On the morning of January 31st, 1915, a German soldier on the Eastern Front might have looked towards the town of Bolimów hoping to see an experimental German weapon in action for the first time. The weapon in question was a number of 15cm artillery shells loaded with tear gas. Once the shells met a charge of TNT, they would be blasted open and the canisters would transform into a large cloud of xylyl bromide tear gas. Russian soldiers would suffer extreme irritation to their eyes, noses and ears. Once blinded and suffering, they would be unable to prevent a German attack breaking through their lines.

That German soldier would have been terribly disappointed - the contents of thousands of gas shells blew back towards German lines instead of towards the Russians. Ultimately, an even greater debacle was only avoided because the gas froze due to the cold temperatures on the battlefield, which minimized German casualties.


Sturmtruppe geht vor unter Gas - etching and aquatint by Otto Dix.
(Stormtroopers Advance Under a Gas Attack)

Although the attempt went poorly (to say the least), the new German innovation in their usage of poison gas did not go unnoticed by the Russians. But the failure did mean that the news was not widely spread to Russia’s allies in the west, which set the stage for a more effective gas attack the following year at the Second Battle of Ypres. Read about that here!

At the time of writing, the Central Powers have suffered around 22,000 more casualties than the Entente, which would be a significant loss compared to previous campaigns, where the differences were often less than 10,000.

The campaign will end on April 30, this Friday.

The Entente and Central Powers clash again in our latest campaign event: the Poison Prince campaign. Casualties from both Verdun and Tannenberg on PC will be tallied up until April 30, and the side which loses the least men will emerge victorious.

Poison gas was first used on the Eastern Front at the Battle of Bolimów in Russia, by the Germans. It failed (badly) but poison gas would be used again on the Western Front during the Second Battle of Ypres. It would be far more successful there… we’ll share more about these two moments in history during the course of the campaign!


Russian soldiers wearing gas masks.

The Poison Prince campaign is named after the German commander for the second, more effective gas attack. Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg was the crown-prince of the Kingdom of Württemberg, part of Germany which would cease to exist in 1918.

Read the Campaign FAQ here!

Good luck out there…

Our new game Isonzo is coming later this year!

The Great War had many battlefields with a vast variety of landscapes and warring nations - and later this year you will be able to fight on the Italian Front.

Although you’re used to fighting in the cold in Tannenberg, high up in the mountains of Isonzo will be a new experience! The rivers and charming Italian towns create an entirely new environment for you to conquer!




For now, we want to thank you all for your love and support for Verdun and Tannenberg! We’re definitely not forgetting the games that brought us here - we’re excited for the next step in our WW1 Game Series adventure and hope you’ll join us!

Arrivederci, hope to see you all in Italy later this year!

- The WW1 Game Series team

And so the latest campaign comes to a close, with 945,395 casualties for the Entente and 982,641 for the Central Powers. That's 37,246 more losses for the Central Powers. So far the Entente have generally come out on top in the campaigns - albeit by a small margin. Perhaps people prefer playing for the Allies?

The first Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive aimed at relieving the Prsmsl Fortress consisted of 175,000 men in total, so these losses are vastly greater than any week long battle during the war. As you'd expect, considering that Verdun and Tannenberg are about frontline combat at an intensity that could never be maintained for long in real life.



Thanks to everyone who took part. We hope you had fun and found the history interesting!

The Winter War 1915 campaign continues for a couple more days - have you earned a gold medal yet? On the Eastern Front there were Austro-Hungarian troops trying to break through to relieve Przemyśl Fortress, meanwhile on the Western Front an important observation point was being contested.


Photograph from the summit of Hartmanswillerkopf in 1915.

January 1915 saw mountain warfare centered on the Hartmanswillerkopf peak in the Vosges mountains. German and French troops fought intermittently from 1914-1916 to control the heights, which offered both sides potential observation of strategic railways. The operations were costly (though nowhere near as brutally harsh as in the Carpathians) and troops were often pulled from the Hartmanswillerkopf conflict to reinforce other areas of the front. Ultimately both sides would go on to accept a stalemate in early 1916, and the situation became stable until 1918.


Hartmanswillerkopf memorial.

The campaign will end on February 4th. So far the Entente are ahead with almost 30,000 less casualties than the Central Powers. Will things change before the 4th?

A brand new Winter War 1915 campaign is starting soon, this Thursday 28th! Fallen soldiers will be tracked throughout the event, except for battles where only bots are involved. The 'winner' will be whichever faction suffers the least casualties at the end of the event. It is not required to serve one side during the entire campaign. But surely you'll still be inclined to pick a side?

The amount of kills earned by each faction can be seen on the main menu. You can earn special medals during this event. All you have to do is to participate in the battles of Tannenberg to earn one! You can upgrade your medal by fighting battles in our Western Front shooter Verdun as well - if you fight 5 battles in both games, you'll earn the gold medal! You have until February 4th to do so...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/242860/Verdun/
The Eastern Front saw a very bloody winter in 1915. In an ill-conceived attempt to relieve the besieged Przemyśl Fortress, the Austro-Hungarian command launched an offensive through the Carpathian Mountains in the depths of Winter. Around 175,000 men were committed to a grueling slog through impossible conditions with deep snow and night temperatures that could reach -25°F. A horrific 75% would become casualties through freezing, exhaustion, suicide, and more rarely combat. After some initial success against outnumbered Russian defenders, counter-attacks quickly drove back the Austro-Hungarian effort. They never got close to relieving Przemyśl.


A painting of Russian troops marching through the mountains.

Many will know what happened at the Western Front during Christmas of 1914. German and British soldiers would lay down their weapons and celebrate the holidays together. But how was spending Christmas on the Eastern Front? That’s a little more complicated than you might think…

This has to do with the different calendars used. Nowadays, we mostly refer to the Gregorian calendar. However, the Russians still used the Julian calendar. There are a few reports that Germans would seek out a truce during Christmas, but these aren’t as widely spread or well known as what occurred in 1914. For soldiers in the trenches of the Eastern Front, it would have been ‘business as usual’, although that is a weird statement considering they were at war...

One of the important Russian offensives is named the ‘Christmas Battles’ and took place on the second and third weeks of January 1917, if we go by our current calendar. The battle took place in a swampy, frozen landscape and stood out because of the partial victory for the Russian Empire. In particular the Latvian Riflemen earned their reputation as very capable combatants based on this offensive.



In Verdun, our WW1 Game that takes place on the Western Front, the Christmas Truce event returns! From December 22nd 2020 until January 5th 2021, you can join the Christmas Truce and even win a special medal for doing so! Jump into a special map where all players have the same loadout. Stories to tell, snowballs to pick up and a football to kick. Celebrate Christmas in a unique way with your fellow soldiers and earn the Christmas Truce medal by participating in the festivities.


Co-founder of M2H Studios and developer of the WW1 Game Series, Mike Hergaarden, has written an interesting behind the scenes article about including different truces and other lesser known historic events in games. “The common factor in these truces is a shared human experience.”
To get some more insights, read the article here.



If you are looking to enlist on the battlefields of World War I, now is the perfect time! Tannenberg is -60% off and could be gifted to a fellow soldier. Looking to head over to the Western Front and join the Christmas Truce? Verdun is -70% off as well!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/242860/Verdun/

...for now! Which means that the Wolf Truce has ended. Did you manage to get your special Wolf Truce medal? If you have somehow missed it, don't worry! The beasts are likely to return for some fresh meat sometime in the future.

Here are some community highlights of the truce from players 'Matthias' and 'SadAlice'




Just a quick note today to let any console fans among you know that we have released an update allowing Xbox and PlayStation gamers to play Verdun and Tannenberg together!

Sadly we couldn’t add cross-play for PC users due to differences in their game versions, such as 64 player matches rather than the 40 player games on console, and other cross-platform balance issues like controller auto-aim.

It's also a free weekend on consoles from December 11-13, meaning Verdun and Tannenberg are open to everyone to try out!

Even if you don’t own a console, you might be interested in the giveaways running on our Twitter – you’ve got a chance to win some tasty mints!

With temperatures and snowflakes that are starting to fall, we do not only remember those who have fallen or the conflict they were involved in, we also remember the rare moments of humanity during the war. But more on that later....

Winter is drawing near. And when the world is at war, wild beasts are more desperate for food than ever. Hungry packs of wolves are looking for some fresh meat and the only tasty things around are you, your squadmates, and your enemies!

When you hear the wolves howl on the battlefields of Tannenberg, a massive pack of wolves will approach. At this moment, both sides have the opportunity to uphold the truce and fight together against the hungry beasts. If you manage to eliminate the pack without hurting anyone on the enemy team, all players involved will earn the special medal! The event runs from November 25 to December 2!


A cold howl
The Wolf Truce is based on accounts of Russians and Germans on the Eastern Front holding this unique truce in 1917 to fight off ravenous wolves. Although some have found reasons to debunk this, the stories the soldiers told each other made their way into American newspapers such as the New York Times. There are also more sober accounts in Russian history books noting that hungry wolves certainly were a threat, though they generally suggest it was to civilians or isolated soldiers.


A Russian squad in 1914 on the Eastern Front, in the midst of a forest where wolves might be likely to strike a few winters later.

The Eastern Front awaits!
Want to go wolf hunting with your squadmates? Now is the best time to enter the frontlines of World War One, because the entire WW1 Game Series is part of the Steam Autumn Sale! The Western Front of Verdun is open to new recruits with a 50% discount. However, the Wolf Truce only takes place on the Eastern Front of Tannenberg, which is now available for -70% off!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/633460/Tannenberg/
For enthusiasts of physical video game releases, we also have some great news! Both Tannenberg and Verdun have a limited boxed release on PlayStation 4. For now, we have a release in selected German and Austrian retail stores. However, you are able to get a international shipment from Amazon DE:
https://amzn.to/3lGEX4j

We are looking at having a international physical release, but we require your feedback. Would you be interested in a PlayStation 4 boxed release of the WW1 Game Series titles? Let us know:
https://forms.gle/8h67ftBCJEU3u2CQ7

At 11 am on November 11th 1918, the Armistice of Compiègne went into effect and ended World War I. A good moment to remember those who have fallen during this long and bloody worldwide conflict.
In Tannenberg (and Verdun, our Western Front World War I game), you have an optional way to commemorate the Armistice. Watch the poppy flower turn red in two minutes of silence and you earn a special remembrance medal.

There is also a filter overlay for your Facebook profile picture to show your compassion. You can simply add the filter on you Facebook profile image by clicking here: {LINK REMOVED}https://bit.ly/3iCMVcq

The Armistice was a strange event for the soldiers still fighting. The last soldier to officially be declared KIA in the war, a minute before the Armistice came in effect was US Sergeant Henry Gunther. He was demoted from the rank of Sergeant to private. Seeking to reclaim his rank, he rushed into battle and fell, just a minute before the fighting stopped. It teaches us that life is more important than ambition.

For the Eastern Frontmost of the fighting stopped earlier on March 3rd 1918, when the Germans and Russians reached an Armistice. However, Russia had a tumultuous year with the Russian Revolution and the start of the Russian Civil War, another conflict that would once again claim over a million lives.
It is therefore even more upsetting to see these Russian and German soldiers pictured sharing a hug after the fight on the Eastern Front stopped, only for both sides to be reassigned to fight in different wars.

What it must have been like to be a part of World War I is something that generations born after the conflict ended have been wondering. We have records, diary entries and other accounts to remember what it was like to fight in the trenches or forts. Something we try to share with all of you on a daily basis.
More information on the Armistice can be found on our socila media channels!