Global 1940 & 1943 Expansions Game Reports

Game 9 Panzerstahl-Helm vs barnee

TripleA

Game 1940

Axis: Panzerstahl-Helm
Allies: barnee

Playing Time 3 Months

Game Thread
https://forums.triplea-game.org/topic/4176/exp-game-9-barnee-vs-panzer?page=1

Saved Game
exp-game-9-panzer-uk-10.tsvg

Report to Follow

Early 1940 - Early 1941
The Kriegsmarine would launch the Graf Zeppelin in Early 1940.

Tojo and the Militarists, wanting Vengance from the debacle in Khalkhin Gol, launch a Sneak Attack against the SSR.
To support this tremendous undertaking, they would construct a Major Fctry in Korea.

The British Royal Navy would sink the Italians in 97 with help from the RAF but the attack off Malta would go poorly and see the loss of a Ftr and CA as well as the Italian Trprt surviving.
The Battle of the Atlantic would commence, with the 109 DD and London Bmbr sinking the U-boat off Canada.

Italia would mop up the French Forces in S FRA from the failed German attack but their efforts to sink the Royal Navy in 97 would fail spectacularly with Heavy losses.
Things would go better in N Africa as they would take Tunisia and the Ethiopian Army Kenya in force.

In Late 1940 the Air Blitz against London would begin. The RAF, with most of their Aircrews elsewhere, would decline battle and the Fctry would be heavily damaged.

An undefended Gibralter would fall and a Trprt sunk off Guiana by a U-boat. The Luftwaffe would finish off the Royal Navy in 97 and the Wehrmacht would take control of Greece.

6 LCVs would be built in Berlin along with 10 LMs.

The Soviets would withdraw to Yakut and send a Commisar with Armor support to take command of the theatre.

Nippon would move on a broad front against Soviet Asia with Skirmishers, who would take casualties. The Army adavances in Central China supported by the Air Force.

The IJN has 4 Task Forces in 33, 36, 6 and 5 SZs all with CV support.

China would continue to counterattack against the Eastern Devils with limited success.

The Brits would learn from their failure in Late 1940. They would repair the London Fctry and move it underground.
The Italian concentration in Kenya would be destroyed with Naval support. Brazil is activated and England begins to prepare for a possible Sealion with a heavy Infantry place.

Italia would sink the French Ships in the Med, albeit with heavy losses. The North African attacks would succeed obtaining another Objective.

They would finish Late 1940 cash heavy with 34 bucks.

Early 1941 the Reich would defeat a small UK Para landing in Holland. The Kriegsmarine would move back to 112 from GIB. The LCVs would move to W GER.
An attack on the Soviet Union does not seem imminent.

The last is somewhat surprising with the early JPN attack on Russia.

SSR hardens the Caucasus defense and Paratroopers in Novgorod threaten Scandanavia.
Yakut defense is strengthened with Artillery. Engnrs from Volgograd transport Infantry into China.

JPN continues it’s attacks in Central China while pausing their attack on Soviet Asia so the IJA can concentrate in Amur.

The Korean Fctry continues to produce large numbers of Infantry. IJN is now in 6 and 19 SZs as well as their Carolines Fleet.

The Americans fortify the Aleutians and the Lend Lease mission for the 2 Ftrs in Alaska is cancelled as Soviet controlled TTy is now out of range.
They take up a defensive role.

China throws all their power against JPN once again. The Soviet support giving them a slight boost on defense.

British Intelligence is alarmed by a potential German Sea Lion and almost all available resources deploy to England, including the building of a Flak Tower.

They Declare War on JPN. This will enable another Objective for themselves as well as ANZC.

Iraqi Neutrals are defeated and they continue their slow advance into SE China. The Indian Army concentrates in Burma with no immediate Japanese threat.

Continued on 1-25-26

Italia would launch a CV. No combat would take place. An LCV and 2 Inf move to Norway. 2 more LCVs move to Greece threatening the Black Sea TTys as well as Syria. GIB is reinforced.

ANZC will take an undefended Siam and collect 31 PUs due to their at War bonuses. France would also DOW on JPN with the lineup almost now complete except for the Americans.

End Early 1941

Economy

Late 1941 - Late 1942

Germany would construct a Harbor in Norway and 6 LCVs would deploy there. The Fleet in 112 contains 3 Trprts.

No Combat would take place. 1st Luftflotten would form in W GER.

USSR
While the Fuhrer continues to honor the NAP, Stalin is not so inclined and DOW against Germany and Italy take place.

A sole Inf walks into an undefended Finland and Paratroopers strike undefended Slovakia and Bulgaria as well.
Soviet Air and Mongolian Forces would successfully strike into Suiyuyan supported by Engnr transported Inf.

Caucasus defenses are strengthened against the possible Italian LCV attack from Greece. Lenningrad is evacuated in anticipation of a German attack from the new Harbor in Norway.

1st Corps forms in Yakut and 2nd in Bryansk. 1st Tank in Moscow.

Japan would go with another heavy Inf build for the Korea Fctry and launch the Hvy BB Yamato.

Multiple Combats would take place in Central and SW China as well as in the Central and South Pacific. Almost all would be small skirmishes with a slightly larger battle in Shensi.

Allied Trprts and Blockers would be defeated but destroy multiple Air and Naval units in the process. The UK Trprt in 36 would survive after shooting down a JPN Ftr.
On land they would suffer multiple attritional Infantry losses.

The IJN would have Fleets in 6 and 20 with the largest off the PHIs. Landbased Air would concentrate in Hunan and the Manchuko Army would attempt to flank the Soviets by moving into Mongolia.

The Americans, now on a Wartime Footing, see huge military expenditures led by the construction of 3 CVs.
They would join their Anglo Brethren and declare War on JPN.

The Army would successfully land in Morocco and the Marianas, while the Navy would sink a DD in 16. The Pacific Fleet is concentrated at Pearl Harbor while the Atlantic is in 91.

China continues attritional counterattacks against JPN Infantry.

UK converts a B-17 via LendLease. It and another Bmbr along with Paras attack Denmark. S FRA is taken by a Para attack.
The Indian Army moves into Yunnan in strength. Hainan is taken. A hard fought battle liberates Alexandria. The Denmark battle succeeds.

The Italians counterattack in Denmark with their Norway LCV and Inf, along with their Bmbr. It’s a success. S FRA is also taken.
The Greece Force moves to Syria.

ANZAC builds a Fctry in Queensland. They sink a Sub off DNG. They receive another strong payday.

In Early 1942 the Reich would finally launch “Operation Barbarossa” all along the E Front.

They would see great success but be unable to engage and destroy any large Soviet groupings.

The SSR would counterattack aggressively and have mostly good results. They would not be strong enough to challenge either of the Wehrmacht strongpoints in Novgorod or Bessarabia though.

The Far East Army would withdraw to Yenisey to avoid being flanked.

Nippon would finish construction of Yamato’s sister ship the Musashi.
The Manchuko Army would move slightly south to avoid direct confrontation with the Soviet Far East Army.

Multiple small combats in China and the Central and South Pacific would continue. They would prove more succesfull than Late 1941 but still take some attritional losses.

Continued on 1-27-26

Uncle Sam would hunt U-boats in the Atlantic and take out a blocker in the Pacific.

China continues to counterattack with it’s limited resources in attritional battles. Importantly the Burma Road would be open.

The British Indian Army would continue to push into China and SE Asia. They would bomb the Harbor in S FRA that is a logistical hub for LCVs supplying GIB but suffer the loss of 1 Bmbr.

Japan is being pushed back in China. This will become problematic for the Japanese.

They continue to suffer high convoy damage despite the recent American successes against the U-boats.

Italy would destroy the Soviet Paratrooper landing in Greece and begin to mine the Straight of Gibralter in 92.

ANZC sends Ftrs to Java and a DD to prevent naval bombardment.

The French DD begins to transit the S Atlantic to hunt a U-boat off of S America.

Late 1942 the Reich would sink blockers in 104 and the main Fleet would move to 125 to sink the Soviet Sub. They would also take control of Norway again via Amphib landings from the aforementioned Fleet.

A strong Armor Force led by 1st SS Pnzr would take E POL. They would be joined by 1st Waffen but be unable to form a AG. 2nd Pnzr would be reinforced with Infantry in Novgorod and 2nd Waffen would remain in a defensive roll in the Ruhr.

A Minor Fctry is constructed in Lenningrad to help with the logistical problem of supplying the E front. Naval Mines are sown in 110 against 104.

The Soviets would move the Moscow Fctry underground. The E Front would remain static. The Baltic CA and Sub would suicide against a German Escort in 113 to slow down the deployment of Naval Mines.

A mech transported by UK would land in Ethiopia taking control for a much needed Bonus. The Far East Forces would make a small counterattack into Yakut to kill Japanese skirmishers.
Surprisingly the CA would survive and retreat to 114.

Mass Tanks begin to deploy to Moscow. The main Red Army Force is concentrated in Bryansk led by 1st Tank. 2nd Corps defends in Smolensk and in the Far East 1st Corps moves into Western Mongolia to counter the Manchuko Army.

Japan would move West on a broad front. The PHIs would be attacked and conquered.

Their lack of Infantry hampers their ability to take control of Hunan and Kwangsi. The Manchuko Army is directly threatening the Soviet Far East Army.

Large numbers of Infantry would continue to be produced at the Korea Fctry.

The USN would continue to skirmish in 16 SZ and a undefended Borneo would be liberated. Celebes was also undefended but the Americans decided to boost the British income instead of their own.

In the European Theatre they would continue to hunt U-boats employing Submarines of their own in the Hunter/Killer Groups which the U-boats have no defense against their First Strike.

The Italian Minelayer is sunk in 92. Large Naval Forces continue to deploy to the Pacific.

A strengthened China, thanks to massive British support, is able to finally hit back against the Japanese with success.
New units deploy in the North along with the Flying Tigers to help counter the Manchuko Army.

@The-Captain Thanks again!

It’s been a while, but I’ll try to remember in brief and then review in detail in a video. Gargantuan said to me once that the Allies goal must be to slow down the Axis expansion. So I plan on making it more difficult for Japan to get to 60 in oob or the equivalent here. In Europe, to keep the Germans under 63 oob or the equivalent here. (There is a lot of money in this game. And I kept a careful eye, aiming to be well above the Axis.) Suppress growth and income.

I accomplished this by demanding attention in four different directions in the ETO. The north Atlantic, the Med, The Eastern front and another area must call for orders and units. This makes battles smaller and I have the assumption that I can lose battles better than the Axis because of the income disparity. The other area in the beginning was Karelia. Later it was Spain. Later still I was able to make Turkey and the Balkans a hot spot. Death by a thousand cuts? I call it my pizza dough strategy. Ground units in particular can be rendered useless by a tempting easy victory that leaves them at the front line, but unable to reach a different front line. When I accomplished naval superiority, I was able to make the front almost any coastal territory at will.

In the Pacific, I like to go high. And on most occasions, I didn’t seek a large Napoleonic victory, but skirmishes with reserves to make it so that no front was ever settled. Some fronts were hotter than others. Some were drips that could be easily defeated if maintained.

One of my proverbs is for my enemy to win every battle but lose the war. The Rocky Bilboa strategy. I offered many battles in Asia that made my enemy feel good but controlled the position of his aircraft since the battle would only be easy if he brought them into the fight.

The pizza dough strategy means five different areas remain warm at least in the PTO. China for sure. Calcutta and southeast Asia with a focus on Malaya. The money islands convoyed, demanding destroyers. Or destroyer blockers that fill the ocean and make for many skirmish battles that occupy air units that are needed everywhere. Flood the zone might be the football analogy.

We all know that when we attack one unit, we want three units. Preferably two ground units and an air against a ground. Same for the sea. This is a strength and a weakness. That means your smaller enemy can keep more of you occupied. An enemy willing to go 1v1 or 2v1 might gain an edge in a lucky turn. And the Allies have ground to give.

Back to 5 areas.

1. China, particularly central.
2. Southeast Asia, Malaya more than Calcutta. This is the responsibility of the British.
3. Money Islands, Philippines. Anzac is to harass. If possible, UKP can pop out a sub. Kill any lone destroyer at any cost. Hyperbole but not much.
4. Sea zone 7 and then 6 and then 19. This is 100 percent the goal and the responsibility of the US navy and air force. My strategy was generally a 75/25 until Japan is sub 40 oob or the equivalent. That was never accomplished in this game.
5. Russia threatening and eventually losing to the Japan in Korea and Manchuria. Resupply area after the Japanese have passed through. Also fight the expeditionary force from the West or buzz them with lend lease air until destroyed.,

Caucasus became a battlefield that drained resources and went back and forth on account of the Higgins boats. I am sure I underused those. The super wacky subs that were unstoppable unless I took over Denmark caused me much angst. I’m glad they’ve been rolled back.

The constant purchase of bomber is so important to any allied strategy. They can reach areas that your enemy does not expect. On several occasions I treated them like cruise missiles that I knew would be destroyed in combat or easily killed upon landing.

Those are some quick thoughts. Maybe this is all old hat, but maybe I have revealed something new. Thank you Barnee. Much appreciated. You’re a gentleman and a scholar!

Global 1940, Game Report:
Game #2 between:
Axis player: Mussolini Pizza Emperor
Allied player: Trout

Early 1940
G1: Germany clears Sea Zones 110 & 11 but loses 106 as he only attacked with one U-Boat. France, Normandy, S. France, Yugoslavia all taken and Bulgaria/Finland activated. Collect 83 IPC’s after deploying five U-Boats in SZ 112.
J1: Tojo attacks Yunnan and Hunan provinces and builds two minor factories in Chinese provinces.
UK1: Captured Sumatra, killed the G Battleship anchored in SZ 111 and cleared SZ 96 while building a minor factory in Egypt.
Italy 1: Destroyed the Marine Nationale located in SZ 93 and captured Greece, Tunisia, Algeria
ANZAC 1: Activated Dutch New Guinea and Java
Late 1940
Germany 2: Axis strategy was to dominate the Mediterranean and Middle East after all his name is Mussolini Pizza Emperor. As such, the Luftwaffe performed an air raid on SZ 92 destroying the main UK Royal Navy anchored there which was two destroyers, two cruisers, and one loaded carrier at the price of three Luftwaffe fighters. Luttwaffe fighters and tac bombers landed in Algeria after the fight. Bismarck was built in Toulon/SZ 93
UK 2: The Luftwaffe based in Africa opened the door for the RAF to kill the cruiser & transport located in SZ 112 and the Allies at that point decided upon a strategy of the Soviets & Brits focused on European theater while the US & ANZAC focused on the Pacific theater.
Early 1941
Italy captured Gibraltar and dominated the Mediterranean while max German paratroopers built last turn staged to Romania and U-Boats continued to be launched in SZ 93 & 112. However, UK managed to detonate the Gibraltar naval base before its capture.
Late 1941
Germany launches Barbarossa taking Baltic States, E. Poland, Karelia, and Bessarabia but Soviets not too worried as the Axis focus on the Mediterranean kept the push from being overwhelming. Nonetheless, the Soviets retreated to Bryansk while building the Russian Guards and making some paratroop drops where possible in Axis-held European provinces. Meanwhile, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Allies this turn. Capturing Hong Kong, Indochina, Shan State, and the Philippines. Major battle in Kansu left the Chinese with just one infantry in Tsinghai but Japanese losses were not insignificant. USA activated the National Guard and attacked Iwo Jima but the Kriegsmarine anchored in SZ 91 prevented any offensive action in the Atlantic. UK believes that the fall of Egypt is eminent so the minor factory is moved underground in case detonation is necessary. Three UK fighters fly to Soviet Union to prepare for rearmament as Soviet aircraft. Italy repairs the naval base in Gibraltar & builds a shiny new air base in Greece.

Early 1942
Kriegsmarine reinforces SZ 91 with several additional U-Boats. Barbarossa stalled in E. Poland. Soviet Union calls up full Red Army Conscription and rearms three Spitfire squadrons for service in the Soviet Air Force. Japan completes the conquest of China. USA captures Caroline Islands with naval forces of USA & ANZAC now concentrated in SZ 33. Kriegsmarine U-Boats are so numerous that USA & UK move their Atlantic fleets to SZ 64 and build naval base in Central America to retain ability to reach SZ 91 and 106. Allies concede Atlantic to Germany for now and USA builds air transports in order to supply UK with infantry for London defense in case Axis consider winning via Sea Lion. Italy has massed forces in Alexandria and activated Iraq. Regia Marina surface combat ships anchored in SZ 98
Late 1942
Germany stages max paratroopers to Alexandria and begins full convoys of the UK & Scotland. Barbarossa remains stalled in E. Poland. Soviet Union pushes its main land force back into Belarus and captures Finland. Japan captures Malaya and Sumatra while the majority of the IJN is anchored in SZ 35. USA liberates Philippines after a massive naval battle in SZ 35 leaves USA as the victor barely with only damaged battleships left. UK decides to not retreat from Egypt but instead strafes Axis forces in TransJordan while capturing Iraq via amphibious assault supported by shore bombardment. UK income now under 40 due to loss of Malaya & Sumatra plus convoying naval units in SZ’s 109 & 98. Italy attacks Egypt with all available assets and wins with one tank plus the Regia Aeronautica remaining. ANZAC Navy moves into SZ 35 to prevent the IJN from sinking the USA Super Heavy Battleships.

Early 1943
Soviets capture Norway. USA’s first contingent of infantry on London defense duty arrive via air transport. Italy in its last turn prepares itself for German takeover. In the Pacific, Japan consolidates naval forces in SZ 36 along with newly mobilized navy in SZ6 which forces USA/ANZAC to retreat back to SZ 33.
Late 1943
Germany completes the Italian Takeover and builds majority of its cash pile on the Wehrmacht to stop Soviets from advancing into Eastern Europe. German paratroopers land in AES. Soviets push 1st Army into Persia along with a contingent of supporting infantry. Japan captures Borneo and recaptures Philippines. USA/ANZAC continue to mass naval ships in Caroline Islands. USA takes Okinawa and AZAC takes Formosa with transports as they had no defensive forces in place. UK attacks Burma in force and intends to hold. UK income drops to 22 as Africa continues to be assaulted by Axis while UK itself is convoyed without mercy.
1944/1945
By late 1944, Germany continues to turn the African continent into Lebensraum for the Reich, the Allied navies continue to be shut out of the Atlantic by the large Kriegsmarine flotilla in SZ 91. Middle East now firmly Axis as well. Only joy for the Allies in the European theater is Soviet Union capturing and holding Norway/Finland. In the Pacific, Japan continues to have China, DEI, and Philippines in firm control of the Rising Sun. ANZAC holds Carolines and USA has Iwo Jima.
In early 1945, a large land battle takes place in Eastern Poland and the Soviet Army is destroyed. Allies surrender. Photos follow

@Trout

@Trout

@Trout

@Trout

@The-Captain Using LEGO in honor of the Captain’s heritage :) MPE is my 15-year old son and he still has his LEGO’s from his younger years. We have our own system for the HRE rules using G40, A&A WWI, A&A Classic and LEGO pieces. So for example:

1. Classic G infantry are SS infantry
2. WWI chips are 10 chips because our Eastern Front big stacks often run out of red chips
3. WWI Russian infantry are Russian Guards
4. Elite Infantry are an Infantry with a roundel under it
5. LEGO pieces are the Panzer Generals, Commissars, Waffen Armies, etc.

Maybe someday we will have enough games under our belts to earn the free HRE pieces then we can use the real stuff. Until then this is our system for our G40 HRE Board Games using pieces we have readily available to us.