PC Gamer 2.6/1996-07_Disc_2.6.bin/3rdemo/read.me

Text File | 1996-04-22 | 56KB | 950 lines

THIRD REICH PC
A grand strategy game of WWII
The Avalon Hill Game Company
4517 Harford Road
Baltimore, MD 21214

The 1939-1940 Demo
Toll Free Order Number: 1-800-999-3222
Expected Release Date: Summer 1996


1.0  INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the THIRD REICH PC 1939-1940 demo. This demo will allow you to play
the first part of our grand strategy game on WWII--starting with the invasion of Poland
and ending when France is conquered or at the end of 1940 (whichever comes first). You
command the Allied powers against the computer driven Axis powers.

Those familiar with our board game Rise and Decline of the Third Reich (or just Third
Reich for short) will find THIRD REICH PC faithful to the game, so much so that the
computer game will not allow you to make an illegal move.

DISTRIBUTION: This demo is provided free of charge, you may copy and distribute it as
you wish.

To run, just type: 3R
To load a saved game type: 3R 3Rsave00.3rg

The Demo version of Third Reich requires 1280K of EMS.

In order to get the game to run under Windows95, follow the instructions
below to create a DOS shortcut to configure the memory for the game.

        - From the Windows Explorer
        - Double-click on the Windows Folder
        - Click on the View menu.  Choose OPTIONS
        - The 4th option down(HIDE MS-DOS FILE EXTENSIONS) should be
                un-checked.  If not, un-check it, and click on APPLY
        - In the right window(titled CONTENTS OF WINDOWS), right click
                on the file called COMMAND.COM
        - From the popup menu, choose CREATE SHORTCUT
        - You will now see a shortcut highlighted in the window
        - Right click on the Shortcut
        - Choose PROPERTIES
        - Choose PROGRAM
        - Click the ADVANCED button
        - Select MS-DOS MODE
        - Select SPECIFY A NEW MS-DOS CONFIGURATION
        - Click the CONFIGURATION button
        - Select EXPANDED MEMORY(EMS)
        - Select MOUSE(if not listed, contact your system manufacturer
                for the correct line to load your DOS-mode mouse driver
        - Click the OK button
        - In the windows titled "CONFIG.SYS FOR MS-DOS MODE" click on the
                end of the last line(devicehigh=c:\windows\emm386.exe)
        - At the end of this line, put a space, and the word RAM
        - Click the OK button
        - Click the OK button
        - To use the shortcut, double-click on it and answer YES to the
                warning.  This will reboot your machine with the memory
                configuration that Third Reich requires.  Once finished
                playing Third Reich, simply type EXIT at the prompt and
                press RETURN to reboot back into Windows95.



If the game seems very slow, or constantly accesses the hard drive, please
use smartdrv.exe or some similar program.

IMPORTANT: We have noticed problems while running Third Reich under QEMM. If
you experience trouble you may wish to remove the line:
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\DOSDATA.SYS
from your config.sys (or autoexec.bat).

2.0 GAME INTERFACE
THE GREEN LIGHT!!! Up in the top-left of your screen is a green or red light. If the
light is green, the computer is waiting for you to do something. If the light is red, the
machine is thinking and/or working and you should not touch any keys or click your
mouse.
Map Screen: This shows the game map and the position of the units on it.
Scroll Rose: This is the group of eight arrow buttons, which move the map on the Map
Screen. Select any arrow button and the map will scroll one hex in that direction. Click on
any arrow button with the right mouse button and, depending on which button you're
using, the map will scroll three hexes vertically and/or four hexes horizontally in that
direction. You can also scroll one hex at a time by pressing an arrow key on the
keyboard--or by Selecting a hex on the map that lies partially off the edge of the screen.
Done Button: Selecting this button causes the program to exit the current step/phase and
proceed to the next step/phase. In some cases, however, as prompted by the appropriate
message on-screen, pressing Done will abort a particular action.

ACTIONS BUTTON:
Displays a dialog box with a number of buttons which are used to conduct various actions
in the game. Specifically, they are:
PLACE AIRBASE: Selecting this allows you to place an airbase on the map (assuming
the friendly country in question has one to place).
SPLIT AIR UNIT: Selecting this allows you to divide an air unit into two smaller ones,
within certain limitations.
COMBINE AIR UNITS: Selecting this lets you combine two same-nationality air units
into a larger one (up to the maximum size ever available in that country's Force Pool).
COMBINE NAVAL UNITS: Selecting this lets you combine partial naval units into a full
9-factor fleet.
CHANGE MAP SIZE: Selecting this switches the map between an overall view of the
entire map and a zoomed-in (i.e., close-up) view of a portion of the map.
CHANGE MAP COLOR: Selecting this switches the map between the original white
Third Reich map and the more colorful relief map.

STATUS BUTTON
Displays a dialog box with a number of buttons which are used to display the current
amounts or status of certain items. Specifically, they are:
BRP LIST: This displays, for each Major Power, its total BRPs, remaining BRPs, BRP
spending limit, BRPs spent this turn, growth rate, Allied/Axis/neutral status, the number
and type(s) of unbuilt units remaining in its Force Pool, and its declared Front Options for
the current Player Turn.
DoW LIST: This displays who is at war with whom, who is allied to whom, and the
countries each Major Power has conquered since the start of the scenario. The number in
parentheses beside the name of a country is its current BRP value to the opponent should
he conquer that country now.
SR LIST: This displays the number of SRs each Major Power can make at the present
time. The number changes as the country conducts SRs during the SR Phase.

TABLES BUTTON
Displays a dialog box with a number of buttons which are used to display various charts
and tables in the game. Specifically, they are:
AIR COMBAT MODIFIERS: This displays the various modifiers applicable to Air
Combat.
ATTRITION TABLE: This displays the combat results table for Attrition Combat.
BRP COST CHART: This displays the BRP cost of building units, declaring war and
choosing Offensive Options.
COMBAT RESULT TABLE: This displays the combat results table for Offensive
Combat.
INTERCEPTION TABLE: This displays the probability of one fleet successfully
Intercepting another, based on both the distance the Intercepting fleet must travel and a die
roll made by the program.
MAP LEGEND: This displays an explanation of the terrain symbology used on the map.
MINOR COUNTRY FORCES TABLE: This displays a list of how many and what types
of units each minor country possesses.
NAVAL COMBAT MODIFIERS: This displays the various modifiers applicable to
Naval Combat.
TERRAIN EFFECTS CHART: This displays the effects of the various terrain types on
movement and combat.
UNIT TYPES: This displays the various types of units and what their numbers and
symbols mean.

EXIT BUTTON: This allows you to exit the game. Note that this will not save the game.
If you wish to save it, you must play through to the end of the Player Turn, at which point
a Save prompt will appear.

HEX VIEW BOX: When you use the right mouse button to click in a hex on the Map
Screen, that hex appears in the Hex View box.

HEX DATA BOX: This shows information about the hex currently being displayed in
the Hex View box.

ODDS BOX: When you Select a specific hex to attack, this displays the current combat
odds and the Combat Results Table column that the attack will be resolved on. (Note that
there is a 3:1 maximum combat ratio of air:ground units for Ground Support and DAS.)

FORCES BOX: In certain phases of the game (e.g., setup, unit construction), this box
displays the force(s) involved in that process. Otherwise it shows the unit(s) occupying the
hex that currently appears in the Hex View box.

MESSAGE BOX: This allows the program to communicate with you--e.g., prompting
you to perform an action, or explaining why your attempted action is not allowed.

CALENDAR BOX: This displays the current Game Turn date. The current Player Turn
is indicated by a "I" ("first") or "II" ("second") in the upper left-hand corner of the Box.

FLAG BOX: The flag displayed here indicates the side (not just the nation) whose Player
Turn it is. The specific flag used is the one whose country has the most BRPs on its side
when the flag appears. There are several exceptions to this, however:
* Whenever a particular country's setup forces, YSS, Force Pool, Front Options choice or
Allowable Builds appear in the Forces Box, and whenever a minor country has its separate
Movement-Combat Phase (see 5.43), that particular nation's flag appears.
* Whenever a side is allowed to conduct Naval (Counter-) Interceptions (see 5.45c; 5.46d-
.46e) or Defensive Air Support (5.46d; 5.46l), the flag for its side is displayed even if it is
the opponent's Player Turn.

MAP BOX: This is a reduced-size view of the entire map, with a small, red rectangle in it
which outlines the part of the map being displayed on the Map Screen when the map is in
zoomed-in view. Left-clicking in the Map Box automatically switches the map to its
zoomed-in view (if not in that view already) and scrolls it to display the position where you
clicked.

PHASE BOX: This displays the current phase/step of the Turn Sequence.

3.0 IMPORTANT GAME TERMS
3.1 BASIC RESOURCE POINTS (BRPs)
BRPs--one of the most important concepts in the game--represent the economic and -
industrial capacities of the Major Powers and thus their war-effort potential. Each Major
Power begins the game with a base amount of BRPS. This base amount is regenerated in
the Year Start Sequence (YSS). The base amount can be supplemented by conquering
countries and Economic Growth. Economic Growth occurs when a Major Power  has
BRPs remaining at the end of the year, a portion of the remainder is added to the Major
Power's BRP base. A Major Power spends its BRPs by declaring war, choosing
Offensive Options, constructing units, waging Strategic Warfare (SW), and granting BRPs
to other nations. It may involuntarily lose BRPs by losing control of a country it occupied
at Year Start, by the loss of a vital production area, or as a result of Strategic Warfare.

3.2 FRONTS
The mapboard is divided into three separate fronts by heavy red lines--Western, Eastern
and Mediterranean. At the beginning of a player turn each major power selects, for each of
the three fronts separately, either an Offensive Option, an Attrition Option or a Pass
Option.

3.3 HEX CONTROL
Each land hex is controlled by the last nation to have ground units on it or pass ground
units through it. A unit which traverses hexes controlled by a major power ally does not
change the control of those hexes.

3.4 STACKING
Putting more than one unit in a hex is called stacking. Stacking is limited to two ground
units per hex with the following exceptions:
* Three ground units may stack in London if all three are British.
* Airborne units are never counted for stacking limit purposes and may be added to any
legal stack. This is true even if the unit moves like normal infantry.
* Five ground units may stack on a Bridgehead counter.
* Armor units may overstack on a Breakthrough hex, but such overstacking must be
remedied by the end of your SR phase.

3.5 ZONES OF CONTROL
Zones of control adversely affect enemy movement and supply. Every ground unit exerts a
zone of control (hereafter referred to as ZOC) on the hex it occupies. Armor units, only,
exert an additional ZOC on the six hexes adjacent to the hex they occupy, with some
qualifications:
* Armor ZOCs do not extend across all-water (not river) hexsides, across hexsides
containing crossing arrows, nor into fortress hexes.

4.0 UNIT SETUP
The computer will set up the units for you. If you would like to change the set up of your
units, click on the units you would like to reposition and they will appear in the Forces
Box. From there they can be replaced to the map. Click on the unit in the Forces Box and
then click on the hex you would like the unit to be set up in. You can set up the units of a
given country only in the area(s) listed as "Controlled at Start" by that country. Minor
neutrals always setup in their homeland. Also be aware of minimum set up requirements
for some nations which the computer will remind you about  if you fail to abide by them.
After you finish setting up (or re-arranging) the units of each country, press Done.

Selecting Air Units:
When you Select an air unit in the Forces Box, the display changes to show all the
increments of that air unit available to you. Select the size you want, and then Select the hex
you want to set up the air unit in. Air units are the only unit type that can be voluntarily
broken down and recombined during play.

Inspecting Stacks and Selecting Units:
Note that a unit in a stack can be Selected for an action--or Deselected--only when at the
top of that stack. If you want to view all the units in a stack simultaneously, right-click on
that stack on the Map Screen and its contents will appear in the Forces. If you wish to
either view the units in a stack one at a time or Select one of those units, right-click on that
stack on the Map Screen; each time you do so that stack's bottom unit will shift to the top.
The program will not display more than four units per stack; however, a stack with five or
more units in it normally has its bottom unit outlined in black.

5.0  SEQUENCE OF PLAY
THIRD REICH PC is played in Game Turns representing three months each. Each Game
Turn contains two Player Turns, with the side having the higher Basic Resource Point
(BRP) Total moving first within that Game Turn. Each Player Turn is sub-divided into
Movement, Combat, Unit Construction, and Strategic Redeployment phases. There is also
a separate Year Start Sequence (YSS) between each Winter and Spring Game Turn.

Each Game Turn must follow the sequence below:

5.1  Possible YEAR-START SEQUENCE
If a Spring Game Turn is about to begin, the Year Start may apply first. See 6.0.

5.2  possible Russian-Winter Die Roll
Not applicable to this demo.

5.3  Determination of Player-Turn Order
Each sides' BRP Totals are compared, and the side with the higher total goes first in the
new Game Turn. Note that this can allow the same side two turns back-to-back. This is
called a "flip-flop"--an extremely important element in the overall strategy of the game.
The Axis player always goes first in the first turn of the 1939-1940 Demo.

5.4  FIRST PLAYER TURN
5.41  Declarations of War (DoW)
You may declare war on one or more countries at this time. As the Allied player you are in
control of France and Britain and have already Declared war on Germany. Due to the Nazi-
Soviet pact of August 1939, the USSR is prohibited from declaring War on German until
the Fall turn of 1941 unless Germany fails to place at least 20 ground or air factors in hexes
on the eastern front. You should realize that the computer German player will never fail to
do this.

PROCEDURE: If you want to make a declaration of war (DoW), follow these procedures
when the computer prompts you for any DoWs: Click on the flag of the country that will
declare war, then click your mouse in any hex of the country that is the recipient of the
declaration.

MINOR COUNTRY PLACEMENT: If you or the computer declared war on a Minor
country, the player's opponent (thats you if Germany was the one who made the
declaration of war) now deploys the forces of each minor country that received the
declaration of war. The countries of Arabia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Persia and Portugal
have no deployable armed forces (i.e., they are "defenseless"), minor-country Placement
does not apply to them.

5.42  Front-Option Selection
If it is your turn, you must designate whether each Major Power and active minor country
on your side will undertake an Offensive, Attrition or Pass Option on each of the three
Fronts. This choice largely determines what actions your units will be able to perform in
the current Player Turn. Once you exit the Front-Option Selection step you will not be able
to change these Options until your next Player Turn.

IMPORTANT POINTS:
* Each Offensive Option costs 15 BRPs;
* Offensive Air/Naval Missions can be conducted only on each Front that the player has
chosen an Offensive Option for.
* No Fortress, Capital, Objective or Bridgehead hex, nor any hex that can be occupied only
via a hexside containing a Crossing Arrow, can be captured by Attrition combat;
* A Pass Option greatly restricts all types of movement, and prevents combat, on that Front
(or in that minor country);
* Use of the u key during Front-Option Selection enables you to change one or more
previously selected Options.

5.43  Minor-Country Operations
Provided its attacker's opponent(s) has not yet Intervened, each minor country that has
been attacked but not yet conquered takes its own separate Player Turn. This separate
Player Turn comprises a Movement Phase (and a Combat Phase unless the country chose
a Pass Option) only--and occurs immediately after the Player Turn in which it was
invaded but before the movement and combat, etc. (as listed below) of the Phasing
Player's Major Power(s).

5.44  Voluntary Destruction of Units
You may voluntarily Select any of your units, thereby eliminating them and returning them
to their respective country's Force Pool. Note that voluntarily eliminated units cannot be
rebuilt during the same turn.

5.45  MOVEMENT PHASE
You may move all, some or none of the units you control. Ground units may move up to
the limit of their movement factor. Naval units may change base (but may not move to
another front in so doing) and air units may stage.
STAGING: An air unit may stage (change bases) up to eight hexes during its Movement
Phase. The new base hex need not  be on the same front as the old base. It must have been
controlled by the staging side at the start of its turn.
Movement is conducted in the following order:

5.45a Move German units to/from Murmansk Box
Not applicable in the demo.

5.45b Fleet Movement
If you have an available fleet unit, you are asked to Select one that you wish to move and
then to Select the hex that you wish to move that fleet to (it must be to a friendly-controlled
port on the same Front). After you have Selected the destination port, you are prompted to
plot a path from the fleet's starting port to that destination port. This is done by Selecting
first a sea or coastal hex that is adjacent to the starting port, and then Selecting each hex
along a desired path of contiguous sea/coastal hexes to (and including) the destination port.
Repeat this procedure for each fleet you wish to move.

5.45c  Naval Interception & Counter-Interception
After all fleet movement has been completed, the defender may attempt to intercept such
movement with his naval and air units.

PROCEDURE: Select the fleet you wish to intercept. That fleet's movement path is
indicated on the map and you are asked to confirm your intended Interception. If you
answer Yes, Select an eligible friendly fleet or air unit to Intercept with, and Select the hex
of Interception. If you choose a fleet to Intercept with, you must then move it hex-by-hex
to the point of Interception. You may repeat this procedure as many times as you can bring
eligible fleet/air units to bear, and may use them to Intercept the enemy fleet in the same or
different hexes [Exception: all fleets Intercepting the same enemy fleet must do so in the
same hex]. When you have completed all your Interception attempts vs. that enemy fleet,
press Done and you will be asked if you wish to implement the Interception.
(IMPORTANT: a Yes answer will bar further Interception attempts vs. that fleet.) When
you answer Yes, you may then choose another enemy fleet to Intercept, repeating the
above steps to do so. When you have completed all your Interception attempts vs. all
enemy fleets, press Done and then answer Yes to confirm it.

COUNTER-INTERCEPTION: Now (as the phasing player) you will be asked if you
wish to Counter-Intercept the computer's Interception fleet(s) with any of your own fleet/-
air units that have not moved yet and are on the same Front. Doing so follows the same
procedure as above, but with the Phasing Player in the Intercepting role.When you have
completed all of your Interception attempts vs. all such enemy fleets, press Done and then
answers Yes to confirm it.

COUNTER-COUNTER-INTERCEPTION: Now Counter-Counter-Interception may
occur against Counter-Interception. This back-and-forth series of designating Interceptions,
Counter-Interceptions, etc., continues until neither side has any further units willing/able to
participate.

5.45d  Interception Resolution
All (Counter-) Interceptions are now resolved, one at a time, in the opposite order of their
designation (i.e., those designated last being resolved first, etc.), and the results are
displayed on the screen. The program implements all losses and moves/returns surviving
units to their proper hexes.

5.45e  Check Supply & Designate Supply Fleets
If a unit cannot trace a Line of Supply to a supply source at this time, it is unsupplied.
Unsupplied units may not move and are eliminated if still unsupplied at the end of the
owning player's turn.

SUPPLY SOURCES:
All capitals of major and minor powers are supply sources for the side that controls them,
provided that their country has unit counters represented in the game (Lisbon and
Jerusalem, for example, do not qualify). All ports in Libya are supply sources for Axis
only; all ports in Egypt are supply sources for Allies only. Tunis and Beirut are sources of
supply for French units, but this supply cannot be shared with other nationalities.
All fortress hexes supply units in the fortress hex, and only those units--units outside a
fortress hex may never trace a supply line thereto.
Konigsberg and Durazzo are supply sources for, respectively, German only and Italy only
at the start of the 1939 scenario. They lose their status as soon as a normal land supply line
is opened to these areas.

SUPPLY LINES:
Each supply source may supply an unlimited number of units unless specified otherwise.
A unit is in supply if it can trace a line of controlled hexes, free of enemy ZOC, between
itself and a supply source. Enemy ZOC over the unit and/or the source does not block this
supply line as long as all hexes in the supply line between the unit and the source are free of
enemy ZOC. Units adjacent to a supply source are always in supply unless both the supply
source and the adjacent unit are in the ZOC of the same enemy unit. Supply lines, like
ground units, may cross water without naval assistance at a Crossing Arrow. The
controlled hexes may be hexes controlled by the power tracing the supply line and/or hexes
controlled by allies of the tracing power.

SUPPLY LINES ACROSS WATER:
Supply over water is more complex. A fleet must be designated to carry supply. Each
naval factor may supply one ground unit (or airbase)--thus a 9-factor fleet could supply
nine ground units. One fleet counter could provide supply to more than one
port/Bridgehead on the far shore. The supply line is traced from the source, by land, to the
base of the designated fleet, thence across water to a port or Bridgehead, thence by land to
the supplied unit(s). Both land portions of the line must be composed of controlled hexes
and free of enemy ZOC. Bridgehead counters may receive sea supply lines in this manner
only if they were placed as a result of seaborne invasion.

ISLANDS: Islands without a port may also be supplied by sea through any one coastal hex
designated by the occupant.

PROCEDURE: If the message "Select a red-outlined fleet to use for supply" appears at
this time, the screen will automatically scroll to show one or more out-of-supply units
(which are outlined in purple for identification purposes). If those units can be supplied by
sea, Select a red-outlined fleet on the same Front, then Select a destination port, bridgehead
or one-hex island for the supplies to go to. Lastly, to actually put it the units back in supply,
Select each unsupplied unit that can trace a supply line to that destination.

5.45f  Normal Ground/Air Movement
To move a ground unit, Select it, then Select a land hex adjacent to it, then continue to
Select each hex along a desired path of contiguous land hexes to (and including) the unit's
destination hex (or until it runs out of movement factors). Note that the printed movement
factor on the unit changes as you move the unit, indicating how much movement it has left.
When a ground unit reaches its destination hex but still has movement factors remaining,
you must Deselect it to end its movement before you can attempt to move another unit.
To stage (i.e., move) an air unit, Select it, then Select the friendly-controlled airbase
(including city) hex--up to a maximum of eight hexes away--that it wishes to stage to.
You may abort a ground/air unit's move by Selecting it again after its movement has
ended. A moving unit's red outline turns to blue when its movement has ended.

5.45g  Overstacking Elimination
If you have one or more units that are currently overstacked, the screen will scroll to show
them (outlined in red), and a dialog box notifying you of this situation will appear. If you
answer No in the dialog box, you will be returned to the Movement Phase so you can
move your overstacked unit(s) to conform to legal stacking limits. If you answer Yes (e.g.,
if there is no adjacent hex that unit can legally enter), you must then eliminate enough
eligible units in each overstacked hex to bring it within legal stacking limits.

5.45h  Possible Eastern-Front Factor Check
This is automatically handled by the computer. As the Axis player, the computer will
always have at least 20 ground or air factors on the east front thereby prohibiting Russia
from declaring war on the Axis.

5.46  COMBAT PHASE
You may now perform Offensive Naval/Air Missions (if otherwise allowed), and may
conduct and resolve combat, in the following order:

5.46a  Attrition Combat
The number or ground factors in contact with enemy units determines the level of Attrition
that occurs on the Front. Attrition combat will yield hexes and will eliminate enemy units.
Attrition occurs only against the defender.

RESOLUTION: Attrition is resolved separately for each Front. Your participating units are
marked with a red outline. However, any that are adjacent to another Front where they
could be used in an Offensive or another Attrition Combat are outlined in purple instead,
and you are prompted to Deselect each one that you want to keep from participating in the
current Attrition resolution. When you press Done, Attrition is resolved, and both the
number of hexes you are allowed to occupy and the number of ground units your opponent
must eliminate are displayed.

OCCUPYING A HEX: If the Attrition Table allows you to occupy a hex, select each hex
(if any) that you wish to force all enemy ground units out of. (If you do not wish to do so,
or if you opt to Select fewer hexes than you are entitled to, you may press Done, and the
game will proceed to the next step in play.) Note the following:
* Each such hex must be currently occupied by an enemy ground unit and must be adjacent
to one of your red-outlined units;
* If you force an enemy unit out of its hex, you must occupy that hex with one of your
adjacent red-outlined units (see below);
* Since minor-neutral units cannot advance beyond their own borders, they cannot force an
enemy unit to retreat.
Next, Select a red-outlined ground unit that is adjacent to each vacated hex to occupy that
hex. If the computer has made an Attrition attack against you and is allowed to occupy
some of your hexes, you must retreat your units from the hexes the computer selects. To
do this, select a ground unit in the hex chosen, then Select an adjacent hex to retreat it to.
Repeat this until all of your ground units in marked hexes have retreated.

5.46b  Offensive Naval/Air Missions
You may Select one or more friendly naval units to perform Offensive Missions (i.e., Sea
Transport, Seaborne Invasion or Shore Bombardment) on each Front for which you have
chosen an Offensive Option. To perform an offensive naval mission, Select (in order, as
prompted by the program): one eligible fleet, its Mission type, its destination hex, its path
of movement, all other fleets in its starting hex that will accompany it, and all units that it
will carry (the latter will disappear from the map as they are Selected). See also the special
procedures below. Ground/air units cannot be Selected if they are out of supply, or if they
moved or carried out some other activity prior to the Combat Phase.
If you decide to abort the Mission of a fleet, you may do so by Selecting that fleet again
before it reaches its destination hex.

SEABORNE INVASIONS:
Invasions may be directed against any beach hex, Gibraltar or single hex island. A fleet
conducting a Seaborne Invasion can carry only ground units that are in its port of
embarkation (i.e., its starting hex), and only at the rate of one ground factor per three naval
factors. The hex designated as the target of the Invasion force must be attacked by some
ground unit of yours--even if the attacking unit is not part of the Invasion force. If the hex
does not contain an enemy unit, the attack is directed against an empty hex and may
generate Breakthrough and Exploitation. If the target hex contains an enemy 9-factor fleet,
at the start of the player turn, Invasion may not be attempted there.

SEA TRANSPORT
Fleets may move from one controlled port to another controlled port on the same front,
carrying ground or air units. Each two naval factors may transport one ground or air
combat factor. When the "The fleet has reached its final-destination port╔" prompt
appears, answer Yes unless you have not yet finished picking up units for this Sea
Transport Mission.
Ground and Air Units may move before and after being Sea Transported: Ground
units that are in supply, and that have neither moved nor carried out any other activity in the
current Player Turn, may be moved by you in the Combat Phase to a port from which it
will be Sea Transported. Such movement is conducted after you have moved the Sea-
Transport fleet (and any other fleets that accompany it) to its final-destination port. Move
the ground unit just as if it were the Movement Phase, but each must end its move in a
marked port hex that was friendly-controlled at the start of your Turn or its move will be
canceled. Sea-Transported ground/air units may move after re-appearing in their destination
port if they have a sufficient movement allowance remaining--but this is done after all
Interceptions are resolved (see 5.46f below).

OFFENSIVE AIR MISSIONS:
Air units may perform one mission (offensive or defensive) per turn. Offensive missions
are flown during the combat phase on a Front where an Offensive Option has been chosen.
There are four different types of Offensive Air Missions: Ground Support, Counterair,
Interception and Attack on Naval Bases. Air units on an Offensive Air Mission may fly up
to four hexes to their target. To perform an offensive air mission, first Select an eligible air
unit that will perform it, then Select the defending ground unit's hex (for Ground Support),
the defender's air unit (for Counter-Air), or the hex that contains the enemy port and
fleet(s). Note that Interception of Defensive Air Support (DAS), despite being an
Offensive Air Mission, is conducted in a later segment.

5.46c  Counter-Air Resolution
All Counter-Air Missions designated in the previous step are resolved when Done is
pressed to end that step. The resulting losses (if any) of air factors are then implemented.

5.46d  Defensive Air support (DAS) & Intercepting Offensive Naval Missions
DEFENSIVE AIR SUPPORT (DAS): The defender (or non-phasing player) may use one
or more friendly air units to conduct Defensive Air Support (DAS) for any/all friendly
ground units which might be attacked. To do this Select an eligible air unit and then a hex
that is a possible target of an enemy ground attack. Air units used for Ground Support add
their combat factor to that of the attacking round units. The total air factors attacking any
one hex may not exceed three times the total ground factors attacking that hex. Attacking
air units are destroyed by an "A" result in ground combat. If the attacker suffers an "EX"
result he may elect to take his losses from either air or ground so long as he eliminates
sufficient factors. Defending air units are also destroyed if the defending ground units are
eliminated.

NAVAL INTERCEPTION: The defender may attempt to Intercept Offensive Naval
Missions. To do this, Select an enemy fleet that is conducting such a Mission; when you
do, that fleet's movement path is indicated on the map and you are asked to confirm your
intended Interception. If you answer Yes, Select an eligible friendly fleet or air unit to
Intercept with, and also Select the hex of Interception. If you choose a fleet to Intercept
with, you must then move it hex-by-hex to the point of Interception. You may repeat this
procedure as many times as you can bring eligible fleet/air units to bear, and may use them
to Intercept the enemy fleet in the same or different hexes [Exception: all fleets Intercepting
the same enemy fleet must do so in the same hex]. When you have completed all your
Interception attempts vs. that enemy fleet, press Done. You will next be asked if you wish
to implement the Interception. When you answer Yes, you may choose another enemy
fleet to Intercept, repeating the same procedure to do so. When you have completed all
your Interception attempts vs. all enemy fleets, press Done and then answers Yes to
confirm it.

5.46e  DAS Interception and Combat-Phase Air/Naval Counter-Interception
INTERCEPTION: You may Intercept enemy DAS with your own friendly air units which
have not yet flown. To do so, Select the air unit and then a hex that contains an enemy air
unit performing a DAS Mission (repeat this procedure if more than one air unit will
Intercept). Press Done, and the Interceptions will be resolved and the results displayed.
IMPORTANT: If the defender has the larger force in combat and wins the aerial combat,
his survivors may continue their DAS mission (for this reason, the attacker should always
try to intercept DAS with at least an equal number of Interceptors).

COUNTER INTERCEPTION: You may also attempt to Counter-Intercept the enemy's
Interception fleet(s) with any of your own fleet/air units that are not performing a Mission
and are on the same Front. To do so, Select an enemy fleet that is conducting an
Interception; when you do, that fleet's movement path is indicated on the map and you are
asked to confirm your intended Counter-Interception. If you answer Yes, you then Select
an eligible friendly fleet or air unit to Counter-Intercept with, and Select the hex of Counter-
Interception. If you choose a fleet to Counter-Intercept with, you must then move it hex-
by-hex to the point of Counter-Interception. You may repeat this procedure as many times
as you can bring eligible fleet/air units to bear, and may use them to Counter-Intercept the
enemy fleet in the same or different hexes [Exception: all fleets Counter-Intercepting the
same enemy fleet must do so in the same hex]. When you have completed all of your,
Counter-Interception attempts, press Done and you are asked if you wish to implement the
Counter-Interception. When you answer Yes, you may then choose another enemy fleet to
Counter-Intercept, repeating the same procedure to do so.

RESOLUTION: When you have completed all of your Counter-Interception attempts vs.
all enemy fleets, press Done and then answer Yes to confirm it. All (Counter-)
Interceptions are then resolved, one at a time in reverse order (i.e., with the fleets sailing
last resolving their attempts first), and the results are displayed on the screen.  The program
implements all losses and moves/returns surviving units to their proper hexes.

5.46f  Landing Sea-Transported Units
Each unit that was successfully Sea Transported now disembarks automatically in its
destination port and re-appears on the map. Those that retain movement capability are
outlined in purple; the Phasing Player may now move them just as if it were the Movement
Phase (though each will have already expended at least one movement point, for
disembarking).

5.46g  Normal Airdrops
If you have chosen an Offensive Option on any Front(s),you may perform one or more
Airdrops on that Front by Selecting first an eligible friendly airborne unit and then its
destination hex. Repeat this procedure until all desired Airdrops have been made.

5.46h  Normal Ground-Combat
PROCEDURE: If you choose an Offensive Option for any Front(s), you will be prompted
to Select a hex to attack, and then to Select the friendly ground unit(s) adjacent to that hex
(or in the hex, if conducting a Seaborne Invasion and/or attacking with an Airdropped unit)
with which to make the attack. When ready to resolve the attack, press Done and the results
will appear.

ADVANCE AFTER COMBAT: If all defending ground units in the hex are eliminated,
you may advance one or more of the adjacent attacking ground units into it by Selecting
each desired unit when so prompted. Normally, due to stacking limits, no more than two
units may advance--but if a Bridgehead is placed after the initial unit advances, up to five
units may be placed in the hex (see 7.7).

BREAKTHROUGH: If the attacking ground unit(s) included at least one armor unit, and
at least one attacking unit advanced after combat, that hex becomes a Breakthrough hex.
Each friendly, in-supply armor unit that made no attack during combat, but that was
adjacent to or stacked with any unit that did attack the Breakthrough hex, may now be
moved into the Breakthrough hex. To conduct Breakthrough movement, simply Select
each eligible armor unit in turn when so prompted. Movement factors and stacking limits
are ignored.

SEQUENCE: Each attack, as well as any advance/Breakthrough movement resulting from
it, is resolved prior to Selecting the next hex to attack; therefore, before exiting Normal
Combat Resolution, repeat this step as many times as needed to complete all attacks.

5.46i  Resolving Air Attacks on Naval Bases
Attacks on enemy fleets in ports that were designated in step 5.46b are resolved.

5.46j  Exploitation Movement
Armor that had been freely moved (not advanced) into a Breakthrough hex in step 5.46h
above may conduct Exploitation Movement. Do this by Selecting each such unit in turn
and moving it. Exploitation Movement is exactly like normal movement except the units
are restricted in the distance they may move from the Breakthrough hex. The first
Exploiting armor unit may move up to two hexes from the Breakthrough hex. Each
subsequent Exploiting unit may either move up to two hexes from the Breakthrough hex,
or duplicate exactly the move of a previous Exploiting unit and then move up to two
additional hexes on its own. In no case may a unit exceed its movement factor, which is
counted from the Breakthrough hex and is limited normally by the ZOC  of any enemy
armor in the vicinity.
 IMPORTANT: to "duplicate exactly the move of a previously Exploiting unit," select first
the unit to be moved, and then the current hex of that previously moved unit; this will
move the unit to that hex, from where it will be able (unless it has now used its full
movement capability) to complete its Exploitation Movement.
IMPORTANT: Exploitation Movement cannot be aborted, so be sure you move each unit
to exactly where you want it to go

5.46k  Exploitation Ground-Support
Your friendly air units may provide Ground Support for Exploitation Combat in the same
way as in regular combat.

5.46l  Exploitation Defensive-Air-Support
The defender may commit air units to DAS of a hex that is a possible target of an
Exploitation ground attack in the same way as in regular combat.

5.46m  Exploitation DAS-Interception
Same as in regular combat.

5.46n  Exploitation Airdrops
You may perform one or more Exploitation Airdrops in the same way as in 5.46g.

5.46o  Exploitation Combat
Only Exploiting units, airborne units that dropped during Exploitation movement, and their
air support may engage in Exploitation attacks Select a hex to attack, and then Select the
Exploiting armor unit(s) (and/or the airborne in or) adjacent to that hex with which to make
the attack. (note that more than two ground units can make an Exploitation attack from a
Breakthrough Hex). When ready to resolve the attack, press Done and the results will
appear. (Note: the program resolves all Counterattack results internally--although the die
rolls generated for them can be seen if the Die Roll Display is turned on--and shows only
the net result of the attack.)
ADVANCE AFTER COMBAT: If all defending ground units in the hex are eliminated,
you can have one or more of the attacking armor units advance into it by Selecting each
unit when so prompted.

5.46p Attrition Combat
All Attrition combat not resolved earlier in the turn is resolved now.

5.47  Unit Construction Phase
You may build new units and/or conduct certain other activities, in the following order:

5.47a  Unit construction
You may build units that are available in the Force Pool of each of his Major Powers and
active Minor-Allies. To do so, Select a unit in the Forces Box, then Select the hex you wish
to place it in. When finished constructing units for that country, press Done. Note that each
nation's current spendable-BRP total (or, for an active Minor-Ally, the total for the Major
Power it is allied to) appears in the Forces Box along with the nation's Allowable Builds.
If you build a unit in the wrong hex or decide you don't want to build it after all, Deselect
its counter in the Forces Box if it is still outlined with a red and white border, then Select
the actual unit (the one on the map) and it will be put back in the Forces Box. Note that
newly built air and naval units cannot perform a Mission during the Game Turn they were
constructed (as indicated by their light-blue outline for the remainder of that Game Turn).

AIR UNITS: If you build a partial air unit in a hex that contains one or more other partial
air units of its same nationality, those whose combat factors total at least "5" are
automatically combined into a 5-4 air unit.

NAVAL UNITS: Partial naval units cannot be rebuilt, only 9-factor fleets.


5.48  STRATEGIC REDEPLOYMENT (SR) PHASE
5.48a  designate BRP Grants
Not applicable to the demo.

5.48b  Lend-Lease
Not applicable to the demo.

5.48e SRing units
You may Strategically Redeploy (SR) a number of your on-map units (France may SR
five units, Britain may SR seven units). Units SRed by land may move an unlimited
distance, but only over controlled, supplied hexes. Any SRed unit may not be adjacent to
nor move adjacent to any enemy unit including air, naval and airbase counters. Any type of
unit may SR, including Air, ground and naval units. Naval units being SRed may not cross
more than one front boundary. They may pass through the strait of Gibraltar only if
Gibraltar is controlled by their side.

SEQUENCE OF SR: The SRs of one nation need not be completed before starting the
SRs of another. A unit Selected for SR can be Deselected, thereby aborting its SR,
provided it has not yet actually been SR'd.

SR OVER WATER: In order for a land unit to cross water, a 9-factor fleet must provide
Sea Escort. Each 9-factor fleet may Sea Escort one unit counter of any size. Lesser fleets
may not perform Sea Escort. The unit must be able to move to the escorting fleet's base by
controlled land hexes. The Sea Escort portion of any given SR must begin and end in
controlled ports. To Sea Escort a ground or air unit, Select first that unit and then an eligible
fleet.

CROSS FRONT SR: Sea Escort is also possible across a Front boundary if a second
unused fleet is available in a two-Front port (for example, Gibraltar) between those Fronts.
Conduct cross-Front Sea Escort by Selecting first the unit to be Sea Escorted, and then an
eligible fleet on the same Front; answer Yes to the ensuing question, Select the fleet in the
two-Front port, and then Select the destination on the other Front. Cross-Front Sea Escort
is also possible between a Western-Front port and Suez city if both are friendly to the
Phasing Player. Conduct it by Selecting first the unit to be Sea Escorted, and then an
eligible fleet on the same Front. Answer Yes to the ensuing question, and then Select the
destination on the other Front. This kind of SR uses up two SRs for that nationality.

5.48f  Check Supply & Designate Supply Fleets
Supply is checked again at this point. If any of your units (including airbases) are currently
out of supply, the message "Select a red-outlined fleet to carry supply" will appear in the
Message Box, allowing you to designate an eligible fleet for sea supply.

5.48g  Elimination of Unsupplied Units
If Done is pressed while one or more units is out of supply, those units are automatically
eliminated if Yes is pressed in the dialog box that appears. If No is pressed, the screen will
scroll (if necessary) to show an unsupplied unit/stack outlined in purple, and you are given
another chance to designate a supply fleet.

5.48h  Relocation of Unsupplied Air Bases
The program now moves each unsupplied airbase of the Phasing Player's side to the
Capital of its country. Each air unit left in a non-city (or left overstacked in a city) hex due
to this is automatically moved to the nearest friendly city or airbase; if more than one are
equidistant, you will be prompted to choose one for each such air unit.

5.48i Removal of Certain Bridgeheads
At this point the program will automatically remove any Bridgehead which is no longer
required to supply a unit and is more than four land hexes from an enemy unit.

5.48j Overstacking Elimination
If you have one or more units that are currently overstacked, the screen will scroll to show
them (outlined in red), and a dialog box notifying you of this situation will appear. If you
answer No in the dialog box, you can then SR your overstacked unit(s) so as to conform to
legal stacking limits. If you answer Yes (e.g., if the unit cannot be SR'd for some reason),
you must then eliminate enough eligible units in each overstacked hex to bring it within
legal stacking limits.

5.48k  Possible Eastern-Front Factor Check
If it is an Axis Player Turn, and Germany and the U.S.S.R. are not yet at war, the program
checks again at this point to see if the Axis has at least 20 ground/air factors on the Eastern
Front.

5.49  END OF PLAYER TURN PHASE
5.49b  Save-Game prompt for 1939-40 Demo
When this dialog box appears and you answer Yes to it, the current player turn is saved in
the file 3r save00.3rg. You can resume play if you exit the game by typing 3r save 00.3rg.

5.5  Second Player Turn
The opposing player now becomes the Phasing Player, and the steps are repeated.

5.6  The Next Game Turn
At the end of each second Player Turn, the Calendar Box displays a new turn date to
signify the start of a new Game Turn. At this point the program will tell you which side--
Axis or Allied--goes first, and after pressing OK you may resume play as per 5.0.

6.0  YEAR START SEQUENCE (YSS)
The YSS consists of Strategic-Warfare-Resolution, BRP-Calculation and Strategic-
Warfare-Construction Phases. It occurs immediately before the start of each Spring Game
Turn. This will occur only once in this demo (before the spring 1940 turn).

6.1  Strategic Warfare (SW) Resolution
Not applicable to this demo.

6.2  BRP-total Calculation
The program now calculates a new BRP Total for each Major Power. After Strategic
Warfare Construction (6.3) is finished, each Power's Total is re-adjusted accordingly. Note
that half (fractions rounded down) of each new Total is the maximum amount of BRPs
that Power may spend during any one Player Turn in this Game Turn.

6.3  Strategic Warfare Construction
Not applicable to this demo.

7.0 SPECIAL RULES
7.1 Switzerland
No nation may declare war on Switzerland and no hexes in that country may be entered by
ground units or overflown by air units.

7.2 The Suez Canal
Hexsides LL30/LL31, MM30/LL31 and MM30/MM31 are the Suez Canal; they are treated
as a river for all purposes, the only exception being that naval units may enter them. Naval
movement may occur only if the hexes adjacent to the canal are under friendly control.

7.3 Poland/East Europe
The demo begins with German at war with France, Britain and Poland; none of the major
powers pay DoW cost unless they declare war on additional countries. German must begin
with an Offensive Option on the Eastern Front and must make at least one ground attack
on Polish ground units.
Germany must maintain at least 20 ground and/or air factors on the Eastern Front until
Russia and German are at war.
The dotted red line running north-south in Poland is the partition line agreed to in the Nazi-
Soviet pact.
On the Russian Fall 1939 turn or thereafter, Russia may declare war on and occupy East
Europe. East Europe is comprised of the Baltic States, Poland east of the partition line and
Bessarabia (Rumania east of the Eastern Front boundary). Russia must pay 10 BRPs to
declare war on all of East Europe. Russian units may not move across the Polish partition
line unless at war with Germany.  Russia need only occupy the three Eastern Polish cities
to satisfy the Polish portion of her East Europe conquest requirements.

7.4 Russia: Russia may not declare war on Germany or Italy or take any action that would
automatically result in war with Germany until the Fall 1941 turn. Until Russia is at war
with Germany or Italy, she may declare war only on bordering minor countries. She may
not declare war on Axis Minor Allies (active or not) if the minor is garrisoned by at least
one German ground factor.

7.5 Anglo-French Cooperation:
STACKING: British and French units may not stack together under any circumstances.
Specifically:
* British fleets may not carry nor Sea Escort French units.
* British air units may give offensive Ground Support to French ground units (because the
British air would be placed atop the attacked Axis units rather than atop the French)
provided the attacked units are not in a hex prohibited by  to them (see below). They may
not give DAS to the French, because they may not be atop the French units.
* British armor may not exploit a French breakthrough.
* British and French air and fleet units may not combine to conduct any mission.

PROHIBITED HEXES: British units may not be in the Maginot line, Paris, Marseilles,
nor the city of Vichy. They may pass through these hexes during Movement or SR, but
may not pause in them at any point of a turn. If forced to retreat into such a prohibited hex
they are eliminated. French units may not enter Britain or British colonies (including
Gibraltar).

7.6 US ENTRY: The U.S. enters play during the spring 1942 turn, so will not come into
play in the demo.

7.7 BRIDGEHEADS: Five ground units may occupy a Bridgehead. Only two may attack
during an Offensive Option (three if all three are British in London). All five are counted if
in contact with the enemy during an Attrition Option. All five defend against an attack and
all five can counterattack when required. A Bridgehead counter may, at the attacker's
option, be placed on:
1. A hex successfully occupied by seaborne invasion.
2. A tripled river hex or crossing arrow hex successfully occupied by an Offensive Option
Attack.

8.0 VICTORY CONDITIONS
ALLIED MARGINAL: Prevent the capture of Paris
ALLIED TACTICAL: Conquer Italy
ALLIED DECISIVE: Conquer Germany
STALEMATE: The Axis capture Paris in the second player turn of the Winter, 1940
Game Turn
AXIS MARGINAL: France is conquered in Winter, 1940 turn *
AXIS TACTICAL: France is conquered in the Fall, 1940 turn*
AXIS DECISIVE: France is conquered in the Summer, 1940 turn*
*Conquest occurs immediately after the conquered power fails to regain control of the
capital during its combat phase.

9.0 HOT KEYS
F1: -Exit to Scenario Screen
F2: Change Map Color
F3: Change Map Size
F4: Split Air Unit
F5: Combine Air Units
F6: Place Airbase
F7: Display Tables Menu
F8: Display Actions Menu
F9: Display Status Menu
F10: Die Roll Display
Pressing the d key is equivalent to Selecting the Done button with the mouse. The same is
true for the y, n and o keys to answer Yes, No or OK respectively. In addition, the Enter
key functions like the o or the y key. Pressing b allows you to remove a Bridgehead.
Pressing v displays the version of the game.

THIRD REICH CREDITS:

Lead Programmer: Jamie Nash
Programming: David Hiller, John Sabean, Bryan Stout
Lead AI Programmer: David Hiller
AI Programming: Jamie Nash
Map Database: Joseph Hummel
Computer Graphics: Joe Amoral
Read Me File: Mark Simonitch, Bob McNamara
Playtest Coordination: David Hiller
Production Coordination: Bill Levay, Phyllis Opolko
Original Boardgame Design: John Prados

Alpha Testing Team:
Vince Alonso
David Bowman
Justin Bunnell
James Feeney
David L. Greth
Roger Hoffman
Ken Jones
David Kleiman
Elliot Kravitz
Andrew Kurtz
Michael McMain
Mike Murnane
Pascal Ode
Leslie Odgers
Steve Parrish
Jim Pedicord
Tony Perkins
Richard Phillips
Ken Robinson

Demo Beta Testing Team (additional):

Steven Brengard
Stuart Clark
Scot Crispin
Michael Delay
John Griesbacker
Edward K. Holman
Michael Lamb
William Larry
Andrew G. McArthur
Eric McConnell
David Spangler
Stuart Tucker
Phil VanWiltenburg
James Whitfield