One possible compromise for a combined UK economy would be to downgrade the Calcutta IC to a minor. The UK would then have the option of building a minor in West India the first turn for possible reinforcement of the area. While the UK could go all-in on a London defense early to shut down Sea Lion it would come at the expense of Calcutta units.
That’s a good idea, come to think of it!
In my last game France took Berlin on F8. It was wild, but nothing like the game before that when Italy took Sydney on I7. We never talk about the Italian Pacific can-opener, it’s a real game changer.
That sounds too incredible. Is it really true?
In G36, red dice for the Comintern, white dice for the Allies, and black for the Axis.
@Charles:
Very interesting, but I think this might favor the Axis a little too much. Perhaps don’t give so much money to Germany from Vichy?
How do you propose I do things differently? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
I think every neutral needs a more varied army- the neutral nations of WWII were not all a handful of infantry divisions. Turkey, for example, should have the 8 infantry, plus a fighter, an artillery, and maybe even a tank. They should also have a destroyer or two. Much more intimidating than just 8 infantry. And who’s to say that game events can’t influence neutrals? For example: if Moscow falls, roll one die. On a roll of 6, Sweden joins Germany (just as an example). I also like the Global War idea of ‘aligning’ neutrals a lot more than just moving units in. For example, if Axis powers control both Yugoslavia and Greece, Bulgaria aligns to Germany (just as an example).
What are your thoughts for Free/Vichy French houserules for G40? What I like to do is modify a rule of Charles de Gaulle’s.
Free France consists of French Equatorial Africa, the cruiser in 110, the units in London, New Hebrides, and Normandy/Bordeaux. However, any French territory or ship will become Free French on a d6 roll of 6 after Paris falls. The Free French get a recruitment roll every turn. They have to roll the number of territories or less that they control. They then subtract that number from 6, and that’s the number of units that they can place in any territory that they control. The Free French have an economy of 3 (the worth of their territories), and a +1 bonus every turn that London is in British hands. With this, they can buy infantry in their capital (FEA initially), and nothing else. If FEA is captured, the Free French may move their capital to any territory they control. If any originally French territory is liberated, it becomes Free French.
Vichy France is politically aligned with Germany, and consists of every other initially French territory, except Paris (German occupied). Vichy French troops may not move outside of Vichy territories, and Vichy ships must end their movement in a sea zone adjacent to a Vichy territory. Vichy units are allowed to attack captured Vichy territories and any Free French-controlled territory. Axis powers may move units into and through any Vichy territory. Also, every turn that Vichy France controls Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, they gain 3 IPCs of bonus income. Germany collects the income for all Vichy territories (bonus included), except for French Indochina, which Japan collects the money for. Vichy France may only build units in Southern France with German permission, and the build cost may not exceed Vichy’s income for the turn. For example: Vichy France gave Germany its 13 IPCs of income last turn (Southern France, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, French West Africa, French Central Africa, and French Indochina, plus the IPC bonus for control of French North Africa), and wanted to build three infantry. Germany agreed, and paid 9 IPCs. Vichy France’s capital is Southern France. If this is captured, all Vichy territories become Free French. Vichy’s turn is 11th in the turn order.
Moderator’s edit: Added tag [Global 1940] to title.
What I think the Allies should do is this: Russia should move their tank and mech from Stalingrad into Sikang, and their fighter and tac bomber from Moscow into Szechwan. The 18 troops and 2 AAA should come together in Amur. The F.E.C. should move their air units into Szechwan, and their land units into Burma. Now, we’ve got a stand-off in Manchuria/Amur. Neither side really wants to attack, since they’re both able to really hurt each other, but the Manchurians can’t go south, because they don’t want to lose Korea or Manchuria. In the south, the FEC can either reconquer Yunnan or reinforce it. After a few turns, Japan will be starved of income, and attention can turn to Europe. Also, because of this early weakening of Japan, the US fleet will be in less danger long-term, since Japan can’t build a huge fleet. This allows the US to start focusing on Europe.
I had a good bid once for China- a tac bomber and another fighter, to be used as part of the Flying Tigers.
I just finished a Global game, and the Axis took America by Turn 6. How? Germany did a Sealion feint, Italy took Gibraltar, and Japan took Hawaii on turn 1. Then, Germany moved their Sealion feint units into sz103 (from 112), Italy moved a lot of cruisers and destroyers through Gibraltar and took Brazil. Japan feinted into Alaska with 1 inf. The USA retook Alaska, built up the fleets in 101 and 10. Turn 3, Germany takes Newfoundland, Italy takes Central America, Japan takes Western Canada in force and destroys sz 10 fleet. Turn 5, Germany takes EUS, Italy takes CUS, and Japan takes WUS. UK Europe tries to take EUS with 4 turns of build-up in Quebec (and fails). Turn 6, Germany takes Quebec.
The Axis won by Turn 8. Germany lost Normandy and Holland to UK Europe, but held West Germany and Paris, and won by taking Leningrad. Italy, which had lost North Africa completely, managed to use its +15 IPCs to launch a force towards Cairo. Japan took Hong Kong and Manila.
The US player was fairly new, so this wouldn’t have worked otherwise.
Buy 6 inf/1 ftr on UK1, and the same on UK2. Bring your Canadian inf/tank to Scotland on UK1, and on UK2 move everything to London. This gives you: 16 inf, 4 ftr, 5 AAA, 1 mech.inf, 1 tank.
As ANZAC, I like to use my 2 Egyptian infantry to attack Iraq (which the FEC has typically tried and failed to attack, so it’s a walk-in). Then, I build an IC. This is especially useful if the Germans are hitting Russia hard.
I dunno. It seems a bit far off. Amerika and AA 1914 are about as far as I’m willing to go.
I wrote something on Sealion tactics, and as I said there, Sealion isn’t worth it. If you’re going for London on G2, then UK will have lots of men in Egypt to crush Libya left over, and that’s always a hard battle for Italy. Plus, you’ve probably been neglecting the East, so a better-prepared Russia can slam into you. Then, there’s the US, which can now strike in either London or France, so you’ve got to protect both.
The US needs to forget Japan and hurry over to London with a large force. The US player, if he suspects that a Sea Lion is imminent, should move the bomber to Greenland and buy 6 transports (or as many as the US can afford) in sz101. From there, just buy amphibious assault units.
The UK Pacific can build a major in Malaya and Kwangtung. France can upgrade the factory in Southern France to a major, but probably won’t have the chance. The ANZACs in Egypt should try to get Iraq or Persia if possible.
As Russia, you will invariably be the target of a massive German attack early on in the game. If this attack succeeds, the Axis will almost surely win. If it fails, you can destroy Germany with the other Allies. Therefore, a bit of preparation for the onslaught is required. But how to prepare?
Purchasing for the Defense
In the start of the game, you have four Industrial Complexes: in Moscow, Leningrad, Ukraine, and Stalingrad. You also have 37 IPCs to spend. But on what? I think the best purchase is six tanks, split between Novgorod and Ukraine, with a tactical bomber or artillery every now and then. This provides for lots of power on offense, while also providing lots of units for defense. However, this combination is missing a few notable things:
#1: Strategic bombers. They’re a complete waste of I.P.C.s. For a start, you are going to be defending for the early part of the campaign, so having units that defend on a 1 is useless.
#2: Infantry/Mechanized Infantry. You already have enough infantry, and for the early stages of the defense, you don’t need any more. Use what you have as cannon fodder, and once the German blows have fallen, build some in Moscow or Stalingrad.
#3: Fighters. Although they do defend on a 4, they are too expensive to be worth it. The only time that you should build fighters during this early stage is for a last-ditch defense of a Victory City.
#4: Any naval units whatsoever. You will not see hide nor hair of the German navy during this stage of the war, and probably never! An amphibious assault against Leningrad is unlikely, but in any event, if you follow the strategy given below, Leningrad will be so well-defended that an amphibious assault is unlikely.
#5: AA guns. You start the game with a good number, and what you do have will likely be enough. You have enough in Leningrad, and the AA guns in Moscow (out of reach even of strat bombers for several turns), can reach the Ukraine in 2 turns. Also, the two AA guns in Buryatia can move towards the front, but they’ll not likely reach it in time.
In sum, tanks are the best all-round purchase for your defense. However, there is a strategy that you should employ to help soften the blows…
Retreating
This strategy will not miraculously prevent a German breakthrough, but it will buy you a good bit of time. Here it is:
Move your forces in Karelia and Vyborg into Novgorod, minus one infantry in each. Move one of your Bessarabia infantry into Western Ukraine. Move one of your Eastern Poland infantry into Belarus, and move two of your Baltic States infantry into Belarus. Also, move all of your forces in Volgograd and Rostov into Ukraine. What have you gained by doing this? You’ve created a buffer zone that Germany cannot blitz through, or move its aircraft into. If the Germans attack these territories, you can counter-attack next turn, while still building more tanks in Ukraine and Leningrad. This may not be enough to save Leningrad and Ukraine, but it will buy you a fair amount of time to evacuate or build up in those territories. In spite of this, a G1 attack will upset many of these plans.
Defending Against a G1 Attack
A G1 attack is dangerous, but not fatal. Your biggest advantage is the dice. Germany cannot make up losses as easily as you, as you have two ICs right at the front, and another two safely behind your own lines. Germany, by contrast, cannot reach Bessarabia with land units at all, and reaching Eastern Poland/Baltic States uses up a tank/artillery’s full movement. The only potential IC site- Finland- won’t be ready until G2. However, the Germans will have 49 IPCs on hand on G2, while you’ll only have 35. Still, you can buy 3 tanks in Leningrad and 2 in Ukraine, plus an artillery in Ukraine. This should tie down the Germans for a good while. In the center, retreat wherever possible. Move your Belarus units (assuming an air attack hasn’t killed them) into Smolensk. There, they can link up with your Moscow units and defend effectively, right next to a major IC. The units in Rostov can also support Ukraine. In Western Ukraine, evacuate your infantry and artillery to Bryansk, where they can be supported by the IC in Moscow. This will buy you some time to conduct a defensive campaign, but the Germans may still get to a territory bordering Moscow. How to defend your capital will be the subject of the next installment…
I think that on Italy’s first turn, if Italy is really serious about can opening, they should but an artillery and tank in Northern Italy and send it east. They should try to capture Ukraine. Plus, if they won in Cairo, they can try to attack Caucasus via the Middle East.
I think that a US invasion of Japan itself is nearly impossible. The problem that I see with Japan is its monster income: even if it has lost every single Pacific island, it will still have nearly 30 IPCs per turn. I think that for the first few turns, the US should focus chiefly in Europe, since Japan has a huge advantage in the ocean campaign. The only major IPC spending that the US should do here is keeping a large enough navy to protect Hawaii. Building an IC in Alaska might work, but only if you can hold it.
A better strategy is to starve Japan of income, so that even if Japan can muster a huge defense in Japan/sz6, you (alongside with the UK and ANZAC) can build a large force to attack every turn, while Japan cannot replace its losses.
I have a Mongolia house rule, whereupon the Mongolia states are considered a ‘pro-Russia neutral’. They can be activated by Russia as soon as Russia and Japan are at war (even if Russia strikes in Korea/Manchuria/Kansu first), but in all other respects are treated like strict neutrals. Also, in this rule, Russia can activate all of Mongolia at once by moving any land units into just one Mongolian territory. Plus, any attack on Mongolia is considered an act of war by Russia.
