Best posts made by crockett36

@barnee https://youtu.be/wjxg_Yn6aXk?si=X6WuKg4mOFTlqM22

welcome to forum Gojira672!

What is Northlock/Southlock?

Also I I think some strategies could be lumped together. For instance, except in the case of a G1 DOW on Rus and a Sealion, Russia should trade land for space. There is a Scandinavian contingency to prevent Germany completely cutting off the Northern resupply route (convoy and English fighters). I prefer to do this thinking that planes defending at 4s are better killers than 8 or 9 Rus inf. Besides that Russia picks Bryansk and/or Belarus to post up for a counter-attack. I split the difference. This can have the effect of channeling the German forces north or south. I hope to pick off Ger tanks or planes in particular. Many times there are no weak links to exploit and retreat is the best option.

In the East, one can retreat to Moscow or stay and invade Man or Kor. The retreat was a historical event made possible by the TS railroad. In War Room this is taken care of, but not global 40. Yet. I prefer a 12-6 split, sending six and an AA to the SF east to support American bombers and/or landings if I am so inclined in the late game.

The retreat to turtle in Moscow takes place with an understanding that Moscow will need every English fighter that is on the board by turn 4 or 5 depending. If the situation looks gloomy and the enemy is at the gate, the Russian force might better retreat than die quickly, probably toward the proposed Persian and Indian factories.

@Panther Thanks for doing what you do.

a transport in hand in worth two planes in the intercept! Benjamin Franklin said that.

Another option that occurs to me is doing what they do in war college and picking one of these triple a games where one of the best in the league standings won with little or no bid and dissecting it like Waterloo or Shiloh. Can we get someone to volunteer a game? Gargantua perhaps? No balanced mod or bid over ten.

Done!!!

Yep, he did. I saw it on the internet. It must be true.

United States Playbook
We do not play chess. The sides do not start off equal, and by the end of the first turn and even into the second, the ability of the Axis to destroy units within close proximity is enormous. The Allied situation is dire from the start and gets worse. Most games played online, even with bids, end with Axis victory.
Therefore the principles that guide this Allied US strategy playbook are:

1. to preserve the Allied starting units
2. to give ground where it is hopeless or prudent
3. to determine the place of the battle when possible

The options we have are many and dependent. On the other hand they are not entirely reactionary. The strategic defensive objectives remain the same. We must save London, the Atlantic, Moscow, Egypt, India, and the Pacific. In that order in my view. The strategic offensive objectives are perhaps a little different than the Axis powers. Whereas they are going for either early London, Middle Moscow, middle or late London and an economy that is at parity with the United States at war, the Allies are generally not going to take Berlin or Tokyo or even Rome. Rather the Allies are going for a radical dashing of the economic ambitions of the Axis and a capitulation. Keeping the Germans contained on the Russian front to the gates of Moscow and no further, kicking the Italians out of Africa and keeping them out of the Middle East, containing the Japanese to a fight for China and southeast Asia should give the edge to the Allies.

Accomplishing the suppression of Axis ambitions is achieved in two ways: eliminate units on the board and his ability to make war. The former is obvious, the latter may not be. Destroying an enemy’s ability to make war boils down to economics. Economics in this game is represented on the board by the cash values of the territories and the convoy zones on the map. In order to reduce your opponent’s income, you can do one of three things: take possession of his territory, disrupt his convoys, strategically bomb his factories. Conversely, it means not losing your own territories to the aggressors. These factors determine our strategic offensive objectives.
Destroying an enemy’s ability to make war by disrupting his convoys can be a devastating strategy. In fact in several sea zones on the map, it is catastrophic if done in numbers. Parking your navies in the Sea of Japan and in sea zone 97 to the east of Rome are prime examples of this endgame tactic.

Likewise, two strategic bombers will shut down minor factories and cost the enemy double to restore them to full capacity. Five bombers will almost guarantee shutting down a major factory. Losses will be high and costly to the ally who pursues this course of action but worth it. Be aware that Germany has two major factories so he can ignore the loss of one of them. Also be aware that German itself cannot be reached from London. A point in Scandinavia or Russia must be secured or maintained in order to thoroughly execute this strategy against the Huns.
In the East, you must get very close to the Island of Japan in order to bomb her. Iwo Jima or the Soviet Far East seem the best candidates. Some have even suggested Korea. Allied planes and tactical fighters can reinforcement Korea from Hawaii if the Soviets were to capture it. A strategy that keeps Russian troops on the east coast of Russia must be used in coordination with these plans. Be careful of the kamikazes. You can non-combat move into a K-zone without triggering their wrath. An attack on a navy in Sz 6 with subs and air will not provoke Kamikazes.

Having discussed how to destroy the enemies ability to make war, we move on to how to eliminate the units on the board. How to do this with the resources on the board and the limited time before a catastrophe like the fall of London or Moscow or Bombay occurs is the crux of the game. Historically it was agreed upon by the Allies that stopping Germany took primacy over stopping Japan. Victor Davis Hanson says that for all that kind of talk, a bifurcation developed that the West Coast produce goods for the Pacific war and the East Coast produce goods for the European theater. Unfortunately, for play ability’s sake, the US economy is not correctly represented. When you read VDH, there is a common refrain, “America produced more of … than all of the other combatants combined.” Obviously, this is not our situation.
Therefore kill Japan first strategy or kill Germany first strategies have been developed. I prefer the KGF strategy, and it was the agreed upon Allied strategy historically. The big question is can I pop Germany’s balloon before Japan’s expands beyond control. This question has validity. However, mathematically it is nonsensical. If Japan’s economy grows to 70 or 80, it would still be dwarfed by the combined Allied income that would result from the shriveling of the German Reich.

In light of these encouraging thoughts, let’s look at KJF strategies. I have mentioned bombing Japan from either Iwo Jima or Soviet Far East. This can be done in two ways. Russian troops can move to SFE and be reinforced with American fighters and troops. That could be done very early in the game, even T1, assuming a J1 attack. Alternatively, the Russians could be gathered in Sahka on T1 and a subsequent move to SFE could be arranged by T3 with impressive results.

Alternatively, an Iwo Jima assault would need to be a tour de force. It might take 2 or 3 rounds of navy and air builds before you could attempt it. If one takes the same meat grinder approach as seen on the Eastern front, US waves of ships cannot help but overcome the Japanese. You must be willing to bleed. A substantial number of subs in your fleet can directly impact the enemy’s capital ships. Bombers can be used against the fleet and turn around and impact the struggle for Eurasian.

Another strong option for the American player executing a KJF strategy is to begin a naval arms race with the Japanese. This can have an indirect effect on Eurasia. The fear of losing possession of Sz 6 will motivate the Japanese to keep up. Another option is to make a move on the “money islands”. This can be affected by either securing the Caroline Islands or traveling to Queensland and then springing into action. There is a great deal of fear surrounding this strategy. The loss of a fleet would be understandably discouraging. However, to draw the bulk of the enemy’s fleet so far out of position is itself (two turns from sz6) a feat worth considering, especially if there is a second, albeit smaller fleet threatening the Japanese homeland. You can afford this. He can too, but not without injuring his continental ambitions.

It should also be noted that, should America be left out of the war until turn 4, a great deal of marshaling and posturing can be done far away from the US coast that will influence the enemy’s decision making, drawing his attention away from Bombay.

A floating bridge strategy in the Pacific is difficult for several reasons, but not without merit. Naval superiority is the most obvious challenge. I have mentioned the value of capturing the Caroline Islands. The most tantalizing of options might be a 12 transport shuck between North America and Russia. Four would leave San Fran and go to Soviet Far East, four from Alaska to sz 1, four from sz 1 to San Fran. The drawback is that the land units have so much ground to cover before they effect serious change. It should be noted, however, that this must draw the enemy’s eye north, potentially saving Indian lives. A naval base in Alaska would even threaten the Japanese homeland. An airbase there would make any attempt to destroy the shuck costly, though the SFE transports are vulnerable.

KGF
As to KGF strategies, the saving of the Atlantic takes priority because of the logistical needs of the Allies, particularly the Americans and the British. We must transverse waters. The Russians, Chinese, Italians and Germans don’t. We do. In fact, we can’t win without doing so. Aircraft would not be sufficient. Therefore safe passage must be guaranteed.
London must be saved. It may be lost, but it must be saved. Loss of any capital is a huge problem. The number of spaces on the board between Moscow and Washington is staggering. London is a necessary way station. Of course, without control of London, one ally is out of the game and is no longer producing combatants.

If Moscow falls, Eurasia is in danger of being swallowed up. There is probably nothing between the panzers and the Pacific ocean. The economic situation is very dire. If the Russians were able to retreat some of their units, if there is a strong British presence in the Middle East and North Africa, if the Chinese are still on the board and if the Americans have already put boots on the ground in Eurasia, then there is hope. Better it does not come to this.

However, Napoleon did take Moscow. And then his army starved to death. The German troops that make it that far are probably not coming back any time soon. They are an expeditionary force that will not return to Europe until around turn eight or nine at best. There is opportunity here. He will have to stack soldiers.

@aequitas-et-veritas
This is excellent

i believe trulpin set me up for a game in the leagues. so i’m in.

@Guam-Solo I don’t play nearly as much as I would like. My son who likes Axis and Allies doesn’t like Global 40 so we play around with different versions and house rule stuff. Good times, but not helpful for “cracking the code”–an allied strategy that brings balance to the … force?! Game. Thingy.

@stickybomb US navy underperforming! Go nationalist chinese

back from vaca

Nibbling and Sandbagging

From an optical standpoint, attacking Western Europe would seem to be the needed action. From an economic vantage point, however, keeping Germany contained to around 55 IPCs might be enough to prolong the war until the disparity widens in our favor. Therefore, we begin a section of the US playbook on nibbling the edges and laying down sandbags that will hold back the flood and economically support what has been called Operation Ricochet.

Moscow will be attempted. It is the crown jewel for the Axis. If America enters the war early, fighters can make their way to Russia by turn 5 or 6. If every allied surviving aircraft that begins on the board t1 were to do so it would provide a strong dike. Planes built by the English can launch from Scotland and make their way there. Planes in the middle of the board can fight the good fight, make a difference and still make it to Moscow by five or six. Anzac and Indian fighters can battle in Southeast Asia and still make it. A factory in Persia built on t2 can produce units that can assist in the sandbagging of the Russian capital.

Alternatively, seventeen American bombers can make it to Moscow by turn 6. They could act as fodder, but more likely they would deter the enemy from ever attempting the assault. They could also be used to attack any lagging mechanized column that was supposed to ensure the success of the venture.

@stickybomb I’m going to resign. Believe or not, I planned on losing Moscow, but was disappointed I didn’t suppress Japan as much as I had hoped. Play again?

@GuamSolo there were two experiments this game. I tried a radically aggressive and mobile Russia. On the positive side I soared in IPC. On the negative side I gradually lost the advantage in pieces on the board and specifically pieces in Eurasia.

The other experiment was the Indian navy. I thought it worked well but was hampered by Sealion and contributed to the loss of London indirectly. Currently I am thinking that the yunnan stack is more sustainable than Calcutta.

The greatest error maybe was not committing a significant Russian force To China. At the time I considered Calcutta more important.

We can give New South Wales aid. We may be able to create a better sandbag there than in Hawaii, combining our naval might with the Australian ground forces. This should make Sidney nearly impregnable until turn seven at the earliest. This is a worst case scenario if and only if Bombay is in danger of falling or does fall. This could be made untenable if the enemy chooses Australia first. In such an event, however, Calcutta should become nearly impossible to capture, assuming an infusion of British units into the region via a factory in Persia, victory in North Africa or even aircraft from South Africa. Hawaii must become Japan’s final victory city. That should prove easy to defend, given our industrial output and the strategies listed above.

London may be sandbagged by some obvious and some oblique methods. The less obvious method is to draw the Pac fleet into the Atlantic, letting Germany know that any Sealion victory will be Pyrrhic. We can punctuate this by adding to the fleet immediately. Such a fleet needs additional aircraft carriers, aircraft, destroyers, and transports. If kept out of the war, one might stage the fleet in sz102. Given the green light, American aircraft could be launched from 102 and land in London during non-combat. As soon as America is brought into the war, ground units may do the Canadian Two-step. Move them to Canada and then shuttled your ground forces to London either in the combat phase for the recapture of the British capital or in the non-combat phase for reinforcement.

@martin no, do not submerge. Sorry. Am doing some moving. A playtest with larry harris on saturday, church, work, wife, daughter. son. sleep. I always preface my games by saying I am slow. my phone is 9785787491 if you want to text me quick questions.

so I will probably read this on youtube. and i’m ready to start a game. I will probably echo your moves, which are the orthodox way of doing a g1.