The Oasis

Hello and welcome back to another update of Forgotten Hope. This week we're introducing two vehicles for Normandy - a brand new tank destroyer and an old tank you might remember from Forgotten Hope 0.7. That's not all though, we're also showing the first of the three new maps that will make their appearance in the 2.15 patch.

As usual, we'll start with the Normandy news. First, we have the Sturmgeschütz 40 Ausf. G Late, made by Toddel.

This tank destroyer is the very latest edition of the StuG III series. The later StuG III versions, which used the 75mm StuK 40 guns were named StuG 40s. This name change coincided with a change in role on the battlefield, as the new StuGs were no longer assault guns, but tank destroyers. The original StuG 40 Ausf.G went in production in December 1942, but over the years many additions have been made to this successful design. This particular model comes standard equipped with 5mm sideskirts, a remote controlled MG34 and an 80mm thick cast gunmantlet which includes an MG34 coaxial machinegun. The StuG 40 Ausf. G was by far the most produced German armoured fighting vehicle, with nearly 8000 of them leaving the factories.

The second item we have to show for Normandy is the British Cromwell tank. Since the model and skin from Forgotten Hope 0.7 were already of such great quality, we decided to port this tank instead of making a new model. The original model was made by Malsa and the skin by Montoya. The normal map was done by Toddel and the tank was exported and coded by Ctz.

The development of the Cromwell dates back to 1940, when it became apparent that the cruiser would need to be replaced by a more capable tank. The first design to be accepted was the Cavalier, which proved to have too many problems to be considered for use in combat. The second design was the Centaur. This tank turned out to be a whole lot better, but it still suffered from a poor engine. This problem was solved with the new Rolls Royce Meteor engine, which was based on the famous Merlin engine, used in the Spitfire. The new tank equipped with the Meteor engines was named the Cromwell. Originally the Cromwell was armed with an OQF 57mm 6-Pounder, but in late 1943 these were replaced by new 75mm guns, based on the 6-Pounder, but capable of firing the same rounds as the US 75mm M3 gun used in the Sherman. Although the Cromwell didn't have as much armour as the Sherman, it did have a lower profile and a much greater speed. Over 3000 Cromwells were produced during the war.

The last thing we have for this week's news is the first of the three new maps. This map is about the Siege of Giarabub in 1941 and is made by Lobo.

Giarabub is an oasis in Libya, near the Egyptian border and about 200 kilometres from the coast. It was the southernmost Italian outpost in Cyrenaica and it lay dangerously close to the Egyptian oasis of Siwa. When Operation Compass swept along the coast, defeating the Italians in every engagement, the Oasis of Giarabub held out and became a shelter for all Italian soldiers in nearby positions.

In December Giarabub was surrounded by British forces and besieged. About 1500 Italians were held up inside the town and while all other Italian held towns in Cyrenaica surrendered to the British in the next months, the Giarabub garrison would not surrender.

With only the bare minimum of supplies from the occasional airdrop the Italians managed to keep going throughout January and February of 1941 and when the garrison received a letter from Rommel on March 17th, there was hope that they might still be rescued. With the Germans preparing their invasion of Cyrenaica they would only have to hold out for a few more weeks. However, the British and Australian forces surrounding the town had not been idle either. More and more troops arrived until on March 21st 1941, after a 45 minute artillery bombardment, they attacked Giarabub...

That's all for this week, but be sure to come back next time for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our IRC channel and our public forums to discuss this update and other news.