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Relief Offensive Update

At the time of writing, Central Powers casualties are 2,437,263 while Entente casualties are at 2,403,869. That's a difference of 33,000 in favor of the Entente. But there are more than six days to go, and things can change quickly.

[h2]The Brusilov Offensive[/h2]
At this time in 1916, Aleksai Brusilov was advancing again. After a pause, his attack continued on July 28th and he was well on his way towards the Carpathian Mountains - despite a lack of supplies! His success was impressive enough that his superiors began transferring additional troops to his command, but Brusilov was not appreciative of the gesture. His opinion was that there was no space for extra men in his theater and that more manpower would hinder rather than help him.

Meanwhile, General Evert was not making any significant progress, while suffering high casualties. The difference could be attributed to tactics - Brusilov was using the same kind of techniques that German storm troopers would utilize later in the war, with specialist units to break holes in the enemy line and the main body of the army to follow. Evert's more conventional assaults led to more conventional failures and costly victories.



[h2]Japan in WW1[/h2]
The Japanese declared war on the Central Powers on August 23rd in 1914, and moved against German territories in their sphere of influence. They also sent teams of nurses to France, Russia and Britain. As the war continued, Japan would export large quantities of war material to Entente nations. They also exported a number of rifles - one of which you can use in Tannenberg.

The first Arisaka Type 30s were built in 1899, and were the standard issue Japanese rifle until 1905 when they were replaced by the Type 38 - however, a lack of supply meant that some units kept using Type 30s until into the Second World War. Desperate for weapons, Russia bought around 300,000 Type 30s from Japan, and they received more from the British who had ordered them from Japan to arm troops until production of the Lee-Enfield could ramp up. It's possible that a number of these rifles would have been present in some capacity during the Brusilov Offensive.



The battle goes on... since this post was begun, casualties have risen to 2,450,007 Central Powers and 2,416,463 Entente. There are six days remaining.

Campaign event has begun: 1916 Entente Relief Offensives

Our new in-game campaign begins part way through the real offensives that inspired it. The Brusilov Offensive began more than two and a half months before this date in 1916, and had another month left to go. The main successes of the Brusilov Offensive were seen early in the battle, following General Aleksei Brusilov's initial attack on June 4th.

Innovative tactics led to a major breakthrough, and the Austro-Hungarian defenders were forced into a hasty retreat. Unfortunately Brusilov's attack was only meant to be a diversion from a separate main attack, which was to be led by General Evert. This main attack was not nearly as well prepared as Brusilov's effort, and Evert was a naturally cautious leader. His part of the offensive began too late and quickly became bogged down as the Germans rushed reinforcements to the Eastern Front to support their beleaguered Austro-Hungarian allies.

Worse still, after the battle ended the Russians failed to learn the lessons of Brusilov's success. While German, French and British commanders would independently develop and improve the kind of breakthrough tactics Brusilov employed, Russian commanders never did so.



[h2]Steam Daily Deal![/h2]
Get 60% off Verdun and Tannenberg until August 24. If you know someone who hasn't played either game yet but might love both, you can point them to the WW1 Game Series bundle, which is 15% off - taking the total discount on everything in there to 75% off normal price!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/242860/Verdun/

As the campaign runs we'll be posting updates along with some history facts, but in Tannenberg and Verdun you can see current casualty rates in the main menu and after each battle ends.

Good luck!

A new campaign event!

The summer can be a good time for launching an offensive. Dryer weather and less harsh conditions make supplying your forces and maintaining morale easier. Which is not to say that summer in the trenches was by any means pleasant. The summer of 1916 saw an Entente effort to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun with two major offensives, and we will be running our own campaign event this summer as well...

[h2]A new campaign...[/h2]
This campaign is inspired by the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front, and the Brusilov Offensive on the Eastern Front. These were major operations for the Entente forces in 1916, and had mixed results. While the Brusilov Offensive was a great success, smashing the Austro-Hungarian army and gaining territory, the Battle of the Somme was a bloodbath that didn't lead to any major change to the front lines. There's more to it than that, of course - but we'll get into details later this week.



[h2]How does it work?[/h2]
Every fallen soldier on the Western and Eastern Fronts will be tracked. If you fight in a public Frontlines or Maneuver match, your actions will contribute to the campaign casualty totals. While the campaign is running, you will be able to see whether the Central Powers or the Entente are currently faring better. The campaign begins on Thursday.

Earn a campaign medal!
Everyone can earn a special campaign medal by fighting in battles during the event. You can earn a bronze, silver or gold medal. To get gold, fight in five battles on each front - five battles on the Western Front, and five on the Eastern front.

In our last campaign the Entente suffered slightly less casualties, but the difference was so minor as to be effectively a draw - like many major battles of the First World War, in fact. Perhaps this time will be different?

We'll be running a giveaway during the event and posting some interesting history facts. You can read the Steam news right here on the hub, or follow our Twitter, Facebook or Discord!



Check your gas mask and attach bayonets... the battle begins soon.

WWI FPS 'Tannenberg' adds a big new free map with a famous fortress - on a big sale

M2H and Blackmill Games recently released Tannenberg, their WWI FPS on consoles but they haven't left the PC version behind with a fresh update out with a new map.

FRONTLINE NEWS: New map released: the fortress of Przemyśl!

The battle for Przemyśl begins today! This intimidating brick fortress boasted numerous gun emplacements, bunkers and barracks. Austro-Hungarian defenders held the fort in the face of Russian assaults and siege for 133 days. They were forced to surrender, but German troops recaptured it later with the aid of super-heavy artillery pieces that left the fortress a broken ruin with minimal strategic significance.



Surrounding the town of the same name, the Przemyśl fortress was a series of defenses originally planned to include 41 distinct fortifications. However, construction proceeded in stops and starts depending on the diplomatic relationship between Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire from 1854 until the start of the First World War.

Nonetheless it was still a formidable position, as the Russians found when they tried a direct assault on October 7, 1914. Ten thousand of the attackers became casualties, with around 3,500 killed. The Russian siege held until March 22, 1915, when the remaining defenders chose to surrender. As food ran out and morale plummeted, 119,000 men were taken prisoner after a failed breakout attempt - though not before destroying the remaining artillery.



Now you can explore some parts of this famous fortress yourself, as you fight for control of two key forts along with their surrounding trenches and gun pits!

There’s more…
Although the highlight of this update is the free new Przemyśl map, there is more. Read the full changelog on the Steam Hub. A few things of particular note:
  • Przemyśl map added!
  • Updated sandbags to have more accurate colliders.
  • Improved checks to limit climbing exploits.
  • Fix for instant respawning bug.
  • Fix for HMG desync issue.


Share your experiences with the new map on our Discord or in the Steam hub!

And even more… Tannenberg has been released for consoles!
You can now get Tannenberg for Xbox One and PlayStation 4! We can't wait to see what console fans make of Eastern Front warfare. The development of the console versions has been done entirely in-house, like the Verdun Remaster. Everything has been optimized and adjusted for consoles, and the game will make the most of the Xbox One X and PlayStation Pro for those who have them.

If they might be interested, don't hesitate to share the word with your historically inclined console pals ;)

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]That’s all the news - now time to hold that fortress![/h2]