Battle of Britain Manual
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279BBO~1.QXD10/3/997:01 pmPage 1TA L O N S O F T ’ SGAME DESIGN BYG A RY G R I G S B YANDKEITH BRORSTA...
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TA L O N S O F T ’ S

GAME DESIGN BY

G A RY G R I G S B Y

AND

KEITH BRORS

TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 II. GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 III. INTERFACE OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Start-up Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Campaign Selection Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Main Game Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Load/Save Game Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Game Options Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Play-by-Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 IV. PLAYING THE GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Game Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 British Movement Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Move AA Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Move Air Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Set Fighter Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Action Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 List Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 List Top Pilots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 List Air Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Aircraft Loses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Aircraft Replacements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 British Reaction Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Set Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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Move Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Recall Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Set Fighter Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Intercept Raid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 List Raids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 German Raid Planning Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Set Bomber Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Bombing Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Night Bombing Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Night Intruder Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Recon Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Fighter Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Show All Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Review Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Move Air Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 List Air Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 List Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 German Reaction Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 German Intelligence Briefing Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Action Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 List Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 List Top Pilots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 List Air Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Aircraft Losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Aircraft Replacements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 V. WINNING THE GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Short Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Long Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Assessing Your Score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 VI. TARGET DESCRIPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 VII. HOT KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 VIII. HISTORICAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 The Aircraft of The Battle of Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 British and German Air Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 CREDITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 TECHNICAL SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

QUICKSTART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142/143

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INTRODUCTION

I. INTRODUCTION Shortly after the fall of France in 1940, GermanyÕs mighty Luftwaffe, under the direction of Hermann Goering, began a bombing campaign against Britain that, when it ended, was one of the most dramatic air battles in history. In an attempt to gain air superiority and soften the island nation against an invasion (code-named Operation Sea Lion), the Luftwaffe pounded British airfields, industries, and urban centers for months. But to no avail. Britain and its Royal Air Force (RAF) rose to meet the challenge and fought back HitlerÕs mighty air force that streamed over the English Channel day in and day out. The Battle of Britain was the first major defeat Germany suffered in World War Two, and it would help to turn the tide of the war. TalonSoftÕs Battle of Britain simulates this great clash. Through careful strategic planning, you can lead the German Luftwaffe to victory. Or, as commander of the Royal Air Force, you can savage HitlerÕs bomber formations with such famous aircraft as the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire. You can play either the official 1940 battle which lasts for three months, or you can play the added hypothetical Òwhat-ifÓ campaign of 1941, which prompts the question ÒIf Hitler had to do it all over again, what would he have done differently?Ó This PlayerÕs Guide explains in detail all the features and functions of the game. Read it carefully. Read Chapter II (Getting Started) first to set you along the path of plotting German raids. And donÕt forget to read the historical information near the end of the guide.

PLAYERÕS GUIDE LANGUAGE AND FORMAT For simplicity, the pronoun ÒheÓ is used where appropriate. The words ÒraidÓ and ÒmissionÓ are interchangeable. The words ÒunitÓ and Òair unitÓ are interchangeable. The words Òprimary airfieldsÓ and Òprimary sector airfieldsÓ are interchangeable. The word ÒsquadronÓ is used to represent both RAF units and Luftwaffe gruppes. The term ÒBritishÓ is used to represent the RAF and its Commonwealth allies. And Finally, items underlined in the guide (e.g., ÒSelect Bomber MissionsÓ) represent steps that the player should take to complete certain tasks. Other text accompanying the underlined steps is for informational purposes and should be read to ensure full understanding of all game functions. TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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GETTING STARTED

II. GETTING STARTED TalonSoftÕs Battle of Britain is a game that requires study to learn well. However, the actual mechanics of clicking buttons, plotting German raids, launching British interceptors, etc., is really quite simple. This section of the PlayerÕs Guide will help you get started quickly, by describing how to plot a few German raids and start the Reaction Phase. It is recommended that you begin your play of Battle of Britain as the Germans, as we believe itÕs easier to get into the game this way, because once youÕve plotted your raids, you can sit back and watch them fly.

Screen Flow Chart HereÕs a quick diagram of how the screens in Battle of Britain relate to each other. Basically, beginning a new campaign begins by selecting either ÒNew German CampaignÓ or ÒNew British CampaignÓ from the Start-up Screen, then on to the Campaign Selection Screen, and then on to the Main Game Screen where the game is played. Other screens can be accessed from these three main screens, but you shouldnÕt concern yourself with those until you become more familiar with the game. 1. Select ÒNew German CampaignÓ in the bottom right-hand corner of the Start-up Screen. This Start-up Screen Other screens that can be accessed from the Start-Up Screen are the Multiplayer, Game Options, and Saved Games. Selecting ÒNew British CampaignÓ or ÒNew German CampaignÓ takes you to the Campaign Selection Screen.

B G

Campaign Selection Screen On the Campaign Selection Screen, you will choose by year which campaign to play (one-day, one-week, onemonth, or full-length). Click the game map in the bottom right-hand corner when a campaign is selected. This takes you to the Loading Screen, then the Main Game Screen.

Main Game Screen Battle of Britain is played on the Main Game Screen. Other screens that can be accessed from here are the Game Options and Saved Game Screens.

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GETTING STARTED

Playing a One-Day 1940 Campaign Follow the steps below to play a one-day 1940 Campaign as the Germans. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the steps in choosing a campaign and plotting a couple bombing raids against Kenley and Biggin Hill, two British airfields.

START-UP SCREEN

takes you to the Campaign Selection Screen where you will choose your campaign.

2. On the Campaign Selection Screen, select ÒOne-DayÓ CAMPAIGN SELECTION SCREEN

under the 1940 heading. When you do this, the campaignÕs description appears and the map in the bottom right-hand corner highlights. Read the campaign description carefully. To win this simple one-day campaign, you must score more points than your British opponent. You do this by shooting down British aircraft and by bombing British airfields.

3. Once youÕve read the campaign description, select the map in the bottom right-hand corner of the Campaign Selection Screen. It should be highlighted with ÒSTART GAME.Ó The Loading Screen appears briefly. When the campaign is finished loading, you are taken directly to the Main Game Screen.

MAIN GAME SCREEN game phases

raid planning phase

primary sector airfields

British air groups

ItÕs important to stop now and briefly describe the ÒphasesÓ in the game. TalonSoftÕs Battle of Britain is played in phases. The German player has a Raid Planning Phase, a Reaction Phase, and an Intelligence Briefing Phase. The British player has a Movement Phase and a Reaction Phase. As the German player, when you first enter the Main Game Screen, you begin in the Raid Planning Phase. It is in this phase that you will begin planning your upcoming dayÕs raids against British targets. For this simple tutorial, we will walk you through the planning of two basic bombing raids against Kenley and Biggin Hill airfields, which are located just south of London. Kenley and Biggin Hill are classified as Òprimary sector airfieldsÓ. That means that they are directly attached to one of the four main British air groups (groups 10, 11, 12, and 13). Primary sector airfields are very important, as they maintain most of the British air units which will be trying to intercept your incoming bomber formations, and, the German player receives points for bombing them. So, the TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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GETTING STARTED

MAIN GAME SCREEN

more you damage these airfields, the better your chances for victory.

4. Along the right-hand side of the game map is the Preferzoom-in map

position screen over South London

ence Tool Bar. On this tool bar, click the Òzoom-inÓ button twice. This will bring you in a little closer to the airfields. Once youÕve done this, scroll the map around a little (by moving the mouse arrow left/right, up/down along the edges of the screen) until you are just south of London (i.e., the big gray mass of urban area and targets in the bottom right-hand corner of Britain, as shown below).

Kenley and Biggin Hill

shaded information boxes

Kenley and Biggin Hill airfields are just south of London and her suburbs. These are the two airfields you will bomb. Move your mouse arrow over both airfields to see their names appear in a shaded black box. [NOTE: Upon entering the Main Game Screen, you may have cloud cover over Kenley and Biggin Hill. To remove it, simply click the ÒcloudÓ button on the Preference Tool Bar.]

5. Find the Òhighlight target damageÓ button on the Preference Tool Bar and click it. This highlights all targets on the map in green. As targets take damage, the highlights turn yellow, orange, and red to show the level of damage.

highlight target damage

6

Kenley and Biggin Hill airfields should now be highlighted in green, but your goal is to bomb them until they change color (red preferably). So, letÕs begin planning your bombing raids.

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GETTING STARTED

MAIN GAME SCREEN bomb planning sub-tab

6. Along the far right-hand side of the Main Game Screen, is a tab system. In the Raid Planning Phase, this tab shows all the functions necessary to plan your raids. For this tutorial, we will only concern ourselves with plotting bombing missions. So, on this tab, select ÒBombing MissionÓ. This immediately flips the tab to the planning sub-tab (as shown below).

“Primary Target” button

plan mission #1

select Kenley airfield

inbound/outbound flight lines

“form-up” airfield

At the top of the tab are the words ÒPLAN MISSION #1Ó. That means the game is ready to take your first mission order. To plan your first mission, select the ÒPrimaryÓ button. This tells the computer that you will select the primary target for your raid. Once youÕve done this, you are ready to select Kenley airfield as the first target.

7. On the game map, click on Kenley airfield. Immediately, a white and red line appears directly across the English Channel connecting Kenley with a German airfield. The white line indicates the inbound flight path. The red line indicates the outbound flight path. The German airfield highlighted is where your air units Òform upÓ to begin their flight to Kenley. While you can modify the inbound/outbound flight paths, and also set other flight orders using the other buttons on the planning sub-tab, we wonÕt do any of that now. Your primary target is set and we will move on. TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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GETTING STARTED

MAIN GAME SCREEN

8. As soon as you selected Kenley as the primary target, the ÒPick Lead UnitÓ button appeared on the planning sub-tab. Click this button to open a list of air units on the bottom tab.

bottom tab: lead unit list

pick lead unit (Stab/ErprGr 210)

9. Select the first unit in the list (Stab/ErprGr 210). This is a BF-110 fighter-bomber unit and will be the raidÕs ÒleadÓ unit. A lead bomber unit is the unit in a raid which takes the point in the formation. Once youÕve selected this unit, click ÒDoneÓ in the bottom left-hand corner of the bottom tab.

add bomber units (1,2,3 ErprGr 210)

10. As soon as you closed

add fighter escorts (Stab/JG 51 & I/JG 51)

8

the bottom tab, the ÒAdd Bomber UnitsÓ and the ÒAdd Fighter EscortsÓ buttons appeared on the planning sub-tab. Click ÒAdd Bomber UnitsÓ to open a list of additional bomber units you can add to the raid. On this list, notice that your lead unit (Stab/ErprGr 210) appears with an ÒLÓ beside it. This is to remind you of what unit you picked as the lead. On this list, select all three additional units (1, 2, and 3 ErprGr 210). A ÒbÓ appears beside their names, showing that they have been selected. These will fly in formation with your lead unit. When finished, click ÒDoneÓ in the bottom left-hand corner of the bottom tab. You are now ready to add fighter escort to your raid.

11. After selecting additional bomber units, click ÒAdd Fighter EscortsÓ to open a list of fighter units. On this list, select units Stab/JG 51 and I/JG 51. The letters ÒceÓ appear beside their names, showing that they have been selected. These will fly with the bomber units as Òclose escortÓ fighters. You can set fighter units on Òhigh escort,Ó which can be advantageous under certain circumstances. But we wonÕt bother with high escorts in this tutorial. LetÕs proceed. When finished, click ÒDoneÓ in the bottom left-hand corner of the bottom tab. You have successfully completed the planning of your first mission.

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GETTING STARTED

MAIN GAME SCREEN plot raid against Biggin Hill

12. Select ÒNew MissionÓ on the planning sub-tab, to refresh the tab and plan mission #2.

13. Repeat steps 6 through 11 above to plot a bombing mission against Biggin Hill. Pick a lead unit, additional bomber units, and fighter escort in the same manner you did for Kenley airfield. But once you are finished with the second mission, click the ÒDoneÓ button on the right tab to return to the main Raid Planning tab. You are now ready to enter the Reaction Phase.

begin reaction phase

14. Click the ÒEnd PhaseÓ button to exit the Raid Planning Phase and enter the Reaction Phase. The Reaction Phase is where you, as the German player, will sit back and watch your raids in action. Once you click the ÒSTARTÓ button in this phase, the clock begins and the phase continues until your raids have run their missions and a score is determined.

15. To begin the Reaction Phase, click the ÒSTARTÓ button. The button immediately becomes ÒSTOPÓ and you may click it on/off to start/stop the Reaction Phase as you wish. For this tutorial, however, just sit back, relax and watch your planes roll over the English Channel toward Kenley and Biggin Hill. watch your missions!

Watching the Reaction Phase: The first thing youÕll notice when you begin the Reaction Phase is the radio activity in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. It begins to increase. This represents your units forming up and taking off. Your raids will appear eventually (depending upon their launch time), and will fly over the Channel until they reach their targets. But itÕs not as easy as that. Your British opponent will scramble his air units to intercept your raids, and as the two air forces converge, attack messages appear giving you details about how many of your aircraft are being shot down, and vice-versa. The Reaction Phase may take awhile to complete, as the game is constantly updating and calculating data to generate a final score. Once all of your units land, the oneday campaign ends and you will either win or lose, depending upon the success of your raid.

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Plot More Raids: Now that you have successfully completed the tutorial, you are ready to try again. Follow the steps above a few more times and plot more raids against Kenley and Biggin Hill. Try different things. Select different bomber units and escort fighters. Set your escorts to Òhigh escortÓ to see how that changes your success. Change the formationÕs altitude settings and stagger your launch times to see if that affects the way the British respond to your incoming raids. Plot even more missions against other British primary airfields (such as Tangmere, Middle Wallop, and Pembrey). Plot some night bombing missions and fighter sweeps. Also, you can set the game speed up to x8 by clicking repeatedly on the clock face in the bottom right-hand corner. For the German player in the Reaction Phase, this is a good speed to set the game. When you are finished trying your hand at the Germans, turn the tables and play the RAF. Playing the British, however, is quite different than planning bombing missions. To get a full understanding of how all functions in Battle of Britain work, refer to Chapter ÒIV-Playing the GameÓ.

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INTERFACE OVERVIEW

III. INTERFACE OVERVIEW START-UP SCREEN After the introduction movie, the Start-up Screen appears. On this screen, choose whether to start a new campaign or continue a saved campaign, adjust gaming options, or begin or continue a play-by-email game. To choose an option, move the cursor over your selection, then left-click to select.

New British Campaign

Game Options

Play-by-Email & Hot Seat

Exit Game

Load Game

New German Campaign

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INTERFACE OVERVIEW

Campaign Selection Screen To start a new campaign, select either ÒNew British CampaignÓ or ÒNew German CampaignÓ on the Start-up Screen. Once youÕve done so, the Campaign Selection Screen appears. Command Campaign = Human Player Artificial Intelligence = Computer Player

Select Campaign

Campaign Description

Start Game

Exit Door

Making your selection to begin either a new British or German campaign on the Start-up Screen automatically sets you up to play that side. In the top corners of the Campaign Selection Screen, there are two settings: Command Campaign and Artificial Intelligence. If you are playing as the Germans, ÒCommand CampaignÓ is highlighted and means that you will command the Luftwaffe. The computer will automatically default to ÒArtificial IntelligenceÓ and play the other side. These settings can be changed once you enter this screen. Once on this screen, decide whether to play a 1940 or a 1941 campaign. Each year has four different campaigns to choose from: one-day, one-week, one-month, or full-length. Select one by clicking on the arrow next to its name. Once youÕve made your selection, a brief description of the scenario appears below the campaign list. Once you are finished reading the description, click on the game map in the bottom right-hand corner (it should now be marked with ÒStart GameÓ). Clicking the game map takes you to the loading screen; the campaign loads and then begins. See p. 60 for more details about the different campaigns.

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Main Game Screen Once beyond the Campaign Selection and Loading Screens, you are ready to begin play. All play of TalonSoftÕs Battle of Britain is conducted on the Main Game Screen.

Game Map

Information Bar

Preference Buttons Raid Planning Phase Tab Mini-Map

Score Turn Indicator Databases Minimize/Maximize Buttons Save Game

Exit Door

Game Speed

Game Map - The Game Map shows the area of operation (i.e., where the game is played). All German raids fly either out of France (bottom of map) or from airfields along the right edge. The British Isles, on the other hand, not only contain all the primary and secondary airfields where interceptors and patrols will be launched, but also shows all British targets which can be selected for bombing by the German player. Information Bar - The information bar at the top of the screen lists German radio activity, the dayÕs cloud cover and light, and the actual time of the current Reaction Phase. See p. 34 for more details. Preference Tool Bar - This tool bar allows you to toggle on/off and highlight various visual preferences during game play. These preferences come in handy to keep ÒvisualÓ tabs on all thatÕs occurring on the map. Below is a detailed description of each preference button. TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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Zoom-out: Select this button to zoom out the map.

Zoom-in: Select this button to zoom in the map. You can zoom the map in 4 times. Highlight Target Damage: Select this button to highlight all targets on the map with colored outlines. The colors represent the amount of damage the target has sustained. Light/Bright Green = Undamaged target; Yellow = 1-24% damage; Orange = 25-49% damage; Red = over 50+% damaged. This highlighting function works in the far zoom-out mode as well, but targets in the far zoom out are color-coded for easier identification. Use this highlighting function to clearly see target damage. Highlight British Aircraft: Select this button to highlight all British aircraft with ÒstatusÓ colors. This function only works when you are playing the game with 3D aircraft turned on. The colors are: Black = interceptors; Green = patrols; Blue = units returning home. Highlight German Aircraft: Select this button to highlight all German aircraft with ÒstatusÓ colors. This function only works when you are playing the game with 3D aircraft turned on. The colors are: Orange = incoming raids; Red = outgoing raids. Toggle on/off Flight Lines: Select this button to toggle off 3D aircraft and play the game with ÒstatusÓ colored boxes and flight lines instead. This is a useful option for players experiencing very slow Reaction Phases. The colors for each side are as follows: British Black/White Boxes and Black Lines = interceptors Green Boxes and Lines = patrols Blue Boxes = air units returning home German Orange Boxes and Lines = incoming fighter sweeps and bomber formations Orange Boxes only = recon and night intruder formations Red Boxes = outbound raids The size of the box also indicates the approximate size of the unit. The larger the box, the more aircraft in the raid. Toggle on/off Stragglers: Select this button to toggle on and off units classified as ÒstragglersÓ. A ÒstragglerÓ is a unit that breaks off from the main element of the raid due to shortage of fuel or damage. The purpose of this feature is to help reduce aircraft clutter on the map. Stragglers occur on both sides.

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Highlight Locations with Anti-Aircraft (AA) Guns: Select this button to highlight all British locations which currently house anti-aircraft (AA) guns. This feature appears only to the British player during his Movement Phase. Highlight Locations with Balloon Barrages: Select this button to highlight all British locations which currently house balloon barrages. This feature appears only to the British player during his Movement Phase. Highlight Airfields with British Air Units: Select this button to highlight all British airfields which currently house air units. This feature appears only to the British player during his Movement Phase. Toggle on/off Following Bomber Units: Select this button to toggle on and off all nonlead German aircraft, and instead show their shadows only. This feature only works when you are playing the game with 3D aircraft turned on. The purpose of this feature is to help reduce aircraft clutter on the map. See p. 50 for more information about German ÒleadÓ and Ònon-leadÓ units. Highlight Locations with Current Recon Photos: Select this button to highlight all British locations that have a current German recon photo. A ÒcurrentÓ photo is a photo that is either one or two days old. Any recon photo over two days old is not reliable. This feature appears only to the German player during his Raid Planning Phase. See p. 53 for more information about recon photos. Highlight Airfields with German Air Units: Select this button to highlight all German airfields which currently house air units. This feature appears only to the German player during his Raid Planning Phase. Toggle on/off Airfields: Select this button to toggle on and off all British airfields. This feature appears only to the German player during his Raid Planning Phase. Toggle on/off Factories: Select this button to toggle on and off all British industry, including railyards and oil storage facilities. This feature appears only to the German player during his Raid Planning Phase. Toggle on/off Ports: Select this button to toggle on and off all British ports. This feature appears only to the German player during his Raid Planning Phase. Toggle on/off Radar Sites: Select this button to toggle on and off all British radar sites. This feature appears only to the German player during his Raid Planning Phase. Show Urban Areas (and damage): Select this button to show only British urban areas. The red circles indicate the actual area of the urban site. Damage sustained to urban blocks outside the red circles have no effect. Damage to urban areas are represented by various hues of yellow: the brighter the yellow, the higher the damage level. Red dots in urban areas represent fires, and these fires mean that damage can spread to adjacent areas and fires can also increase the damage level of the area they are burning in. See p. 63 for more information.

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Toggle on/off Targeted Locations: Select this button to toggle on and off all British targets which have already been selected for attack. This feature appears only to the German player during his Raid Planning Phase. Toggle on/off Cloud Cover: Select this button to toggle on and off clouds. See p. 35 for more information about the effects of cloud cover. Toggle on/off Sound Effects: Select this button to toggle on and off game sound effects. Toggle on/off Music: Select this button to toggle on and off game music.

Watch Face - During the Reaction Phase, you may click on this watch face to increase game speed. There are four game speeds: x1, x2, x4, x8.

Mini-map - The mini-map displays a miniature of the entire area of play. You may click on this map to shift around to other areas of the map to view the action. The dots appearing here represent the air units as they move around the map. The colors correspond to the colors indicated under the Òflight linesÓ function above, except for British interceptors. On the mini-map, they are white dots.

Filing Cabinet (save game) - Select the filing cabinet to save the game you are currently playing. See p. 18 for more details.

Exit Door - Click here to exit the game and return to the Campaign Selection Screen.

Right Tab System - During play, the right tab system changes to reveal information and features necessary for play. See p. 20 for more details. Bottom Tab System - During play, the bottom tab system minimizes/maximizes to reveal information and features necessary for play. See p. 17 for more details. Two tabs, however, that appear as part of the bottom tab system are the ÒplanesÓ and ÒgunsÓ tabs. These tabs are 16

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databases of aircraft and ground defense information. At any time during play, if you wish to review real-world and game attributes on the various aircraft and ground defenses in the game, then click on the respective tab. Planes: Each aircraft has a list of statistics: its speed (combat speed), cruise (its normal speed when flying in formation), maximum altitude (how high it can fly), climb rate (number of feet per minute it can climb), maneuverability (ability to position itself affectively for combat), durability (how much punishment it can take before it goes down), armor value (its ability to reduce or defeat enemy shells from hitting it during combat), endurance (the number of minutes it can fly), load (maximum weapons payload), and gun value (a gun strength summation of the aircraft). Click on the button beside an aircraftÕs gun value to view more details about the aircraft.

The way to review this information is to look at an aircraftÕs attributes in context with other aircraft. For example, the Hurricane I and Spitfire I are very similar aircraft, but the Spitfire is slightly better in speed, cruise rate, maximum altitude, climb rate, and maneuverability, while the Hurricane is slightly more durable and has a better endurance. In contrast, notice how inferior the Gladiator is in many categories. Aircraft Details: Clicking on the button beside an aircraftÕs gun value opens that aircraftÕs details tab. Listed here are the selected aircraftÕs guns (the number of each and their facings), bomb load (if bombers), and any radar or electronic aviation components that the aircraft might have. The gun facings break down into F = front; TT = top turret; TR = top rear; R = rear; BR = bottom rear; BT = bottom turret; S = side. A gun can only fire toward its facing (unless itÕs a turret). So, depending upon what direction the attack is coming from, only a certain amount of an aircraftÕs guns will ever come into combat. For example, if a JU-88A-5 was being attacked from the front by Hurricane IÕs, then only its forward facing 7.9mm and 13mm machineguns would respond to the attack. So, even though the JU-88A-5 has a pretty sizable gun value, that doesnÕt mean that it will always bring to bear its full firepower. Bombers also have a listing for their bombs. XT = external bomb location and INT = internal bomb location. These are for information purposes only and have no bearing in the game whatsoever. NOTE: Fully loaded bombers will fly 30 MPH slower than their normal cruising speed. Guns: This is a list of guns which appear (in various quantities) on the aircraft in the game. Like aircraft, guns have attributes that show their quality. For example, the .303 Browning machinegunÕs attributes, when compared to other guns, doesnÕt look very effective. But notice that itÕs accuracy is the second highest behind the 7.9mm MG 81, which makes it a pretty formidable TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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gun. Also appearing here are the effective ranges of light, medium, and heavy AA guns. Their ranges indicate how high in feet their shells reach into the sky. Though not listed here, balloon barrages reach up to 5,000 feet.

One useful point to make about reviewing these databases is that it will help you make better decisions (especially for the German player) on how to choose aircraft when plotting bombing raids, escort fighters, and interceptors. If you know a particular aircraftÕs limitations, then you will know how to use that aircraft to its best abilities.

Load/Save Game Screen Select ÒLoad Saved GameÓ on the Start-Up Screen to continue playing a previously saved game. Saved Game Slots

Load/Save Game Buttons

Date Saved

Player Comments Box (type in comments here)

Exit Door

Along the left edge of the screen is a set of slots in which you can save games. The Save and Load buttons appear below the slots and are clicked to save/load a selected game accordingly. Along the right edge is the date area showing when the selected game was saved, and below that is the Òplayer commentsÓ box. 18

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Loading a Saved Game: You can continue playing a saved game by first selecting ÒLoad Saved GameÓ on the Start-up Screen. Once on the Load/Save Game Screen, select the saved game you wish to begin playing by clicking on the button to the left of its name, then click ÒLoadÓ at the bottom of the list. Immediately, the game loads. Saving a Game: During play, you may click on the filing cabinet in the bottom right-hand corner of the Main Game Screen. Once on the Load/Save Game Screen, type in any information you wish about the game in the Òplayer commentsÓ box by clicking on the arrow appearing beside the box. Then select a save location slot in the list along the left side of the screen, then click ÒSaveÓ.

Game Options Screen Select ÒGame OptionsÓ on the Start-Up Screen to set various game options before beginning play. See the README file for details about game options.

Play-by-Email Screen Select ÒMultiplayerÓ on the Start-Up Screen to begin either a Play-by-Email or Hot Seat game between two human players. See the README file for details about how to set up E-mail and Hot Seat games.

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PLAYING THE GAME Effective play of TalonSoftÕs Battle of Britain requires patience and study. For the German player to be successful, he must bomb British targets again and again, send recon aircraft over targets to get good damage assessment photos, and also consider spreading out his attacks to stretch the British defenses to their breaking point. On the other side, the British player must deal with a swarm of German raids that never seem to end. He must consider when and if to redeploy antiaircraft (AA) guns, balloon barrages and fighter squadrons, and must also make the calculated (though terrible) decision to allow certain areas of his country to go undefended in order to conserve his resources and protect more strategically important areas. It is all of these considerations and challenges that face you in this game, and the mastering of these elements takes time. This chapter and the following sections describe how to play the game.

GAME PHASES The play of TalonSoftÕs Battle of Britain is divided into a series of phases. For each day of a campaign, the British player has a Movement Phase and a Reaction Phase. The German player has a Raid Planning Phase, a Reaction Phase, and an Intelligence Briefing Phase. WeÕll begin by describing the British phases.

British Movement Phase In the British Movement Phase, the British player has the opportunity to review the damage of the dayÕs bombing missions against his country. He may also review the number of planes lost per side, the quality and condition of his pilots, and also move anti-aircraft guns, balloon barrages, and fighter squadrons (or ÒunitsÓ) to other airfields/targets respectively in order to bolster defenses in 20

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areas he considers weak. At the beginning of a new campaign, the information included in the Movement Phase is sparse, as the campaign hasnÕt started yet. As the campaign progresses, however, more and more information is added, so it is important for the British player to review the information carefully and note changes.

British Movement Phase Tab

Move AA Guns (and balloon barrages): Selecting this option gives you the opportunity to review your AA gun and balloon barrage resources, and then move them to other locations if so desired. Unlike moving aircraft (see below), AA guns and balloon barrages are moved to and from a pool of available pieces, and then from this pool they can be transferred to other locations. To move AA guns and balloon barrages from place to place, follow these steps: (1) Select ÒMove AA GunsÓ on the Movement Phase tab. This places you in the Move AA mode. All locations that currently contain ground defenses highlight. (2) Once youÕve done this, you are prompted to ÒMove AA Guns-Select a LocationÓ on the bottom tab. When this prompt appears, move the mouse arrow over the location on the map you wish to move AA guns and/or balloons to, and left-click. The locationÕs details tab opens. Once youÕre on the details tab, you may move guns/balloons in and out of the location by clicking on the appropriate arrows. [Note: You may also select a location by clicking on the ÒListÓ tab which appears at the bottom. Doing so places you in a list of target types, which you then sort through to find the particular location you wish.]

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(3) Click on the Ò+10Ó or Ò+1Ó arrows to move guns/balloons from the pool to the location. Click on the Ò-10Ó or Ò-1Ó arrows to move guns/balloons from the location to the ÒtransitÓ pool. See below for more details about the pools. (4) Once you are finished moving AA guns and/or balloons in this location, click the ÒDoneÓ button in the bottom left-hand corner of the details tab. Repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 until you are finished moving all AA guns and/or balloons around the map. (5) When you are completely finished moving all AA guns and/or balloons, click the ÒExitÓ button on the bottom tab. This exits you out of the Move AA Guns function completely and back to the Movement Phase.

Operation Points: Operation points are spent by the British player each time a gun/balloon is moved. At the beginning of each new Movement Phase, the British player is given 100 Operation Points to spend moving guns, balloons, and air units (see below). The amount of Op Points spent moving these items is indicated in the ÒMove CostÓ column. So, moving one balloon barrage costs 4 Op Points. Clicking the ÒUndoÓ button cancels all transfers youÕve conducted for the location you are currently working in. Once youÕve reached your limit in Op Point spending, you may not move any more guns, balloons, or units until your next Movement Phase. The ÒpoolÓ and ÒtransitÓ columns: When moving guns/balloons out of a location, they always first go into the ÒtransitÓ pool and then a day later (i.e., next Movement Phase), appear in the regular ÒpoolÓ ready for redistribution. The ÒtransitÓ pool basically serves to simulate (in an abstract manner) the time it takes to break down the guns/balloons at their location to get them ready for transfer. The regular ÒpoolÓ represents all guns/balloons ready to be deployed. All new guns and balloons produced by the British economy during play appear immediately in the regular pool. The Purpose of Transferring AA Guns and Balloons: As the British player itÕs important to distribute your ground defenses as effectively as possible in order to hinder German bombing. The more guns/balloons you have in a location, the better defended that location is. Each gun type has a fire range (i.e., the distance it can fire into the sky). Light AA guns can fire up to 4,000 feet; Medium AA guns 10,000 feet; Heavy AA guns 30,000 feet. the effectiveness of AA gunfire diminishes with altitude, so even though a heavy AA gun reaches up to 30,000 feet, formations flying along those altitudes are less likely to get hit than those under heavy AA gun fire at 15,000 feet. Balloon Barrages are extended on the end of cables that reach up to 5,000. German raiders, then, flying over targets with these ground defenses are more likely to be shot down, or run into the balloon cables. Thus, youÕll want to keep an eye on which targets have (and do not have) ground defenses. 22

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The area of Britain under Group 11Õs command (see page p. 86) will probably receive the brunt of any German attack (especially in the 1940 campaigns). So, pay particular attention to your ground defenses in that area. Review each campaignÕs victory and scoring conditions (p. 60) to see which targets are more likely to be targeted by German raids, then deploy your ground defenses accordingly. Take care, however, when placing balloon barrages around airfields, as any units you have attempting to land at those airfields could get caught in the cables.

Move Air Units: Select this option to move air units from one airfield to another. To move a unit, follow these steps:

(1) Select ÒMove Air UnitsÓ on the Movement Phase tab. This places you in the Move Units mode. All airfields with air units highlight.

(2) Once youÕve done this, you are asked to ÒSelect AirfieldÓ on the bottom tab. When this prompt appears, select the airfield on the map by left-clicking on it. [Note: You may also select an airfield by clicking the ÒListÓ tab which appears at the bottom. Doing so places you in a list of target types, which you then sort through to find the particular airfield you wish.] Once youÕve selected the airfield, the bottom tab opens to reveal the details of the airfield youÕve selected, and you are prompted to ÒSelect a group to transfer.Ó

(3) On the airfieldÕs details tab, find the unit you wish to transfer and click on the button beside its name. Some locations have more than one air unit (you may only choose one unit at a time for transfer). You are then prompted to ÒSelect a new baseÓ. (4) Select the destination airfield (i.e., new base) you wish to transfer the unit to. The unit is then transferred to that new base. (5) When you are completely finished transferring all units, click the ÒExitÓ button on the minimized bottom tab. This places you back in the Movement Phase.

Transfer Time: The time it takes for the transferred air unit to arrive at its new base depends upon the distance between the two bases, so you may see a substantial delay before a transferred unit appears at its new base, although its name will appear at the location immediately. Transferred units automatically reattach themselves to the group command that they are being transferred to. For example, a unit transferred from Group 11 to Group 13 is now under control of Group 13. The doctrine settings for that unit (see p. 24) are automatically changed to the doctrine settings of the group itÕs transferred to. Operation points (see p. 000) used to transfer air units is one point per aircraft, but even if you only have one Op Point left, the entire unit will be transferred, but its transfer delay is increased dramatically to account for the lack of the needed op points.

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The Purpose of Transferring Air Units: There are a number of reasons for moving air units around from base to base. One very good reason is to allow heavily engaged units (i.e., those that have flown a lot of missions) to rest. As a unitÕs pilots take fatigue (see p. 29), its combat effectiveness and morale go down. So, for example, swapping low morale Group 11 units with high morale Group 12 units is a good tactic to use to keep your readiness and attack quality high. Another good reason is to keep your opponent guessing as to where your units are. During a campaign, your opponent will be conducting recon missions to see where your ground defenses and aircraft are located. Redeploying your units, then, keeps your opponent off guard. Another good reason to move air units is to respond to the various tactics your opponent may employ. For example, if during a campaign you find that the Luftwaffe is sending a lot of low level bombing groups with little or no fighter escort against Group 10 targets, you may wish to redeploy more Hurricane units to that sector (for Hurricanes are very effective against bombers). And you may also wish to move some of Group 10Õs Spitfire units to Group 11 to thwart aggressive German fighter sweeps. One important caution when moving units, however, should be noted. Each airfield has a ÒcapacityÓ. This capacity number is the number of units that that airfield can maintain comfortably. Primary airfields have a capacity of 4; secondary airfields have a capacity of 2. If the number of units at an airfield exceed the airfieldÕs capacity, then those units will take longer to refuel and get back into combat. You may exceed the capacity of an airfield if you wish (and there may be reasons for you to do so), but just be aware of the danger.

IMPORTANT When moving AA guns, balloons and units, keep in mind the number of Operation Points you have. The cost to move these items comes out of the same Op Points pool, so if youÕve moved a lot of guns and balloons around, you may not have enough points to transfer squadrons and vice-versa. So, keep an eye on your Op points to ensure you have enough to conduct the transfers you wish.

Set Fighter Doctrine: Select this option to change your squadronsÕ attack doctrine. There are four British fighter groups: Group 10, 11, 12, and 13 (see p. 86). For each of the four groups you may set the Alert Level Radius and the Interception Tactics. Alert Level and Radius: British squadrons have four levels of alert: 1 hour, 15 minutes, 5 minutes, and 1 minute (the ÔhighestÕ level). The alert level is the time it takes a unit to get into the air after it receives orders to take off. The problem with keeping units on the highest alert level all the time is that their pilots gain fatigue (see p. 29) while they are waiting for orders to take off. The game allows units to start each day on 1 hour alert and then step up their alert level in reaction to German activity. When the German radio activity level exceeds 100, then all British units (except night fighters) go on 15 minute alert. Units go to higher levels of alert when detected German raids move within a radius that triggers a new level. The exception to this rule are night fighters. Blenheims, Beaufighters, Defiant IAÕs, and Havocs (during daytime hours) do not go on higher alert when German raids are detected. They stay at their default 1 hour level until nighttime hours arrive, and then they can go on higher alert status. The reason for this is to ensure that night fighters (who perform better at night and should be held in reserve and flown at night) do not gain unnecessary fatigue during the day. Alternatively, when nighttime arrives, day24

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time fighters such as Spitfires and Hurricanes do not go on higher alert. They stay on the default 1 hour alert level.

Interception Tactics: Interception tactics are set by group and aircraft type. There are four tactics: (1) direct-fighter, (2) bouncefighter, (3) direct-bomber, and (4) bounce-bomber.

¸ Squadrons assigned tactics 1 or 2 will have a preference for attacking enemy fighters while those with tactics 3 or 4 will try to attack enemy bombers. ¸ Squadrons assigned direct tactics 1 or 3 will go straight in to attack enemy formations without wasting any time. ¸ Squadrons assigned bounce tactics 2 or 4 will maneuver into the best possible attack position. Bounce tactics usually require more time to maneuver into position and sometimes enemy escort fighters will attack them during this interval. To set fighter doctrine, follow these steps:

(1) Select ÒSet DoctrineÓ on the Movement Phase tab. This places you in the Set Doctrine mode. The bottom tab opens and defaults to Group 11 fighters (as this is the group which will ultimately take the brunt of any German attack). The Movement Phase tab refreshes to show you all four fighter groups.

(2) Select your group from the Movement Phase tab, then set (by aircraft type) your fighter doctrines for that group. Once youÕve done so, each squadron of that aircraft type (in that group) will follow that doctrine. (3) Repeat step 2 until you are finished setting the doctrine for each group, then click ÒExitÓ on the Movement Phase tab to exit back to the Movement Phase.

The Purpose of Changing Fighter Doctrines: At the beginning of each new campaign, the game assigns a doctrine to each of your units based on historical performance. For example, your Spitfire units are set to intercept German fighters. If, however, you find that your German opponent is sending heavy bomber raids (with light fighter escort) against Group 11 targets, you may wish to reassign your Spitfire units in Group 11 to either bounce-bomber or directbomber. TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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ItÕs important to note, however, that even though a fighter is assigned a particular attack doctrine, that doesnÕt mean it wonÕt attack a different aircraft type if you order it to do so, or if it finds itself in a situation where no other target exists. For example, if you order Spitfires to attack a group of HE111 bombers, the units will do so, even though they may be set to direct-fighter tactics. Once these Spitfires get into the area of the bombers youÕve ordered them to attack, if there are Me109s in the vicinity, they will ignore the bombers and go after the fighters because of their doctrine setting. You must also keep in mind that there is a certain amount of randomness built in to how your fighters will react during interception. The skies can get very cluttered, and so your units will first choose targets based on their doctrine setting, and then choose targets based on whatÕs in the area at the time of interception.

Action Reports (information-only tab):

Select this option to review all the raids against you for the day and their results.

#: This is the raid ID number assigned to the raid by the German player. This number is not associated with the raid ID numbers which Fighter Command assigns to raids as they are detected. Basically, this is just a numerical list of the raids in the order the German player planned them. Type: This is the raid type. There are four different German raid types: Bombing (Bomb), Fighter Sweep (FS), Reconnaissance (Recon), and Night Intruder (NI). For more information about these raids, see p. 44. Ftr: This number represents the total number of fighter planes in the raid. Bmr: This number represents the total number of bombers in the raid. F/Lost: This is the number of estimated fighters destroyed in the raid. B/Lost: This is the number of estimated bombers destroyed in the raid. I/Lost: This is the number of British fighters (i.e., your aircraft) that were destroyed while attacking this raid. For the German player, the number here is an estimate of British aircraft destroyed. Target: This is where the raid attacked. This information shows the location name and what kind of target it was. For more information about targets, see p. 67. R,C,S: The ÒrcsÓ numbers represent the damage the target sustained from the raid. The letters mean different things for different target types. For airfield targets: R=Runway damage, C=Communications damage, S=Service area damage. [Note: Damage to the runway (R) is easily repaired and so you shouldnÕt be too concerned with high R damage against airfields (although there is a risk of your aircraft crashing on a heavily damaged runway).] Damage against an airfield's communication and service areas is important, as the German player receives victory points by damaging these areas. See p. 60 for more details about victory points and damage to your targets. For radar targets: R=Radar damage, C=Communications damage. For area and railyard targets: R=Urban damage, S=Railyard damage. For all others: R=Damage to Factory/Installation. 26

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The Purpose of Reviewing The Action Report: The importance of reviewing the Action Report is obvious: As the British player, you need to know where the Germans are attacking. And, you need to know which targets are getting hit the most. Depending upon which campaign you are playing, the Germans will attack targets based on their needed victory requirements (see p. 60), and so you should review the Action Report carefully to see how much damage your targets are taking, and where the thrust of the attack is occurring. Once you take a full assessment of the damage, you can then make better decisions on where to move your AA guns and balloon barrages, move air units, and what attack doctrines to set. List Targets (information-only tab): Select this option to review details about your industries and airfields. Upon selecting this option, the tab refreshes to show you the full list of target types. The number under ÒtotalÓ represents the total effective value for that target type (i.e., the total undamaged capacity of that industry). It is adjusted downward for damage to other industries on which it is dependent (see p. 62). The number under ÒdamageÓ is the percentage of the total capacity that has been damaged.

Once youÕve reviewed this information, if you wish to review specific target damage, click on a target type. The specific targets of that type appear. Target List

Name: This is the name of the target (i.e., St. Eval). Damage: This is the percentage of damage to the target, broken down in three damage categories (if airfields), two damage categories (if radar sites), and only one category for any other target type. If the target has sustained damage, it will be listed here. The damage amounts listed here is always correct for the British player. Air Units/Capacity/Size: This number represents the production capacity or size of the target. For factories and other industrial targets, this represents the production capacity; for railyards, this represents the size/importance of the yard; for airfields this represents the number of air units the base can comfortably maintain. Primary airfields operate normally with 4 units; secondary airfields operate normally with 2 units. You may over-stack an airfield if you wish TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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(i.e., have three squadrons at Croydon airfield), but the effectiveness of that airfield to get aircraft ready to fly is reduced. AA Guns: This is the number of anti-aircraft guns currently located at the target. Balloons: This is the number of balloon barrages currently located at the target. Attached To: If you are reviewing a list of airfields, the Group (or primary airfield for secondary fields) the airfield is attached to is listed here. If you wish to view even more information about a target, select the target name, then click on the ÒdetailsÓ tab and the information below appears. Target Details

The target ÒdetailsÓ display gives you all the details of the target. It shows the targetÕs name, which air group or primary airfield it is attached to (if an airfield), what kind of target it is, its size, capacity, and other important information. Also included are the following: Com-delay: This number represents the additional delay in communications caused by the time required to transmit orders through the chain of command. This may be increased by damage to communications facilities at airfields or radar stations. The com-delay number of an airfield is directly connected to the amount of time it takes for a unit of that airfield to get off the ground. For example, if the alert level (see p. 24) of a unit is set to 60 minutes, if its airfield has com-delay damage of 15, it will take 75 minutes for that unit to get off the ground once itÕs ordered to launch. Com-damage: This number represents the percentage of damage done to communications. Like the com-delay number, com-damage increases a unitÕs delay for launch. Once you are in a targetÕs details tab, you can select any squadrons which appear there (if an airfield) and open the ÒunitÓ and ÒpilotsÓ tab (see p. 32). The Purpose of Reviewing Target Information: ItÕs absolutely necessary for the British player to conduct good damage assessment in order to decide how to prosecute his defense. You must know which airfields are being heavily attacked (so that you can decides whether to move their air units to other, less-damaged fields). You must know which industries are being pounded to dust in order to decide when and where to move AA guns and balloon barrages. Reviewing the target list, then, is one of the most important tasks you will perform in the Movement Phase. Your German opponent will conduct his attack based on what he needs to do to score points for victory. Review Battle of BritainÕs victory conditions (see p. 60) carefully to know which industries will be targeted most often. Although there are various visual preferences you can set to see how much damage a particular target has sustained (see p. 13), you still need to 28

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review the Target List often to fully understand how much damage your poor (yet brave) country is taking.

List Top Pilots (information-only tab): Select this option to review a listing of your top pilots. As the campaign progresses, the game begins to promote pilots and adjust their attributes. Units with good pilots perform their duties better, so itÕs important to review your pilot information often and know which squadrons have the top guns.

Pilot Rank: This is the pilotÕs rank. Pilot Name: This is the pilotÕs name. Nearly every pilot (both British and German) which flew in the Battle of Britain is in the gameÕs extensive database. Experience (exp): This number represents the pilotÕs experience. A pilot gains experience flying his aircraft, by killing enemy aircraft, and for successfully bombing targets. Fatigue (fat): This number represents the pilotÕs fatigue level. A pilot gains fatigue ÒpointsÓ in the following categories: Category 1 hour alert 15 minute alert 5 minute alert 1 minute alert Flying through flak Dogfight Fighter pilot attacking bomber Bomber pilot attacked by fighter Each minute flying Landing

Points 0 1 (per minute) 2 (per minute) 3 (per minute) 10 (per instance) 30 (per instance) 10 (per instance) 10-30 (per instance) 10 (per instance) 100 (per instance)

When a pilotÕs fatigue points exceed the number 10 plus his current fatigue level, then his fatigue level is increased by one. During overnight phases (the time between the ending of one Reaction Phase and the beginning of another), a pilotÕs fatigue level is divided by 4. A pilotÕs fatigue reduces his skill. For example, a pilot with 25 fatigue will have his performance reduced by 25%. A pilotÕs fatigue level will never exceed 99. Missions (mis): This number represents the number of missions the pilot has flown. Kills: This number represents the number of enemy aircraft the pilot is credited with shooting down. Only pilots with one kill or more are considered Òtop pilotsÓ. Fate: This applies only to pilots who are currently or permanently unable to fly. There are TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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three fate types: WIA = wounded in action (this pilot may return later) MIA = missing in action (in game terms this is the same as KIA). MIA is more likely to happen to German pilots because they fly over enemy land. KIA = killed in action Unit: This is the unit the pilot is assigned to. You cannot reassign pilots to other units. They stay with the unit they are assigned for the entire game. Type: This is the type of aircraft the pilot is (or was) flying.

The Purpose of Reviewing Top Pilots: Units with top pilots fly better interceptions missions. Thus, knowing which units have top pilots helps you decide which to ÒscrambleÓ against incoming raids. Many of the pilots used in the game are actual pilots that flew in the Battle of Britain, so thereÕs certainly interest here for those players who are familiar with the battle and recognize certain names. List Air Units (information-only tab): Select this option to review your fighter squadrons. The information displayed here shows your unitsÕ morale levels, damage levels, etc. The first tab that opens lists the aircraft types (Hurricane I, Spitfire I, etc.). This is a list of all the aircraft that are (or potentially will be) flying in the campaign you are currently playing. If you wish to review a list of all units of that aircraft type, select a specific type. A list of all units using that aircraft appears (see below). ItÕs important to note that you may see an aircraft type listed here, click on it, and get no response. This means that that particular aircraft type is not currently being used in the campaign and so no units have them. For example, at the beginning of the 1940 campaigns, no units are currently flying Beaufighter IFÕs. They will arrive later in the campaign. But Beaufighters are listed here at all times to remind you of aircraft to come.

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Unit List

Unit Name: This is the name of the unit (example: 238 Squadron) See p. 117 for a full list of all units. Headquarters: This is the headquarters to which the unit is attached. Most secondary airfields trace a chain of command through a primary ÒsectorÓ airfield. A primary sector airfield is one attached to either Group 10, 11, 12, or 13. To view a list of all secondary airfields with primary airfields as commands, see p. 68. Ready: This number represents the number of individual planes in the unit which are ready to take off. Unavailable: This number represents the number of individual planes in the unit which are unable to fly. The four unavailable conditions are: (1) damaged (being repaired), (2) in maintenance, (3) moving from one base to another (in-transit), and (4) in reserve or without pilots. Experience: This number represents the average experience of all pilots in the unit. The higher the unitÕs experience, the better it will perform. Morale: This number represents the unitÕs willingness to press on in the face of enemy opposition and high losses. A unitÕs morale is reduced when its aircraft are destroyed and also due to high pilot fatigue (see p. 29). A unitÕs morale is increased due to inspiring leadership and by successfully bombing targets (for German pilots) or destroying enemy aircraft. Base: This is the airfield to which the unit is based. This can change if the unit is transferred to another airfield during play. Once you have reviewed a list of air units, you may select one individually to view even more details. Once youÕve selected the unit, click the ÒdetailsÓ tab. The ÒunitÓ and ÒpilotÓ tabs appear.

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The Unit Tab. The Unit Tab lists full details about the squadron you have selected. The unit tab lists the unitÕs name, its experience (an average of its pilot skill) and morale (a compilation of the unitÕs success or failure in the past), its current attack doctrine, its commander and his leadership (which helps low-experienced pilots gain experience) and inspiration (affects the adjustment of the unitÕs morale between Reaction Phases), and the status of all its aircraft. There are nine status categories for aircraft: landing, flying, taking off, ready, fueling, in maintenance, being repaired, in transit, in reserve. A unitÕs aircraft status changes constantly during play.

The Pilot Tab. The Pilot Tab lists the details about each pilot currently in the squadron. It shows the pilotÕs rank, name, experience, fatigue, number of missions he has flown, his number of kills, and nationality.

The Purpose of Reviewing Air Units: ItÕs important to review the status of your air units to see which are taking heavy losses, which have low morale, and which have highly skilled or heavily fatigued pilots. Knowing this information will help you decide which units to rotate out of their current airfields to areas with less activity, or which units are getting the most enemy kills, etc. Aircraft Losses (information-only tab): Select this option to review all the aircraft that have been destroyed (on both sides) for the dayÕs raids and for the entire campaign. Two numbers are displayed for each aircraft type. The first number (under the ÒtotalÓ column) is the total aircraft losses for the entire campaign. The second number (under the ÒtodayÓ column) is the total aircraft losses for the day. To the right is listed the total sorties both sides have flown for the day and for the entire campaign, and also total aircraft losses.

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The Purpose of Reviewing Aircraft Losses: For obvious reasons, knowing which aircraft are suffering the most losses will help you decide if current attack doctrine is effective. For example, if youÕre losing a lot of Spitfires and you have all Spitfires set on direct-bomber tactics, this probably means that enemy fighter aircraft are not being fully engaged and thus they have free reign to target and knock out your Spitfires. Thus, you may wish to change your Spitfire tactics to help reduce losses. Very likely, youÕll lose more Hurricanes during play than any other aircraft. This is not unusual for the British player, as there are more Hurricane units than any other. DonÕt be too concerned about Hurricane losses; unless, of course, they grossly exceed Hurricane replacements in the replacement pool (see below). Aircraft Replacements (information-only tab): Select this option to review a listing of all British aircraft and their replacements. Two numbers are displayed for each aircraft type. The first number (under the ÒtotalÓ column) is the total number of replacement aircraft that have been produced during the campaign. The second number (under the ÒpoolÓ column) is the number of aircraft that have not yet been distributed to the squadrons. These numbers change as the campaign progresses.

The Purpose of Reviewing Aircraft Replacements: Keeping tabs on aircraft replacements is useful if you want to see how quickly aircraft are being replaced. As play progresses, your aircraft production centers add new planes to your replacement pool. These replacements are pulled out of the pool during play to fill holes in British units where necessary. If, for example, the replacement pool number (second number) for Hurricanes is zero (0), it means that the minute a new Hurricane rolls off the assembly line, itÕs being assigned as a replacement. Thus, knowing that a certain aircraft is not being manufactured quickly could give you incentive to not scramble units of that type for awhile in order to help replenish the pool. Upgrades and the Replacement Pool: During a campaign, some units begin to upgrade their aircraft. For example, during the month of September in 1940, all Blenheim units begin receiving Beaufighters. The old Blenheims are not scrapped; they are simply rotated into the Blenheim replacement pool to be used by Blenheim units which have not fully upgraded. TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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Other Aircraft Replacement Sources: In addition to receiving replacement aircraft from your production facilities, you also receive aircraft from other sources. In 1940, you receive the following replacement aircraft on even-numbered turns: From Canada: 4 Hurricane IÕs From Bomber Conversion: 1 Blenheim IF In 1941, you receive the following replacement aircraft on even-numbered turns: From Canada: 4 Hurricane IÕs From USA: 1 Havoc I

END PHASE BUTTON: When you are finished with your Movement Phase, press the ÒEnd PhaseÓ button to enter the Reaction Phase.

British Reaction Phase The Reaction Phase is where it all happens, where German raids are launched, and where the British player may ÒreactÓ to incoming raids by setting up patrols and interceptors. While the German player simply sits back and watches his raids perform their missions (which he has plotted during his Raid Planning Phase, see p. 44), it is the British player who must rise to the occasion in the Reaction Phase.

THE ÒSTART/STOPÓ BUTTON: The Reaction Phase begins in a ÒpausedÓ state. This allows you to review the map (if desired) before the phase begins. To start the Reaction Phase, click the START button. When depressed, the start button becomes the STOP button. To stop the Reaction Phase, click the stop button.

Radio Activity: While they are forming up, German raids generate radio activity that grows until all raids are ready to launch. As radio activity increases, the number of green dots appearing beside the radio activity indicator increases to give you a visual representation of the amount of activity occurring across the English Channel. Every green dot (roughly 50 points of radio activity) equals at least one German raid forming, and maybe more. So, if the radio activity reaches three green dots (around 150 points) then that means at least three German raids are in the works. Once the Germans form up and launch their raids, radio activity decreases and green dots are replaced by red dots. Again, this serves as a visual representation of radio activity going down.

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Radio Activity and Patrols: One thing youÕll want to do frequently as the British player is launch patrols once radio activity begins increasing dramatically. Launching patrols can help get your units in position to spot and intercept German raids. For more information about how to set patrols, see p. 37. German Aircraft Flying Under Radar, Recon Aircraft, and Night Intruder Aircraft: German aircraft flying under radar (at 500 feet or lower) do generate radio activity; however, they are not detected on radar. Recon aircraft, on the other hand, do not generate radio activity, nor do night intruder aircraft. These types of raids will often just appear above their targets, take their recon photos or drop their bombs, and quickly fly home. There isnÕt a lot you can do about these particular raiders, save for anticipating their arrival and have enough ground defenses in place to hit them when they do arrive.

Cloud Cover (overcast): The overcast level represents the average density of cloud cover over the map. Cloud cover greater than 69 represents hostile weather that may damage aircraft during flight. Overcast may prevent bombers from visually locating their targets, or may hinder the ability of fighters to locate and attack bombers. Higher overcast levels may also increase the number of landing accidents. During the Reaction Phase, then, itÕs important to watch the overcast level carefully and launch (or not launch) interceptors accordingly. The actual cloud graphic appearing over land areas on the map is where cloud cover is currently in effect. If you fly units within these areas, they may receive the effects of cloud cover. This is particularly problematic for the German player, as dense cloud cover may prevent him from finding his targets. Also note that clouds will drift during the day, so areas not previously covered in clouds at the beginning of a Reaction Phase may be covered at the end. You can toggle on/off cloud cover during the Reaction Phase (see p. 16).

Light and Moon: The light number represents sun or moonlight. When the sun is up, light will be 100. After the sun sets, light is reduced to the moon level. During a full moon, light will never be less than 28. During a new moon, light will be reduced to zero. Night conditions exist whenever light is less than 50. Lower light levels reduce the range and the chance of visually detecting aircraft. Lower light levels reduce the ability of aircraft navigators. Lower light levels also reduce the effectiveness of bombing missions. And finally, lower light levels increase the likelihood of aircraft crashing during landings.

Date: The current day of the campaign. There are 8 different campaigns in TalonSoftÕs Battle of Britain, divided into 4 separate campaigns per year (1940 and Ô41). One-day campaigns last for 1 day. One-week campaigns last for 7 days. Onemonth campaigns last 31 days. The full-length 1940 campaign lasts for 79 days. The full-length 1941 campaign lasts for 184 days. One-day and one-day campaigns last for the full time limit. One-month and full-length campaigns, however, last for the full time limit or until the German player achieves victory, or until the game stops due to monthly score checks (see p. 60).

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Time: The time represents military time. When you click the ÒStartÓ button to begin or resume a Reaction Phase, the clock starts and continues until either you have halted the Reaction Phase or the phase ends.

How Long Does a Reaction Phase Last? A Reaction Phase lasts until all raids and/or patrols are completed and no planes are left flying. This may stretch the Reaction Phase well into the next day. But once the Reaction Phase ends, a new British Movement Phase begins and the process starts all over again. Time and Light: The time of day and the light number are interconnected. Notice that the timer is colored yellow. A yellow time means that it is daytime. As the day wears on, the light number decreases. Once the light number reaches 50, the time becomes blue which means that the sun has gone down and the Reaction Phase has moved into nighttime. This is important to watch carefully as your squadrons (and German units also) are affected by night conditions. Message Level: As action occurs during the Reaction Phase, message windows pop up giving you information about these situations. Adjusting the message level increases/decreases the amount of messages received. At message level zero (0) no messages appear (a useful setting to help speed up the Reaction Phase). At message level one (1) only high priority messages appear, such as combat results.

At message level two (2) a set of intermediate information is displayed.

At message level three (3) all messages are displayed.

Game Options: Select this option to enter the Game Options screen to set various visual and play functions. See the README file for more information.

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Cross of Iron Counter: Incoming raids, once they are picked up on British radar, appear first as a Cross of Iron counter. An orange counter represents an incoming raid; a red counter represents an outbound raid. Once a raid is ÒvisuallyÓ sighted by ground spotters or from units in the air (such as patrols, see below), the counter turns into a 3D top-down graphic of the ÒleadÓ unit in the raid. The Cross of Iron counter is only active when you are playing the game with 3D aircraft and only visible to the British player.

British Reaction Phase Tab

Set Patrol: At any time during the Reaction Phase, you may place units on patrol. To do so, follow these steps:

(1) Select ÒSet PatrolÓ on the Reaction Phase tab. This places you in the Set Patrol mode. (2) On the bottom tab, you are prompted to ÒSet Patrol Location.Ó Select any spot on the map you wish a unit to patrol. [Note: You cannot select a spot in the English Channel or on the German side, i.e. Norway, France, etc.] If you select an illegal patrol spot, the game warns you with a message. (3) Once youÕve selected a location, the bottom tab opens to give you a list of units to choose from. From this list, choose your unit(s) to patrol the selected location. You may choose to launch a unit in full, or launch a small group of three aircraft from that unit. Select all the units or portions you wish. Use the scroll bar to advance down the list. [IMPORTANT: Before you choose units, you must set the altitude of the patrol. In the bottom right-hand corner of the tab is an altitude indicator. If you wish to set your patrols at lower or higher altitudes, then set the altitude here first before choosing units The default altitude for patrols is 15,000 feet (which means it may detect raids coming in between 10,000 and 20,000 feet). Setting patrols at 5,000 to 6,000 feet, will help detect German raids attempting to fly under radar. So basically, patrols can usually detect raids coming in within 5,000 feet above or below their current altitude setting.] TalonSoft’s Battle of Britain

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(4) When you are finished selecting units, click ÒDoneÓ on the bottom tab. This places you back into the Set Patrol mode and you are prompted to select another patrol location. Notice that your selected locations are marked on the map. This helps you keep track of where youÕve sent patrols. (5) Repeat steps 2-4 to set as many patrols as you wish. Once you are completely finished setting all patrols, select ÒContinueÓ on the Reaction Phase tab to return to the Reaction Phase. Your patrols will launch according to their delay number (see graphic above), which is the number of minutes it will take the unit to launch. Once it reaches its patrol location, a unit will fly a square pattern over the area and remain there until it must return to base due to low fuel, or you choose to move it to another location (see ÒMove PatrolÓ below).

Assigning Patrols to Intercept Raids: You can assign patrolling units to intercept raids before or after they reach their patrol destination. See p. 39 for detail about how to reassign patrollers as interceptors. The Purpose of Setting Patrols: The purpose of sending up patrols is to get units in the air quickly to intercept incoming raids, and to get a ÒvisualÓ confirmation on a raidÕs aircraft complement. When raids come into the general vicinity of a patrol, the patrol may break off and intercept the raid, so if you can anticipate when and where raids will appear, you can already have fighters in the sky for interception. Also, when a raid is first identified by radar, itÕs simply a number of aircraft and not the complement of fighters versus bombers. Having patrols in the sky to meet raids as soon as they come over the English Channel gives you quicker unit identification and thus makes your task of assigning interceptors that much easier. ThereÕs no hard-and-fast rule about when itÕs appropriate to launch patrols, but here are some suggestions: - Watch your radio activity closely and when it begins to reach 400-500 points, consider launching patrols. - Use your Blenheims, Beaufighters, Defiants, and Gladiators or groups of 3 Spitfires or Hurricanes to patrol the coastline. Patrolling along the coast helps you visually spot and identify raid aircraft complements quickly. Move Patrol: Once you have patrols in the sky, you may move them to other locations. To do so, follow these steps:

(1) Select ÒMove PatrolÓ on the Reaction Phase tab. This places you in the Move Patrol mode. Immediately, all patrols on the map highlight. 38

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(2) Select one highlighted patrol on the map. (3) On the bottom tab, you are prompted to ÒSet New Patrol Location.Ó Select any legal spot on the map (see ÒSet PatrolÓ above). Immediately, a line draws from the selected patrol to its new patrol location. (4) After setting a new patrol location, the prompt on the bottom tab changes to ÒSelect Patrol to MoveÓ again. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have moved all patrols you wish. (5) When you are finished setting new patrol locations, select ÒContinueÓ on the Reaction Phase tab to continue the Reaction Phase. Your patrols will begin moving to their new locations. The Purpose of Moving Patrols: The purpose of moving patrols is to redirect your units into areas where German raids are moving. Oftentimes, youÕll pick patrol locations that prove fruitless and so itÕs necessary to correct the problem. Moving patrols can also bring them into the direct path of incoming raids, thus turning patrols into interceptors.

Recall Unit: Any unit in the sky can be ordered to return to its base (i.e., recalled). To recall a unit, follow these steps:

(1) Select ÒRecall UnitÓ on the Reaction Phase tab. This places you in the Recall Unit mode. Immediately, all of your units on the map highlight (if they werenÕt already highlighted).

(2) On the bottom tab, you are prompted to ÒSelect Unit to RecallÓ. Select the unit you wish to recall. The unit immediately un-highlights to show you which units youÕve already recalled, and youÕre prompted again to select another unit. (3) Repeat step 2 until you are finished recalling units. (4) Once you are completely finished, select ÒContinueÓ on the Reaction Phase tab to continue the Reaction Phase. Your recalled units should now begin returning to base.

The Purpose of Recalling Units: There are a number of reasons why you might wish to order a unit to return to base. If youÕve put up a lot of patrols and the Germans only threw a few raids at you, you are going to have a lot of units in the sky doing nothing but gaining fatigue and wasting fuel. YouÕll probably want to order these units back home quickly. Also, if youÕve ordered units to intercept a raid (see below) and you realize that the interceptors canÕt reach their target, youÕll want to order them home to keep them from wasting time. Set Doctrine: During the Reaction Phase, you may change the attack doctrine of your units. This function works the same as the Doctrine function found under British Movement Phase (see p. 00). Changing fighter doctrine during the Reaction Phase does not effect units which are currently in the air.

Intercept Raid: Intercepting German raids will certainly be your primary task during the Reaction Phase. Getting enough patrols in the air will help alleviate some of the pressure of having to launch so many interceptors, but inevitably youÕll spend a lot of time spotting raids and then scrambling units to attack them. There are two ways to intercept a raid: by picking them individually on the map, or by using the ÒList RaidsÓ function (see below). To intercept a raid by picking it on the map, follow these steps:

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(1) Select ÒIntercept RaidÓ on the Reaction Phase tab. This places you in the Intercept Raid mode.

(2) On the bottom tab, you are prompted to ÒSelect Raid to InterceptÓ. Move the cursor around the map to find the German raid you wish to intercept and then click on that raid. Notice that as you hover the cursor over the raid(s), the message box appears giving you some information about the aircraft in the raid.

The message box gives you the raid ID number and the estimated number of aircraft in the raid (in parentheses), and if known, the complement of bombers and fighters. A Cross of Iron counter (either orange or red) is a raid that has been picked up on British radar, but has not been visually spotted. A 3D aircraft model (which represents the ÒleadÓ unit in the raid) means that that raid has been visually spotted. This information should help you better determine which units to select for interception. [NOTE: If you move the cursor over a large group of raids and then click, you will first be prompted with an interim tab asking you to select one raid from the group. Select this raid, and then proceed to step 3 below.]

(3) Once youÕve selected a raid to intercept, the bottom tab opens and prompts you to ÒSelect InterceptorsÓ. Select the unit(s) in this list you wish to intercept the raid.

You may select units in full, or you may select groups of 3. As you select, a series of double arrows appear next to the ÒreadyÓ column. This means that this entire unit (or a portion of that unit) has been ordered to intercept the selected raid. You may choose any number of units to intercept. [IMPORTANT: Notice that not all of your units are listed here. A variable number of units appear for you to select. This list represents the units (in range order) which could possibly reach the selected raid in time to intercept it.] As you select units, notice that at the bottom of the tab the total of all interceptors is displayed. This helps you keep track of how many planes youÕve assigned to attack the raid. You may also select the ÒbaseÓ name of a unit to draw a line from its base to the selected raid (this helps give you a visual idea of how far away from the raid the interceptorÕs base is). 40

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Also note that some units listed are either already in the air on patrol or are en route to intercept other raids (ÒflyingÓ column). You can still select these units and redirect them to intercept the current raid, but it may take time for them to respond to the order and frankly, it may not be worth your time. When choosing interceptors, youÕll want to keep in mind the distance from the unitÕs base to the raid, and also the time (i.e., delay) it will take for the interceptors to get off the ground. YouÕll also want to choose units based on their attack doctrine (ÒdocÓ column). For example, if youÕre attempting to intercept a formation of 25 bombers with no fighter escort, you may wish to scramble Hurricane units set on Direct- or Bounce-bomber tactics (DB or BB). (4) Click ÒDoneÓ on the bottom tab once you are finished selecting your units. (5) Repeat steps 2-4 to continue selecting and intercept raids. (6) When you are finished selecting and intercepting raids, select ÒContinueÓ on the Reaction Phase tab to continue the Reaction Phase. Your interceptors will begin to launch according to their ÒdelayÓ number.

The Purpose of Intercepting Raids: You should begin intercepting raids as soon as they start appearing on the map. Intercepting German raids is really the only way the British player can destroy and break up bomber formations. Though you have ground defenses which will destroy their share of raiders as they pass over targets, scrambling your units to intercept is essential to prevent the Germans from achieving victory. You scramble interceptors to engage and destroy enemy aircraft, and you also scramble interceptors to Òbreak upÓ raid formations. Since the German player scores points by both destroying British aircraft and targets (see p. 60), intercepting a huge bomber formation and forcing it to break off and return home is just as significant as actually destroying aircraft in that raid. As the Reaction Phase progresses, and as more and more raids start pouring in, your first inclination may be to try to intercept every single raid detected. This is not recommended. Not only is it virtually impossible to intercept every raid, attempting to do so will just put too many of your aircraft in jeopardy, and unnecessarily increase pilot fatigue (see p. 29). YouÕll want to review all German raids carefully, and pick those you think you can damage the most. To conduct a better, more thorough review of which raids to attack, you should use the ÒList RaidsÓ function described below. List Raids: Instead of intercepting raids by selecting them on the map, you can also review a full list of raids by selecting ÒList RaidsÓ on the Reaction Phase tab. This allows you to review the details of the raids more thoroughly. To intercept raids using this function, follow these steps: (1) Select ÒList RaidsÓ from the Reaction Phase tab. This places you in the Intercept Raid mode. Immediately, the bottom tab opens to reveal a set of German raids currently underway.

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Raid ID: This is the ID number assigned to the raid by your controllers. Alongside the ID number, you may see a Ò-0Ó. Raids with this symbol are outbound. A/C: This is the estimated number of aircraft in the raid. For raids that have not been visually sighted, this number may be quite inaccurate. Ftr: This is the estimated number of close escort fighters in the raid. If the raid has not been visually sighted, this will be a Ô?Õ. High escort fighters (see p. 52) are considered a separate raid and are listed as such. Bmr: This is the estimated number of bombers in the raid. If the raid has not been visually sighted, this will be a Ô?Õ. Spd: This is the estimated speed of the raid. Slow moving raids tend to be easier to intercept, and often (but not always) denote formations with bombers. Alt: This is the estimated altitude of the raid. When you scramble interceptors, you donÕt have to worry about altitude. The game automatically takes your units up to the altitude necessary for interception and then attacks according to doctrine. Sector: This indicates the nearest sector airfield to the raid. Range: This is the distance to the nearest sector airfield. Intercepts: This is the number of interceptors currently assigned to attack the raid.

(2) To choose a raid on this list, simply click on the button to the left of its ID number. The raid immediately highlights on the map. You may continue to select raids in this fashion until you find the raid you wish to intercept. You can only intercept one raid at a time. (3) Once youÕve chosen a raid, select either the ÒInterceptÓ or ÒRecallÓ tab at the top of the bottom tab. If ÒInterceptÓ, proceed to step 4. If ÒRecallÓ, step 5. (4) Selecting ÒInterceptÓ places you in the list of units you may choose from to intercept the raid. Select the units on this list (see p. 40 for full details on how to choose interceptors), then click ÒDoneÓ on the bottom of the tab to return to the raid list. Proceed to Step 6 below. (5) Selecting ÒRecallÓ places you in the list of units which are currently intercepting the raid. [Note: ItÕs only necessary to select this option if youÕve already ordered units to intercept; otherwise, there will be no units to recall.] Once here, select the units you wish to send home (i.e., recall them), or set the units on patrol in their current location. When finished, click ÒDoneÓ on the bottom of the tab to return to the raid list. Proceed to Step 6 below. On the Raid List is a ÒRecall AllÓ button. You may select this button to recall all interceptors from all raids.

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Units selected for recall return to their home base as soon as the Reaction Phase continues; units set on patrol stop intercepting their raid(s) and begin patrolling in place as soon as the Reaction Phase continues. (6) Repeat steps 2-5 until you are finished assigning or recalling interceptors, then click ÒDoneÓ on the bottom of the Raid List tab to return to the Reaction Phase. (7) If the Reaction Phase is ÒstoppedÓ, select the ÒSTARTÓ button to begin again.

The Purpose of Intercepting Raids Using the ÒRaid ListÓ Function: Using the ÒRaid ListÓ function allows you to review a larger list of raids and then assign interceptors to all or some of them. Too, the raid list gives you more information about the raid speed, altitude, etc. The raid list changes quickly and often. One moment you may see a raid listed with 100 aircraft, and the next moment that raid may turn into a dozen smaller raids. One common tactic for the Germans is to have several smaller raids fly together in one large group, and then break apart once they reach a specific spot over England. They do this to mislead and confuse your radar facilities and spotters. So watch for this carefully. Also, itÕs important to know that the raid list is not a full list of all raids currently in the air. The raids listed here are those that Fighter Command considers the most valuable (or most dangerous). Raids that have already dropped their payloads and are returning home in smaller groups or have broken into smaller groups due to interception, are often not listed here because if they were, the list may very well be over 100+ raids. Such a number of raids would be difficult (at best) to keep track of in an all encompassing list, and hamper game speed. So, if you wish to intercept a raid that doesnÕt show up on the list, then use the interception function described on page p. 40 to select that specific raid.

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German Raid Planning Phase The Raid Planning Phase is the phase where the German player plans his missions (i.e., raids) for the upcoming day. Thus, the decisions you make here are of utmost importance. It is here--in this phase--that your victory or defeat is determined. Though you have little or no control over how the British player will assess and attack your raids as they begin arriving over his country, the decisions you make here may greatly deter his interception success, and also seal your fate as the Luftwaffe commander. As the German player, the burden of achieving victory (in most of the campaigns, see p. 60) rests on your shoulders. The British player simply has to prevent you from winning, and as the defender, he has the advantage. However, it isnÕt impossible for you to win The Battle of Britain, contrary to historical precedence. You can win; you just have to plan your raids carefully.

German Planning Phase Tab

Set Bomber Targets: As Luftwaffe commander, one of your options is to allow your staff to plot some (or all) of your missions for the upcoming Reaction Phase. Your staff can plot all of the less important missions (such as small fighter sweeps and night intruders), giving you time to concentrate on those missions you wish to personally plan. Too, if your staff plots missions you donÕt like, you may cancel or mo