Hello commanders,
Time for something new! We are going to pause (only momentarily so) our divisional previews of WARNO - SOUTHAG as we turn our eye on the upcoming expansion’s Operations.
The reason for this break is that we are catching up on our model production for WARNO - SOUTHAG. We want to give our 3D artists some time to create new models for the remaining battlegroups.
With that out of the way, today’s DevBlog will look at our first Operation: Delayed Retribution.
WARNO - SOUTHAG’s Strategic Situation
So, we’ll talk a little bit more about the full strategic situation further south of WARNO’s World War III in Europe, but suffice to say that the battles raging there are as brutal as those further up north.
In southern West Germany, including Bavaria, the Bohemian Forest, and around the torn-open Iron Curtain, as well as in Czechoslovakia itself, a reformed NATO’s SOUTHAG under French command battles against the Warsaw Pact’s Czechoslovakian People’s Army and the Soviet Central Group of Forces. NATO forces include not only the French but also West Germans, Canadians, and reinforcing Spanish battlegroups.
Delayed Retribution’s Context
The action of our first previewed Operation, Delayed Retribution, takes place in Czechoslovakia proper, near the city of Plzeň, on July 1st, 1989. This means almost a full week-and-a-half has passed since the initial communist invasion further up north (as depicted in WARNO and WARNO - NORTHAG). For reasons we won’t go into detail today (yet, but we will surely do this in the future), the French 6e Division Légère Blindée manages to find a way behind the main screening force of the Czechoslovakian 1. Armáda (1st Army) and is in a great position to cut the communists off from reinforcements further east.
(insérer vidéo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOG4VIaAIf4)
But in a turn of events, the Czechoslovakian 19. Motostřelecká Divize throws some delaying units in the French’s way, hoping to contain the mobile French vanguard long enough for the 1. Armáda’s reserves - the 1. Tanková Divize - to counter-attack the cocky Frenchmen and kick them out of Czechoslovakian territory!
Delayed Retribution’s in-game
In Delayed Retribution you command a battlegroup of the 6e Division
Légère Blindée, the fast-moving, lightly armored but lethal French task force. In this Operation, they are the tip of the spear, using battle-hardened Legionnaires and supported by agile Legion AMX-10 RCs. Their mission is to outmaneuver a more ponderous but heavily armed opponent: the Czechoslovakian 19. Motostřelecká Divize reinforced by elements of the 1. Tanková Divize.
It’s not only going to be about firepower. This is a defensive operation, at first, for NATO. Stretched supply lines mean the French’s advanced position to the rear is tenuous at best. As a commander in this Operation, you get to make a critical decision: bolster the frontline with reinforcements and weather the communist storm, or thin out the front but ensure that your command sectors are secured.
You can push deep into enemy territory and hold out against counterattacks, denying the enemy the command points they need. Or will you act more cautiously and implement a defense-in-depth strategy instead? There will be many ways, and perhaps some patience only to strike in later parts of the battle, will do any commander good when playing Delayed Retribution.
WARNO - SOUTHAG Expansion In Short
WARNO - SOUTHAG is WARNO’s second expansion after WARNO - NORTHAG and showcases the fighting in southern West Germany near the Alps and on the Czechoslovakian frontier.
In the southern reaches of Germany, the Warsaw Pact with the Soviet Central Group of Forces, bolstered by the communist Czechoslovakians, battles against a counter-attacking NATO SOUTHAG command led by France, with American, West German, Canadian, and reinforcing Spanish troops.
- 2 new Army General campaigns.
- 4 new Operations.
- 10 new Divisions, featuring Canada, Spain, and Czechoslovakia as new nations. These include NATO’s 1st Canadian Division, the Spanish División Mecanizada «Brunete» n.º 1, the French 6e Division Blindée Légère and Warsaw Pact’s Czechoslovakian 1. Tanková Divize, 19. Motostřelecká Divize, and 303. Tanková Divize.
- New voice acting.
- New units and models.
Until Next Week
We’ll return with a new WARNO - SOUTHAG DevBlog soon!
Don’t forget the vibrant WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.
See you on the battlefield, commanders.
