Hello, hello!
Strap in, commander - this DevBlog will be a meaty one! We are kicking off today’s post with an in-depth showcase of two upcoming divisions of the new Steel Division: Men of Steel expansion.
We will highlight all the units per category of the Allied 1st Special Service Brigade and the Axis Kampfgruppe von Tettau. These battlegroups were previously featured in the Steel Division 2: Men of Steel Versus, which you can find here. Yet, keep in mind that until Men of Steel is shipped, those are subjected to changes.
Let’s dig in!
1st Special Service Brigade
First up on the list is the 1st Special Service Brigade, with its in-game arsenal inspired by D-Day and subsequent fighting in Normandy. Although the core of this battlegroup is, of course, made up of the British commandos, they only account for some forces available (or else, it would only be infantry, right?). As such, we have included several other historical formations from the same period, including:
- Tanks from the 13th/18th Royal Hussars.
- Support armor and vehicles from 79th Armoured Division “Hobart’s Funnies”.
- AA units from the 80th Anti-Aircraft Brigade.
- Additional commandos from the Naval Intelligence 30 Assault Unit.
The 1st Special Service Brigade will be a Combat Phase-locked one, meaning that not all units can be deployed from the start, with some only becoming available during the later phases.
Phase A will see:
- All the “core” commandos of the 1st Special Service Brigade, as well as smaller Royal Navy attachments.
- Royal Navy units, including Fleet Air Arm aircraft but excluding the 30 Assault Unit.
- Amphibious units from the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, with the rest following in Phase B.
- The most mobile units from the 80th Anti-Aircraft Brigade. Historically, these rushed to support the 6th Airborne Brigade alongside the commandos. The rest can be deployed from Phase B onwards.
- The 30 Assault Unit and 79th Armoured Division will be available from Phase B.
- Other, non-Fleet Air Arm, planes will only unlock from Phase B or C.
Let’s look at 1st Special Service Brigade’s arsenal in each of Steel Division 2’s categories.
Recon
An average category with a medium amount of slots, but not too pricey.
- The Phase A choices for the battlegroup are nothing to write home about, with only regular SCOUTS (PIAT) and the Royal Navy’s lightly armed and armored MORRIS LRC.
- Phase B introduces Ian Fleming’s (of Bond fame) ”Red Indians”), official designation 30 Assault Unit, a new unit. These are effective (and experienced) Royal Navy Intelligence commandos, coming in two variants: the RECON GROUP 30AU and FIELD TEAM 30AU. The former is a 5-man squad with radio and smoke grenades, as well as a Vickers K LMG; the latter is an 8-man assault group with a Bren LMG and the rest fielding a variety of SMGs (Sten, Lancaster, Thompson).
- As a bonus, the 30 Assault Unit was considered to be one of the most motorized units… of the entire war. It had a greater vehicle-to-soldier ratio than many other formations, harking back to their wartime mission of speeding out, on the forward edge of the battle, to grab any and every document, high-value object, or secret technology as quickly as possible. We have reflected this in Steel Division 2: Men of Steel with the STAGHOUND recon armored car or the C15TA armored wheeled APC or jeeps as squad transports.
Infantry
This category is pretty good. However, the division doesn’t feature the full ten slots like other infantry-heavy battlegroups, as the 1st Special Service Brigade focuses more on elite, special forces. This means fewer slots, but with higher-quality units.
- Phase A features a card each of a distinct flavor of commandos. These soldier units had a loose Table of Organisation and Equipment, often supplemented with extra weapons or other small arms “acquired” by more dubious means.
- COMMANDO (N°3): a 13-man squad with 2x Sten SMGs, 8x Len Enfield rifles, and 2x Bren LMGs, but also a few older Boys anti-tank rifles.
- COMMANDO (N°6): likewise a 13-man squad but this time with 2x Sten, 1x Bren, 1x scoped Lee Enfield, and 10x Garand semi-automatic rifles. This was a rare but not completely unheard of happening among British forces. In this case, the American small arms had been lent to the British for the Allied landings in Algeria but never given back!
- COMMANDO (N°10): another 13-man squad, with 3x Sten and 9x Lee Enfield but having traded their Bren for 2x Vickers K LMGs. These are French commandos, but since they only account for two troops, this unit is restricted to Phase A and B.
- COMMANDO (N°45): The Royal Marines commandos had a different organization, only featuring 11-man squads. They fielded 3x Sten, 7x Lee Enfields, 1x Bren, and 1x PIAT anti-tank weapon.
- You might wonder about Commando (N°4). As we couldn’t find specific information on this group, we split it into smaller task-oriented assault groups: the 7-man COMMANDO DEMO. with Sten, Lee Enfield, Flamethrower and TNT, and the 7-man COMMANDO ASSAULT with Sten, Thompson plus Willy Pete phosphorus grenades.
- Rounding out the list is the COMMANDO LEADER unit, a 4-man command squad with Sten, PIAT, and smoke grenades.
- All the commando squads will carry the new Commando trait.
- Phase B also brings a series of combat engineers which made up the 79th Armoured Division’s infantry.
- Regular FIELD ENGINEERS.
- Regular ENGINEER LEADER.
- New ASSAULT ENGINEERS, a 12-man assault group squad with 10x Lee Enfield rifles, 1x Bren LMG, 1x Flamethrower and 1x PIAT.
Tank
The battlegroup features an average Tank category, with a medium number of slots and ditto prices.
- In Phase A, players get only one card each of amphibious SHERMAN V DD (from the 13th/18th Royal Hussars) and experienced RM SHERMAN II (Royal Marines).
- Phase B features the rest of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, deploying one card each of SHERMAN V, SHERMAN V CMD and the long-awaited FIREFLY Vc. Now, at last in Steel Division 2, after Polish, Canadian, South African, and New Zealand, the British too, finally can have their hands on this potent and (British-designed) armored vehicle.
Support
A decent category in the 1st Special Service Brigade with many cheap slots.
- There will be the classic assortment of COMMANDERS, 2-INCH MORTARS, VICKERS HMGs, etc.
- Players will also be able to deploy CROCODILE and AVRE heavy support tanks, available from Phase B.
Anti-Tank
Aie, not the strongest suit of this division, with this category only containing a minimal amount of choice and availability.
- In real life, the only choices would have been small squads of PIAT man-portable anti-tank weapons.
- To give the battlegroup a bit more punch, we added one card of M10 ACHILLES, from the 245 Battery RA, available from Phase B.
Anti-Air
A much more rounded category, with quite a few options, all being pretty cheap.
- From Phase A onwards, you’ll get POLSTEN and BOFORS AA guns, truck mounted portee (being rushed by the commandos to 6th Airborne’s rescue).
- Afterwards, many more units become available, including TRI-POLSTEN, BOFORS 40mm, and QF 3,7-inch 94mm AA guns, plus some CRUSADER self-propelled AA tanks.
Artillery
Not very balanced for 1st Special Service Brigade with only a medium amount of openings, with few, and pricey, choices.
- Once again, we didn’t go for the real-life avenue as this would have netted only 3-INCH MORTARS.
- We’ve added two Phase A-only cards, being very powerful off-map units, representing fleet support during D-Day:
- MORRIS LRC OP (127mm), a Steel Division: Normandy 44 favorite makes its return, with this unit being an MRLS barge sporting a whooping 960 127mm rockets. Only one card of a single unit and only in the early stages of battle will be available, so use this firepower wisely!
- A WILLYS OP (381mm), which is featured as one of the many Allied battleships’ naval guns lending their critical support to ground troops in Normandy. Can also only be deployed as a single unit.
- Another “new” unit is the RM CENTAUR IV, available from Phase A. This is an existing Centaur IV from the 6th Airborne being refurbished from a direct fire support unit to a short-range self-propelled artillery unit with indirect fire capabilities (hence all the artillery correction markings on its turret). This change will also affect the 6th Airborne division upon Steel Division 2: Men of Steel’s release.
Air
A pretty decent category with many options, all being cheap.
- All Phase A planes are brought to bear thanks to the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. These include:
- Carrier-based HELLCAT I from the HMS Emperor, in a fighter-bomber role with a variety of different load-outs of bombs and rockets.
- Carrier-based WILDCAT V from HMS Tracker, as fighters.
- Several variants of SEAFIRE in recon and fighter roles.
- From Phase B onwards, the new SPITFIRE Mk. XIV from the N°322 (Dutch) RAF Squadron, only one out of two squadrons equipped with this latest variant in June 1944. Faster and more agile, it should provide excellent air cover to the division. Although being RAF and sporting the British flag, the pilots were Dutch, and as such, this unit will feature new Dutch-voiced acknowledgments and dialogue.
- And from Phase C, the new American P-61A-5 BLACK WIDOW becomes available. One of the first deployments of this particular type to France in the summer of 1944, this powerful twin-boom heavy fighter mounted four 20mm guns and carried LOTS of ammo. It is the perfect aircraft to bring down heavy bombers or strafe ground units!
The 1st Special Service Brigade is an elite infantry-focused battlegroup, with a rich variety of soldiers it can deploy on the battlefield. Armor, air, and other support units are also pretty decent, allowing this division to hold its own in offensive and defensive roles.
Kampfgruppe von Tettau
We turn our attention to the Axis Kampfgruppe von Tettau, as seen during the Operation Market Garden. Much like the preceding British commandos, Kampfgruppe von Tettau will be a phase-locked division. This represents the succession of units added to the battlegroup during the Battle of Arnhem.
- Phase A units represent the “first responders” of troops that were in close vicinity of the British drop zones to the west of Arnhem. These engaged the paratroopers in the opening 48 hours (September 17th and 18th).
- Phase B units are those that find their origin in the rushed battalion and ad-hoc formations reinforcing Kampfgruppe von Tettau in the subsequent days (September 19th to the 22nd).
- Phase C features mechanized units available after the conclusion of combat at the bridge of Arnhem, and the surrender of the 2 Para. These represent the newly bolstered Axis troops attacking the British 1st Airborne Division’s perimeter (September 23rd to the 25th).
Let’s look at Kampfgruppe von Tettau category by category.
Recon
A rather mediocre category with a limited amount of availability, pricey, and few choices.
- Some BMW side-cars and KFz.4 vehicles in Phase A, as well as the local Dutch collaborationist (and new unit) SS-LANDSTORM AUFK., equipped with scavenged British Sten, Lee Enfield, and one MG-34.
- From Phase B onwards, SCHARFSCHÜTZE can be deployed, reflecting how the Battle of Arnhem devolved more and more into street fighting in the city’s western suburbs.
Infantry
One of the battlegroup’s strongest categories, with maxed-out availability, all cheap, and lots of choices. Some units are better than others, with most of the units only available as a single card.
- Infantry in Phase A comes from four different sources:
- SS-WACHE. A new unit. These are former Dutch and Soviet concentration camp guards who are Disheartened and rather badly equipped with captured Bren, Sten, and Lee Enfield in paltry 6-man half squads. No secret these units are… subpar, but at least they are cheap and come plenty, with a veterancy restriction to the lowest level. There are two variants (either a Bren or an MG-34 LMG), plus a “command” version with the dubious honor of being the first Disheartened leaders. Go figure!
- ERSATZ. A hotchpotch of second-line “non-combatant” combat soldiers such as clerks, drivers, cooks, etc. These form regular ERSATZTRUPPEN, as well as the new ERSATZ-PIONIER and ERSATZ-MG units (the latter to be found in the Support category).
- SS-LANDSTORM. A new unit. These are Dutch SS recruits, organized as regular 9-man rifle squads, fielding captured British Sten SMGs, as well as old Dutch Army Geweer M.95 rifles (actually Mannlicher, known as G211(h) in German service) and a 6.3mm Vickers LMG (designation l.MG 100(h) in German). Though not Disheartened, they are restricted to the lowest veterancy level.
- The last source of troops thrown into immediate combat came from Arnhem’s SS NCO School. Few, they were some of the best soldiers under von Tettau’s command. Highly motivated, all being Eastern Front veterans, they were well-equipped and led. In-game, they come in three versions: the new SS-JUNKER and SS-JUNKER (PzF) squads, the former brimming with MP-40s and MP-44s, and a l.MG-42; the latter fielding a few FG-42, two l.MG-42, rifles and Panzerfausts. Lastly, their instructors come as 12-man command squads, the new SS-AUSBILDER, deploying with SMGs, rifles, l.MG-42, and a Flamethrower! All these infantry squads come with an extra veterancy level (Veteran for troops, Elite for instructors), and the Shock trait.
- In Phase B a bunch of new units become available:
- FESTUNGS.
- A new unit, FESTUNGS-GREN. FÜH. is a 12-man squad with Bergman SMG, Lebel, two l.MG-42 and a Panzerschreck.
- SICHERUNGS.
- KM INFANTERIE. These are the only units that are available in two cards.
- KM FÜHRER.
- SS-SCHUPO.
- SS-SCHUPO FÜH.
- In Phase C, the last reinforcements arrive, all restricted to the lowest veterancy level.
- PZ.GRENADIER “HG” (PzF). These soldiers originate from a local “Hermann Göring” Panzerdivision training school. They are motorized but not in half-tracks. In real life, they would deploy to the Arnhem battlefield by bicycle!
- A new unit, the BEGLEITTRUPPEN. The first German attempts to use (French Beute) armor against the paratroopers resulted in dismal failure by letting the vehicles advance down the Arnhem streets without infantry support. Von Tettau ordered the formation of dedicated soldier teams to work closely with the tanks and protect them at close range. These 6-man squads are entirely equipped with automatic weapons, from MP-40s and captured Sten and Bren guns, as well as Molotov cocktails. This unit features the new Tank Rider trait.
Tank
A mediocre category until Phase C. Several slots are moderately priced, but the biggest drawback is the total lack of units in Phase A.
- In Phase B, only French-captured tanks can be used, including a card of PANZER 35R(f) and PANZER B2(f) FÜH.
- Heavy tank support, at last, arrives in the final combat phase, thanks to one card each of KÖNIGSTIGER (P) and KÖNIGSTIGER (H).
Support
Kampfgruppe von Tettau features a good Support category.
- MG units are plentiful, from ERSATZ-MG, KM MG 08, Lw-s.MG 271(f), MG-37(t), and s.MG-42, deployable during various combat phases. Some carry the Disheartened trait and are only available as a single card.
- Other support weapons include IG 290(r) and Flamethrower teams, as well as a FLAMMPZ. B2(f) available in Phase B.
- Two cards of (very necessary) FELDGENDARMERIE and one card of FELDJÄGER to keep those Disheartened troops in line!
- Commanders include a BEF.PANZER 35S(t).
Anti-Tank
An average category with a medium of slots and prices to match. All of the units are only available as a single card.
- In Phase A, only light anti-tank guns can be deployed. These range from PANZERSCHRECK, PAK 184(r) 45mm, PAK 36 37mm, to a few PANZERJÄGER 35R(f).
- From Phase B, more guns are available, such as PAK 40 75mm and even a handful of PAK 43 88mm.
Anti-Air
A decent category. A fair number of slots are available, all being relatively cheap.
- As with the Anti-Tank category, only light guns can be deployed in Phase A. These are 20mm towed or truck-mounted, as well as a few 37mm guns. A few 20mm in a quad configuration on an SDKFZ. 7/1 are also featured.
- Phase B sees heavier units, such as the FLAK M.31(r) 88mm (rebored captured Soviet 85mm AA guns) and FLAK M17/34(f) 75mm (captured French Schneider 75mm, without AP rounds).
Artillery
A decent artillery arsenal can be found in the battlegroup, but the open slots are limited. Quite a few light guns are available, with some rocket launchers providing additional firepower.
- Lots of mortars, including captured French 60mm and 81mm pieces.
- A single card of le.FH18M 105mm.
- PANZERWERFER 150mm multiple rocket launcher, available in Phase A.
- NEBELWERFER 42 300mm, but only deployable from Phase B.
Air
This close to Germany means that Kampfgruppe von Tettau can call on local Luftwaffe support. A good number of slots, all being evenly priced.
- While heavy bombers might be scarce, the battlegroup can count on a reasonable amount of heavy fighters and fighter-bombers.
- These include two new units, the latest Bf-109G-14 fighter and the heavy night fighter He 219 A-0 “Uhu”.
Kampfgruppe von Tettau is an infantry-centric battlegroup that slowly builds up its power. Several powerful units can be deployed in Phase C, and while it suffers in Phase A, it will have to hold ground with cheap units before counter-punching at the end of the battle, when the enemy tires.
Steel Division 2: Men of Steel Versus
If you want to do some background reading on Steel Division 2: Men of Steel, be sure to check out our historical highlights, our so-called Versus DevBlogs.
Versus
- The Wehrmacht reservist of the 715. Infanterie-Division and the paratroopers of the Allied 1st Airborne Taskforce receive their highlight in our Versus #1DevBlog.
- The Allied commandos of the 1st Special Force Brigade against the Market Garden-active Axis Kampfgruppe von Tettau in Versus #2 DevBlog.
- The Finish-Swedish Axis 17. Divisioona and the partisan-infused and mixed Allied Groupement Dody in the Versus #3 DevBlog.
- The Axis-Hungarian armored 1. Páncélos Hadosztály and the Soviet-allied Bulgarian Bronirana Brigada get their spotlight in Versus #4 DevBlog.
Aces
And if you want to read more about the two new Aces - Allied Sergeant Tommy Prince and Hungarian tank commander Barnabás Kőszeghy - you’ll encounter in Steel Division 2: Men of Steel, look no further and check out this dedicated DevBlog here.
See you soon
That’s it for this detailed Steel Division 2: Men of Steel showcase. Let us know what you think!
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See you on the battlefield, commander.