Hello!
We are ready to reveal Nemesis: Siege of Vilnius, our third Nemesis DLC option. If chosen, this expansion will offer an in-depth look at a particularly interesting battle on the Eastern Front: the brief but heavily contested campaign to liberate the Lithuanian capital in July 1944.
Nemesis: Siege of Vilnius gives you Festung Wilna, the hard-pressed but tenacious German garrison. On the other, the Ostra Brama division, a battlegroup featuring a mix of the Polish Armia Krajowa (Home Army) and the Soviet Red Army.
If you have questions about the Nemesis DLC and what this new concept entails, have a look at our original reveal here.
The Historical Context
After the liberation of Minsk in early July, the decision was taken by Stavka to liberate the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. With the Wehrmacht in disarray, the Red Army advanced rapidly. However, when the Soviets arrived at the city’s gates, they found a rather unusual situation on the ground.
The Polish Armia Krajowa had its own agenda. The Poles claimed Vilnius as their own ( “Wilmo”) and planned an uprising to liberate the city - much like the one planned in Warsaw a short time later. With the Red Army a day away, Operation Ostra Brama was activated. The insurrection encountered stiff resistance from the German garrison, Festung Wilna. Distrust between Soviet and Polish commanders didn’t help matters, even though local units frequently joined forces, allowing Vilnius to be encircled within a day.
With the Lithuanian capital declared a Festung by Hitler - to be defended to the last man - the prospect of the local garrison was bleak. Under command of the Luftwaffe, a motley group of German soldiers was supported by a last-minute parachute drop of Fallschirmjägers and numerous Flak guns. The ad-hoc battlegroup resisted for four days, and in a surprise move, a large section managed to break out, meeting counter-attacking forces coming from the west.
Nemesis: Siege of Vilnius
The Nemesis: Siege of Vilnius will put two very distinctive divisions front and center: the Axis get the Luftwaffe-commanded Festung Wilna, while the Allied will see an unique mixed formation of Polish partisans - Armia Krajowa - with substantial support of the Red Army units under the banner of the Ostra Brama battlegroup.
A special feature of both divisions in this Nemesis DLC is that they are combat phase locked. This presents the availability of various troops during the stages of the siege (Allied) or the relief attempts made from outside (Axis).
Festung Wilna
The German battlegroup, Festung Wilna, features an eclectic mix of units, from the tattered remains of destroyed Wehrmacht divisions to Flaktruppen (and their accompanying heavy Flak guns) and a small detachment of Fallschirmjäger, as well as Panzergrenadiers trying to break the siege as relief forces.
- An impromptu formation of Grenadier soldiers is bolstered by a mix of Landeschützen, Saugumas (Lithuanian police), and Pionier troops. Some armored vehicles (StuGs and a few Marder tank destroyers) are also available.
- At the last minute, a small group of Fallschirmjäger airdropped into the city, providing a helpful boost to the local garrison.
- A considerable part of Festung Wilna was made up of Flaktruppen, either used as foot soldiers or serving the large array of AA units.
- Flak guns include the usual, heavy-hitting 88mm, to the more modern twin Flakzwilling 37mm guns or triple 15mm MG-151 Drilling.
- An initial relief effort became trapped outside Vilnius, encircled in a separate pocket during the battle. These troops are represented as a Walküre regiment, with attached StuG IV, Panzer IV and Panzergrenadier, available from Phase B.
- A second relief force includes Panther tanks with SS-Fallschirmjäger as infantry escort. These powerful reinforcements can be deployed from Phase C onwards.
Ostra Brama
Most of the Armia Krajowa, the Polish underground army, in Lithuania was used during Operation Ostra Brama (meaning Sharp Gate). Thanks to Soviet representatives and generous support from the Polish government-in-exile based in London, the Ostra Brama partisans were better and more widely equipped with Soviet weaponry than their counterparts in Warsaw. Also, local Red Army units can be found supporting this formation.
This battlegroup features a large contingent of AK units, introduced in our first History expansion for Steel Division 2: Death on the Vistula.
- At the start, the Polish AK units will be mostly on their own with AK regular soldiers, cavalry and ORKO units able to be fielded.
- A small number of captured German heavy Flak guns are also available in Phase A.
- Soviet reconnaissance and fighter planes will be the only units early on in the battle to scout (or guard) the sky above.
- The first outside armored support elements will arrive in Phase B, as the Poles will be reinforced by a Sherman-equipped tank brigade of the Red Army. Mixed Armia Krajowa and Soviet infantry squads can also be fielded from this point onwards.
- Phase C will see the biggest influx of heavy support from local Soviet units, including more Shermans and SPAAG, self-propelled guns, field artillery, and medium AT guns.
The Nemesis DLC concept explained
We have come to the end of our first “run” of Nemesis DLC options. In case you have missed the first PSA about how the new Nemesis DLC works, read the following carefully!
- Each Nemesis DLC will bring two new divisions (one from each side) and will feature new units, new weapons, new models, and maybe even new… nations. They will be PAID.
- Each Nemesis DLC focuses on a new historical Theater of Operations (think engagement or battle) that was relevant and set in the summer of 1944. This could be the Eastern Front, could be the Western Front, could even be other interesting… locales.
- The first Nemesis DLC will be FREE and likely release in September. This is Nemesis: Battle of Sandomierz Bridgehead and will contain the 16. Panzerdivision versus the 97th Guards Rifle Division. Read more about it here.
- After this, our second Nemesis DLC will be one of three choices. You get to decide which one in a community-wide vote! Whichever option wins, gets released first. This means that certain “unsuccessful” Nemesis divisions might return in future votes.
The first Nemesis DLC options
If you want to know more about the other Nemesis DLC options, check them out below!
- Nemesis: Lvov Offensive with two new, special divisions: the 20. Panzergrenadier-Division versus the 10th Guards Tank Corps would include new units such as the Elefant tank destroyer. Read more about this option in this detailed blog post here.
- Nemesis: Slovak Uprising offering a new nation plus one new Axis division, the German Panzerdivision Tatra, and one ne Allied division, the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) partisans. Read more about Nemesis: Slovak Uprising in this detailed blog post here.
Coming up next
What’s next? A community vote so you can let us know which Nemesis DLC option you would like to see released first! Hang on tight for more information in next week’s post.
Let us know what you think. Reach out to us via our Steam forums and Eugen forums, or keep an eye out on our social channels (Facebook and Twitter). Looking for an online game? Check out the kick-assDiscord server or Reddit page.
In case you have forgotten, the third History DLC is available now: Steel Division 2: Black Sunday.
See you on the battlefield, commander!