Western Front — How to Play

Western Front is a solitaire hex-and-counter tactical wargame covering twenty historical situations from the Normandy landings to the Remagen bridge, played across the four geomorphic mapboards of Panzer Leader. You command one side; the computer plays the other.

Getting Started

Press Situations and choose one of the twenty battles. Each row lists the boards used, the turn limit, and whether you play the attacker or defender.
Read the briefing — it states the historical setup and the exact victory conditions — then press Take Command.
If the computer has the first turn, it moves immediately; otherwise it is your move.

Controls

Action	How
Select one of your units	Click it. Its move range shades white; enemies you can fire on ring red.
Move	Click a shaded hex. The unit paths there, halting if opportunity fire disperses it.
Fire	Click a red-ringed enemy. Hover first to preview the odds.
Cycle units	Next Unit steps through your units that can still act.
End your turn	End Turn passes play to the computer.
Air / naval strike	In invasion scenarios, Strike then click an enemy to bombard (limited per turn).
Zoom	The + and − buttons; the map scrolls within its frame.

Reading a Counter

Each counter shows four numbers in its corners and a class letter in the centre:

Top-left	Top-right	Bottom-left	Bottom-right	Centre
Attack	Range	Defense	Movement	Weapon class

Weapon classes: A high-velocity AP, I infantry, H howitzer, M mortar. Blue-grey counters are German, green are American, tan are British.

Turn Order

A game turn consists of each side taking one player-turn, in the order set by the scenario. During your player-turn every unit may either move or fire once — not both. Dispersed units (marked with an ✕ wash) may do nothing until the end of their next turn.

Movement

Movement points equal twice the printed movement factor. Roads are fast; clear terrain costs a little more; woods and wooded hills are slow; climbing a hill costs extra. Streams stop vehicles except at bridges and fords, and the sea is impassable. Units may not stack or move through one another.

Combat

Attacks are resolved on the Combat Results Table at the ratio of modified attack to modified defense:

AP guns double against armored targets at half range or less.
HE and small-arms fire are halved against armor — except infantry close assault at one hex (engineers double in close assault).
Howitzers and mortars may fire indirect at half strength with no line of sight, provided a friendly unit can see the target.
Woods and towns double the defender; hills add half again.

Results: NE no effect · D disperse · DD disperse (or eliminate an already-dispersed unit) · X eliminate.

Opportunity fire is the heart of the system: any unfired enemy unit fires at yours as they move through its line of sight — and, with the checkbox on, yours do the same on the enemy turn. Route your advance through dead ground and cover.

Winning and Losing

Each situation's briefing states its victory conditions — controlling town hexes, exiting units off a map edge, holding an objective while keeping losses low, or winning the loss ratio. The result (marginal, tactical, or decisive, for one side or a draw) is announced when the conditions are met or the final turn ends.

Saving and Restarting

This release does not save between sessions; a battle is played in one sitting. To restart or switch battles, press Situations at any time and pick again.

Optional: Hidden Minefields

Tick Hidden minefields before a battle for a tougher solo game: each attacking unit entering a hex near an objective risks a concealed minefield on a die roll of 6, pinning it and attacking it at 2:1 each turn until it survives and moves on.