Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our community as we launch our very first community activity on Discord. Starting today, every three days we will conduct a poll featuring various questions that will shape the design and creation of the next three fictional multiplayer maps for Combat Mission.

These new maps will be brought to life by the talented Usually Hapless, who will use the community's responses from the polls to guide his creative process. But that's not all – Usually Hapless will also create a video tutorial, providing an in-depth look at how he crafts these maps using the game's editor.

Once the maps are completed, we are thrilled to announce that there will be a special tournament featuring these community-inspired maps. This tournament will give players a chance to showcase their skills on the new battlegrounds and compete for a prize pool filled with coupon rewards.

Join us on Discord[discord.gg] today and help shape the future of Combat Mission maps. Your input is crucial, and we can't wait to see the incredible maps and intense battles that will come from this collaborative effort.

Dear partecipants,

we wanted to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude to each and every one of you who participated in the Grand Tournament series. Your enthusiasm, skill, and sportsmanship have made this event truly special, and we hope you enjoyed the streams, videos and articles we made for these tournaments

You know, for every competion there must be a winner, and here are the final results of the Grand Tournaments on Battle for Normandy, Cold War and Red Thunder.

Based on your remarkable performances in the Grand Tournaments, we are thrilled to announce the participants drafted for the Grand Invitational. These players have demonstrated exceptional skill and will be competing in the next level of our tournament series on Combat Mission Shock Force 2.

• Cargol
  
• Tyrandar
  
• lawran
  
• sohzaz
  
• MeatEtr
  
• Jackal2100
  
• AtlasActual
  
• Fizou
  
• MHerm
  
• Andrew Kulin
  
• Dawntaker
  
• Artkin

For the first time in the history of our Combat Mission tournaments, players will fight for a coupon prize pool. The amount of money will be given based on your final placement:

• Top 1: $60 Coupon
  
• Top 2: $50 Coupon
  
• Top 3: $40 Coupon
  
• Top 4-8: $20 Coupon (each position)
  
• Top 9-12: $10 Coupon (each position)

The Invitational Grand Tournament will start on March the 5th at 10.00 GMT.

The tournament will feature 3 different scenarios with 40-days round length:

• Round 1 : Wadi Armor Clash
  
• Round 2 : Into the Valley
  
• Round 3 : Ambush Alley

For this event we have prepared a series of contents for you:

• Round 1 and round 3 will see Richard Yorke and XTRG fight each other in a 1 vs 1 on our Twitch channel to showcase the scenarios.
  
• For round 2, UsuallyHapless will create one of his cool videos.

Last but not least, a big shootout to George McEwan (George MC), one of the greatest scenarios designers that created a lot of new content from scratch.

Once again, thank you for making the Grand Tournament series a tremendous success. We look forward to seeing the drafted players showcase their skills in the Grand Invitational.

The final round of the Red Thunder Grand Tournament is about to begin; in the meantime, you can follow the tournament's progress here[www.matrixgames.com]. The battle awaiting you in this third round will be tough and challenging, but don't worry, "Usually Hapless" has got your back with a new video.

This time, he'll showcase the scenario "Where Forefathers Fought", where a Guards Rifle Battalion, accompanied by tank, attacks weakened German battalion in the village.

During the video you’ll see the scenario, situation, terrain, ORBATs, capabilities, strengths, weaknesses and multiple courses of action for each side.

Have fun and good luck, soldiers.

Just a few days left until the start of the Round 2 of the Combat Mission Grand Tournament. At the beginning of the week, we showcased the second round of Cold War on Stream[www.twitch.tv] on our Twitch channel, as well as a video by Usually Hapless showing the second round of Battle for Normandy. As you can imagine, today we have an article for Red Thunder, Mark Goddard, military and Wargaming expert wrote an article about what you are going to face in this second round, the Battle of Ogledow.

We hope you enjoy this first article, as well as the tournament and this article.

Battle of Ogledów 11-13 Aug 1944:

Setting the Scene
By the late Summer of 1944, the fortunes of the Allies had changed for the better. On the Western front the Normandy landings had broken out and were making steady gains, while on the Eastern Front the immense Soviet war machine had been fully mobilised, striking towards Germany.

The Soviet offensive, Operation Bagration was nearing its end, having achieved staggering success, shattering the German defensive lines, and causing such damage that the Germans would never recover.

Despite this, the Germans remained a formidable force with innovative technologies rapidly changing their orders of battle, this would soon be seen first-hand with the debut of the Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, or Königstiger (King Tiger).

Crossing the Vistula
On August 10th 1944 Soviet forces from the 1st Ukrainian Front forcibly crossed the Vistula River, establishing a beachhead which the 6th Guards Tank Corps and 3rd Guards Tank Army expanded to the outskirts of the villages of Szyldów and Ogledów while the 52nd Guards Tank brigade held the left flank. The sandy conditions around the area caused severe difficulties for the Soviet forces who could not dig their tanks into hull down positions, however, it also caused German tanks to lose traction and control, often resulting in their side armour being dangerously exposed to Soviet guns. It was reported that the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade alone destroyed 8 Panthers.

Königstigers
The Soviets received intelligence on the night of 12th August via a Prisoner of War from the 79th Panzergrenadier Regiment that the 501st Schwere Panzerabteilung 501 (Heavy Tank Battalion) was unloaded at the Konsupol rail station and was equipped with 40 tanks including Panthers and Panzer IVs. It is unclear if the POW did not understand the difference (or was with holding information) but the Brigade was actually equipped with the new Königstiger. However, unbeknownst to the Soviets only approx 75% of the tanks arrived at Khmilnyk due to break downs during the march.

Anticipating a German counter offensive elements of the 2nd Tank Guards Tank Battalion equipped with the T34-85 prepared a defensive line around a wide valley near the village of Ogledów backed up by the 294th Rifle Regiment.

2 x T34-85s of the 53rd Guards Tank brigade commanded by Guards Junior Lieutenant Oskin and Guards Captain Ivushkin set an ambush in a crop field overlooking a dirt road in the valley that led to the vulnerable Soviet rear. On the morning of 13 Aug, hidden in the haystacks and obscured by foggy conditions, 3 Königstigers were observed in the valley. Unaware of the T34’s position they continued to advance to within 400m presenting their more vulnerable side armour. 2 Königstigers were quickly knocked out with 1 catching fire while the 3rd threw a track and failed to turn its front towards the threat. Bogged down and under heavy artillery barrage it was later captured.

The attack and capture of Ogledów then commenced with a platoon of IS-2 tanks engaging further Königstigers, knocking 1 out with their 122 mm gun before engaging a second, which had stalled the infantry attack on the village. A track was knocked off forcing the German crew to abandon the vehicle as the village was stormed by a company of Soviet submachine gunners. The Königstiger was then captured and used to engage German forces. With the village was secured by 0800 engagements continued across the day with IS2s knocking out a further 3 Königstigers forcing the rest to retreat. Between 11-13 August 6 Königstigers were captured and 7 damaged beyond repair.

Impact
The Soviet bridgehead was secure and expanding. With every victory Soviet confidence increased and it become clear that even the heaviest German tanks could be countered by the growing experience of the Soviet tank crews. Most importantly the victories at Ogledów and the wider Operation Bagration set the conditions for the Vistula-Oder offensive, which would commence on January 1945, eventually propelling Soviet forces to within 69km of Berlin.

The Grand Tournament for Combat Mission was announced last week, and yesterday we also streamed Cold War, where we featured the mission you'll face in the first round[www.twitch.tv]. But that is not all, as today we will have another video full of tips and tricks for all of you that have registered to fight in the Red Thunder Tournament.

“Usually Hapless” showcases the first scenario, “Dawn Patrol”, the battle sees reinforced Soviet Infantry company probes the German lines.

During the video you’ll see the scenario, situation, terrain, ORBATs, capabilities, strengths, weaknesses and multiple courses of action for each side.

Last but not least, if you haven't done yet, register for the Grand Tournament here[www.matrixgames.com].

To celebrate Home of Wargamers, we are really excited to announce the first Combat Mission Grand Tournament. The tournament will start on September 25th at 10.00 GMT.

Join the Combat Mission Grand Tournament here[www.matrixgames.com].

The tournament will feature 3 titles of the Combat Mission series: Battle of Normandy, Cold War and Red Thunder. Every game will have 3 rounds with 3 different scenarios:

• Combat Mission - Battle of Normandy
  
  • Round 1 - Buying the Farm - Elements of the 29th Infantry Division advancing near Isigny. Allied attack.
    
  • Round 2 - Barkman’s Corner - 27th of July Barkman’s Panther was repaired during the night but before he could link up with main unit PanzerGrenadiere asked for his help.
    
  • Round 3 - No Exit - Fictional Company-level meeting engagement near an Autobahn interchange in Summer ‘45.

• Combat Mission - Cold War
  
  • Round 1 - Valley of Ashes - US vs Soviet meeting engagement at dawn.
    
  • Round 2 - Recover and Attack - M1 tank recovery. US attack.
    
  • Round 3 - Civil War Within - 1080 - There has been an underground movement in Ukraine to break away from the Soviet Union, but it’s out in the open now, and it has led to war.

• Combat Mission - Red Thunder
  
  • Round 1 - Dawn Patrol - Reinforced Soviet Infantry company probes the German lines. Allied Probe.
    
  • Round 2 - Delaying Action at Ogledow - Armored action on the west bank of Vistula. Allied attack.
    
  • Round 3 - Where Forefathers Fought - Guards Rifle Battalion, accompanied by tank, attacks weakened German battalion in the village. Allied attack.

To make the Combat Mission - Grand Tournament the most engaging experience possible, we will share, for every round, valuable resources that will help players to plan the perfect strategy. These include: insightful editorials by Mark Goddard, military Officer, history enthusiast and wargaming expert, that explain the historical context of some of the key battles to gain a deeper understanding of their strategic significance; strategic videos by Usually Hapless, where he guides players through optimal strategies for tackling each round; live stream sessions with Gamer_1745 where he recreates one of the maps from each round.

To take part in the Combat Mission - Grand Tournament, players do not have to participate in all the 3 tournaments in the 3 different titles. For example, a player can decide to play just the tournament on Combat Mission - Cold War and still have the possibility to be one of the winners of the Grand Tournament.

As a matter of fact, for every tournament, the top 4 players will be drafted for a Combat Mission - Invitational Grand Tournament starting later this year.
If one or more players will be in more than one top 4, the following player will be drafted based on the ranking of the tournament where the player has the lower position. For example, if a player arrives 1st in the Combat Mission - Battle of Normandy and 4th in the Combat Mission - Red Thunder, the player who has arrived 5th in the Combat Mission - Red Thunder will be drafted for the Combat Mission - Invitational Grand Tournament.

Before joining the tournament, please take a moment and carefully read these instructions that are specific to all Combat Mission Tournaments:

• Because of the way that Combat Mission’s original “play by email” system works, both game files have an in-game field for password protection of the file. This field should be left blank. For the US side the password has been selected before the battles were sent and that field is to be left blank. You can use a password for the Russian side but it isn’t needed because the Tournament feature handles protection from cheating without using the in-game system.
  
• The Tournament will have you playing 2 individual battles where you are playing both sides of the same battle. If you get into the game before your opponent, you will see 1 game turn to play. If your opponent has gotten there first then you will see 2 turn files and each turn thereafter should have 2 files.
  
• Once a tournament begins, you will receive the files in the "Saved Game and PBEM" drop menu under Automated PBEM++ In Progress. You will receive email notifications when your opponent has sent you turns.
  
• You will need a Matrix username and password to play any tournament (or PBEM++ battle). If you don't have one already, you can get one here.

The wait is finally over, Combat Mission Red Thunder is now available on the Matrix Store and on Steam.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/2418000/Combat_Mission_Red_Thunder/

Red Thunder brings you to the Eastern Front where the forces of the Third Reich definitively, and decisively, lost all hope of victory. Command the full array of Soviet forces or those of the German Heer as the battles rage across thousands of square miles of territory. Find out first hand why the Soviet juggernaut could not be stopped.

You can also expand your gaming experience by purchasing the DLC: Fire and Rubble and Battle Pack 1, discounted at 15% off for a limited time.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/2418011/Combat_Mission_Red_Thunder__Fire_and_Rubble/

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/2418010/Combat_Mission_Red_Thunder__Battle_Pack_1/

To celebrate the launch on Steam and Matrix Games, the bundle Combat Mission Red Thunder Complete Bundle will be discounted at 10% off for a limited time.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/bundle/33023/Combat_Mission_Red_Thunder_Complete/

Anyone with a copy of the game purchased on Battlefront.com will also be able to redeem a Steam key HERE[www.slitherine.com] using their original game code. If you want to know how to do it, all details can be found here

Last but not least, all the Combat Mission series is discounted up to 40% right now.

Gear up and brace yourself for the intense action of Combat Mission Red Thunder, the groundbreaking World War II tactical strategy game that will immerse you in the heart-pounding battles of the Eastern Front. Mark your calendars for June 15th as this epic gaming experience arrives on both Steam and the Slitherine Store.

Experience the brutal and unforgiving warfare of the Eastern Front, where the outcome of battles can change in an instant. From the swamps of Belarus to the gates of Warsawa, you'll relive some of the most critical moments of the war. Authentic terrain, weaponry, and unit behavior bring the battlefield to life, providing an unparalleled level of immersion.

The DLCs will be released alongside the base game.

Victory awaits, wishlist now.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/2418000/Combat_Mission_Red_Thunder/