Battle of Dukla Pass Army General Preview
Hello all!
In today’s DevBlog, we’ll take another look at the new Army General campaign to be featured in the upcoming Steel Division 2: Battle of Dukla Pass.
Let’s dive in!
[h2]Battle of Dukla Pass History[/h2]
So, we have already taken multiple opportunities to preview the historical context around the Battle of Dukla Pass. We’ll briefly sum it up, but some additional historical reading can be done here (in the very first Nemesis offering detailing the Slovak National Uprising, our first preview DevBlog, or our recap DevBlog here).
In brief, the Battle of Dukla Pass focuses on a heavily contested series of Eastern Front battles in September and October 1944, which saw the attacking Red Army force its way through a narrow valley in the Carpathian mountains. Their goal was to reach the rebelling Slovak Army, or the Slovak National Uprising, encircled and slowly being crushed by numerous Axis formations and security units.
The combat was especially bloody, as the German units had excellent defensive positions, even if their reserves were limited. As they held onto the flanks, the Soviets had no way but to assault frontally through the Dukla Pass; a particularly destructive campaign with the location quickly being dubbed “The Valley of Death” by the surviving Red Army foot soldier. Unable to make reasonable headway, and the SNP being destroyed in October, saw the cancellation of the Allied offensive in late 1944.
[h2]The Dukla Pass Army General Campaign[/h2]
The Army General campaign will kick off on September 8th, 1944, with the Allied Soviets playing first - being on the offensive, and all. The campaign is set to end on September 15th, 1944, covering the first week of the historical fighting. Although the Battle for the Dukla Pass officially lasted for about seven weeks, the Red Army quickly ran out of steam between September 10th and 20th, with the rest of the combat being a prolonged grind with mounting casualties leading nowhere, before the Soviets finally threw in the towel.
At our cut-off date, both sides’ armies changed drastically, with troops and units being switched from one side of the corridor to the other, some others being pulled out (such as the Allied Czechoslovakians). These actions we couldn’t represent accurately within the Army General campaign. And as such, if we would have continued after this date, the battle would not have looked anything remotely similar to the historical Battle of Dukla Pass.
On the Soviet side, the player takes command of the 1-y Ukrainskiy Front (1st Ukrainian Front) as Marshal Ivan Stepanovitch Konev. Aside from an artillery division and several smaller independent brigades and regiments, all units involved will come from the 38th Army.
The German counterpart will be Heeresgruppe Nordukraine (Army Group North Ukraine) with its commander, Generaloberst Joseph Harpe. Under his command will be two corps from two different armies (since the Soviet offensive strikes right at their junction): the 17. Armee's XI. SS-Korps and 1. Panzerarmee's XXIV. Panzerkorps. Some additional elements from the XXXXIX. Gebirgskorps (that’s number 49) as reinforcements.
The Location
The campaign is centred on a corridor (which we should be very familiar with), the Dukla Pass. For the Soviets, it's a race against time to reach the SNP insurgents before they are crushed. If the Red Army can secure the crossroads at Prešov, where the Carpathians open to the Slovakian hinterlands, they'll be in a position to lend a helping hand to the SNP-held position at Brezno.
Our campaign map’s dimensions in Steel Division 2 will cover, in length, from the Soviet starting line above Krosno in the north to Košice in the south, and in width, from Jaslo in the west to Sanok in the east.
The Objectives
As mentioned before, the map is a corridor based on a valley that the Soviets will have to cross all the way through. The campaign’s objectives will be to secure Jaslo, Krosno, and Sanok, representing the "cracking" of the bottleneck's defenses. However, the most important of all is to reach the ultimate objective: Prešov.
Opposing Forces
Although the German defenders are well-entrenched at the entrance of the pass, they number few, with significant gaps between the three major units (68., 208., and 545. Infanterie-Division). None of these infantry formations are at full strength. And even if they are, in the case of the green and untested 545. ID, they have a weaker TO&E.
Facing the Axis will be three Soviet rifle corps (57th, 101st, and 67th), each one larger than their opposing German division, and featuring more mobile troops to exploit a potential breakthrough. The 25th Tank Corps is immediately available to support the infantry, while the 4th Guards Tank Corps, the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps, and the 1st Czechoslovakian Corps will turn up as reinforcements.
Opposing Forces
The main challenge for the Soviets is to breach the Axis defenses as early as possible, but not waste too many of their exploitation units in doing so. Rushing Prešov is key, before the jaws of incoming German reinforcements close the trap.
The German reinforcements
The Germans need to hold the first defensive line long enough for fresh units to arrive from all sides of the corridor. These will come piecemeal, from Jaslo, with independent battalions or regiments thrown into battle as “fire brigades.” Throughout the campaign, stronger battlegroups from the 1. and 8. Panzerdivision, elements from 101. Jägerdivision and the whole 75. and 357. Infanterie-Division will enter the corridor from the east, west, and south!
The Battle for Dukla Pass Army General campaign is a race against time for both sides, with both the Axis and the Allies being able to turn from hunter to prey depending on the turn of events on the battlefield!
[h2]Battle of Dukla Pass Expansion[/h2]
If you are wondering what you can expect from the Steel Division 2: Battle of Dukla Pass, check out our detailed previews below.
[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
We’ll be back with a new Steel Division 2: Battle of Dukla Pass DevBlog soon!
Make sure to join the Steel Division 2 community on our Steam forums. The latest Steel Division 2 news can also be encountered on our Instagram.
Looking for an online game? Visit the Discord server or Reddit page and get involved with the lively Steel Division 2 community!
See you on the battlefield, commanders.
In today’s DevBlog, we’ll take another look at the new Army General campaign to be featured in the upcoming Steel Division 2: Battle of Dukla Pass.
Let’s dive in!
[h2]Battle of Dukla Pass History[/h2]
So, we have already taken multiple opportunities to preview the historical context around the Battle of Dukla Pass. We’ll briefly sum it up, but some additional historical reading can be done here (in the very first Nemesis offering detailing the Slovak National Uprising, our first preview DevBlog, or our recap DevBlog here).
In brief, the Battle of Dukla Pass focuses on a heavily contested series of Eastern Front battles in September and October 1944, which saw the attacking Red Army force its way through a narrow valley in the Carpathian mountains. Their goal was to reach the rebelling Slovak Army, or the Slovak National Uprising, encircled and slowly being crushed by numerous Axis formations and security units.
The combat was especially bloody, as the German units had excellent defensive positions, even if their reserves were limited. As they held onto the flanks, the Soviets had no way but to assault frontally through the Dukla Pass; a particularly destructive campaign with the location quickly being dubbed “The Valley of Death” by the surviving Red Army foot soldier. Unable to make reasonable headway, and the SNP being destroyed in October, saw the cancellation of the Allied offensive in late 1944.
[h2]The Dukla Pass Army General Campaign[/h2]
The Army General campaign will kick off on September 8th, 1944, with the Allied Soviets playing first - being on the offensive, and all. The campaign is set to end on September 15th, 1944, covering the first week of the historical fighting. Although the Battle for the Dukla Pass officially lasted for about seven weeks, the Red Army quickly ran out of steam between September 10th and 20th, with the rest of the combat being a prolonged grind with mounting casualties leading nowhere, before the Soviets finally threw in the towel.
At our cut-off date, both sides’ armies changed drastically, with troops and units being switched from one side of the corridor to the other, some others being pulled out (such as the Allied Czechoslovakians). These actions we couldn’t represent accurately within the Army General campaign. And as such, if we would have continued after this date, the battle would not have looked anything remotely similar to the historical Battle of Dukla Pass.
On the Soviet side, the player takes command of the 1-y Ukrainskiy Front (1st Ukrainian Front) as Marshal Ivan Stepanovitch Konev. Aside from an artillery division and several smaller independent brigades and regiments, all units involved will come from the 38th Army.
The German counterpart will be Heeresgruppe Nordukraine (Army Group North Ukraine) with its commander, Generaloberst Joseph Harpe. Under his command will be two corps from two different armies (since the Soviet offensive strikes right at their junction): the 17. Armee's XI. SS-Korps and 1. Panzerarmee's XXIV. Panzerkorps. Some additional elements from the XXXXIX. Gebirgskorps (that’s number 49) as reinforcements.
The Location
The campaign is centred on a corridor (which we should be very familiar with), the Dukla Pass. For the Soviets, it's a race against time to reach the SNP insurgents before they are crushed. If the Red Army can secure the crossroads at Prešov, where the Carpathians open to the Slovakian hinterlands, they'll be in a position to lend a helping hand to the SNP-held position at Brezno.
Our campaign map’s dimensions in Steel Division 2 will cover, in length, from the Soviet starting line above Krosno in the north to Košice in the south, and in width, from Jaslo in the west to Sanok in the east.
The Objectives
As mentioned before, the map is a corridor based on a valley that the Soviets will have to cross all the way through. The campaign’s objectives will be to secure Jaslo, Krosno, and Sanok, representing the "cracking" of the bottleneck's defenses. However, the most important of all is to reach the ultimate objective: Prešov.
Opposing Forces
Although the German defenders are well-entrenched at the entrance of the pass, they number few, with significant gaps between the three major units (68., 208., and 545. Infanterie-Division). None of these infantry formations are at full strength. And even if they are, in the case of the green and untested 545. ID, they have a weaker TO&E.
Facing the Axis will be three Soviet rifle corps (57th, 101st, and 67th), each one larger than their opposing German division, and featuring more mobile troops to exploit a potential breakthrough. The 25th Tank Corps is immediately available to support the infantry, while the 4th Guards Tank Corps, the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps, and the 1st Czechoslovakian Corps will turn up as reinforcements.
Opposing Forces
The main challenge for the Soviets is to breach the Axis defenses as early as possible, but not waste too many of their exploitation units in doing so. Rushing Prešov is key, before the jaws of incoming German reinforcements close the trap.
The German reinforcements
The Germans need to hold the first defensive line long enough for fresh units to arrive from all sides of the corridor. These will come piecemeal, from Jaslo, with independent battalions or regiments thrown into battle as “fire brigades.” Throughout the campaign, stronger battlegroups from the 1. and 8. Panzerdivision, elements from 101. Jägerdivision and the whole 75. and 357. Infanterie-Division will enter the corridor from the east, west, and south!
The Battle for Dukla Pass Army General campaign is a race against time for both sides, with both the Axis and the Allies being able to turn from hunter to prey depending on the turn of events on the battlefield!
[h2]Battle of Dukla Pass Expansion[/h2]
If you are wondering what you can expect from the Steel Division 2: Battle of Dukla Pass, check out our detailed previews below.
- The expansion features 1 massive Army General campaign centered on the Battle of Dukla Pass.
- Plus 6 new Divisions, playable in both single-player and multiplayer. These include the Allied 1. Československý Armádní Sbor, the Soviet 242-ya Gornostrelkovaya, and Slovak National Uprising, while the Axis deploy the 208. Infanterie-Division, the Hungarian 13. Gyaloghadosztály, and the 18. SS-Fr.-Panzergrenadier "Horst Wessel".
[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
We’ll be back with a new Steel Division 2: Battle of Dukla Pass DevBlog soon!
Make sure to join the Steel Division 2 community on our Steam forums. The latest Steel Division 2 news can also be encountered on our Instagram.
Looking for an online game? Visit the Discord server or Reddit page and get involved with the lively Steel Division 2 community!
See you on the battlefield, commanders.