I think it is the answer mate.
Basically you run
launcher.exe -server and you have it running as a dedi.
I'm doing that right now from my dedi box hosted out of London.
Can help more if you need, but there's a few threads in this very forum that have been invaluable in getting me sorted with my server.
Pic - IL2 dedi server
The dedi server setup thread is a little confusing at first read, as it's covering two essentially different topics at the same time. One is actually getting the server configured and running. The other is editing a mission to ensure wrecks are destroyed so they don't clutter the map. There's a post
here with the 1940 map & missions everyone's using at the moment. If you grab that you can ignore the bit about editing, as it's already in the mission. Then you just need to concentrate on sorting your server config.
Happy to help if you need it, but peer assistance on the forums is preferable in order to maximise benefit to others.