Commanders, are you ready?
WARNO’sp latest milestone BERNADOTTE has launched! This major update brings not only a new division (and another heavily updated) but also much-anticipated Army General online Coop and Versus functionality, Command & Control optional game setting, additional divisional “housecleaning,” plus a big balance patch.
BERNADOTTE is the last milestone before WARNO’s official launch out of Early Access!
Keep reading to find out more.
BERNADOTTE Explained
All right, you know the drill. All WARNO milestones are named after famous (and not so famous) French military commanders from the Napoleonic era. If you want to know more about the man behind the name, read our historical perspective coming up.
If your personal preference is to dive straight into war, skip ahead and check out what BERNADOTTE brings further below.
Milestone’s historical namesake
Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, better known to the Swedes as King Karl IV Johan, was a French military commander who became the first of the dynasty of monarchs ruling modern Sweden to this day. He has a long and convoluted history with Napoleon, being a rival not only as a political and army leader and in war, but also in love.
While initially serving well, there were frequent clashes between Bernadotte and Napoleon, including in politics (Bernadotte was a Republican) and battlefield conduct, and shared the same love interest (who would ultimately choose Bernadotte over Napoleon). Bernadotte would never regard himself as anything but equal to Napoleon, never an underling. He had been one of France’s leading military and political figures, and he would not content himself to be just one out of eighteen marshals of the first promotion. The seeds for Bernadotte’s ascension to the Swedish throne would be planted during the siege of Lübeck, in which his courteous behavior won the respect of the Swedes.
Different objectives
However, his less-than-stellar performance at Wagram saw him stripped of command by Napoleon and sent back to Paris. Under house arrest, he was thrust into the spotlights again due to the British landings at Antwerp. With no one else at hand, Bernadotte was given overall commanded by Fouché (the Minister of Police) and showed so much energy in getting rid of the British with a bunch of second-rate troops it was difficult for Napoleon to punish him afterwards.
The next thing is an even bigger surprise. The specter of an administrative spot in occupied Spain hanging over him, Bernadotte instead moved to Sweden as its new crown prince. He didn’t have any say in this position, having been elected by the Swedish nobility (with Napoléon's approval), but all parties could see the benefits of Bernadotte’s new job. Napoleon saw this as an opportunity to get rid of a political rival and create a potential new European ally. However, Bernadotte followed his own plans, putting Swedish interests first. He turned into the enemy, going to war against France and even successfully defeating the French on numerous occasions.
After Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815, Talleyrand’s scheming in Paris brought the old Bourbon dynasty back to the throne, despite the Russian Tsar Alexander’s support to Bernadotte’s claim. In 1818, at the Swedish king’s death, he was crowned the new king as Karl IV Johann. His dynasty still endures today.
In France, Bernadotte was widely regarded as a traitor, having turned against his former nation. Yet, Napoléon refused to label him as such. Even when Bernadotte was at war with France, Désirée Clary, Bernadotte’s spouse, was left in peace, even acting as a discreet channel between the two men. Love conquers all - ha!
Milestone BERNADOTTE features
Enough about cuddly feelings, let’s go to war! What can you expect from the BERNADOTTE milestone in WARNO?
- Army General’s Coop and Versus functionality. From now on, you’ll be able to play with or against your friends or other players online. For more details on Army General’s, check the DevBlog here.
- A new Warsaw Pact division, the Soviet 6-yaOG Motostrelkovaya Brigada (6th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade) and revised Berliner Gruppierung as part of the The Big Split divisional ”housecleaning.” Read all about it in this dedicated post here.
- Even more “housecleaning” specifically “Part V”, more details here, updating the US 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), French 11e Division Parachutiste, and UK 2nd Infantry Division.
- The new Command & Control setting for multiplayer lobbies, an optional “upkeep” system that decreases a player’s income depending on the amount of reinforcements they deploy on the battlefield. More information in this DevBlog as well.
- This is a major balance patch, with all the juicy details in the corresponding milestone BERNADOTTE patch notes
Until next week
All right. We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labor. As always, we are keen to hear what you think. The Eugen team is small but passionate and very dedicated to making the full launch of WARNO out of Early Access a success. This does mean we won’t have time to address all comments or suggestions, but we will keep an eye out for all feedback. We kindly ask you to be respectful of the developers and your fellow community members. We are all in together to make WARNO the best possible game. Play it cool, calm, and collected, commanders.
Join the 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, commander!
