Games PC CLOSE COMBAT V-INVASION NORMANDY User Manual

INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 1

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS .................................. 1

Installing The Game.................................................... 2

WHAT’S NEW .................................................................... 2

Force Pool Management.......................................... 2

New Map Features ...................................................... 2

New Combat Dynamics .......................................... 2

Starting The Game ...................................................... 2

Uninstalling The Game ............................................ 3

Saving Files ........................................................................ 3

Electronic Documentation ...................................... 3

TROUBLESHOOTING ................................................ 4

Sound And Video Cards ........................................ 4

DirectX 7 Setup .............................................................. 4

Copy Protection .............................................................. 4

CONTACTING TECHNICAL

SUPPORT ................................................................................ 5

Technical Support .......................................................... 6

Online Technical Support........................................ 6

Mailing Address.............................................................. 6

GAMEPLAY............................................................................ 7

QUICK START.................................................................... 7

MAIN SCREEN .................................................................. 9

Play A Game .................................................................... 9

Boot Camp (Training)................................................10

Create A Scenario ........................................................10

Multiplayer ..........................................................................10

BOOT CAMP ........................................................................10

Quick Tour ..........................................................................10

Monitors/Toolbars ..........................................................10

Viewing The Terrain....................................................11

Infantry Tactics ................................................................11

Armour Tactics ................................................................11

THE COMMAND SCREEN ....................................11

THE BATTLE GROUP SCREEN ......................13

BATTLEFIELD CONTROLS ..................................15

Basic Unit Orders ..........................................................15

Hot Key Orders ..............................................................15

Movement Orders..........................................................15

Vehicles ..................................................................................16

Indirect Paths/Waypoints ........................................16

Fire ............................................................................................17

Line Of Sight And Range ......................................17

Smoke......................................................................................18

Defend ....................................................................................18

Ambush..................................................................................19

Group Orders ..................................................................19

OTHER CONTROLS ....................................................20

Naval Gun Fire, Mortar

Barrages, And Air Strikes ......................................20

Truce ........................................................................................21

Combat Messages ........................................................21

Options ..................................................................................21

Zoom Level ..........................................................................24

Unit Status............................................................................24

COMMAND AND MORALE ................................25

Rallying..................................................................................25

Separation............................................................................25

THE BATTLEFIELD........................................................26

Hills ..........................................................................................26

Gullies, Trenches, and Gun Pits..........................26

Forests ....................................................................................27

Buildings................................................................................27

Rubble ....................................................................................28

Roads ......................................................................................28

Scrub........................................................................................28

Mine Fields..........................................................................28

ENDING A BATTLE ......................................................29

Victory Locations............................................................29

Truce ........................................................................................29

Time..........................................................................................29

Morale Failure ..................................................................29

Debriefing Screen..........................................................30

STRATEGIC LEVEL ......................................................31

The Strategic Map ........................................................31

Battle Groups ....................................................................32

Strategic Turns..................................................................34

Weather..................................................................................36

Air Strikes, Naval Gun Fire,

And Mortar Support ....................................................37

Intelligence ..........................................................................38

Winning Campaigns And Operations..........38

SCENARIO EDITOR ....................................................39

The Map................................................................................39

MULTIPLAYER....................................................................41

Using A TCP Connection........................................41

Using A UDP Connection ......................................42

Using A Serial Connection....................................42

Using A Modem Connection................................42

Using The MSN Gaming Zone ..........................42

Using Mplayer..................................................................42

Communicating With Your Opponent..........43

UNITS ..........................................................................................44

Infantry ..................................................................................44

Mortars ..................................................................................45

Machine Guns ..................................................................46

Flamethrowers..................................................................46

Anti Tank Guns ..............................................................46

Crews ......................................................................................47

Vehicles ..................................................................................47

Tanks........................................................................................47

VEHICLES ..............................................................................49

M3 Half-Track ..................................................................49

M8 / M20 Armoured Cars ..................................49

M5A1 Stuart Light Tank ........................................49

M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage..............................49

M4 Sherman......................................................................49

M10 and M18 Tank Destroyers........................50

SD KFZ 250/251 Half Tracks ..........................50

Marder III ............................................................................50

STUG III / STUH 42 ..................................................50

Panzer II ................................................................................50

Panzer III ..............................................................................51

Panzer IVG ........................................................................51

Panzer V Panther ..........................................................51

French Tanks ....................................................................51

Russian Tanks ..................................................................51

CREDITS ..................................................................................53

ATOMIC GAMES, INC.............................................53

SSI/Mattel ............................................................................54

2

1

Installing the Game

You must install C

LOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY game files to your hard drive and

have the C

LOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY CD in your CD-ROM drive to play this

game or use the Scenario Builder.

To install the game, insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive. When the pop-up window
appears, click on the Install option. If you have disabled the Windows Autorun, or if it
does not function, use W

INDOWS EXPLORER to open the CD and double-click on the Setup

icon. Follow all on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

WHAT’S NEW

Force Pool Management

Each Battle Group now has a Force Pool from which to draw units. You can configure
your Battle Groups before heading into battle, replace units lost in battle, and if you play
the American side, Reinforce your troops, restoring your Force Pool to full strength (see
page 13, “The Battle Group Screen” for more information).

New Map Features

In addition to the new, historically accurate maps of the entire Cotentin peninsula, from
Utah Beach to Cherbourg, CLOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY has new defensive terrain
features such as complex trench systems, pillboxes, hardened emplacements, dragon’s
teeth, barbed wire, and beach obstacles.

New Combat Dynamics

CLOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY adds a new support feature: naval bombardments.
Allied ships off the coast can shell German positions to provide cover for the beach
operations (see page 20, “Naval Gun Fire”). Also, airborne units now start the campaign
game behind enemy lines; airborne units start with five days of supplies, from which they
draw exclusively until exhaustion; after that, they must be connected to a supply depot by
the road network in order to be in supply. Finally, units that were not historically present
have been included in the Scenario Editor to allow you to create “what if” scenarios.

Starting the Game

Every time the CD-ROM drive is closed with the CD in place, the CLOSE COMBAT:
INVASION NORMANDY Autorun program displays a menu with the options to run the game,
run the Scenario Builder, install DirectX, uninstall the game, or view the README.TXT file.
You can also start C

LOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY by opening the Start menu, select-

ing Programs and choosing the folder where C

LOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY was

installed and left-clicking on the CLOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY program item.

INTRODUCTION

On June 6th, 1944, the combined forces of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and
France launched the greatest amphibious invasion in the history of the world. The blow
fell in Normandy, France, striking Adolph Hitler’s Atlantic Wall with nine divisions of assault
troops plus support from naval gunfire and massive air strikes. The Atlantic Wall would
crumble before the weight of this onslaught, and Europe would be free of the Third
Reich less than a year later.

C

LOSE COMBAT: INVASION

NORMANDY retells the story of
this historic battle from the per­spective of the men who
fought for control of Europe. As
the American Commander, you
must fight your way off the
beaches and take the important
seaport of Cherbourg before
the end of June. The German
commander must delay the
Americans at the beach and
await reinforcements to throw
the Allies back into the sea.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• Pentium 200 MHz IBM PC or compatible

• 32 MB of RAM

• Windows® 95 or 98 — Note: This is a Windows game and was not designed to be
played on Windows® NT systems. Multitasking is not recommended when playing
C

LOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY

• An uncompressed hard drive with 250 MB free for the “Recommended” install

• 4 X CD-ROM drive or faster

• An SVGA video adapter with 4 MB of memory and a Colour SVGA Monitor

• A Windows compatible mouse

• DirectX7 certified drivers required

In addition to the basic system requirements, the game requires that DirectX 7 or later
be installed in your system. The option to install DirectX 7 appears during the game
installation. For network play, you need a DirectPlay compatible network adapter.

4

TROUBLESHOOTING

This section provides information that should help you solve some common problems.

Sound and Video Cards

This product requires Windows 95/98 and DirectX compliant sound and video cards. If
you experience problems with sound or video while using this product please contact
the manufacturer of your sound or video card for the latest DirectX certified drivers. If
such drivers are not used, this product may not run properly on your system.

DirectX 7 Setup

This game requires DirectX 7 or later. If you do not have DirectX 7, then it can be
installed or reinstalled from the CD. Installing DirectX 7 is an option when installing the
game. You can also install it by using Windows Explorer to open the DIRECTX folder on
the game CD. Double-click on DXSETUP.EXE to start the DirectX 7 install.

From within the installation program, you can also reinstall DirectX 7, test your driver’s
certification, or reinstate your previous audio and video drivers.

DirectX Disclaimer

CLOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY utilises Microsoft’s DirectX sound and video drivers.
DirectX is a programming tool created by Microsoft, and the installation of DirectX may
cause video problems and system anomalies with computers using video drivers that are
not DirectX certified. DirectX is a Microsoft product, and as such, this publisher cannot be
responsible for changes that might occur to your computer system due to its installation.
For DirectX related problems that cannot be fixed by updating to your video card’s latest
Windows driver set, you must contact either Microsoft or the manufacturer of your video
card for further technical support or service.

Microsoft retains all intellectual property rights to DirectX. The user has been granted a
limited license to use DirectX with Microsoft operating system products.

Copy Protection

In order to play CLOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY, the game CD must be in the
CD-ROM drive.

3

For complete and specific “how to play” information, please refer to the rest of the man­ual. Some changes were made too late to include in this manual. Please read the
README.TXT file in your game directory for more information.

Screen saver utilities should be turned off before starting to play C

LOSE COMBAT: INVASION

NORMANDY.

Uninstalling the Game

To uninstall the game, select that option from the Autorun menu, or choose Settings from
the Start menu, and select Control Panel; in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove
Programs, left-click on C

LOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY, and click on the

Add/Remove button. The game and all of its components are then removed from your
hard drive, except for your saved games and/or edited scenarios.

Saving Games

CLOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY requires space on your hard drive for saved games
and temporary files. Each saved game can take up to 1.5 MB of hard drive space.

Electronic Documentation

If you do not already have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can install the software following
these instructions. Insert the game CD in your CD-ROM drive. Use WINDOWS EXPLORER to
open the CD, and double-click on the ACROWIN folder, located in the root directory.
Double-click on the file entitled ACROREAD.EXE and follow the on-screen prompts.

Once Acrobat Reader is installed on your system, you can read README.PDF by open­ing the folder on your hard drive in which you installed the Adobe Acrobat reader, and
double-clicking on the file ACROREAD.EXE. From the File menu of Adobe Acrobat, you
may open the README.PDF located in the root directory of your game CD.

6

UBI SOFT UK TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Technical support: 0870 800 6160 (local rate call)
Hints and tips hotline service: 0960 466 5200 (premium rate call)

On-line Support Options

Ubi Soft offers several on-line support options for their software products.
One of these is our website at: http://www.ubisoft.co.uk/support/
If you have a specific problem that is not addressed on our site, you can send your ques­tion to us via e-mail at: [e-mail]
Please be as specific as you can be about the problem you are experiencing. Also
include in the body of your e-mail: the name of the manufacturer of your computer sys­tem; the brand and speed of the processor; how much RAM you have, the version
number of Windows you are using (if you aren't sure, right-click on the My Computer
icon on your desktop and select 'Properties'), and the manufacturer name and model
number of your video card, modem, and sound card.

Other Support Options

You can also contact Ubi Soft Customer Support by phone and fax. When you call,
please have all of the above mentioned information ready.
UBI SOFT ENTERTAINMENT Ltd.
Chantry Court
Minorca Road
Weybridge
Surrey KT13 8DU

Tel: [phone]
Fax:[phone]

In Nederland: Telefoonnummer: 0900 202 6766 (50 cpm.) Tijden: maandag tot en met
vrijdag van 09:30 tot 18:00 uur
E-mail: [e-mail]

In Belgie: Telefoonnummer:02 73.25.57.7
E-mail: [e-mail]
Scandinavia: Ubi Soft Nordic Support
Ubi Soft Nordic offers different possibilities to obtain support.
On our website: http://www.ubisoft.dk
If you have a question, which is not described on our website, please e-mail us at:
[e-mail]
Other ways of reaching us: By telephone or fax, please call:
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Australia: Technical Support Hot Line: 1902 262 102 (calls are charged at $1.98 per minute
including GST. Higher from mobile and public phones)

We regret that we cannot offer game hints and tips, as the service is provided for techni­cal difficulties only.

5

GAMEPLAY

CLOSE C

OMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY is a real time strategy game that puts the emphasis

on REAL. During a battle, you command up to 15 units ranging from squads of infantry to
heavy tanks. The soldiers under your command act like real soldiers. If you order them to
exert themselves, they get tired, if the enemy shoots at them, they keep their heads
down, and when in danger they get scared. If a soldier becomes too scared, he may
stop listening to orders; he may even surrender or desert.

Your units have the same strengths and weaknesses that they would in real life, so in
planning your strategy you need to think about what would work in the real world.
Historically, real world tanks had a hard time detecting enemy infantry, and enemy infantry
could easily sneak up on a tank and use explosives to disable or destroy it. Real world
tanks used infantry to scout ahead of them; you are well advised to do the same.

Your goal during each battle is to do more than just kill the enemy. The invasion of
Normandy was a battle about ground, about taking it and about defending it. Each map
has a number of important strategic spots called “Victory Locations”, and success or failure
is determined by who holds them when a battle ends.

During Campaigns and Operations you have both strategic command of the battlefield and
tactical control of every engagement. At the strategic level, you direct your Battle Groups
along the network of roads that connects the towns and villages of the Cotentin region.
You must deal with issues of supply, allocate sparse resources, and control your overall
battle strategy.

QUICK START

Double-click on the CLOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY icon and start the game.

Once the game is started, go to
the Main screen and select Play a
Game. If this is your first time
playing, you should consider
playing the Boot Camp tutorial first.

8

Place your troops to your best
advantage; left-click on a unit and
drag it to move it. You may also
give orders to units during this
stage. Right-click on a unit to
give it an order. When placing
Anti-Tank guns, which usually
cannot move quickly, it is useful
to check their fields of fire by
giving them a Fire order and
moving the cursor around. You
can cancel the firing order by
ordering the gun to Defend or
Ambush. Infantry should usually

start in cover, either in buildings,
woods, or ditches. Command teams improve the performance of other teams nearby.
To see the area over which a command team has influence, press the Space bar. The
coloured circles displayed represent the extent of the team leader’s command and con­trol.

When you are satisfied with your troop placement, press the Begin button on the tool bar
on the bottom of the screen.

While playing, keep in mind that the F5-F7 keys control your pop-up menus and that
you can issue orders to a unit by right-clicking on it. Air Strikes, Naval Gun Fire, and Mortar
Barrage can each be used only once per Battle if they are available at all.

MAIN SCREEN

Play a Game

Left-clicking on the Play a Game
option opens the Command
screen. From the Command
screen you may load a saved
game or select any of the single
player Battles, Operations, or
Campaigns.

7

Once on the Command screen, if
you want to jump in quickly, choose
a Battle listed in the window on the
upper left hand side rather than a
Campaign or Operation. Once you
have decided which Battle you
want to play, double-click on it.

This brings you to the Battle Group

screen where you can look at the
units you will be fighting the Battle
with. You can rename them if you
want, using the button on the bot­tom of the screen. By clicking on
units, you can also look at their
Experience Level and Morale.

When you’re ready to fight, select Next from the lower right hand corner; this displays the
Battle screen. When you first bring up the Battle screen, the action is frozen. This repre­sents the pre-battle phase, during which you can place your troops. The darkened
portion of the map represents where the enemy starts, the lightly shaded portion starts as
no man’s land, and the unshaded portion is yours.

General Schlieben, commander of the Port of Cherbourg called Rommel asking permission to sur­render the Port of Cherbourg and his men on 25 June, 1944:

"Loss of the city shortly is unavoidable…2,000 wounded [are] without a possibility of being moved.
Is the destruction of the remaining troops necessary as part of the general picture in view of the fail­ure of effective counterattacks? Directive urgently requested."…"In addition to superiority in material
and artillery, air force and tanks, heavy fire from the sea has started, directed by spotter planes."…"I
must state in the line of duty, that further sacrifices cannot alter anything.”

10

Boot Camp (Training)

The Boot Camp option opens the Boot Camp screen, where you may choose to play any
of the five training scenarios. The tutorials include pop-up windows directing your actions
and are designed to teach basic unit commands and tactics as well as strategic control. It
is highly recommended that all novice players play through all five boot camps.

Create a Scenario

While CLOSE COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY comes with a large number of pre-made
Battles, Operations, and Campaigns, an easy-to-use tool has been provided for creating
your own Battles, Operations, and Campaigns.

Multiplayer

While the AI computer opponent in the single player game does present a worthy oppo­nent, there is something uniquely satisfying about outthinking a human being. CLOSE
COMBAT: INVASION NORMANDY presents a number of options allowing two human players to
square off.

BOOT CAMP

Boot Camp is an online tutorial that
teaches basic unit commands and
fundamental tactics. There are five
boot camps; it is recommended
that new players complete them in
order from top to bottom. During
the boot camps, you can always
repeat the previous instruction by
pressing Ctrl+H. You may exit
boot camp at any time by pressing
the ESC key.

Quick Tour

This explains how to give orders to a unit as well as basic targeting. Remember that right­clicking on a unit selects the unit and creates an order menu. Orders may be cancelled
by right-clicking again, or by left-clicking off of the menu.

Monitors/Toolbars

This segment shows how to call in Air Strikes and Mortar Barrages, as well as monitoring
team abilities and status. The prime things to remember from this boot camp are that the
F5 key toggles the Team Monitor, F6 toggles the Inset Map, and F7 toggles the Soldier

9

Monitor.

Viewing the Terrain

This segment explains how to move your view around the map and the effects of terrain
on units. The important things to remember are that you can left-click in the inset map to
shift your view. You can zoom in and out with the Zoom buttons on the bottom of the
screen. The properties of the various terrain types are also discussed.

Buildings provide great cover for infantry. Buildings with more than one story have a
number on them. For purposes of determining line of sight, all units in a building are
assumed to be on the top floor. A building’s roof becomes invisible when you have men
inside so you can see what is going on.

Infantry Tactics

This is a demonstration of basic infantry strategy, including the use of two or more teams
to lay down suppressive fire and how to use smoke to cover advancing infantry. Basic
mortar use is also covered.

Armour Tactics

This segment is short, but it teaches a vital lesson. Tanks are extremely vulnerable to
infantry at close range and bad at detecting them. To protect against these two failings,
armour works best when supported by infantry.

THE COMMAND SCREEN

The Command screen has three
panels. The top left panel allows
you to select from any of the
pre-made Battles, Operations,
and Campaigns. A Battle is a sin­gle engagement between
German and American forces. It
takes place on a single map, and
the forces available to each side
are fixed when the Battle begins.
An Operation is a series of
engagements between two Battle
Groups on the strategic screen.
Operations usually involve multiple
engagements. A Campaign uses
the strategic screen and has mul­tiple Battle Groups on each side.

12

THE BATTLE GROUP SCREEN

Once you have selected your

fight, you gain access to the

Battle Group screen; this shows

all the forces available for a par-

ticular battle. Left-clicking on any

of the units listed selects the unit,

showing its Experience Level,

Morale, and armament in the bot-

tom panel, as well as giving you

a chance to rename the unit.

A new feature of the Battle

Group Screen allows you to

choose your forces from the

Force Pool. To change your
forces, you must Double-click on a unit to remove it from the Battle Group and return it
to the Force Pool. Next, you must select a new unit from the list of units in the Battle
Group Force Pool on the left hand side of the screen by Double-clicking on the unit in
the Force Pool list. Single-clicking on the unit in the force pool list will show the unit’s
strength at the bottom of the screen. Note: removing a squad from your active roster will
erase its history, including any experience bonuses or medals it has earned.

The button marked Reinforce is only present when you have chosen to play as the
Americans and are playing an Operation or Campaign. This button refills the force pool
for the Battle Group once it has been depleted. Reinforce can be selected only one time
per Battle Group. Once it is used, it will not appear on the Battle Group Screen again.
Note: the reinforce button will only work if the Battle Group is able to access a friendly
major supply depot through the road net. If you try to Reinforce without such access, you
will get a dialog box explaining that you are out of supply.

The button marked Rename allows you to rename the selected team.

The button marked Remove allows you to remove the selected team. When the selected
team is removed, the next team in order of platoon precedence is selected. It may then
be removed by clicking Remove again. This can be repeated until all teams are removed.

When a team is selected in the Force Pool and there is an open slot in the Battle Group
screen the Add button appears in place of the Remove button. Clicking the Add button will
fill an empty slot in the Battle Group with the selected team. To change the type of team
to fill empty slots, simply select a different team by left-clicking on it in the Force Pool list.

The Revert button resets the Battle Group force to the computer-selected default force
mix of the Battle Group.

11

To load a saved game or to play a custom scenario, select it from the list in the lower left
hand panel. Selecting them and clicking the Delete button deletes saved games and sce­narios; deleting files is irreversible, so make sure you really want these files to be erased
before you do this.

The right hand panel controls the parameters for new single and multiplayer games. At the
top of the window you may select between playing either the Germans or the Americans.

Below that are two sliders indicating the Difficulty Level for each side. Recruit level difficulty
provides better forces with higher morale. Line level plays at normal levels of force
strength. At Elite level difficulty, that side starts with weakened forces. The Difficulty level
also controls how quickly reinforcements pools regenerate over time.

Below the Difficulty sliders are the Realism Settings. You can change the indicators by click­ing in the adjacent check boxes.

ALWAYS SEE ENEMY: Does exactly what it sounds like it should do. A side with this option
chosen knows where the enemy is at all times. This can be an extremely useful option for
new players as they learn the game.

NEVER ACT ON OWN INITIATIVE: Your soldiers never do anything unless they are specifically
ordered to.

ALWAYS HAVE FULL ENEMY INFO: With this selected, the player always has access to the
toolbar info of enemy units. This does not extend to Soldier Monitor information.

ALWAYS OBEY ORDERS: With this selected, your units always obey orders. This is for when
you tire of your soldiers’ senses of self-preservation.

Below the Realism Settings is the Force Morale indicator. You can change the indicator by
clicking in the adjacent check box. The default settings are Force Morale enabled for
Operations and Campaigns and disabled for Battles. You may enable or disable this func­tion by clicking on the check box. Designer’s Note: Be advised that disabling this option
will severely alter play balance when playing Operations and Campaigns.

Below the Force Morale indicator are the Victory Condition settings. These determine what is
required to win a battle and how much time you have to play a battle. The two-minute
warning option allows a player who has no victory locations two minutes to capture one.
Designer’s Note: It is recommended that you play with the timer set to 15 minutes for
optimum play against the Artificial Player.

The View Map tab along the bottom of the screen allows you to view the map used in a
particular battle.

14

The button marked Edit Opponent allows you to set the opposing side’s Battle Group’s
team strength. It is only selectable when playing in single player mode.

The View Map button lets you preview the map with your area of deployment highlighted.
The enemy deployment area is shown in a darker shade.

The button marked Soldier takes you to the Soldier Screen. The Soldier Screen shows
the Health, Morale, Leadership, Intelligence, Strength, and Experience for each soldier in the
unit as well as accumulated achievements such as kills, medals, acts of bravery, or acts
of cowardice.

Health represents the physical status of the soldier.

Morale indicates the willingness of a soldier to fight on. Soldiers with high morale are

braver and are more willing to face danger than men with poor morale.

Leadership represents the ability of
a man to improve the morale of
the men around him and to keep
his team together. However, when
a unit leader with a high leader­ship level dies, it can have a
devastating effect on unit morale.

Intelligence reflects how likely
the soldier is to go berserk or
panic in a firefight. Intelligent
men are less likely to make such
fatal errors.

Strength determines how quickly

the soldier becomes fatigued when moving and affects how severe his wounds are if he
is shot. The stronger the man, the longer he can keep going.

Experience is vital for a soldier and can affect a wide range of abilities, ranging from how
good a shot he is, to how well he can hide himself in Ambush, to how well he conserves
ammo. More experienced soldiers do just about everything better than green troops.

Each soldier also has his kills and achievements listed as a cumulative total in Operations
and Campaigns.

The button marked Previous takes you back to the command Screen so you can select
another Battle or exit the game.

The Next button takes you to the battlefield to begin fighting.

13

BATTLEFIELD CONTROLS

Basic Unit Orders

Right-clicking on any unit brings up a popup menu listing possible orders
for that unit. These orders are: Move, Move Fast, Sneak, Fire, Smoke, Defend,
and Ambush. Not all orders will be available at all times. For example, a
tank that has thrown a tread can neither Move, Move Fast, nor Sneak. Once
you bring up the popup menu, an order may then be selected by left­clicking on the order option. If you change your mind and do not wish to
issue an order, either right or left-clicking on the map removes the popup
menu. Order options that a unit cannot perform are shaded gray.

Hot Key Orders

All orders can also be given by hot key commands. To give an order by hot key, left­click on the unit, then press the appropriate key.

Z..................Move C..................Sneak B ......................Smoke M ......................Ambush

X ................Move Fast V..................Fire N ......................Defend

Movement Orders

Units have three movement commands: Sneak, Move, and Move Fast. After you select the
menu order, place the cursor where you want the selected unit to go and left-click. If you
wish to cancel the movement order during this phase hit Backspace on your keyboard.
When you give a movement order, a coloured dot appears on the map, marking the
unit’s destination. The unit attempts to reach its destination by whatever movement type
you have selected. The colour of the dot corresponds with the type of movement order
given.

Move......................Blue Sneak ..................Yellow Move Fast ..............Purple

Once placed, the destination dot can be moved to another location by left-clicking
and dragging it.

Sneak

When sneaking, your men crawl forward cautiously and quietly. Sneak is the slowest of all
movement types. In addition to being stealthy themselves, sneaking troops have an
improved chance of finding concealed enemies. Sneaking troops never initiate combat;
this makes sneaking undesirable in potential close combat situations. Using Sneak through
a minefield is the best way for infantry to traverse this type of terrain. Engineers/Pioniere
teams will clear minefields when they sneak though them. You may want to check the
overview map to see if the minefields changed to green to verify the clearing of mine­field elements on the map.

When a squad of men has moved to a location using Sneak movement, they then revert
to Ambush mode.

16

Fire

While your soldiers are capable of firing on their own initiative, it is often useful to direct
their fire. The Fire option brings up a targeting circle. The targeting circle is connected to
the firing unit by a coloured line.

When the circle is not sitting above an enemy unit, it appears as a thin, white circle.
When placed on an enemy unit, the circle either turns green, yellow, red, or black. This
colour corresponds with the chance that a shot will hit the enemy unit.

Green............100-60% Red ................29-10%

Yellow..........59-30% Black..............9-0%

When deciding whether or not to order a unit to Fire, it is important to consider the situa­tion. If a unit is laying down suppression fire, it does not have to actually kill the enemy to
have the desired effect. On the other hand, a small Bazooka team waiting in ambush
while an armoured column approaches had better wait for a killing shot.

Line of Sight and Range

The colour of the line connecting the targeting circle to the firing unit indicates line of
sight.

For direct fire weapons, the line is light green for clear lines of sight, dark green for lines
of sight obscured by foliage or smoke, and red for lines of sight that are blocked. Infantry
line of sight is determined for each soldier individually, so enemies visible to one soldier
might not be seen by another. For indirect firing weapons, the connecting line is orange
for targets in line of sight and brown for targets beyond line of sight. Teams that fire indi­rect weapons, such as mortar squads, do not need line of sight to hit their targets.
However, having a clear line of sight greatly increases the accuracy of indirect fire.

The number by the targeting circle represents the distance from the firing unit. This dis­tance is particularly important for infantry, whose anti-tank weapons and flamethrowers
have short effective ranges. The distance number by the targeting circle also indicates
range effects.

Green ............The unit is within effective range.

Yellow ..........The distance is too close or too far away; the weapon has reduced effectiveness.

Black..............The distance is too close or too far away for the weapon to be effective at all.

If a line of sight is obstructed, a white number appears along the targeting line indicating
the range to the obstruction. If a line of sight is partially obstructed by smoke or foliage
and then completely blocked further along, both ranges are indicated.

Partial obstruction by smoke or foliage prevents the attacker from specifically targeting
enemies, but the firing unit can lay down fire in the hopes of suppressing the enemy or
getting lucky.

15

Move

This orders infantry to cautiously advance. Infantry on the move are not quite as stealthy
or as observant as men who are sneaking, but they are faster. Moving infantry initiates
combat if the opportunity arises. Using Move through a minefield is dangerous.

When infantry reach a location they have Moved to, they then revert to Defend mode.

Move Fast

These orders cause infantry to move as quickly as they can. While running, soldiers focus
on getting to their destination and do not try to use cover at all. They engage in hand to
hand combat if the enemy gets in their way. Running men are not observant and tire
quickly. Using Move Fast through a minefield is very dangerous for your troops.

Infantry that Move Fast will revert to Defend mode when they reach their destination.

Vehicles

Vehicles are not stealthy, particularly tanks. However, a sneaking tank is at maximum
watchfulness and at its slowest speed. Vehicles, unlike infantry teams, will initiate combat in
Sneak mode. A tank on the move is somewhat faster and slightly less observant. A tank
that is sneaking or moving attempts to maintain its original armour arc as much as possi­ble. For example, a tank that is facing the enemy could be ordered to back up using the
Move command.

Tanks ordered to Move Fast turn to face their destination and then move there at maximum
possible speed.

Tanks can fire while following any movement order, although their rate of fire and accu­racy decrease.

Indirect Paths/Waypoints

Rather than having your units move
in a straight line, it is possible to
order infantry and vehicles to follow
an indirect route. Routes are deter­mined by setting waypoints. To set
waypoints, right-click on a unit as nor­mal and determine which type of
movement you desire, then press and
hold the shift key and plot the path
you wish the unit to take by left-click­ing on the screen. Each number that
appears represents a point the unit
passes through on its way to its desti-

nation. When you have completed
your path, release the shift key and the unit proceeds as ordered. You can place a total of
20 waypoints. Set waypoints can also be selected and dragged to alter a unit’s path.