Battles in Italy

Game Genre : Operational
Complexity : Intermediate
Game Theatre : World War II
Play Style : Turn-Based IGOUGO - Top Down

Up the Bloody Boot...

“I had hoped that we were hurling a wildcat onto the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale.” - Winston Churchill

Battles in Italy is the latest title in the award-wining Decisive Battles in WWII series from Strategic Studies Group. It takes you to three of the toughest fought battles in the Mediterranean -- the invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, the landings at Salerno, codenamed Operation Avalanche and the landings at Anzio, codenamed Operation Shingle.

While the invasion of Sicily went more or less to plan, the result in the two subsequent amphibious operations was less certain, with the safety of the beachheads at both Salerno and Anzio in considerable doubt for some time. Neither side has sufficient resources to do the job properly, and improvisation and desperation are the order of the day, and as a result all three battles are tense and exciting affairs.

All three campaigns incorporate many new improvements and enhancements to the Decisive Battles series. Some of these updates include rules for surrender, political units, cooperation between countries, and improved amphibious invasions!

In Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, the Axis player must plan carefully in order to extract the best possible performance from some less than committed Italian troops, while the Allied player must somehow find a way around or through the many natural defensive obstacles in their way.

In Operation Avalanche, the invasion of the Italian mainland, the Germans can exert severe pressure on the Salerno beachhead, but must defend against Allied forces coming to the relief of the amphibious forces. The Allies must hold fast to their bridgeheads and their vulnerable supply sources, while speeding other formations to the rescue.

Operation Shingle, the Anzio landing, was a bold Allied move to break the stalemate caused by the strength of German defensive lines. The Germans have a real chance to crush the Anzio bridgehead, especially if they transfer troops from their main defensive line. However, if the Allies can break through the weakened lines while avoiding disaster at Anzio then a truly decisive victory is possible.

This engine features an integrated move/combat system that exploits the computer's processing and data storage powers to create an opponent that is more fluid and realistic than in traditional computer wargames. Prior combats can influence movement, units have a wide variety of combat and supply abilities, and SSG's legendary AI routines make for truly fearsome opponents. All aspects of a battle are reported to the player, allowing them to make fully informed decisions before a battle, and to determine whether a particular outcome was the result of good/poor generalship or blind luck.

Game Features:

• Three complete campaigns, Sicily, Salerno and Anzio
• New rules for Surrender and Political Units
• New rules for co-operation between countries
• Improved User Interface
• Maximum map size increased by 12 times
• New Defensive AI routines
• Increased variability for country based variables
• New capacity for Naval Transport
• New features for Merging Units

Game Data:

• Complexity: Medium
• Field of Play: Operational
• Historical Period: World War II
• Theatre: Italy and Sicily
• Unit Scale: Regimental
• Turn Length: One Day
• Players: 1 or 2 Players
• AI: Yes
T• CP/IP: No
• PBEM: Yes
• Game Editor: Yes
• Resolution: 1280x1024 or 1024x768
• Manual: PDF E-Book only, 54 pages

System Requirements:

• Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
• Pentium II 600 MHz CPU
• 256 MB RAM
• Direct X 8.1
• 8 MB Video Card 16 bit color
• Sound Card (Direct X 8 compatible)
• 8x CD-Rom
• 400 MB free Hard Disk space