The Game of France, 1940: German Blitzkrieg in the West Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Game Equipment
  • Typical Playing Piece
  • Unit Symbols
• Definition of Terms
• General Course of Play
• Sequence of Play
  • Sequence of Play Outline
• Movement
  • General Rule
  • Procedure
  • Cases
• Stacking (more than one unit per hex)
  • General Rule
  • Cases
• Zones of Control
  • General Rule
  • Procedure
  • Cases
• Combat
  • General Rule
  • Procedure
  • Cases
  • Examples of Attacks
• Terrain Effects Chart
• Supply
  • General Rule
  • Procedure
  • Cases
  • Fortifications
• German Artillery
  • General Rule
  • Cases
• Neutrality and Invasion
  • General Rule
  • Cases
• Air Units
  • General Rule
  • Procedure
  • Cases
  • Aircraft Missions
• Off-Map Movement
  • General Rule
  • Cases
• Preparing for Play
• Using the Order of Battle Alternatives Cards (OBAC)
  • Summary of Order of Battle Alternatives
• How to Choose an Order of Battle
• Initial Set-Up
  • Reinforcements
• How the Game Is Won: Standard Game
  • Victory Conditions
  • Cases
  • Victory Point Table
• Handicapping and Player Victory
• Optional Rules
  • German Paratroops
  • Cases
  • Summary
  • Mild Winter Fortifications
• Variable Victory Conditions
• Sea Evacuation of Allied Units
  • General Rule
  • Cases
• The Hex-Grid Location System
  • How to Play by Mail
  • Play-by-Mail Combat Results Table
• Parts Inventory

Introduction

The Standard Game rules serve a dual purpose:

1. They provide Players with a fast-playing, easy-to-learn game.
2. They form the foundation onto which the optional rules may be added to create a more complex and realistic simulation.

The Standard Game could more accurately be called "the game-player's game." It is designed for those who wish to emphasize "playability" without excluding simulation accuracy. The Optional rules, on the other hand, stress "simulation-in-detail" at the expense of playability. It should not be inferred from this, however, that the Standard Game is simply a watered-down variant of the Optional Game. Both are complete games in their own right, each sharing a common set of equipment and each based upon the same premises. All Players, no matter how experienced, should play the Standard Game first. If you go on to the Optional rules, don't deceive yourself into thinking that by doing so you are taking a step up; more accurately, you would be taking a step "into" (into greater complexity, that is). We believe you will find both games challenging and equally valid.

Game Equipment

The Game Map: The 22" by 24" map sheet portrays the area of Northern France, the Low Countries and Western Germany in which the decisive operations of the Invasion of France (1940) took place. A hexagonal grid is superimposed upon the map in order to regularize the movement and position of the playing pieces.

The Playing Pieces: Two differently colored sets of playing pieces (henceforth known as units) are supplied. They represent the opposing armies in the campaign that did, or could have, fought the original battles. The opposing German and Allied Forces in each of the varying Orders of Battle are composed by selecting units from those provided on the unit sheet. It is strongly recommended that the players sort their units by type and color, and keep them segregated by storing them in separate, labeled envelopes. This greatly facilitates setting up the game. The playing pieces are distinguished by type, strength, and mobility, as represented by various numbers and symbols printed on their faces.

Typical Playing Piece

The printed playing piece shows, in its parts: the unit-size symbol (at top), the unit type (at left), the unit designation (at right), the combat strength (attack and defense, at lower left), and the movement allowance (at lower right).

Unit Symbols

Mechanized Units:

• Armor (oval-in-box symbol)
• Mechanized Infantry (box with an X)
• Armored Cavalry (symbol with a slash)

Non-Mechanized Units:

• Infantry (X in box)
• Artillery (dot in box)
• Cavalry (slash)
• Paratroops (X with a cross-hatched box)
• Air-Landing Troops (X with a bordered box)

Air Units:

• Ground Support Element (infinity-symbol box)
• Aircraft Element (plane symbol)

Unit-Size Symbols:

• II = Battalion
• III = Regiment
• X = Brigade
• XX = Division
• XXX = Corps

Definition of Terms

Combat Strength: this number represents the basic offensive and defensive strength of a given unit. The unit-of-measure of combat strength is the Strength Point; for example, a unit with a Combat Strength of "6" can alternatively be spoken of as "six Strength Points."

Movement Allowance: this number represents the basic, maximum distance a unit may be moved (in terms of hexagons) in the course of a single Movement Phase. The unit-of-measure of movement is the Movement Point. For example, a unit which is being moved a distance of one hexagon may be said to be expending one Movement Point from its total Movement (point) Allowance.

Unit Type: this symbol indicates the kind of military unit being represented by a given playing piece.

Unit Size: this symbol indicates the organizational size of the military unit being represented by a given playing piece; for example, "XXX" indicates a corps-sized unit.

Unit Designation: this number is the historical "name" of the unit. In some cases, this number is purely an arbitrarily assigned identification number meant for game use only (such as with the Air units). The double lightning bolt device seen on some German units indicates a unit of the SS (Nazi "elite" political troops). Non-French Allied units are further identified as to nationality by the letter abbreviations located to the left of their Type symbols: B = Belgian, D = Dutch, UK = United Kingdom (British).

Nationality: All the greenish-gray pieces are German units; all the other units are Allied units (French, Dutch, Belgian and British).

Game Charts and Tables: Various visual aids are provided for the player to simplify and illustrate certain game functions. These are the Combat Results Table (CRT), the Turn Record Chart, the Terrain Effects Chart and the Order of Battle Alternatives Cards. Each of these charts is fully explained where it is presented.

General Course of Play

France, 1940 is basically a two-player game. Each Player moves his units and executes attacks in turn with the objective being to destroy Enemy units while minimizing Friendly unit losses. Combat is resolved by comparing the strength-numbers of adjacent opposing units and expressing the comparison as a simplified probability ratio (odds). A die is rolled and the outcome indicated on the Combat Results Table is applied to the units being attacked. (See Combat Results Table for greater detail.)

Sequence of Play

France, 1940 is played in turns called Game-Turns. Each Game-Turn consists of two Player-Turns: a German Player-Turn and an Allied Player-Turn. Each Player-Turn consists of three Phases: an Initial Movement Phase, a Combat Phase, and a Mechanized Movement Phase.

The German Player-Turn always comes first in a given Game-Turn.

The following Sequence of Play Outline details the events and actions possible in a given Game-Turn. The actions taken by the Players in a given Game-Turn must be executed in the exact sequence indicated by the outline. Any action taken out of sequence is a violation of the rules. Certain parts of the outline are only used if optional rules are employed; these sections are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Sequence of Play Outline

GERMAN PLAYER-TURN

1. German Initial Movement Phase

   • (a) Execute and land all German Interception missions.
   • (b) Move all German ground units as desired, within the limitations of the rules of movement.
   • (c)* Allocate parachute battalions to be dropped and airlanding regiments assigned to follow drops.
   • (d)* Execute parachute drops. Remove unsuccessful (destroyed) battalions as they are lost.
   • (e)* Execute assaults against Allied fortification hexes being made by surviving parachute units. Remove parachute battalions destroyed in assaults.
   • (f)* Land allocated airlanding regiments on surviving parachute units.
   • (g) Fly German Air Superiority missions.

2. German Combat Phase

   • (a) Allocate and announce all attacks by German ground units against adjacent Allied units.
   • (b) Fly German Close Support missions.
   • (c) Resolve combat, extracting losses as they occur and landing Close Support missions as the attacks which they are supporting are resolved.
   • (d) Resolve German Air Superiority missions, landing Aircraft Elements as their missions are resolved.

3. German Mechanized Movement Phase

   • (a) Move all German Mechanized units, as desired, within the limitations of the rules of movement. This movement is in addition to any movement made by those same units during the Initial German Movement Phase.

ALLIED PLAYER-TURN

4. Allied Initial Movement Phase

   • (a) Execute and land all Allied Interception missions. Execute* Sea Evacuations.
   • (b) Move all Allied Ground units as desired, within the limitations of the rules of movement.
   • (c) Fly Allied Air Superiority missions.

5. Allied Combat Phase

   • (a) Allocate and announce all attacks by Allied ground units against adjacent German units.
   • (b) Fly Allied Close Support missions.
   • (c) Resolve combat, extracting losses as they occur and landing Close Support missions as the attacks which they are supporting are resolved.
   • (d) Resolve Allied Air Superiority missions, landing Aircraft Elements as their missions are resolved.

6. Allied Mechanized Movement Phase

   • (a) Move all Allied Mechanized units as desired, within the limitations of the rules of movement. This movement is in addition to any movement made by those same units during the Initial Allied Movement Phase.
   • (b) Fly Allied Interdiction and Combat Air Patrol missions.
   • (c) German Player lands all German Interdiction and Combat Air Patrol missions.

7. Record the passage of one Game-Turn on the Turn Record by moving the marker one space. Repeat the preceding six steps on the outline until ten Game-Turns have been completed.

Until they gain thorough knowledge of the game, Players should use the above outline as a "checklist" for each Game-Turn. All of the actions and missions alluded to in the outline are fully explained in the various, pertinent rules sections.

Movement

General Rule

During the Movement Phases of a Player's turn, the Player may move as many or as few of his units as he wishes. Each unit may be moved as many hexes as desired within the limits of its Movement Allowance, the Terrain Effects Chart, and the Zone of Control Rules.

Procedure

Move each unit individually, tracing the path of its movement through the hexagonal grid.

Cases

(A) Movement is calculated in terms of hexagons. Basically each unit expends one Movement Point of its total Movement (point) Allowance for each hex entered. To enter some types of hexes, more than one Movement Point is expended. See the Movement section of the Terrain Effects Chart for a full list of these different "entry costs."

(B) In any given Movement Phase of a Player-Turn, the Player may move all, some or none of his units (with the exception that only mechanized units may be moved during the Mechanized Movement Phase). Movement is never required; it is voluntary.

(C) Units are moved individually in any direction or combination of directions. A unit may be moved as many or as few hexes as the owning Player desires as long as its Movement Allowance is not exceeded in a single Movement Phase. Unused Movement Points, however, may not be accumulated from Phase to Phase or transferred from unit to unit.

(D) No Enemy ground movement is permitted during a Player's Movement Phase.

(E) No combat (Enemy or Friendly) may take place during a Movement Phase.

(F) Friendly units may pass through or onto other Friendly units as long as there are never more than three Friendly units in the same hex at the same time. In other words, a unit may not enter or pass through a hex containing three other Friendly units. (See Stacking Rule.)

(G) Units may never enter or pass through a hex containing Enemy units.

(H) Units may move over different types of terrain-hexes in the same Movement Phase as long as they have enough Movement Points to expend as they enter each hex.

Stacking (more than one unit per hex)

General Rule

As many as three Friendly units of any type or combination of types may occupy the same hex at the same time.

Cases

(A) Stacking limitations apply at all times, even during the Movement Phase of a Player-Turn.

(B) Although up to three units may be stacked in a single hex, only one corps (or one corps-equivalent) may attack from or defend in that hex. A corps is any single unit having a corps-sized symbol on it ("XXX"). A corps-equivalent is considered to be any three units of smaller than corps size (divisions, regiments, brigades). Example of a corps-equivalent: one division plus two brigades.

(C) Each two-element Air unit is considered to be one unit for stacking purposes.

(D) Aircraft Elements flying in the air do not count against the stacking limits of ground units.

Zones of Control

General Rule

The six hexagons immediately surrounding a given unit (or stack of units) constitute that unit's Zone of Control. These are semi-active Zones of Control which have an inhibiting effect upon Enemy movement, but do not affect Enemy combat. Hexes upon which a unit is exerting its semi-active Zone of Control are called controlled hexes.

Procedure

All units (except air units) have identical Zones of Control; they inhibit the movement, and in certain cases, the supply lines of Enemy units.

Cases

(A) All units must expend three additional Movement Points (MP), above and beyond the ordinary movement cost, to enter an Enemy controlled hex from another, uncontrolled hex. They may not enter an Enemy Zone of Control (and thus be able to attack) unless they have the three extra Movement Points to expend.

(B) It costs two additional Movement Points to leave an Enemy controlled hex. This cost is above and beyond the ordinary movement cost for the terrain.

(C) If you move directly from one controlled hex of an Enemy unit to another controlled hex of the same or any other Enemy unit, it costs five additional Movement Points (three plus two, as outlined in Cases A & B). Example: If a German Armored unit were to enter a French Zone of Control in the forest, it would expend five Movement Points in moving one hex: three for entering a Zone of Control; one for moving one hex; one additional for armor moving in the forest. If the same unit were to leave one controlled hex for another controlled hex, it would expend seven Movement Points (three plus two plus one plus one). This is the maximum any unit would be forced to expend in moving one hex.

(D) If a hex is controlled by more than one unit, it still costs only three additional Movement Points to enter such hex. This is true for all movement costs, e.g., entering a hex with more than one Zone of Control never costs more additional Movement Points than entering a hex with one Zone of Control, including the single-hex Zone of Control exerted by an interdicting aircraft unit.

(E) For movement purposes, Enemy Zones of Control do extend into adjacent hexes containing Friendly units. For supply purposes or when conducting a retreat mandated by the Combat Results Table, Enemy Zones of Control do not extend into hexes occupied by Friendly units, nor, in the case of Allied units, do German Zones of Control extend into Maginot Line hexes for these purposes. Once a fortified hex has been destroyed, however, it no longer relieves the effect of German Zones of Control upon Allied retreats and supply lines.

Combat

General Rule

Combat occurs between adjacent opposing units at the discretion of the Player whose Combat Phase it is. The Player whose Combat Phase it is, is considered to be the Attacker; the other Player is considered to be the Defender.

Procedure

Total up the Attack Strengths of all the attacking units involved in a specific attack and compare it to the total Defense Strength of the unit in the hex under attack. State the comparison as a probability ratio: Attack Strengths-to-Defense Strengths. Round off the ratio downward to conform to the simplified odds found on the Combat Results Table; roll the die and read the result on the appropriate line under the odds. Apply the result immediately, before going on to resolve any other attacks being made during that Combat Phase.

Cases

(A) During the Combat Phase of his turn, a Player may only attack those Enemy units to which Friendly units are adjacent. Only those Friendly units directly adjacent to a given Enemy unit may participate in the attack upon that Enemy unit.

(B) Units adjacent to Enemy units are not compelled to attack, nor does the attacking Player have to utilize every adjacent unit if he does decide to attack. Attacking is completely voluntary.

(C) No unit may attack more than once per Combat Phase. No Enemy unit may be attacked more than once per Combat Phase.

(D) More than one Enemy-occupied hex may be attacked by a given attacking unit (or group of attacking units); that is to say, different defending units on different hexes may be treated as the objects of an attack which might be made by one hex group of attacking units if the attacking units happen to be adjacent to two or more Enemy-occupied hexes.

(E) An Enemy-occupied hex may be attacked by as many attacking units as can be brought to bear. Conceivably, as many as six corps (or corps-equivalents) could be brought to bear against an Enemy-held hex.

(F) Defending units stacked in the same hex may only employ the Defense Strength of one corps (or corps-equivalent). The Defender chooses which of his units in a given hex will be used in the defense of that hex. He does not have to reveal his decision until the Attacker announces which of his units he will use in the attack. The Defender may choose to defend with less than one corps per hex, but he may never defend with more than one corps per hex.

(G) Only one corps (or corps-equivalent) may attack from a given hex in a given Combat Phase. If a given stack of attacking units is adjacent to more than one Enemy-held hex, then separate units in the Attacker's stack may be involved in different attacks (against the different enemy hexes) as long as the total of the attacking units does not exceed one corps. The Attacker may choose to attack with less than one corps, but he may never attack with more than one corps from a given hex.

(H) Combat Results apply to all of the Defender's units in a given hex (even those units which did not actively participate in the defense of that hex). Combat Results pertaining to the Attacker apply only to those attacking units which actually participated in the attack; those units which the Attacker could not or would not use in an attack originating from a given hex are unaffected.

(I) Combat odds are always rounded off in favor of the Defender. For example: 26 Attack Points to 9 Defense Points rounds off to a "Two-to-One" odds situation.

Examples of Attacks

A French 6-6, 5-6, 3-4, and 5-6 (with air units giving ground support) attack two German units (a 4-8 and 2-8). The Germans are on the other side of a river. Thus the odds are "3-1" (19-6) without any additions or subtractions on the Combat Results Tables (the presence of the French air unit and the river cancel each other out). The Allied player rolls a "4", which means a "CA". The German player counter-attacks the French 3-4 with his 4-8 and 2-8. The river and the French air unit are ignored, as this is a counter-attack. The German player is attacking at "2-1" and rolls a "5". This calls for a counter-attack, which in this case means that the French attack is made all over again, exactly as before. This time the Allied player rolls a "1CA," which means that the German player must counter-attack and subtract "one" from the die-result. The German player attacks at "2-1" again and rolls a "4", which becomes a "3". This roll indicates a "BR", which means that both German units must retreat while only the French 3-4 that was "counter-attacked" must retreat. Thus, in effect, the French have won the series of battles, for in the motorized movement phase they may enter the hex vacated by the retreating German units.

Terrain Effects Chart

MP = Movement Point.

Type of Terrain	Effect upon Movement (MP cost per hex entered)	Effect upon Combat
Clear	Costs one MP per hex.	Normal (No Effect).
Cities & Towns	MP cost is that of other terrain in hex.	No Effect.
Forest & Swamp	Costs Mechanized units and Ground Support Elements two MP per hex entered; costs other units one MP per hex.	If Defending units are in Forest or Swamp hexes, the Attacker subtracts "two" from his die roll number (regardless of the type of terrain that the Attacker is in).
River hex-side	No Effect.	If all attacking units are attacking across river hex-sides, the Attacker subtracts "two" from his die roll number.
Flooded Areas	Prohibited; units may not enter (Aircraft Elements may fly over).	Prohibited.
Borders	Depends on other terrain in hex. Border itself has no effect except as noted in Initial Placement Rules.	No Effect.

Notes: Defensive counter-attacks ignore Terrain Effects on combat. The presence of a Close-Supporting Aircraft Element negates the die-subtracting effects of defending units in Forest or Swamp or across River hex-sides.

Units may not move through hex-sides which are completely covered by sea. Aircraft Elements may fly through such hexes, however, and may also fly over Flooded/Impassable hexes.

Supply

General Rule

Units trace supply lines back to their respective edges of the map (Germany to the East; Allies to the South and/or West). Units not considered in supply are penalized in movement and combat.

Procedure

Units are determined to be "in supply" at the beginning of each Friendly Movement Phase, and may move their full Movement Allowance if they are in supply at such time. For combat purposes they are determined to be in supply at the moment of combat, i.e., if a defending unit had been in supply at the beginning of the Enemy Combat Phase, but another preceding combat had forced the retreat of the Friendly unit through which its supply line was being traced, it would be adjudged out of supply at the moment of attack. To be in supply a unit must be able to trace a clear path of connected hexes to its Friendly map-edge, no matter how devious or lengthy, as long as it is not traced through Enemy units or Zones of Control (note that for supply purposes, Enemy Zones of Control do not extend into hexes occupied by Friendly units).

Cases

(A) Units which are not in supply have their Movement Allowance and Combat Strengths (attack and defense) cut in half (rounding off to the lowest whole number). Units stacked together have their strengths cut in half individually, although no corps (or corps-equivalent) may be reduced to a Combat Strength of less than "one." No single unit, alone on a hex, may be reduced to a Combat Strength of less than "one." Aircraft Elements may not fly missions if their Ground Support Element is out of supply at the time of initiating the mission.

(B) Units may remain out of supply indefinitely, i.e., units are never lost through lack of supply alone.

(C) ALTERNATE SOURCES OF SUPPLY FOR ALLIED UNITS: Allied units may also trace supply lines to any undestroyed Maginot or Belgian Fortification hex. Up to one Allied corps may be supplied by each such fortification hex. Fortification hexes, themselves, do not need to trace supply lines.

In the Game-Turn in which the Netherlands is invaded (and in the following Game-Turn) Allied units may trace supply lines off the northern edge of the map, in the Netherlands.

Allied units may also trace a supply line to the city of Antwerp under the following conditions: Belgium has been invaded; there are no German units adjacent to any of the three contiguous river hex-sides which connect Antwerp to the sea, and no German units have entered or passed through Antwerp. If Antwerp is cut off from the sea, it may still provide supply for one corps (assuming the Allies still control Antwerp).

(D) Any number of Friendly units may be supplied through the same path of hexes. Any number of paths may be traced in order to supply units in different locations. Supply lines may be traced through any type of negotiable terrain and through any number of Friendly units.

(E) Supply lines may be cut in any of the following ways:

1. The intervention of an Enemy unit, or units;
2. The intervention of an Enemy Zone of Control.

NOTE: Enemy Zones of Control do not interfere with supply lines being traced through a hex containing a Friendly unit, i.e., the presence of a Friendly unit in an Enemy controlled hex negates the effect of that Zone of Control (with respect to supply only!).

(F) Units may deliberately move into hexes which will leave them out of supply.

Fortifications

Maginot Line hexes have an intrinsic Defense Strength of 10 points to their front, and 5 points to their rear. They possess this Strength independently whether or not Allied units are actually in them. This Strength may be added to by the Allied Player by placing units in the Maginot Line hex. Units obey normal stacking limits in Maginot hexes, but only one corps (or one corps-equivalent) may combine its strength with that of the Maginot hex. Maginot hexes, themselves, do not possess a Zone of Control; however, units in them exert their Zones of Control in the normal manner.

German units may not enter undestroyed Maginot hexes. To destroy a Maginot hex, the Germans attack it as if it were an Allied ground unit. Only a "DX" result destroys a Maginot hex. Other results have no effect upon the Maginot hex, although such results do apply to any Allied units which are in that hex (including a "CA" result, in which case the Defense Strength of the Maginot hex is not employed in the counter-attack).

Once a given Maginot Line hex has been destroyed, it is treated as "clear" terrain for the remainder of the game, even if it is re-taken by the Allies.

Fortified hexes have the same effect upon Enemy Zones of Control as does the presence of a Friendly (Allied) unit, i.e., it negates the effect of the German Zone of Control upon supply lines and Allied retreats.

Belgian Fortifications: The Belgian Fortification hexes are treated exactly as Maginot Line hexes in all respects. In games in which the Maginot Line itself does not exist, the Belgian Fortifications do still exist. In games in which the optional German Paratroop rule is NOT used, the Belgian Fortifications cease to exist at the end of the first German Movement Phase of the German Player-Turn in which Belgium's neutrality is violated.

German Artillery

General Rule

The two German artillery units perform in two different roles: (a) they may be used defensively as regular combat units, each unit having a Defense Strength of "1" point, or (b) they may be used against fortified hexes (Maginot and Belgian) with each unit having an Attack Strength of "10" points.

Cases

(A) When used against fortified hexes, artillery units have a range of up to two hexes, i.e., they may attack fortified hexes which are two hexes distant or which are adjacent.

(B) Artillery units attacking fortified hexes are never affected by unfavorable results (although any regular German units participating in the same attack are affected). In other words, artillery units can only be retreated or destroyed as a result of Allied attacks. Artillery can be retreated or destroyed by Allied counter-attacks if the counter-attackers are adjacent to the artillery units.

(C) Artillery units may fire over intervening Enemy or Friendly units in order to attack a Fortification hex which is two hexes distant.

(D) When the German Player is not employing the optional Paratroop rule, delete the two German Artillery units when the Allied Player is using the Allied Order of Battle number 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, or 9 (the Orders of Battle in which there is no Maginot Line). Leave the Artillery units in the game, however, if the Paratroop rule is used (since, in such a case, the Artillery units will be useful in destroying the Belgian Fortifications).

Neutrality and Invasion

General Rule

Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg are considered to be neutral nations at the start of the game. The Allied Player may not enter such nations (with French or British units) until the German Player has violated the neutrality of that nation by invading it with German land units.

Cases

(A) The neutrality of a nation is violated when the German Player moves one or more of his ground units into that nation, or moves one of his ground units along the border of that nation by moving directly from one neutral border hex to another. The neutrality of a nation is also violated if a unit belonging to that country is attacked by German units.

(B) The German Player may move units onto neutral borders without violating that country's neutrality as long as such units do not move directly from one border hex of that nation to another.

(C) German Aircraft Elements may over-fly neutral nations without violating their neutrality. Allied Air Elements may NOT over-fly neutral nations.

(D) The armies of a neutral nation may be moved by the Allied Player before they lose their neutral status. Neutral units, however, may not attack German units, nor move out of their country of origin before the Germans violate their neutrality.

(E) Neutral units do not exert Zones of Control upon German, French or British units moving onto and off of their unviolated borders.

(F) Once a neutral country has been invaded, it becomes (immediately) an active member of the Allied Player's forces, and the restrictions of neutrality no longer apply to it.

(G) If the only path of retreat (as a direct result of combat) open to an Allied unit would result in the violation of a neutral country's border, the unit is destroyed instead. If the only path of retreat for a German unit would result in the violation of a neutral country's border, the German Player may exercise one of the following two options: retreat the unit and thereby violate that country's neutrality, or consider the unit destroyed and thereby preserve that country's neutral status. Remember that as soon as a country loses its neutral status, its units are actively part of the Allied force and exert Zones of Control which could conceivably block the path of retreat of German units.

(H) See Case "J" of the optional German Paratroop rule.

If the optional Paratroop rule is not being used, the German Player is denied the use of four of his Air units (including the Ground Support Element) during the entire Game-Turn in which the Netherlands' neutrality is violated. This reflects the involvement of those units in Northern Holland (off the board). The German Player may choose which Air units will "be involved in Holland" as long as the Air units chosen are within 15 hexes of the north edge of the map. (See Case "J" of the optional Paratroop rules.)

Air Units

General Rule

Air units, in a given Game-Turn, are capable of either flying aerial missions or changing the location of their base of operation (by moving the appropriate Ground Support Element in the same fashion as any regular non-motorized ground combat unit). Aerial missions either affect combat or Enemy movement and supply lines.

Procedure

Aircraft units may fly aerial missions over specific hexes which may be as far away from the Ground Support Element as the aircraft unit's Range Allowance permits. The routine of execution depends upon the specific type of mission being flown. Aircraft units are not affected by terrain considerations when in flight.

Cases

(A) An Air unit is composed of two separate counters: the Ground Support Element, and the Aircraft Element. These two counters taken together constitute one unit for stacking purposes. There is no limit to the number of Aircraft Elements which may be flying in the "air space" over a given hex.

(B) Only one Aircraft Element may be based in a single Ground Support Element; only that Aircraft Element having the same identification number as its parent Ground Support Element may be based in that particular Ground Support Element.

(C) When the Ground Support Element is moved, it must have its Aircraft Element in it (on the ground). Ground Support Elements are moved in the Initial Movement Phase only (as if they were non-mechanized units). Ground Support Elements suffer the terrain movement costs as if they were mechanized units: i.e., they must pay an additional Movement Point for each forest or swamp hex which they enter.

(D) Aircraft Elements may be used to fly any one of five possible missions in a given Game-Turn (assuming of course that their parent Ground Support Element is not moved).

German aircraft may use all of the following missions; however, the Allied Player may not use Interdiction, except on those Order of Battle Alternatives where it is specifically permitted.

Aircraft Missions

(1) Close Support: (flown during the owning Player's Combat Phase). The aircraft flies to a hex containing Enemy ground units which are to be attacked by Friendly ground units in that Combat Phase. The presence of a Close Support Aircraft Element has the effect of raising the subsequent die-roll of the attacking ground force by "two," e.g., if the die-roll were "3" it would be raised to "5." If, due to terrain, the Attacker is forced to subtract "two" from his die-roll, then the presence of a Close Support Aircraft Element has the effect of negating that subtraction (and the face value of the die is used).

Only one Aircraft Element may fly a Close Support mission in a given Enemy-held hex. Close Support missions are landed immediately upon the resolution of the ground attack. Ground combat results do not affect the Close Supporting Aircraft Element.

(2) Interdiction: (Aircraft Element takes off at the end of the owning Player's Mechanized Movement Phase and is returned to its base at the end of the ensuing Enemy Mechanized Movement Phase; it remains "in the air" over a specific hex during the entire Enemy Player-Turn.) Aircraft Elements flying Interdiction missions over a given hex have exactly the same effect upon Enemy supply and movement as if a Friendly Ground unit were exerting a Zone of Control in that hex. Just as with ground unit Zones of Control, the presence of an Enemy unit in the interdicted hex negates the effect upon the supply lines (but not upon movement). More than one Aircraft Element may fly Interdiction in the same hex, but this does not in any way increase the interdiction effect. Interdiction missions are subject to Enemy Interception.

(3) Combat Air Patrol: (Aircraft Element takes off at the end of the owning Player's Mechanized Movement Phase and is returned to its base at the end of the ensuing Enemy Player's Mechanized Movement Phase; i.e., it remains "in the air" over a specific hex throughout the entire Enemy Player-Turn.) Any number of Aircraft Elements may fly Combat Air Patrol (CAP) in the same hex. As long as Friendly Aircraft are flying CAP over a hex, Enemy Aircraft may not fly Interdiction or Close Support missions in that hex. If the CAP is completely driven off by Enemy interceptors, however, then other Enemy Aircraft Elements may, in the same Player-Turn, execute a Close Support mission in that hex and/or initiate an Interdiction mission over that hex. Combat Air Patrol missions may be flown over hexes containing Friendly ground units or vacant hexes. CAP missions may not be initiated in hexes which already contain Enemy Aircraft units which are coming to the end of their own CAP or Interdiction missions. Combat Air Patrols do not affect movement or supply lines.

(4) Air Superiority: (Aircraft Elements take off at the end of the owning Player's Initial Movement Phase and return to base at the end of the owning Player's Combat Phase.) Air Superiority missions are flown against Enemy Ground Support Elements in an effort to destroy them from the air.

Each Enemy Ground Support Element defends against Air Superiority attacks with a Defense Strength of "1." Each Enemy Aircraft Element on CAP over an Enemy Ground Support Element adds "1" to the Defense Strength of the Ground Support Element. Each attacking Aircraft Element has an Attack Strength of "1." Determine the odds of the attack in the usual manner (just as in land combat, rounding off the odds in the Defender's favor). Roll the die once and determine the results on the Air Superiority Table.

Air Superiority Table

Die-Roll	1-2	1-1	2-1	3-1	4-1	5-1	6-1
1	—	X	X	X	X	X	X
2	—	—	X	X	X	X	X
3	—	—	—	X	X	X	X

X = Ground Support Element Destroyed (plus the matching Aircraft Element). — = No Effect.

Note that whatever the result of the Air Superiority attack, there is no effect upon the CAP units (unless their parent Ground Support Element is being attacked) nor upon the attacking Aircraft Elements. Aircraft Elements can only be destroyed by destroying their parent Ground Support Elements (either in land combat or through an Air Superiority attack).

If there is more than one Ground Support Element in a hex, each must be attacked separately using different attacking Aircraft Elements. In such a case, the attacker first allocates which of his units will attack which Ground Support Element and then the defender may allocate his CAP Aircraft Elements (if any) to assist in the defense. The attacker does not necessarily have to attack all the Ground Support Elements in a given hex.

Ground Support Elements stacked together do not contribute to each other's defense with respect to an Air Superiority attack. Terrain effects do not apply to Air Superiority Missions.

Friendly Aircraft Elements on CAP over Friendly Ground Support Elements are not subject to interception.

(5) Interception: (Aircraft Elements take off, execute the mission and return to base at the beginning of the owning Player's Initial Movement Phase, before any land movement takes place.) Only Enemy Interdiction and/or Enemy CAP missions are subject to interception. Interception does not result in the destruction of either Player's Air Elements; rather it has the effect of forcing the Enemy Player's units to abort their mission: for each Friendly Intercepting Air Element flown against a hex containing Enemy Air Elements, one Enemy Air Element is forced to abort its mission and return to base. In effect, one Interceptor negates one Enemy Air Element and causes both units to be returned to their respective bases immediately. If an interception mission is flown against a given hex containing Enemy Air Elements some of which are flying an Interdiction mission and some of which are flying a CAP, the Interceptors must first deal with the CAP Elements. After the CAP has been cleared from the hex, any remaining Interceptors may then deal with the Interdiction mission. Aircraft Elements flying CAP over a Friendly Ground Support Element are NOT subject to interception.

(E) Ground Support Elements do not have a Zone of Control (whether or not their Aircraft Element is in them). Whenever a Ground Support Element is destroyed, its Aircraft Element is also destroyed (immediately, no matter where it is or what sort of mission it may be flying).

Ground Support Elements (whether or not their Aircraft Elements are in them) defend against ground attacks with a Defense Strength of "one." Ground Support Elements may not participate in attacks.

When Ground Support Elements are stacked with a regular combat unit, the Ground Support Element may not be used to defend the hex.

(F) In order to differentiate between Aircraft Elements flying Interdiction missions and those flying CAP, Players may wish to flip face down those Aircraft Elements on CAP.

Off-Map Movement

General Rule

The German Player may deliberately move units off the south edge of the map. This action requires the Allied Player to match the Germans, in terms of total Combat Strength Points removed. The Allied Player must remove the matching Strength Points at the beginning of the Allied Player-Turn following the German exit. The matching Allied Strength Points may only be made up of French units. Exited units may never be returned to the game (neither German nor French).

Cases

(A) French or German units removed from play in the above manner do not count as points lost or gained nor in any way do they directly affect the conditions of victory. What it does do is critically weaken available French forces.

(B) The French units which are to be removed do not trace their movement off the south edge; rather, they are simply picked directly off the map and removed from the game immediately. The units chosen must be those French units which are closest to the south edge at the time of removal.

(C) German Mechanized units which exit off the south edge must be matched by French Mechanized Strength Points removed. If there are not sufficient French Mechanized Strength Points to match the Germans, the Allied Player must match the German Mechanized Strength Points with double the amount in infantry points.

(D) The Allied Player must always remove at least an equal number of Strength Points as the Germans have exited in the preceding German Player-Turn. What this means is that upon occasion the Allied Player will be forced to remove more points than the Germans simply because of an uneven match-up of unit strengths. Such excess points removed are not credited to the Allied Player or accumulated in any way for use in future exit situations.

(E) German Air and Artillery units may be moved off the south edge, but they do not count as part of the force which the Allied Player must match.

(F) Exited units need not be in supply at the time of exit, nor does the German Player need to trace a supply line off the south edge in order to "maintain" previously exited units.

(G) The German Player may exit any number of units in a given German Player-Turn. Units may be exited during as many German Player-Turns as the German Player desires and is able to do so. German units exiting in the south must expend Movement Points in order to get off the map. The "exit-cost" they must pay is equal to that of the terrain costs incurred by moving one hex.

Preparing for Play

After punching out the unit counters from the die-cut sheets, lay the playing map out on a large table. The German Player should sit on the north side of the table and the Allied Player on the south. The Order of Battle Cards in use should be displayed face-up, but not easily in view of the opposing Player. When resolving combat, the die should NOT be thrown directly on the map (since this can have disastrous effects); rather, it should be thrown into the bottom portion of the inner game-box or some other shallow container. Unit counters not in play should be kept completely off the table.

Using the Order of Battle Alternatives Cards (OBAC)

There are six German Orders of Battle and eleven Allied. The term "Order of Battle" as used here denotes quantity and type of unit counters which compose the army of a given Player. Each Order of Battle represents the effect that the respective power's pre-war options and decisions would have had upon the forces they could have fielded in May, 1940.

In order to play a game, each Player should choose one of the Orders of Battle available to him and sort out the quantity and types of units indicated on the card. Each type of unit to be used is pictured on the card with a quantity number printed under it (such as "x4," which would mean use four of that type of unit). The Players should read their respective cards and follow any additional instructions pertaining to the use of that particular Order of Battle.

Summary of Order of Battle Alternatives

German Alternatives

Rank No.	Relative Strength	Historical Implications
1	93	No prior invasion of Scandinavia
2	87	Historical Situation (prior invasion of Norway and Denmark, Russo-German Non-Aggression Pact signed, fully developed air and mobile forces)
3	84	Less developed Air Force Doctrine: Germans may not use Air Interdiction.
4	81	Weak Air Force
5	79	Less developed mobile forces
6	74	No Russo-German Non-Aggression Pact

Allied Alternatives

Rank No.	Relative Strength	Historical Implications
1	100	More developed mobile forces, more developed Air Forces, early re-armament, no Maginot Line built, with funds saved diverted to land forces. Allies may fly Interdiction missions.
2	98	More developed mobile forces, no Maginot Line built.
3	92	More developed air and mobile forces, no Maginot Line built. Allies may fly Interdiction missions.
4	91	More developed air and mobile forces. Allies may fly Interdiction missions.
5	90	More developed mobile forces, early re-armament, no Maginot Line.
6	86	More developed mobile forces.
7	80	Early re-armament, no Maginot Line.

How to Choose an Order of Battle

The Orders of Battle are numbered (1 through 6 for the Germans; 1 through 11 for the Allies). The Number 1 OB on each side is the strongest, and the others are ranked in numerical order. In order to compare the strength of a German Order of Battle to the strength of an Allied one, Players are referred to the Relative Strength Ratings which are printed on each card. This rating was arrived at by assigning a value of 100 to the strongest of all the OB's (Allied No. 1) and then comparing all others to it. Players who desire an evenly matched game should choose Orders of Battle with similar Strength Ratings. Players who wish to "game-out" the historical situation as it actually occurred should use OB No. 2 for the Germans and No. 11 for the Allies. Players may choose Orders of Battle by mutual agreement or, if that fails, by allowing one Player to choose both the German and the Allied OB's and the other Player to choose who shall play which side. Players may also choose OB's by some random method of their own devising.

Initial Set-Up

The Allied Player sorts out his forces and places them on the board first. French and U.K. forces may be placed anywhere within France including neutral border hexes, but not on the border with Germany. Belgian and Dutch forces are placed in their respective countries, and may be placed on any border hexes.

German units are placed after all Allied units have been placed. They may be placed in Germany and on any unoccupied border hex. All units must meet stacking requirements in initial placement.

Reinforcements

(A) Allied reinforcements appear in any of the Paris hexes, or if Paris is at all occupied, start on the Western edge of the map. They appear at the beginning of the Player's turn as indicated on the OBAC, and may move and engage in combat on the same Player-Turn.

(B) German reinforcements appear on any of the Eastern edge hexes North of the Maginot Line at the beginning of the Player-Turn. They may move and engage in combat on the same Player-Turn.

How the Game Is Won: Standard Game

Victory Conditions

The winner of the game is determined on the basis of Victory Points which are accrued by destroying Enemy units and (for the German Player) by capturing and holding one of the Paris city hexes.

Determining the Victor:

The German Player wins if, by the end of the Tenth Game-Turn, he has accumulated at least 80 Victory Points and has at least three times the number of Victory Points as the Allied Player.

The Allied Player wins by preventing the German Player from fulfilling his victory conditions.

Example of Victory Points Accrued: The Allied Player, during his Combat Phase, attacks and destroys a German 7-8 Armored unit. This would give the Allied Player seven Victory Points.

Example of German Victory: At the end of the tenth Game-Turn, the German Player has accrued 105 Victory Points and the Allied Player has only 35.

Example of Allied Victory: At the end of the tenth Game-Turn, the German Player has accrued 81 Victory Points and the Allied Player has 28.

Cases

(A) Players should keep a running total of Victory Points achieved. Both Players should participate in the tabulation of each other's points to insure accuracy and to prevent "creative accounting."

(B) Destroyed Enemy Combat Strength Points are always worth the Victory Points stated in the Victory Point Table, whether or not the unit's Strength was "halved" due to being out of supply. In other words, always use the strength printed on the counter to compute Victory Points.

(C) The German Player never receives more than thirty Points for Paris, regardless of whether or not he occupies more than one Paris hex at the end of the game.

In order to receive the thirty Victory Points for occupying Paris, a German unit must be in one of the Paris hexes at the end of the game (i.e., at the end of the tenth Allied Player-Turn) and be able to trace a supply line back to Germany.

Note: by the very nature of the historical situation, the game is somewhat imbalanced in favor of the Germans. Even when using the alternate Orders of Battle, the Allied Player will have a tough time preventing a German Victory as represented by the Standard Victory Conditions. Players who wish to balance the game should choose roughly equal Orders of Battle and/or use the handicapping method described in the optional rules section.

Victory Point Table

German Victory Points Received:

• for each British Combat Strength Point Destroyed: Three Points
• for each non-British, Allied Strength Point Destroyed: One Point
• for each Allied (including British) Air unit Destroyed: Ten Points
• for occupying at least one hex of the city of Paris: Thirty Points

Allied Victory Points Received:

• for each German Combat Strength Point Destroyed: One Point
• for each Parachute unit Destroyed: One Point
• for each Artillery unit Destroyed: Two Points
• for each Air unit Destroyed: Ten Points

Handicapping and Player Victory

In historical simulation games such as France 1940, the situation is often unbalanced, affording one side or the other a greater chance of victory. The Standard Game Victory Conditions are based upon historical realities, and as such can't really be altered too much without distorting the simulation. This leaves Players with the problem of not being able to calculate how well they performed (from the viewpoint of pure skill) in the unequal situation in which they competed.

To solve this problem (and to allow Players to have their cake and eat it too) we have created a second kind of victory called "Player Victory." Player Victory is used in conjunction with Standard (simulation) Victory; i.e., it is not meant to replace Standard Victory, but to supplement it.

Player Victory is determined in the following manner:

(A) At the end of the game, after calculating Standard Victory, Players determine the handicap number by subtracting the Strength Rating of the weaker Order of Battle from the Strength Rating of the stronger Order of Battle.

(B) Multiply the Allied Player's Victory Points by three.

(C) Add the handicap number (obtained in step A) to the Victory Points of the Player who used the weaker Order of Battle in the game.

(D) Compare the final "adjusted" Point scores of the two Players. The Player with the higher score is the "winning Player," that is to say, the Player who did the best with what he had available.

Example: German Player uses an Order of Battle rated at 87; the Allied Player uses one rated at 61. The handicap number is 26 (87 minus 61). At the end of the game, the German Army has achieved a Victory Point score of 90; the Allied Army has achieved a Victory Point score of 25. Thus, the German Army has won the battle for France (as determined by Standard Game Victory Conditions). The Allied Player then multiplies his Victory Points by three (result: 75) and then adds the handicap of 26 to his score (since it was the Allies who had the weaker Order of Battle). The resulting Player-to-Player score is: Allied Player 101, German Player 90. Thus, the Allied Player has won the game by playing slightly better than the German Player. The German Army (as simulated by the game just played) has, nevertheless, still won the battle from the historical viewpoint.

Players may wish to use the Player Victory system in conjunction with a two-game series: play two games in a row, changing sides in the second game in order to give each Player an opportunity to manipulate the same forces as his opponent. Then add up the total scores for both games to determine the winner of the series.

Optional Rules

Players may wish to incorporate some or all of the following optional rules into the play of the game.

German Paratroops

Commentary: German airborne units were not used so much for direct combat as for the disruption of enemy installations (like fortifications) and troops. The airborne forces consisted of six battalions of paratroops (4,500 men, who could also be used in gliders) and one division (12,000 men) of airlanding troops (who would land on airfields secured by the paratroops). In the 1940 campaign one battalion of paratroops was used to destroy the Belgian fort (Eben Emael) north of Liège. The other five battalions were used to secure airfields and disrupt enemy forces in the north of the Netherlands. The air-landed division came in behind these battalions. These areas were the most likely ones for the use of airborne troops, for in order to be effective they must be quickly reached by friendly conventional ground forces. The airborne units are too weak by themselves to hold out against enemy ground forces for very long. Belgium and the Netherlands were adjacent to Germany and their ground forces were weak compared to the British and French forces. Could the Germans have used their airborne units to crack the Maginot Line as they did at Eben-Emael? It was possible, but there were two factors going against it. First, the French had more conventional forces deployed about their fortifications than did the Belgians. These mobile units would have considerably lessened the ability of the airborne units to reduce the forts. Second, by breaching the Maginot Line, the Germans would not be achieving a "great victory" as they would with an advance across north France. In other words, there was nothing particularly valuable behind the Maginot Line. In addition, the terrain in that area was more suitable for defense than the terrain in northern France.

In the Standard Game, the use of airborne troops is "built in." The Netherlands and Eben-Emael fall automatically. To use this optional rule, the Germans will probably be worse off, for, unlike the Regular Game, here their opponent will be aware of the capabilities of the airborne units and will be able to take defensive measures. To simulate, use the following rules.

Cases

(A) There are six parachute battalions and three air-landing regiments (1-4's). These units have special capabilities and do not enter the game in the same manner as normal German reinforcements; rather, they are "air-dropped" onto the map at the discretion of the German Player. Airdrops (by parachute battalions) and follow-up landings (by air-landing regiments) are executed in the Initial Movement Phase of a given German Player-Turn (after other German units have been moved; see Sequence of Play). When using this rule, the Belgian forts do not fall automatically, but remain intact unless taken; their capabilities are exactly the same as Maginot Line hexes.

(B) Each paratroop and air-landing unit may be landed once per game. Parachute battalions may be landed in any of the following types of hexes:

1. a non-fortification land hex which is not occupied by Allied units.
2. an occupied or unoccupied fortification hex.

Air-landing units may only be landed in hexes in which a parachute unit has been successfully dropped, and only in the same Movement Phase in which the drop was conducted. Parachute units and air-landing units may be landed in any type of terrain into which other land units may legitimately be moved.

(C) In order to be considered successfully landed, the German Player must roll the die once for each parachute battalion dropped: a die-roll of "five" or "six" means that that battalion is destroyed (immediately). Any number of available parachute battalions may be dropped in a single Initial Movement Phase. Paradrops may be conducted in any given Game-Turn or Turns.

(D) Each parachute unit to be dropped, in that Phase, must be allocated to a specific hex. More than one battalion may be assigned to the same hex. Once the battalions have been allocated (by placing them on the landing hexes) they must be dropped (i.e., the die must be rolled for each battalion). If airlanding units are to follow up the paradrop, they also must be assigned, in advance, to specific hexes where paradrops are being attempted. If, however, the hexes on which they were to land don't have surviving parachute battalions on them, the airlanding units must be held back off the map for later use (they may not be re-assigned to other hexes in the same Game-Turn). Note that the die need never be rolled to determine the successful landing of airlanding regiments. Their landing is entirely dependent on the parachute battalion die-rolls.

(E) Parachute battalions may only be dropped within twenty hexes of a German Ground Support Element (which may not be moved in that Game-Turn). Any number of paradrops may be traced from the same Ground Support Element. The Aircraft Element of that Air unit need not accompany paradrops conducted on non-fortified hexes, and it may be assigned regular missions during that same Game-Turn. When paradrops are conducted against a fortified hex, however, one Aircraft Element must be placed in that fortified hex. This Aircraft Element may not perform any regular air missions in that Game-Turn and does not, in any way, directly affect the paradrop or assault on the fortification. Such Aircraft Elements are returned to base at the end of that Movement Phase. Paradrops may not be conducted in hexes in which there are Allied Aircraft Elements on CAP or Interdiction missions (at the instant of the drop).

(F) When parachute battalions are dropped on an unoccupied fortification hex, they must each determine the success of their drop as outlined in Case C. Additionally, it must be determined, for each unit which survives the drop, whether or not they survive the assault on the fortification hex. The die must be rolled once for each surviving unit: any roll from "one" through "five" destroys the fortification and preserves the battalion; a roll of "six" destroys the parachute battalion and leaves the fortification intact. If any battalions survive (and destroy the fortification) then assigned airlanding regiments must be landed.

(G) When parachute battalions are dropped on a fortification hex which is occupied by an Allied unit, they must determine the success of their drops as outlined in Case C. Additionally, for each unit which survives the drop, the die must be rolled once to determine whether or not the fortification hex is destroyed: a die-roll of "one" or "two" destroys the fortification. No matter what the die-roll, however, parachute battalions which are assaulting occupied fortifications are always destroyed as a result of that assault. The Allied unit occupying the fortification is never itself affected by parachute assaults (and obviously, air-landing regiments can never be landed on an Allied occupied fortification hex).

Summary

Parachute battalion survives landing: Die-roll of 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Parachute battalion destroyed on landing: Die-roll of 5 or 6.

Parachute battalion destroys unoccupied fortification: Die-roll of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.

Parachute battalion destroyed (and unoccupied fortification intact): Die-roll of 6.

Occupied Fortification destroyed: Die-roll of 1 or 2 (paratroops always destroyed).

(H) Paratroop Units have no Movement Allowance, nor do they have an Attack or Defense Strength, or a Zone of Control; if attacked alone, they are automatically destroyed; enemy units may pass through them as if it were a Zone of Control; they are not counted against stacking limitations. Airlanding units do have a Zone of Control, do count towards stacking limits and may participate in normal movement and combat. They may not move in the Player-Turn in which they are airlanded; however, they may attack adjacent Allied units in that Combat Phase. Airlanding regiments may be brought into the game in the same manner as normal reinforcements, at the German Player's option (but this precludes their use in airborne operations).

(I) Allied units may not be retreated into hexes occupied by parachute battalions.

(J) When using these optional Paratroop rules, the German Player must, on the Player-Turn in which he invades the Netherlands, choose one of the following two courses of action:

1. Exit two corps (or corps equivalents) off the north edge of the map in the Netherlands or Northern Germany, or hold out of the game two corps which are due as reinforcements in that Player-Turn, or hold out of the game (in advance) two corps which were to appear on a Player-Turn prior to the invasion of the Netherlands.

2. Commit five of the six parachute battalions and all of the airlanding regiments to the off-map action in the north (none of these units may have been employed prior to the invasion of the Netherlands, in order to be able to exercise this course of action) and suspend the use and movement of four German Air units (including their Ground Support Elements) throughout the Game-Turn in which the Netherlands is invaded. In effect, the exercise of this alternative is tantamount to the cancellation of the use of the Paratroop rule, with the only exception being that the Belgian Fortifications do not automatically disappear when Belgium is invaded and the Germans have the one remaining paratroop battalion which they may freely use in the game.

Whichever course of action is taken, none of the units placed off the map into northern Netherlands may ever return to the game. They are not, however, counted as units destroyed. The four Air units return to full use in the German Player-Turn following the one in which the Netherlands was invaded (see Alternative No. 1 above).

Mild Winter Fortifications

The winter of 1939-40 was one of the most severe in Western Europe for several decades. Despite the fact the Allies had some millions of men mobilized, but inactive for the winter, the construction of field fortifications and defenses progressed slowly, if at all. The ground was hardened to a depth that prohibited digging, unless blasted first; concrete crystallized, rather than "set," and would shatter easily under armor-piercing shells. However, if the winter had not been so, the Allies would have been able to extend rudimentary fortifications to the coast, though obviously not on a Maginot Line scale. To simulate this possibility, use the following rules.

Cases:

(A) The Allies have a fortified line consisting of the French border hexes with Belgium, and all hexes in France adjacent to these border hexes.

(B) These hexes have exactly the same effect on the Germans for movement and combat as do the forest hexes, i.e., they subtract two from the die-roll when attacking and cost one extra Movement Point for motorized units to enter those hexes. In those cases where forest hexes are also fortified hexes, there is only a penalty on combat of subtracting two from the die-roll, but the movement penalty on motorized units is an additional two Movement Points: one for the forest, one for the fortified hex.

(C) Mild-Winter fortifications are never destroyed as a result of combat. Their effect upon German movement persists even should the Allies be completely thrown out of them. They may not be assaulted by parachute units (although parachute units may be landed on such hexes). They do not negate the effects of German Zones of Control with respect to supply and retreat, nor can they be used as a source of supply.

(D) Players may choose to employ the Mild Winter fortification provision even in Orders of Battle in which the Maginot Line does not exist.

Variable Victory Conditions

Commentary: The great German victory was purely because of its swiftness; the psychological defeat far outweighed the military. Outside of a few individuals in the Vichy government, the French people truly lay prostrate before the conquering Germans: for several years, the Germans found no necessity to maintain large garrisons, despite the impressing of laborers, as civilian opinion was neutral to the Occupation authorities and hostile to partisans, "Free French" and British.

The troops thus saved, and the security provided, made possible the eastern campaigns, and the possibility of ultimate German victory.

The players may substitute the following victory conditions.

Ratio of German Victory Points to Allied Victory Points:

• Less than 1:1: Allied victory.
• 1:1 to 2:1: marginal German victory; Germans must have at least 30 Victory Points. Allies fall back intact; Western Front operates for several months; no Balkan invasion, no Italian alliance, probable Russian intervention in 1940-41.
• 2:1 to 3:1: tactical German victory; Germans must have at least 50 Victory Points. U.K. forces evacuated intact; Occupied France restive, with large, mobile occupation force. No Eastern campaign, possible Russian attack 1941-42.
• 3:1 to 4:1: strategic German victory; Germans must have at least 80 Victory Points. U.K. forces crushed; small occupation force needed; Italian and possibly Spanish alliance; most of Balkans subdued; probable invasion of Russia.
• Greater than 4:1: crushing German victory; Germans must have at least 100 Victory Points. U.K. may make peace, or possible French alliance with Germany; United Europe attacks Russia in 1941.

Sea Evacuation of Allied Units

General Rule

In the original campaign the British managed to evacuate most of the men in their army by sea, after they had been cut off by the German advance. This was the famous "Dunkirk" operation. This sort of thing will rarely happen in a game, since most Players are too intelligent to allow themselves to get into such a predicament in the first place. If, however, the need to sea-evacuate units should occur, use the following rule: At any point in the game after the second Game-Turn, the Allied Player may begin evacuation of units from any one coastal hex west of Antwerp (inclusive).

Cases

(A) Evacuation takes place at the very beginning of the Allied Player-Turn, before any units are moved.

(B) Units to be evacuated must begin the Allied Player-Turn on the coastal hex from which they are to be evacuated. A coastal hex is defined as any hex which is part sea and part land. As many as two corps may be evacuated per Game-Turn (which means that in a given game a theoretical maximum of 16 corps or corps-equivalents could be evacuated).

(D) The first corps to be evacuated must be British. The second corps to be evacuated may be any Allied unit(s) including the British. Thereafter, the evacuation of each French, Dutch or Belgian corps must be preceded by the evacuation of a British corps. In other words, half the corps evacuated must be British.

(E) The first corps evacuated in the game may be evacuated from any coastal hex west of Antwerp (inclusive). Subsequent unit evacuations in the same Player-Turn may leave from the same hex or either of the coastal hexes adjacent to that hex. In the following Player-Turn, the first unit evacuated may leave from any one of the hexes from which units were evacuated in the previous Player-Turn. Other units being evacuated that Player-Turn may leave from the same hex as the first unit or either of the two adjacent hexes. Thus, it can be seen that the evacuation area can, in effect, be moved a distance of one hex per Game-Turn. In any given Allied Player-Turn, however, there will never be more than three hexes from which units may be evacuated, and all three hexes will be contiguous.

(F) If German ground units enter, or pass through, all three evacuation hexes in a single German Player-Turn, the ability of the Allied Player to evacuate units is lost permanently, and no new evacuation area can be instituted.

(G) Allied units may be evacuated while in German Zones of Control and/or while under Interdiction of German Aircraft Elements. Allied units may not be evacuated as a direct result of combat during a forced retreat.

(H) The Allied Player may begin his evacuation from the city of Antwerp and/or the hex directly northwest of Antwerp, even though these hexes are not coastal hexes. This may not be done, however, if the German Player has units adjacent to the river between Antwerp and the sea, or on either of the two coastal hexes adjacent to the mouth of that river.

(I) When units are being evacuated, simply remove them from the map. Once they have been evacuated, units may not be returned to play: they are not strictly counted as units destroyed, but the German Player does receive a certain number of Victory Points for each evacuated Allied unit.

German Victory Points Received for Evacuated Allied Units:

• Each British Combat Strength Point Evacuated: One Victory Point
• Each non-British Strength Point Evacuated: One-half Victory Point
• Each Allied (including British) Air Unit: Five Victory Points

(J) Once the Allied Player has initiated evacuation of his units, this fact does not compel the evacuation of units each Allied Player-Turn: he may choose to skip evacuation on some Player-Turns, assuming he doesn't lose control of the hexes through which the last evacuees departed.

(K) Air units may be evacuated in the same fashion as ground units and under the same restrictions. The Ground Support Element and the Aircraft Element must be evacuated together from the same coastal hex, and the Aircraft Element may not participate in any missions in the Game-Turn of evacuation.

(L) Players may wish to use the three "Evacuation Markers" provided to indicate the three hexes useable for evacuation in a given Player-Turn.

Note: the printed Cases run A, B, D through L; no letter C appears in the printed text, and the lettering is reproduced as printed.

The Hex-Grid Location System

The small numbers printed in the hexagons on the map are simply a convenient way for Players to identify a specific hex when playing games by mail or when interrupting a face-to-face game which must be continued at a later date.

Players who wish to conduct play-by-mail games can do so without additional equipment by using the following method:

How to Play by Mail

(A) Each Player mails the other his starting set-up, and agree upon a "mailing interval."

(B) The German Player writes down his movement for the Initial Movement Phase giving the number of the hex that a given unit starts in and the number of the hex that it ends in (and in the case of particularly intricate moves, all the hexes it travels through to accomplish that movement).

(C) The German Player makes a separate list of all the attacks he will execute in the Combat Phase, giving the location of the attacking units, the defending unit(s) they are attacking, and the odds (in Play by Mail combat the corps or corps-equivalent which will defend a given hex is always assumed to be that which will yield the strongest possible defense). Attacks should be written in column format listing the attacks in the exact order in which they are to be resolved. Attacks should be labeled with a resolution-order number to insure accuracy. Next to each attack, the German Player lists the die-result he desires (this will be further explained later on). These die-numbers should be obtained by actually rolling the die, but this is not absolutely necessary. The German Player also indicates the hexes to which both his and the Allied Player's units must be retreated if such a result is possible. Units must be retreated in strict accordance with the Retreat Priority rule.

(D) The German Player then mails this Initial Movement Phase/Combat Phase transcript to the Allied Player (maintaining a carbon copy for himself). This mailing must take place on the agreed-upon mailing interval, for at the same time the Allied Player should mail to the German Player a list of "Result Tracks" to be used with the die-numbers the German Player has listed. A "Result Track" is a re-arrangement of the six possible die-numbers in a column format which corresponds to the horizontal rows on the Combat Results Table, as shown below.

Note that Result Track "A" is identical to the standard die-number listing on the Combat Results Table.

The Allied Player lists the Result Tracks (by key letter) in the order that they are to be used: Attack No. 1, Track B; Attack No. 2, Track F ... and so on, giving a long enough list to cover all the cases in which his units have German units adjacent to them plus about 10 extra just to be sure. He should also make a separate list of desired die-results to be used in case he is forced to counterattack (and conversely, the German Player should submit, with his Attack list, a list of Result Tracks for the possible Allied Counterattacks). The German Player should also include a separate list of desired die-results for use in cases in which he is forced to re-run his attacks (due to the Allies obtaining a "CA" result in a counterattack of their own). This can be taken care of neatly by writing these counterattack possibilities next to each attack in which such a chain of counterattacks is possible, thusly:

Attack No. 3 CA's D/5/E/3/A/5/B

In the above example, the letter is the Result Track to be used by the Allied Counterattack and the following number is the desired die-result for a German re-run, should that be required. When the Defender is forced to counterattack, in by-mail play, he always attacks the weakest single unit in the Attacker's force. If there are two weak units with the same strength, the unit with the higher Movement Allowance is attacked.

(E) Resolving Attacks: The German Player matches the desired die-roll for that attack with the Result Track supplied by the Allied Player, and reads the result from the Combat Results Table. In cases in which numbers are to be added or subtracted from the die, simply move down or up the horizontal rows rather than literally adding or subtracting from the Result Track/die-number. When counterattacks are called for, the German Player would take the first un-used number from the counterattack die-rolls listed by the Allied Player and match it with the Result Track the German Player listed next to that primary attack. If the Germans were then forced to re-run that primary attack, they would take the first available un-used Result Track Letter from a re-run list supplied by the Allied Player and match it with the first un-used desired die-result which they listed next to their primary attack listing.

(F) After all attacks and counterattacks have been resolved, and losses extracted and units retreated, the German Player writes up his Mechanized Movement Phase, and mails it to the Allied Player.

(G) After the German Mechanized units have been moved, the Allied Player then goes through the same procedure as the German Player did when writing and executing his Player-Turn.

(H) Players continue this routine, mailing their moves back and forth at the pre-arranged intervals until the game is completed. Moves which are not postmarked with the agreed-upon date may be invalidated by the opposing Player. All moves should be clearly marked as to Game-Turn and Phase. Complete confirmations of unit positions should be exchanged every Game-Turn.

Play-by-Mail Combat Results Table

Result Tracks (A through F) are rearrangements of the six die-numbers:

Track	1	2	3	4	5	6
A	1	2	3	4	5	6
B	2	3	4	5	6	1
C	3	4	5	6	1	2
D	4	5	6

ODDS (Attacker's Strength-to-Defender's Strength), by modified die-result row:

Die	1-6	1-4/1-5	1-2/1-3	1-1	2-1	3-1	4-1	5-1	6-1	7-1	8-1	9-1	10-1
-1	AX	AX	AX	AX	AX	AR	AR	AR	BR	BR	BR	CA	CA
0	AX	AX

Transcription note: the table above is the Play-by-Mail Combat Results Table as printed on this scan. The Standard Game Combat Results Table is printed on the inner box lid of the game and is not reproduced in this PDF, so the standard CRT is not transcribed here.

Parts Inventory

1. Outer box sleeve
2. Inner box lid (with Combat Results Table printed on top)
3. Inner box and plastic tray
4. Mapboard (22" x 24")
5. Rules of Play folder (17" x 27 1/2")
6. Dyle Plan set-up folder
7. Historical Analysis booklet
8. Set of German/Allied Die-Cut Troop Counters (1)
9. Allied Order of Battle Cards (6)
10. German Order of Battle Cards (3)
11. Die (1)