ACROSS the RHINE from MicroProse It's June 6th, 1944. Since early morning, waves of American, British, and Canadian soldiers have been coming ashore in Normandy. Back in Caen, the 21st Panzer Division headquarters is being bombarded by reports of American and British paratroopers being dropped far inland. Allied fighter-bombers have been constantly overhead, poised and ready to attack anything that moves. Luckily, you listened to the Oberleutnant and moved your 45 ton PzKfw V "Panther" back under some heavy brush. It's a good thing. To be spotted now would mean instant death. Hauptmann Strader thinks it's nothing to worry about, the whole operation is just a feint for the real landings in Calais. Still, he is anxious. He is leading a panzercompanee which is down to less than ten operative tanks. Soon it will be moving to the coast and into action against the Americans. None of that bothers you, however. You have heard stories about American tanks from old-timers who fought them in the desert and in Italy. They say that they're no match for German technology and that one of our panzers can hold off ten of the enemy. You hope they are right. Your driver, an seventeen year old from a small village outside Munich, smiles at you. He can't wait to have a go at the Americans. Next to him, you seem to be a combat hardened veteran although you are barely twenty-two yourself. The year you spent on the eastern front has aged you considerably but it has also made you wise to ways of war. You smile back at him not wishing to discourage his naive exuberance, but inside you know full well the harsh reality of war. Your tank was one of the first to run afoul of Russian anti-tank guns outside Prochorovka, south of Kursk. The wounds you suffered that day kept you in the hospital for months. If Germany was not so desperate for manpower it may have been enough to send you home for good. Alas, it was not to be. Your unit was transferred to France for rest and refit. When you were deemed well enough the hospital discharged you directly to your unit. After having tasted combat first hand, you find it hard to share your driver's enthusiasm at the prospect of meeting up American armor. "Driver halt. Kraut tank at eleven o'clock!" Almost immediately, the Sherman's turret swings around to meet the threat. Sure enough there's a German tank partially hidden beneath a layer of camouflage netting. "Target front. Gunner--AP shell quick." The Sarge barks out commands like a well oiled machine. The Sherman's tiny 76mm gun has trouble dealing with heavier German tanks so he knows from experience that speed, being quicker on the draw, is his best weapon. Fortunately, his crew has learned this lesson also. The Sarge named his tank Anjie. That's his girl back home in Tennessee. He's counting on Anjie to take him all the way to Berlin in one piece. I'd say this ole' gal just may do it. High up in the turret cupola, the Sarge might as well be a King. Seated on his throne he rules this tank and no officer had better say otherwise. "Range,... six hundred yards, ... Fire!" KLLAAANNNGGG! The shell glances off the German's thick hull armor harmlessly. "Reload....... Fire!" The Sherman's second shot strikes home sending a huge column of fire skyward from the ominous gray- green tank. A burst of machine-gun fire from the co-axial is let loose to ensure that no one gets out of the burning hulk alive. The Sarge wipes sweat from his eyes. That was close. Looks like it's going to be a long, ugly war. Across the Rhine is a tactical presentation of armored warfare in western Europe during World War II. Play begins in June 1944 with the Normandy landings in France and continues until the end of the war in 1945. The two main antagonists in this simulation are the United States Army and German Wehrmacht. From the moment the Allies step ashore losses mount quickly on both sides. Far from being a blitzkrieg, the Normandy campaign is a relentless slogging match. Small numbers of German panzers are prepared to contest every foot of France if need be. Eventually though, weight of numbers decides the issue and American tanks bludgeon their way out of the Normandy hedgerow. With General George S. Patton now in command, American armored units swing south and around the open flank of the German army. In an attempt to seal this breach and cut off Patton's men from the beaches, the Germans mass their remaining armor in an attack near Mortain. The Mortain offensive is a disaster. Allied aircraft subject the concentrated panzer forces to a savage pounding from the air. Bound by Hitler's orders to stand and defend to the last man, the Germans linger too long southwest of Paris. Most of Germany's panzer forces in the west are encircled by Patton's fast moving Third Army near Falaise. Like cornered animals, however, the panzertruppen fight a viscous battle and manage to extricate themselves from the trap. Paris is liberated as remnants of the shattered German army fall back and prepare to defend the homeland. One last ditch line of defense remains, the Rhine river. If the Allies succeed in pushing Across the Rhine Germany will lose the war. AtR brings the scale of this massive campaign down to a very personal level. When we say this simulation is tactical, we mean it. Although players are able to control up to company sized formations, most combat is resolved on a tank vs. tank, squad vs. squad level. Battles are resolved in real-time although time compression is used to advance the campaign during periods of relative inactivity. To a certain degree AtR could almost be considered a role- playing game because of its tactical nature. Players start the game as either a Sergeant (or Unteroffizier) commanding a single tank. As the campaign unfolds players are promoted according to their battlefield successes. With more rank comes more responsibility. Players can command sections, squads, platoons, and finally tank companies. Of course, achieving rank takes time. For those who can't wait, AtR has an instant promotion feature which allows players to have access to the higher level commands from the very beginning of a battle or campaign. The preferred method is to "earn your stripes" through combat promotions, however. There's a certain learning process that goes hand-in-hand with being promoted. In other words, learn to walk before trying to run. As a tank commander your responsibilities are centered around just a single tank. Your concerns are immediate. Do I bound forward to take cover in the woods ahead or do those trees conceal an anti-tank gun protected by a squad of infantry? Should I crest this hill to get a good look around or will I merely silhouette my tank and make for an easy target? These types of decisions have to be made constantly. Do I stick to the road and forego surprise or do I get off the road and take a chance on bogging down? AtR comes to you only after months of meticulous research drawn from archival and first person sources. The day-by- day progress of the campaign through France and Germany is represented in painstaking detail. The level of historical accuracy is such that if it were not already a simulation it could be used at any Military Academy as a teacher's reference guide. Fortunately as a simulation it is as much fun to play as it is educational. Battles tend to be gear-grinding, heavy metal, tank vs. tank contests. All of the most notable armored vehicles are included. All seven variants of the M4 Sherman, including the Jumbo and Sherman 76, are included. If you're like me, I bet you didn't even know there were seven different types of Shermans! In addition to Shermans there are two versions of the M5 Stuart Light Tank; the M10 Wolverine, M18 Hellcat and the M36 Jackson. A German player gets to command the Pzkfw IV, Pzkfw V Panther, Pzkfw VI Tiger I and Tiger II. Along with this assortment of panzers are assault guns and tank destroyers such as the STuG III, Hetzer, Jagdpanther, and Jagdtiger. On average German vehicles possess a certain qualitative superiority over their American counterparts. The trouble is that there just aren't enough to go around. In most instances the German player is confronted by an enemy with more tanks, more guns, and especially more infantry units than he. Every allied tank he knocks out is easily replaced whereas a German tank lost at the front, is gone for good. Both sides have a wide range of support forces available. These forces include infantry squads, artillery pieces, anti-tank guns and aircraft. For the Americans there's nothing quite so satisfying as watching a group fighter- bombers strafe a German column. The Luftwaffe can be effective also but it is seen far less frequently. The Germans rely much more heavily on their indirect support weapons. They are masters at employing artillery, AT guns, and multi- barreled mortars. The heart of AtR is its campaign system. In campaign mode, the player "joins" an American or German armored division. American players may choose between the 4th, 7th and 10th Armored Divisions. German players choose between the 2nd, 116th Panzer Divisions or Panzer Lehr Division. These divisions were selected because they represent the most experienced and successful formations available to both sides. Some campaigns are longer than others because the player controls the degree of commitment to any particular campaign. Once he "joins" a division the campaign system tracks that formation's historical performance. The player can potentially enter combat on any particular day of the campaign. Another unique feature allows the player to jump into a campaign at certain points along its track, thereby shortening the overall length. As an individual tank commander, or even a company commander for that matter, you cannot change the course of the war. No matter how well you do as a German player you cannot single-handedly cause Germany to win the war. You can, however, have a direct influence on the outcome of a particular battle. The campaign game system is locked into following history but this does not result in linear game play. Campaigns can be replayed over and over without experiencing any duplication of action. Resource and force management are essential elements of any military operation. Vehicles lost due to mechanical breakdown remain out of action just as surely as those destroyed in combat. As an individual tank commander in AtR, vehicle maintenance is something you don't worry about unless its your vehicle that's broken down. As a platoon leader or company commander, poor maintenance and mechanical reliability can render your entire command ineffective. Ain't it great to be in charge? Rarely is a unit's strength on paper achieved in the field. However, successful commanders in AtR are rewarded by having their units receive the lion's share of available replacements. Battles are not simply fought, they are managed and being a good battlefield manager can pay off in big future dividends. In addition campaign play, AtR includes a number of set- piece battles. Players are able to recreate these actions and perfect their tactics and command skills. A Battle Builder has been included to enable players to create their own battles and situations. One feature of the Battle Builder allows the player to select friendly forces, and then let the Battle Builder do the rest. Talk about the element of surprise! You'll know just how the men of the 7th Armored felt when a mass of German armor hit their outposts in mid-December, 1944. If AtR does nothing else it will dramatically demonstrate two things; the inferiority of American armor in WW II and the superiority of Germany's small unit leadership even late in the war. In this respect AtR is a history lesson that you can participate and enjoy. It is the culmination of almost 2 1/2 years of effort aimed at providing the player with solid game design. The AtR team is led by James Day, a talented game designer and noted expert on armored warfare. Mr. Day got his start in the gaming industry as a freelance board game designer back in 1979. His early design work includes such games as ARMOR, PANZER, and 88 by Yaquinto Publishers Inc. More recently, The Avalon Hill Game CompanyTM has published two armor oriented board games; MBT (Main Battle Tank) and IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Across the Rhine also supports modem/direct link for head-to-head competition. This feature can be used in all facets of combat: Battle Builder, set-piece battles, and campaigns. Across the Rhine supports SVGA 256/color with textured mapped terrain and objects. Brought to you by MicroProse On-Line Services. The ACROSS THE RHINE DEMO is Copyright 1994 by MicroProse Software Inc.