Hello, commanders!
In last week’s Steel Division 2’s Roadmap, we revealed not one but two upcoming expansions being in the works. One of the expansions would focus on delivering a new Army General campaign. In today’s DevBlog, let's detail this expansion further.
Please remember that everything is still a work in progress, including the title. Any new Army General campaign takes a considerable amount of time and resources to make. This also means this particular expansion might not be the first ready or to be delivered to Steel Division 2!
A bit of a disclaimer
Let’s take a closer look at the Battle of Dukla Pass, a military campaign on the Polish-Slovak border lasting from early September to late October 1944. This series of battles featured the Axis Army Group Heinrici (made up of the 1st Panzer Army and the 1st Hungarian Army) opposed by the Soviet Marshal Konev, commanding elements of the 1st and 4th Ukrainian Front, as well as the 1st Czechoslovakian Army Corps (composed of former Czech soldiers exiled in the Soviet Union, refugees, Slovak POWs, etc.).
As some of you Steel Division 2 veterans might have noticed, the Battle of Dukla Pass is intimately tied to Nemesis: Slovak Uprising. This particular Nemesis option didn’t make the vote, even though we delivered Panzerdivision Tatra as a free division in the Reinforcement Pack #13 - Lucky 13. The roots of the campaign to be depicted in the Battle of Dukla Pass can be found in the uprising of Slovak forces in the summer of 1944.
Some history
So let's go back several months in time. In March 1944, dissidents within the Axis Slovak Army, in league with the Allied Czechoslovakian government-in-exile in London, started planning for a military uprising. The signs were on the wall. The Third Reich was faltering, and the fortunes of the German Army on the Eastern Front were, if not breaking clearly, under a lot of pressure. Operation Bagration hadn’t begun yet, but the Red Army steadily advanced towards the Slovakian border. It was only a matter of time.
The rebellion envisioned the Axis being kicked out as the Soviets were getting close to support the rebels. Key to the entire operation was the Carpathian bottleneck, connecting Slovakia to Poland, known as the Dukla Pass. It would have been secured from German hands and held long enough for the Red Army to pass through and advance straight into Slovakia.
When the uprising was executed on August 29th, the Slovak Army’s chief of staff fled by plane to the safety of the Soviet Army, leaving the rebels with no strategic direction. The Dukla Pass was not occupied, as soon after, secured instead by Axis-German and Hungarian forces. When the Red Army finally arrived, they faced a series of well-defended strong points centered on the mountain pass.
The Battle of Dukla Pass
The Battle of Dukla Pass campaign was fought in the second half of 1944. The Soviets, with their Czechoslovakian Corps, slogged through a Thermopylae-like battlefield to join up with Slovak Uprising rebels on the plains beyond. Time was of the essence; everything needed to be done to reach the insurrection before it would be crushed. But what was envisioned to take days turned into a grueling and highly contested battle that would last two months - and ultimately turn into a failure for the Allies.
Even when the Soviets forced the Dukla Pass, it didn’t result in a breakthrough into Slovakia proper. The Germans had prepared their defenses in-depth, turning the terrain into a verifiable “Valley of Death.” Countless Soviet tank wrecks could be counted after the campaign’s conclusion.
As we know, the Slovak Uprising was crushed on October 28th, 1944, mainly through the efforts of Panzerdivision Tatra. The Battle of Dukla Pass officially concluded with the failure of the insurrection.
Steel Division 2: Men of Steel
Before we forget: Steel Division 2: Men of Steel, the latest expansion to be released for our World War II battle simulator, has hit the digital Steam shelves!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2499890/Steel_Division_2__Men_of_Steel/
Steel Division 2: Men of Steel brings 8 new divisions, as well as new nations, including Bulgaria. There is much more, from a host of new and unusual units to expanded Unit Traits and 2 new Aces. A wide range of new infantry and combat soldiers await your command, from the fearsome French Goumiers mountain warriors, Canadian-American Forcemen to elite Decima Mas Italian naval troops.
See you on the battlefield
That’s all for today’s DevBlog. We’ll return next week with fresh details of the new content coming to Steel Division 2!
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See you on the battlefield, commander!