Steel Division 2 News

Welcome back!

We are going to be taking another good look at the upcoming “The Fate of Finland” DLC, scheduled to release sometime in the next couple of weeks.

We briefed you already on the six divisions that are going to be part of the DLC - the juicy details you can read here.

Today, we are going to be talking about the strategic Army General campaign, as well as the two Historical Battles which will be featured in “The Fate of Finland” expansion.

One of the most crucial confrontations of the Continuation War plays a central role in the new campaign: the Battle of Tali-Ihantala.

Keep on reading to find out more!

The History



The date is the 10th of June, 1944. In roughly two weeks, Operation Bagration will commence in the south. Up north, on the heavily defended but quiet Finnish front, the local Soviet forces have carefully prepared their own devastating offensive. The aim is to smash through the Karelian Isthmus and knock out Germany’s Nordic ally, Finland, with overwhelming firepower.

At first, progress is quick, the Red Army breaking through line after defensive line. However, when the Soviets pause to reorganize and celebrate the capture of the strategic town of Vyborg, in front of the dilapidated VKT defenses, the Finnish Army has just enough time to rush critical reinforcements to the sector.

This is the moment when the new Army General campaign begins. We are ten days into the offensive and Finland’s heartland is under direct threat, its army pushed all the way back to the 1941 borders. It only takes one final push for the Soviet forces to break out of the Karelian Isthmus.

You either take control of the hard-pressed Finnish defenders with some German units in support, or the Red Army troops riding a wave of high morale, on the verge of success.

The Army General Campaign



On the brink of collapse, the Finnish forces have hurriedly reoccupied the neglected VKT defensive line which bisects the isthmus. Reinforcements have been brought in from other parts of Finland, including the 11th and 6th Division from the east. The Germans have sent the 122. Infanterie-Division with a Luftwaffe detachment bringing vital air support thanks to its complement of fighters and fighter bombers.

Stavka is set to advance from the recently captured strongpoint of Vyborg, attempt to gain access to the Finnish road network. Once reached, breaking through to Finland proper will become a much easier task for the Red Army. Fresh troops, coming as the newly activated 59th Army, are being brought up from the rear.

The direct axis of advance for the Soviets is to the north, but this is also where the heaviest fortifications are located. To the east, the Vuoksi river provides the Finns with a natural barrier, but the defenses lack depth, so the Soviet player might want to use this to their advantage if a direct assault out of Vyborg does not make any headway.

In comparison to the Death on the Vistula campaign, which featured a lot of tank-on-tank combat, the Karelia campaign will be far more infantry-focused. The new Army General campaign will be roughly the same size, containing a similar number of battalions.



Historical Battles

The Fate of Finland DLC will also feature two brand-new Historical Battles: Fate of a Nation, a 3v3 scenario, and The Last Battle, a 2v2 scenario.

Fate of a Nation
This Historical Battle will see the Soviet armored vanguard begin its assault in the last phase of the Karelian offensive. Seeing the advance towards the important Portinhoikka crossroads, the Finnish High Command throws every available soldier, gun, and plane at the Red Army. A closely-contested fight ensues, as this Historical Battle will depict one of the few head-on mechanized engagements of the war on this part of the front.



The Last Battle
The Leningrad Front’s attempt at continuing their offensive has petered out thanks to the Finnish victory at Ihantala. In response, Stavka looks towards the rural and weakly defended Ilomantsi sector for their next assault. Making good progress at first, the advancing Red Army units find themselves up against the able general Rääppana who has brought fresh reinforcements with him. Defeating the opposing Soviet troops in detail, the Finnish encircle two whole divisions. To save the friendly units from assured destruction, Stavka decides to send in elite naval infantry to break their comrades out of the Finnish trap.



Conclusion

Once again, if you haven’t, be sure to grab Steel Division 2’s History Pass. With it, you’ll get access to all three planned DLC!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/988171/Steel_Division_2__History_Pass/

That’s it for this week’s post. Keep a close eye on our Steam and Eugen forums, or social channels (Facebook and Twitter). You can also join us on our [https://discord.gg/TEeBArm]Discord channel or Reddit page.

See you on the battlefield, commander!

Good day to you!

In today’s blog post we will take a closer look at the six new divisions which are going to ship with our new Steel Division 2 History DLC: “The Fate of Finland.”

You can read the first details about this recently revealed expansion in this announcement here.

As you might know, in the upcoming DLC, both Axis and Allies will gain access to three brand-new divisions!

The Axis

• Panssaridivisioona
  
  First off, we have Finland’s sole armored division, the aptly named Panssaridivisioona. This formation was created in 1942 by bringing together all the Finnish tanks. This means that the division can count on a wide array of different models, from pre-war versions, captured Soviet tanks, and the latest German self-propelled guns.
  
  With the Panssaridivisioona you get to play with the ubiquitous but outdated Soviet light tank, the T-26, as well as more exotic equipment. What about the multi-turreted T-28, the T-50 light tank, the T-38 amphibious tank, or the BT-42 assault guns? British Vickers E tanks can also be deployed. German StuG III and Panzer IV J round out your armored options.
  
  Weak in reconnaissance and artillery support, the Panssaridivisioona has an actual fighting strength closer to a typical German mechanized division.
  
  
• Ryhmä Raappana
  
  An ad-hoc formation commanded by general Raappana, this battlegroup (literally Group Raappana) is an infantry-centric force. So much so that it lacks a strong armored punch.
  
  It makes up for this with aggressive recon troops, formidable artillery and air support, and a wide variety of different infantry. From regular riflemen squads to cavalry units, assault Jääkäri, engineers, close-quarters specialists, Sissi special forces and even penal formations, the fighting power of its soldiers means that Group Raappana excels in defensive fights.
  
  
• 122. Infanterie-Division
  
  The German 122. Infanterie-Division was sent north as urgent reinforcements. Its timely arrival contributed greatly to the Finnish efforts to contain the Soviet offensive on the Karelian Isthmus. This regular German infantry division is reinforced with Finnish elements including Estonian volunteers but also reconnaissance troops, infantry, AT units and more. The battlegroup can also count on some hard-hitting assets such as PaK 43 anti-tank guns and Stug IV assault guns. Furthermore, Luftwaffe support is provided by the Detachment Kuhlmey, which features a potent mix of fighters and fighter bombers.
  

The Allies

• 126-y L. Gornostrelkovy Korpus
  
  Not an actual corps but rather a downsized Soviet rifle division, the 126th Light Rifle Corps could count on a cadre of very experienced troops. This battlegroup can deploy Soviet Gornostrelki mountain troops, lightly armed but well-equipped with radios. These veteran soldiers also feature the new “Raider” unit characteristic, meaning that they won’t suffer any moral or combat penalties when engaged in a fight behind enemy lines.
  The division also fields Morskaya Pekhota naval assault troops, which are larger than usual rifle squads carrying a substantial amount of SMGs. Pretty cool, but especially if you know these guns are Chicago-style old-school M1928 Thompsons. Not only that, but fast and iconic BT-7 tank can also be found in this battlegroup as one of the last remaining Soviet ones being used in a combat capacity. Lend-lease units round out this battlegroup, from M3 Lee tanks to P-40 Kittyhawk fighters.
  
  
• Podv. Gruppa Vyborg
  
  One of the most powerful combat groups of the Leningrad Front, the Podv. Gruppa Vyborg was destined to exploit any breakthrough made in the Karelia sector. As such, this battlegroup focuses heavily on its armored role, featuring everything from T-26 tanks (including assault gun and flamethrower variant) to the T-34/76, KV-1, the IS-2 and even lend-lease Churchill tanks. Its infantry and artillery units are highly specialized but few and far between.
  
  
• 358-ya Strelkovy Div
  
  The 358th Rifle Division earned their stripes in one of the other locations already present in Steel Division 2: the hotly-contested battlegrounds of Vitebsk. Part of the first, failed Soviet offensive in 1943, the division was rebuilt and sent north to support the assault on the Finnish lines a year later. A veteran formation, its soldiers are experts in close combat attacks, including its specialized Gruppa Zachistki (“trench cleaners”). The battlegroup can choose T-26, T-60 and T-70 light tanks, a few T-34/76, and even ISU-122 and brand-new ISU-122S tank destroyers to serve as armored support.
  

What’s up next?

If you haven’t, make sure to grab your History Pass. With this History Pass you’ll get access to all three planned DLC’s for Steel Division 2. You can play number one, “Death on the Vistula”, as we speak. Number two, “The Fate of Finland”, has now been revealed and will release in the next two months. Number three: well, you need to hold on tight for that one as it is still some ways off!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/988171/Steel_Division_2__History_Pass/

That’s it for this week’s post. Keep a close eye out on our Steam and Eugen forums, or social channels (Facebook and Twitter). You can also join us on our [https://discord.gg/TEeBArm]Discord channel or Reddit page.

See you on the battlefield, commander!

Hello everyone.

We have some exciting news to share with you. Are you ready? Drumroll, please…



We are ready to reveal the next upcoming History DLC for Steel Division 2 “The Fate of Finland”. The expansion should launch within the next two months. We are hard at work, but we can’t tell you the exact date just yet.

Some of you internet sleuths already figured out that the next battlefield would be Finland. Very astute.

The new History DLC is set on the heavily defended Karelian Isthmus in the south-east of the country during the summer of 1944. The “Fate of Finland” DLC will bring six new divisions (three for both the Axis and Allies), as well as 200 new units, new camouflage skins, new aces, a new unit trait, a brand-new Army General Campaign, two new Historical Battles, and much more.

Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect.

The Finnish Front 1944

Chronologically, the new DLC stays close to the general timeline found in the Steel Division games: the summer of 1944. With the new expansion, we will transport the player to the far north of the Eastern Front, where the Finns, their German allies and the Soviets have been locked in a stalemate for a number of years - also known as the Continuation War.

Finland, having allied itself with Nazi-Germany to reclaim what it lost in the Winter War of 1939, has governed over a mostly static front. However, by June 1944, things were heating up as the Leningrad siege had been lifted and Stavka was planning a large offensive to knock the Finns out of the war.

The “Fate of Finland” DLC deals with the massive Red Army assault, which began on June 10th, 1944 and resulted in the breakthrough of several defensive lines on the fortified Karelian Isthmus, the subsequent fall of Vyborg, and near-collapse of the Finnish Army. The centerpiece is the crucial battle of Tali-Ihantala, where the resilient Finns finally managed to stop the Soviet advance - but at great cost.



The Divisions

We will take a closer look at each division and their new units in a blog post closer to launch, but for now, we’ll give you a sneak peek at some of the battlegroups you’ll be able to form in the new DLC. You’ll find three new divisions on each side.



The Axis

• Panssaridivisioona - As the sole armored division of the Finnish Army, this military formation can count on a wide array of different vehicles and tanks, from T-38 and T-50 to the BT-42 assault gun.
  
• Ryhmä Raappana - Meaning “Group Raappana” is an infantry force made up of regular riflemen, cavalry troops, assault Jääkäri and more. Excellent on the defense and in close-combat situations.
  
• 122. Infanterie-Division - German reinforcements rushed north to stem the Soviet tide. This division also fields Estonian volunteers and the powerful Luftwaffe air group “Detachment Kuhlmey”.
  

The Allies

• 126-y L. Gornostrelkovy Korpus - This Soviet division features elite infantry, including mountain troops, as well as a powerful airforce consisting of lend-lease A-20, P-40 Kittyhawk, and Hurricanes.
  
• Podv. Gruppa Vyborg - One of the ad-hoc military formations of the Leningrad Front, this mobile group is heavily armored, and includes various T-26 tank variants to the mighty IS-2 and even Churchill tanks.
  
• 358-ya Strelkovy Div. - The veterans of Vitebsk, this rebuilt division was redeployed north to spearhead the assault on the Finnish defensive lines. Very experienced, this battlegroup features brand-new ISU-122S tank destroyers.
  

One new unit trait is the “Raider” unit type. A Raider unit can operate behind enemy lines and doesn’t suffer any moral or combat efficiency penalties doing so. In our first game, this was a common trait found with paratroopers, but in Steel Division 2 the Raider trait can be found with Soviet mountain troops.

The Army General Campaign and Historical Battles



The Army General campaign puts you in the shoes of either the Soviet commander ready to break out of the Karelian front or the Finnish general desperate to hold the line.

One new feature will be the so-called Fortified Region unit, a new type of Soviet battalion. The role of this largely static military formation was to hold extended stretches of the frontline. As an infantry battalion in Army General, they are very weak, but once entrenched, are much more difficult to defeat, being able to call upon more bunkers and defenses compared to a normal infantry battalion.

The two Historical Battles, which we will detail in the future, will cover some of the most important engagements that occurred during the Red Army’s push across the isthmus. This includes the armored clash at Portinhoikka, one of the rare tank-on-tank battles on this part of the front. A second scenario deals with the attack and brutal counter-offensive in the Ilomantsi sector, which saw the Finns use their famous Mötti encirclement tactics, as well as the deployment of elite Soviet navy infantry.



What’s Next?

As we mentioned before, we’ll take a much closer look at some of the new features, aces, divisions, scenarios, and units at a later date.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/988171/Steel_Division_2__History_Pass/

If you haven’t, be sure to grab yourself the History Pass for Steel Division 2. With it, you’ll get access to all the three History DLC’s planned for our game, including the new “The Fate of Finland” DLC and the “Death on the Vistula” DLC.

So, keep an eye out on our Steam and Eugen forums and social channels (Facebook and Twitter).

You’ll hear from us soon!

Hello there!

We’ll be releasing a patch for Steel Division 2 today which should significantly decrease the online waiting times with some of the server formats that we use.

Right now, players can wait a long time for a 10v10 server to fill up. We worked on an update that should alleviate some of the waiting times.

What this new patch does is to automatically assign virtual players depending on the total waiting time of a server, thus reducing it.

Not only that, but we have also opened up a number of new 3v3 and 4v4 servers. Previously, this server format could only be custom created by the players themselves. Now, there should be several ready-made in the server list.



PATCHLOG :

SMART ORDERS: Counter-Battery order's reactivity has been toned down.

GENERIC: Forgotten transports (SdKfz. 251/9, GMC .50, Kangaroo, WC 52 .50, M4 HST) from the last patch now have the new standard prices.

ALLIES: Increased the 4,2-inch Mortar's supply cost.
Increased the M1 Carbine x8's damages (they dealt the same damag as x6).
Increased the French & US Sherman OP's 155mm salvos from 2 to 3, as other off-map observers.

AXIS: Increased Axis pionners' explosives' aim time from 3 to 4s, on par with the Allies'.
Increased Ersatztruppen HG’s availability from 12 to 18 (forgotten in previous patch).
Decreased Schuma from 15 to 10
Decreased Landesschutzen Ost from 20 to 15
Decreased Rona Schutzen from 25 to 20
Decreased LVF's price Gren from 25 to 20

Let us know if everything works well (or not) or if you have any questions. We’d love to hear from you! You can always drop us a line on our Steam and Eugen forums, or social channels (Facebook and Twitter). You can also join us on our [https://discord.gg/TEeBArm]Discord channel or Reddit page.

See you on the battlefield, commander!

The “1st Steel Division 2 Championship” will be a 1v1 tournament that starts on the 11th of January at 15 CET(Central European Time) and it will be played until the Semi-Finals. Semi-Finals and Finals shall be played on the 12th of January 2020 (The Bronze Match and the Finals can be delayed if needed)

To Participate you have to join the Official Steel Division Discord
Invite: https://discord.gg/UxF3j88



Format:
The tournament will be a Single Elimination BO1 event until the Semi-Finals. Once the Semi-Finals phase is reached all games will be a BO3(Best of 3 games).

The players defeated in the Semi-Finals will play a Bronze Match to decide who is the 3rd and 4th place.

Prizes are yet to be announced(but there will be prizes.)
The winner of the Tournament will gain a prize for him as well as the discord he comes from. (If someone from the Official Discord wins we will giveaway the extra prize.) See: Sign up link for more informations on what that means

Rules:

To decide a map the allies player bans 3 map using the $banmap (map name) command, if you are unsure what a map is called use the $maps command to have the exact name list of all maps available.
Once the map bans from the allied side is done the axis player bans another 3 maps and then the command $rmap 1v1 is used to decide the map played.
Each players has a total of THREE division bans. Allies ban 3 divisions first and then the axis bans 3.

Each match UNTIL THE SEMI-FINALS consists of 1 game. After the

Semi-Finals each match is a Best of 3 (whoever wins 2 games wins the match)

Mirrors aren't allowed.

To decide the sides players should flip a coin using the $flip command in the #SODROOM-Championship room(You will have access to this room when you sign up.)

Games will be played with:
750 Start Points
Medium income
Medium game speed
Eastern front mode (conquest)

Any exploits and cheats are forbidden, if we find out any kind of advantage was gained due to an exploit or cheat the player accused will be banned from any future tournaments organized in the Discord.

Offending another player is also not accepted and will be met with similar consequences.

Reporting results:
To post a result make sure you are registered by using the command $register
Results will be posted using the #SODBOT-Results channel in the Steel Division Discord(Access will be given to this room when you sign up.), you will need to drop the replay file into this channel and the bot shall do the rest.

If anything is unclear feel free to ask a moderator.

Have fun !