500,000 German, 600,000 American, and 55,000 British troops): the Battle of the Bulge is known as one of the largest and bloodiest battles in the history of the USA.
The initial attack by Germany, with almost 410.000 troops, took the allies by surprise as the German battle preparations were conducted in utter secrecy. The attack was timed in favor of the Germans as the Allied forces were fatigued after the breakout from Normandy and southern landings in France, their supply lines were stretched far, and their supplies were running low. However, the Adennes with their hills and dense forests, gave the allied defenders a distinct advantage.
Even though the Allies were somewhat taken by surprise by the initial attack, their strong resistance, superior terrain, and logistical problems on the German side slowed down the advance of the attack. Still, at the peak of the attack, the Allied defensive lines were considerably bulged with German advances up to 70 miles into their territory, hence the name of the battle.
However, due to their stiff resistance, the Allies had enough time to relocate massive reinforcements to the battle. As a result, Germany lost the advantage and subsequently all their gains were erased one by one. The overall loss was immense with almost 200.000 casualties in total.
At the end, this final offensive depleted Germany of experiened troops, valuable war material, and accelerated the collapse of the Nazi Reich.
[h2]Battle of the Bulge - In KARDS[/h2]
With this history in mind, this update focuses on the last major offensive of the Germans and will arrive with some beefy new units. The USA, of course, will see reinforcements as well - fitting to the theme.
The Battle of the Bulge update comes with 18 total cards, of which 7 are entirely new. Similar to the previous updates in this cycle, there are several options to receive the new cards:
- Get the standard Battle of the Bulge bundle for in-game gold or diamonds
- Get the premium Battle of the Bulge bundle for diamonds
- Use wildcards to create some or all of the cards you want
The premium version arrives, as usual, with a bunch of goodies, such as a new Headquarter together with a new battlefield, alternate card art, and a new unique board item. Included is also a sizable amount of wildcards.
[h2]In-game event[/h2]
Following great feedback and general excitement towards the in-game event for Behind Enemy Lines, we will have an exciting in-game event for this update as well. This event is, of course, free and open for everyone.
Participation is entirely free; have some extra fun with a new format. Just hop in and enjoy!
[h2]Spoiler Season ahead[/h2]
Every day until the release on the 31st, we will reveal new cards, their stats, and interesting background info.
We kick off the spoiler season with the German 989. Infantry Regiment, a unit responsible for some of the early success and territorial gains for Germany.
[h3]989. Infantry Regiment[/h3]
The 989th Grenadier Regiment was a unit of the 277th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht. The regiment was formed in 1943 in Croatia, and shortly after it was relocated to France, along with the 277th Division.
In August 1944 the division participated in the Battle of Normandy where it was destroyed, but reformed in September 1944 and sent to defend against the Allied advance in Northern France and Rhineland.
After that the regiment participated in the Ardennes Offensive where it fought with the 12th Volksgrenadier Division in an attempt to capture the Belgian towns of Rocherath-Krinkelt and Elsenborn, in what is now known as the Battle of the Bulge. During the battle the regiment suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat into Germany where it continued fighting, mostly with new and inexperienced recruits, and by the end of March in 1944 the regiment had been defeated.
[h3]Battery[/h3]
An artillery battery is a grouping of artillery, mortars, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, and in later years surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and other equipment designed to improve command and control of gunnery crews and their systems. General Patton often commented that the US artillery won the war for them, and one example of its importance was during the Battle of the Bulge. Due to bad weather Allied air superiority was out of the picture, which meant that the artillery had to fill the void.
The US Army managed to amass around 350 guns of all calibers in the northern sector of the Bulge which was one of the largest concentrations of artillery in history. This massive firepower helped slow down the German advance and proved vital in the Allied defense of Elsenborn Ridge and Bastogne.
[h3]Bypass[/h3]
German military tactics during WWII focused on maneuverability, with combined air and mechanized and armored ground attacks at the center stage. In the opening battles of World War II, German forces ran over, through and around every enemy defensive position in their way.
Today their military doctrine is known under the term “Blitzkrieg”, but this term was rarely used by the Germans at the time as the tactic was based on Bewegungskrieg (maneuver warfare), a traditional military tactic that was known to be used by Hannibal the Great and the Romans. This tactic focuses on defeating the enemy by incapacitating their decision-making through shock and disruption.
[h3]112th Infantry Regiment[/h3]
The 112th Infantry Regiment of the US Army dates back to the American Civil war and has since participated in several conflicts, including WWI and WWII. During WWII the regiment landed in Normandy in 1944, after D-Day, where it became the 112th Infantry Regimental Combat Team (RCT). Apart from the infantry the RCT included several support units, the 229th Field Artillery Battalion, the 103rd Engineer Battalion, Company C, 447th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, and Company C, 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion.
After Normandy the 112th participated in the liberation of Paris and later the Battle of Hürtgen Forest (19 September to 16 December 1944) where the regiment was at one point reduced to 300 men during an engagement. The US soldiers nicknamed the Battle for Hürtgen Forest “the meat grinder”, and for good reason since it is the longest single battle US forces have ever fought and one of the bloodiest.
Following Hürtgen Forest the 112th RCT fought in the Battle of the Bulge, where it defended a sector of 100 km where 9 German divisions concentrated their attacks. During the Battle of the Bulge the 112th RCT managed to inflict 1600 casualties and destroy 18 enemy tanks, for which it received the Distinguished Unit Citation which is rewarded for extraordinary heroism in action.
[h3]King Tiger[/h3]
The King Tiger (German: Königstiger), official designation Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, was a German heavy tank that first entered service in 1944. The tank saw action on the Eastern Front and in Europe and its 8.8cm KwK 43 gun and armor made it a formidable weapon. It could knock out any Allied tank that came up against it and its thick armor made it almost impenetrable for any Allied weapon.
The main problem with King Tiger was its reliability and many crews were forced to abandon the tank when it either broke down or ran out of fuel. Luckily for the Allies the tank was produced late and under the most difficult circumstances, both the bombing of German factories and lack of materials caused a series of delays and limited the production capabilities.
Only 489 King Tigers were manufactured.
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