Close Combat - Gateway to Caen - (PC) Steam RU/CIS Digital Key
Close Combat: Gateway to Caen is a great release in the critically-acclaimed
Close Combat series. Gateway to Caen focuses on the largest, concentrated
British offensive since the Normandy landings in an attempt to penetrate the
German lines west of Caen and cross the Odon River to get the stalled advance
moving again.
With Close Combat: Gateway to Caen you can play at the strategic and tactical
level, putting yourself in the boots of both the generals and the platoon
commanders. You can move or combine your battlegroups on the strategic level and
decide the outcome of battles on the tactical level. You will command squads in
close combat situations, using small arms, mortars, machine guns, armored cars,
and tanks to triumph against the enemy. You command artillery and mortar
barrages and even air strikes. You will get to know individual solders,
platoons, battalions, and the larger brigades and battle groups which they
comprise.
Players can experience the desperate situation of the outnumbered, but
well-armed Panzergrenadiers, or the daunting offensive mission of the
fully-supported British infantry advancing across the treacherous Odon Valley.
At your command are Churchill, Cromwell, Firefly, Sherman, Stuart tanks and
more. Panther, Tiger, Stug, and Mk.IV tanks will arrive to support German
Panzergrenadiers as they try to hold the line against a concerted British
attack.
The historic scope of Operation Epsom is captured in single battles, operations,
and the grand campaign. The strategic battlefield offers over two dozen
individual battlefields with over three dozen accurately portrayed German and
British battle groups. British infantry regimental history is reflected in name
among the various battalions. You can deploy your battalions as they actually
fought in the struggle for the Odon. The game includes all new maps and a range
of upgraded effects.
The Setting
With the success of the Allied landings at Normandy and their domination of air
and sea, expectations were high that the momentum would continue on land. It was
not to be so. Though initially surprised and overwhelmed, the German Army
quickly recovered, mobilized, and, counterattacked. Field Marshal Rommel formed
a capable defense in Normandy that made the Allied advance costly. Superior
Allied artillery and air power failed to crack the German lines. Though the
Norman City of Caen was originally a British D-Day objective, its capture would
elude and frustrate Montgomery’s 21st Army for weeks to come. Operation Epsom
was Field Marshall Montgomery’s first concentrated attempt to go around the city
and the Odon River, and break through the strengthening German bulwark. The
newly-arrived British VIII Corps, supported by 700 guns of the Royal Artillery
made a go of it along a four-mile front between Rauray and Carpiquet. Defending
that front was the infamous 12th SS Panzer Division. Though reduced by weeks of
heavy fighting they remained a potent and experienced foe. The Germans had
offensive plans too, but the British struck first, and the 2nd SS Panzer Corps,
the last of Germany’s offensive reserves in Normandy, was instead committed to
stopping the British breakthrough along the Odon. Can you, as Montgomery and his
commanders, re-chart the course of the Normandy campaign and prevail against
Germany’s SS Panzer divisions? Can you as the Germans, once again stop
Montgomery, or eclipse history and push the British back entirely?
FEATURES
* Thirty new battlefield maps accurately reflect the Odon Valley west of Caen,
France.
* 65 vehicles, 36 infantry units, 77 weapons.
* New vehicles and guns including Churchill, Cromwell, M-10 Achilles, and
Firefly tanks; 17-pdr AT guns, Loyd Carriers, and more.
* Revised terrain files that represent the specific conditions of the Odon
battlefield: tall cornfields and hindered, muddy movement during rainy
weather.
* New features including Rolling barrages and dug-in/camouflaged tanks and
anti-tank guns.
* Historic regimental names and battalion organization.
* Mount troops or guns on vehicles.
* Integrated multi-player lobby and match-making forums.
* Enhanced Scenario Editor - Create your own "what if" Scenarios.
