Editor's Note: A.E. Goodwin is no stranger to most Europa fans. Arthur has penned many outstanding articles in addition to creating a variant on the Russo-Finnish War, "Northern Theater of Operations". Most recently Arthur has taken on the important task of researching and drafting the maps for future releases of Europa. I'm quite sure you will agree after reading the articles in this series that there couldn't be a better person for the job. So get out maps 5B and 6A andjoin the tour.

INTRODUCTION

One of main reasons I have remained fascinated by the Europa system for so long is that the game maps are among the most colorful and accurate of any ever included in a wargame.

The coastlines, inland water systems, and island chains are immediately recognizable when compared to any modern day map. In fact, the coastline is so accurately drawn that it is possible to take a modern map of even so irregular a coast as Norway's and find direct correspondence on the game maps for practically every fjord and inlet.

The Europa maps are without peer when it comes to depicting open expanses of terrain; but several problems exist where land meets sea. Since Europa is primarily a land-warfare oriented game, these have not been of serious consequence to date, but with the debut of Second Front (and extensive rules to simulate amphibious assaults) soon to come, they have assumed a more urgent nature.

The first, and foremost, area of concern is exactly which sea and lake hexsides should be crossable by land units without utilizing some version of naval transport. To date only three games within the system (Narvik, MM, and FitE/SE) have had anything to say on this subject. Narvik included a note on its TEC stating that all roads which crossed sea hexsides were actually ferries; MM included a single special rule to simulate the Italian crossing from Albania to Corfu; while SE has one general and three special rules covering specific sea crossings (the rules on causeways, Baltic islands, Kerch Straits, and movement between Kronshtadt and Leningrad).

What I propose to do during this series of articles is to advance a single general rule detailing how crossings of sea/lake hexsides should be handled (which would replace all the current special rules) and then provide a complete listing of all such hexsides where such crossings are possible.

A second area of concern regards anomalies in the depiction of the coast which allow abuses to occur when conducting or defending against amphibious assault. Approximately two dozen hexes occur on the maps where a relatively minor peninsula happened to fall on the hexgrid in such a way that a small portion of the peninsula ended up in a separate hex, with the result that it is then attackable only from a single other hex. A player conducting an amphibious invasion can land his invasion force at the base of such a peninsula with the assurance that he then has a clear path of retreat if forced off the beach by an enemy counterattack. With maximum air and naval gunfire (NGF) support, the single hex bastion which results can then be defended against practically any enemy attack since it is attackable from but one other hex. All hexes falling in this category will be noted during the course of this series and recommended for deletion.

A third problem area pertains to hexes that contain two separate bodies of land that are not connected within the hex. Whether this creates ambiguity or not depends on the surrounding terrain. To take a simple example, a hex containing two separate islands, each surrounded by water, and nothing else (which is the case in one or two actual hexes) is not ambiguous.

Ambiguities arise only when a hex "A" contains one land mass connected to hex "B" and a separate land mass connected to hex "C", and hex "B" does not connect to the land mass contained in hex "C": in such case, a unit might move from hex B to hex A to hex C, implicitly (and, presumably, illegally) crossing over the sea area within hex A. All ambiguities of this type will be identified and suggested resolutions offered.

Fourth on the hit parade are the many cases where it is uncertain whether the minuscule pieces of land in the hexes are meant to be playable. All of these will be identified and a uniform treatment is suggested - that they all be ruled as unplayable.

Last up is the troubling question of exactly what constitutes a coastal hex. No exact definition is given in the rules and to merely state that any land hex which contains a portion of sea (no matter how small) is a coastal hex creates some serious problems when resolving naval movement and setting up a defensive line against amphibious attack. Many hexes contain sea only by virtue of having one vertex of the hex adjacent to a fjord or inlet in the coast. Ruling such hexes as coastal, and thus playable by naval units, allows a much broader range of choices for amphibious invasion as well as allowing NGF support to be used much further inland than should be possible. I will present a suggested resolution to this problem also.

While conducting the research required to determine which sea/lake hexsides are crossable I uncovered several other items of interest pertaining to the maps and will include them in the narrative portion of each column.

METHODOLOGY

A few words on the methodology used in the preparation of this article seems required.

I approached this project by first looking at modern road maps to determine which sea hexsides are currently crossable and then worked backwards (the assumption being that a hexside crossable now might have been crossable during WWII, but if it isn't crossable now, it probably wasn't then either). After making a listing of currently crossable hexsides, I checked the list against map after map made just before and during the WWII period and arrived at a consensus regarding each crossing.

Modern road maps used were by Michelin and Ravenstein. The Michelin series covers all of Western and Southern Europe and has the virtue of a standard scale of 1:1,000,000 (except Greece which is 1:700,000). The Ravenstein maps cover Eastern Europe and North Africa as well, but use a number of different scales.

A wide variety of other sources were consulted, the most useful of which were

#1 The series of handbooks for mariners published by the Marineleitung section of the Oberkommando das Kriegsmarine in 1926/27 with yearly updates (Ex: Handbuch fur Skaggerak und Kattegat) which taken together provide a comprehensive view of the entire coast of Europe.

#2 The series of military geography studies published by the Abteilung fur Kriegskarten und Vermessungswesen for the General Staff of the German Army (Generalstab das Heer) in 1939-41 which covers every country in Europe and ranges as far afield as Afghanistan (the one for the Soviet Union covers twelve volumes; England covers four; and even Ireland rates two). (The titles vary: "Militargeographische Angaben Uber - ", "Militargeographische Beschreibung der - ", "Militargeographische Studie uber-", "Militargeographische Uberblick uber -", but they are all part of the same general series.)

#3 European Road Maps published annually by the Shell and Esso oil companies, especially the 1939 and 1940 editions. This series is generally the first to reflect new bridges and ferries.

#4 National Atlases published by specific European countries. Almost every country had a Cartography or Geodetic Institute which published maps and atlases. Publishing schedules did not always coincide with the period needed, however. (Ex: The Danske Geodetisk Institut published "Kort over Danmark" in 1936 and 1954.)

#5 The 1:300,000 series of road maps of Europe (Strassenkarte Europa) and the 1:500,000 and 1:1,000,000 series of maps of the world (Heereskarte Weltkarte) published by the German General Staff. (1:300,000 in 1938 and 1944, 1:500,000 in 1941, 1:1,000,000 in 1942.)

#6 1938/39/40 World Atlases by Rand McNally, Collier's, and Hammond.

#7 Series of studies of defenses of European nations (Denkschrift uber die Landesbefestigung) published by OKH in 1941 and 1942, each of which contains an excellent set of maps.

Every item mentioned in this series of columns (except where specifically noted) was confirmed by at least one German and one national source.

Several new concepts are used in this article and are defined as follows:

Narrow Strait: Sea/lake hexsides overlaid with two parallel black lines (====) or with the symbol for a printed rail ferry ( .... ), as well as sea/lake hexsides crossed by a road, are considered narrow straits for game purposes. (In general, a sea/lake crossing of five miles or less if crossed by a ferry, three miles or less if not. Specifically excluded from this definition are those straits where the topography of the terrain on both sides would make an approach to the water exceedingly difficult; i.e. many of the Norwegian fjords which rise sheer from the water).

Ground units may move and overrun across such hexsides as it they were major rivers, but they may not attack across them unless frozen. The hexside is treated as a major river for supply purposes.

(Although SE rule 31.A.1 - Causeways - treats sea hexsides crossed by rail lines and roads the same, the overwhelming number of roads which cross sea hexsides were actually ferries. In fact, I could find only two exceptions to this general rule: the road across the mouth of the Ijsselmeer in the Netherlands [actually a causeway-- the Great Dike of Holland] and the road to the island of Djerba in southern Tunisia [actually a bridge].)

Causeways: Sea/lake hexsides overlaid with a solid black rectangle ( .... ), as well as sea/lake hexsides crossed by rail lines are considered causeways for game purposes. (Note that this includes all the following: narrow straits crossed by a bridge, tunnel, dam, or which are exposed at low tide; as well as actual causeways.)

Ground units treat such hexsides as major rivers for all movement, combat, and supply purposes. (if optional rules regarding bridges are used, the hexside is also considered a bridge which may be captured, demolished, and repaired as any other bridge crossing a major river; while in a demolished status the hexside would be treated as a ferry point.)

Coastal Hexes: A coastal hex is any hex which contains at least one full sea hexside or at least three partial sea hexsides. (Note that this definition specifically excludes the hordes of hexes which are currently deemed coastal only by virtue of having a single vertex [two partial sea hexsides] "in the water".)

Additionally, any partial sea hex containing a printed port is a coastal hex regardless of whether it meets the aforementioned criteria. (Note that this excludes inland ports [ports in land hexes] such as Bremen, whose access to the sea is via a river or canal). Land hexes containing portions of sea, but which can not meet the above conditions, are not coastal hexes and may not be entered by naval units.

Tracing the entire Europa coastline using this definition will show that a continuous chain of coastal hexes results, with the only hexes eliminated being those containing tiny portions of sea.

And now let us begin our tour of the Europa coast with a trip to....

More Touring the Europa SeaShore

Introduction and Sources
The Arctic Maps (Maps 5B/6A)
Terrain Modification Chart