World War II was the single largest armed conflict the world has ever seen, and remains one of the most significant events in all of human history. By 1940 Europe was embroiled in that war as Allied forces fought desperately to stem the tide of the German Blitzkrieg, or “Lighting War”, which had already crushed Poland in less than five weeks. Now is your chance to side with the British or French Allied forces or the German Axis forces and relive this most poignant part of history through to 1942; perhaps even taking part in shaping the very landscape of Battleground Europe.

World War II Online (WWIIOL) is a combined arms strategic and tactical war simulation, or virtual battlefield, with the distinction of being the first MMO First-Person Shooter (MMOFPS). WWIIOL utilizes a military rank system of player leadership which adds a RPG element to this MMOFPS. In 2006, WWIIOL was re-packaged and re-released as World War II Online: Battleground Europe and included many needed gameplay fixes and updates. Due to WWIIOL’s depth of realism, the learning curve is rather steep and a character’s life can end with a single, well placed shot, resulting in the intimidation and even frustration of many newcomers.

The design of WWIIOL is focused on teamwork, realism (though some constraints were deemed necessary), and to a degree, historical accuracy. So far only British, French and German forces are represented in the game. The gameplay map is a ½ scale representation of Western Europe in its entirety, making it one of the largest MMOG maps. Teamwork and careful planning are critical to battlefield success, making communication via TeamSpeak a common practice. Reward of battlefield success comes in the form of eventual rise in player ranks and players can fill many roles battlefield roles based on rank. These roles include various troops, pilots, gunners, tank commanders, naval destroyer captains, mission leaders and high commanders, all organized into brigades.