German navy T1

I’m not very good at Classic, but I’ll throw my two cents in.

Typically, I commit 1-2 rounds of shucking INF from South Europe -> Africa to try to rack up some IPCs. After the first two rounds or so you’re going to need 100% of your IPCs to commit to the stack war in Eastern Europe Vs. USSR/UK.

If UK wastes their money on a South Africa/India IC I’d punish them by committing the Germans to a Egypt -> Syria -> Persia -> India trajectory, while also sending as much of Japan’s navy as possible towards India to take the free factory. If Japan/Germany can break a hypothetical India Factory early on, it can give Japan some real momentum in gobbling up IPCs in Africa + putting pressure on Russia.

Remember: In Classic, Germany has to play defensively, as they stand no chance of breaking Karelia unless your opponent is really weak. Japan has to be the main breadwinner for the Axis, abusing the weak starting setup for the Allies in Asia and the typical hyper-KGF Allied strategy to try to either take Moscow or win an “economic victory” before the Allies manage to break Germany.

Well I think the likelyhood of Japan taking both China and Sinkiang is very low in fact.  If you think about it Japan starts with only 7inf on the ground and 3ftrs bmb for offense.  China with 2inf ftr is more dangerous than one would expect and because of this it is my feeling that you must send at least 3inf ftr bmb just to guarantee a good shot at clearing it.  Additionally, Sink can only be attacked with 2inf + some air and is a lesser priority so in fact it is safe to assume that one of these will go badly.  Further Japan spreading out its offensive ability on turn 1 is a high risk high reward move as you could also lose all these battles which will really slow down Japan.  Losing say 6inf just to kill an irrelevent 2inf ftr or an extra 2inf is not a good idea.  Further, if the Brits pull just 1 Indian guy or 1 Syrian back to Persia they will have an opportunity to attack the infantry put in India by Japan.  If the Brits can nibble at these forces while spread out, and the Japanese hurt themselves by spreading out then it is far easier to slow Japan down than if you play defense where Japan will maintain its relative strength by virtue of not attacking.

Secondly, what gain is there to moving 2inf from India to Sink anyway?  If the Japanese want to risk it they can still attack it, and if they do you risk losing more of what little strength in Asia you do have.  Additionally, Japan can still take India, and Britain is still left attacking with 1inf + air to clear it so what’s the difference?

Finally, your primary reason against abandoning India is that the IPC swing is too great but in fact even with a defense of India or Sink Japan can still attack one or the other, and for that reason the IPC swing is almost as great so in fact the vacating of India actually costs the Brits very little.  Whether the British are in India or not the Japanese should be able to take China and India or Sink which is a 10ipcs swing.  The difference is but only 1guy which is more than worth it for the British.

@Jennifer:

kick his rosey little red tushy!

:o Now that is the spirit of Anglo-American Cooperation!

Heheheh… You said tushy!

Russia’s role is containing the Japanese on the ground… and if the Japanese player knows what it’s doing, E. Russia should be encircled by now. I say let the Americans handle the sea.

@Kantabricus:

The Allied pressence there has to be enough to hold, but not to the extent of making the German player think Africa is lost (ie 4 - 6 US infantry a turn). The Germans have to think every turn, that Africa is retakable, so that they keep on investing in an African Campaign.

First, I seldom put a ftr in Africa against a player who I know is average or better (I don’t want to lose it by skill, insight or luck.) Second, with a 2 inf bid in AES, I rarely put more than 2 inf/1 arm more in Africa (4 inf/1 arm /o a bid.) After 2-3 turns I’m either shipping inf to Ukr, Cau or sunk. :) (just the fleet.) If you have bothered to ship another group of 2-3 inf or 2 inf/1 arm on US3-4 you’ve just slowed the Allied push on Germany! Thank you. :wink:

I like the “Kriegsmarine Pacific ploy.” I had forgotten it. It’s been a long time since I felt threatened enough, as Germany, to try it. I think I’ll try it the next time I’m Gemany anyway, but I’ll have to look at how much it opens up the Eurobelly.

I don’t think russia should build 1-2 armor a turn. If they do, that’s 10 ipc’s if russia is earning 21 a turn, they can only build 2 armor and 3 infantry, it’s much better to build all iinfantry. Tanks are offencive but very expensive. If the allies can hold their ground, they will win since they have a better production. Using this logic, russia should go all defence. This is true since for a conventional win, axis has to kill russia. There are numerous explinations of why russia should not build many tanks. If you can hold eastern, and you still have your 4 tanks, and you want to take germany, AND japan doesn’t control the 3 territories around russia, then you can build tanks. Otherwise, 1-2 once might be ok (it might not be either) but 1-2 every turn is a waste of money. germany can just kill your expensive infantry. You can read don’s essay on purchacing. It does the math.

…OK maybe I should’ve said “…1-2 ARM per turn when possible…” if USSR is only making 21 IPCs a turn, then yeah, 1-2 ARM is gonna be a big burden. But with F/N under your belt & trading Ukraine each turn, 1-2 ARM each turn or so (allowing for occasional turns when all INF is necessary) is still a good idea. Without ARM you will have to rely entirely on your 2 FTRs for offensive firepower & will have to load up on a lot more INF to sustain attacks. Using only your original 4 ARM, you will have to preserve them and your ability to trade territory w/ Germany will be limited. I think its a good idea to buy a few ARM units along with your steady diet of INF…

Ozone27

Any navy Germany leaves in the UK sz will be sunk by the UK Air Force, and the ftrs can proceed to land in Karelia for defense of the Rodina (the Motherland.) Then UK may place any navy purchased in the UK sz. Maybe a carrier and a transport!
What can the US do to support this move? Think about it.

On the contrary, thug, the Germans need their Med. navy as long as possible to build defensive might in Africa. The longer they hold Africa the greater their income and the more successful the Germans will be.