Posts made by M36

@AldoRaine How about a destroyer block in 112 as well? Edit: Provided the Germans have stacked in the baltic like you said.

@weddingsinger Indeed, I never had any luck personally with with max Sea Lion strategy though because the Russians roll on in when London falls.

@simon33 Yes Germany buying transports round 1 significantly changes your options as UK. It’s very risky sending your fighters away if Germany can bring 6-10 units plus the Luftwaffe on G2.

@AldoRaine I see your point but if Italy breaks Egypt on turn 2 then it can gain both a national objective and 4 or 5 IPCs in Africa without too much difficulty. A 20 IPC Italy is quite strong, especially with an intact navy.

@Guam-Solo I’ve tried the Anzac Middle East complex, but I’ve always found they just don’t make enough money to provide effective forces, especially if they have to worry about a Japanese threat.

@AldoRaine I like it, but I have questions. No attack on Tobruk? Italy still has two transports, so they can drop four units into Trans Jordan or Alexandria giving the Italians ten units to crack Egypt, (And sieze Iraq) plus the three coming up from Ethiopia. Can enough reinforcements reach Cairo UK 2 to prevent its capture?

@crockett36 Absoloutely. Discussion is the whole point of these forums after all.

@Guam-Solo Agreed. Maybe forcing the Italians into an attack works in some games, I’m just a big advocate of the best defense being a strong offense. The reasoning for destroying the Italian fleet right out the gate is the same reasoning for destroying the UK fleet G1. Even if it’s costly it takes your opponents options and initiative away, which is very difficult to recover from.

@weddingsinger I think it all boils down to if you want to play aggresive or defensive. IPCs are not the real currency in A+A, your units are, so don’t be afraid to “spend” those units if it puts your opponent back significantly. I would love to hear more from Crocket on how this strategy worked out in practice.

According to the numbers, the defender has the advantage in combat, but this is a misconception. The attacker chooses where and when to fight, and how many units to bring. A smart player will bypass strong points and only attack when he can bring enough firepower to destroy the enemy in one round of fire. If I’m playing Italy in that scenario then I could care less about the British fleet, cause I’m running wild in Africa and the Middle East, and Japan is probably going to exploit the weakened Indian front J2 to come meet me.

@Guam-Solo No offense to Crocket but after watching that video I’m not a fan at all of that strategy. So much effort put into destroying four troops and taking 1 IPC in East Africa which is virtually irrelevant in the larger scheme of things. I’ll sacrifice my fleet any day to remove the Italians, and if they scramble and lose planes the French fleet has a good chance of surviving anyway. The only strong Italian force in Africa is in Tobruk, crush it on turn 1 or it will get stronger. The other forces are split and can be destroyed when it’s more convenient.

@Sgt-Mclusky Unlike previous renditions of A+A I find that AA40 has so many options and paths to victory that were still playing it and seeing new strategies in my group. Granted I was late to the party with this version so I don’t have years of experience, but we do play an awful lot, and almost never see the same game twice.

@Guam-Solo Wow, sounds like en epic battle. Germany took out both SZ111 AND 110? When I’ve done this I find myself spread a bit too thin and the Luftwaffe takes casualties due to scrambles. That’s actually a win for UK if you trade your fleet for German planes because it reduces their strategic flexibility. As mentioned Canada is the best spot to start building ships. If the Luftwaffe is in range they will just get sunk every round for minimal German casualties.

I’m curious about you’re statement that the fighters from UK couldn’t reach the action in the Mediterranean. Even if they’re guaranteed to be lost should the carrier have to take a hit I always send them. Trading UK planes for Italian ships is a positive for the Allies, because you can build more fighters, while the Italians can’t build ships.

Wedding Singer has pretty much covered all the important parts. You can actually take FIC without declaring war on the other allies, but it cost you eight IPCs. Some players think it’s worth it so you can get the complex there J2.

@Guam-Solo I shall write one up in my notes and post it as soon as it’s complete.

An aggressive UK player can virtually eliminate the Italians from the game on UK1. This is dependent, however, on the Germans and if they give indication of a Sea Lion or not. I typically purchase a transport, infantry and artillery for South Africa first, and use my remaining 14(global) or 15(Europe) IPCs for navy or air in the Atlantic because Germany has typically decimated the available forces on their first turn.

IF the Germans make no Sea Lion preparations you can send the entire RAF from London to strike the Italian battleship (The Taranto raid). The fighters can land on the carrier, because you will need to bring the navy parked at Egypt as well to discourage a scramble. Don’t get too attached to that Mediterranean navy because it won’t last long, but the blow delivered to the Italians makes its loss worth it. The combat strength of the UK in this attack is 15 with 6 units, and the Italians have a strength of 7 with 2 units or 19 with 5 units made possible by a full scramble supported by Germany. Not the best odds, but still a good battle for UK because you are killing valuable units. They don’t stand a chance without the scramble, so the Italians might scramble their two planes which is even better because you get to kill the Italian Air Force. Even if the Germans send planes to scramble I make this attack because it’s one of the few opportunities to chip away at the Luftwaffe which gives the Germans enormous flexibility.

With the cruiser in SZ 91 (assuming it wasn’t sunk by the Germans which in many cases it won’t be) I usually strike the Italian fleet at Malta. I will throw in the fighter from Gibraltar for good measure and land him on Malta. The Malta fighter can either support the Taranto raid or be used in an assault on Tobruk.

The Tobruk battle is perhaps the most important one on UK1. Italy has 3 Inf, 1 Art, 1 Mec, and 1 Tank to face off against the British forces in Alexandria totaling 2 Inf, 1 Art, and 1 Tank. Poor odds for the Brits. Wait a minute, you have a Mec in Cairo that can make it into the battle, and the transport in SZ 98 can’t be used for fighting the Italian fleet so load up an Inf and Art for amphibious assault! Now we have a combined UK strength of 3 Inf 1 Art 1 Mec and 1 Tank, which is equal to the Italian force. Now this isn’t enough to take the territory without exceptional dice, so we need more forces. Well here’s where the Malta fighter and the Tactical Bomber from SZ 98 come in. I’ll bet you were wondering why he wasn’t in the Taranto raid. So the UK now has a total combat strength of 20 with 9 units against the Italian force of 6 units and a strength of 13. Good odds, and as a reminder the British can replace lost forces fairly quickly, while the Italians cannot.

This is my standard opener for the UK and it effectively knocks Italy into irrelevance. They are reduced to only one weak fleet, and only 2 units in North Africa.

I have some fairly strong allied strategies, primarily for UK that I will have to summarize in a form of playbook. They’ve all been tried against me or used by me with good success rates and tend to keep the Allies competetive. When in doubt, Attack!

@simon33 It’s going to be a near thing. The Americans will be landing in North Africa A3 or A4. I know from my experience that Britain can virtually obliterate the Italians capabilities to resist them.

@simon33 You would consider G3 Barbarossa too late then?

Im seeing quite a few recommendations of a 1st turn purchase of an aircraft carrier and destroyer even if just to bluff a sea lion. Doesn’t this leave you with a very thin 2nd wave for Barbarossa on G2? Has anybody had a successful Barbarossa with a G1 fleet purchase?

@weddingsinger Sound advice, so I’ll put you down as a no for infantry purchases? I find that my infantry screen has been melted away by Bryansk and Smolensk, and the Russians get to trade infantry for mechs and tanks in the final battles. This is especially true if I divert some troops to the Balkans. My vision is to have a stack of 30 infantry attacking Moscow with Air support. This would prevent the heavy ipc damage of losing a stack of tanks and having little left after Moscow.