Scottish soldiers have arrived in World War 1 FPS Verdun [official site] and I’ve got nothing fancy to say about that, okay. As RPS’s junior Scottish correspondent, I feel pressure in matters concerning the country I’ve grown to love and I don’t want to blow it. I can swim in lochs, watch Still Game, and sing along to Sunshine on Leith but it won’t stop people being visibly horrified by how I mispronounce e.g. Milngavie. So look, Scottish soldiers are now on the virtual battlefield and I think they look jolly smart, thank you very much.

The developers say in today’s announcement:

“The Scottish were no stranger to war, and when the call to arms came in 1914, a relatively large number of Scottish young men eagerly joined the ranks of the British in Belgium. Wearing their traditional kilts, they performed many aggressive scouting maneuvers, often finding themselves in the thick of savage battles such as Loos and Arras. They suffered a staggering number of casualties as a result, but were nevertheless undeterred and soon earned the nicknamed the ‘ladies from hell’.”

And what lovely ladies they are! They’re similarly scout-y in Verdun, and armed with the Pattern 1914 Enfield bolt-action rifle. Have a gander:



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Scotland: it certainly does exist. I can say that safely. That mangling of ‘Ypres’ ↑ does nothing for my credibility amongst French-speakers though.