Ninety-five years ago, a mighty clash of civilizations in Europe occurred.
In August, 1914, the German Second Reich and the British Empire went enthusiastically to war, in an attempt to destroy the other and become the Master of Europe.
The politicians and kings envisioned a quick, short war, believing the war would be over before the leaves fell in autumn or at the latest by Christmas of that year.
Instead, the Imperial German and British Armies stalemated into a deadlock, burrowing into miles and miles of trenches that stretched from Nieuport, Belgium, off the English channel to the Swiss border 375 miles away. It was the only way the men on both sides could avoid the mass produced iron bullets or shells fired into them by industrialized machines of war: rifles, machine guns, artillery guns, and a new weapon of warfare that appeared in September, 1916: the tank.
The First World War in the 20th century was the start of a new European Dark Age in which killing the enemy was achievable on a massive scale and in a time and cost efficient manner because the major powers of Europe, the United Kingdom and Imperial Germany, had become industrialized titans of the world: this was the time of Iron Europe: 1914-1916.
Iron Europe: 1914-1916 (IE) is the First Release of a modification for Tripwire’s next project on the Unreal 3.0 engine. IE will portray battles on the Western Front during the first two years of the First World War, starting with the First Ypres in 1914 and ending with the infamous battles of the Somme in 1916.
IE: 1914-1916 will feature the British (including the renowned Scottish Black Watch regiment) and Australian Imperial forces pitted against the armies of Imperial Germany.
Iron Europe will stay true to Red Orchestras roots and provide a realistic WWI experience, something that has not been done before.
Iron Europe will also feature longer and fuller Map Introductions and Unit Descriptions so you, the Player, will be able to better understand the history of the First World War battles that took place and the men who fought them.
A proposed Second Release, Iron Europe: 1917-1918, will portray battles on the Western Front during the final two years of the First World War, and will again feature the British, Australian Imperial Force, and Imperial German forces, as well as a new army, the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Other releases, which may portray French, Colonial African, Austrian, Italian, United States, and Tsarist Russian forces may be created, depending on the reception of the first two releases and the will and desire of the members of the team, which may or may not include present or past members of Iron Europe Modding Team.
Maps:
The Following Iron Europe 1914-1916 maps are planned (listed chronologically)
1) Langemarck: Battle of First Ypres, Belgium, October 1914
German assault map.
2) Gheluvelt: Battle of First Ypres, Belgium, November 1914
British assault map.
3) Loos: Battle of Loos, Artois, France, September 1915
British assault map featuring the Scottish Black Watch battalion.
4) Gommecourt, Battle of the Somme, Picardy, 1 July 1916
British assault map
5) Mouquet Farm: Battle of Somme, August 1916
Australian Imperial Force assault map.
6) Thiepval: Battle of the Somme, September, 1916
British assault map with Mark IV Tank.
Members of the Iron Europe Team are from the following countries: United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, Australia, Indonesia, and Canada.
The research of the Iron Europe: 1914-16 has been conducted with meticulous attention to historical detail, including almost every facet of the war on the Western Front, from the uniforms and the weapons to the trenches and villages, even the average height and ages of the soldiers, we have researched this mod with a post graduate level of historical research.
