US 1st Turn KGF

I must retract my statement about the IC in Alaska.  I did not realize this was the AAR board and assumed we were talking AA50.  Not sure if it would make a difference or not but…… I have done it in AA50 but not in AAR.  Sorry.

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.

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

Lately I have been going heavy Kreigsmarine.  1 Carrier is silly if you don’t reinforce it.  2 Carriers, 4 Fighters, 2 submarines, maybe another transport in there, now you are forcing England to build navy, not ground forces.  That’s almost the equivalent of removing one power from the game right there.

@ncscswitch:

You would not have the income to maximize productions at all 3 IC’s… EVER (unless the game was already over).

2 INF in Karelia for a cost of 21 IPC’s over 2 turns is not a good Russian buy… just buy 4 ARM in Moscow 1 turn, and send them to Karelia the next instead :-)

sending tanks into st. petsburg makes more sense but you only have to build in moscow when japan suddenly comes a tapping As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. for it is Only this, and nothing more.

PBEM=Play By E-Mail

And, yes, it is legal for partners to talk to one another.  There is no limit to the number of times, so you probably need to set a number of times or a time limit, if it bothers you.

Your just not good enough to take America from me Doug…  I keep luring you in and step on your greedy hand…

The response for that Shadow is for Japan to not sweat. Calm, rational, deliberate action.

You don’t have to counter every single move as Japan. You don’t have to, for example, worry about killing the destroyer off Kwangtung. What threat does it really pose if your navies are defendable? Zero. Kill Pearl and China, bring your E Indies fleet to clean out the carrier and transport, and an inf/ arm to F Indo- most likely the Brits lost 2 infantry taking it (at least). Bring 5 infantry and 2 fighters to China. Sure it’ll cost more than normal but you’ll win. Send an extra fighter to wherever the British fighter landed (either China or off French Indo). Allow Russia to step into Manchuria. With a 3 transport (placed in SZ 61)/ 2 infantry build you’ll crush all 6 if they brought them. If less it’ll be even easier. Hey, they’re dead Russians, which is good. Do the normal Pearl strike. Expand as usual on J2 and beyond.

Yes these moves slow down Japan, but they make Germany’s life easier. With the moves you described German armor is racing south in Africa, and once Japan has taken out the Brits in the pacific theater on J1, India is ripe for the plucking for either Japan or Germany (G3 med fleet escape). Personally I’d rather conserve the British carrier, transport, and fighter. On UK4 they lock down SZ12 while the combined fleets are hemming in Germany in the north.

The first time someone sees an aggressive Britain in the pacific it might freak them out, and they might do something silly, but if you’ve been around the block a few times…

I’m not saying by any stretch of the imagination that these are bad moves Mr. Hawk. I’m pointing out how I would counter them and the game-wide ramifications, in my opinion.