Warning! You need to have installed the Fantastic Worlds disk for this scenario to work! 

DROLE DE GUERRE V1.2

By Javier Arriaga (jasev@aluesi.us.es)

May 21, 2001 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

	What can we say about the Second World War? It is the most used topic in the Civilization II scenarios universe.

	Poland, 1st September 1939: The German troops cross the Polish border and destroy the weak polish army; after a heroic resistance, Warszawa falls and the Polish state collapses. On 27th September, Poland surrenders. The German army had 70 divisions with 3000 armoured cars and 1700 airplanes. The fierce polish resistance, in spite of their lack of forces, achieved to brake the German advance for a while... but when Russia, according to Molotov-Ribbentropp plan, invaded Poland from the East (17th September), the polish army definitively dispersed in ten days.

	France and the United Kingdom declared the war to Germany on 3rd September; they started mobilizating their armies soon. They concentrated a great army at the French-German border, defended by the Maginot Line. But the most important danger was not there: the Netherlands and Belgium had almost no defence... and the Belgian-French border was undefended. The British Expeditionary Force, 11 divisions under the command of Lord Gort, had the mission of entering Belgium to take positions at Belgian Albert Channel, the best anti-tanks line in the world; any French divisions had to help them and the Belgian Eben-Emael fortress, defending the southern flank of the Albert Channel. This plan, developed under the WWI military tactics, was the main cause of the French collapse, because French generals didn't believe the German blitzkrieg could trespass a well-organized defence, like those of the WWI. Before all this, a young general, Charles de Gaulle, knew the possibilities of the armoured divisions and presented a brief talking about a reorganization of the French army, based on mechanized divisions; but the French General Staff, old-fashioned, believed in trench wars and continuous fronts, so the De Gaulle's brief was ignored. When the German attacked, the French tanks were only infantry support. In the other side, the German Panzer Generals (Rommel, Guderian) knew the Panzerdivisionen were the new cavalry: fast and powerful, able to break the lines and attack the flanks. The German tactics were freely based on the Napoleonic tactics, changing horses for tanks.

	But the German superiority wasn't so great as people usually think. It was more a psychological and tactical superiority; the British and the French had enough forces to make the Wehrmacht do its best, and maybe they could have stopped their advance... but their old-fashioned tactics caused the collapse, just like in French-Prussian war, a century before. Here is a little review of the opposing forces on the battlefield.

		Infantry Divisions	Armoured Divisions		Airplanes
GERMANS			120			11			   4500		
FRENCH			 99			11			   1730
BRITISH			  9			 2			   1720
DUTCH			 10			 -			    ?
BELGIANS		 23			 -			    300


	Of course, the German Armoured divisions were stronger than allied ones. German tanks were better and each division had more tanks. But we can see the forces were mode equilibrated than people usually think.

	Well, we all know what happened: the German armies didn't attack the Maginot line. They attacked the Netherlands and Belgium; in 5 days, the Dutch surrendered; and the Belgians, after being attacked at Eben-Emael by paratrooper units, had to retreat, allowing the Germans to conquer Antwerp and Bruxelles. The British and French army weren't as fast as necessary to reach the Albert Channel and had little to do against the majority of German forces: the best French divisions were still defending the Maginot Line. When the Germans took Abbeville, reaching the sea, they surrounded 40 Belgian, French and British divisions. These divisions achieved to escape to England, but there were no possibilities to save France. On 27th May, Belgium surrendered. On 10th June, when France was definitively defeated, Mussolini declared the war and ordered his troops to attack at the Alps and at the Mediterranean coast. The French commander at that front, when knew the Italian declaration of war, said "then, we'll need four divisions". Exactly what he had. And, incredibly, the Italian offensive was a disaster; the Italian troops were poorly trained and equipped.

	But these victories against the Italians couldn't save France from the German troops. On 23rd June, Field Marshall Petin, hero of the WWI, signed the peace with Hitler. Petin made a speech in the radio: "I give myself for the salvation of France". And Petin, one of the greatest French heroes, who had a place reserved on Napoleon's Mausoleum like Foch, accepted the German rule governing a satellite French government sited on Vichy, who controlled less than a half of the original French territory. When the allied returned, and De Gaulle took control of the state, Petin was considered as a betrayer.

Bibliography: "The Second World War", by Raymond Cartier, Larousse - Paris Match. Paris 1965.
	      "The Second World War: Their finest hour", by Winston Churchill, Cassell ltd. London, 1949.
	     

INSTALLATION

	As indicated above, this scenario will only work with Civ2 version 2.7.81, i.e. the one provided by the Fantastic Worlds scenario disk, or higher (e.g, it functions with Civ2 MGE). Create a new folder under the Scenarios folder. Call it "drole" and put all the files in it. Go to the "drole" directory -this is very important- and execute "setsound.bat"; this batch file will set up the sounds for this scenario.


THE PLAYERS & SOME STRATEGY TIPS

	This is (or tries to be) a 100% historically accurate scenario. This means, I have set up the things for them to occur as close as possible to historical reality. 
	
	The scenario is thought to be played with the French; they seem to be the strongest tribe... but don't get wrong, they aren't. You have solid positions at your Maginot Line, but you only have seven divisions to enter and defend Belgium; and eleven divisions forming British Expeditionary Force. The German attack will be devastating; their stuka bombers will be your nightmare, but you must reach the Albert Channel and Eben-Emael to defend Belgium at all costs. If you achieve it, you will have a chance to resist the German attack; you must destroy as many enemy units as possible, because the allied cities have a bigger industrial potential than German ones, and you will be faster replacing units than them. Don't stay in the Maginot line, the fortifications are strong and just two or three artillery units will be enough to destroy all the German attempts to break it. Use the railroad tracks to reach the enemy fast, and attack him with your artillery. Be careful with your tanks: Renault 40 is the equivalent to Panzer III, and Somua to Panzer T-38, but your B1 tanks have little to do against enemy Panzer IV; in spite of its great firepower, the B-1 tank is too slow and will be easily destroyed by enemy Stukas, Tanks or Artillery. Don't fear to use your Morane fighters, they aren't as good as Messerschmidts but they can easily destroy enemy bombers and infantry units. Your French Infantry is good at defence, better than ordinary infantry; use it for defence against Wehrmacht, mainly in the suburbs (tip: suburbs are easy to defend) and to attack enemy artillery units. The colonial infantry is better than French infantry so use it for the same. The mechanized infantry is weak, but fast; use them to attack weak enemy units and flee to your bases.
	Your government type is a Democracy.

	If you decide to play with Germans... well, it'll be quite easier. It is very important to destroy with your Fallschirmjger the Belgian aerial units, so you will own the skies over Belgium and the Netherlands. The aerial superiority is essential, so attack the French (and British) airfields with your Messerschmits; be careful with British spitfires, they are the best aerial unit in the game. If you achieve to destroy the enemy aerial power, the game should be yours. Cross the Netherlands and Belgium, attack France surrounding the Maginot Line units, and Paris will fall in your hands. There is only a black point: the sea. You don't have any ports, so you'll have to conquer one (I suggest Amsterdam) as a base for your naval units. The British have a big navy, so use yours wisely; try to destroy as many battleship as you can without losses. If you're able to destroy the enemy battleships, your U-Boats will do the rest.
	Your government type is a Fundamentalism, recalled "Fascism" (thanks Steve Strayer for the idea).

	Playing with the Belgians could be interesting; they have a non despicable army, good defensive positions... but without the French and British help, you will be crushed. Try to resist as longer as possible, using your mechanized infantry units to make fast attacks... and fly to your bases fast. Your mission is to preserve your land as longer as possible; if you're able to resist more than 17 days (the true date of Belgian surrender), it will be a great triumph for you. Eben-Emael and the Albert Channel are good defensive positions: use them!
	Your government type is a Democracy.

	Make yourself a favour: don't play with Dutch. In spite of having a lot of cities, they only have a few of infantry divisions, a quite pathetic static defence and, much more than this, they have no time.
	Your government type is a Democracy.

	If you play with the Italians, you should know the Italian troops are weaker than ordinary infantry; so don't expect anything of them. You have 30 turns to arm yourself, so I suggest you to build many artillery units and any Fiat Tanks units (they are weak, but fast) to be able to do anything against French fortified positions on the border.
	Your government type is a Fascism, just like German's.

	The British is a very important player: yours could be the key of the allied victory. Your BEF divisions won't be a great apportation to war effort, but your RAF and Royal Navy could be decisive. Use your fighters to rule the skies and spare your bombers; when you achieve the aerial domain, use the bombers to attack enemy cities and strongest units. With your navy, your first task is to sink the German fleet: it is weaker, but could be a trouble. Try to sink their two battleships with yours, and then use your weaker ships to search-and-destroy enemy U-Boats.
Then, you'll be able to help the land troops with naval fire. If the Germans achieve to reach your continental bases, don't fight until your last plane: the British didn't, and today we know they had right. Fly (and flee) to Dover, and resist there the enemy attacks; if possible, try to re-conquer any continental city with your naval support.
	Your government type is a Democracy.

	You cannot play with the swiss (unless you edit the civ2.exe file), because they are the barbarians. By the way, no matter which tribe you choose, don't attack the swiss troops; you only will waste your time... and any units.

RULES & VICTORY CONDITIONS

	Research progresses at a 10000/10 rate. Yes, you are right: I don't want you to discover anything; you should dedicate every resource to the war effort. No Wonders are available for building; all are already built.

	No diplomatic talks are allowed in this scenario. The Germans are always at war with the allies (and, since turn 31, Italians too). No government switching is allowed.

	This is an Objectives Scenario. The protagonists of the objectives are the Germans. There are 27 objectives (cities). In the beginning, the French control 13 of these, the Dutch control 10, and the Belgians control the remaining 4. The Germans need 22 objectives to achieve a decisive victory, and 18 to achieve a marginal victory. 13 objectives mean a German marginal defeat, and 9 mean a Germans decisive defeat. It is possible to achieve a German decisive defeat playing with the French, but it is not easy (by the way, if you achieve to achieve a German decisive defeat, e-mail me soon attaching the saved game). Of course, the scenario is designed for play at Deity level only.

*	A German decisive victory means the Germans achieved to conquer almost all the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Your attempts to stop them have been futile.
*	A German marginal victory means the Germans have conquered most of their objectives, but you achieved to resist in some cities. The war effort should have exhausted you, so you should sign a peace treaty... for example, to retain an independent French nation with the capital at Vichy.
*	A German marginal defeat means the Germans have been stopped, but you don't have further defences to stop a new attacking wave. If the UK sends reinforcements soon, you will be saved. In other case, you should prepare to run to Northern Africa.
*	A German total defeat means you are a new Foch (remember: Foch was buried in the Napoleon's Mausoleum). You achieved to stop the modernest and mightiest army in the world. If the UK sends reinforcements, you will be able to counterattack and conquer Germany. Greetings! You changed the history.

	The scenario begins 10th May 1940 and ends 9th July 1940. There is a total of 60 turns. Each day is a turn.

	Every French, Dutch or Belgian city is an objective. Each of them worth 1 point.


THE TITLE.GIF

	The title.gif image is the French announce of mobilizations for all the armies: land, air and water.

THANKYOUS

	CITIES.GIF:The British, French, Dutch, Belgian, Swiss, Italian and German Flags are from Michael D. Raney. The Airbase, Fortification and fortify icons were taken from "Red Front", by Captain Nemo & Alex Mor.

	ICONS.GIF: The explosion effects were taken from "Red Front".  The city improvements and wonders were taken from many scenarios (sorry, I can't remember them), but mainly from the scenario "The first World War", by Jess Muoz.

	TERRAIN.GIF: The industrial zone icon was taken from "Red Front". Grassland and Prairies from "Spanish Pride" by Jess Balsinde.

	TERRAIN2.GIF: The hills and mountains were taken from "Spanish Oddisey", by Jess Muoz. The rivers and ocean templates were taken from "Red Front", by Captain Nemo & Alex "The magnificient" Mor.

	UNITS.GIF: I whish to thank to many units creators for their (involuntary) help:
		-Captain Nemo (nemo)
		-Alex "The Magnificient" Mor (Alex)
		-Jess Balsinde (JBR)
		-Jess Muoz (JMF)
		-Martin Jeszenska (MJ)
		-Steve Strayer (ST)
	And many others (who on earth is "MHN"???) who created the icons without a signature. Without their units, this scenario wouldn't exist.
	By the way, JAS means "Javier Arriaga Sevilla" (myself). 

	

	If you want to make me any comments, suggestions, etc. please e-mail me to:

	jasev@aluesi.us.es

	If you enjoyed my scenario, you can find other scenarios in my web page:

	http://www.geocities.com/jasev