Author's notes

First of all, I'll have to warn you. This scenario is extremely 
addictive if you're an experienced gamer and have also played other 
strategic and wargames. Most dummies will get exhausted at the first
turn. Of course, it's so if you play for the Islanders (which are the
scenario's stars). However, even playing as Czechs, you'll experience 
several problems trying to break through hostile defences and you will 
also get into serious trouble more than once. But let you tell the 
story so that you can judge by yourself. 

There are three nations in the game: Czechs, Cashperians and Islanders.
The Czechs are the world-dominating superempire like the USSR or the
US of A. They have an excellent economy, a huge territory that extends
virtually around the world, but suffer from typical emperial problems:
a well-developed, industrialized and commercialized centre but weak 
and poorly developed provinces, corruption and permanent guerrilla 
insurgency. They have already built an expeditionary task force to 
finish off the Cashperians in a single-turn blitzkrieg, hence, the 
core of their military power is concentrated near the Cashperian borders,
so that they can capture Cashperia without worrying about possible 
nuclear strikes (I have quite forgotten: each civ is given two nukes,
without being able to build any more). The problem is, Cashperia already
has the necessary resources to switch their production to military units.
Also, all the nations have an equal level of scientifical development. 
Cashperia is, basically, a peaceful country with a developing economy.
The ground forces are defence-orientated, and the only offensive units
are tanks and artillery. The Cashperian air force is also 
defence-orientated, with a secondary counter-insurgency role. Finally,
there are the Islanders, the country which you are supposed to govern.
This nation is a sort of Switzerland or Sweden: it has a powerful 
industry, a veteran army with an excellent defence/offense balance, and 
had built up a powerful defence line near its cities. When cleverly 
commanded, the Islander army can not only defend the country's borders,
but also kick up the attacker's ass, capturing its neigbouring cities.
Its two task forces are much more modest than the Czech ones, but also pose
a serious threat to the Czech borders and even core cities. 

Here comes the other part: the gameplay and hints.

Forget dumb aviation and artillery attacks. Forget using armour as the
attacking force. Forget nukes. Forget subs. Here, the only way of 
conquering some hostile territory is strategy, global strategy. First of
all, if you're playing as Islanders (or even worse, as Cashperians),
defend your cities as well as you can, 'cause your adversary will most
probably send an entire waterfall of artillery and aviation. After the 
enemy has finished its offense (note that he would rarely send in more 
than one nuke), start building task forces. They ARE to be 
compound, and you also are to have an excellent recon/intel force 
before you make any serious attack attempt. But let's not analyze the
offensive operations before we haven't finished with the defensive. 
Don't build SDI Defence unless you aren't planning to have your entire 
task force stationed in a city. Instead, try bulding up SAM stations 
and City Walls, coupled with Mechanized Infantry, Mobile SAM Complexes
and JLRSFs. Once you do that, the AI will try to break through your 
defence much more ferociously, but will generally fail. The next step 
shall be to fortify SAMs in fortresses on your borders, which also means 
the engineers will have to be distracted from their "civil"occupations. 
After you did that, use free from defensive tasks JLRSFs, Supersonic Fighters 
and Dogfighters to attack hostile units trying to get into your territory. 
These are the only planes spending a single turn in air, and they may 
also be used in teams with CAS Planes, but I recommend to use a CAS Plane 
only when it finishes its turn under defence of a SAM. After you've stopped 
the Czech offense and have your borders secured, shall you start building 
up your task forces. Here's how. Cashperians will have it really tough 
to build something unless signing a ceasefire or peace, but Islanders 
have the entire matter made much easier. The basic components of a task 
force are Mechanized Infantry, Armour (or, better, MBTs), SAMs, artillery 
units (MLRS, Howitzers, SPAs), recon/intel units (Recon Planes, Spies, 
Saboteurs, Light Tanks) and air support (JLRSFs, CAS Planes, Helicopters). 
Basically, the more and better artillery and air support you have, the
better you'll feel cutting hostile defences. The tactics are 
relatively simple: take off a Recon Plane from a nearby airbase or 
city, unveil the territory, then send a Spy aided by a JLRSF to take 
out any unit on the Spy's way, use your Spy to investigate the city
that's supposed to be attacked, then move in some Engineers (two would
be ideal) to build a fort, aided by a Mechanized Infantry and SAM. The
next turn, once the SAM and M. I. are fortified, move in the artillery 
and any other reinforcements (tanks are ideal for taking out quite 
anything that might threaten your forces). In case a city has weak air
defences, use CAS Planes, Strategic Bombers, Penetration Fighters, 
Strike Planes and all other attacking stuff to take out the city, next,
occupy it with Paratroopers or a Helicopter, without forgetting to move
in a SAM (when available) and/or a JLRSF (don't even try to attack when
you've nothing to protect the occupied city). Naval task forces are 
basically the same as the land ones, but, of course, carried on Assault
Hovercrafts (transports are of no use here) and escorted by AEGIS 
Cruisers (the floating air defence), Battleships and Missile Boats. 
Here, a few words must be said on the Missile Boats. These are the 
fastest vessels, and when used correctly, may be devastating even 
against large convoys. They have a nonsensical defence/offense rate, 
but carry missiles (!), are, as I've already mentioned, fast, small
and have submarine advantages - they can't be seen by most hostile 
vessels (in fact, that was the only way to make a missile-carrying unit).
Load'em with a half-dozen missiles and watch those enemy units disappear!
Of course, it would have also been nice to give your convoy a little of
air support. Include a Carrier, loaded with ASW Helicopters (same as the
Helicopter, but with a lower offensive (6) and higher defensive (8) 
scores; that was made to avoid downing by subs: a nonsensical, yet 
uncorrectable programming error by MPS), V/STOL Fighters (can you
remember Falklands?), JLRSFs, Helicopters and CAS Planes (a must-have).
Missiles are also nice for an attack, but at the early stages of the 
game you won't be able to waste production on them. Well, I guess that
is all you need to know; the rest you'll have to find out by trial. 
Below is included a glossary and an explication of each unit's role and
idea.


Missile Boat (moves 8, 4 attack/4 defence, 2 hit/2 FP, costs 70 shields,
available after Guided Weapons, carries missiles, sees 2, sees subs, 
has sub advantages). That one may be used for a fast surprise attack or
for sinking hostile convoys. Basically, it's an attack weapon; when 
discovered, it has few chances of survival unless carrying SA Missiles.
Its main advantage is speed and missile armament. Of course, the latter
mainly depends on your production rate. The unit is based on real-life
vessels currently in use worldwide as a patrol boat or a component of
light strike forces.

Light Armour (Moves 5, 8 attack/5 defence, 2 hit/2 FP, costs 80 shields,
available after Mobile Warfare, amphibious). Its main role is armed 
reconnaissance, yet it still may be used against poorly defended units
or for paving the way for the main amphibious task force component. 
Based on a real-life machine, used for scouting, recon and light strikes. 
May also serve as a counter-insurgency (COIN) unit.

SA Missile (air, carries fuel for a single turn, moves 12, 7 attack/7
defence, 2 hit/2 FP, costs 30, available after Guided Weapons, can 
attack air units). That one is used if you've got a pesky air unit 
nearby, but cannot spare or don't want to distract any of your fighters;
it also is a useful air defence unit, especially on a sub or boat.

Dogfighter (air, carries fuel for a single turn, moves 15, 8 attack/7
defence, 2 hit/2 FP, costs 70 shields, available after Jet Engine, sees 2, may 
attack air units). That is basically the same that the Supersonic 
Fighter, but costs less, is faster and has a smaller defence score. It
also comes earlier on the tech tree, so you can use it in a scenario
as an air-defence fighter for less developed countries. Its main role
is air defence and secondary strikes.

MLRS (moves 4, 12 attack/4 defence, 3 hit/2 FP, costs 140 shields, 
available after Rocketry, double defence against air units, negates
city walls, sees 2) is a highly mobile, well-defended rocket 
projectile-carrying machine, serving as an effective yet costly 
close-range artillery unit. It is especially nice when used against 
partisans.

Escort Fighter (air, carries fuel for 2 turns, moves 10, 8 attack/8 de-
fence, 2 hit/2 FP, costs 70 shields, available after Supersonic Flight,
may attack air units, sees 2) is used against targets without JLRSF or
SAM defence but with fighter defence, and fares well as an escort for 
the bombers, as well as being able to take out most ground units.

ASW Helicopter (air, carries fuel for any number of turns, moves 6, 
6 attack/8 defence, 2 hit/2 FP, costs 70 shields, available after 
Combined Arms, sees subs, sees 2). Civ2 has a huge programming error. 
Subs can down helicopters. Sounds rare, but that's the snag. I wouldn't
be displeased if the subs' attack score would be halved when attacking
helicopters (after all, most subs have some marginal air defence), but
downing helos and keeping on floating as if nothing's the matter? To
counter this, I've made a special unit (of course, based on the real 
thing) tasked with sub hunting. It is intended to be used from carriers,
but it also fares well when a sub suddenly appears near one of your 
cities, and you can't afford wasting your vessels' resources on it.

Strike Plane (air, carries fuel for two turns, moves 10, 12 attack/
4 defence, 2 hit/2 FP, costs 70 shields, available after CAS Theory, 
negates city walls, sees 2). Another unit based on a real thing, the
Strike Plane is a carrierborne attacker, whose only role is, yeah, 
attack. Its low cost makes it more useful than a prop bomber, but it 
also cannot be used against well-defended targets or attack other 
planes.

Parasettlers (moves 5, 0 attack/5 defence, 2 hit/ 2FP, costs 100 
shields, available after Combined Arms, ignores zones of control, 
paradrops, has all the Settlers advantages). Despite its high cost, 
this unit is a jewel. It lets you (although slowly) build forts, 
airbases, roads and cities at a paradrop distance. Use it adequately,
and you'll have the entire world under your conttrol.

V/STOL Plane (air, carries fuel for an infinite amount of time, moves 14,
8 attack/8 defence, costs 90 shields, available after Guided Weapons, 
sees2, may attack air units). Do you remember Falklands? Her Majesty
Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers immortalized themselves in that war. In an
amphibious assault, this is one of the primary weapons, since it has 
both the advantages of a jet fighter and those of a helicopter. 

"Piranha" Class Sub (moves 6, 7 attack/5 defence, 3 hit/2 FP, costs 60
shields, sees 2, sees subs, carries missiles, available after Combustion)
This tiny submarine is an alternative to its bigger, but less 
manouevrable elder sister. Use it to sink transports and support 
landings with missile fire.

Spy Plane (air, carries fuel for 4 turns, moves 24, 0 attack/8 defence,
2 hit/4 FP, costs 90 shields, sees subs, has "stealth" advantage, sees
2, available after Superconductor). One more unit based on a real thing,
it is extremely useful for monitoring your opponents' activity over both
land and sea.

Recon Plane (air, carries fuel for 1 turn, moves 24, 0 attack/5 defence,
1 hit/3 FP, costs 60 shields, sees subs, sees 2, available after Jet 
Engine). This one is used to unveil space around your task groups and 
indicate possible threats and targets. It is cheap and useful, since,
as a part of your fighter squadrons, it eats no extra shield.

SS-N-22 SunBurn (air, carries fuel for 1 turn, moves 10, 10 attack/0 
defence, 3 hit/3 FP, costs 30 shields, available after Guided Weapons,
sees subs) is the NATO codename for a Russian supersonic Sea-Air-Sea
missile travelling at Mach 2.4 at sea level; logically, at such a speed
there's little chance of a hostile vessel jinking out of the 
missile's way. Coincidentally, Russian "Mosquito" class missile boats 
are armed with this weapon. It is of a perfect use on missile boats and
subs against cruisers, transports, subs and even carriers.

Supersonic Fighter is the same thing as the Stealth Fighter in the 
factory Civ2 setting, but has its defence score altered to 8. BTW, the
Stealth Fighter wasn't really stealth, so I've changed the icon to a
more impressive MiG-29MF climbing to meet its target.

Strategic Bomber is the same as the Stealth Bomber, but has a defence
score altered to 5 (can you imagine a prop fighter killing a stealth
bomber?) and its icon changed to that of a B-52.

SPA (moves 3, 14 attack/4 defence, 3 hit/2 FP, costs 120 shields, 
ignores city walls, available after Robotics) stands for self-propelled
artillery. First units of this type were developed during the WWI, 
were combat-tested and proved effective, especially against armour and 
infantry concentrations. It also is nice for blowing up fortifications.

MBT (moves 3, 12 attack/6 defence, 3 hit/2 FP, costs 120 shields, 
ignores city walls, available after Robotics). These three letters are
familiar to any modern tank commander. They mean main battle tank. 
Against this lion, all other units on the battlefield are measured. Use
it as a scouting unit for ground columns, and no hostile unit will dare 
to approach your forces. It also is the finest unit for counter-insurgency 
tasks.

Penetration Fighter (air, stays in the air for 4 turns, moves 14, 
12 attack/7 defence, 3 hit/2 FP, costs 160 shields, available after
Composite Materials, sees subs, ignores city walls, may attack air 
units, sees 2). This is a kind of plane not everyone can allow. It costs
the same as a Strategic Bomber, but is smaller, carries less weapons,
yet has an extensive avionics suite of offensive/defensive ECM, RWR,
a weapon-aiming suite so that it won't miss a target, variable-geometry
wings for optimum performance at a variety of altitudes and speeds, and
a huge quantity of fuel for its turbofan engines, giving it an excellent
range for flights well inside the hostile territory. It is of best use 
as an endurance escort fighter in tandem with Strategic Bomber, or
as a stand-alone weapon used against high-value targets inside the 
hostile territory such as airbases, troops concentrations or SPAs, MLRS
and MBTs.

Assault Hovercraft (naval, moves 10, 6 attack/6 defence, 2 hit/2 FP,
costs 70 shields, carries 8 ground units, available after Mass Transit)
Serves as an effective military replacement for the transport. It is
fast, carries a considerable punch and can defend itself from the 
attacks of vessels as powerful as a cruiser.

Mobile Infantry is an alternative to Alpine Troops, with the only 
difference that it moves 3 squares per turn without the all-road 
advantage.

The Carrier now can't attack anyone. I guess many players were 
frustrated when they lost an entire carrier full of aviation due to a
wrong finger move.

The Saboteur replaces the Diplomat unit, giving it the advantages of 
seeing subs, seeing for 2 squares and paradropping. It also has a moving
rate of three.

The Sniper is a complement to artillery units, its attack score of 9 
making it a worthy opponent for even tanks and mechanized infantry.

JLRSF (air, carries fuel for a single turn, moves 20, 7 attack/7 defence,
4 hit/4 FP, costs 100 shields, available after Composite Materials,
sees subs, may attack air units, sees 2). This one is an expensive but 
extremely versatile unit. It may be used as an escort fighter, a CAS/BAI 
plane, a carrierborne universal fighter, and, finally, an air-superiority 
and air defence fighter. Actually, the only thing able to down a JLRSF 
is a JLRSF. It also is the only unit that may down a CAS Plane.

Subsonic Fighter is an intermediate fighter unit available after 
discovering Jet Engine. It also is less expensive than the Dogfighter.

Mobile Sam Complex (moves 3, 0 attack/6 defence, 4 hit/2 FP, costs 80
shields, available after Guided Weapons, sees 2, ignores ZOCs, 
double on defence versus air units) is the best performance-per-price
unit in the game. It downs almost anything that tries to attack it. 
Even CAS Planes have to be careful when attacking this unit. Its best
use is the mobile columns defence, but it also is of a first need for
city defence.

CAS Plane (air, carries fuel for 4 turns, moves 8, 15 attack/5 defence,
4 hit/4 FP, costs 80 shields, available after CAS Theory, sees subs, 
sees 2). Another versatile unit, it is modelled on the performance of
real-life planes like the Russian Su-25 and the American Fairchild
Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (or, more familiarly, the "Warthog"). 
Cheap, tough, with an incredible agility and firepower, this simple 
plane is slow yet extremely manouevrable and able to stay airborne for
hours. In fact, it's so manouevrable and well-armed that it out-turns
and out-guns almost any existing fighter. It also flies so low (below
100 ft) that it is exposed to air defence fire only for a few seconds.
Its job is simple: respond to a ground forces commander's request for
airpower, arrive in a few minutes on the battlefield and silence the 
threatening artillery or kill the blowing-through tanks. Use it for
supporting task forces, destroying hard targets and escorting naval
groups. 

Usual Task Force compounds:

[land task force] 2MBTs, 2 SAMs, 2 M. I., 2 Engineers, 1 Spy, 2-4 JLRSFs
(for air defence and air support), 2-5 CAS Planes (for air support; it's
much more better to use them only after performing intel and recon tasks)
, huge quantities of artillery (MLRS, SPAs, Howitzers; in fact, you'll 
need really huge quantities of these: at Warlord level, I've had to use 
11 SPAs and 4 Howitzers to capture Rhymney and clear the area around the 
city), any special forces (Saboteurs, Parasettlers, Light Tanks). 
To make things easier, here's a small scheme:

[Defence]
Ground air defence units
Infantry
Armour (to a lesser extent)

[Recon]
Light Tanks, Spies, Recon Planes

[Intel]
Spies, Saboteurs

[Attack]
Armour (mainly to repulse hostile ground attacks)
Artillery (in fact, the only artillery's role is attack)

[Task force support]
Engineers - a must-have.
Helicopters - these might save your forces more than once. By any way, 
remember that the helicopter is an ambush weapon, and should be used if
you can defend it against hostile air attacks.

[Special forces]
Saboteurs
Parasettlers (these are excellent for building airbases in distant areas)

These are the roles for ground forces. I generally separate the ground
forces' tactics from those of the naval and air forces. The way in which 
all the three services interact is described after the task forces 
descriptions. 

Navy