Berlin.
The ground is scarred with ditches.
Memories of a peaceful time burn away in the fire.
A tank clash is about to happen.
And only one steel army will come out victorious.
NEW BERLIN MAP
ACT I: THE PLAN
Near the River Spree’s meanders,
fifteen tanks were preparing for the upcoming battle.
They were just at a stone's throw from the railway station.
The engine roar could be heard from the other side of the bridge:
the enemy was very close.
It seemed that this battle was anyone’s…
The battlefield can be nominally divided into three areas.
The lower part of the map is dominated by a vast open space
with a lot of cover and a bunker at the very heart of it.
Above this is the city, or what's left of it.
And there’s a bridge with trams on it at the very top.
The battle plan was simple.
Heavy tanks should move to the ruined quarters right away.
Spread out to cover and meet the enemy from the opposite side of the street.
It's dangerous to attack before the bunker is secured.
This is a key position on the map.
You can fire in several directions from here,
including down the city streets.
That's why the task of the medium tanks
is to head to the bunker area and capture it,
while also helping the light tanks in the lower part of the map.
In the meantime,
the light tanks scope out the area and provide target coordinates
to the tank destroyers lying in ambush and artillery.
Tank destroyers help medium tanks to break through to the bunker.
If this plan fails, then they hold off the enemy attacks.
The mission of artillery is to rain fire on any and every vehicle they can reach.
There were plans to put a screening patrol on the bridge to protect artillery
if someone decides to go this way.
From here, you can also fire at heavy tanks
that might want to go around the houses along the waterfront.
As soon as the bunker is secure,
heavy tanks can move the enemy on from their long-occupied position
with a swift advance towards the enemy base.
The patrol on the bridge and vehicles at the bottom part of the map
follow the same strategy and pincer the enemy base.
ACT II: THE RISK
It was a good plan that forgot to take into account just one thing:
human nature.
When all the vehicles were moving in their intended directions,
the T-100 LT’s commander was heading to his position.
At the same time,
the allies spotted an enemy light tank at the center of the map,
but this means the T-100 LT had the upper hand.
He decided to act aggressively
and took position in the bushes on the enemy’s side.
An enticing opportunity suddenly opened up for the allies.
The T-100 LT's risky move disrupted the enemy’s plans, whatever they were.
The enemy tank destroyers were under heavy fire,
while the enemy medium tanks
lost all hope of securing the bunker without their support.
They exposed their turrets from a ravine and fired back,
not willing to surrender.
[Meanwhile near the bridge…]
A single tank destroyer was stationed near the bridge with the trams.
The T30 had just one task:
protect the artillery by making sure no one makes it over the bridge.
His mind was elsewhere, in the very thick of battle.
He thought of taking out enemy vehicles one by one,
wanting to stand out among his other tankers…
But, as I already said, there was no one on that side of the bridge.
[Meanwhile in the city…]
Several hundred meters away from the TD,
the allied heavy tanks were taking safe positions in the building ruins.
There were many of them there.
Someone took cover behind an embankment, someone hid behind a house wall.
One of the heavies chose a position with a line of fire to the bunker.
The 60TP commander, the group leader,
took a position closer to the arriving enemy vehicles.
There were similar embrasures and cover spots on the other side of the street.
The situation promised a long standoff,
each tank attempting to strike their foes’ weak spots, trading hit points.
But the hope that the allies would capture the bunker remained.
So, the heavy tanks were in their element.
ACT III: ENVY
Events in the bunker area unfolded fast.
The TDs lying in ambush had already been turned into burning carcasses,
so they couldn't cover the medium tanks pinned down in a ditch.
Only artillery shells came in from time to time
from the direction of the Brandenburg Gate.
The T-100 LT commander knew it was his chance to deal with the artillery.
Without a second thought, he started breaking through to his target,
past the burned area that once was Tiergarten park.
At the same time,
the allied medium tanks, inspired by the impending victory,
were ready to burst toward the lines of the enemy vehicles behind the bunker
and eliminate the threat once and for all.
They stormed towards the enemy vehicles.
But the victory chimes weren’t ready to play.
A small patch of land became the battle epicenter for a moment.
Not everyone survived, but the crucial strategic point was captured.
When the allies entered the bunker and aimed their guns at the city ruins,
a dreadful view met them:
the city was lost.
[A minute earlier…]
Heavy tanks leisurely fought in the living quarter ruins.
The 60TP commander
knew that the allies had been successful on the other side of the map,
while he was stuck in these ruins and couldn't move even one meter further.
Will some light tank get all the credit?
With this thought in mind,
he dashed towards the embankment on the other side of the street.
That was a brave move, but there was one caveat.
The 60TP in the wide street
was a sitting duck for the enemy medium tanks near the bunker.
It wasn't hard to hit such a big tank, even from afar.
When the 60TP realized that, it was too late.
There was a loud rumble,
and the firepower vanguard turned into a pile of scrap metal.
The balance of power shifted sides, toward the enemies.
And they attacked like a steel beast devouring everything in its way.
At the same time, the medium tanks captured the bunker.
They barely had time to fire at the enemy vehicles
bursting into the other side of the city.
It was clear that the initial plan failed because of the 60TP's actions.
But what was more important, the enemy plan was now known:
capture the base behind the Kroll Opera House.
[Meanwhile near the bridge…]
When the battles were fought near the bunker and in the ruins,
the T30 commander near the bridge was doing what he did the best—daydreaming.
His fantasizing was suddenly interrupted by the unexpected appearance of an enemy.
The artillery’s help was invaluable, but the enemy SPG
figured out the position of its counterpart from a tracer.
However, there was no time to reflect—the siren went off.
ACT IV: THE FEAT
Having finished with the artillery,
the T-100 LT commander went toward the enemy base near the Reichstag.
Capturing the base single-handedly and leading everyone to victory,
isn't that something to be proud of?
But his dreams just went up in smoke…
At that moment, the enemy started capturing the base near the Opera House.
The T-100 LT wanted to bomb across pretty much the whole map
to reset the cap, but realized it was better to start capturing as well.
[Meanwhile near the Opera House…]
There wasn't much choice.
Potentially, several vehicles could reset the capture,
but they hardly looked like harbingers of victory.
A TD tried to strike but fell victim to his own haste.
The artillery was counting down those long seconds for a reload.
It seemed that time itself was on the enemy’s side.
When approaching the Opera House,
the T30 commander thought about only one thing: he can't afford to miss.
There was no time for a second shot, and no time for cat-and-mouse games.
He needed to reach his position, see the enemy,
and fire the game’s most important shot…
You know, I noticed a pattern.
Some battles are not won by skill alone.
Sometimes luck is your best ally, and improvisation is the best strategy.
But the thing is you can't rely on luck.
You can't know whose side it’s on.
No one knows what awaits you on the Berlin map.
That's why it's even more interesting to visit it for yourself.
Have the basic plan, and then improvise!
Good luck on the battlefield!