G40 Naval Task Force Commander

Play testing has ended. The rules are now available at the Axis & Allies Global 1940 House Rules Expansion thread, pg. 1 (see Optional Rule No. 22).

@SGT-Pitbull

Our game experience shows that the Soviets can use the Air Fleet Commander with great success - especially when US and/or UK send their Lend-Lease Air Units to the Soviets.

Germany usually have at least 2 Luftflotte - operating on the Eastern Front and in the Western Europe sphere.

@The-Captain said in G40 Tank Buster & Ground Attack air unit:

due to the massive amount of G40 HRE games we currently play

RightArm.png

Unplaytested. Use at your own risk if you’re really really bored with the OOB game. Adds way more time to setup than is probably worth it.

1.1 Neutral Bribing
Three neutral nations are bribable: Sweden, Turkey, and Argentina (begins pro-Axis). At the start of its turn (before purchasing units), Germany may initiate a bribery bid. The US, UK, German, and Italian nations will secretly write down their bid for each of the three nations and then reveal them. If, for any one nation, one side outbids the other by 10 IPCs or more, they have won the bribe, and that nation will change allegiances.

If the bribed nation is neutral, it will become pro-Axis or pro-Allies, as appropiate. If the bribed nation is pro-briber, it will become either UK, US (if Argentina is somehow bribed by the Allies this much), German, or revert to being neutral, depending on whether it is already aligned with the bribing nation or not.

All money bid must be paid to the bank.

1.2 Dynamic Neutrals
1.2.1 Europe
Europe, highly-divided and buffeted by growing German territorial aggression, is disjointed. Lines have already been drawn, and every nation looks out for their citizens only. Some hope to remain neutral; others have already decided where their affections lie.

Sweden (neutral, bribable): 4 Inf 2 Arty 3 Arm 2 AAA; MinIC; 1 DD (SZ 113) Switzerland (neutral): 6 Inf Bulgaria (pro-Axis): 4 Inf Eire (pro-Axis): 1 Inf Yugoslavia (pro-Allies): 5 Inf Greece (pro-Allies): 4 Inf

1.2.2 Iberia
Spain and Portugal, mutually suspicious and each already with close ties to the belligerents on the continent, do not want to go to war. However, if called to do so by their allies, they and their colonies will join the fight for Europe. Be aware: Francoist support is likely to swell in conquered France if Spain is brought into the conflict by Allied aggression.

Fascist Spain (pro-Axis): Spain: 4 Inf 1 Arty 1 Arm 2 AAA 1 Fg; AirB, MinIC Rio De Oro: 1 Inf. Note: when determining how to convert units: Germans get 2 Inf, 1 Arm, 1 AAA, & the Fg. Italians get 2 Inf, 1 Arty, & 1 AAA & the Rio De Oro Inf. Portuguese Republic (pro-Allies): Portugal: 3 Inf 1 Arty; NavB; 1 DD (SZ 104) Angola, Mozambique: 1 Inf Portuguese Guiana: n/a If either nation is occupied or attacked, both will become respectively Axis and UKE. This is called triggering Iberian loyalties. If the Axis triggers Iberian loyalties, nothing special happens. If the Allies trigger Iberian loyalties, distribute 4 German Inf and 2 Italian Inf in Greater France (Axis player’s decision how).

1.2.3 Middle East
The Middle East is relatively passive and poorly armed, with the notable exception of the newly-republican Turkish nation, heir to the Ottoman Empire and resolved to stay neutral. Iraq and the large Persian Kingdom are open to a Germany hungry for their underdeveloped oil reserves and fearful of the Soviet Union to their North. The UK has strong ties to the Saudis, and in the case of Axis hostility in the area, may find an ally there if the Allies haven’t already alienated the Saudis by violating their neighbors’ sovereignty.

Turkey (neutral): 6 Inf 2 Arty 1 Arm 1 Fg 2 AAA; NavB, AirB, MinIC; 2 DD (SZs 98, 100). Saudi Arabia (neutral): 2 Inf. Afghanistan (neutral): 3 Inf Iraq (pro-Axis): 2 Inf. Kingdom of Persia (pro-Axis): Persia: 2 Inf. NE Persia: 1 Inf. E Persia: n/a. Saudi Arabia will become pro-Allies if any adjacent territory is Axis and the Allies have never attacked any Middle East territory. Kingdom of Persia will become German if Allies attack any Middle East territory.

1.2.4 South & Central America
South and Central America is dominated by internal rivalries and the influence of the United States. Nevertheless, suspicion of the United States and affection for Fascism grows strong in the south of the continent. Argentina is overtly open to Axis influence, and Chile will become much the same if the US solidifies its ties to Brazil. Nevertheless, if the Axis obtains an actual foothold on the continent, adjacent nations are likely to seek Allied support against their neighbors.

Venezuela (neutral): 2 Inf. Columbia (neutral): 1 Inf. Peru (neutral): 1 Inf. Bolivia (neutral): 1 Inf. Paraguay (neutral): 1 Inf. Chile (neutral): 3 Inf 1 Arty. Note: If neutral, Chile will become pro-Axis if Allies noncom into pro-Allies Brazil. Argentina (pro-Axis, bribable):
4 Inf 2 Arty 1 AAA, NavB, MinIC, 1 DD (SZ 85) Brazil (pro-Allies): 3 Inf. If any South or Central American territory becomes Axis, all adjacent true neutrals become pro-Allies and Brazil becomes American. If any South American true neutral is attacked by the Allies, they all become pro-Axis and Argentina becomes German.

1.2.5 Pacific
Thailand, never conquered by European powers and determined to remain that way, wouldn’t mind grabbing some land from its neighbors.

Siam (pro-Axis): 1 Inf

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, but it’s been a crazy year.

I know that there is evidence of Dutch transports, and I’m not refuting that. I’m simply stating that the addition of a transport makes the new Dutch units too powerful on the game board, and grossly unbalances the game in favor of the Allies, which is a bad thing.

My solution, after play testing, is to give the Axis some units to balance it out, and I’ve edited my original post to reflect this.

@Caesar-Seriona said in G40 Benelux (Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg) Setup:

@JustLuthor:

@Herr:

I like the general idea though of course it would have to be carefully balanced. As for the units, I’m not much in favor of the tank in Scotland, for realism’s sake. The Dutch had one small tank at home. The Belgians did have a significant number of tanks but evacuating them to the UK was evidently impossible. Having two Benelux infantry units there is already more than enough compared to the French who were far more numerous.
Dutch New Guinea might have an infantry unit, though. Dutch resistance continued throughout the war there, and the Japanese never completely conquered that territory.

I can’t find it now, but in my research, I came across a Dutch tank unit raised in England after the fall of the Netherlands. For balance’s sake, maybe it should be 1 Artillery to represent Luxembourg’s limited contribution to the allied war effort. And maybe it should be only one infantry in England for both balance, and scale.

I couldn’t find any Dutch 1940 Order of Battle for Dutch New Guinea. I only found references to DNG being reinforced after Japan declared war. This is the best historical argument for a Dutch transport in the Pacific, though I still feel it should be up to ANZAC to ferry Dutch units around for balance’s sake, which is empirically more important than historical accuracy.

Another reason I don’t stress accuracy, is that it’s a slippery slope that eventually leads to completely revamping the game; not just the setup, but the map, and game mechanics as well. I would certainly like to do this for my own amusement, but it’s hard enough to get a game of Global going. I don’t want to compound that problem by creating an even more complicated game with 40-something countries, resources, trade agreements, diplomatic agreements, governments in exile, technology, a dozen new units, prison camps, espionage, sabotage, food rationing on the home front, and the Bretton Woods Conference.

Though I would totally play that game.

From my understanding of Luxembourg war effort against the Wehrmacht was the fact their nation did not have a military and only their capital city had some kind of defense and it was the cities police force that fought and surrendered (if I remember correctly) after a day of fighting. So as far as I know, no military campaign of any sort came from Luxembourg.

The Luxembourg government in exile did field a small artillery troop attached to the 1st Belgian Field Artillery Battery (specifically Troop C). They fought in Northern France, and Belgium.

Sorry for the late feedback. I was pretty occupied during the last weeks.  :-(

We did playtest the “Island Hoping” VO and in our opinion it worked very well. The Axis decided to do a G1 Barbarossa and a J1 Pearl Harbor. The idea was to force USA into a Pacific war and that way provide Germany the needed air to crush Russia. This idea worked and the US player did heavily invest in the Pacific to prevent Japan from getting the islands and later even more to get the islands himself. Because of this fact we would say that those new VOs are very good, because before there was not much to lose in the Pacific for the Americans, but a lot to win in Europe.

Resume, we will keep playing with the new VO in our next games and keep you informed!  :wink:

@Gargantua:

These are seriously cool.

But I like what Most Holy uses.  It’s cool having chess pieces on the board. ;)

I do like that idea, now that you mention it. I had previously used the Task force markers from revised, and I was looking for an easier to spot, better alternative to use. My idea fell through (A&A pieces are too cool to be contained by plastic hobby glue), but I think the chess-piece one sounds cool. Queen to Moscow… checkmate?  :P

Commanders (based on d12 system)
Each major power can have one or more military commanders that affect the outcome of battles. Each turn one commander unit is placed in a territory you wish to attack and can affect a +1 modifier on attack or defense for the sum of combat units equal to its leadership value for the duration of combat rounds. Each nation begins with commanders as follows:

Germany:
Hitler          8
Manstein    9
Runstedt    8
Rommel    10
Guderian    6

Italy:
Kesselring    7
Badoglio      4

Finland
Mannerheim    6

U.S.S.R:
Stalin              7
Zhukov          8
Timoshenko  7

United Kingdom:
Montgomery      7
Alexander          5

Japan:
Tojo                  7
Yamamoto*    10
Nagumo*          8
Yamashita        7

U.S.A.
Patton              9
Eisenhower    8
Nimitz*          7
Macarthur      7

Note: The engaged commander remains in the territory till the end of the turn. If enemy forces choose to counterattack and capture the territory  then that commander is considered killed in battle and cannot be replaced. All Leaders can only affect land battles except the leaders with * which can effect battles on the sea.