[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/10379584/0a4c85741a95b3988539dde28559033214eeb45c.png[/img] Community members! Exactly 80 years ago today, Operation Market Garden started. To commemorate this iconic operation, we will announce the planned release date for Call to Arms- Gates of Hell: Airborne! We also take a look at the historical background of what - at the time - was the biggest airborne operation in history. [h2]80 years[/h2] On September 17th, 1944, Operation Market Garden got under way. Expectations were high; if this operation would achieve its goals, it was more or less generally assumed that the war would be over soon, maybe even before Christmas. As it turned out, that was not to be; a number of setbacks, such as the presence of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions, British field radios not working, and the distance between the Arnhem drop zones and the bridge contributed to the failure to capture the Rhine bridge. Ever since there has been a lot of debate; was Market Garden a success or a failure? Bernard Montgomery, who had proposed the operation, called it a 90% success. However, since the key bridge at Arnhem was not taken, the Rhine still formed a formidable defensive line for the Germans. When the operation was called off, the chance to end the war by Christmas was definitely gone. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/10379584/bce03365f943caa1ab91c93e5d2cee6a109007de.jpg[/img] [h2]Aftermath[/h2] The consequences of Market Garden were severe. Even when the British Paras had been evacuated from the Arnhem area, the corridor around “Hell’s Highway” was still hotly contested. Fighting continued without pause for weeks. Arnhem itself was looted bare and set on fire by the Germans during the battle, and it remained a ghost town until the war’s end. The Germans also halted river traffic from the agricultural East Netherlands to the West Netherlands, which caused a famine that cost the lives of an estimated 20.000 Dutch citizens during the following winter. The supplies for the operation had to be replenished by road, all the way from Normandy. Because the British hadn’t captured the north side of the Scheldt estuary, the port of Antwerp was of no use to the Allies yet. The criticism of General Montgomery’s strategy was mainly about the fact that the Scheldt estuary should have been taken before considering an operation like Market Garden, to ensure a much better supply situation. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/10379584/169685d837d7e30bd004c3f9394c16fe78b91ee5.jpg[/img] [h2]Remembrance[/h2] The paratroopers involved had all gone above and beyond the “normal” call of duty, and had suffered severe casualties. For instance, the 82nd Airborne took horrendous casualties when crossing the Waal river at Nijmegen. At the location they chose to cross the river, a monument was erected to commemorate their heroics, as you may remember from our previous blog. The Market Garden paratroopers are all considered real heroes by the population of the Netherlands. Every year, in September, all of them are invited to join the veterans’ parade, where the Dutch people honor the veterans and remember the fallen. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/10379584/7dc112bbff161c4f9e6f6b656fbfde242049e7bb.png[/img][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/10379584/7dc112bbff161c4f9e6f6b656fbfde242049e7bb.png]HD Link[/url] [h2]Airborne Release Date[/h2] With all of the history and heroics of these Airborne troops in mind, today is a perfect day to announce the release date for Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Airborne. If you want to re- live some of the most brutal and iconic battles by the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, you can do so from October 17th! Obviously there’s more to the Airborne DLC than Operation Market Garden; in fact, it starts in Normandy. After Operation Market Garden, it takes you through the Battle of the Bulge, and into Germany proper. If you haven’t yet, wishlist Airborne today: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2904660/Call_to_Arms__Gates_of_Hell_Airborne/ [h2]The next faction[/h2] Meanwhile, as we announced in our previous blog, we are developing content for the British Commonwealth. This DLC, the name of which will be announced shortly, will contain Western Front action. After the release of “Airborne” we will show you more. This development is in the hands of one part of the team, while the other part is at work to improve the game and chase bugs as usual. We always schedule new faction DLCs to follow non- faction DLCs like Airborne. That has been our method from the very moment we released “Ostfront” in 2021. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/10379584/40590eb98b596c6555bcf7b1cae1ef223efed053.png[/img][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/10379584/40590eb98b596c6555bcf7b1cae1ef223efed053.png]HD Link[/url] [h2]Did you know?[/h2][list] [*] “Airborne” will contain voice cameos from a handful of (Youtube) Content Creators [*] It will also contain voice acting and narration from modern day veterans [*] The British Commonwealth DLC has already been in development for nearly a year [/list] That’s it for now, thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you on the battlefield! [url=https://discord.com/invite/zyRrWbDV2F][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/10379584/199e04efee454ca9eca8491d8f1d0299ad146a8e.png[/img][/url]