Hello commanders!
We return yet again with another WARNO - SOUTHAG preview; this time focusing on the third of four Operations: Hydra.
Onwards!WARNO - SOUTHAG’s Strategic Situation
In WARNO - SOUTHAG, the Warsaw Pact sees the southern front in West Germany to be a largely secondary effort at first. As such, the Czechoslovak People’s Army only launches a series of fixing attacks early in World War III, to keep local NATO forces in place, but they are mostly perfunctory.
After several small-scale battles, and a failed offensive by the Soviet Central Group of Forces defeated near Nuremberg, a reformed SOUTHAG command is ready to take the fight to the communists. A daring plan is devised, which sees first a series of fixing attacks keeping the Warsaw Pact in place, while a massive counter-offensive across the Iron Curtain is unleashed in the second phase.
In this second stage, NATO briefly breaches neutral Austria’s borders in order to outflank and surprise the Czechoslovakians. Soon after, and for the first time during WARNO’s frontline, the war is brought to communist territory.
From reluctant socialist Czechoslovakians, with the Soviet repression after the Prague Spring of 1968 still acutely felt not only in its society but also in the ranks of the ČSLA, the army now turns to defend its home territory - and does so with renewed vigor.Hydra
SOUTHAG’s coordinated and aggressive counter-offensive has put the Czechoslovakian forces in a difficult position. Now turned to fighting for every inch of their own territory, the communists have been pushed back on a broad front, while a swift and highly mobile flanking assault is threatening to cut open the rear of the Czechoslovak People’s Army completely.
Across the southern front, Warsaw Pact units have been forced on the back foot, including retreat, but the withdrawal is severely hampered by a relentless NATO that harasses the enemy at every turn. After several pitched battles, the Czechoslovakian city of Plzeň has become the final battleground. It is one of the last chances for the communists to halt the multi-pronged NATO advance.
The Czechoslovakian 1st Tank Division will do the heavy lifting in this Operation. The formation’s T-72M-EM3 battle tanks and Motostrelci infantry in BVP-1s, backed by Vysadkáři special forces, have to fight against no less than five different NATO formations converging on the battlefield. Hence the name Hydra.
The player as the ČSLA commander does battle against a mobile spearhead of the French 6th Light Armored and 11th Paratrooper Division. Plus follow-up forces of the West German 1. Luftlande and the 4. Panzergrenadier Division, and further units from the 1st Canadian Division.
The Hydra Operation won’t be a walk in the park. You will need to repel the final combined NATO assault while defending against a variety of different attack avenues from the west, north, and east. Defending the battlefield, you might want to emphasize a defense in depth, or perhaps a wiser approach would be to split your forces? If each individual NATO sector can be captured, the respective reinforcements and supply lines will be severed, which will give you a little bit more breathing space.
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, such as Delayed Retribution.
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 Division du Rhin, plus the West German 1. Luftlandedivision. The Warsaw Pact features the Czechoslovakian 1. Tanková Divize, 19. Motostřelecká Divize, and 303. Tanková Divize, while the Soviet Central Group of Forces deploys the 31-ya Tankovaya Diviziya and the 17-ya Gvardeyskaya Tankovaya Diviziya.
New voice acting.
New units and models.
Until Next Week
We’ll return with another WARNO 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.