Hello there!
We hope you are doing well. Elite light infantry is the name of the game in today’s Steel Division 2: Black Sunday Versus post as we will be highlighting two hardened divisions, tempered by years of brutal Eastern Front warfare.
Keep on reading to find out more about how the Romanian mountaineers of Div. 4 Munte hold up against the Red Army’s airborne troops of the 3-ya VDV.
As both new Black Sunday divisions feature some seriously hardass soldiers, numerous squads of each battlegroup’s infantry forces will be able to count on the “Raider” trait. This allows them to fight behind enemy lines without suffering suppression penalties like regular troops.
Div. 4 Munte
On the Romanian side, we have the expert mountaineers of the Div. 4 Munte (4th Mountain Division). As with many other armies during World War II, mountain troops were considered elite - even though this formation was the most junior of the four mountain divisions in the Romanian Army. Still better than your regular Romanian foot soldier, the Div. 4 Munte fought many battles on the Eastern Front, including the Crimean campaign, the Siege of Sevastopol, and in the Kuban bridgehead.
During the Jassy-Kishinev offensive, Div. 4 Munte was deployed in front of the Soviet foothold across the Dniester. Despite suffering heavy losses, the division was one of the few formations which held their ground, only retreating when ordered to do so. It didn’t get very far, though. Soon after, the mountaineers tried to break the encirclement of the German 306. Infanterie-Division, counter-attacking alongside an armored battlegroup of 13. Panzer against overwhelming odds. In the process, the Div. 4 Munte was annihilated by the advancing Red Army.
Div. 4 Munte’s main features
With excellent infantry and good air support, the Div. 4 Munte is only able to deploy very light support in phase A. German reinforcements from 13. Panzerdivision beef up the selection of units from B onwards, giving the mountaineers a fighting chance to counter-attack the enemy.
- The bulk of the division’s infantry is made up of a new unit, the specialized Vanatori de Munte mountaineers, featuring the Raider trait where possible. Regular infantry and even penal troops can also be fielded.
- French R-35 light tanks can be deployed, while another new unit, the Vanatorul de Care R-35 tank destroyer variant, is also available. The latter is an indigenous design, mounting a 45mm Soviet AT gun in a redesigned turret on an R-35 chassis.
- German armored units from 13. Panzer provide additional firepower but are only available from phase B. This includes Panzer IV and even the uncommon Flammpanzer B2(f) found in the Support tab.
- Anti-tank forces are potent and can more than hold their own, with the division’s arsenal counting on PaK 97/38, PaK 38, and PaK 40, alongside the Vanatorul de Care R-35.
- The Div. 4 Munte also fields a large variety of artillery, mostly light guns (75mm to 120mm). The self-propelled German Hummel and Wespe can be deployed in phase B.
- New units can also be found guarding the skies above: Romanian-made IAR-81C fighter and fighter-bombers and the originally Polish PZL P.37 bombers. Players also have the ability to deploy JRS-79 bombers and recon Blenheims.
3-ya VDV
Ah yes, the glorious Soviet paratroopers of the 3-ya VDV (3rd Guards Airborne Division) will strike fear in any enemy foolhardy enough to oppose them! These elite troops were never actually used in their intended airborne role, instead operating as light foot soldiers during the many battles of the Eastern Front, chiefly on the southern flank. Experiencing almost continuous combat since its inception in 1942, the 3-ya VDV fought in the Battle of the Demyansk Pocket, the Battle of Kursk, Battle of Kiev and in western Ukraine before participating in the Jassy-Kishinev operation.
During the offensive into Romania, the 3-ya VDV assaulted some of the most heavily defended Axis positions on the western flank. Reinforced with a tank brigade and a substantial amount of artillery and assault engineers, the earthbound paratroopers broke through the German-held lines, keeping up the advance and reaching as far as Ploiești before the end of the month. Later on, the formation took part in the Siege of Budapest and the Vienna Offensive, finally meeting British troops in central Austria at the close of World War II.
The 3-ya VDV’s main features
Thanks to its do-or-die background, the 3-ya VDV has a very strong focus on close combat, while still counting on some decent artillery and air support.
- In the same vein as the Romanian mountaineers, the bulk of the Soviet paratrooper infantry found in the 3-ya VDV receive the “Raider” trait. They feature lots of SMGs, some squads equipped in their entirety with the infamous PPSh, making them ideal units to get close up and “personal” with the enemy.
- Its reconnaissance force is not one of the division’s strongest suits, with only light infantry and T-70 tanks deployable.
- The Support, Tank, and Anti-Tank tabs are pretty standard. In the latter, SU-76M PT tank destroyers, as well as VZOD PTR tank hunter squads can be found.
- A new unit is the WC.52 off-map artillery strike with 132mm smoke rockets. A massive curtain of smoke can be called in by this artillery observer, allowing the paratroopers to advance obscured and strike hard when the smokescreen lifts. It is the first off-map smoke loadout featured in Steel Division 2.
- The artillery forces are pretty solid, with regular 76,2mm and 122mm howitzers, reinforced with B-4 203mm super-heavy guns and Katyusha rocket launchers.
- While not cheap to deploy, IL-2 planes (in all varieties, including tank buster, rocket or napalm loadout) can be found in the Air tab, as well as IL-4 heavy bombers.
What to expect from Black Sunday
The Steel Division 2: Black Sunday will feature six new divisions, two Army General campaigns, two new Aces, 15 new Camouflage skins, 150 new units, and much more exciting new stuff.
Today’s Versus post is the last in line for the new Steel Division 2: Black Sunday History DLC. If you haven’t, check out the previous articles where we take a good look at all the divisions featured in the new expansion.
- Armored Warfare Versus: Div. 1 Blindata "România Mare" VS 7-y Mekh. Korpus
- Mixed “hybrid” Versus: Division 5 Cavalerie Motorizata up against Morskaya Gruppa Bakhtina
Steel Division 2’s History Pass
https://store.steampowered.com/app/988171/Steel_Division_2__History_Pass/
Check out the seriously cool Steel Division 2’s History Pass. Getting it grants you access to all three History DLCs for Steel Division 2. The History Pass includes the new “Black Sunday” expansion, as well as the The Fate of Finland expansion and The Death on the Vistula expansion.
Do let us know what you think. You can do this on our
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See you on the battlefield, commander!
