Posts made by Black

@Krieghund That’s kind of what I was thinking, too. Thanks!

The NOs for the Soviet Union state:

“When the Soviet Union Is at War in Europe…”

But what if both Berlin and Rome have fallen? And the USSR is still fighting the Japanese? When, exactly, does the “state of war” in Europe end?

And here is why it matters: in a game where the Japanese are still going strong in the Pacific (because the Allies have focused their attention on Europe), the Soviets take Berlin, ending the war in Europe (the Americans had already taken Rome) do they still receive their NO bonuses during the “collect income” phase?

Those bonus IPCs are incredibly important, if the Soviets decide to suddenly declare war on Japan (having previously been in a state of peace), and aid the Allies in the Pacific. Normally, USSR receives no bonuses for being at war in the Pacific.

Thanks in advance.

I just want to share this.

I made a terrible blunder…and then I made a worse one.

Launched a Sea Lion assault on G3 with five transports (all armor/infantry) and my entire luftwaffe, plus a cruiser for bombardment and a pair of ACs in case he scrambled his four fighters. Stupidly, I assigned no fighter support to the sea zone…and his scramble sunk my entire fleet.

The worse blunder, however, was thinking that I had to continue the attack; I was misremembering the amphib assault rules, which only prevents seaborne land units from retreating, and thought that I was forced to continue fighting a hopeless cause (my opponent assumed the same, BTW…he was not trying to mislead me). Without the 10 land units I had anticipated bringing to the battle, I lost the entire German air force in a single battle.

The debacle cost me more than 200 IPCs worth of units.

Despite this “setback,” we continued the game. And I still managed to win, taking both India and Hawaii on J5 for my 5th and 6th (Pacific) victory cities, and no way for the Allies to retake before Japan’s next turn.

I am rather amazed. My opponent focused all his (American) attention in the European theater, deciding to pounce on Germany’s weakened state after J2 DOW…perhaps thinking Japan wasn’t much of a threat as I had moved all my navy to the south Pacific (FIC, Philippines, etc.). But I goaded him into attacking Japan and then destroyed his fleet with my battleships, and still he didn’t bother rebuilding his Navy on the west coast.

I took Hawaii with two transports and four infantry (the island’s only defender: a lone mechanized infantry unit). Incredible.

As I said, I just wanted to share this with other A&A Global players. I can’t believe how stupid I was, losing the luftwaffe that way. And yet, I learned from that mistake (when I took India, it was with plenty of fighter support for the potential sea battle). And, now, having snatched victory from the jaws of my own idiocy (and having read up on the amphibious assault rules and seen just how truly dumb my Sea Lion disaster was), I am breathing a sigh of relief and tilting a glass of Ouzo.

[my opponent was very gracious in defeat]

@Panther That’s what I needed to know. Thank you!

Apologies if this has been asked before:

The US has flown a strat bomber to the UK (understanding it cannot participate in the defense since it is not at war with the Axis). If London falls in G2, what happens to the bomber?

Thanks.

Is it possible for the Axis to achieve victory in the Atlantic if they remain at peace with the Soviets throughout the war?

That is to say, is it still possible for the Allies to win in Europe without the involvement of the USSR? My opponent and I were just discussing how Axis victory would be achievable without taking the Soviet VCs, but Soviet possible interference (i.e. USSR DOW) prevents them from focusing their full attention on the west.

Do the Allies NEED the help of the USSR to win the war?

@shadowhawk

Will do. However, I think he still holds out hope of taking Russia from the “backside” (using Japanese forces). Despite losing Tokyo, he has a ton of air and land in Asia.

He appears poised to make a last ditch effort at taking back Japan with his remaining ships off Siberia…if he fails, he will probably concede.

@shadowhawk

Thank you! I seem to have gotten out of my jam and your advice was quite helpful:

• Moved a US destroyer to SZ91, then landed units (Inf+Art x4) in French West Africa (with battleship support)
• Italy wrecked the destroyer, though lost multiple units in the process (bad die rolls)
• German fleet was lured out of Mediterranean to destroy US ships in SZ87. While he was successful, both his carrier and battleship are damaged with no port to repair them.

I am now in a position to crush what remains of his fleet (some 70+ IPCs, including transports he moved during NCMs for “protection”) with 2 battleships and 2 destroyers from Western USA, while simultaneously rebuilding my landing party. Africa will be a slow-process to retake, but with South Africa flush with tanks and fighters and the marching US forces, the Italians appear to be on the run.

[in the Pacific, Tokyo has fallen to ANZAC after successive waves from the USA and UK…not sure what I’m going to spend all the money on, but at least I feel better about the investment in Australian subs bereft of targets in the Pacific theater. Meanwhile Germany’s forces have broken on the Russian front and it appears I’ve stymied their momentum]

Much obliged for your advice!

Is it possible for the Allies to come back from losing the Mediterranean to Italy?

Due to some painful events, the Italians were able to retain much of their fleet AND take Cairo. The Germans just closed the door in Gibraltar, as well as wiping out French resistance in North Africa. Sub-Sahara has seen contested fighting, and the UK continues to hold South Africa. We are about to enter Turn 5.

I’m just trying to figure out if the Allies have lost the war, or if there’s a viable strategy for coming back.

Japan is a long way from Victory in the Pacific: she’s still messing around in China, but the bulk of her fleet has been destroyed and the Allied forces are gradually constricting her. The Germans JUST declared war on USSR in turn 4, and there are huge stacks in Leningrad, Moscow and Ukraine. London is fairly safe at the moment from assault as the northern German fleet consists of three subs off the Normandy coast and a single destroyer in SZ125.

The Mediterranean, however, is a different story:

• German AC (ftr, tac) + 2 transports in SZ92
• German Battleship + transport in SZ94
• Italian destroyer + transport in SZ95
• Italian battleship + transport in SZ98
• All territory from Morocco to Syria controlled by Axis

UK still holds Malta (fighter, inf, art).

I confess that I am at a loss for how to go forward. The Allies are still ahead on IPC income in Europe (if the USA focuses) by 30-40, but unless they can take back Gibraltar, my opponent is going to be in a position to stack transports in the Mediterranean to take London…or even the USA! I have the landing troops to take Gibraltar…unless he reinforces it in G5…but I don’t have the fleet to do an amphibious assault if he moves his capital ships to SZ91.

I’m in a world of hurt, and would gladly take any suggestions. The only thing I can think of is building strategic bombers that could nuke SZ91 and land in London (and hope Italy continues to focus on their raiding of Africa). Thoughts?

@Krieghund Thank you for the swift reply. I don’t think that thought crossed my opponent’s mind (we usually play Global, so the idea of attacking Germany…and leaving oneself open to counterattack…is not on the radar).

Zombies is a different game.

So, we just played this version of A&A for the first time. Germany took Moscow in its first turn. Since no Ally could liberate Moscow by the end of the Americans’ phase (and Germany and Japan still held their own capitals), does this mean “game over” for the Allies after one round? Seems a pretty cheap victory, and just want to make sure we’re reading the rules correct.

[fwiw, I was playing Germany]

Thanks!

@slip-capone

We played a couple, then moved onto a week-long game of Global. I like “Revised” quite a bit, but my usual opponent is none-too-happy with the ability of transports to shoot back.
; )

@andrewaagamer

Thank you! That was very helpful!

Can an air unit attack a submarine that is in the same sea zone as an allied destroyer?

This strange situation arises from the following in-game sequence:

• Japan has taken Java (in SZ42). The only IJN ship in SZ42 is a sub.
• UK makes an amphibious assault on Java; the sub is ignored.
• UK moves a destroyer to SZ42 as a NCM, choosing to ignore (not attack sub).
• In ANZAC turn, 2 fighters from Borneo are flown to SZ42 to attack the sub.

Per the rules:

“…hits from air units can’t be assigned to submarines unless there is a destroyer present that is friendly to the air units in the battle…” (P18, AAP40)

The destroyer is definitely present. The destroyer is definitely friendly. However, the destroyer isn’t actually attacking (as multinational forces may not attack in the same turn).

Thank you for your help.

Thank you!

@slip-capone

Huh. Well, under those rules, the Allies had 20 VT at the end of our last round (we’re still playing…Japan is making a last ditch push to land in a…poorly defended…Los Angeles).
; )

Do you have a link to the WBC tournament rules? Or could you tell me where to find them?

Thank you!

@greyleaf3

Just started playing “Revised” (picked it up 1.5 years ago, but just opened the box to try something g smaller than Global). It’s a fun version with some cool/interesting twists.

I see your point, though…trying to take 10 cities…especially for the Axis…turns into a looong game, as you end up needing one of London, L.A., or Washington. If that’s all that’s left to the Allies…well, they tend to concede anyway.

I’d be happy to call 9 a “major” victory for either side. More than that, and you’re just drawing out what is (most likely) already a curb-stomping in progress.
; )

@superbattleshipyamato

The Allies attack began with taking Siam on UK1. Having only one transport in position to attack amphibiously made it an issue of getting through a wall of Chinese to root British tanks and mech infantry out of the jungles. I took Calcutta around J5(?) but it was quickly liberated. My air support had been moved out to the ocean for other battles or were lost in retaking Chinese territories. It was just a mess.

The idea to build ICs in Asia didn’t even occur to me till late in the game…having played nothing but E40 the last 3-4 weeks, I’ve found so few places where an IC was actually helpful (based on both A) location and B) territorial IC value). Having a major IC in southern Germany, for example…not very useful considering France is dead after G1; and building one in Norway is begging for the Allies to use it against you. So I wasn’t even considering it until the Chinese infantry started snowballing (and my forces were tied up in a hopeless quagmire). That’s one of those “newb mistakes” I’ll rectify in the future.

I was pretty disappointed about the loss myself as Japan is, hands down, my favorite power to play in the smaller game and I usually handle it well. But the expansive Pacific, the additional powers, the unusual (new) rules, and the political negotiation aspect all combined to put me off my game. I don’t doubt Japan is just as effective in Pacific 1940 (and Global)…just need to learn the system and polish up the tactics.
; )

@superbattleshipyamato was curious about how the first game of Pacific 1940 went for me. Pretty terrible as it turned out, though it was a learning experience. For the benefit of the curious, I’m posting about it…perhaps the P40 veterans can offer some candid notes that will help other (new) players trying to learn from disaster.

Some background:

• This was our first game of Pacific. Mistakes were made (China capturing French Indochina; the USA receiving its 30 IPC bonus even though its DOW was “unprovoked”). I do not think they contributed much to the Axis defeat, other than to hurry the result.
• While I know a bit about WW2 history, I know very little about the Pacific theater (little more than the average movie-goer might). While I realize A&A is “ahistorical” I’ve found that there is enough emulation baked into the game that some strategies (or abstaining from some bad strategies) work well when applied in-game. All that being said, my knowledge of the IJN is pretty weak.
• I purposefully avoided reading any Japan strategies or “playbooks” prior to play, wanting to see how the game went “out of the box.”

Long story short: Japan was crushed and the US was marching in Tokyo by turn 10.

In retrospect, a lot of the difficulty (on my part) came from not having a clear plan/approach to winning the war. My original thought was to honor the political situation, work on taking China, while maneuvering my fleet to be in a position to attack the USA by J3. Unfortunately (for me) my opponent decided to take the initiative and DOW UK1, taking me completely by surprise.

When I say “by surprise” I mean it: I had completely failed to consider the possibility. I hadn’t even invaded French Indochina, figuring that the 10 IPCs per turn from peace with the USA would be more efficient while shoring up Asia. While I still had forces in range to bring a retaliatory counterattack, sinking ships and whatnot, I was far, far out of position for bringing the full might of Japan down on the UK and ANZAC forces. And as I had to backpedal on my first turn maneuverings (in order to deal with the threat/opportunity provided by their unprovoked DOW), I ended up wasting precious time that could have been used securing my position in the Pacific.

Finally: China. What a pain in the ass. Every turn I’d spend precious resources taking one or three lowly 1 IPC territories, only to have four infantry pop up in the worst possible location the next turn. I had no strategy for pacifying a power able to spawn any number of dug-in partisans at will…no target objective to eliminate besides the Burma road. And no ability to keep that supply line broken what with the UK involved from the get-go. If I killed Chinese, the UK would liberate Yunan from southeast Asia; if I killedthe UK, the Chinese would march in from Szechwan, ensuring those bonus IPCs (and artillery pieces) kept coming. It was only late inthe game (circa J6) that I thought to build ICs in Kwangtung and Kiangsu, in order to pump out my own stacks of infantry and artillery.

By that time, however, it was far too late. I had found a way to tame China, but the US had been able to destroy the bulk of my fleet, ANZAC was no longer confined to their little island (was building ships of their own) and the two together were looting my IPCs from the south Pacific. I went from getting more than 60 to less than 40. I could not hold India. My transports were destroyed. My land forces were too slow (or too tied up) to conquer the many territories of southeast Asia. My air force was destroyed trying to slow down the march of battleships. I exhausted my entire cadre of kamikazes in a single turn and they still failed to stymie the invasion force.

Rough. A really ugly defeat.

Strange as it may sound, Pacific is a very different game from Europe. The ocean expanses make the game very different…especially for a player (me) used to making good use of an air force. The range of ALL air craft is so limited that you spend turns flying in non-combat just to get in position to use them as support for an assault, and they seem more useful for attacking seazones, rather than islands. Carriers extend the range, but limit the number that can be used. Strategic bombers (with their inability to land on carriers) prove far less practical than they do in a war fought mostly on land.

It’s a tough game…very different from Europe 1940, very different from a game like 1942 or Zombies. The limitation of the theater requires one to develop completely different tactics. My esteemed opponent had the benefit of being the Allies, a side that grows stronger the longer the game progresses. Mistakes were made by both sides in the earlier rounds of the game, but while these were mitigated by the reinforcing might of the Americans, they proved exceptionally costly for Japan (me).

I think I’d like to play Pacific a couple more times…both as the Axis and the Allies…just to get a better feel for the game. However, we’ve since jumped right into a three-way game of global (combining Europe and Pacific) which, with a new player, looks like it’s going to take a while to resolve. Fortunately, we don’t need the dining room table any time soon.
; )

@superbattleshipyamato

Not sure anyone can learn anything from my thoughts on Pacific (besides “what not to do”) but I’ll post those on the P40 forum.