Tannenberg News

[h2]Summer Offensive 1915 Concludes[/h2]
Almost four million losses for both sides. After a little more than a week of action, the total campaign casualties come out to 4,210,058 from the Central Powers and 4,167,371 on the side of the Entente. Of course, Verdun and Tannenberg only simulate intense front line combat, which was not the standard state of affairs during the war. A week's hard fighting since we last posted on June 15th has increased the total count from around 1,000,000 per side to 4,000,000. How does that tally up with the actual battles?

Well, for comparison, France had roughly 1,000,000 killed in action during the entire war, with 4,000,000 wounded. Germany ended the war with closer to 2,000,000 killed to 4,000,000 wounded, while Russia had somewhere in the region of 2,000,000 killed to almost 5,000,000 wounded. These numbers also don't account for captured soldiers taken prisoner, which were huge numbers in some cases - for instance around 92,000 at the Battle of Tannenberg, or perhaps as many as 250,000 during the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive.




If we use a 1:4 ratio of killed vs wounded, and count perhaps 20% of the Central Powers 'kills' as captured troops with a smaller value for the Entente (as mentioned, a large number of Russian soldiers were captured during the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive), the following numbers might emerge:



[h2]Historically...[/h2]
In the actual battles, the total losses were closer to 480,000 for the Entente compared to 220,000 Central Powers casualties. If you missed it before, you can read a bit more about the history of the Second Battle of Artois or the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive in our previous news posts.



As for the balance of losses for each side, historically the Germans lost far fewer troops, despite their very successful offensive in the East. In contrast, in our campaign, the Central Powers have actually suffered about 37,000 more losses than the Entente. Maybe the Germans committed less of their artillery to the Eastern Front, and the Russian defenders were better able to hold their positions - it's even possible that the fortifications at Przemyśl would have proved more consequential if the Germans hadn't brought up their super-heavy guns.

Alternately, the Tsar was more decisive in ordering an initial withdrawal alongside urgent fortification of rear areas. The Russians fell back in good order to solid defensive lines, and the Germans overextended their strength, at the limit of their supply lines and unable to capitalize on their huge advantage in artillery pieces due to supply issues. There might have been a good deal of land captured, and the pressure on Austria-Hungary would still have been lifted, but Central Powers casualties could have been far greater and Russian losses far less. Probably still a Central Powers victory, but not nearly as decisive as historically.

Do you have any theories about how the battles could have gone differently to explain this almost 1:1 casualty rate? I haven't touched on the Western Front here, but there are surely possibilities there as well!

We hope you all enjoyed this surprise event! It's been great to see people chatting about the event and the history of the two battles we were inspired by. Remember you can always visit the #history channel on our WW1 Game Series Discord to talk to other fans about WW1. There are some cool images and facts to be found there!

We'll end with congratulations to everyone who earned a Gold Summer Offensive 1915 Veteran medal!


And credit to player GoldenHelmet for the rare peaceful screenshot below.

[h2]Summer Offensive 1915 Update[/h2]
At the time of writing, there have been 1,137,028 Central Powers losses, to 1,143,957 Entente casualties. Almost a 1:1 ratio, with a minor lead for the Central Powers... it could still easily go either way. The Summer Offensive 1915 campaign will continue to run until Monday 22nd of June. We'll see how the battle went historically on the Eastern Front below, but how were things on the Western Front? Find out on our Verdun Steam Hub.

[h2]The Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive[/h2]
On the Eastern Front the Austro-Hungarians had done poorly in their battle against the Russians, losing territory including the fortified town of Przemyśl in an extended siege. They demanded support from their German allies, threatening to make peace if no aid was forthcoming. General August von Mackensen was tasked with leading the newly formed Eleventh Army in supporting the Austro-Hungarians. What was intended to be a relatively minor relief effort quickly became a major offensive.

The Russians facing the Eleventh Army had 141 light artillery pieces and four heavy guns at their disposal. This was woefully insufficient compared to Mackensen's 457 light guns, 159 heavy pieces, and 96 mortars. The German artillery advantage would prove decisive. From disrupting Russian infantry and counter-battery fire to the heavy mortars used to demolish the defenses of the recently captured fortress at Przemyśl, the German guns were significant everywhere.



The pattern became familiar - the Central Powers would begin with a heavy artillery barrage, and follow up with infantry that would capture the Russian positions. Any Russian counterattack would likely be ill-supported and suffer heavy casualties. The Russian Tsar was slow to authorize any withdrawal, and chose not to start work on constructing better fortifications in the rear. Russian reinforcements were brought in, but were devastated by the German artillery.

Today in 1915 the Russians were only a matter of days away from the Grand Duke Nicholas ordering a complete abandoning of Galicia on 21st of June. Total casualty estimates for the Russian forces range between 250,000 and 400,000, compared to about 216,000 total soldiers deployed to the fight by the Germans and Austro-Hungarians. They would go on to lose around 80,000 to 100,000 men, while advancing hundreds of kilometers.

In Tannenberg and Verdun, the Summer Offensive 1915 is still very much undecided. You have until the 22nd - the battle rages on!

[h2]The Summer Offensive 1915 begins![/h2]
The First World War saw fighting around the world on a scale previously unimaginable for many people. Gains or losses in any individual battle could ultimately have consequences for entire theaters, no matter how minor they might seem at the time. You can experience this yourself today in the WW1 Game Series, as we begin the Summer Offensive 1915 campaign!


In short, every fallen soldier on the Western and Eastern Fronts will be tracked. If you fight in a public Maneuver or Frontlines 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 today: the Summer Offensive 1915.


The name of this campaign refers to the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive on the Eastern Front, and the Second Battle of Artois on the Western Front. Overall these two operations did not end well for the Entente factions - will things pan out differently this time?





The German led Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive lasted from 2 May to 22 June, 1915. It was intended to reduce pressure on Austro-Hungarian forces who had taken a beating from the Russians. The Austro-Hungarians even threatened the Germans that they might seek an individual peace agreement if they didn't offer any military assistance! In the event, the German attack was so successful that they kept pushing and it became a major offensive effort, ending in a German victory and forcing the Great Retreat back to Russia by Russian forces.




On the Western Front, the Entente were launching the Second Battle of Artois, which ran from 9 May to 18 June, 1915. The French aimed to capture Vimy Ridge and cut off German railway supply to a large part of the front. The British Expeditionary Force launched a supporting attack to increase pressure on the Germans. After initial success and capture of Vimy Ridge, French forces were forced back by a German counterattack. The British attacks did divert two German divisions, but were otherwise failures with high casualties despite heavy bombardments.

[h2]What do you think?[/h2]
We’re looking forward to seeing how this campaign turns out! Common questions are answered in this FAQ post.

While the campaign is running, you can earn a unique medal for taking part in battles as well. The most prestigious award being given to those who fight at least five battles on both fronts!

The campaign will run until Monday 22nd of June, when the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive ended. Casualties will be tallied until then - in reality, the Entente suffered about three times as many casualties as the Central Powers.

The battle awaits - how will events compare to history? That’s down to how you fight. Good luck!

[h2]Mapping new places[/h2]
A little update for you all today, mainly to say that work on the upcoming new map is going excellently. In fact, here's a little teaser!



It probably doesn't give much away, but hopefully it will whet your appetite for a new battlefield. It's a very cool location with some significant terrain features that make it stand out from the other maps in the game already. We'll be teasing more as we lead up to the release!

[h3]Update V312.20578[/h3]
We released a small update yesterday with a few nice fixes. Previous changelogs can be found on the Steam Hub.

• Fixed being able to spawn in contested sectors
  
• Fixed film memoir and motion blur
  
• Fixed call-ins being displayed as mustard gas
  
• Disabled the squad menu while spectating
  
• Prevented future bans due to higher rate-of-fire from HMGs
  
• Updated engine version

[h3]Tannenberg on consoles[/h3]
Speaking of releases, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 releases of Tannenberg are also in sight. We'll share more information with you as soon as we can confirm release dates! Of course our Twitter and Facebook are also great sources of the latest news.

[h2]Details, details...[/h2]

Player ЖыжЪ spotted this little bit of environmental detail in the game. If it seems a little silly, consider...




...this photo uploaded by Runcible to the artwork section - allegedly German cycle troops in 1914. Personally, we'd prefer the ladder-chair system to bike-shoulders!


That's all for now. But rest assured, more news is coming soon!

The Film Memoir event has finished, and there has been some amazing stuff made -thanks to everyone who took part and especially those who shared what they made. If you really enjoyed playing with Film Memoir mode and want to give us some extra support, the aptly named Supporter Edition DLC includes permanent access to Film Memoir, along with some other nice extras from wallpapers and artwork to the game soundtrack.

Now to the competition - first off, thank you all for participating! There were lots of great moments captured on camera, but some stood out. A drumroll please as we announce our three competition winners! Congratulations to...

[h3]Best Short Film[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Tommies in Flanders, a stirring patriotic film of British troops in action.
By Liam.

[h3]Best Image[/h3]

A rare moment of quiet in Verdun, captioned: 'British soldiers in the trench. Year 1915.'
By Tanya Degurechaff.

[h3]Best Story[/h3]

The body on the ground suggests this is real combat photography rather than being taken during a training exercise! Captioned: 'German officer leading troops to charge enemy positions during the Battle of Tannenberg, in 1914.'
By Wise Wolfie.

The winners will receive a Supporter Edition, a hefty can of refreshing mints, and one of these delightful roly-polys:



If you won, look out for a Steam friend request from one of our mods so we can get in touch to arrange sending out your prize!

[h2]Tannenberg console news update[/h2]
The console versions of Tannenberg for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are making solid progress, despite some slowdown due to the ongoing coronavirus situation. We aren't quite ready to announce a release date yet, but rest assured that as soon as we know, you'll know!

Stay safe out there everyone!