Essen

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Essen
Platform
Game	Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII
Game modes	Conquest, Objective
Setting
Part of	World War II
Teams	British Commandos German Elite Forces
Date	March 1945
Location	Essen, Germany
Combat	Medium to Long range
Media
Console Codenames	PC

"Essen was the location of a major weapons factory."

— In-game briefing

"As home to the Krupp weapons factory, the city of Essen, Germany has been the target of its fair share of Allied bombing runs. None of these raids, however, compare to the one unleashed in March of 1944. Despite this, the plant has gone on producing arms for the German war machine. The Allies have air superiority in the region, but the Axis is well equipped on the ground with heavy machinery and anti-aircraft weapons. The battle for this piece of real estate could be costly on both sides."

— World War II Anthology Edition Manual

Essen is a map featured in the Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII. It focuses on the extensive Allied bombings of Essen, which targeted its heavy industrial facilities, especially the Krupp steel and munitions factory. The attackers are the British Commandos, while the defending faction is the German Elite Forces.

Conquest

The British start out with an uncapturable airbase, while the German begin with four capturable flags, which they have to defend. The British start the game with a constant ticket bleed, which halts as soon as they capture a control point. If all control points come under British control, the German team will lose tickets quickly and eventually lose the game.

Equipment

British Commandos
Light vehicle(s)	XA42
Medium tank(s)	T34 Calliope M4 Sherman
Anti-aircraft vehicle(s)	40mm Bofors
Fixed-wing aircraft	C-47 Spitfire AW-52
Emplacement(s)	M2 Browning

German Elite Forces
Light vehicle(s)	R75
Medium tank(s)	Panzer IV
Heavy tank(s)	Sturmtiger
Anti-aircraft vehicle(s)	Flakpanzer Flak 38
Emplacement(s)	MG42 Wasserfall
Battle pickup(s)	Jetpack

Bases

ALLIED AIRFIELD

The Allied main base. It consists of a hangar and two buildings. It spawns the C-47, which carries up to 6 players and acts as a mobile spawn point. It also spawns the AW-52 jet fighter, two Spitfires and a LVT armoured personnel carrier.

THE INN

The German base closest to the British. It has little cover and is easily captured. It spawns a Flakpanzer, 2 Flak 38 guns and two MG 42 emplacements. Spawns a jetpack kit in one of the nearby buildings. When the Allies capture the flag, they will receive an extra paradrop spawn point over the city (multiplayer only).

THE CAFÉ

Another flag surrounded by buildings, it spawns a motorcycle, a flak gun and a jetpack kit inside the Cafe.

In singleplayer, it will spawn an additional Panzer IV, but only if the player is on the Allied team.

THE MARKET SQUARE

Offers more cover and more buildings. Spawns a Panzer IV tank and a motorcycle.

THE FACTORY

The largest and most important German base. Is heavily fortified and a small bridge is almost the only access point to it, apart from parachuting from above. It spawns 2 Sturmtigers, a Flakpanzer, a Wasserfall missile launch unit, a jetpack kit, and several flak and machine guns.

In singleplayer, it will spawn an additional Panzer IV and an additional Flakpanzer, but only if the player is on the Allied team.

Objective

"The Allies must fight their way into the weapons factory, detonate the fuel silos and then get out in a hurry. Once those silos go off, there won't be much left of the factory — or any living thing unlucky enough to be trapped inside."

— World War II Anthology Edition Manual

"Essen is the site of a major weapons production facility. The Allied forces are planning a major bombing campaign to destroy the factory. A team can win by reducing the opposition's tickets to zero. The British can reduce the German tickets quickly by destroying the Fuel silos, inside the factory. The Germans can reduce the British tickets gradually by defending and maintaining the fuel silos."

— Objective mode briefing

Factory Silo 3, one objective to be destroyed.

The general flag and vehicle layouts are the same, but the Factory is no longer capturable, and it spawns two more jetpacks.

The Allies must destroy three objectives:

• Factory Silo 1 in the west of the southern factory building,
• Factory Silo 2 to the east of the above,
• Factory Silo 3 in the west of the northern factory building.

Each Silo can take 600 points of damage.

Outcomes

"The weapons production facility was a major target for the Allies, and the Axis knew it. Even so, nothing could prepare them for the awe-inspiring Allied air strike that descended upon the facility and the nearby town of Essen. When the smoke cleared, the few intact buildings were a stark contrast to the rubble strewn avenues of Essen and the bombed out shell of the factory."

— British Victory

"The daylight air raid on the Essen and the factory was doomed from the start. Superior German anti-air capabilities devastated the Allied air attack, leaving the airborne troops outnumbered and out positioned by the Axis defenders. Despite some success entering Essen, the Axis troops held the factory. Weapon production never even paused during the attack."

— British Defeat

"Troops at the factory were no strangers to air attacks. While impressive, the attack in March of 1944 was no match for the German anti air defenses. Mobile Flak cannons fanned out around Essen, their crews heroically intercepting incoming bombers before they could close on the factory. While Essen lay in ruins, the factory remained operational, never ceasing the production of deadly weapons."

— German Victory

"Troops at the factory were no strangers to air attacks. Even so, the attack in March of 1944 was like nothing they had ever seen. The sheer number of attacking aircraft overwhelmed their air defenses, the few bombers making it through the gauntlet of flak were more than enough to destroy the factory. The Axis supply line took a major setback with the fall of the factory, its effect felt by frontline troops desperate for firepower."

— German Defeat

Gallery

Allied ending screen.

Axis ending screen.

Loading screen.

The British Commandos main base.

"Wilder Eber", the Inn

Der Löwe, the Cafe.

Trost food market at the Market Square.

The Factory.

German armour and emplacements at the factory.

Trivia

• This map is one of the four maps that feature Jetpacks.
• Another version of this map was showcased in E3 2003. Localization from that time can still be found in the files of the current version, including the map being titled "ESSEN E3 SPECIAL", its internal code being E3_Map, and its briefing as follows:

"Welcome to the E3 edition of Batlefield^[sic] 1942: Secret Wepaons^[sic] of WW2. This is a Conquest: Assault map. Your team will win if your opponent's tickets reach zero. The British can reduce the German tickets gradually by holding three control points in the city of Essen. The Germans can reduce the British tickets gradually by holding all the control points in the city of Essen."

— Essen E3 Special Map Briefing