Strategic bombing your way to a win

@Krieghund:

It’s true that SBRs are nearly a break-even proposition.  However, if they weren’t, they’d dominate the game.

The whole point of SBRs is inflicting damage that the enemy can’t afford.  The US is the only country that can really afford an SBR campaign, simply because it can afford the losses, while Germany can’t.  The US sacrifices its own income to suppress Germany’s so that the UK and USSR can take advantage of its weakened state.  This is not really pointless.

If SBRs were a money-making proposition, there’s no way that the Axis could survive, since they start off economically inferior to the Allies.  The Allies could simply build a few bombers to SBR with, then devote the rest of their income to defense.  Eventually, the combined toll of the bombings would render the Axis powers bankrupt, then the Allies could move in for the kill.  Doesn’t sound like a very fun game, does it?

The strategy you’re describing sounds perfectly viable to me.

@Bean:

It’s ok Jen, and it turned out to help you in your game ^^

Yea, well he was a royal prick in the game and got the mod to force that the worst outcome of the two results be applied, even though the first outcome was obviously first.

I had to go back to a previous roll to check and make sure my artillery was applied right, they were not.  So he lost 1 hit, but because my worst of two was like -12 hits, he still came out like a bandit.

Anyway, thanks, because Germany now has +42 IPC for next round and I AM sticking him with it.  18 rounds of illegal rocket fire. (I just took every rocket on S. Europe, figured it was the most fair.  Germany’s a higher value target then S. Europe, so it would probably be the target shot at anyway.  Besides, Germany was the first rocket rolled in every round, S. Europe was the second, Caucasus the third.)

Germany lost 400 IPC in armies (killing only 215 because of that dice fiasco) but she also has 120 to spend and Japan’s going to finish off the enemy anyway!

You need to add up the total Unit IPC value for each side (land and naval, not including ICs). If it’s a tie at the end of the Russian turn (or if the Axis is ahead), then the Axis is very likely to win the game.  You can do this automatically if you are using a program like aBattleMap.

I developed a statistical model for predicting game outcomes which is pretty accurate (100% accuracy on my small sample of games, starting on round 5):
http://www.campusactivism.org/blog/node/189

Lots of threads on that. Go back a few pages thru old threads you should find tons of talk on the subject of SBR.

@newpaintbrush:

@Jennifer:

How do you plan to invade England when they have 2 fighters, 2, armor, 2 infantry, 1 artillery and 2 bombers + 2 infantry, 1 fighter, 1 bomber, 1 artillery, 1 armor from America on it?

Keep in mind you have maybe 6 fighters, 1 bomber, 2 transports and 1 battleship to use on Germany 2 and that’s making some assumptions that you did not loose any of those assets prior to your second turn and that you landed all those aircraft in France somehow knowing that England was going to buy a bomber and an IC instead of something else.

How is it that every time I propose a move, that the Allies mysteriously pop up with these shadow forces in the ideal place?  That’s why I really dislike Jennifer’s responses.  Somehow the Allies always watched to see what Germany would do, and did something that would otherwise be almost retarded to counter Germany’s response.  But in that case, Germany can just have done the other thing.

Hmm, possibly because you keep changing what Germany does to fit the actions of England who moves after Germany???

However, I’ve never changed my English strategy.  They always end up with 5 fighters, 1 bomber, 2 infantry, armor and artillery + America can land more if Germany appears to be setting up Sea Lion.

Not my fault you’re not capable of seeing the short falls in your own plans.  I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not.  You need to pay closer attention to details that are posted instead of assuming.

I presume you assumed England sent her bomber to Egypt, retook Egypt with the SZ 35/India equipment, landed troops in Algeria, leaving their capital with only a few infantry to defend it, huh?  Because, unless that’s exactly what England does, Germany hasn’t a chance in hell of taking it on G2 and everyone on the board knows it.

He leaves minimal men in W.Europe and S. Europe because he has overwhelming force the next turn to get it back so he realisticly don’t lose money. Me and my bro tried to land UK in Western E/ than fly 6 fighters(U.S) and some of their ground units to stop Germany from retaking it.

Then I feel it is quite feasible to beat your uncle if all he does is build mainly tanks + 1 fighter here and there. What you’re going to want to do is take out his navy and take Norway with the UK on the first round, provided he doesn’t have his fighters within range to kill your navy. After Norway is taken, just keep landing as much as you can in W. Europe. This will take the pressure off of Russia in a jiffy. He can’t use his 8 tanks per turn both to take W. Europe back as well as invade Russia. At first the landings may seem ineffectual since it’s just the UK, but after a few turns the landings grow substantial because of the US, and it should no longer be economical for him to retake W. Europe. After that, S. Europe falls, and things collapse for the Germans.

If you can’t land in W. Europe, then just take it slow and mass troops in Karelia to protect the Russian’s northern flank until the US comes. A joint defense of Russia and UK together should be more than enough to stop the Germans from taking Moscow. Once you’re ready then march towards Germany with masses of troops.

@Octopus:

about that Aircraft Carrier….

“analyze their attack sir, there is a danger.  Shall I have your ship ready?”

:-o

what does that mean? are you for it or against it? I see more pros than cons. Lets hear an argumant against the purchase of an AC on G1. I don’t have one

After checking the logs, I think if you had kept playing, both Berlin and Moscow would have fallen in Round 6. So the game could have gone on for a long time, but the Allies would have Europe, I think. I haven’t played a long, protected game of AAR yet, but Japan would eventually have to fall as the Allies eventually take back Moscow.