The German Empire marches today in a free expansion into Italy

We have a new expansion for our WW1 Italian Front FPS game isonzo release today! It’s the first installment in our Caporetto season of free expansions, featuring a whole new faction and map for the Offensive game mode with the arrival of the German Empire on the Italian front. There will be two more releases in the Caporetto Season, each with a new card that ultimately links into a three-card Caporetto Offense.

The German faction comes with more than ten new weapons as well as historically accurate uniforms and gear. In this first Caporetto map, you take part in the early stages of the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, in which German troops attack Italian positions on the road to Caporetto. Historically, it was a military catastrophe for Italy that brought down the government – but perhaps things can be different for you on the battlefield?

The update provides new uniforms and equipment from the German Empire isonzos six classes: Rifleman, Assault, Engineer, Officer, Marksman and Mountaineer. For those unfamiliar with the game, each class has different weapon, gear, and perk options that allow you to specialize your playstyle within the class’s overall focus. For example, marksmen are always snipers, but a lot depends on your equipment. You could be a long-range sniper and spotter, identifying and eliminating high-value targets with a scoped rifle, or you could equip body armor to capture and hold a front line of deadly accurate mid-range fire. Each class has choices to make in this regard.

in the isonzos Offensive game mode, one side must attack and break through multiple lines of defense. Thick layers of barbed wire, trenches, and any additional defenses the enemy engineers have put together will stand in the way of a successful attack. Targets can capture and hold key points or plant dynamite to sabotage enemy supply depots or heavy artillery pieces.

The new Caporetto map – the first of three in the season – is a massive battlefield based on the strategically important Monte Kolovrat. There are five lines of defense, with each line having two targets for the attackers before they can advance any further. While both German and Austro-Hungarian forces were involved in the historic Battle of Caporetto, in isonzo We decided to focus on the German contribution, so the map recreates the stunning German advance from the town of Tolmein all the way to Kolovrat Ridge. It’s a damp, overcast day when the attack begins, and the attackers must first wire their way through tightropes to penetrate a devastated city – including capturing a church defended by several heavy machine gun emplacements. Fortunately, many tactical options are available in Isonzo to deal with such strengths: artillery fire, smoke screens, snipers, rifle grenades, even poison gas. From there, it literally becomes an uphill battle for the German attackers as they begin to climb to the top of the Kolovrat ridge. They must sabotage bunkers and capture command posts while navigating rocky ditches and steep forested slopes. At the penultimate fourth line of defenses, there’s a giant siege launcher to sabotage and a cluster of houses providing cover for the Italian defenders – then it’s a final climb to reach the final objective: Hill 1114. If the Germans can capture it, they will the Italians will finally be the ones fighting uphill while their reinforcements pour in to attempt a counterattack.

Of course, things aren’t easy for the defenders either – although downhill it’s easier to maneuver and it’s much easier for officers to use flares to call in support, the extensive trench lines can become a liability once the Germans come to a halt, who provides cover as they advance. Some of the Italian defenses can be exposed against the sky, making it easier for German gunners to hit targets. Italian engineers should make good use of their construction skills to lay down extra sandbags and lay out extra wires to prevent German assault troops from sneaking through the trees with their grenades or light machine guns to flank trenches.

As we mentioned earlier, historically the Battle of Caporetto was a disaster for the Italians. Appalling leadership caused ill-motivated and unprepared troops to fall apart in the face of combined Austro-Hungarian and German armies using cutting-edge infiltration tactics. The Italian soldiers were only allowed to withdraw too late and at the end hundreds of thousands would arise. After Caporetto, the top Italian general was fired and replaced by a far more competent one who managed to turn the tide of the war for the Italians. in the isonzoit’s a fair fight in which both sides have an equal chance of winning if they can use all available tactical options better than their opponents.

The release will also bring other improvements to the game, including a prestige mode and a higher level cap. For those who want more options to visually customize their character, the Royal Units DLC comes with the free expansion and contains uniforms from the German kingdoms of Bavaria and Württemberg. Despite being part of the German Empire, these states had their own distinctive uniforms, which we’ve painstakingly recreated with the same accuracy and attention to detail as the other uniforms in the game.

The Battle of Caporetto begins…

isonzo is available now on the Microsoft Store for Xbox and for free Caporetto extension is out today! Plenty of time to master the art of mountain warfare before the German Empire joins the fight on the Italian front. Follow us for the latest development news as we add the finishing touches!

See you in the trenches!