Welcome back!
Without any further ado: the next History Expansion for Steel Division 2 will be Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics!
We shared the key art for Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics in last week’s post, and some of you correctly surmised that we would bring the action to the north and feature the hard-fought (and pretty much last) major, successful German counter-offensive on the Eastern Front.
What can you expect from our next expansion featuring Operation Doppelkopf?
Keep reading to find out more!
Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics
Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics takes place in, you might have guessed it, the Baltics. To be exact: our new History Expansion features Nazi-Germany’s last big counter-attack, Operation Doppelkopf, which kicked off in August 1944, in the region south of Riga, the Latvian capital. The offensive’s aim? To re-establish communications between Army Group Center (holding on to parts of Lithuania and Latvia) and Army Group North (cut-off and fighting further north of Riga).
Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics will feature:
- 1 massive, new Army General campaign.
- 8 new Divisions, including 6 which took part during Doppelkopf and 2 Divisions from Army Group North.
- 120+ new units, including a variety of new models such as Aufklärungspanzer 38(t) recon tank, Soviet MT-13 160mm super-heavy mortar and the BS-3 100mm heavy AT gun.
- 1 gigantic 10v10 map, as well as the new Very Small map edit.
- 2 new Nations: Lithuania (Axis) and Estonia (Allies) and 2 new Aces.
Please note that Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics is NOT included in the Steel Division 2 - History Pass. This History Pass grants you access to the original three History Expansions:
- Steel Division 2: Death on the Vistula
- Steel Division 2: The Fate of Finland
- Steel Division 2: Black Sunday.
New Army General Campaign - Operation Doppelkopf
Let’s look at the historical background of Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics. The Wehrmacht is reeling from the massive blows inflicted during Operation Bagration. In the northeast, the Baltics, the German defensive lines have crumbled.
Having punched through the German lines, a Red Army spearhead reaches the Baltic shoreline in the Gulf of Riga by the end of July, west of the Latvian capital.
This severs the connection between the Wehrmacht’s Army Group North and what is left of Army Group Centre. Reestablishing this link becomes the prime objective of Operation Doppelkopf: one of the last, major victorious Axis offensives on the Eastern Front.
Having turned their attention to Riga, the Soviets are besieging the city. The covering and flanking troops are stretched thin, but the mighty Red Army, even though tired, is still a force to be reckoned with. At this critical point, the Germans group together elements from no less than five Panzerdivisionen, one Panzergrenadier-Division (the mighty “Grossdeutschland”), and one armored Kampfgruppe. That’s a mighty powerful armored fist!
For once, it is the Soviets that are taken by surprise. The Red Army’s delaying actions are moderately successful, buying critical time for emergency Allied armored reinforcements to be brought up from the rear. However, the Germans push through. After heavy combat, including artillery support from Kriegsmarine cruisers in the Baltic Sea shelling enemy positions, the German troops managed to establish a tenuous link with Army Group North.
The victory (and the coherent front that comes with it) is short-lived. Less than two months later, the Red Army attacked again. In the resulting Memel Offensive Operation, the Soviets manage to reach the Baltic Sea once more. This time, the German forces in the Baltic States are cut off for real, and for the remaining of the war, a sizable portion of German formations are held up in the Courland Pocket and at a bridgehead at Memel.
In the new Army General campaign of Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics, you’ll take command of either the 3. Panzerarmee or 1st Baltic Front. And this time, the traditional roles on the Eastern Front are swapped around: the Axis attack, and the Allies are put on the defensive.
Eight New Divisions
All of the following divisions, playable in all solo, cooperative or multiplayer modes, will be extensively detailed in future blog posts.
The Axis
- Panzerverband Strachwitz - Armored
- Panzergrenadier-Division “Grossdeutschland” - Mechanized
- 52. Sicherungs-Division z.b.V. - Infantry
- 11. SS-Freiw.Panzergrenadier-Division “Nordland” - Part of Army Group North
The Allies
- 19-y Tank Korpus - Armored
- Rezerv 43-y Armii - Mechanized
- Podv. Gruppa Fedyunkin - Infantry
- 7-ya Strelkovy Div. (Est.) - Part of Soviet operations further north.
Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics will feature two brand-new nations, fully voiced: Lithuania (Axis) and Estonia (Allies). We haven’t forgotten Latvia, though. Troops from this nation were fighting as part of the Waffen-SS, and as such will be featured as fully voiced, unique German unit (in the same vein as French LVF or Italian SS-Legionari).
Two new Aces will also be included in Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics. They will be highlighted in a future blog post.
What’s Next?
That’s it for the reveal of Steel Division 2: Burning Baltics. Be sure to check in next week: we’ll start with highlighting key details of our new History Expansion, including in-depth looks into each individual division.
Lest we forget: Nemesis: Battle of Rimini is coming your way. The full launch of this Nemesis We’ll be releasing our new Nemesis DLC on January 28th. Be sure to grab it when it launches!
If you want to reach out to us, do this through our Steam forums and Eugen forums, or check our (Facebook and Twitter). Looking for an online game? Visit the kick-ass Discord server or Reddit page.
See you on the battlefield, commander!