So I’ve been playing with the battle calculator

I’m interested in playing with Triple A. Best way to reach me is by email at jonkrost@comcast.net.

The standard  theory is that US and UK help each other in Atlantic, while they help each other with China and Anzac’s help in the Pacific.

UK helps USSR too.  USSR helps China. France helps anyone it can.

All is is true about Allies.

For an Axis win, Germany has to help Italy. This happens occassionally.

But what we rarely see is Japan helping Italy.

RamRod is one of the few places that this Japanese to Italian help is crucial in securing Axis victory!

The counter as MOW and others have rightly said is the Persian and SA factory.

The UK transports are critical in the defense/offense role.

However, the Navy protecting them is weak….and there are really no airbases… or the planes in these Airbases are gone.

So, to make the Italian threat potent, the Japanese Navy  (IJN) must help out.

This can be done in 3 ways:
A) By just sallying forth with the combat ships, 2 Subs, BB+ DD, 2CRU .  There can be some additions or subtractions done here.
  The point is… that the UK Navy with the TRs sunk… should make it much much more expensive for UK to attack Egypt  AND  - DEFEND- the Persian complex at the same time.

There is a potential for a 1-2 punch, wherein the Italian Navy could hit the UK navy in Red Sea first… and then withdraw… and the Japanese fleet off India mops up the survivors.

B) Using a CV+FTR+TB  in addition to A) but removing the BB

C) Adding a LOADED TR to A or B

This when done on J4 or J5 will really mess up Allied efforts to get back Egypt.

How the US fleet build is on US1 and US2 and the fleet positioning is of paramount importance for this to succeed.

IJN Build on J2 and J3 are important too.

But if pulled off… correctly… or the UK Botches its play…  by J5-I5 or J6-I6,  Persia can be Italian or Japanese… and S. Africa could be Axis too.

Just a point i  had not mentioned earlier.

MeinHerr

axis advantage boardgame, just like the new 41 and 42.

Just be desperate, hope for the best.

If the US keeps investing heavily into the Pacific, Japan has two choices:

Get all the IPC you can early (per Cow’s strategy) or…

Play turtle in SZ6 and take the long road into Moscow from the East which generally requires an IC on Manchuria/Korea or both.  In particular you let the US spend its IPC to get a fleet to take out yours in SZ6 and utilize Kamikaze to disable CV so the US aircraft cannot land and have to splash.

You have opportunities to get the Japanese Air Force into Europe as early as J4 (J1 Chahar, J2 Suiyuyan, J3 place AB on Suiy, J4 fly as far as Leningrad (Kansu - Novo - Volo - Arch - Novg).

With the AB at Nov, J5 will be a full pummel of Moscow’s MajorIC allowing German Air Force to assist in the advance of its ground units towards Moscow.  You can also open up doors for the Germans to blitz by trading Jap aircraft to open up spaces the Russians thought they had defended.  J6 is a suicide of Aircraft against Moscow to weaken the garrison on Moscow for a G7 attack there.

You can also decide to rush for an India Crush and instead of turning to face the Allied fleet Post India Crush, race instead towards the Med to assist Italy in taking and holding Egypt with your fleet.  Building IC in Kwang and FIC assist in getting more units on the board once you sacrifice SZ6 to the US.  Realize you can stop the US from loading units onto a TT from an IC in Korea every round by just buying a DD in SZ6.

I played a version of Cow’s J1 attack where I had the US fleet chase me around the Pacific - sent a TT with a small fleet of CV, CR, DD and TT (with 2 Inf) from SZ6 to Caroline to Line and was in position to land Jap units at the Panama Canal.  I ended up taking NZ instead of Pamana due to a 10 SS purchase by the US when I was at Line Islands.  The US/Anzac eventually chased down and sunk that fleet, but that occurred by the time I got it all the way back to Java and had crushed India - sometime around round 6 or 7.

Just remember, even if Japan loses Tokyo, the Axis still needs to lose Berlin for the Allies to claim victory.  There are plenty of possibilities for Japan to assist in the European theater for the Axis win in Europe.

As for the Pacific - I have played Japan the last… 6 or so games and I have yet to win in the Pacific.  The closest I came was with Cow’s J1 attack but I was short 1 TT to take Hawaii which was unguarded.

Well, I have only played OOB since I bought the game. 6 games later and I don’t think the game is broke. I’ve won playing both sides. I’ve been playing A&A for year against one freind of mine. We’re quite good at. Once all the dust settle and the Alpha rules quite changing, we’ll give it a try. One twist we like to put in all versions of A&A is no new IC’s.

I admit to leaving Paris in German hands. Makes me feel almost as evil as Stalin when he left Warsaw in German hands for a little longer.

At least Paris isnt mission critical for getting into Germany or Italy. Sometimes retaking London is the same poison pill.

hey thanks for the quick replies!

I played my fith game of global today, I controlled the axis.  It took about 15 hours and we decided on a draw.  Amercia invested heavily in the Pacific this time and did a major arms build at honolulu.  I was caught off guard by this because in the other games we played America went for either Norway or Italy.  I ended up calling my navy and air force back to sea zone 6 to defend Japan.  I was still able to build a factory and capture India but Australia and China became huge thorns.  Since America kept adding about 60 points to there base in Honolulu each turn I was pinned and could not capture Sydney.  So Australia started building subs each turn and before long they were convoy attacking me for 18 points a turn.  China ran away and consolidated in point in China where they met up with a Russian AA gun. At that point 20 China men would march forward each turn and recapture land.

Italy defeated Britan in Egypt this time but I could not hold it after the american points spent in the alantic theather showed up.  Germany captured Leningrad but could not really get any further than that.

Finally around turn ten the I attacked the Americans in the Pacfic with my Japan force but the result was mutal destruction for both fleets.  By this point Russia had a huge defenseive force and so did germany.  We were too tired to keep going then and called it a draw.  Any feeback or thoughts would be appreciated.  It was all and all a fun game.