The Third Campaign: First Stage - Race to the Sea

1. General Rules of the First Stage of the Third Campaign on the Global Map

1.1. The First Stage of the Campaign is called Race to the Sea and lasts for 10 days - from 17 November at 11:00 to 27 November at 11:00 CET (UTC +1).

1.2. Vehicles up to and including Tier VI can take part in this stage.

1.3. Before the beginning of the Third Campaign, the Global Map will be completely wiped:

• All actions by players will be cancelled.
• Revolts and Ransacks will be disabled.
• The income of ransacked provinces will be restored.
• All Chips will be returned to the clans’ reserves.

1.4. On 17 November at 11:00 CET (UTC +1), World Redivision mode will be active:

• All provinces will be available for landing.
• The ownership of the Minsk and Ile de France provinces will belong to the Wargaming.net clan.
• Espionage/Counter-espionage will be enabled.
• Revolts and Ransacks will be disabled.
• The maximum number of clans applying for landing will be 32.
• If during the landing tournament a battle with a province owner ends in a draw, the province ownership will go to the attacking clan.

1.5. The World Redivision mode ends on 17 November. After that, the Race to the Sea rules come into effect:

• Revolts and Ransacks will be enabled.
• The possibility of Revolts will be significantly increased for all provinces.
• Espionage/Counter-Espionage will be enabled.
• The maximum number of clans applying for landing will be 64.

1.6. During the Third Campaign, a clan may change map or leave the Campaign Map altogether. In such a case, the clan will lose all their provinces on the map they are leaving.

1.7. After leaving a map, all the Chips of the clan as well as its Headquarters will be removed from that map and placed in the reserve. The Chips and Headquarters, which were withdrawn from the Map, will be available again after 24 hours. Chips which are in the reserve may be deployed on the Global Map during the next turn after leaving.

2. The Main Objective of the First Stage

2.1. During the First Stage, a group of convoys will move on the Campaign Map. Clans need to conquer as many provinces with convoys as they can during one turn.

In contrast to the Second Campaign, clans don’t need to hold convoys for as long as possible. What counts is the total number of convoys in the clan’s provinces – the more the better.

2.2. Convoys will move to the next province every day. On the map special icons will be displayed indicating the current position of the convoy and the estimated position it will move to the next day. (Icon display can be disabled.)

Convoy Location	Already Captured by Clan	Not Captured by Clan Yet
Today
Tomorrow

2.3. If a clan takes possession of a convoy (by a convoy appearing on a clan’s province or by capturing a province with a convoy), they will receive a reward of 40,000 Fame Points.

2.4. Repeated possession of the same convoy won’t bring any rewards to a clan. Convoys which were already captured by a clan will be marked with a special icon (see 2.2).

2.5. All convoys are moving simultaneously. Convoys will not move during the current province’s primetime or the destination province’s primetime.

2.6. As soon as the convoy moves, a revolt will break out in the next province in its path

2.7. If on the next day a convoy should move into a starting province (the province which is a permanent landing province), no Revolt will occur.

2.8. Revolts cannot break out in a province with a convoy.

2.9. If the province where the Revolt is supposed to begin has enemy chips, the chips will be returned to the reserve of the clan without freezing time.

2.10. If an encounter battle was scheduled between the province where the Revolt is to begin, and other provinces, then:

• The encounter battle is cancelled;
• All chips placed on the Revolting province return to the reserve of the appropriate clan without freezing time;
• Chips that have been moved from the Revolting province to another will remain untouched.

2.11. If in the province where a Revolt should start, a postponed Revolt was appointed, then:

• The postponed Revolt is cancelled;
• All enemy chips will be returned to appropriate clan reserve without freezing time;
• In the province the usual Revolt begins.

2.12. The maximum number of landing tournament clans in Revolting provinces is 64.

2.13. If the province which has a convoy is a starting province, the tournament for landing in it will be played according to standard rules.

3. Additional Missions of the First Stage

3.1. Intercept Mission: win a battle against a clan who owned at least one convoy. The award is a Fame Points multiplier of 1.1 (this multiplier can be found in the Fame Points calculating formula).

3.2. Starting from the First Stage and lasting until the end of the Third Campaign, players are able to complete landing missions. The full list of landing missions and their rules are available in the Third Campaign General Regulations.

3.3. Additionally, during the Campaign it is possible to perform secondary and special missions, which may be found in the Regulations. The Let's Battle medal will be awarded to eligible players after the end of the First Stage.

 

Race to the Sea: History Flashback

The Race to the Sea is the name of three consecutive operations conducted by German and Allied armies on the Western Front during the First World War from 16 September to 15 October, 1914. The operation’s aim was the mutual bypass of open flanks.

The Race to the Sea can be divided into three major stages: the first stage was a battle around the Somme and Oise rivers in the second half of September. The second stage was a battle on both sides of the river Scarpa (29 September – 9 October), the so-called Battle of Arras. The third stage consisted of a number of battles: the Battle of Lille on the river Lys (10-15 October), the battle on the river Isere (18-20 October) and in Ypres (30 October – 15 November).

By mid-September 1914, military forces from the Oise River to the Swiss border began to position and fortify themselves; only the North-Western flanks remained open. Unoccupied by military forces, the space between the Oise River and the North Sea spanned 200 km.

Between 16-19 September, the French 6th and 2nd Armies began an offensive against the right flank of the German 1st Army between the Somme and Oise rivers in the direction of Saint-Quentin, but found themselves faced also with the German 6th Army. The battle continued until 28 September, when the two sides went on the defensive.

The French 10th Army conducted subsequent operations between 29 September and 9 October, in order to bypass the right flank of the German 6th Army near Arras on both banks of the River Scarpe. The British Army conducted a similar attempt on the River Lys between 10-15 October, but both nations failed to achieve their goals. The Allied troops were once again faced with the German army, which in their turn tried to get around the left flank of the Allies. After heavy battles, as a result of this tactical stalemate, both sides went on the defensive.

As the Race to the Sea ended, the German troops finally occupied Antwerp on 9 October, which had been defended by the Belgian Army, after a long siege and a heavy artillery bombardment of the city’s fortifications. The Belgian Army subsequently retreated to join the Allied forces. In the following period between 20 October and 15 November, after battles in Flanders on the River Isere and near Ypres, the front stabilised and the period of military maneuverability ended. From the Swiss border to the Strait of Dover, a solid front was established.

In general, the Race to the Sea was a highly dynamic operation with limited forces. Both parties’ forceful action helped stabilise the front. To ensure the flanks, large infantry and cavalry formations were deployed. Rail and road transport became essential for the transfer of troops and equipment.

Roll out, Commanders!