Combat Mission: Red Thunder

Battlefront · Matrix Games

Released: Jun 15, 2023
Platforms
Last updated: 14 Sep 2026, 09:30 GMT

Updates & announcements

9 posts

27 Aug 2024Developer post
Matrix Games is the new Home of Combat Mission
Hi everyone, We are excited to announce the acquisition of Battlefront , the renowned developers behind the Combat Mission series. ELEVATING COMBAT MISSION'S LEGACY This strategic move underscores our commitment to the wargaming community and the legacy of Combat Mission—a franch
14 Jun 2024Developer post
"Choose Your Own Scenario" community activity on Discord
Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our community as we launch our very first community activity on Discord. Starting today, every three days we will conduct a poll featuring various questions that will shape the design and creation of the next three fictiona
23 Feb 2024Developer post
Invitational Grand Tournament announcement
Dear partecipants, we wanted to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude to each and every one of you who participated in the Grand Tournament series. Your enthusiasm, skill, and sportsmanship have made this event truly special, and we hope you enjoyed the streams, videos a
Dear partecipants,
we wanted to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude to each and every one of you who participated in the Grand Tournament series. Your enthusiasm, skill, and sportsmanship have made this event truly special, and we hope you enjoyed the streams, videos and articles we made for these tournaments
You know, for every competion there must be a winner, and here are the final results of the Grand Tournaments on Battle for Normandy, Cold War and Red Thunder.
Based on your remarkable performances in the Grand Tournaments, we are thrilled to announce the participants drafted for the Grand Invitational. These players have demonstrated exceptional skill and will be competing in the next level of our tournament series on Combat Mission Shock Force 2.

Cargol
Tyrandar
lawran
sohzaz
MeatEtr
Jackal2100
AtlasActual
Fizou
MHerm
Andrew Kulin
Dawntaker
Artkin
For the first time in the history of our Combat Mission tournaments, players will fight for a coupon prize pool. The amount of money will be given based on your final placement:

Top 1: $60 Coupon
Top 2: $50 Coupon
Top 3: $40 Coupon
Top 4-8: $20 Coupon (each position)
Top 9-12: $10 Coupon (each position)
The Invitational Grand Tournament will start on March the 5th at 10.00 GMT.
The tournament will feature 3 different scenarios with 40-days round length:

Round 1 : Wadi Armor Clash
Round 2 : Into the Valley
Round 3 : Ambush Alley
For this event we have prepared a series of contents for you:

Round 1 and round 3 will see Richard Yorke and XTRG fight each other in a 1 vs 1 on our Twitch channel to showcase the scenarios.
For round 2, UsuallyHapless will create one of his cool videos.
Last but not least, a big shootout to George McEwan (George MC), one of the greatest scenarios designers that created a lot of new content from scratch.
Once again, thank you for making the Grand Tournament series a tremendous success. We look forward to seeing the drafted players showcase their skills in the Grand Invitational.
Original post
15 Nov 2023Developer post
Red Thunder Grand Tournament - Round 3 "Where Forefathers Fought"
The final round of the Red Thunder Grand Tournament is about to begin; in the meantime, you can follow the tournament's progress here . The battle awaiting you in this third round will be tough and challenging, but don't worry, "Usually Hapless" has got your back with a new video
20 Oct 2023Developer post
Red Thunder Grand Tournament - Round 2 "Delaying Action at Ogledow"
Just a few days left until the start of the Round 2 of the Combat Mission Grand Tournament. At the beginning of the week, we showcased the second round of Cold War on Stream on our Twitch channel, as well as a video by Usually Hapless showing the second round of Battle for Norman
20 Sep 2023Developer post
Red Thunder Grand Tournament - Round 1 “Dawn Patrol”
The Grand Tournament for Combat Mission was announced last week, and yesterday we also streamed Cold War, where we featured the mission you'll face in the first round . But that is not all, as today we will have another video full of tips and tricks for all of you that have regis
12 Sep 2023Developer post
Combat Mission - Grand Tournament announcement
To celebrate Home of Wargamers, we are really excited to announce the first Combat Mission Grand Tournament. The tournament will start on September 25th at 10.00 GMT . Join the Combat Mission Grand Tournament here . The tournament will feature 3 titles of the Combat Mission serie
Watch on YouTube
To celebrate Home of Wargamers, we are really excited to announce the first Combat Mission Grand Tournament. The tournament will start on September 25th at 10.00 GMT.
Join the Combat Mission Grand Tournament here.
The tournament will feature 3 titles of the Combat Mission series: Battle of Normandy, Cold War and Red Thunder. Every game will have 3 rounds with 3 different scenarios:

Combat Mission - Battle of Normandy

Round 1 - Buying the Farm - Elements of the 29th Infantry Division advancing near Isigny. Allied attack.
Round 2 - Barkman’s Corner - 27th of July Barkman’s Panther was repaired during the night but before he could link up with main unit PanzerGrenadiere asked for his help.
Round 3 - No Exit - Fictional Company-level meeting engagement near an Autobahn interchange in Summer ‘45.

Combat Mission - Cold War

Round 1 - Valley of Ashes - US vs Soviet meeting engagement at dawn.
Round 2 - Recover and Attack - M1 tank recovery. US attack.
Round 3 - Civil War Within - 1080 - There has been an underground movement in Ukraine to break away from the Soviet Union, but it’s out in the open now, and it has led to war.

Combat Mission - Red Thunder

Round 1 - Dawn Patrol - Reinforced Soviet Infantry company probes the German lines. Allied Probe.
Round 2 - Delaying Action at Ogledow - Armored action on the west bank of Vistula. Allied attack.
Round 3 - Where Forefathers Fought - Guards Rifle Battalion, accompanied by tank, attacks weakened German battalion in the village. Allied attack.

To make the Combat Mission - Grand Tournament the most engaging experience possible, we will share, for every round, valuable resources that will help players to plan the perfect strategy. These include: insightful editorials by Mark Goddard, military Officer, history enthusiast and wargaming expert, that explain the historical context of some of the key battles to gain a deeper understanding of their strategic significance; strategic videos by Usually Hapless, where he guides players through optimal strategies for tackling each round; live stream sessions with Gamer_1745 where he recreates one of the maps from each round.
To take part in the Combat Mission - Grand Tournament, players do not have to participate in all the 3 tournaments in the 3 different titles. For example, a player can decide to play just the tournament on Combat Mission - Cold War and still have the possibility to be one of the winners of the Grand Tournament.
As a matter of fact, for every tournament, the top 4 players will be drafted for a Combat Mission - Invitational Grand Tournament starting later this year.
If one or more players will be in more than one top 4, the following player will be drafted based on the ranking of the tournament where the player has the lower position. For example, if a player arrives 1st in the Combat Mission - Battle of Normandy and 4th in the Combat Mission - Red Thunder, the player who has arrived 5th in the Combat Mission - Red Thunder will be drafted for the Combat Mission - Invitational Grand Tournament.
Before joining the tournament, please take a moment and carefully read these instructions that are specific to all Combat Mission Tournaments:

Because of the way that Combat Mission’s original “play by email” system works, both game files have an in-game field for password protection of the file. This field should be left blank. For the US side the password has been selected before the battles were sent and that field is to be left blank. You can use a password for the Russian side but it isn’t needed because the Tournament feature handles protection from cheating without using the in-game system.
The Tournament will have you playing 2 individual battles where you are playing both sides of the same battle. If you get into the game before your opponent, you will see 1 game turn to play. If your opponent has gotten there first then you will see 2 turn files and each turn thereafter should have 2 files.
Once a tournament begins, you will receive the files in the "Saved Game and PBEM" drop menu under Automated PBEM++ In Progress. You will receive email notifications when your opponent has sent you turns.
You will need a Matrix username and password to play any tournament (or PBEM++ battle). If you don't have one already, you can get one here.
Original post
15 Jun 2023Developer post
Combat Mission: Red Thunder - Out Now
The wait is finally over, Combat Mission Red Thunder is now available on the Matrix Store and on Steam. Red Thunder brings you to the Eastern Front where the forces of the Third Reich definitively, and decisively, lost all hope of victory. Command the full array of Soviet forces
22 May 2023Developer post
Combat Mission: Red Thunder - Out on June 15th
Gear up and brace yourself for the intense action of Combat Mission Red Thunder, the groundbreaking World War II tactical strategy game that will immerse you in the heart-pounding battles of the Eastern Front. Mark your calendars for June 15th as this epic gaming experience arriv

Combat Mission: Red Thunder

Updates & announcements

Matrix Games is the new Home of Combat Mission

ELEVATING COMBAT MISSION'S LEGACY

LOOKING FORWARD

AVAILABILITY & DISTRIBUTION

A DAY OF CELEBRATION

"Choose Your Own Scenario" community activity on Discord

Invitational Grand Tournament announcement

Red Thunder Grand Tournament - Round 3 "Where Forefathers Fought"

Red Thunder Grand Tournament - Round 2 "Delaying Action at Ogledow"

Red Thunder Grand Tournament - Round 1 “Dawn Patrol”

Combat Mission - Grand Tournament announcement

Combat Mission: Red Thunder - Out Now

Combat Mission: Red Thunder - Out on June 15th