Hello commander,
Hope you are well! In last week’s Battle of Turda DLC post, we let the Hungarian 2. Páncélos, or the 2nd Armored Division, take center stage. This week, it's high time to preview an Allied formation of our upcoming new DLC: the Romanian Divizia 9 Infanterie (or 9th Infantry Division).
Keep reading to find out more!
The Romanian 9th Infantry Division
The Romanian Divizia 9 Infanterie was an old formation in the Romanian Army, almost as venerable as the modern Romanian state itself. It was formed in 1879, shortly after the independence of the Kingdom of Romania from the Ottoman Empire, as the “Divizia Activă Dobrogea” (or “Dobrogea’s Active Division”). The formation was headquartered in Constanța, where it was renamed the Divizia 9 Infanterie.
The formation experienced an illustrious career in combat, including World War I, where it won the honorific title “Mărășești” for the part it played in the last major battle between Germany and Romania in 1917. The outcome kept north-east Romanian free from Imperial German occupation until the end of the war.
On the Eastern Front
Fast forward to World War II. The Divizia 9 Infanterie took part in Operation Barbarossa fighting with the Romanian Third Army in Ukraine and southern Russia. Advancing toward Odessa and Sevastapol, it was among the formations covering the flanks of the German Sixth Army attempting to capture Stalingrad. As the Red Army sprung its trap with the brilliant counter-stroke in Operation Uranus, encircling the Axis troops in the city, the Soviets punched through the weakly held frontlines manned mostly by Romanian forces.
The Divizia 9 Infanterie was situated in the northern sector. By chance, the Romanian formation was lucky enough not to be in the direct path of the Soviet juggernaut. The neighboring Romanian 7th Cavalry Division was not as fortunate, being cut in two by the offensive, the survivors joining the Divizia 9 Infanterie soldiers in a headlong retreat west in freezing conditions. In brutal weather, the Romanian formation was decimated.
Fighting for home
Sent home to be refitted, the Divizia 9 Infanterie was posted on the Black Sea in 1943, in Dobrogea, as the Romanian military leadership feared a Soviet amphibious landing in the area. This would prove advantageous a year later. Once again, by chance, the formation was spared the same (almost in a rerun of Stalingrad) fate of the neighboring divisions, which were destroyed in the Iasi-Chișinău (Jassy-Kichinev) strategic offensive on the Romanian border.
By the time of the Soviet operation, the Divizia 9 Infanterie had ballooned in size, thanks to the amalgamation of the training battalions into its regiments. Typically, each division left several training battalions at home; they served as bare-boned skeleton formations, training up recruits before sending them off as replacements for field duty. In Divizia 9 Infanterie’s case, these training elements were almost full strength and well-trained. And they were not just raw recruits, with the whole formation retaining a strong cadre of Stalingrad veterans.
A direct result was that during Romanian’s switch from Axis to Allies, the Divizia 9 Infanterie could be considered one of the best and most powerful Romanian infantry divisions able to fight.
Destination Transylvania
After the coup, the Divizia 9 Infanterie disarmed the local German troops. Having done this successfully, the division was entrained to Bucharest and in early September sent, along with the 8th Cavalry and Detasamentul Blindat "Gen. Niculescu" (Niculescu Armored Group), to Transylvania. This group of forces was known as the Corpul Motomecanizat (Motomechanized Corps).
The Detasamentul Blindat was the only armored unit the Romanian High Command could send to Transylvania. The core was made up of the Mechanized Training Center battalion, also known as the Armored Group “Jupiter,” hastily formed on August 24th. It contained recon groups equipped with German armored cars, a company of T-4 (Panzer IV), a company of Tas (StuG III G), and a force of the new TACAM R-2 tank destroyers. The ubiquitous (and excellent) Resita anti-tank guns were also featured. This group would fight the Hungarians until deep into November 1944.
The Corpul Motomecanizat met with the invading Hungarians north of Mediaş, stopping the assault in its tracks. After days of fighting, the Corps established a bridgehead across the Mureș river. Further combat saw the Divizia 9 Infanterie square up against German reinforcements, specifically the 8. SS-Kavalerie-Divison “Florian Geyer”.
Here, one of the bloodiest and most important battles of modern Romania occurred: the battle of Oarba de Mureș. Directed by their new Soviet “friends,” the Romanians were ordered to assault the well-entrenched Germans and Hungarians across clear terrain devoid of cover, up a steep hill in plain sight.
This bloody counter-offensive took over ten days, and despite the odds and lack of artillery or air support, the Romanians set a tentative foot on the crest, only to be repelled by immediate counter-attacks. Ultimately, it became a bloody stalemate, and the Divizia 9 Infanterie suffered the brunt of it. After pulling out the line at the end of September, it was rapidly brought back into the fighting in early October to support the second attempt at capturing Turda. Afterward, combat shifted to Hungary proper, and the Divizia 9 Infanterie was found fighting in Czechoslovakia when the war ended in 1945.
What to expect in-game?
What can you expect of the oversized and well-trained Romanian Divizia 9 Infanterie in Steel Division 2?
- Thanks to the “Jupiter” task force, the 9th Infantry Division has turned almost into a full-blown mechanized infantry division.
- Its Recon tab includes a variety of light armored vehicles and cars, including German-made SdKfz. 222 and SdKfz. 250/9, as well as cavalry scouts.
- There is a large amount of infantry on offer, with regular Infanterisiti and Vanatori Moto or the more basic Recruti squads.
- Although an infantry division, the Tank category can count on several slots of either Panzer IV or StuG III G armor.
- The Support tab is pretty standard, though Commanders can tour the battlefield with a classy Ford V8 Sedan, a Romanian license-built Traction-like command car.
- The division’s Anti-Tank forces are well-supplied, including the brand-new TACAM R-2 tank destroyer, which is an up-armored and up-gunned cousin of the TACAM R-60 sporting a ZiS-3 instead of an F-22 gun. The Resita towed anti-tank gun can also be found.
- A weak point is the formation’s AA, with only a few self-propelled twin Hotchkiss, German 20mm, and French 25mm pieces as its sole defense against enemy planes!
- Artillery forces are rather lackluster, with a basic complement of mortars, from 60mm, 81mm to 120mm units. Additionally, 75mm and 100mm howitzers are also available in decent numbers - but nothing heavier.
- Airforces are pretty strong and include the Romanian ace Dan Vizanti with his IAR-81C fighter plane.
A brief summary
The latest DLC for Steel Division 2, The Battle of Turda, will contain:
- One new Army General campaign centered on the Battle of Turda, Transylvania, pitting Axis Hungary versus Allied Romania.
- Six new divisions.
- Of which three will be Romanian, including the Divizia 9 Infanterie.
- And two will be Hungarian, with one German. This includes the 2. Páncéloshadosztály (Hungarian 2nd Armored Division).
- Mixed divisions, with units from various nations, such as Romanian-Soviet or Hungarian-German.
- One or two new maps.
- 2 Aces: the Hungarian tank commander Lieutenant Ervin Tarczay and Romanian fighter ace, Captain Dan Vizanti.
Au revoir and until next week!
That’s everything for this week. Next week, we’ll be back with another preview of the The Battle of Turda DLC.
Until then, keep a close watch on our Steam forums and Instagram to keep up to date with the latest Steel Division 2 talk. Looking for an online game? Visit the kick-ass Discord server or Reddit page and get involved with the lively Steel Division 2 community!
See you on the battlefield.