Central Powers casualties: 1,933,610 Entente casualties: 1,819,664
The Entente win with a lead of 113,946.
For our next campaign, we might just have to shake things up a bit and offer some kind of reward to see if it's possible for the Central Powers to even come close to winning...
Movember
For those who don't know, Movember is a charity for men's health, which started out in 2003 as two Australian friends growing mustaches to see if they could bring them back into fashion. A year later, inspired by how the mustaches could start conversations, they started a website and made a drive for charity, raising $40,000. By 2006 they were raising millions for charity each year, and it's only grown since then.
Since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world, challenging the status quo, shaking up men’s health research and transforming the way health services reach and support men.
Of course, the First World War was back when moustaches were still in fashion - take a look at these four below! We're running a poll on Twitter to see who has the greatest moustache...
By the way, this vote isn't just for fun - the outcome will influence something with the WW1 Game Series as well, so think carefully before you click! Keep your eyes open, we have more plans for Movember and the WW1 Game Series this month...
Isonzo Intel Teaser
We're still hard at work on Isonzo, and we have plans for a new dev blog soon. Here's a little teaser for what kind of subject you might expect.
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween, soldiers!
If you look carefully at the menu background, you might spot some spooky details today...
Steam Halloween Sale
Both Verdun and Tannenberg are 60% off in the Steam Halloween Sale! Tempt a friend to enlist for the Western Front, or take a trip to the Eastern Front if you haven't already visited...
This is the Dodengang, or 'Trench of Death', a preserved trench, museum and memorial where many soldiers died during the war. It sits on the banks of the Yser Canal, and was an essential part of the network of trenches and bunkers which prevented the Germans making significant gains across the canal.
The Battle of the Yser
Belgian troops stationed along the Ieperlee canal on October 18, 1914, had their peace shattered by a heavy artillery barrage that heralded the coming of the German Fourth Army. The goal of the Germans was to break through and capture the vital channel ports of Dunkirk and Calais.
Both sides faced brutal artillery fire – the Belgians from the heavy guns of the Fourth Army, the Germans from British warships with howitzers and 152mm naval guns. Alongside Belgian bravery, those guns would see off the first German attack.
HMS Mersey, one of three British monitors which shelled the Germans.
More assaults would follow in the coming days, with German troops eventually gaining a bridgehead over the canal by stealth on October 22. Despite valiant efforts, the Belgians and a force of French marines were taking heavy losses in the important town of Diksmuide, and it didn’t look like they would be able to hang on. The Belgian King Albert I decided it was time for drastic measures, and on October 25 the canal lock gates at Nieuwpoort were opened.
A huge stretch of countryside gradually flooded in the following days, just in time as the Germans broke through Belgian second line positions on October 30. A final attack was planned for the last day of October, but it had to be called off as the flooding continued and threatened to trap the forward German forces. The town of Diksmuide would fall to the Germans 10 days later, but thanks to the flooding the last corner of Belgium would never be captured. It was an impressive performance by the Belgians, who suffered an estimated 20,000 casualties in their defense, but may have been able to inflict even more losses on the Germans.
Four days left
The Water and Blood 1914 campaign is running for another three days, until October 31st. Right now the Entente have a lead of 91,000 casualties - will they manage to increase that to a lead of 100,000 by the end of the campaign?
It's in your hands!
Water and Blood 1914
In October 1914, the Belgian army put up a tenacious defense against the German Fourth Army as they attempted to cross the Yser river and Yperlee Canal in order to break through to critical channel ports. They were ultimately successful in halting the German advance, and would continue to hold their ground until the very end of the war. Although 95% of Belgium was German occupied, the country never completely fell.
A postcard showing Belgian troops defending a crossing of the Yser river.
Water and Blood 1914 Campaign
Our latest campaign event will run until October 31, when intentional flooding forced a German withdrawal. Which side will be able to win this battle of attrition?
All casualties in Frontlines and Maneuver game modes in Verdun and Tannenberg will be added to the total losses, and the winning side will be whoever suffers the least killed and wounded. Too many First World War battles essentially became meatgrinders (or were even conceived as such from the start) and so it is for our campaigns.
In case you haven’t been following Isonzo on Steam, there has been a new blog talking about the new rifle grenades and a few other weapons. The rifle grenades used in WW1 were early ones, and each nation often came up with very different designs.
We just released a new dev blog for Isonzo! This time it's all about our new class system, which will allow you more freedom in how you equip yourself. Read the basics below, or get all the juicy details in the full blog:
In Isonzo we wanted to tailor the class selection to the nature of the fighting on the Italian Front and to reflect the new gameplay features we are introducing such as construction. We want to put a larger focus on non-combat roles for players to shape the battlefield and help their team members fight more effectively. The focus is on working together and advancing as a team, and the selection of classes reflects this.
The classes we have follow a generic class “archetype”, but for both the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire there will be different weapons and uniforms based on actual historical units that fulfilled these roles. There will be more info in future blogs about the specifics of each class and how these are implemented per faction.
The below images are from our brand-new UI that is still very much Work In Progress (some icons are still a bit crusty). As you can also see we’ve significantly upped the level of detail on our characters as well. We’ll talk more about what that means as we draw closer to launch!
All factions have classes based on historical units, such as the Italian Alpini as mountaineer versus Austrian Kaiserjagers.
107 years ago today, the First World War began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This was a month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip. It was a turbulent affair, and only a series of wild chances led to the death of the Archduke. That said, even if the assassination had never happened, Europe was a tinderbox waiting for a spark. It seems likely that some other event would have provided an excuse for the war.
A headline from an American newspaper. The writers likely didn’t imagine that the war in Europe would last more than four years, or that US troops would join the fighting.
In response to the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war, a series of other mobilizations and declarations were made. Russia gathered their troops, and in response Germany assembled an army and declared war on Russia. Luxembourg was occupied by German troops on August 2nd, and they declared war on France the day after. The invasion of Belgium began on August 4th, and Britain sent a demand to Germany to cease their attack under threat of war - predictably there was no response, and so Britain was at war with Germany by midnight of the 4th. The First World War had begun in earnest.
Campaign Event - The War Begins 1914
This month’s campaign is inspired by the fighting seen at the start of the war. The Germans saw considerable early success, before ultimately being halted outside of Paris during the First Battle of the Marne in September. On the Eastern Front, Russia made a successful advance into Galicia, but suffered enormous losses during the Battle of Tannenberg.
All casualties in Frontlines and Maneuver game modes in Verdun and Tannenberg will be added to the total. Too many First World War battles essentially became meatgrinders (or were even conceived as such from the start) and so it is for our campaigns. The Central Powers have lost all recent campaigns, often by large margins. Will it be different this time?
Furthermore, to commemorate the start of World War One, we’re holding a Commemoration event on our social media and Discord channel. From today, July 28, until August 8 we’ll be posting in black and white! Every day we will focus on something else, so be sure to check in daily to see what we’re up to.
Want to go more in-depth with fellow players, mods and devs? We have a special channel in our Discord in relation to our Commemoration event as well. If you haven’t already, be sure to join our Discord server by clicking here.
Film Memoir Mode
Alongside these events, the Film Memoir mode will be available for free for everyone on PC! Be sure to join us in the black and white posting by sharing your screenshots and clips while using this mode. Don’t forget to use the special hashtag #RememberWW1 so we can easily find the content you create while using this feature! And who knows, we might be highlighting some of your reporting efforts!
Welcome new players!
Verdun and Tannenberg were released on the Epic Games Store last Thursday, along with Verdun being free to claim there for a week. You’ve likely seen many new players in-game, let’s all welcome them to the WW1 battlefields!!
That’s all the news from the trenches for now! Wishing you all the best from the WW1 Game Series team!
News from the Italian Front
Attention soldiers on the Western front!
Italian Front Intel
We would like to inform you that there's new Isonzo Intel for you all! We've mentioned previously that there will be a new gamemode in Isonzo; Offensive. In the latest dev blog, we discuss the Offensive more in depth, combined with new images, videos & gifs!
Thank you all for your continious support and excitement for Isonzo! Be sure to wishlist Isonzo if you haven't already and follow our social media for Isonzo news as well!
Welcome to all the new players who joined us during the free weekend! We saw a great number of new players after the weekend. New recruits and veteran players, thank you for your support and love for the game!
Start of WW1 Anniversary
Furthermore, the anniversary of the start of The Great War is approaching at the end of month. We can't say anything specific for now, but please keep your eye out for more WW1GameSeries news!
See you on the battlefield!
Enlist for Free this weekend!
Hello soldiers of the Western Front!
This weekend, June 17-20, you’ll be able to play Verdun & Tannenberg for free! We’re celebrating the release of Verdun & Tannenberg on the latest current gen consoles.
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Verdun & Tannenberg on Sale
For those of you who are new to the WW1 Game Series, we are happy to see you at the frontlines! The battlefield can always use more soldiers, and right now is the perfect time to join the action permanently! For those who don’t own Verdun and/or Tannenberg yet, we have a special deal going combined with the free weekend!
Both Verdun and Tannenberg have laid the foundation for the WW1 Game Series and made it possible for us to continue and create Isonzo! We appreciate your continuous support and enthusiasm for our games and the excitement for our new game!
Currently, we are running some closed Alpha tests for Isonzo with PC players right here on Steam! We don’t have a scheduled deadline for now, as we want to test the game thoroughly. Be sure to enlist via the form by clicking here.
We’re currently working hard on delivering the game and we can't wait to share more about it with you! We've already posted a few dev blogs. In the first two dev blogs, we announced the new Offensive game mode, more details about the San Michele map, and how we ensured historical accuracy! If you missed our first video dev blog, be sure to check it out if you haven’t already:
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The latest Isonzo Intel is also out now! We talk about some the new weapons you’ll be to use as you fight for the Alpine peaks, including some interesting Italian firearms! https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1556790/view/4986028794973970850
Furthermore, if you already own them for previous generation consoles, you might be able to find Verdun & Tannenberg on your current gen console as well. Might be worth checking out… Good luck on the battlefield soldier!
-WW1 Game Series team
West to East 1915 campaign ends.
Another campaign comes to a close with another Entente victory. The final tally lies at...
Central Powers: 990,040 Entente: 967,286
Entente wins with 22,754 less casualties than the Central Powers.
Things were a little different in the real battles. The French and British attackers in the Second Battle of Artois suffered around 50,000 more casualties than the defending Germans, while the Gorlice–Tarnów offensive saw an even starker difference, with several hundred-thousand more Russian casualties. Of course, in both cases the total was far below the almost 2,000,000 total casualties we saw in-game.
Isonzo Intel
Don't forget to check out the latest Isonzo Intel dev blog, all about the challenges of recreating historical landscapes!
The ruins of San Martino del Carso, that you will find yourself battling through in Isonzo.
See you next time!
The Second Battle of Artois
The Second Battle of Artois was primarily a French effort to capture the strategic heights of Vimy Ridge, which the Germans had conquered in 1914. The first French assault actually succeeded, with heavy bombardments and mine detonations opening a path for a fierce assault by the Division Marocaine (Moroccan Division), who succeeded in taking the ridge. Unfortunately for the French, German artillery delayed reserves from moving up to reinforce the Division Marocaine, who were evicted by a strong counter-attack.
The Division Marocaine were among the most decorated units of the French Army.
A memorial to them on Vimy Ridge reads (translated):
"To the Dead of the Moroccan Division Fearless and Merciless In memory of Colonel Pein, commanding the 1st Brigade, of Colonel Cros commanding the 2nd Brigade, of the Officers, non commissioned Officers of the Moroccan Division who in glory fell here on 09/10/11 May 1915. On May 9, 1915 the regiments of the Moroccan Division, rushed from the Berthonval trenches at 10am, fiercely overcame the Germans' resistance and reached Hill 140, their goal, breaking for the first time the enemy's front."
Two days of campaigning remain
The West to East 1915 campaign will continue until this Friday 4th – the balance currently stands at 794,025 vs 772,397 in favour of the Entente. Once again the Central Powers are on the back foot...
Isonzo Intel
In case you missed it, the most recent Isonzo Intel Dev Blog was all about the challenges of recreating historical landscapes in a videogame. Aside from the technical side of things, you first have to find good reference materials, and remember that landscapes can change a lot over the years...
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1556790/announcements/detail/3041597566481848340 Until next time!
