Six basic regimental and battalion commands are accessed from a button bar or hotkeys and mouse clicks. Movement usually follows roads, although routes can be modified with nodes. “Attack” orders units to engage with their longest range weapons while “assault” sets up short range slaughters. “Hold” and “fortify” denote different levels of defense. “Flee” retreats a unit toward a movable white flag. “Stop” is obvious. Special orders can be given to engineers and long-range artillery. Air missions such as tactical support, para-drops and supply are provided through an airbase menu.

Subscribe Today

• Subscribe to Armchair General Magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!
 

The 14 scenarios come in four lengths, from short, battalion-level scrapes lasting a few hours to a five-day campaign covering the crucial first days of the battle. Some alternative scenarios that the Germans historically considered but didn’t implement are included.

The uniqueness of this game becomes evident in the relationship of time and distance to play-speed. Solitaire has three speeds: 25x, 50x and 75x acceleration of real time; multi-play has 50x, 75x and 100x. Players will be given more control over game speeds with an upcoming patch. Instead of pauses, a set number of time-outs linked to scenario size lower game speed to 5x, Battalion speed is determined by the speed of the slowest vehicle in the unit, plus terrain and weather. Since formations use roads, units in march formation must maintain the proper distance between them, which allows for the traffic jams that plagued the Germans in ‘44. Battalions cramped too close can suffer collateral damage to all units. Thus, players must time attacks by keeping an eye on the bar scale, unit density and speed as well as time. Air attacks— when available—cause havoc at choke points. Battalions do a better job of responding to commands and regaining efficiency when in the command radii of battalion leaders, who are anonymous in the game.

As in reality, the battle falls into three stages. The attacker reconnoiters the area, usually from divisions, not only to find the enemy but to seek relatively safe staging areas like forests to gather forces and engage in long-range fire. Routes to supply lines must be secured to assure recovery of efficiency. The defender fortifies the main line of resistance while sending out delaying forces. Their supply lines must also be secured.

The next phase is pounding the foe to decrease efficiency. In Watch on the Rhine, the attackers move to axes of attacks while shelling enemy positions. Air power is useful for that. Efficiency, decreased by losses at the battalion level, is slowly but constantly recovered in this game, so pressure on the enemy must be kept up. Morale and troop quality is factored into efficiency. Weakened units can be pulled back to command radius via manipulation of retreat flags. Being in supplied, fortified position increases recovery rates. Both sides can send out small forces to disrupt enemy supply.

The final phase is the bloody close assault, which best carried out by infantry, though the attacker may send mobile troops to the rear areas and flanks: Although no facing is involved in the game, units can only fire in one direction, making attacks from more than one side devastating. Defenders can counter this by calling up reserves and reinforcements. The slower speeds and relatively large unit scale allow players to handle matters without the “twitch” factor, and the limited time-outs provide a way to assess the situation and give orders without stopping the flow of the game. Quick saves can also serve as pauses. Battle becomes a test of German quality versus American numbers and air power. Action has a historical feel as the Belgian countryside is ravaged once more.

The AI is fairly good, but it doesn’t protect rear areas well, mishandles reserves, and pushes unsupported and weaker units too much. Multi-play could solve this but is hampered by the jumble of passwords needed to join a game.

Help Armchair General by bookmarking to