Allied Playbook - G40 Collection of Essays - Compiled by jacobgeo24 Nov 18-19 2023

@govz

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

@flyingbadger said in Loading units onto allied transports in the same round that the ally unloaded them:

… even though the US transports have already loaded/unloaded on that round?

During US turn rules concerning movement and loading/unloading transports apply to the US. So restrictions apply to US turn, see rulebook’s Transport rules. They do not apply to the entire round. In your scenario it is France’s / UK’s turn.

This is why the rules that you quoted say “You (as French or as UK) move land units aboard”, and “You (as French or as UK) offload your units.”. The US transport has no active role here, as it is not US’ turn.

@der-kuenstler

I agree!

12 interesting battles (a German land unit represent a division and a Soviet land unit two divisions, a Soviet tank corps is actually a division, and all naval battles include the actual numbers of ships fought):

Battle Of Prokhoshova: One of the biggest tank to tank battles of the war, it was one of the biggest and most publicised German successes in the Battle Of Kursk, which was fought in summer 1943.

Soviet units (on the attack): 3 tanks, 2 infantry, 1 fighter, 1 artillery

German units (on the defence): 3 tanks, 1 tactical bomber, 2 fighters

First Naval Battle Of Guandacanal: The First Naval Battle Of Guandacanal was a final Japanese attempt to win the Guandacanal campaign. Set at night, both sides had a hard time spotting each other, resulting in many near collisions and playing well into the Japanese advantage of night fighting. Despite this, one Japanese battleship was sunk, the first of the war.

Japanese units (on the attack): 2 battleships, 1 cruiser, 11 destroyers

American units (on the defence): 5 cruisers, 8 destroyers

Formosa Air Battle: After the losses at the Battle Of The Philippine Sea, Japan had enough aircraft and ships for one final, decisive battle. Whilst this would culminate in a the Battle Of Leyte Gulf, Japan was unsure where the Allies would attack. As a result, when the Allies began launching carrier based air raids on Formosa, Japan used up the last reserves in this air battle, ensuring that when the Allies landed in the Philippines later that year, Japan would have little air cover or opposition.

Japanese units (on the attack): 7 fighters, 7 tactical bombers

American units (on the defence): 6 battleships, 15 cruisers, 57 destroyers, 10 aircraft carriers, 11 fighters, 11 tactical bombers

Battle Of Moscow: After pushing though Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia, Lativa, besieging Leningrad, and entering Russia and conquering Smolensk, the German army stood near Moscow. With the striking power of three panzer armies, the Soviets mobilised all reserves and Siberian divisions to defend the capital-in the end, the bitter cold was too much for the Germans and the Soviets launched a massive offensive, undoing most German gains during the battle.

German forces (on the attack): 47 infantry, 9 mechanised infantry, 14 tanks, 3 fighters, 2 tactical bombers, 24 artillery

Soviet forces (on the defence): 43 infantry, 6 mechanised infantry, 3 tanks, 3 fighters, 1 tactical bomber, 14 artillery

Battle Of Okinawa: As the Allies closed in on Japan and defeated the garrison on Iwo Jima, the final obstacle to the mainland was Okinawa. The last big battle of the war, Japan was determined to make a final last stand on the island, and exert their most supreme efforts short of the home islands.

Note: Each American and Japanese division is a single piece, whilst every transport unit equals 70 transports, a destroyer unit equals 8 destroyers, and ships bigger than a destroyer will be represented individually. Naval ships (such as minelayers and submarine chasers) that are not represented as units in the game shall be excluded.

American forces (on the attack): 20 battleships, 38 cruisers, 21 destroyers, 24 aircraft carriers, 6 transports for the naval battle, 7 infantry, 4 artillery, 1 anti aircraft artillery for the land battle

24 fighters and 24 tactical bombers are available to use on land or at sea.

Japanese forces (on the defence): 1 battleship, 1 cruiser, 1 destroyer, 2 kamikazes for the naval battle, 2 infantry, 1 artillery for the land battle

Battle Of Denmark Strait: In 1941, several months before Operation Barborossa, Bismarck, a powerful battleship during World War 2, was completed, and the ship and the cruiser Prinz Eugen on a massive raid to attack merchant ships. Alarmed, the British sent two powerful capital ships to the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen’s route though the Denmark Strait, the gap between Scotland and Greenland. In the ensuring battle, Bismarck sunk the symbol of British naval supremacy and power, the Hood ad over 1400 lives with it. The resulting grief and anger empowered the British to deploy every available ship to hunt it down and destroy it. Despite success, to this day, the Bismarck still haunts the nightmares of the Royal Navy.

German units (on the attack): 1 battleship, 1 cruiser

British units (on the defence): 1 battleship, 1 damaged battleship

Second Battle Of El Alamein: As Rommel entered Egypt, it seemed as great riches for Germany and Italy were at hand. To Rommel, to his men, and even to Hitler and Mussolini, the key to winning the war was provided-Alexandria, Cairo, the Suez Canal, the British Empire itself. But after being stoped at the First Battle Of El Alamein and the Battle Of Alam El Hafa, Rommel was forced to dig in as British strength grew rapidly from American aid. The massive British counteroffensive that followed pushed Rommel across Egypt, Libya, into Tunisia, and, following the American Operation Torch, all hope for the Axis in Africa was lost.

Note: All units here represent one regiment.

British units (on the attack): 23 tanks, 32 infantry, 11 mechanised infantry, 53 artillery, 8 fighters, 6 tactical bombers

German units (on the defence): 2 tanks, 6 artillery, 5 mechanised infantry, 4 infantry, 6 fighters, 2 tactical bombers, 1 anti aircraft artillery

Italian units (on the defence): 16 infantry, 16 artillery, 5 mechanised infantry, 2 tanks, 6 fighters, 2 tactical bombers

Battle Of Alam El Hafa: After the succesful Battle Of Gazala and the failed First Battle Of El Alamien, Rommel knew that massive Allied reinforcements were on the way, which the Axis could not match with losses in supply ships. In an attempt break though into Egypt before the inevitable British counteroffensive, Rommel launched the final Axis offensive in the Western Desert campaign and in Egypt. However, Allied air superiority, and more importantly, Ultra, forced Rommel to withdraw. From now on, the Axis could only defend in Egypt, with the only hope being a breakthrough in the Middle East from the Caucasus, which never materialised. A close battle, without Ultra, Rommel could have raced on to the Suez Canal, thus prolonging the war. One of the most important uses of Ultra indeed.

Each unit represents a division.

German units (on the attack): 4 tanks, 1 mechanised infantry, 5 infantry, 4 fighters, 2 tactical bombers

British units (on the defence): 2 infantry, 2 tanks, 6 fighters, 4 tactical bombers

Operation Crusader: After Rommel’s devastating advance across Libya to the Egyptian border, he was unable to capture the important port of Tobruk. Despite massive attacks, Tobruk held on, making Rommel unable to invade Egypt. With the time gained, the British launched a massive attack, which was successful. Despite being able to catch the British armoured units in the flank by driving back to the Egyptian border, and destroying more tanks than he lost, Rommel was forced to withdraw across Libya, setting the stage for a massive build up on both sides for the next, phase of enormous attacks at Gazala and El Alamein.

Note: All units here represent one regiment.

British units (on the attack): 13 tanks, 12 artillery, 24 infantry, 5 mechanised infantry, 8 fighters, 4 tactical bombers

German units (on the defence): 2 tank, 6 infantry, 2 artillery, 1 mechanised infantry, 2 fighters

Italian units (on the defence): 10 artillery, 14 infantry, 3 mechanised infantry, 2 fighters, 2 tactical bombers, 3 tanks

A German or Italian (can’t decide) mechanised infantry unit will also be part of the Axis.

Battle Of Crete: After the fall of Greece, British and Greek forces hoped to hold Crete as an excellent naval base as well as a launching point to bomb the Romanian oil fields. Several air fields have finished or nearly finished construction, although RAF units were not permanently present. Hitler, worried about the bombing of the crucial Romanian oil fields, and the Luftwaffe hoping to regain prestige after the defeat in the Battle if Britain, ordered an airborne invasion of Crete as the Axis have gained air, but not naval superiority, with an amphibious option out of the question. The goal was to capture the biggest air field on the islands, which would allow transport aircraft to land reinforcements. The attacks was not meant to interfere with Operation Barborossa, although the loss of many paratroopers forced Germany to abandon air drops behind the Soviet front line. The biggest and last major attack of the Fallchirmjager, the high casualties incurred convinced Hitler that the Fallchirmjager were no long effective, ordering them to fight as normal infantry, whilst the Allies were impressed with the German victory and started forming paratroopers as well as air field defence units.

Note: All units here represent one regiment.

German units (on the attack): 4 strategic bombers, 4 fighters, 2 tactical bombers, 8 infantry, 1 artillery

British units (on the defence): 3 artillery, 17 infantry, 1 mechanised infantry, 2 anti aircraft artillery

Siege Of Sevastapool: After the devastating intitial shock of Operation Baborossa, Germany and Romania advanced into the Crimea to prevent the Soviet from bombing the Romanian oil fields, destroying much Soviet resistance. However, the Soviets had heavily fortified Sevastopol and used the Black Sea fleet to transfer the Separate Coastal Army from the Siege Of Odessa for the defence of the city, formed several additional brigades of infantry, and provided gunfire support. The result was a siege that lasted for more than 9 months, with Axis air superiority making up for the lack of infantry on the German side and the many World War 1 era artillery pieces used. Due to the long siege, many enormous artillery pieces, designed for destroying the Maginot Line, most notably the largest artillery piece ever, Schwere Gustav, were able to be brought up to the front line and used, although they had limited effect due to the lack of ammunition. Despite the success, the delay the siege caused and the absence of the German Eleventh Army helped contribute to the Soviet victory against Operation Case Blue. In a rare call for help, Germany asked for their Italian allies for several motor torpedo boats, due to the Italians having wide expertise on this matter, using them in both World War 1 and 2, to assist air operation in preventing the Soviets from evacuating the city. Two interesting vehicles used in the attack were the Goliath tracked mine, a remote controlled vehicle aimed at blowing up and destroying the Soviet fortifications, and the Stug 3, an infantry support vehicle aimed at also destroying the fortifications at Sevastapool, although later in the war was also an effective tank destroyer.

German units (on the attack): 10 infantry, 1 tank, 4 artillery, 4 fighters, 2 tactical bombers

Soviet units (on the defence): 4 infantry, 1 artillery, 1 fighter, 1 tactical bomber

Operation Bodenplatte: As the German momentum in the Battle Of The Bulge slowed, Hitler, with the weather clearing, ordered a massive air offensive against the Allies to gain local air superiority to regain the speed necessary for victory. Although the Allies lost many aircraft destroyed on the ground, the losses were replaced within a week, and few pilots were lost. Meanwhile, large amounts of German squadron leaders, many of which were veterans, were killed, who could not be replaced, and aircraft losses were also quite high, which could not be easily replaced with the Soviets destroying enormous amounts of aircraft in the east. In the end, not even temporary air superiority was achieved, and the Luftwaffe was destroyed beyond repair, not accomplishing or doing anything significant for the rest of 1945.

German units (on the attack):

American units (on the defence):

British units (on the defence):

Note: I am unable to find information on the amount of Allied aircraft present in the attack. Can you help me with this please? Thank you!

To have a better base for future discussion on any related topics to Submarines,
here is a revised version of the evolution of the main aspects about OOB Sub rules:

@Baron:

For reference, here is the OOB Submarine rule in different A&A version:

Classic:
1st Ed. 1984: A2D2M2C8, attacking Subs get Surprise Strike, cannot submerge but can withdraw in another SZ, cannot hit air.
2nd Ed. 1986: A2D2M2C8, attacking Subs get Surprise Strike, cannot submerge but can withdraw in another SZ, cannot hit air.
3rd Ed. 1997: A2D2M2C8, attacking Subs get Surprise Strike, withdraw in another SZ, defending Sub can submerge in SZ at the end of the round, cannot hit air.

Iron Blitz Edition by Hasbro and Microprose 1999, A&A 3rd Ed.:
Sub: A2D2M2C8, Surprise Strike on attack only, can submerge in SZ at the end of the round, cannot hit air.
Destroyer: A2D2M2C8 can retaliate even when hit by subs surprise strike and cancel Subs submerge.

Pacific 2001 and Europe Edition 1999:
Sub: A2D2M2C8, Surprise Strike on attack only, can submerge at the end of the round, cannot hit air, cannot be hit by air.
Destroyer: A3D3M2C12, cancel Surprise Strike and allows planes to hit subs.

Revised Edition 2004:
Sub: A2D2M2C8, First Strike (attacker and defender), can submerge at the end of the round, cannot hit air.
Destroyer: A3D3M2C12, cancel First Strike and Submerge.

Anniversary Edition, AA50, 2008:
Submarine: A2D1M2C6, First Strike, Submersible: can submerge in First Strike phase before regular cmbt, cannot hit air, cannot be hit by air.
Destroyer: A2D2M2C8, cancel First Strike & Submerge and allows all planes to hit subs.

1942.1 (2009) : Same as AA50.
Pacific 1940 (2009) and Europe 1940 (2010).: same as AA50.

1942.2 (2012) : Same as AA50.
Plus: prevent unescorted transports from offloading for an amphibious assault.

Pacific 1940 and Europe 1940 2nd Ed. (2012): same as 1942.2.

@Commando:

@ghr2:

@Commando:

@ghr2:

Brando, why would you leave 1 inf in each territory?  The only ones that matter are rostov and Baltic States.  You will lose 6 ipcs in units for not much gain in epl/bess.

I leave 1 Inf in each territory, so the Axis/enemy can’t just walk in. Inf have a 33% chance of a hit. Prevents a country from just taking a territory w/1 Inf. Usually the attacking country has to attack w/2 ground units, just in case your Inf gets a hit. Also prevents the enemy from sending just one ground unit on a long walk across your territories(i.e. when Japan starts marching across the Soviet Far East). I don’t always do this. Like in China, I consolidate the Chinese Inf whenever possible. But in Russia, I always try to leave at least 1 Inf in each territory. One thing to point out, I don’t leave 1 Inf in each territory, unless the enemy has a chance to take that territory.

Because they only have a 33% chance to hit, I would not want to risk giving away nearly free infantry kills to Germany unless they are defending something valuable.  Each infantry you put in his way is 1 less body defending something critical for a 33% chance to kill 1 thing.

It’s not just a 33% chance of killing something. It’s making the enemy commit more than 1 Inf/1 ground unit to take the territory How would this hurt a country like germany that will have mechs constantly reinforcing and the positioning does not screw him?. Maybe you didn’t read my entire post. Again, I don’t always leave 1 Inf behind in each territory(i.e. China and other territories) Japan can just send 1 inf and air, it really won’t hurt him if he wants to.. However, leaving 1 Inf behind on such things as islands, even 1 IPC islands. Your enemy would most likely have to commit at least 2 ground units to take the islandIt depends on the value of the island and the likelihood he/she would go for it.. Therefore, forcing your opponent to commit more resources to take territories and have less units to use elsewhere. I understand what you mean, but this is also a game of economics and efficiency.  If your opponent does not need to go for it, or is not even affected by it, the one infantry won’t be an issue.Like I said in my explanation, Soviet Far East is a good example. There are 13 IPC’s from Soviet Far East to Vologda/Samara. If your strategy is to leave these unguarded for Japan to just take w/1 Inf, then go for it. In my opinion, over the 26 years I’ve played A&A, it’s the wrong stategySince russia can easily stop japan from taking it unless Japan commits more to the front, it really is not an issue.  Also, with mongolia, it won’t be unguarded.

In the games a played it seemed that Japan could help the European Axis more by getting in positon to have enough victory cities on their side of the map than really pushing towards Russia.  If Japan pushes to Russia then USA is free to keep spending in Europe.  Maybe I will give this a try though with the newer edition of rules.

@AllyAxis:

@orania:

There is a major IC in Paris. This isnt possible with A2 rules. Captured Major IC turn into a small one.

Really.  I didn’t see that one in the rules I downloaded.   No Majors in non native territory can be built.  but France falls to a minor?  Didn’t see that one at all.

Holy crap your right.  I guess it only mattered for France since Britian did not fall  or russia. Not sure if we placed that many forces there anyway.  Because the Germans did not build that many forces there throughout the game.  The italians moved troops in,  well maybe before berlin fell late in the game the Axis player on turn 9 may have built more forces there,  but largely he used the Italians to defend western Europe and built germans in West germany to defend Denmark.

Ultimately I don’t think it impacted our game or its outcome,  but will note that for the future!!!

i think that was pretty specific!  :-D

In general:
as Axis: be agressive, don’t waste time.
As Allies: start defensive and don,'t rush things.
As both: don’t stack! (well, UK is allowed)

Actually i’d advize to play a few times before you have a look at what others do.