Dear fellow players:
I am currently midway through Round 2 of a game of Europe 1940. The British are about to go, and already things look dire for the Allies.
France was of course taken out, and is reduced to mainly two infantry guarding Morocco and two ships in the Med.
Britain lost a lot of ships and a fighter(their Med fleet is reduced to one transport and destroyer and their Atlantic fleet is one cruiser and destroyer). They lost Egypt Round 1, due to a blunder where Italy was left with 2 transports and the British lacked the units they should have had on Egypt. That was a mistake I will not repeat, but is the least of Allied problems right now. They built 6 inf and a fighter on London Round 1 and have 31 IPC’s right now.
Russia was invaded Round 2. There are currently 25 German infantry, 25 tanks, 5 artillery, and 11 planes that are either in Russia or will be in Russia within the next round or two, not to mention 8 tanks Germany will buy next round. The Germans are stacked right now in Eastern Poland and the Soviets had to withdraw and felt there was nothing they could do but get 10 inf on Moscow for their buy Round 2. Before that they bought a tac and 5 inf.
America is trying to build a fleet and has gotten 2 carriers, 1 fighter, and a BB so far.
The point is that no matter what America does(and Britain seems pretty helpless), it seems inevitable that on Round 5 or 6 Moscow will fall. By Round 6, Germany could attack Moscow with-again- at least 25 inf, 5 art, 33 tanks, and 11 planes. And after Round 3, the Germans can focus all their money on the Western front, so DDay is going to be virtually impossible. I would like any tips on what could help. I am playing this solo(which is how I almost always play Axis and Allies), and feel that Germany just keeps steamrolling Russia and getting an EasyMode win. That’s why I was playing Charles de Gaulle’s 1939 setup, which feels much easier for an Allied player to be able to win. All tips on how to stop this German Round 2 Barbarossa Blitz are appreciated. God Bless you all from
-AxisandAlliesGeneral
It sounds like the outcome is inevitable. A combination of losing Egypt and Germany still having 11 Air, leads me to this conclusion. To have a chance, Germany needs to retain its advantage in Air units, which it has done. With Egypt, the Axis have the final VP needed for the Axis and the added income for Italy.
I presume the Allies still own Gib. Is it worth the UK building an AB there? This way, the US can safely land in Morocco. Remember that German Air hitting this fleet would mean the end of the Allies’ chances. Ensure the Axis cannot attack SZ91, by landing in Algeria. This can happen , if the Italians can take it before the German go.
Regarding Egypt: did that fall on I1? Was it a mistake in not blocking both SZs in front of SZ98? That can happen, if the UK’s two units (Cruiser and Ft) are eliminated by the Tobruk DD. I am happy to empty Egypt on UK1, knowing that SZ98 is safe. The UK has to be aggressive on R1. Perhaps, bad luck was the factor and victory cannot be achieved, as you suspect.
It has been a few years since I played Europe (alone), so I do not want to suggest a bid fir your next game. I thought I remembered that the Allies did win some of our games. Consider hiving the Allies a bid, if your Axis win a couple more times.
Good luck and enjoy your games.
Thanks, Wittmann. Russia counterattacked Germany in Bryansk, destroyed all but one German tank, and fell back to Moscow to re-group. America is building up for D-Day and Britain is flying planes into Russia. It seems a lot more even now, although I doubt the Allies could actually win, mostly due to the combination of Germany’s ability to hold off D-Day and wear the Russians down, and the fact that Italy is making at this point-Round 5-49 IPC’s a turn(counting NO’s.)
Instead of giving the Allies a bid, next time I will remove some German units-a reverse bid-to try to make things more fair.
Thanks again, Wittmann.
In my experience, Allies have a significant advantage in hemisphere games because the USA doesn’t have to split its forces.
Counter to Stalin’s “not one step back” order, Russia needs to retreat; if you give away 6-8 infantry per turn trying to defend useless forward territories with no IPC value, you make it impossible to ever build a big stack. Withdraw all but 1 INF from forward territories, give away Kiev and fight hard to defend Leningrad, Stalingrad and obviously Moscow. Russia should be able to trade territory for time and have an enormous stack 30+ INF by about turn 4.
If Germany build one big stack, there should be holes to counterattack and retake certain territories. If Germany build multiple army groups and try to attack north and south at the same time, you should be able to hold those stacks off. Don’t get flanked and lose your NO +9 territory (the one east of Moscow) but as long as you don’t let Germany pick off 6-8 INF a turn trying to defend stupid stuff like Bessarabia, Russia should be able to stall long enough for the US to land in London or Morocco.
This map does favor the axis heavily. Russia starts the game with less money and less income than global. Typically Germany goes to war round 2 to take out Russia round 6-7.
It is easy for Germany / Italy to secure Egypt and from there Russia’s downfall is secured.
In global, USA typically is at war round 1 or 2. In Europe USA can’t move out till round 4. UK pacific is not an option for a 2nd back up Russia either in Europe only. Once Russia is gone, that is it.
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Nice thing about europe only is USA can just invade through spain and drop 20 guys a round there pretty fast without worry. It is still an axis map. 2 bomber 1 sub g1, G2 you have 4 bomber 1 fig 1 tact that can hit Egypt or malta or whatever to clear the way for Italy (or g3 all your air to blast through), as long as you buy mech/armor g2, g3, and g4 you can g5-g7 Russia no problem. Typically G6 Russia is dead. You may have to give up west germany / norway / maybe north Italy…. but it is an inevitable outcome. From there Fortress Europe begins and once Iraq/Persia/Iran gets taken, the axis income goes through the roof.
@Cow:
This map does favor the axis heavily. Russia starts the game with less money and less income than global. Typically Germany goes to war round 2 to take out Russia round 6-7.
It is easy for Germany / Italy to secure Egypt and from there Russia’s downfall is secured.
In global, USA typically is at war round 1 or 2. In Europe USA can’t move out till round 4. UK pacific is not an option for a 2nd back up Russia either in Europe only. Once Russia is gone, that is it.
~Nice thing about europe only is USA can just invade through spain and drop 20 guys a round there pretty fast without worry. It is still an axis map. 2 bomber 1 sub g1, G2 you have 4 bomber 1 fig 1 tact that can hit Egypt or malta or whatever to clear the way for Italy (or g3 all your air to blast through), as long as you buy mech/armor g2, g3, and g4 you can g5-g7 Russia no problem. Typically G6 Russia is dead. You may have to give up west germany / norway / maybe north Italy…. but it is an inevitable outcome. From there Fortress Europe begins and once Iraq/Persia/Iran gets taken, the axis income goes through the roof.
Really? I find this map to be Allies friendly. You hit Taranto, stack Egypt, and then wait for USA. Russia is a weak link, but with USA plunking 60+ every turn, things get hard pressed for the Axis…
At least that is what I have found in the games I’ve played…
If Germany takes Moscow by G6 they have a good chance to pull it out. It’s harder to defend Moscow in Europe because Russia has less units and less income and USA planes can’t make it there in time.
A UK2 Persia IC, followed by a couple rounds of fig buys to support Russia, might be a potential solution to the OP’s question. Yes, this IC should eventually fall to Axis but by that time (say G7 or G8) USA will be in Germany’s face and if Moscow is still alive, Axis is probably cooked. However I’m not 100% sure that Russia can hold out against an all out G6 even with 9-10 extra UK fighters for defense.
Does Russia really have less income? Don’t they have an NO that gives them the 9 IPC’s from the missing Siberian territories?
Only when Russia is at war and holding Novo
Yeah and you also don’t get the soviet far east units later.
Karl is right though, the Americans have a huge boost in comparison to what they are in the global game; and better yet, it’s 100% focused on Europe.
Kill Itlay First, start with Taranto or Tobruk. Subs and Convoy raid the crap out of the axis when and as you can. Hold on for dear life with Russia. If moscow looks like you can’t hold it, pull back for a round; and keep the fight alive. Merge with middle east forces if you have to.
