Europe 1940 shows up on Wizards site…with screenshot

Ok, sounds like a lot of guys think it is not necessary to take London to win?
For sure you already have your “sealion” invading force on the board by turn 2 (as demonstrate by Siredblood) but i have to admit that 63 IPC for those 9 missing transports is a lot of money!

The main (and maybe only) reason why i thought about taking London (besides extra IPC) was to prevent US/ UK from using it as a launching platform to bomb/ invade mainland Europe by turn 5 and up!!

My current plan is this (almost cut/ paste from Siredblood’s Cobra-Kaï):
G1:
Eliminate Royal Navy in SZ106, 110, 111
Take France (leave normandy/ south France to Italy)
Ping-Pong Yugoslavia back in Romania (Leave it to Italy)
Barbarossa (Bessarabia + Eastern Poland)
Of course annex both Finland and Bulgaria
Build a Minor Complex in Romania (to pump tanks all along)
put a destroyer in SZ113 and regroup navy.
Italy 1
Buy 1 tank & 1 mech (to speed up with both tank from Albania/ North Italy and meet German forces near Bessarabia)

G2
Retake Bessarabia (unless Russian player is too dumb to give it a thought)
Take West. Ukraine
Strategic bombing of London
Move all my “Sealion” forces into West. Germany/ Germany (to "bluff away" Sealion)
Pump 3 tanks in Romania and keep all the rest of my IPC (42) to keep my opponent in the dark as much as possible!

G3
Take Ukraine
Drop 9 transports in SZ113 + 3 tanks in Romania
Italy 3
“can open” Rostov with tanks and all air force!

G4
Tank rush into Stalingrad with all tanks and air power (2 Tac, 2 Strategic)
“Sealion”! Bouum!
Pump 3 tanks in Romania and in Ukraine
Move back 6 of the 7 guys from Finland to Norway (will bridge to uk/ Scotland in T5)

G5
Rebuild forces in Stalingrad/ Ukraine, bring some planes
Strat bombing Moscow
Bridge some infantry from Norway to London and 1 to take Scotland
Buy a max of aircraft (strat. and Fighters)
Italy 5
“Regroup and can open” Tambov or Briansk with tanks and all air force!

G6
Moscow boum!

By then the Axis should have 8 victory cities (Italy’s role is to take Cairo and reinforce by turn 4 max)
I don’t even give a rat ass about Leningrad as it is already way too strong right off the bat!
Also on turn 6 i would start to take back infantry Eastern Poland/ Baltic states/ Romania that might be scattered to turtle them up on Warsaw!
At this point the goal is to hang on tight for 1 turn!

Of course all along Italy is putting 3 infantry per turn on South France and move them to Paris on turn5
Italy is also to put 1 destroyer in SZ92 on T4 simply to delay US and buy Axis 1 turn.

This strategy is stretched to the max and of course bad/good rolls might turn it into either a brilliant victory or a shameful beating!

Any piece of advise or parts that i am missing?

@Soviet-Steamroller I’ve always found the Stalingrad strategy to be a difficult one, as it’s just too far from Germany’s industrial base. Couple that with the fact that the Soviets can reach both Ukraine and Stalingrad in one turn with mechs and tanks, and it seems like Germany just runs out of steam. They’re not able to effectively crush the Soviets before the US is knocking on their door. If Italy assists, that gives it a much better chance of success, but my Italian strategy is usually focused on Africa and the Middle East.

By contrast, Leningrad is much closer to Germany’s power base, and with transports in the Baltic, it’s generally a simple matter to capture and hold it, using it as an industrial base for the assault on Moscow. Because it takes the Soviets two turns minimum to reach it, it is nearly impossible for them to mount a counter-attack and take it back. Furthermore, the air base allows Germany to keep their air force in play to defend the homeland, while still menacing the majority of Soviet territory.

I also like to wait until G2 to declare war against the Soviets, just to keep Britain guessing. I can see why you’d go with a G1 attack on the Soviets, though, since as you say, it definitely puts them back on their heels. For my tastes, I just find it allows Britain much more freedom and clarity. Without any pressure against Britain’s capital, they can usually build enough navy/air force to make your life miserable.

Again, just my two cents.

Yeah, I kind of agree with you Variance. Europe is where most of the action is. Plus, if you just play Europe, it takes up a lot less space on the table.
Yet, every time I think, let’s just play Europe, I already start to miss the Japanese. I just can’t seem to get into a game without the Japanese making trouble on the other side of the board.

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=28502.0

@gen-manstein Actually haven’t played with bid in solo games, so I hope that will be an advantage.

The Saffron and Green IAF Roundels as adapted by the IAF after the declaration of the Republic in 1950.

Duh!!