Hello, hello!
It has been a long time coming, but in today’s DevBlog, we will finally be able to cast our eyes on the long-gestating upcoming Steel Division 2 expansion: Battle of Dukla Pass!
The expansion is slowly getting ready. As such, a great opportunity to revisit The Battle of Dukla Pass and lift the tip of the veil on the Army General campaign and divisions you’ll be able to play with in Steel Division 2: Battle of Dukla Pass.
Onwards!
Battle of Dukla Pass Expansion
First things first: what can you expect from the Steel Division 2: Battle of Dukla Pass in terms of content?
- The expansion features 1 massive Army General campaign centered on the Battle of Dukla Pass (more historical info below).
- Plus 6 new Divisions, playable in both single-player and multiplayer.
Dukla Pass Historical Context
The Battle of Dukla Pass, which anchors the expansion's new Army General campaign, was considered to have officially started on September 8th, 1944, when the Soviets assaulted the Laborec Highlands. It ended on October 28th, 1944, when the Slovak Uprising was crushed and the communist offensive was halted. The Battle of Dukla Pass officially concluded with the failure of the insurrection.
But let's rewind a bit. 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 rebels envisioned the Axis being kicked out of their country as the Soviets were getting closer and closer to lend support. Key to the entire operation was the Carpathian bottleneck, connecting Slovakia to Poland, known as the Dukla Pass. It would have been secured from the Germans and held long enough for the Red Army to pass through and advance straight into Slovakia.
However, in a cruel twist of fate, 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 Army General campaign
In Steel Division 2, the Battle of Dukla Pass will see the Soviets try to seize the Laborec Highland’s pass at Dukla, in order to reach the insurgents of the Slovak Uprising. But the national liberation campaign was sprung hastily, with the Germans and other Axis troops reacting swiftly to secure and hold the strategic pass.
As depicted in the Army General campaign, the battle will be fought in-depth along the Krosno-Dukla-Presnov-Kosice corridor. Combat flares around Krosno, with the Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front striking at the boundary between the German XI. SS-Gebirgs-Korps and XXIV. Panzerkorps. It is here that the Allied troops aim to brush aside the thin defensive line of German defenders.
The Axis will, in the beginning, have no immediate reserves. This means standing fast or performing an arduous fighting retreat where every meter will be used to stall for time. Later during the campaign, reinforcements will arrive from the south, as well as both sides of the corridor.
The Divisions
The Battle of Dukla Pass expansion will feature 6 new divisions, playable in Skirmish and multiplayer. Note that some of the following battlegroups are directly lifted from the Army General campaign itself, while others were either located very close by or deeply involved in the series of battles in other ways.
More detailed previews of each individual division will come soon!
From the Army General campaign
We picked two divisions straight from the Army General battlefield:
- The Axis 208. Infanterie-Division. Prior to the battle, the formation led by General Hans Pieckenbrock was considered by Soviet intelligence to be down to 60% strength. However, unbeknownst to the Allies, the remaining manpower was composed of the division’s best soldiers. Battle-hardened, the 208. ID found itself in the thickest of the fighting, being in charge of the Krosno sector. This put it right in the path of the Soviet offensive. Although the division’s right flank was mangled, with the Red Army achieving a narrow breakthrough, the German survivors regrouped in Krosno. The 208. Infanterie-Division would not yield, and when joined by elements of the 1. and 8. Panzerdivision, they even managed to go on the attack.
- The Allied 1. Československý Armádní Sbor, or the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps of the Red Army. This formation was created from Soviet citizens of Czechoslovak origins, Czechoslovakian refugees from the Sudenten occupation, or prisoners of war. It grew from a simple battalion (the first foreign unit to fight alongside the Soviets) to a three-brigade (plus smaller units) army corps. Although considered small for an army corps, even by Soviet standards, the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps had an unusual organization, featuring its own tank regiment, penal company, plus one out of three brigades being completely formed out of paratroopers. Thrown into the meatgrinder at Dukla Pass, the corps had the painful honor of fighting its way into their homeland. The paratroopers were pulled out from the battle early to be airlifted to the help of the Slovak Uprising.
Fighting nearby Dukla Pass
The next two divisions will not appear within the expansion’s Army General campaign, though they were fighting just outside of the scope of our map.
- The Axis Hungarian 13. Gyaloghadosztály or 13th Infantry Division. This formation was positioned on the east side of the Axis defensive lines, next to the German 101. Jäger-Division. The Hungarians had to cover for the redeployment of the Jägers when they were sent into battle at Dukla Pass. The 13th Infantry Division received reinforcements from the Hungarian 1st and 2nd Mountain Brigade, plus some welcome armor support in both the form of the German StuG-Abteilung 1101 and Hungarian 1st Assault Gun Battalion.
- The Soviet 242-ya Gornostrelkovaya division, or the 242nd Mountain Rifles Division. It comes as no surprise that this formation was specifically deployed to the Carpathian mountain ranges. While the 126-y L. Gornostrelkovy Korpus included one mountain brigade, the 242nd was one of the few Soviet divisions entirely specialized in mountain warfare. Although lightly equipped, this battlegroup will receive as an attachment a rather unusual unit (which we will reveal in due course).
Deeply involved in the campaign
The final two divisions to be featured in the Army General campaign were located further afield, not fighting directly in the Laborec Highlands but beyond. They were both deeply involved in the greater scheme of things and the very reason the 1st Ukrainian Front surged forward.
- The Axis 18. SS-Fr.-Panzergrenadier "Horst Wessel". This division's main mission was not to stop or delay the Soviet offensive but to crush its very objective: cracking down on the Slovak Uprising. The 18. SS, although a German division, was made up almost entirely of Hungarian Volksdeutschen. Over the course of the campaign, it amalgamated several smaller units of various origins, turning into a genuine Tower of Babel: from Slovak collaborationists, French SS, to German security troops, single tanks, and Ukrainian SS troops.
- The Slovak National Uprising or SNP. Once proposed as a Nemesis choice, this formation makes - at last - its Steel Division 2 debut. Represented as a phase-locked battlegroup, with the rebellious regular Slovak army available in Phase A, partisans in B, and Czechoslovakian “red” paratroopers detached from 1. Československý Armádní Sbor arriving in C. There will also be a sprinkling of OSS and Jedburgh special forces, plus Western Allies and Soviet Air Forces flying top cover.
As mentioned before, we’ll return soon with more details and information on each division and campaign!
War Reserves’ New Units
In case you missed it, we recently released the free-for-all Reinforcement Pack #17 - War Reserves. The War Reserves free DLC features 18 new units with 11 brand-new models.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3508600/Steel_Division_2__Reinforcement_Pack_17__War_Reserves/
See you on the battlefield
That’s all. We’ll be back soon with the first detailed Battle of Dukla Pass preview.
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See you on the battlefield, commander!