***[RDF 1985]*** =DOCS WRITTEN BY= %%ALI BABA AND COMMANDER TOSH%% RDF 1985. THE SECOND SCENARIO OF THE SUPERPOWERS SERIES. TABLE OF CONTENTS: ============================================ INTRODUCTION.............................0.0 PLAYING THE GAME.........................1.0 MOVEMENT.................................2.0 MODES....................................3.0 THE ORDER PHASE..........................4.0 AIR POWER................................5.0 COMBAT...................................6.0 REORGANIZATION...........................7.0 HIDDEN UNITS.............................8.0 MINES AND NUCLEAR CONTAMINATION..........9.0 REINFORCEMENTS..........................10.0 VICTORY CONDITIONS......................11.0 SPECIAL KEYS............................12.0 GAME OPTIONS............................13.0 STRATEGY AND TACTICS....................14.0 APPENDIX................................15.0 CREDITS.................................16.0 ============================================ 0.0 INTRODUCTION TO RDF 1985: AS NATO AND WARSAW PACT TANKS BATTLED FOR CONTROL OF THE WEST GERMAN PLAIN, AN ELITE SOVIET PARA ASSALUT REGIMENT, FLYING AT NIGHT FROM AIRFIELDS IN SOVIET CENTRAL ASIA, SIEZED THE STATEGIC SAUDI ARABIAN AIRFIELD AT DHAHRAN. SOON HUGE ANTONOV.22 TRANSPORT PLANES WERE LANDING AT HAHRAN, UNLOADING T.72 TANKS, BMP INFANTRY COMBAT VEHICLES, ARTILLERY, AND BM-21 "KATYUSHA" ROCKET LAUNCHERS. BY MORNING, A LARGE PART OF A MOTOR RIFLE DIVISION, VETERANS OF DESERT COMBAT IN AFGHANISTAN, WAS ON THE GROUND. BY THE END OF THE DAY, THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSIAN GULF OILFIELDS WERE IN THE SOVIET HANDS. WITHIN HOURS, C-141 STARLIFTERS CARRYING THE PARATROOPS OF THE UNITED STATES RAPID DEPLOYMENT FORCE TOOK OFF FROM THEIR AIRFIELDS IN EGYPT. IN THE UNITED STATES, C-5 GALAXIES BEGAN TAKING ON CARGOES OF ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIERS AND SELF-PROPELLED GUNS. IN THE INDIAN OCEAN, A U.S. NAVY TASK FORCE, CARRYING RDF ARMOR AND HELICOPTERS, SET A COURSE FOR THE PERSIAN GULF. RDF 1985, THE SECOND OF WHEN SUPERPOWERS COLLIDE SCENARIOS, IS A BATTALION-LEVEL SIMULATION OF THE RESULTING BATTLE. THE RULES ARE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS THOSE IN GERMANY 1985. THIS BOOKLET DESCRIBES THE EXCEPTIONS AND THE SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF DESERT COMBAT THT ONLY APPLY TO RDF 1985. 1.0 PLAYING THE FIRST GAME: -------------------------- *YOU WILL NOW BEGIN A SOLITAIRE GAME, IN WHICH YOU ARE THE AMERICAN COMMANDER, AND THE COMPUTER PLAYS THE SOVIET COMMANDER. WHEN THE GAME OPTIONS DISPLAY APPERARS, HIT 3 TWICE TO REDUCE THE STRENGTH OF THE RUSSIAN FORCE AND TO EXPOSE ALL OF THE SOVIET UNITS TO VIEW. THE RUSSIAN UNITS ARE ALREADY IN PLACE. PRESS THE SPACEBAR, AND THE GAME WILL BEGIN WITH AN AMERICAN AIRDROP ONTO THE DESERT. 1.1 THE MAP EACH HEXAGON OF THE 39 X 28 HEX MAP REPRESENTS 2.5 MILES. ON YOUR SCREEN, YOU WILL SEE ONE-TWELFTH OF THE TOTAL BATTLE FIELD. A NUMBER OR A LETTER WILL TELL WHICH SECTOR YOU ARE SEEING. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME, ALL OILFIELDS, VILLAGES, TOWNS AND AIRFIELDS ARE RUSSIAN OWNED. IF AN AMERICAN UNIT MOVES INTO THEM, THEY WILL BE AMERICAN OWNED, AND THE SYMBOL WILL CHANGE. THEY CAN CHANGE OWNERSHIP ANY NUMBER OF TIMES DURING A GAME. FOR THEIR IMPORTANCE, SEE RDF VICTORY CONDITIONS (11.0). 1.2 MOVING THE CURSOR TO MOVE THE BLINKING CURSOR AROUND THE MAP, TYPE THE COMMAND KEYS PICTURED IN THE DIAGRAM BELOW: ____ ____/ 1 \____ / 6 \____/ 2 \ \____/ * \____/ / 5 \____/ 3 \ \____/ 4 \____/ \____/ 1.3 MOVING UNITS PRESS ESCAPE TO MOVE THE CURSOR TO THE FIRST UNIT AND TO ENTER ITS MOVEMENT PHASE, AND THEN USE THE COMMAND KEYS TO MOVE THAT UNIT. WHEN YOU'VE USED UP THE MOVEMENT ALLOWENCE OF THAT UNIT, THE CURSOR WILL FIND THE NEXT MOVABLE UNIT. WHEN YOU HAVE MOVED ALL OF YOUR UNITS, THE CURSOR WILL BLINK. PRESS CONTROL AND E, AND THEN E TO END YOUR TURN. 1.4 THE SOVIET MOVE THE COMPUTER WILL MOVE ALL OF THE SOVIET UNITS. DURING THE SOVIET MOVE, YOU CAN STOP THE COMPUTER BY TYPING ESCAPE. WHILE THE MOVE IS PAUSED, YOU CAN USE ANY OF THE SPECIAL KEYS (12.0). TO RESUME THE SOVIET MOVE, PRESS ANY KEY. WHEN THE SOVIET MOVE IS FINISHED, THE CURSOR WILL BEGIN TO BLINK, INDICATING THAT THE FIRST FOUR-HOUR TURN IS OVER. PRESS ESCAPE TO MOVE YOUR FIRST UNIT AGAIN. 2.0 MOVEMENT ------------ 2.1 THE MOVEMENT DISPLAY THE RDF MOVEMENT DISPLAY SHOWS THE WORD SMOKE; IF IT IS HIGHLIGHTED, THE MOVING UNIT IS IN A SMOKE FILLED HEX. MN(MINE ) AND NC(NUMCLEAR CONTAMINATION) ARE NOT SHOWN, SINCE THEY PLAY NO PART IN THIS SCENARIO. 2.2 AIR CAVALRY AIR CAVALRY USES ONE MOVEMENT POINT (MP) PER HEX. IN ADDITION TO THIS, AIR CAVALRY UNITS WILL USE: 2 EXTRA MP'S TO ENTER A SMOKE-FILLED HEX 1 EXTRA MP FOR EACH SIGHTING ENEMY UNIT (SEU) (2 IF THE AIR UNIT IS IN TRANS MODE) 1 EXTRA MP IF THE ENEMY HAS AIR SUPERIORITY, AND THE AIR CAVALRY IS IN THE TRANS MODE. AIR CAVALRY UNITS CANNOT ENTER ENEMY-OWNED OILFIELD, VILLAGE, TOWN OR AIRFIELD HEXES. 2.3 UNITS IN TRANSPORT MODE *CAN ONLY TRAVEL THROUGH TOWN, VILLAGE AND AIRFIELD HEXES, OR ALONG THE ROADS. *CANNOT ENTER ENEMY-OWNED OILFIELDS, TOWNS, VILLAGES AND AIRFIEDS. 2.4 BRIDGING DUE TO AN EXCEPTIONAL LACK OF WATER IN SAUDI ARABIA'S RIVERS, NO BRIDGING IS NECESSARY IN THIS SCENARIO. ENGINEER UNITS HAVE NO SPECIAL FUNCTIONS. 2.5 TERRAIN THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF TERRAIN UPON MOVEMENT ARE DETAILED IN THE TERRAIN EFFECTS TABLE IN THE APPENDIX. 3.0 MODES --------- 3.1 SPECIAL MODE RULES ENGINEER UNITS ARE ALLOWED TO RE-ORGANIZE. NO UNIT CAN ENTER RIVER MODE. 4.0 THE ORDER PHASE ------------------- NAVAL UNITS CANNOT USE STATEGIC MOVEMENT. THEY CAN ONLY BE MOVED WITH THE MOVE MENT KEYS. 5.0 AIR POWER ------------- 5.1 THE AIR POWER DISPLAY HIT CTRL A AT ANY TIME TO SEE AN AIR POWER DISPLAY LIKE THIS: ============================================================ NATO:3:RUSSIAN:1: :ALC:KEYS (A)IR SUPERIORITY:SPARE.9:0 :0-9 TACTICAL AIR SUPPORT :6 : ============================================================ IN THIS SAMPLE, THE HIGHLIGHTED SIDE, NATO, HAS THREE-TO-ONE AIR SUPERIORITY DURING THIS TURN. THE NATO PLAYER MAY ALLOCATE UP TO 9 SPARE POINTS TOWARD AIR SUPERIORITY IN THE FUTURE TURNS BY TYPING ANY NUMBER UP TO 9. THE NATO PLAYER MAY CALL IN UP TO 6 TACTICAL AIR STRIKES DURING THIS TURN. 5.2 CALLING AIR STRIKES IF ITS SIDE HAS AIR SUPERIORITY, AND THE AIR POWER DISPLAY SHOWS AVAILABLE TACTICAL AIR STRIKES, ANY UNIT CAN CALL FOR A SUPPORTING STRIKE BY: *TYPING (O) FOR ITS ORDER PHASE *TYPING (S) FOR SUPPORT FIRE IF A PLAYER DOES NOT HAVE AIR SUPERIORTY, HE CANNOT CALL FOR TACTICAL AIR STRIKES DURING THAT TURN. IF THE U.S. PLAYER HAS AIR SUPERIORITY, HE WILL HAVE BETWEEN 2 AND 7 AVAILABLE AIR STRIKES. A RUSSIAN PLAYER WITH AIR SUPERIORITY WILL HAVE BETWEEN 0-5 STRIKES. 5.3 AIR SUPERIORITY *THE U.S. PLAYER HAS AIR SUPERI ORITY DURING THE FIRST 2 TURNS. *THE RUSSIAN PLAYER STARTS THE SCENARIO WITH NO SPARE AIR POINTS, AND HE RECEIVES FEWER POINTS THAN THE U.S. PLAYER EACH TURN. IT WILL TAKE 5 OR 6 TURNS BEFORE HE HAS ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE THE U.S. PLAYER. 6.0 COMBAT ---------- RUSSIAN UNITS ON COAST HEXES CAN ATTACK OR FIRE ON U.S. NAVAL UNITS, BUT THE NAVAL UNITS CANNOT FIRE BACK AT THEM. 6.1 ARTILLERY DAMAGE PARA UNITS, LIKE BMP,TANK, AND APC UNITS, SUFFER GREATER DAMAGE FROM ARTILLERY IF THEY ARE IN TRANS, ATTACK OR REOR MODE. 6.2 RETREATING UNITS NAVAL UNITS THAT ARE FORCED TO RETREAT AFTER COMBAT WILL SUFFER INCREASED LOSSES INSTEAD. 7.0 REORGANIZATION ------------------ IN ADDITION TO THE NORMAL RULES THE U.S PLAYER MAY USE A FRIENDLY AIRFIELD INSTEAD OF ITS HQ (WHICHEVER IS CLOSER) FOR RE-ORGANIZATION PURPOSES. 8.0 HIDDEN UNITS ---------------- PARA UNITS WILL BE EXPOSED DURING THE TURN THEY LAND, EVEN IF THE HIDDEN GAME OPTION HAS BEEN CHOSEN. THEY MAY BE HIDDEN IN LATER TURNS. 9.0 MINES AND NUCLEAR CONTAMINATION ----------------------------------- MINES AND NUCLEAR CONTAMINATION PLAY NO PART IN THIS SCENARIO. 10.0 REINFORCMENTS ------------------ BOTH SIDES ARE SCHEDULED TO RECIEVE REINFORCEMENTS DURING THE TURNS SHOWN ON THR RDF DATA CARD. RUSSIAN REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE AT THE HEXES SHOWN ON THE DATA CARD. *PARA UNITS ARRIVE WITHIN 3 HEXES IF THE DROP ZONES SELECTED BY THE COMPUTER, OR BY THE NATO PLAYER, HAS USED THE DROP ZONE PLACEMENT OPTION.(13.3). *PARA UNITS CANNOT LAND ON ENEMY-OWNED HEXES, OR ON THE WESTERN THIRD OF THE MAP (SECTORS 1,4,7 OR A). *IF A DROP ZONE IS TOO CLOSE TO THE SEA OR THE EDGE OF THE MAP, PARA UNITS MAY BE UNABLE TO LAND; THE ERROR SIGNAL WILL SOUND. *THE PARA DROPS ON TURN 3 AND TURN 4 WILL BE DELAYED ONE TURN IF THE RUSSIANS HAVE AIR SUPERIORITY. U.S. REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVING BY AIRPLANE (TURNS 7,8 AND 9) WILL LAND ON AVAILABLE FRIENDLY AIRFIELDS. NO MORE THAN TWO UNITS WILL ARRIVE AT ANY FIELD (ONE UNIT AT NIGHT). FRIENDLY UNITS ON THESE AIRFIELDS WILL HINDER THE LANDING OF REINFORCEMENTS. RUSSIAN AIR SUPERIORITY WILL DELAY ALL AIR-LANDING REINFORCEMENTS FOR ONE TURN. 10.1 NAVAL UNITS A U.S. TASK FORCE, CARRYING REINFORCEMENTS FOR THE RDF, ARRIVES IN THE PERSIAN GULF DURING TURNS 12, 13 AND 14. *NAVAL UNITS ARE MOVED THE SAME WAY AS CONVENTIONAL UNITS, WITH THE DIRECTION KEYS. *AT SEA, NAVAL UNTIS CANNOT ENGAGE IN COMBAT, CHANGE MODE, USE THE ORDER PHASE OR SUPPLY SUPPORTING FIRE. *NAVAL UNITS ARE ASSUMED TO BE IN TRANS MODE. THEIR MOVEMENT IS REDUCED IF THE RUSSIANS HAVE AIR SUPERIORITY, AND BY THE PRESENCE OF SIGHTING ENEMY UNITS. *RUSSIAN UNITS ON COAST HEXES CAN FIRE ON OR ATTACK U.S. NAVAL UNITS, BUT CANNOT BE ATTACKED IN RETURN. 10.2 LANDING NAVAL UNITS TO LAND, A NAVAL UNIT MUST END ITS MOVEMENT PHASE ADJACENT TO THE COAST WHERE IT INTENDS TO LAND. ANY UNIT WHICH MOVES AT SEA CANNOT LAND UNTIL THE NEXT MOVE. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT MOVE, THE UNIT WILL BE ABLE TO MOVE ASHORE. *NAVAL UNITS CANNOT LAND ON ENEMY OCCUPIED HEXES OR ENEMY-OWNED TOWN OR VILLAGE HEXES. 10.3 NAVAL UNITS ON SHORE ONCE ASHORE, NAVAL UNITS CONVERT INTO CONVENTIONAL UNITS, WITH A REDUCED MOVEMENT ALLOWANCE FOR THE FIRST TURN. UPON LANDING UNITS CHANGE AUTOMATICALLY TO NORM MODE.(ARTILLERY CHANGES TO FIRE). 11.0 VICTORY CONDITIONS ----------------------- THE GAME WILL END AFTER 21,22, OR 23 TURNS, AT THE DISCRETION OF THE COMPUTER. THE COMPUTER WILL THEN COMPARE EACH PLAYER'S POINT TOTAL AND WILL DECLARE A WINNER. POINTS ARE AWARDED AS FOLLOWS: 1 POINT FOR EACH ENEMY UNIT ELIMINATED (ENEMY UNITS WHICH EXIT THE BOARD DO NOT COUNT) 1 POINT FOR EACH OILFIELD HEX OWNED 2 POINTS FOR EACH TOWN OR VILLAGE OWNED A PLAYER WITH 10 OR MORE POINTS THAN HIS OPPONENT HAS WON A DECISIVE VICTORY. 12.0 SPECIAL KEYS ----------------- THE SPECIAL KEYS CAN BE UNSED DURING YOUR OWN TURN WHEN THE CURSOR IS FLASHING, OR, BY PRESSING ESCAPE DURING THE COMPUTERS MOVE. *IF THE HIDDEN OPTION WAS CHOSEN WHEN YOU SET UP THE GAME, YOU CANNOT USE THE D (HIGHLIGHT DIVISION) OR THE P (STRATEGIC MAP) KEYS DURING THE COMPUTER'S MOVE. 13.0 GAME OPTIONS ----------------- 13.1 SAVING THE GAME A GAME MAY BE SAVED AT ANY TIME ON A SECOND DISK BY HITTING CONTROL B AND FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS. RDF GAMES MAY BE SAVED ON THE SAME DISK AS GERMANY 1985 OR OTHER SCENARIOS. 13.2 RESTARTING A GAME TO RESTART A GAME SAVED ON ANOTHER DISK, HIT THE NUMBER OF THAT GAME OPTION AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. THE NAMES OF GAMES AVAILABLE FOR PLAY WILL BE SHOWN NORMALLY. HIGHLIGHTED NAMES SHOW GAMES THAT BELONG TO OTHER SCENARIOS, WHICH CANNOT BE PLAYED WITH THE RDF DISK. 13.3 DROP ZONE SELECTION OPTION TO SELECT THE DROP ZONES FOR THE U.S. PARA UNITS, HIT 9 WHEN THE OPTION DISPLAY IS SHOWN, SO THAT PLACEMENT IS HIGHLIGHTED. AS THE COMPUTER DIRECTS, MOVE THE CURSOR TO EACH DESIRED DROP ZONE AND PRESS RETURN. *PARA UNITS WILL LAND WITHIN 3 HEXES OF TH SELECTED DROP ZONES. *DROP ZONES CANNOT BE LOCATED IN THE WESTERN THIRD OF THE MAP (SECTORS 1,4,7, OR A) 14.0 STRATEGY AND TACTICS ------------------------- THE KEY TO WINNING RDF IS TAKING AND HOLDING OILFIELDS, AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, AIRFIELDS. THE SOVIET PLAYER HAS THE ADVANTAGE OF NUMBERS. THE U.S. PLAYER HAS THE ADVANTAGE OF SUPERIOR AIR SUPPORT, ESPECIALLY ON THE FIRST DAY, AND THE SUPERIOR TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT OF THE PARA UNITS. WHEN PLAYING AGAINST THE COMPUTER, REMEMBER THAT THE COMPUTER SIDE ALWAYS HAS ENHANCED AIRPOWER AND GREATER ABILITY TO REORGANIZE, TO COMPENSATE FOR ITS LACK OF FLEXIBILITY. IT IS ADVISABLE TO AVOID A BATTLE OF ATTRION OR HURRIED, UNCOORDINATED OFFENSIVES, AND TO CONCENTRATE ON SHARP, WELL-SUPPORTED ATTACKS TO ELIMINATE ENEMY UNITS. IN EFFECT, WHEN YOU PLAY AGAINST THE COMPUTER, YOU ARE PLAYING AGAINST A WELL-EQUIPPED AND WELL-TRAINED ENEMY, WITH LITTLE IMAGINATION AND A TENDENCY TO GO STRICKLY BY THE BOOK, A TYPE OF SOLDIER PLENTIFUL IN BOTH THE U.S. AND RED ARMY. APPENDIX: -------- TERRAIN EFFECTS TABLE ------------------------------------------------ TERRAIN | MPS | SIGHTING DISTANCE| COMBAT BONUS| ------------------------------------------------ L.ROUGH | 4 | 3 | 2 | ------------------------------------------------ ROUGH | 4 | 2 | 3 | ------------------------------------------------ OASIS | 4 | 2 | 2 | ------------------------------------------------ SABKHAH | 4 | 3 | 1 | ------------------------------------------------ VILLAGE | 3 | 3 | 2 | ------------------------------------------------ TOWN | 4 | 2 | 3 | ------------------------------------------------ OILFIELD| 3 | 3 | 1 | ------------------------------------------------ DESERT | 3 | 3 | 1 | ------------------------------------------------ SEA | 1 | 5 | 1 | ------------------------------------------------ TYPE VS. TYPE BATTLE -------------------------------------- US PARA VS.| TANK BMP ARTLY KATSH ENG| -------------------------------------- | 2 2 4 4 1 | -------------------------------------- | RUSSIAN VS. U.S. PARA | | TANK -3 | | BMP -2 | | ATRLY -10 | | KATSH -10 | | ENG -2 | -------------------------------------- REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULE: ============================================================================ USA | USSR ====================================|======================================= AT START TURN 9 | AT START TURN 8 TURN 13 AIR DROP#1 3INF AIRFIELD 4(1)APC| 2(1)TANK R3(1) TANK R4(1) TANK AIR DROP#2 3INF 1 SPG | 3(1)BMP 3 BMP 2 ARTLY R1 1 AIRCV | 1 ARTLY 1(1)ARTLY 1 KATSH TURN 2 | 1 KATSH 1 HQ R5 1 TANK AIR DROP#3 2(1)INF | 1 HQ 1 ENGIN 1 ENGIN TURN 12 | TURN 9 1 HQ 1 HQ NAVAL 3(1) TANK | TURN 3 R2 1(1) BMP 3 APC | R5 2(1)TANK 1 ARTLY TURN 3 1 ENGIN | 2 BMP 1 KATSH TURN 14 AIR DROP#4 2(1)INF 1 SPG | 1 ARTLY 1 ENGIN R2 1(1) BMP 1 HQ | R3 1 TANK 1 ARTLY TURN 4 | TURN 4 1 BMP R3 2 TANK AIR DROP#5 2(1)INF TURN 13 | R4 1(1)TANK 1(1) BMP NAVAL 2(1) TANK | R5 1 TANK TURN 11 TURN 7 1(1) APC | (1)KATSH R4 3 TANK TURN 15 R1 1 AIRVC 2 SPG | 1 ENGIN 1 BMP R2 1(1)TANK AIRFIELD 4(1) APC | R5 (1) TANK 2 BMP 1 ENGIN | TURN 7 1 BMP R3 1 BMP TURN 8 TURN 14 | R2 1 TANK 1 KATSH AIRFIELD 3 APC NAVAL 2(1) TANK | 2(1) BMP TURN 12 1 HQ 1(1) APC 1 APC | R4 1 TANK 1 HQ 1 SPG | 1 BMP | (1) ARTLY | R5 1(1) TANK REINFORCEMENTS WHICH ONLY ARRIVE WHEN SIDE IS GIVEN REINFOCED DIVISIONS