Welcome Soldiers!

In our Developer Recap for November we revealed that big changes are coming to team templates including new section types. Armies in Beyond The Wire have undergone a restructure to further enhance the variety seen across the different factions throughout World War 1. With Operation III introducing the first version of year determined loadouts, our December update will further expand on the evolution of section types and tactics throughout the years of the conflict. Our new team template makes extensive changes between each year of the war – so we’ve broken down the new section options in this article so you can see where and how factions will vary in-game.

BRITISH EXPEDITIONARY FORCE

1914 – The British went into the war with fewer grenades than any other faction. As such in 1914 they will mainly be reliant on their bolt-action rifles. Only a detachment of royal engineers will have access to a limited amount of early war and makeshift grenades meaning their role should be more impactful on the frontline.

HQ Section

Rifle Section x3

Royal Engineer Section

HMG Detachment x2

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

1915 – This is the first year that rifle grenades, light machine guns, and hand grenades became more widely available for British soldiers. Light machine guns and rifle grenades were still in limited numbers at this time so only a specialist section will gain access to these weapons, although some hand grenades will be available in the remaining rifle sections.

HQ Section

Rifle Section x3

Specialist Section

HMG Detachment x2

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

1916 – Leading up to the Battle of the Somme in 1916 the availability of grenades, rifle grenades, and light machine guns became greater. In 1916 layers the BEF will have access to two specialist sections. This is also the first year that sniper rifles became widely circulated within the army so it will be the first year that BEF has access to their sniper team.

HQ Section

Rifle Section x2

Specialist Section x2

Sniper Team

HMG Detachment

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

1917 – After the lessons during the Battle of the Somme, in 1917 the British doctrine shifted – splitting up weapons like hand grenades, rifle grenades, and light machine guns into their own sections which will put extra emphasis on team communication and coordination.

HQ Section

Rifle Section

Bomber Section

Rifle Grenade Section

Lewis Gun Section

Sniper Team

HMG Detachment

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

1918 – In 1918 the BEF moved away from their previous specialized sections and instead integrated hand grenades and rifle grenades into a combined infantry section. This would be the maneuver element of the force alongside the covering fire of a light machine gun section.

HQ Section

Infantry Section x2

Lewis Gun Section x2

Sniper Team

HMG Detachment

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

FRENCH ARMY

1914 & 1915  – The French entered the war with outdated tactics and as such will rely mainly on their bolt-action rifle sections. However, the French will be unique in their use of tear gas grenades – which will be available to them in every year of the conflict, and will give them an edge in assaults on strong points, especially considering they lacked specialized weapons until later in the war compared to other factions. Tear gas grenades are in an early implementation state and will be developed further in the future.

HQ Section

Rifle Section x3

Grenadier Section

HMG Detachment x2

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

1916 – In 1916, with the wider availability of Chauchat light machine guns and rifle grenades, the French moved away from their early war organization and split sections up into automatic rifle sections, grenadier sections, and voltigeur sections. Voltigeur sections acted as a combination of an assault and rifle grenade section. 1916 is also the first year where the sniper variants of the Lebel became widely circulated and as such will see the sniper team join the French team template.

HQ Section

Automatic Rifle Section x2

Grenadier Section

Voltigeur Section

Sniper Team

HMG Detachment x2

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

1917 & 1918 – During the late war years, the French again shifted their organization slightly and split their sections into more combined infantry sections in addition to the grenadier and Voltigeur section. With a much wider availability of rifle grenades compared to other factions, the arrival of the semi-automatic RSC 1917 and their continued use of tear gas grenades, the French will be able to conduct strong attacks in the late war period. However, the tradeoff they face is with a clear inferiority in their automatic weapons and a shortage of Lebel rifles which will result in some roles only having access to the inferior Berthier 1907/15.

HQ Section

Infantry Section x2

Grenadier Section

Voltigeur Section

Sniper Team

HMG Detachment x2

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

CHASSEURS ALPINS

1915 – The Chasseurs Alpins appear on the Vieil Armand map, taking place during the battle of Hartmannswillerkopf. Their specialized Chasseurs section focuses on mountain warfare with integrated snipers and scouts. Their grenadier section focuses on hand grenades and assault tactics, and includes an additional sniper.

HQ Section

Chasseurs Section x4

Grenadier Section

Construction Section

IMPERIAL GERMAN ARMY

1914 – The German empire was much better prepared for modern war than the other armies in the conflict. They enter the war with a wider availability of hand grenades, rifle grenades, light machine guns, and sniper rifles. As such they will be more difficult to face in the early war years. In order to balance out the wider availability of weapons, their recon section (Spähtruppen) will only include a single sniper rifle until the mid-war years.

HQ Section

Rifle Section x3

Pioniertruppen

Spähtruppen

HMG Detachment x2

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

1915 – By 1915 the German army already recognized the benefits of integrating specialist weapons such as hand grenades among the infantry. In 1915 they will begin to field more hand grenades into their infantry sections than other factions, in addition to their specialized grenadier section.

HQ Section

Rifle Section x3

Grenadiertruppen

Spähtruppen

HMG Detachment x2

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

1916 – Leading up to the battle of the Somme in 1916, the German army raised several Musketen-Battalions revolving around the Madsen light machine gun. As such in 1916, the German team template will gain access to the Musketentruppen section which will field a large number of Madsens. After the battle of the Somme these units, as well as their weapons, were largely lost and thus Madsens will become much more rare after 1916 and will only see limited use in specialized assault units.

HQ Section

Rifle Section x2

Musketentruppen

Grenadiertruppen

Scharfschützen

HMG Detachment x2

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

1917 & 1918 – In the late war years Germany took a hybrid approach, making use of both methods of tactical organization – integration and specialization. Their new infantry sections would integrate hand grenades and rifle grenades, and their Maschinengewehrtruppen would field the new MG 08/15 – these cumbersome weapons will not be able to aim down sights without first being supported by the bipod, and the soldiers carrying these weapons will move much slower compared to other roles. 1917 will also see the first introduction of smoke grenades. The late war also marked the first use of assault troop formations (Stoßtruppen), specializing in breaking through and infiltrating enemy lines – in 1918 this section gains access to the MP18.

HQ Section

Infantry Section

Grenadiertruppen

Maschinengewehrtruppen

Stoßtruppen

Scharfschützen

HMG Detachment

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

JÄGER-BATTALION

In real life the Jäger-Battalions would have been equipped very similarly to normal German infantry regiments but to differentiate their gameplay style in Beyond The Wire, this team template will focus heavily on offense.

1914 – In 1914, each Jägertruppen section will be made up of 10 troops, making use of snipers and grenadiers, but they will have to deal with a lack of rifle grenades, proper field gun support and heavy machine guns. This template will only appear on a couple Combles gameplay layers.

HQ Section

Jägertruppen x4

Field Artillery Detachment (1 gun instead of 2, limited to 2 players)

Construction Section x2

1915 – During the Second Battle of Ypres, almost each attacking German division was sent with an attached  Jäger-Battalion. 1915 Jägertruppen sections will integrate special weapons such as snipers, grenadiers, and light machine guns. Their major shortcomings will be their lack of rifle grenades, a limited number of field cannon, and no ammo-bearing riflemen in their Jägertruppen sections, thereby relying on the construction section’s ammo dumps in order to resupply. As such they will receive two construction sections to help them hold ground or sustain assaults.

HQ Section

Jägertruppen x4

HMG Detachment

Field Artillery Detachment (1 gun instead of 2, limited to 2 players)

Construction Section x2

JÄGER-BATTALION, ARMY DETACHMENT GAEDE

1915 – Jäger-Battalion, Army Detachment Gaede fought during the battle of Hartmannswillerkopf. These troops were specialized in mountain warfare and as such will be set up differently than the full Jäger-Battalion team template. The Jägertruppen section will integrate a sniper, grenadier, and assault role. Their Pioniertruppen will have access to more specialized weapons such as a rifle grenade and light machine gun.

HQ Section

Jägertruppen x4

Pioniertruppen Section

Construction Section

CANADIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE

1915 & 1916 – Canada arrived at the war with similar organization to the BEF forces but eventually became known for vicious trench raids and innovative assault techniques. To differentiate their playstyle from the BEF, they will focus their strengths on offense with a wider availability of pistols and hand grenades. Canada also fielded some of the deadliest snipers in World War 1 and as such will enter the war with a larger sniper detachment compared to other teams.

HQ Section

Rifle Section x2

Assault Section

Raiding Section

Sniper Detachment

HMG Detachment

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

1917 & 1918 – Following the British example, Canada shifted their section organization into specialized sections. However, they would not mimic the British changes in 1918 and would finish the war using this tactical organization on the attack during the 100 Day Offensive.

HQ Section

Assault Section

Rifle Grenade Section

Lewis Gun Section

Raiding Section

Sniper Detachment

HMG Detachment

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE

1918 – American doctrine during World War 1 was similar to British and French organization in previous years. A platoon was made up of a rifle section, hand bomber section, rifle grenade section, and automatic rifle section.

HQ Section

Rifle Section

Hand Bomber Section

Rifle Grenade Section

Automatic Rifle Section

Sniper Team

HMG Detachment

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS

1918 – Joining the French in 1918, the Harlem Hellfighters uses a combination of French and American section organizations with a rifle section, hand bomber section, rifle grenade section, and assault section. Their rifle section has integrated Chauchat light machine guns, and their fearsome assault section has access to BARs, trench shotguns, as well as tear gas. They’re joined by their parent French forces in the form of a Voltigeur section giving them extra offensive potential.

HQ Section

Rifle Section

Hand Bomber Section

Voltigeur Section

Assault Section

Sniper Team

HMG Detachment x2

Field Artillery Detachment

Construction Section

The game design team have worked hard to research and implement this new expansion of team structure which will be arriving in our next update. The on-going effort to distinguish each faction and add a new level of asymmetry will have an impact gameplay and team strategy. We look forward to hearing your feedback on this new template. See you in the trenches!