Gold Medal Software 2/Gold Medal Software Volume 2 (Gold Medal) (1994).iso/demos/atrvesa.arj/RHINE.TXT

Text File | 1994-01-28 | 14KB | 268 lines

                  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.