Hello commander,
It’s good to be back. Last week, we talked about the new British 2nd Infantry Division, coming as part of the next major WARNO milestone, SUCHET.
Let’s cast our wandering eyes today on the second promised division: the French 11e Division Parachutiste.
Keep reading to find out more!
Forewords
First, some update about SUCHET ...
We had planned to release this milestone at the same time as this DevBlog, but we found a last minute issue in the version which we rather fix before delivering. Therefore, it won't be released today ... and since you should be aware by now that we don't release anything on a Friday, it will be delayed to next week.
In the meantime, you can watch members of the Strike Team streaming previews of the divisions & patch.
Now, let's focus back on our new French division ...
A little bit of history
The 11e Division Parachutiste has a complicated ancestry, with the formation created in 1971 by converting the 11e Division Légère d’Intervention (the 11th Fast Reaction Division). This original division had only been activated ten years prior by merging the remaining elements of two parachutist divisions which rebelled against the governement in the Algiers Coup of 1961.
Unlike other French divisions, the 11e Division Parachutiste was a “true” division in size. As a matter of fact, it has been created from no less than seven airborne infantry regiments. It formed half of France’s Force Terrestre d’Intervention in the 70s and 80s, gaining valuable combat experience in Chad, Zaïre, and Lebanon.
One special feature of this division was that these paratrooper regiments originated from three different arms: two regiments were “Metro” (which stands for metropolitan France), three regiments “Marine” ("naval infantry", a rebranding of the former “Colonial” infantry) and the last remaining regiment “Foreign”, meaning from Légion Etrangère or the famous French Foreign Legion.
That leaves one more regiment: the 1er RPIMA. A special forces regiment, it held the traditions of the original naval commandos trained by the British during World War II. They have kept the SAS motto “Qui ose gagne” (“Who dares win”) and are still, to this day, referred to as the French SAS.
The 11e Division Parachutiste detailed
The 11e Division Parachutiste had its organic helicopter support removed in 1984, to be given to the new 4e Division Aéromobile. After this date, the division worked closely with its new cousin formation. This is reflected in-game with the 4e Division Aéromobile providing their arsenal of rotorcraft to the French paratroopers.
Much like the 82nd Airborne, the 11e Division Parachutiste has its very own “Humvee-like” light truck, found up and down through its ranks. This is the VLRA (Véhicule Léger de Reconnaissance et d’Appui) and available in a wide range of configurations: transport, recon, logistics, AA, AT, self-propelled mortar, and so forth. And like the Humvee, the VLRA will have more HP than jeeps but less than standard trucks.
What to expect in-game
What will the 11e Division Parachutiste be like in WARNO, category by category?
- LOG - Not the division’s strong suit, with only light CV units available: P4 PC jeeps, VBL PC and Puma PC helicopters. Supply units are meager, either in the form of the lightweight VLRA Log or the fragile Puma Kangourou.
- INF - A strong category, with lots of veteran Chasseurs Paras and elite Légionnaires Paras (organized and equipped respectively like Gren. Volt and Grent. Volt. (Apilas). Furthermore, you get Sapeurs Paras (this time fielding modern small arms), Groupe Antichar Paras, Milan 1 and Milan 2 (both Paras version). All of these units will feature the Forward Deployment trait, but can only count on VLRA and P4 as transport options.
- Continuing with INF - Reservistes are also available, since only half the airborne regiments were professionalized. This type of infantry tended to be sent in the second wave; they do not feature Forward Deployment. Additionally, some Aeromobiles, detached from 4e Division Aéromobile, operate with Super Puma transports. They also lack the Forward Deployment mechanic.
- TANK - The division can field P4 Milan Paras (Forward Deployment), the VLRA Milan (more missiles, but lacking Forward Deployment) and France’s sexiest vehicle, the ERC-90 Sagaie, acting as a sneaky, swelty light-wheeled tank.
- ART - Artillery forces are light and quickly turn expensive. The 11e Division Parachutiste can count on towed 120mm mortars, VLRA PMB (self-propelled 81mm mortars on trucks) and HM2A1 105mm light field guns.
- RECON - As with our other French division, the recon category is solid, with plenty of cheap slots. You’ll gain access to VBL Reco and VBL Milan, as well as 4-man Eclaireurs Paras with LRAC or elite 8-man Eclaireurs SAS with SIG-543, two Minimi SAW and Satchel charges. Also featured are AML-60-12 with a combo of direct-fire 60mm and 12,7mm HMG, but only Good optics, and a AML-90 Lynx with improved optics and its armament replaced with a low-velocity 90mm tank gun. Recon Gazelle Lisse (unarmed) and Gazelle Canon (20mm) are also available.
- AA - Although plentiful choices in this category, AA relies on just two system families: the 53T2 20mm gun or the Mistral missile. Aside from the basic version of both, you’ll also encounter a self-propelled variant on a VLRA for each system, as well as a Gazelle Celtic armed with four Mistral missiles.
- HEL - plentiful and cheap, with the armed units available being all French, even if they are relatively light. The Gazelle can be deployed in 20mm, HOT and HOT 2 versions. The greatly named Puma Pirate, with a side-door 20mm, can also be fielded.
- AIR - The Armée de l’Air provides a special effort, with the Jaguar coming in many configurations: from SEAD, ATGM, HE to a full Rocket, Napalm (featuring Bidons Spéciaux), a second SEAD variant with the Gulf War-era ARMAT anti-radiation missiles plus rockets, and a Cluster version. Fighters include a returning Mirage 2000C RDI, Mirage F1C-200 and F1 CT variant able to fire the LGB. Finally, the Mirage 5 F “bomb truck” completes this air show.
The 11e Division Parachutiste relies on hard-hitting airborne & airmobile infantry, including plenty with the Forward Deployment option, as well as good recon forces. The formation is backed by strong air assets, either armed helicopters or planes, providing critical close air support. However, since the rest of the division’s arsenal is pretty light, the 11e Division Parachutiste is better suited for sneak attacks, flanking maneuvers and light strike missions.
SUCHET release & patch
SUCHET will be delivered with an accompanying major patch.
We have tried to address issues reported by the community, as well as adding some new features, such as:
- infantry weapon teams (ATGM, RCL & MANPAD) being able to occupy city blocks. This change is paving the way for the upcoming introduction of HMG teams.
- some helicopters now have an ECM value, giving them more chance to dodge missiles. Those models so equipped are now launching flares FX when targeted, same as planes.
- new infantry cards for a abetter readibility.
- improved FX.
- and more ...
Now that all planned divisions are done, we have also started giving overall balance a closer look. And in that matter, some divisions really needed some love ... or the stick.
The main targets were the two existing airborne divisions, 82nd Airborne & 35-ya GvDShB. The former being too good, the latter widely regarded as the weakest ingame. We have brough some changes to bring both more on par with the others divisions.
Warsaw Pact in general, and DDR in particular, also needed some buffs.
We will keep a close look on balance once this patch has taken effect, and we will bring more changes if need be, tone down some of the recent ones if they went too far.
We hope you will enjoy this.
See you on the battlefield
Plenty to read, and plenty to discuss. Let us know what you think of SUCHET’s two new divisions. We’ll be back with another blog post next week!
Join the passionate WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get to together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, or our Instagram.
See you on the battlefield, commander!
