Operation Europe: Path to Victory

Operation Europe: Path to Victory (ヨーロッパ戦線, Europa Sensen) is a combat simulation title based on the major campaigns of World War II.

Kou Shibusawa is the producer of the game. Noriyoshi Ourai illustrated the cover while Yuji Ohno composed the background music.

Gameplay
The player is a commander who must organize an entire army to invade or defend cities throughout Europe and North Africa. After choosing a scenario and one of two sides (Allies or Axis), the player is free to set officer stats via roulette and designate a position for seven of them. Once this is done, they must fulfill the scenario's victory conditions in order to win.

Strategy
This phase has the player issue commands to their army. Decisions include requesting for reinforcements, ordering more weapons, reshuffling different regiments, etc. These actions, when executed with flexible planning, may help ease resource costs and enemy encounters. Once the player's turn ends, their orders will immediately be carried out.

Previous commands may be overridden with new ones should the need arise. It is possible to delegate one or two minor tasks to other divisions when preoccupied with more important strategies; divisions given this authority are indicated by a DI marker.

Sometimes, it is more important to check the surroundings before issuing a major command. By using the map pointer to highlight locations and regiments, the player can examine terrain or unit types as well as coordinates. A scrollable display of the scenario's map is also available.

Capturing cities is essential since they provide more storage for supplies which in turn aid regiments. Protecting cities from the opposing army is done by deploying well-placed regiments and fortifying the defenses. When a city is not being attacked, its endurance level will rise if materials are delivered.

The game has a day and night cycle taking place as time progresses. The completion of a command turn is equivalent to 1 hour, so several turns eventually lead to night time; soldiers forced to fight in this period of time will lose more energy than usual.

Six types of weather are present: clear, cloudy, rain, stormy, snow, and fog. The last five will always hamper a battalion's movement, lower the ability to detect enemy units, and cancel air operations. There is no way to know when the weather will change, giving the game a sense of unpredictability.


 * Strategy Commands
 * Tactics (TACT) - Contains an assortment of commands to dictate a division's actions. Regiment type determines what type of orders can be made.
 * Move - Move a regiment to a specified location.
 * Attack (ATCK) - Attack an enemy regiment. Only available to battle units.
 * Supply (SPLY) - Supply another regiment with goods from own stock or the city.
 * Occupy (OCPY) - Take over an enemy city. Only available to battle units.
 * Defend (DFND) - Defend an ally city from enemy attack. Only available to battle units.
 * Sabotage (SBTG) - Destroy a bridge. Only available to battle and engineer units.
 * Pursue (PRSU) - Follow and support an ally regiment.
 * Rest - Select a regiment's resting spot. Reduces fatigue levels.
 * Mine - Lay or remove land mines. Cannot be used in rivers, bridges, or cities. Only available to engineer units.
 * Bridge (BRDG) - Construct a bridge to pass through rivers. Only available to engineer units.
 * Repair (FIX) - Repair damaged weaponry in battle. Can repair those belonging to defending units when in cities. Only available to supply units.
 * Information (INFO) - Consists of commands related to information gathering. Has unlimited uses and does not consume time.
 * Officers (OFCR) - View data on officers of both sides of the war.
 * Arms - View data on both sides' weapon equipment.
 * Victory (VICT) - Display victory conditions for the current scenario.
 * Unit - View information on ally or enemy units.
 * City - View information on ally or enemy cities.
 * Requests (ASK) - Request for the delivery of materials and arms to a selected city. Can be denied if there is not enough to supply.
 * Reinforcements (XMEN) - Request for another regiment to join the service. The following regiments that can be sent are infantry, mechanized infantry, armored infantry, and artillery.
 * Special Forces (SPFC) - Commands involving espionage, sabotage, and other covert activities.
 * Raid - Execute a surprise raid on an enemy city or regiment. If successful, the enemy's defending forces and soldier strength will be reduced.
 * Sabotage (SBTG) - Sabotage an enemy city. If successful, the targeted city's endurance level and supply stock will plummet.
 * Cut - Hinder the enemy's activities by cutting off their communication links. This prevents affected units or cities from receiving additional orders until repairs are made.
 * Eliminate (ELIM) - Assassinate an enemy regiment's commander. Doing so reduces the whole unit's battle performance.
 * Info - Send spies to infiltrate enemy cities and regiments for information. If successful, the enemy's target as well as their overall strength will be revealed.
 * Transfer (MOVE) - Commands that involve transferring personnel to different units or positions.
 * Army (AHQ) - Transfer army commander headquarters to another battalion.
 * Division (DHQ) - Transfer division commander headquarters to another regiment.
 * Personnel (OFCR) - Replace current division commanders and chiefs of staff with generals on standby.
 * Organize (ORGZ) - Commands used for organizing unit formations.
 * Unit - Organize battalions within each regiment. Can only be done with adjoining regiments of the same type or those within cities.
 * City - Organize a city's supply of ammo, fuel, and food.
 * Airforce (AIR) - Commands that employ the use of aerial warfare.
 * Bomb - Bombard approaching tank units. Employed after one hour and requires good weather conditions in order to work. Can be thwarted by enemy planes and anti-aircraft fire.
 * Paratroop (PARA) - Deploy paratroop units to a specified target. Upon landing, they are added to the player's forces as a new regiment.
 * Airdrop (CRGO) - Deploy cargo planes to transport supplies. If the number of materials is too much for a city or battalion, the excess amount will be discarded.
 * Wait - Refrain from making commands. The player can select how much time the command may consume with 24 hours being the maximum amount.

Terrain during the strategy phase is ranked with 1 being best and 4 as the worst.

Battle
Battles are conducted on an overhead map with units from both sides facing one another. Regiments in an adjoining area may join the fight. Orders may be given to individual battalions or the entire regiment. Control of the regiment may be delegated to division commanders for the player's convenience. Battle animations can be turned off at will as well. If players choose to let the AI handle their battles, only the results will be displayed.

The player must defeat all defending units to capture a city. Do note that repeated attacks will lower a city's endurance level, making them easier to take from the enemy forces. Alternatively, surrounding a city will result in its supply route being blocked, causing it to be more vulnerable to invasions.

Supplies are essential resources needed to prolong a battle. Even if the player carefully manages them, they still need to gain quick access to more materials in case a shortage becomes inevitable. The three essential supply materials are ammo, fuel, and food. Ammo is used for firing weapons. Fuel allows vehicles to move from one place to another. Food lowers the fatigue of soldiers. If any of these materials are lacking, then morale will surely plummet.

A battle is over once either side wins or the time limit ends. Stalemates may also occur if the player has not yet discovered more of the enemy's reserve battalions. The game ends if the army commander is defeated. Should a division commander die, a new one may take his place.


 * Battle Commands
 * Move - Move to an empty area within range. The time required to cross a specific distance depends on the battalion's arms, experience, fatigue, and terrain type.
 * Attack - Attack a specific area within range.
 * Raid - Move towards a specific area and launch an attack.
 * Defend - Launch an attack against approaching foes while not moving.
 * Retreat - Retreat from battle. Requires the battalion to reach a specified escape spot for retreat to succeed. Cannot be done if there is no fuel, another regiment is nearby, an enemy city is present, or if land mines are positioned.
 * Full Command - Assign all battalions to perform any of the aforementioned commands in tandem.

Below is a list of battlefield terrain types that affect a battalion's combat performance. Like the terrain found during the strategy phase, they are ranked with 1 being best and 4 as the worst.

Scenarios
The game includes six historical scenarios that cover a specific portion of the whole war.


 * 1) Occupation of France (May 10~June 22, 1940)
 * 2) North African War (May 26~July 5, 1942)
 * 3) Fierce Battles at Kursk (July 5~September 5, 1943)
 * 4) Storming of Normandy (June 6~August 19, 1944)
 * 5) Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944~January 21, 1945)
 * 6) Fight for Berlin (April 16~May 16, 1945)

Differences between ports

 * The Japanese version has an extra mode known as Campaign. It allows players to play through each scenario in the proper order while retaining experience points gained by officers.

Related Media
A guide handbook for the game was released by Koei on 1992.