The Great War 1918 is a WW1 modification for Company of Heroes, focusing on the last year of the First World War. Currently it features the British Expeditionary Force and the German Empire as opposing factions; however new nations will be brought over time, such as France and Austria-Hungary. The mod focuses on a realistic and accurate representation of warfare in 1918 while keeping a balanced and enjoyable gameplay.
Experience the great operations of the last year of the Great War as Germany breaks through the Western Front in the Spring Offensive; as the Entente, liberate France and Belgium in the Hundred Days offensive. Look forward to heavy artillery strikes and the infamous gas attacks. Trenches will provide vital cover for infantry while tanks will roll over the battlefield and instil fear into the enemy.
Features:
- a WW1 total conversion of Company of Heroes
- two factions: the German Imperial Army and the British Expeditionary Force
- a balanced gameplay focused on the particularities of the Great War, with trenches, poison gas and melee
- new models and textures, including tanks, planes, buildings, weapons and soldiers
- new units, abilities and commander trees that faithfully reflect the tactics adopted in 1918
- new maps featuring the elaborate trench systems of the Great War
- skirmish mode both in single and multiplayer
- a no pop-cap skirmish mode called "Grand Offensive"
- a fully integrated Cheat Mode (not available in multiplayer).
- full translations in German, Spanish, Polish, Russian, French, Italian and Chinese
Visit us at:
Tgw.coh.fi
As promised in the previous news update, here is the second part of the French unit preview.
Sapeurs
By 1918 the traditional tasks of the engineer corps had been largely overtaken by infantry pioneers. Instead the "Génie militaire" became specialised units in charge of tasks requiring a high level of expertise, like battlefield demolitions, gas, mine warfare... and Flamethrowers.
The organisation of French flamethrower units was a mirror image of their German opponents, down to their first commander being a fireman. To be effective the flamethrower needed good planning and support firepower. This required units that were specially trained for the task and given a good deal of autonomy when planning assaults.
Renault FT
Model by B-Dizl, skin by don_Durandal
While the French arguably designed the worst tank models of WW1, they also came up with the very best. The Renault FT was a revolutionary step in tank design, with a layout that can be seen even in modern tanks. The fully rotating turret made the addition of multiple weapons unnecessary, and the separated engine compartment at the back meant the crew wouldn't be incapacitated by engine fumes like in other WW1 models.
While the FT was a latecomer to the battlefield, only seeing action for the first time in May 1918, by the end of the war more FTs had been built than all other WW1 tank models together.
The main variations were a machinegun tank armed with a Hotchkiss model 1914 and a gun tank with a SA18 37mm rapid-fire cannon. The later could fire a variety of shells, including HE, canister and armour-piercing.
Renault FT TSF
The lack of portable radios in WW1 made communications difficult. Wireless sets were available, but these were usually cumbersome and fragile, required a conspicuous antenna, and as such were ill-adapted to the battlefield especially when on the move.
The "signal" or "TSF" (wireless) version of the Renault FT was a solution to that problem. The turret was replaced with a fixed casemate hosting a wireless set, an operator and an observer. While it required the tank to be set up to properly deploy the antenna, this gave French tank units a much-needed means of communications, especially in the mobile conditions of the 1918 battlefield.
Tireur d'élite
The French Army was slow in understanding the advantage of properly trained and equipped snipers in trench warfare. It wasn't until 1916 that scoped rifles started being distributed to frontline units, and snipping was left to individual initiative.
WW1 was the birth of modern military camouflage, from artillery to tanks, fortifications and individual or groups of soldiers. In the French Army, universal conscription had brought various artists and artisans under the colours. Their skills were quickly put to use and vast army workshops were set up to test and paint camouflage patterns, create dummies for deception and observation, and create new means of avoiding detection such as camouflage nets and clothing.
One of such items was the "frog" suit (named in reference to the spotted skin of the common frog, not for culinary reasons). It covered the whole body, with a masked hood for the head and gloves for the hands. It was distributed to observers and raiders.
Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider
Model by Regulator, skin by don_Durandal
The pre-war reliance of the French Army on their excellent 75mm field gun meant that when war broke out it was almost bereft of modern medium and heavy artillery models. The 105 L (for "105mm Long") had been acquired in small numbers back in 1913, and soon a massive order was made for more guns. It had long range, good accuracy and an excellent rate of fire, and more importantly its heavy shell was more suitable for taking out fortified emplacements than the 75mm field gun.
Grenadiers d'élite
For all armies, raiding parties became a fixture of trench warfare once the Western Front settled down into stalemate, and the French were no exception. At first these "groupes francs" were organised on an ad-hoc fashion, but it wasn't long before formal regulations were set up for raising and training such units. Commanders also realised that it was more effective to seek volunteers for these tasks; the thrill of action, the promise of special advantages (such as more leaves and no chores) and the lure of loot meant that there was rarely a shortage of such men.
A big turning point came in 1917 when General Nivelle was nominated commander-in-chief of the French Army. He envisioned whole battalions of raiders organised along the lines of German stormtroops. The existence of these units of "Grenadiers d'élite", as they were designated, was short-lived however. Nivelle's successor, General Pétain, felt that placing all the best elements in the same units would weaken the rest of the army, and ordered the battalions disbanded and the men sent back to their old units.
Nevertheless the usefulness of such units meant that they remained in existence on a semi-official basis in most infantry regiments of the French Army. When the front become mobile again after the 1918 German Spring offensive their task was widened to assault and reconnaissance.
Models by The_Soldier, Cireva and don_Durandal unless specified otherwise.
Textures by don_Durandal
Special thanks to B-Dizl of the NTW:TGW mod for the Renault FT and Lebel rifle models, and Regulator of Battlefield 1918 for the 105L.
It's hard to preview them through images, but gameplay and sounds are also being worked on. Dzierzan has been creating realistic weapon sounds for the mod. General WVPM has joined the team as a coder.
The TGW1918 development team.
A first preview at some of the units for our next upcomming faction: the WW1 French Army.
Here's version 1.2, the third release of The Great War 1918 - a WW1 modification for Company of Heroes.
The French Army will be a new faction for The Great War 1918, a WW1 mod for Company of Heroes 1. It will feature new units, new vehicles and its own set...
Here's version 1.1, the second release of The Great War 1918 - a WW1 modification for Company of Heroes.
This file contains the full version of The Great War 1918 v1.2 in a self-extracting archive. It will extract all the files needed to play the modification...
This file contains the full version of The Great War 1918 v1.1 in a self-extracting archive. It will extract all the files needed to play the modification...
This file contains the full version of The Great War 1918 v1.0 in a self-extracting archive. It will extract all the files needed to play the modification...
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i figured all of you should know the mod isnt dead it is well alive Don had another project he was working on he 3 years ago said he would continue with the mod and he will do just that for all i know he is already working on it it took him since around 2011 to get this mod released and in i believe 2017 it did finally release but think how long it takes he doesnt do test versions he goes through and deals with all the bugs and issues before releasing so it will take maybe 2 to 3 more years possibly but do not give up any of you
PLEASE never let it die, I beg you, as me for any help needed, we need a ww1 mod for CoH like rain in the desert :3, P.S. have you guys fixed the bug with the territories flag colours? where they show in blue or red? they should appear normally like the british union jack and the german empire flag
He said years ago he intended to maybe go back to finishing this mod, but he hasn't said anything about this mod at all since. I really wouldn't hold my breath.
The last update was 7 years ago. The last actual release was over 9 years ago. I really wouldn't hold my breath..
Few posts back he said in 2020 he’s going to finish it
Yes -three years ago. The Great War mod for Napoleon (excluding some minor patches), came out in 2021. If he still intended to come back to this mod, he would have done so.
People's plans and personal lives change over the course of 3 years. You shouldn't take a comment (since deleted?) as gospel. I admire your optimism, though.
unfortunatly I have to agree with Var_emreis. I had been holding out hope that he would continue after the napoleon mod release but we still havent heard a thing since.
I really hope we see a return but I wouldn't be surprised if he is too busy elsewhere.
it really is all's quiet on the The Great War 1918 front...
Really a shame if they abandend the project. One of my favourite mods for COH. Have so much potential to be the best ww1 mod for any game.
For anyone wondering why the mod haven’t updated in 8 years that because the dev team has another project for Napoleon Total War also call The Great War I think they too busy with Napoleon Total War to come back with this mod
i doubt
He’ll return it took him several years without word to do this mod he finally nearly completed it in 1.2 but than was going to get the French he stopped with the French models to help with other projects I’m sure he’s back now being quiet working out the kinks and getting better details to finish it all off
it really is
I doubt they will return