Posts made by Spendo02

Just as a side note, I believe its better to stage Inf/Art in Paris and then the Mech/Armor/Aircraft in WGr.  I’d rather not defend against multiple bombards and a 1-2 US/UK punch, but instead eliminate any US aircraft that would support the landing from the battle.

It MAY be a net-zero effect as UK aircraft can land and defend at 4 vs eliminating US aircraft from supporting a landing, but letting BOTH US and UK aircraft land to reinforce a landing in Europe just smells like a bad idea to me.  I don’t want to think about trying to eliminate 2-4 US aircraft plus 4+ UK aircraft with ground forces protecting them.

VLV:  Purists, in general don’t want to change the overarching strategy of the game outside of adding a unit here, changing a NO there.  They strive for simply balance so each side has a fair opportunity to win the game.  Some of your rules may imbalance that simplicity equilibrium and add even more layers to the strategy of the game - something a purist may claim “diverges too much from the original game”.

I, however, rather enjoy added layers of intricate strategy  :-D

I just don’t think denying the US 1 minor IC is worth the 10 IPC you’d lose from it over 4 rounds of controlling it as Germany.

Particularly when you consider the fact that assuming the French Ftr does not scramble, the French have 1 Inf, 1 Art, 1 Ftr to attack Paris, Holland or S.France and you’re going to have to maintain a force to protect all 3 in Paris from G2 forward.

Now by adding 2 Inf, 2 Art to the G1 Paris attack you may save yourself 2-3 Inf, but on G2 you’re going to have to divert some IPC in order to ensure you can effectively remove any Allied advances AND defend Paris at the same time.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have 2 more IPC / round for 4 rounds, and have the freedom to move more units towards Moscow than trying to game the US out of a minor IC - which generally they can take if they want it.

Granted, you may lure the US into spending more in the Atlantic than it intended to - and this strategy MAY work well in conjunction with a G1 advance into Russia and a J1 DOW.  Now the US really has to decide of the opening in Europe is worth moving on.

Q. What happens if Japan attacks a Mongolian territory in the same turn that it attacks a Soviet- controlled territory that is adjacent to a Mongolian territory?
A. All of the other strict neutral territories will immediately become pro-Allies, and all of the Mongolian territories that are not captured by Japan will become controlled by the Soviet Union at the end of Japan’s Conduct Combat phase.

All of the strict neutrals on the Pacific map, or all of them on the Global board?

I would enjoy playing with your house rules, particularly based on the layer of immersion it provides.  I know some purists may not like some or all of the rules for a multitude of reasons, but that added layer of depth (such as the commanders) surely makes for a more intriguing game from my perspective.

I also wouldn’t mind a Banzai opportunity for Japanese units on an island facing an Amphib.  Not sure how to implement it, but something along the lines of after the first round of combat if the Japanese are outnumbered in units 2-1 on the island, the Japanese can opt to Banzai where the units are reversed in the battleboard and Japanese units get a -1 to their rolls for that single round of combat.

In the OP’s case describing their Sea Lion, those TT will have to retreat outside of the protection of that Italian Navy.

This doesn’t spell complete doom for them, but from my experience if you have to retreat TT, chances are those same scrambling aircraft will target them in a counter attack as you’ve lost what ships you had in attempting to make a landing in the first place.

Granted in this situation its entirely possible to retreat those TT back to SZ112 which could at least have a scramble and potentially ships placed there that were purchased to defend those TT you retreated.  I wouldn’t bank on that though, because if you are all-in on a Sea Lion you’d have to expect the purchase to consist of units to defend Berlin from Russia as you’d be relying on the Italian Navy to defend them in SZ110.

The more interesting question is why Sea Lion is occurring at all if Italy has a the Navy as described.  Italy cannot even build a CV until I2, meaning the earliest it can even arrive in SZ110 is I4 (I2 to place, I3 to move to Gib, I4 to get in position).  That means Germany is doing a G5 Sea Lion?  What happened in Russia to make this a consideration at this point in the game?  Did Germany really sit on 10 TT for multiple rounds and not get attacked by the UK for being in SZ112 or not get attacked in SZ113 by the Russians for 2 rounds?

Food for thought anyways.

Unfortunately, much of the Italian strategy is predicated on what has occurred with the UK in the Med.  They get to drive that battleground in the first round with multiple options (retreat behind the Suez, attacking your BB fleet, attack your DD off of Africa and NCM to the French fleet, land in Greece just to name a few).

In general I do the following:

Buy a DD, save 2 IPC
Clean up Yugo after a German strafe for +2 IPC with an amphib with my surviving TT or two plus the units in Albania
Take S.France with 2 Inf, 2 Art for +3 IPC.
Take Kenya and join my units from Ethiopia and Somalia in Africa for +1 IPC.
Take Tunisia with my units from Libya and blitz forward the Mech and Armor from Tobruk for +1 IPC.
Lobby with the German player to allow you to take Bulgaria.

Things I MAY do:
Fly 2 Ftr, 1 Bomber and a SS and DD to kill the French Fleet off of S.France (if not, they get to convoy your territory at the end of your turn).  This is mostly predicated on what happened with the UK fleet - basically if they retreated, this is why I’d make this move.

If the UK fleet exists anywhere in the Med, I send all remaining ships and my air force against it to sink it.  The single most devastating thing for Italy is to allow an Allied fleet to exist in the Med.  Reason?  Convoy.  The second you lose control of the Med, you get convoyed out of the game.  Sink as many Allied ships as possible, as they are multiple turns from getting any naval reinforcements that weren’t already on the board to start the game.

Germany may be able to help clean up anything that remains depending if they are going for Moscow or London to start - just preserve your Bomber if things go sour as you’ll need it to SBR Gibraltar to deactivate the NB for when the US gets into the war.

Depending on how things go, you could end turn 1 much as 23 IPC if you gained control of the Med, with 18 IPC being a more likely outcome.

Italy 2 is even HARDER to project with so many variables, but my goal is generally to get a CV out to allow me to project force across the Med by being able to defend my Navy with 2 Ftr and a CV.  This is a best case scenario, but as early as I3 you could have a DD, CV and 2 Ftr to maintain control of the Med with no more allied warships but DD sneaking up from S.Africa.

If things go well you MAY have an opportunity to get Gibraltar on I2.  However, I’d recommend lobbying Germany to allow you to take Bulgaria on that first round so that you can take Greece on Italy Round 2 with a combination of Inf/Armor from Yugo, 2 Ftr and a Bomber and the Inf from Bulgaria AND NOT EMPTY ROME OF A GARRISON TO DO IT.  It will set you up nicely to have a CV, DD, 2 Ftr and any remaining warships you started with to strike out for Gibraltar on Italy Round 3 to shut the Med off from any UK reinforcements (which usually means either ships or Armor are coming up from S.Africa if Germany didn’t Sea Lion).  It also opens up more options for Italy in North Africa and the Middle East because you’ll have more infantry to support your advances (think free units in Iraq)

In summary:

Sink the Allied fleets by either letting them attack you (better) or you attacking them (worse, but required).  Plan for losses of your ships and spend your early rounds replacing them the best you can.  Project your power while setting up free IPC via NO’s (clear med, 4 points, N.Africa - in that order). Lobby Germany to let you take Bulgaria, or at worst fly a Ftr and Tac down to S.Italy on G1 and scramble them before your own if the UK attacks.

Good luck - Italy can get big fast, but is VERY susceptible to getting diced early.

With the exception of Ftr/Tac, you can basically bet that in a single round each unit cannot be used more than once to move itself or anything else.

In example, the Italians could land their 2 Ftr on a German Carrier on Turn X.  On German Turn X+1, Germany could move that carrier 3 spaces from a NB, and then the Italian’s Turn X+1 could fly those ftr 4 more spaces, effectively moving their ftr 7 spaces in a single round.

You could take it to a further extreme and fly ftr from Japan to the SZ off of DNG and land on a CV there.  The US could sink that CV with just subs, and those ftr could fly 4 more spaces (effectively 9 total spaces) to land on New South Wales or even Burma if you wanted them to.

Its a bit gamey, but it does work.

Attacks on the Neutrals by the Axis generally don’t occur until you’ve secured a front which generally means Moscow has fallen and you’re driving for Cairo.

Taking Spain assists in this as if you eliminate the NB in Gib (or at least force a fight in Spain/Gib), the Allies cannot advance into the Med without controlling it.  This neuters the Allied 1-2 punch to some extent because you won’t have both British and American units shucking through on the same turn.  In some cases you can even “trap” Allied ships in the Med if they attempt to shuck through by snagging Gib after they have moved in.

As stated, once you’ve made the move on the neutrals, Germany loses that Swedish Ore NO - but at that point you’ve more than made up for it in IPC resources by securing Russia - making it a semi moot point.

All in all for the Axis, the neutral move appears to me to be a late game move to hinder Allied support towards Cairo.

Granted, Italy can simply fly SBR missions from S.France to keep the NB inactive for American use - but ultimately as the Axis you want to control Gib in order to protect Rome from Allied invasions.  The neutral move is basically the most efficient way to accomplish both objectives of denying the NB and protecting Rome.

@Cmdr:

Other that that, I am wondering what the point is on taking India with Germany.  Other than the “cool…” factor of course.

I didn’t see the time frame that Germany intends to take India, but I would surmise that its a ploy to allow Japan to fry other fish in the Pacific for an Axis win in the Pacific?

Although if the German Air Force is anywhere other than in Europe I’d presume the US would make full investments into the Pacific to prevent the Axis win in the Pacific.

@manincellv:

So Germany, or in any case any nation would have to defend its own transports with its own fleet. � Interesting. �

Reality would indicate that Allied ships could support an amphibious landing by the other nation and would. � In this case the Germans must of landed down the coast to where the Italians parked their navy to support it and were destroyed by UK fighter who knew exactly where the Germans were landing. � Larry slipped up there on the rules. �

Allied and Axis units DEFEND together (provided the nations in question are at war with the attacker).  In the special case of Amphib’s, you are still considered the aggressor even though it “feels” like you’re defending your landing, so in the case mentioned by the OP, those Italian ships just sit and watch the Krauts sink.

Germany takes Spain and now threatens to keep the Allies from using the NB in Gibraltar.  The Axis can blitz up to 6 Armor from S.France / Normandy into Gibraltar.

It forces the Allies to fight for Spain to prevent this and protect their valuable NB in Gib.  Now, there are 3 minors within range of Spain (France, S.France, Normandy) allowing Germany to continually pump units into a new battleground instead of trying to defend the multitude of locations if the Allies have an invasion force stationed off of Gib.

That is why taking a true neutral becomes important.  Its not the perfect option, but its important from the perspective of keeping the Allies off of Gib and threatening Rome, which in effect forces the Allies into the North Atlantic or into fighting over Spain instead of Normandy and West Germany.

Turkey is another good option as it allows the Axis quick access to the more valuable southern territories.  Actually the best option is to strike at both Spain and Turkey at the same time, creating all sorts of havoc in places the Allies most likely did not prepare for.

Pray the Italians were smart enough to SBR the UK’s AB before that happens, otherwise theres a bunch of dead Krauts in the English Channel.

I think the best advice you can give a new player is to not get discouraged because the rules and strategies are complex.

If they are entirely unfamiliar with Axis and Allies, I would recommend playing one of the simpler versions to minimize the learning curve for the Global Version later.  A strong understanding of why protecting Armor/Aircraft with Infantry/Mech is much easier to grasp in a game that takes 3 hours versus one that you invest 6 hours into and find out the hard way and lose the game because of it.

I’d employ a recommendation strategy to them if you observe them doing something very obviously wrong such as buying 4 bombers on G1 with the idea they want to start flattening London from the get-go.

You want to remain competitive, but perhaps giving them a “simpler” country (or countries) to manage on the first game through such as running China, Anzac and India may help them learn the rules without the added pressure of driving the game if they play as Germany or Japan - or equally so in countering the Axis as the US.

When I showed my brother the Europe stand-alone version of global, he was rather miffed with the naval bases, air bases, joint attack bonuses from Armor/Ftr paired with Tacs, and US not being in the war for 3 turns, etc.  I ended up giving him a recommendation of how I’d play Germany on the first two, or three rounds at a high level:

1. Crush Paris first without using any aircraft, sink as much of the British navy as possible and buy units you’ll need to keep the UK and the US off your back while you march on Moscow.
2. Attack or stage to attack Moscow, buy units that will make it to the front line in time to reinforce your armor, and support Italy with aircraft.
3. Shore up your defenses and keep the pressure on Moscow with purchases that can get to the front line to replace losses as you advance.

Those three tips helped him formulate a strategy while he learned some of the finer things such as manipulating AB’s, NB’s and combining units to good effect.  Unfortunately he took all my advice to buying max armor every round and driving straight for Moscow from G1 forward.  Proved to be interesting for 5 rounds until he couldn’t keep the Allies off of France and lost his armor stack attacking Moscow.  Lesson learned though, I suppose.

A second TT in the Med for the UK creates all sorts of problems for Italy.

4 units arriving in Greece is not a favorable situation for Italy.

Nor is the UK spending 6 or 7 IPC a round in S.Africa utilizing that TT plus the starting one to ferry units to Cairo.

For 14 IPC you can get yourself 1 Inf, 1 Art and 1 TT in S.Africa.  You probably don’t want to employ this until Germany makes it clear that Sea Lion is not going to happen, but it can happen as early as UK2, which means UK3 you can land that in S.Africa (or anywhere on the non-Atlantic side of Africa to include Iraq!??!).  Or you could stage it in the Atlantic to reinforce Gib or stage to threaten Italy as early as UK5 (2 purchase, 3 and 4 to outside Gib, then either 1-2 punch Denmark for a US move to Berlin or head into the Med).  Of course, you can speed this up with purchases off Canada, but that requires you eliminate German SS from the Atlantic in that first round of combat in SZ106 (I think thats the SZ) which is far from a certain battle.

In either case, you can’t rely on those TT if you don’t have ships to protect them, which falls directly into my purpose of evacuating the Med early in order to threaten Italy where it has to make a choice to go after Egypt and be multiple turns from reinforcement or protecting Rome/S.France).

That being said, Italy’s best move is to harass Russia with can-openers and reinforce Europe from Allied invasions or to ignore advances for NO’s and continue to build a fleet to make it difficult for the Allies to advance into the Med.  At best, with Italy I’d ignore Egypt unless it was handed to me because its too expensive to take and hold.  Only in Global is it realistic for Italy to take and hold Egypt, which requires Japan’s relentless advance in the Pacific to rival the US IPC income and force the US hand to spend in the Pacific - which is moot in a Europe only game.

Cruisers are the units to purchase for bombardment purposes where you have limited units for the landing and wish to preserve them AND you have excess IPC to spend that will be relevant in the upcoming turns for planned landings.

In example, the Philippines for Japan where your aircraft are elsewhere harassing China and you wish to land 4 units.  An additional CR may make it so you have 3 surviving units instead of two to face that last Inf or Ftr.  Those units will be useful in continuing forward into the DEI instead of having to choose between leaving Flip empty or not.  Which makes the use of CR in that attack more valuable than fleet screens elsewhere.

Outside of that purpose, DD are better options for fleet screens, CV for projecting power and BB for a backbone to naval fleets.  Italy is a very good example of a reason to purchase CR to take places like Morocco or similar where you’ll be landing 2 ground units against the French Inf there and you cannot bring more die rolls on the next turn outside of purchasing a CR that turn.  Granted, Italy probably doesn’t have that luxury, but the purpose behind the purchase is valid assuming there is excess IPC available.

As far as I understand, once France goes (the last in the round) if either the Axis or Allies have achieved a VC victory at that point - then the game is decided.

Yup, thats the premise of it.  I don’t see a reason to sacrifice ships that you’ll have to replace in order to make European landings in rounds 5-7 in order to deny Italy some IPC via NO’s early. Because lets be honest, once the Allies are in the Med, its game over for Italy’s expansion.

To further that, I don’t care for taking dicey rolls (no pun intended) on 60-40 win scenarios based on a single die or two rolling in your favor.  Considering the game takes multiple turns to develop, sacrificing so much hardware early seems counter productive to a long-term view of the game.

UK SHOULD abandon Africa early, let Italy take the Med and lose units getting Greece and Egypt to get two NO’s.

During that time, move your fleet around the horn of Africa and build maybe 1 SS a round out of S.Africa and/or Canada.  At the same time, stack up on Gibraltar with your aircraft.  Only Germany could open up Gibraltar for Italy at that point.  You can always reinforce Egypt with the aircraft out of India if you want to make it annoying for Italy to take Egypt.

By the time your ships make it to outside of Gibraltar by sailing around the horn, you should have enough subs, reinforced by both your American friends and your own ships to move into the Med, deny Italy its NO and put into force the convoy on Italy to shut her down by round 4-5.

Just my two cents.