Question about transports

The Germans have no destroyer present, therefore the defending air units can not hit the sub, and of course the sub can never hit planes. Think of it in terms of the combined arms rule, air units can only hit subs if they are combined with at least 1 participating destroyer, the difference with this particular combined arms is that it works while attacking and defending. In the scenario that you described, the sub would destroy the remaining transport without rolling and the defending fighters can do nothing.

@ColonelCarter:

@Shin:

I don’t know why HBs would even matter.  Your bombers effectively attack on 5 rather than four now.

yay?

He’s talking about old heavy bombers. The ones that rolled 2 dice @4 and kept both results. Those were pretty much game over.

Actually, the Old HB rolled 3 dice and kept ALL of the results. They only changed it to 2 dice in revised edition, and even that where overpowered.
They also did kept all of the results when stratbombing, AND there where no upper limit on how much damage you could do.

So, effectivly, if you get HB on round 1 with UK. You will build 2 HB as UK for round 1. UK round 2, you will hit germany with 3 HB and 9 dice doing an average of 31.5 IPC of damage (if all bombers get though). That is more or less the entire german economy (which starts at 32) gone from G3 and until the game is over.

So, HB in round 1 and it doesn’t matter if russia falls, bc germany will have zero production for the rest of the game.

Thank you guys. I thought it was legal the only thing that was tripping me up was the whole we don’t own the sea zone before the turn but you can’t own a sea zone so it is fine to land on a carrier that has taken a sea zone. Or that is my understanding. Thanks again for the info. It was one thing I was not sure on.

@Celvus:

Thanks for the quick Answer Elrood! :-)

I Still find this Rule a little Strange. So the Allied Fraction just stands beside the Sea Fight watching the Battle and drinking some Beer?.  :|

Well, if that helps, imagine a vast seazone where the UK DD and Russian Sub are not in some battle group but actually far away from each other.  :-)

@Celvus:

Anyway since we play by the Rules we have to respect that. :-)

Good choice, there is nothing against house rules, but I would not mess with something integral like that. The befits of mixed fleets are already crazily good.

for example. UK / US fleets mass in SZ109 or 110. You think Berlin is save since you have a DD in SZ112 and few troops in Denmark, and have not many troops in Berlin (may be even none).
Then:
US fleet takes Denmark and after that UK goes into baltic sea and attacks Berlin, killing Germany most likely with that move. - Axis have no way to interact between US and UK moving… so its really nasty.

That happened to more than one inexperienced player, since it takes some time to “see” these possible scenarios.  :wink:
Just to let you see the possibilities

@Cmdr:

You cannot kill them all, if you do, how will you gloat?

Oh yeah.  You have to leave some of them alive so you can point and say “Nyah, nyah, we beat you.”

I personally feel Alpha2 does not mesh with Europe only.

There is an exploit if Germany prepares for Sea Lion. Alpha2 permits the US to declare war when London falls. Normally Germany wants to delay the US entering the war and thus will never declare war on them.

The exploit is this, UK can build a carrier, transport and artillery, place the carrier in sz 106 Canada, the transport in South africa with the artillery, they can move their fleet to sz 92 Gibraltar. Land 2 infantry on Algeria (with sz 109 tranny) with 3 planes, leave a DD in sz 94 to prevent naval bombardments on Algeria, and this prevents Italy from taking Algeria to permit a German air assault on the UK navy in 92.
The rest of the UK air lands in Gibraltar and Egypt. Stack land units in Egypt. Also grab Persia with the Med transport.

Germany must choose: Take England turn 2 and permit America to enter the war on turn 2. (Since it built transports on turn 1 to exploit the UK carrier fleet that will be waiting. A large US presence will be in the Med or N. Europe on turn 3 a smaller one on turn 2. The UK fighters move to Egypt turn 2 and it never falls before Italy does.

Round 2 UK has 3 loaded transports able to reinforce Egypt with 7-8 planes…Italy is toast, Russia is fine, and the US is knocking on Germany and Italy’s door turn 2!! Insult is, you get a French fighter and at least 2 french soldiers that can board the first US transport that lands, giving France capture Italian territory options after the US clears sea zones it non combats the French land units into position this is great if you need to grab islands (or capitals  :wink: ) for allied planes after the US combat move.

In Alpha 2 the Major UK factory becomes a minor on top of that, the money German gets after building 3 infantry a turn to defend UK is a net of +4 dollars. Yes Germany has fewer losses, and you lose out on UK land units stacking in UK. But you get an Italy that never gets into Africa as turn 2, you have a couple of ships, and 5-8 planes that can sink the Italian fleet if it is anywhere besides a scramble base, and even then its a risk. Except for sz 97, the UK airforce can hit every Med. sz and land on turn 2. because of Malta, Cyprus and the carrier.

Remember to save the 2 transports that went to Persia and S.Africa and end up in sz 81 they cannot be hit by Italy on turn 2 without Anglo-Egypt which you can liberate. When the UK fleet moves into the Med later on, they give the UK 3 loaded transports that permit assaults or 6 land units and 8 planes to reinforce any US land grabs late game. Plus the French fighter and 2 French land units! lol

If Germany refuses to take UK, the US never needs to build carriers as the UK builds one a turn , plus the 2 units in Africa….game over for Italy and likely the axis.

I get good results with this in Global too, keeping Italy down is nice in global as well depending on if the allies go Europe or Pacific first. It also permits India and anzac to declare war turn 1 after Germany and Japan have gone in order to get the bonus NO money. (The Axis only see Russia’s move and thus make moves for a normal game…japan is not ready to pounce typically as they never expect a turn 1 India/Anzac DOW)

Welcome, dachi!

@dachi:

Can Soviet invade Finland on their first turn, without Germany declaring war to Soviet first?

No.  USSR may not move into territories outside its own on the Europe map until it is at war with Germany and/or Italy.  Also, it may not move into territories outside its own on the Pacific map until it is at war with Japan.

@dachi:

Regarding flights/landings, are islands still part of the sea zone? Meaning, does it take an aircraft 1 turn to enter the seaszone surrounding the island, or does it get that “for free”?

Islands are separate spaces from the sea zones that they’re in.  It takes a movement point to enter or leave an island.

No there is a need to roll dice, as subs are ignored and do not result in combat on their enemies turn unless the enemy ship is an unescorted transport. Then the sub gets one shot to try to sink it outside of normal combat, this shot occurs as the transport moves in or through the zone. It is listed separately in the rules and I did not know about it for the longest time in pacific until I read the sub section in the rulebook. Attacking transports are never defenseless as they can always retreat. However this is not an attack, this shot occurs during movement of any type.

See page 30 AAE40 submarine section under: “Doesn’t Block Enemy Movement” line 9 beginning with “There is an exception…”