Elsenborn is a map in Hell Let Loose.
This map is based on the battle of Elsenborn Ridge, which had lots of men defending a road leading to the major port city of Antwerp, as part of the Battle of the Bulge. The Battle of the Bulge was an operation meant to drive back the allied invasion and recreate a Dunkirk situation. Elsenborn Ridge was announced in the 201st Developer Briefing for the 8oth Anniversary of the Normandy Landings. The map was released in Update 16.
Elsenborn Ridge is the second map to be made since the departure of Black Matter, the original developers of Hell Let Loose.
Features[]
Weather System[]
"The technical art team have been investigating the introduction of a dynamic weather system to Hell Let Loose, in particular a way to convey the weather that affected troops in Elsenborn Ridge. Historically they were subjected to freezing conditions and blizzards affecting visibility.
We needed a system that could change throughout and be as unpredictable as the weather at that time to reflect these conditions.
A set of VFX particles were created consisting of various intensities of snow. As we needed this configurable, we decided on a set of presets utilising data assets. These made it easy to drive the intensity of each level of snow.
This meant we could tune each scenario easily in isolation. Each scenario includes parameters referenced from the VFX and lighting to allow us to tune the weather intensity and atmospherics.
The VFX scenario was broken down into a set of presets;" - Dev Team
Presets:
• Light snow
• Medium snow
• Heavy snow
• Blizzard snow
Historical Summary[]
The Battle of Elsenborn Ridge is a less-documented, but important battle nonetheless set in the Büllingen region in the Ardennes. 43 miles away from Foy, the Elsenborn Ridge is but one of many examples of how far the Battle of the Bulge was spread out in 1944.
Set during the winter months of 1944, the 99th U.S. Division who had been stationed at Wirtzfeld were under heavy suppression from the 6th Panzer Army composed of the 12th SS Panzer Division, 12th Volksgrenadier and 277th Volksgrenadier to the east, who had finally broken their lines and forced a retreat to the Elsenborn Ridge.
The U.S. were forced to abandon their supplies en-route to the ridge, and settle in for weeks of bombardment from Wirtzfeld. Having retreated to the ridge and established a network where they had become heavily dug in with makeshift trenches, foxholes, camps and artillery gun positions.
Taking place between 16th-26th December, 1944 winter had fully taken hold in Belgium, the thick snow had settled, the roads were slippery and slushy, combined with the constant fog/blizzards made it impossible for the U.S. bombers and the Luftwaffe alike to battle from the skies without succumbing to the elements.
Map Rotation[]
• Warfare - Daytime/Blizzard
• Offensive US - Morning
• Offensive GER - Night
• Skirmish - Daytime/Blizzard
Gallery[]
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