User Guide

Crusade in Europe
The tide has turned. After a long struggle, the Allies return to Europe; their
goal—the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. You now lead American
or British forces into battle, starting with the Salerno landings in 1943.
Salerno - Return To Europe
Allied troops returned to Europe to stay in September, 1943, with a landing on
the Italian mainland. The Allied forces landing at Salerno, just south of Naples,
did not know whether the Italian troops they expected to meet on the beaches
would be friends, foes, or neutrals.
Instead they found a full-strength, experienced German panzer division wait-
ing for them. The struggle for the beachhead was intense, but with the help of
the 82nd Airborne Division, tough commandos, and rangers, the joint
American-British landing force held their own, and eventually captured Naples.
Advance On St. Lo
While the British drive bogged down in front of Caen, the Americans secured
their beaches and the large port of Cherbourg in preparation for a full-scale
breakout. Backed by wave after wave of heavy bombers, the US First Army
struck the Germans near St. Lo at the western end of the Normandy front lines.
CAMPAIGN DESIGN NOTES: Crusade in Europe 72
Seelow Heights
The final breakthrough before the battle for Berlin itself occurred just to the
east of the city, along the line of the Oder River. The Soviets reached this line
in late 1944, but with their supply line stretched beyond the breaking point,
the offensive ground to a halt. Rather than push the Soviets away from the
capital, the Germans then launched their offensive to regain Budapest (seen in
the Operation Konrad scenario).
When the Soviets finally brought up enough troops and supplies to launch the
final drive on Berlin, they did so with overwhelming force. The Seelow Heights
marked the last place before the city offering good defensive terrain. The mot-
ley German force ranged from crack panzer instructors to hastily-drafted police.
On the Soviet side, the manpower pool was also nearly exhausted. The capture
of Berlin was no sure thing; Soviet strength had almost given out, and only
the deep desire for revenge and to crush the German political leadership drove
the Soviet armies forward.
71 CAMPAIGN DESIGN NOTES: Onward To Berlin