Hitler and the Nazis rose to power in Germany in January 1933. For the next six and a half years, the world powers merely stood and watched as Hitler broke treaties, built up his war machine, and subjugated his neighbors:

June 1919: The Versailles Treaty imposes punitive peace terms on Germany, defeated in World War I. "This is not Peace. It is an Armistice for twenty years." - Marshal Foch of France

March 1935: Hitler renounces and violates the Versailles Peace Treaty, starting a massive rearmaments program. Britain and France, who designed the treaty to prevent Germany from becoming a military threat, do nothing.

March 1936: Germany remilitarizes the Rhineland-the area of Germany bordering France. France, although possessing overwhelming military strength at this time, does nothing.

July 1936: The Spanish Civil War begins, with Germany aiding the Spanish fascists. France and Britain fail to support the Spanish republicans, who eventually are defeated utterly.

March 1938: Germany annexes Austria. France and Britain, wanting a neutral and independent Austria, do nothing.

Sept. 1938: To avert the possibility of war, France and Britain agree to let Germany seize the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. The Czechs give in, losing their best defensive terrain.

March 1939: Germany dismembers the rest of Czechoslovakia, occupying half the country and setting up the puppet government of Slovakia in the other half. The Czechs don't resist.

Sept. 1939: Germany invades Poland. The Poles resist, with France and Britain subsequently declaring war on Germany. Poland is the first to fight German aggression.

First to Fight is a thorough revision of Case White. The maps, orders of battle, and rules have been raked over and, in several cases, done anew from scratch.

The Maps

The game contains two maps. Map 13A is a standard map, designed to mate with the standard Europa maps. (It is due north of Map 14A and due west of Map 1B.) Map 37 is special for First to Fight. Although at standard scale, it uses a special orientation to fit all of Poland onto one map-otherwise, Poland inconveniently falls onto three separate maps. For trivia buffs, this is the first Europa game designed to be played on a single map sheet!

New Style Features

The maps feature the "new style" that made its debut in Balkan Front. A.E. Goodwin did his usual excellent job in the cartography, ably assisted by Shelby Stanton's extensive research on aspects of World War I1 geography.

The maps advance the state of the art for Europa in one important area: major rivers. Previously, we differentiated major rivers from rivers using numerous factors, such as channel width, tributaries, geographic descriptions, and military accounts. The result left a lot to judgment calls. We now use, as much as practical, the known flow rate of the river as a standard guide. This results in a more accurate depiction of rivers, as well as resolving difficult cases. One example is the Vistula River. In the past, I judged it to be a regular river, with some misgivings. Although wide along its lower reaches (up to a mile from bank to bank in places), it is often not particularly deep. Flow rate statistics, however, indicated that it should be included with the major rivers, up to the confluence of the Bug River.

Alas, for every gain there must be some pain. We did Balkan Front using the older criteria. River flow statistics show that we downgraded the Danube River from major to regular too soon, at the lower end of the giant river island in Hungary. Instead, the Danube should be a major river up to the confluence of the Inn River, as shown on Map 13A.

Balkan Front should make seven hexsides of the Danube River major, running from 14A:0215/0316 to the edge of the map at Wien. (The river island itself remains bound by regular river hexsides.)

Fortifications

Map 37 abounds with fortifications. Between the wars, both Germany and Poland had to plan for a possible invasion by the other. After World War I, the Versailles Treaty limited the size of Germany's army so much that the Polish Army alone was sufficient to overwhelm it. The Germans tried to counter this with an extensive border guard militia and fortifications. While the militia may technically have violated the treaty, the fortifications did not. The treaty required the Germans to dismantle and not rebuild their fortifications facing France, but it was much more liberal for fortifications east of Berlin.

Almost surprisingly, the rise of Hitler meant the Germans redoubled their fortification efforts in the east. While Germany was rearming rapidly in the early years of the Third Reich, its army was too weak to defend the country by itself. Accordingly, the Germans fortified East Prussia and eastern Germany, in order to be able to counter a Polish attack. Along the coast, the Kriegsmarine maintained Pillau and Swinemunde, guarding major harbors.

In East Prussia, the Army maintained and expanded Imperial German fortifications around Konigsberg and at Lotzen, as well as building defense lines facing Poland. (These latter works mostly don't even rate as forts at Europa scales.) In eastern Germany, the loss of territories to Poland unhinged the defensive line of Imperial times. Except for Kustrin on the approach to Berlin, new defensive lines were required. In. Pomerania, Schneiclemuhl formed the core of a line stretching from Neustettin to Landsberg. (Except for the fortress at Schneidemuhl itself, the rest of the line rates as forts, as listed in the German order of battle. The single hex gap in the line is indeed deliberate and not a mistake.)

In Silesia, fortifications at Glogau and Breslau guarded crossing of the Oder River, to be joined by Oppeln. (Oppeln was not completed and is shown as an unimproved fortress.) The Germans planned to fortify the west bank of the Oder from Grunberg to Oppeln, but little work was done before the victory over Poland rendered the line unneeded.

The shortest road from Poland to Berlin was through the Oder-Warthe Bend. Formed by the Oder and Warthe Rivers, this arc of land pointed straight toward Berlin. The Germans closed the gap in the bend with their most massive fortifications in the east. Their plans called for a density of fortification nearly on the scale of France's Maginot Line. In reality, however, the Westwall competed for (and won) construction resources. The Oder-Warthe Bend line (or Ostwall) thus never reach its planned strength and is shown on the map as a line of fortified hexsides.

These eastern fortifications went unused during the Polish campaign, as the Poles collapsed without counterattacking into Germany. Five years later, however, they were used to stem the Soviet offensives of 1944-45. Unlike the Westwall, which had been stripped to equip the Atlantic fortifications, the eastern fortifications were left mostly intact. Many helped to hinder the Soviet advance, often holding out for long periods while surrounded.

Ironically, the Ostwall had the least impact. Military accounts relate that Himmler, in command of Army Group Vistula in 1945, bungled the manning of the Oder-Warthe Bend and allowed the Soviets to slice through it with a minimum of difficulty.

Poland inherited fortifications from Germany, Austria- Hungary, and Russia following World War I. Most were neglected by the Poles, as they were poorly placed for the country's defensive needs. Of these, Grudziadz, Torun, and Brzesc-nad-Bugiem were in sufficient shape to rate as unimproved fortresses. The rest, such as the historic fortress town of Przemysl, don't qualify for any fortification effect. Poland concentrated its resources on building new fortifications. In the east, the Poles fortified important routes into Poland, which would help block a Soviet advance-these are shown as forts in the game.

As Germany rearmed, the Poles began many defensive projects in the west, to protect their coast, the Silesian industrial area around Katowice, and the various routes leading from eastern Germany and East Prussia into Poland. These are shown as forts and fortified hexsides in the game.

The Soviets also had an extensive fortification system at this time. The Stalin Line stretched along their western frontier from the Baltic States to Romania, with major works facing Poland. The Stalin Line, however, is not shown in the game. Instead, the rules prohibit non-Soviet forces from entering the Soviet Union. This keeps things simple (an invasion of the Soviet Union really is outside the scope of this game) and cuts out the counters needed to show the line and the Soviet defensive forces facing Poland. I

Map 13A also shows the German fortresses on the North Sea coast. The Germans had been required to dismantle Helgoland after World War I, but they were allowed to retain most of the other fortifications. They were the responsibility of the German Navy, which lacked the resources to maintain them fully. When the Nazis overthrew the Versailles Treaty, they rebuilt Helgoland and improved a number of the older coastal fortifications.

Terrain Notes

The two maps show a network of canals connecting the various rivers. These are only part of the vast canal system in Europe; the ones depicted form significant barriers to military operations. Interestingly, the Germans built or rebuilt important canals between the wars to serve as defense lines in case of need.

Several new-to-Europa types of terrain appear on the maps:

Ravines (balkha territory) make their appearance where the borders of the Soviet Union, Poland, and Romania meet. Look for more balkha appearing in future maps of the Soviet Union.

Coastal Cliffs appear in East Prussia and elsewhere. They have no effect except against amphibious invasions. Look for coastal cliffs appear elsewhere, such as at Dover and at other points along the British and French coasts.

Wooded Swamp is now distinct from (non- wooded) swamp. With only a handful of non-wooded swamps on the maps, why did we bother differentiating the terrain? Well, it becomes quite significant in the treeless arctic and in various river deltas.

Wooded Intermittent Lake, similarly, is now distinct from its treeless variety. Thank (or blame) a printing mistake on one hex of the Fire in the East. maps for showing that this symbol was practical.

River Gorges are new, sort of. Well, actually all they are are doubled escarpment hexsides. Look for the Rhine gorges to appear in western Germany. (Looking for the Rhine maidens is optional.)

Mud Flats clog the North Sea and Baltic coasts on Map 13A. They are bad news for naval and amphibious operations. As restricted waters, this symbol will appear elsewhere, such as in the Sivash off the east coast of the Crimea.

Strong Harbor appears at Karlskrona in Sweden. If you've caught the drill by now, then you know this symbol will appear elsewhere, too-such as at Tobruk.

Cities and Borders

Cities are represented based on their population. On occasion, two or more cities fall in the same hex. When this happens, the city size is based on the total urban population, and the overall city is given the name of the largest city in the hex. On Map 37, this occurs twice in the Silesian industrial basin. In Poland, the city of Katowice is the biggest of a complex of cities including Sosnowiec and Chorzow. Just across the border, the city of Hindenburg is the biggest in a hex that contains the more well-known cities of Gleiwitz and Bethune. Hindenburg, by the way, was the birthplace of Hindenburg, the World War I general and later President of Germany, and was renamed in his honor following his death in 1934. (It is now the Polish city of Zabrze.)

The names of the cities are their official names as of the start of the war, in the spelling of the period. Czech cities have their names in German, with their former Czech names (if different) in parentheses Map 13A, since it is intended for use throughout Europa, shows the internal boundaries and shifting pattern of conquest.

The Wehrkreise (military districts) of Germany are depicted. Wehrkreis Bohemia-Moravia is the Czech remnant of Czechoslovakia, after the Sudetenland was annexed into the surrounding districts and after Slovakia became a nominally independent German ally. In 1939, Bohemia-Moravia was technically a German protectorate. Later in the war, it was reorganized as a Wehrkreis, despite the fact that the vast Czech majority there were not recruited into the German army.

Four German cities sport abbreviated names: Harburg, Forst, Burg, and Freiberg. Their full names are Harburg- Wilhelmsburg, Forst-in-derzLausitz, Burgbei-Magdeburg, and Freiberg-im-Breisgau respectively. Given the clutter in Germany, the abbreviated names made more sense. In case this bothers you, it is an accepted German mapping convention. There are several towns named Burg-something- or-other in Germany. When only one "Burg" appears on a map, its abbreviated name appears. Full names are used to avoid confusion when several similarly-named cities are present. Frankfurt-am-Main and Frankfurt-ander-Oder illustrate this latter point on Map 13A.

Poland on Map 13A shows the German occupation and annexation. Wehrkreis Vill reincorporated the Katowice area back into Germany's Silesian industrial area. Two new districts, XX and XXI, were formed out of the Danzig enclave and western Poland. For the most part, these districts comprised territory lost by Germany to Poland at the end of World War I.

Outside the Danzig enclave, the area had a Polish majority and a small German minority, which was supplemented during the war by extensive settlement of German colonists. The Germans raised units in these areas, inducting Poles into the army. (Poles from this area had also served in the Imperial German Army a generation earlier.) These units had mixed careers. Those sent to the western front against the Americans and British often suffered high desertion rates, providing the Free Poles with trained recruits. Those sent to the eastern front tended to give good service against the Soviets.

Off map to the east, Wehrkreis I (East Prussia) annexed adjoining Polish territory. The remaining Polish territory under German occupation was organized as "General Government." This was reserved for eventual German settlement, despite its vast Polish majority. (Land was cleared for German settlement through uncompensated forced relocation of the Polish inhabitants or through outright massacre.) Late in the war, General Government was officially organized as a Wehrkreis, but like Bohemia- Moravia it actually remained occupied territory and never became a substantial recruiting area.

The Germans, of course, renamed in German all the cities they annexed from Poland, and these names are shown in parentheses when different from the Polish spelling. Names with an asterisk show cities with a sizable German population, either pre-war or due to German settlement during the war. Cities with asterisks and parenthetical names only, such as Lebensborn-Eichenbruck, are German colonies formed during the war.

Completing the sad story of the German occupation of Poland, hex 13A:4508 marks the village of Auschwitz, site of the infamous death camp. During the war, the Nazis built death camps at various places in Germany and Poland, where they exterminated millions of Jews, Poles, gypsies, and many other "undesirable elements." Auschwitz today, at Oswiecim in Poland, is a monument of shame and remembrance for the Holocaust.

The Rules

The rules are based on the standard Europa rules, as modified for the needs of the game. Two overall concepts influenced the development of the rules: time scale and simplicity.

Europa has a standard time scale of two weeks per turn. While First to Fight is eminently playable at this scale, the short duration of the campaign makes for a less than exciting game. At two weeks a turn, the Germans decisively defeated the Poles on the first turn and spent the second turn mopping up.

The game uses a time scale of three days per turn. This creates a 10-turn game, allowing the campaign to unfold at its natural pace. Two important rules modifications make this time scale work:

Zones of Control: Units pay hefty movement costs to enter enemy ZOCs.

Exploitation: Combat/motorized units have their movement allowances halved in the exploitation phase.

Other rules were adjusted to account for the time scale. For example, airborne operations must be planned two turns in advance, not just one.

As for simplicity, First to Fight had little need to be a complex game. Wherever possible, the Europa rules were kept simple, in order to keep the game fast-playing and easy to learn. For example, the short duration of the campaign precluded most military construction. Accordingly, the rules do not include the Europa engineer rules on construction of forts, airfields, and so on.

Some new wrinkles to the Europa rules make their appearance in First to Fight. These are intended to become system-wide additions to Europa:

Self-Supported Indicator:

1) This indicator is used to mark all units that are supported but do not support other units. Various low-ability divisions now support this dot-such as divisions that are short on artillery. This will be extended to the other Europa games, particularly to all those German 3-5 security divisions in Fire in the East and Scorched Earth.

2) Most cadres now sport self-supported indicators. This makes it evident at a glance they are supported, rather than having to remember it specially. Even more, some cadres lack supported dots, indicating that they are not self-supported. For example, the Soviet tank corps have unsupported cadres. This concept, too, will be extended to the rest of Europa. In Fire in the East, look for unsupported cadres for all those Soviet tank divisions in 1941. (Cadres of Soviet tank and mechanized corps in Scorched Earth will remained self-supported, however.)

Improved and Unimproved Fortifications:

As in First to Fight, fortresses and fortified hexsides in Europa will have two conditions: improved and unimproved. Unimproved fortifications have minimal combat effects, which remain no matter how often the fortifications change hands. Improved fortifications have greater combat effects, but these fortifications drop to unimproved status upon capture. (In Grand Europa, it will be possible to build/rebuild unimproved fortifications to improved condition.)

French intervention can cause the Germans fits in First to Fight. Case White owners may notice that this rule has been beefed up-if the Germans ignore their western defenses, the French very well may come crashing through the Westwall. French intervention now can give the Polish player hope and the German player worries.

Finally, some rules are different from the Europa standard rules simply because of the time period of the game. In particular, fighters cannot fly extended range missions in the game because almost no fighters in this period could use range-extending drop tanks. (Purists will note that some fighters could use drop tanks; fanatics may add a special rule that allows Soviet I-152, I-153/3S, I-16, and I-16/t18 fighters (but not I-15 fighters) to fly extended range missions, except for bombing missions.)