Third Campaign: Second Stage Announced

Commanders,

The Race to the Sea is about to cross the finish line, so now you must prepare yourself for the things to come. Get ready for the Second Stage of the Third Campaign!

Second Stage Rules: Hell of Verdun

1. Second Stage General Rules

1.1. The Second Stage of the Third Campaign on Global Map will be called Hell of Verdun and will last 10 days - from 28 November at 11:00 to 8 December 2014 at 11:00 CET (UTC +1).

1.2. Vehicles up to and including Tier VIII can take part in this stage.

1.3. Revolts and Ransacks will be enabled.

1.4. The map will not be wiped after the First Stage, so clans will keep their provinces.

1.5. Starting from November 28 at 11:00 until 29 November at 11:00 CET (UTC +1) world redivision mode will be active:

• All provinces will be available for landing.
• All scheduled battles will be cancelled and the chips will be returned to the clan reserve without freezing.
• Espionage/Counter-espionage will be enabled.
• Revolts and Ransacks will be disabled.
• The maximum number of clans applying for landing will be 32.
• If during the landing tournament a battle with a province owner ends in a draw, the province ownership will go to the attacking clan.

1.6. World redivision ends on the 29 November and after that the Hell of Verdun rules will come into effect:

• Revolts and Ransacks will be enabled.
• Espionage/Counter-espionage will be enabled.
• The maximum number of clans applying for landing will be 64.

1.7. Moving chips and attacking Fortresses will only be possible at the end of world redivision.

1.8. During the Third Campaign, a clan may change map or leave the Campaign Map altogether. In such a case, the clan will lose all their provinces on the map they are leaving, but their Fame Points will remain intact.

1.9. After leaving a map, all the chips of the clan as well as its Headquarters will be removed from that map and placed in the reserve. The chips and Headquarters which were withdrawn from the map will be available again after 24 hours. Chips which are in the reserve may be deployed on the Global Map during the next turn after leaving.

2. The main objectives of the second phase of the Third Campaign

2.1. During the Second Stage, special areas called Fortresses will appear on the map. A Fortress consists of a Citadel in the center and the adjacent Approaches. For capturing Approaches provinces, a clan gets a Fame Point bonus. If a clan manages to capture a Citadel first and then the surrounding Approaches, each Approach will bring a clan four times more Fame Points compared to the basic amount.

2.2. Recapturing Approaches does not bring any bonuses to a clan. You will find tool-tips on the map which will remind you whether you have already captured the Approach or not.

2.3. Provinces directly adjacent to the Approaches are called Bridgeheads and are constant landing provinces.

2.4. There is no option for landing on a Citadel and in the provinces belonging to the Citadel, there are no revolts. The only way to get into Fortress provinces is through the Bridgeheads.

2.5. The first Fortresses can be attacked after world redivision.

2.6. Fortresses exist only for five days (120 turns) and then appear elsewhere.

2.7. With the appearance of a Fortress, its Citadel, Approaches and Bridgeheads are wiped to create equal conditions for all clans:

• All chips and headquarters transfer to reserve without freezing.
• If a clan whose headquarters has been returned to reserve perform a landing mission, the mission progress will be reset.
• All counter-spies on the provinces will disappear.
• If a headquarters was transferred to the reserve, all spies and counter-spies who were in the process of intelligence gathering will disappear.

2.8. If a Citadel or an Approach appears on a normal landing province, this landing will become closed until the Third Stage starts.

2.9. If a battle for a Bridgehead ends in a draw, the winner is the defending clan.

2.10. Fortresses differ in their Fame Points income. These differences are marked on the map by icons in different colors - gold, silver, bronze. The number of Fame Points for a clan for capturing the Approaches:

2.11. All Approaches belonging to the same Fortress yield the same bonus.

2.12. After a Fortress disappears:

• The chance of revolt in the province returns to its normal state;
• Planned battles for the province remain valid;
• If a former Approach province is a starting province, scheduled landing tournaments will remain valid;
• If a former Approach province is a default province, scheduled battles for the province will be cancelled and all chips will return to clans’ reserves without freezing.

2.13. At the end of the Second Stage, the Fame Points of players whose clans came in the top 3 during the stage will be multiplied by a certain coefficient:

3. Additional missions in the Second stage

3.1. Hall of Fame mission: Fame Points earned in all the battles for a province of an existing Fortress (Citadel and Approaches) are multiplied by 1.1 (Z coefficient in the FP calculation formula)

3.2. Defiance mission: Fame Points earned in all the battles against the owner of a Citadel will be multiplied by 1.2 (Z coefficient in the FP calculation formula). In case a clan performs two secondary missions, Z coefficient = 1.3.

3.3. Starting from the First Stage and until the end of the Third Campaign, players are free to perform landing missions. The full list and rules for such missions are available in General Regulations of the Third Campaign.

3.4. Additionally, during the Campaign, secondary and special missions will be available for completion. The full list of missions is available in General Rules and Regulations of the Third Campaign.

The Hell of Verdun: History Flashback

The Verdun operation was one of the largest and bloodiest in the First World War. It lasted  from 21 February to 12 December 1916 and went down in history as "The Hell of Verdun." During the battle, French troops were able to repel a large-scale German offensive and prevent them from reaching Paris.

The Verdun operation, along with the Battle of the Somme, marked the beginning of the decline of the German military’s success, and the strengthening of the Entente.

Verdun was first time that light machine guns, rifle grenade launchers, mortars, flamethrowers and chemical weapons were widely used. Also the density of artillery fire was increased and aircraft was actively used. Attacking infantry built deep battle formations and created assault groups. Also for the first time, by using road transport, forces were able to regroup promptly. This experience of defensive fortifications informed the construction of the fortified borders which were established in most European countries after World War I.

Don't forget, you can also discuss the Third Campaign in our dedicated forum section!

To the Fortress, Commanders!