US 1st Turn KGF

@bigchris:

glad to see someone putting that idea to good use!  i’ve also found that 5 INF, 2 ARM, 1 ART = 8 units for 29 IPCs is more effective than 4 INF, 4 ART = 8 units for 28 IPCs (if you can get the extra $).

Instead of art I try to buy as much armor as I can when possible.

I also like the allied “blitz” idea to take Ger as fast as possible within 8-9 turns. Recently I’ve been experimenting using Soviet to become part of the attack. Let’s say, in the example as described over, that Ger has 50 inf. + tanks and fighters and USA and UK have no chance of taking it. With 8 inf, 8 art and 2 fighters from Soviet it’s actually possible to take Germany!

Honestly, I believe it is best to play ultra conservatively with Russia and England and see how the dice line up.  If one Axis power ends up in an exceptionally poor position after their first round, America can then make the choice between KJF or KGF.

However, here is a run down for you:

Kill Germany First:

Easiest strategy.  Everyone is clustered around Germany so coordination is easier.  This is also much more fault tolerant then going after Japan.  However, Germany also has the most assets and the best capability of getting assets, not to mention all of their territories are land locked (comparatively speaking of course) resulting in much easier defense of those territories.  Exceptions are Norway, Algeria and Libya, but those 5 IPC can be made up for in other places if needed (and if not, 35 IPC is still a lot of money.)

Kill Japan First:

Japan’s by far the weakest power on the board.  Their territories are scattered all over the ocean and they start the game facing two moderately powerful fleets.  (UK: 2 Transports, Submarine, Fighter, Carrier, Destroyer in SZ 30 and America’s Battleship, Transport, Destroyer, Submarine, 3 Fighters and Carrier in the Pacific (SZ 52, 55, 20, Hawaii and W. USA.))  However, they also have the benefit of being scattered all over the place making it harder to take their territories (but easier to hold once they are taken.)

If facing a large build up of forces in Buryatia, Sinkiang + Industrial Complex and India + Complex, Japan can find them selves in serious trouble fast; but Germany will have much free’er reign in Europe and Africa.

lol… :-D

How to defend China and Sianking? Skill my friend, pure skill.

Japan tried to take China from me in the first move, he failed, miserably.  He lost practically everything in the attack, including one or two fighters so that his land units could survive cause planes can’t take territory. I lost one infantry.

Next turn my two infantry from sianking moved in and I got a freebie from chinese divisions. So 4 inf and the fighter still. He attacked with 5 banzai infantry and they were all slaughtered.  I got another freebie later to replace him of course.  With the UK pounding indochina drawing of japanese forces, US tanks and infantry staging from Alaska, and his battleships and transports mostly dead, japan is probably done attacking China.  :-P

Generally I’m always the one with the sucky luck. Like last game where I was Germany and we were losing entirely due to my consistently bad luck all game. But when the good luck comes, you gotta love it.  :-D

Oh and yeah in reality to seriously hold a US IC there, you would need lots of russian support, and still have to be real careful. If Russia takes it they have  free IC right next to Moscow.

Ugh sorry, got a little carried away reading through old threads. Horrible example of thread necromancy there.  :-P

@U-505:

I would have to say that you should be careful about advancing heavy Russian forces too far into Europe. Drawing Russian ground units away from Russia is a trap I frequently like to set with Germany. It gets really had to resist trading a bunch of advanced territories with Germany because the prospect of Russia making 30+ IPC’s a turn puts dollar signs in the Russian player’s eyes. With the Axis outnumbering Russia by 5 to 1 with air units, trading a lot of territories and ground units with Russia almost always favors the Axis, even if the unit trade is 1 for 1. No matter how much Russia makes, Japan always outproduces them by up to twice as many units and that point will get hammered home when a large number of Russian forces are aimed at Germany and their reinforcements going west dry up instantly because they are desperately trying to hold back the flood of Japanese units coming at them. Japan has a tendence to look benign one turn and the next turn be all over the map, in force, and Russia can quickly get into trouble by being too aggressive toward Germany. Especially if the eastern defensive structure is poorly maintained.

I completely agree.  I’ve used this “rope-a-dope” tactic a few times.  retreat with germany, attack with japan, and then usually around round 3-4 i counter attack with germany and squeeze russia out and hope that germany conquers russia so i can get the IPC’s.  I say thi cause usually the Allies have taken western Europe with this strategy at some point and I have to retake it.

@Thorak:

Assume I have loaded 2 UK inf on a US transport and then in the US turn I moved the transport to the seazone next to Ukraine. Can the inf on the transport participate on an attack on Ukraine in the following UK turn together with other UK units? Does it make any difference if Ukraine is empty and the units can take it alone?

The infantry can participate in an attack on Ukraine.

You do not have to unload both infantry during combat, although you may if you wish.

It makes no difference as to whether or not you unload infantry if Ukraine is empty or not.

1. As Russia, how many forces should you put towards Japan to halt their advance?

You cannot stop the Japs.  They have mysterious powerz  Also giant mecha robots.

No, really . . . nothing or lots.  Either you team up with US/UK to stop Japan at Ssinkiang/India.  Or you pull back to Yakut, then to Novosibirsk (you threaten both Ssinkiang and Yakut from Novosibirsk; Novosibirsk is key to defense of the East).  You can’t really ATTACK Japan, or even slow them down a lot most of the time, because Japan players that run tanks can switch the direction of their attack.  If the Japs don’t run lots of tanks . . . then it’s easier to protect the East.  But if Japan builds tanks, run away.  How do you respond to Jap tanks at Mancuhuria, or French Indochina?  Both threaten Ssinkiang.  From Frindo, they threaten India.  From Manchuria, they threaten Yakut.  So if you beef up at Yakut, they run to Ssinkiang, and then you have to pull back to Novosibirsk, then the OTHER Jap tanks grab Yakut.  Ho ho.  Japan tanks yay.

2. As Germany, how would you go about countering a KGF strategy?

Free German beer.  Also, German women are hawt.

Three ways.  Either you try to build up your fleet a bit to slow down the Allies (they have to kill your fleet before they can start landing in force).  OR you build infantry/fighters, and play defensively with your navy, forcing the Allies to keep away from the German navy.  Or you just let the Allies creeeeep up on you with their transports while you send everything to Moscow like crazy, building infantry early and late and tanks for midgame (early infantry and midgame tanks plus German air to hit Moscow, late infantry to trade W. Europe, hold Germany, that sort of thing).

3. As Britain, what would be your main path into Europe?  Do you go NOR/KAR/EEU/GER, or do you try to go through France?

France, because French women are also hawt.  Also the cooking is yum.

No, not rly.

W. Europe (France) is a horrid crack for UK because of German defenses plus S. Eur and Germany counterattack.  You can reinforce with US, but . . . well, it’s REAL messy; it’s hard to race 10+ units a turn from Germany.  Yeah, you bleed Germany, but while Germany’s bleeding, it kills Russia.

Usually I go Nor/Kar/EEu with UK.  NOT always.  Sometimes I just run London-Archangel-Moscow instead.

4. As Japan, what would be your best path for racing towards Moscow to take pressure off of the Germans?

Pokemon!

Well, J1 is pretty much set, you try to progress in Burytia and possibly Soviet Far East, you kill the US fighter in China (it can be a REAL problem), and grab India if it’s free (which it often isn’t).  For J1 build you run 3 transports, or 2 transports 1 IC if Axis bid, but I’m thinking these days that 3 transports is more sound.  Well . . . J2 you drop lots of guys from Japan onto French Indochina and Burytia.  Rinse and repeat.

I find that there is no SINGLE best path to get to Moscow.  If the Allies play defensively, you grab Soviet Far East, Burytia, Yakut.  If the Allies defend India but neglect Ssinkiang, you push through the center.  If the Allies defend Ssinkiang but neglect India, yo grab India and pop an IC there.  If India and Ssinkiang BOTH receive no reinforcements, you grab everything, run lots of infantry into Yakut/China, late midgame, then consolidate at Novosibirsk, or take Novosibirsk with infantry/fighters, and consolidate tanks at either China to threaten Kazakh/Novosibirsk, or at Yakut to threaten Evenki and Novosibirsk next round (it depends on what’s going on with Germany)

Adaptation is the key to winning!

5. As the US, do you mainly aid the brits by following them and occupying territories they leave, or do you stage your own landings in Italy or Western Europe?  Also, how much of your power do you want in the pacific to make sure the japanese dont get too big?

Harry Potter needs my help?

Usually, I find that UK take / US reinforce is only good for threatening Germany.  Actually carrying out the threat is very expensive.  It works against inexperienced German players.  I try to set up transports into Africa with US, and later threaten W. Eur/S. Eur with transports west of Algeria.  Except early Africa (marching east to Persia), though, I find that I usually keep US and UK separate for most of the early game (using UK and US to bleed off early German gains, specifically using UK and US forces to trade territories with Germany so Russia doesn’t have to expend its infantry trading with Germay).  Late game, sure, I consolidate UK/US/USSR at E. Europe, or at Persia/India, or whatever, but by that time I’ve already won.

No power in the Pacific.  If Japan wants to attack US early game, let them, that’s less Russia has to worry about.  I will build Pacific infantry/tank defense late in the game for US to forestall a probable Alaska/W. Canada landing by Japan (there’s really no other easy target in range for Japan, so attack is very likely).  But even then . . . it’s just a holding force to stop Japanese advances while I kill Germany.

Sometimes, if Germany has switched to heavy defense, I’ll switch targets to Japan late game.  With Germany mostly contained, and Russia safe, it is easy to attack Japan.

The rule for holding VC’s is that at teh end of the US’s move (the complete turn of play) X number of VC’s are controlled by one side or the other.

8 VC’s is basically an Axis win (except in very special cases like a 2 turn limit test game where Russia goes suicidal in defense of the Allied VC’s)

Instead of 8, play for 9 for victory.

When one side or the other controls 9 VC’s at the end of a turn, then there is basically no doubt as to what side won.