Posts made by Starlight Sniper

Thanks for the ideas so far. When completed, I’ll be posting it in the custom game section of the website.

-  For re-enforcements the Russians come in Via the Volga on one side. The Germans via the countryside on the other side of  the map. I was considering upping the number of units to 10, all depending on the final unit counts.

-  The map does contain actual realistic parts of the city. But for ease-of-game aspects, some of it will be fictitious. I’m a fan of keeping as much historical accuracy in the game as possible. Trying to educate as well as entertain.

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

I’m currently in the works making a home-made  D-Day style game (10 turns, 8 units max, fortune/order/tactics, etc etc.)

Seeking suggestions from those knowledgeable folks who play D-Day (like myslef). I’ve already come up with a few pages of ideas and have a work in progress, but you never know who is going to have the best idea until you ask. It’s not a game I’m making for profit, just something for the boys and I to play on the weekends.

Thanks for your assistance,

Starlight Sniper

Here’s a move not too many people see coming.  As the axis we’re going for London, but it can be hard to do for Germany on her own. So . . . .      save Normandy for the Italians, allowing a Minor I.C. to be purchased !!! 
This opens up a second front against London.
Try and get your navy out of the Med and up to the English Chanel.
Easy Blitz for a tank from your original factory to your new one eh ?,
Maybe Germany can strike the French Med fleet ??
Imagine Italy in control of London, all the extra cash, the prestige !!

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

It’s often that St. Lo gets left till the end, and I find the “works” are indeed heavily gummed up by that point. That’s why I proposed the KSF (Kill St. Lo First) Strategy.

I’m also surprised that you send a “small” force to Cherbourg.  I’ve done the same and ended up not having the force needed to take it (with the 1 round of combat deal).  With a full zone (Eight Units) plus a few extra units, it’s a tough crawl. I like to gamble on my landings at least once and land upwards of Utah Beach. I’ve posted previously posted about avoiding Omaha by gambling on the “Allies Land” card.

To Cherbourg:  I like to engage my bombers for at least 3 rounds, and make sure the “Onshore Bombardment” hits when the time is right in the Peninsula. It’s easy enough to take (IMHO) if you eliminate 65% of the defenders before you get there.  Keep Axis Re-Enforcements in mind as Germany can send tonnes of units Upwards to Cherbourg up until Turn 5 before they become redundant. When attacking that “Must Have” city of Cherbourg, employ my “Great Wall of Planes”  (see D-Day Post) to stem the tide of Axis Forces.

. . .    .  .  .   . . .

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

@Argothair:

It’s a fair point – more transports would be better. Germany starts with 2, and I’m calling for Germany to buy 2 more on turn 2. The main problem is that once you move the German navy into position to unload troops into London, any new transports you build will be undefended and vulnerable to Anglo-American air strikes. To build new transports, you probably have to skip a whole turn of dumping troops into London. My idea is to keep a steady stream of German infantry going into London from turn 3 onward so that they don’t have a chance to accumulate such a big stack – that way, starting around turn 5, you can start bringing in your air force, and maybe even get a  safe(ish) second round of dice rolls before you have to retreat.

If the Axis attack on Africa goes as planned, UK will be down to about 19 IPC by turn 4, and taking about 15 IPC per turn in Japanese bombing damage – so if you’re dropping four fully loaded transports a turn into London, you should eventually be able to overwhelm their defenses.

Still, I’m all ears if you have an idea for how to safely build more German transports – maybe if you see a decisive opportunity, you can skip your infantry buy altogether on round 5 or 6 and spend your economy on transports #5 and #6 and carrier #3.

Idea :  Your (Germany) Med Fleet should be in position to Aid in defending those Transports by G3 when they’re all up in the English Chanel and off the Belgian Coast.

1/2 the total fleet to denend the Sea Lion Transports, the other half to defend the “fresh of the warf” Transports.

Also, By J3 you should be able to land Japanese Zeros in Karelia for the aided defense (Any number of ways to get there by J3). If you have a Zero left on you East Indies Japanese Carrier then he can make it to land on a German Carrier by J2 (if you are extremely super extra lucky to have your East Indies Fleet by J1)

A Turn 1 Japanese Navy purchase out of Tokyo can assist in taking Egypt T3 and London on T6

Cheers again,
Starlight Sniper

Very thorough posting. I like the idea of getting Japanese Bombers into action against London, how rare that is !

I think it will be difficult to keep American Air out of London, even though it takes 1 extra turn to get there in this edition of A&A.

I’ve seen Japan try and threaten the U.S.A. West Coast Zones  before to little effect. It seems that 1 turn of US buys is enough to prevent several turns of Japanese invasions. Just food for thought.

I’ve successfully taken out London a few times but it’s tough. When the other Allies sniff out what’s going on, even Russia will send Fighters to aid in U.K. defense. It’s like a David Copperfield show, trying to make your enemy look to the East while you’re attacking to the West. Great post by the way, really enjoyed reading it.

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

T4 - T9

Germany - Continued to dominate Mediterranean, Pushing a stack of 12Inf, 2Art, Tank and Fighter to within 1 zone on Stalingrad.
Leningrad was held and used a launching point into Russia. Carrier assisted German navy continued to transport 6men/turn up to the icebound Leningrad. Bombing of Russia continued right up until the end, often bombing the undefended give/take factory of Volgagrad (Stalingrad). Even though Vichy, E. France and Paris were in allied hands and Russia was playing a back and forth game with territories, Germany was still collecting 50$/Turn. Things were looking bleak though, with allied armies contiuing to mass in Normandy and Italy under danger of a sneak attack from US forces. Time was running out! Stacking units 30+ deep in Berlin and 15+ in Italy, most of Eastern Europe was empty and vulnerable to Russian and MidEast British Armies.

Russia - Backing into Moscow and letting Germany stay in Leningrad was a gamble, but it paid off. The attacker had an impossible time leaving the city, because when he did I would be able to produce 8 guys there, and have all my allies land their fighters there. He had to keep the front line in my backyard. I prevented him from moving to the central zone by keeping it so he couldn’t land his Luftwaffe there. Without the fighter protection, I had enough firepower to knock him out !! Time was my ally.

United Kingdom - Germany seemed content to keep it’s navy docked outside Leningrad so I was able to use a US T1 Carrier and my fighters to set up shipping lanes into the Bay of Biscay. Landing first in Paris, Vichy and E. France I was able to get about 6$, and by T8 was poised to fight for E. Europe with my Mid-East Forces. I only landed 1 fighter in Russia and that was on T1, other than that Russia received no air support because there was nowhere to land. Scandinavia, Vyborg, Leningrad, Poland and the Baltic States were all under Axis control and most had some 88 Flack Guns. I finally flew 3 fighter from Vichy, over Flack in Italy, and on to Rumania.

United States - The U.S. footed every dollar of the Mid-East oil bill for the entire game. The T1 Carrier and a extra destroyer was enough to (With UK Navy help) stave off any attacks by the German Navy. Landings in France and Vichy meshed well with landings and movements of British Troops. Several mass Fighter purchases helped ensure British Troops in Europe were protected after moving. US and UK bombed the Schnitzel out of Germany, turn after turn until T7 when, heh heh, in one turn German Flack Towers shot down ALL allied bombers. Decimating Morale and giving the German economy a boost. At one point 1 US Inf. and Art. owed all of German North Africa. Germany was stalled.

END GAME -

• Germany was well defended but not in a position (Now or in the Future) to advance any further. Allied income was almost 2:1 and Russia was twice as strong as the force in Leningrad. The German Navy was next on the chopping block, cutting off all help to Leningrad (which can only produce 1 German unit per turn). US/UK were putting 70$ / turn into France and nothing was going to stop it.
• Germany Surrenders T9

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

"G"Germany 12$ - Transport in Baltic Sea, Gun in Finland.
“A” Allied 12$ -2Inf London 2Inf Leningrad

T1 - Germany, attacked and took Leningrad, North Sea, Celtic Sea, English Chanel,  S.O. Girbralter, Sicillian Sea, Malta, Baltic States, Bessariabia. Battle for Leningrad Begins.
T1 - Allies, Initial re-capture of Leningrad. Station UK fighter in Leningrad, US airforce in London. US Navy massing in E. U.S.

T2 -T4  <> Germany re-takes and re-looses Leningrad, Major loss of troops on both sides.  “AA” sends up Tonnes of flack and receives 5 Axis Aircraft in return. Europa Prime is left un-garrisoned and ripe for invasion, but all Axis troops are needed for the Eastern Front.

T4 - Start of T4 -
Germany has held Leningrad for the first time due to a “Positional Russian Retreat” into “Russia”. Germany has 3 tanks and can back it up with 11 more men for '2 and for the first time the remaining Luftwaffe can land in Leingrad for the defense. Desperate times await the German Army in T4.

Allied  forces (UK/US) have landed in France with good chance O’Holdin it. Shuck set up, Morocco taken, 12+ Defending in Iran.
Russia plays the next important hand deciding whether to liberate Leningrad at extreme loss (Up to 75% Total Troops but tough to re-take for 'G)    '‘OR’     assume the traditional defensive position. . . . .
“G” has invested a Tonne of resources into capturing Leningrad so it seems unlikely they will give it up at this point (T4). Only time (and the next post) will determine who emerges victorious.

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

I like  the notion of using SZ11 as a launching platform. I usually just build them on the land, not realizing the potential value of having a carrier stationed offshore. I was just checking out the map and found out another play with the SZ11 launch.
If you’re going to help out in India,  build your carrier/fighters in SZ11 (Turn 1). Fly the fighters to French Equitorial Africa (Turn2). From there it’s off to Calcutta for a Turn 3 assist.

Basically, with your idea of the Carrier assisted launch you can decide where to have your USA Fighters for Turn 3 (Moscow or India). This will be one that will get used right away.

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

I was never asked to be a judge when A&A Europe was deemed to be broken.

The Top 4 things I like about this version of A&A are:
!> 12 IPC Initial Purchase Option
2> Defensible European Shorelines
3> Importance of Leningrad
4> Fast game-play

If Leningrad is held . . . .   
T1 - 2 Allied Fighters in Russia
T2 - 5 Allied Fighters in Russia
T3 - 10 Allied Fighters in Russia
T4 - 15 Allied Fighters in Russia
This is a best case scenario of course.

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

Japan :  G.“Tiberius” T.
US/China :  Starlight Sniper
UK/ANZAC : Rust"The Juice"Justin

Turn 1 was interesting. China and the UK bolstered the Burma Road (bringing UK/Aus into the war T1). While China survived until about T7 (where it was annihilated in Yunan) the UK/Aus/US made it to the ultimate Japanese Surrender. After the allies cock-blocked the IJN from hitting India, there was only 1-2 land units available for Japan at any given time. ‘Tiberius’ seemed to halt and falter around the Mayla Peninsula and then couldn’t get the ground units needed to hit India.

When the Japanese forces started to hesistate (still had all planes) the US launched a surprise strike on IJN units stationed outside of Tokyo. The “All Sub Squad” decimated the Home Fleet. Ausstralia hadn’t been touched, India was “Safe” and the US was king of the Easters Pacific. Japan was losing Factories and Naval/Air bases across Asia.

Several factors contributed to the surrender of Japanese Forces. ‘Tiberius’ had to work in the morning, but more importantly, Japan was feeling the tide of battle swing against them.  Rust “The Juice” Justin was a superb Ally, providing Calcutta based Chinese support as well as holding Australia Proper. Moving the UK AAA was key to quagmiring the Japanese air units.Japan wasn’t out in the cold though, they had a huge, consolidated force in Central China, 90% beginning Naval Units, 90% beginning Air Units. The threats at the time of Game End (2:30 am) were minimal for Japan (2 trasnports and minimal Allied Navy) but so were the prospects for a Victory in the Pacific.

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

Major Objective : Defeat Russia
Minor Objectives : (1) Capture Leningrad (2) Defeat Enemies in Mid. East (3) Prevent Allied Support in Russia (4) Capture Moscow

(1) The capture of Leningrad does a number of things. Prevents Russian builds, denies allied air landings, focuses Russian troops North leaving the mid east weak and Stalingrad open for Blitz. Although it’s only worth 1 Deutschmark and you can only produce 1 unit there . .  .  .  It’s a great distraction for your opponents.

(2) With a minimal investment early on you can defeat the paltry force stationed on Germanys 8 Oil bucks. One extra transport (Adriatic) and some forethought and it can be yours quickly. As a bonus whatever you send there is on the way to the City on the Volga for a T5 strike.

(3) This is Key to defeating those Crusty Rustys’. If you hope to hit Moscow you can’t have British or, Heaven help you, American aircraft helping the Capital Defense. This is why Leningrad (and other Northern zones) are crucial to capture early on.

(4) Start Bombing early and do it as long as you have the capacity. If you’ve prevented allied re-inforcements you should be able to bomb Russia into the stone age. Get them down to 7 Ruples a turn and then bomb 6 of those into dust!! (If) you can capture any of the valuable Southern Russian zones the Reds will likely fall.

Thoughts ? ? ?

Starlight Sniper

I wonder what the difference is in :
Battles fought in Winter / Casualties    - VS -    Battles fought in Summer / Casualties

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

A proposed Allied strategy for Victory :

Instead of trying to capture Cherbourg and Caen first …  . . .  …  Focus all allied powers (Air, Ground, Cards) on capturing St. Lo.

My theory is that if you can capture and secure St. Lo, the Germans will have put too much of their forces into that arena and left the Peninsula and Caen weak. A few planes on the reinforcement zones near St. Lo would hamper any Axis reinforcements.
How many D-Day game have ended with the capture of St. Lo being the deciding Turn 9 factor ? ? ? Take it out of the equation by capturing it first.
Reserve a force for Cherbourg, not big, and use Bombers to eliminate Axis defenders in the way.
Once St. Lo is yours, moving East to Caen is so much easier.
8 Units/turn dropped at Omaha Beach is crucial after you’ve secured at least 1 UK beachhead.
Someone who didn’t read these posts (and other awesome posts by fellow gamers) might be surprised what some onshore bombardments and a few bomber hits can do to the Cherbourg Assault !

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

For India : The Big Hurt is coming for India, no question, every game. So how best to defend from it? ? ? ? I like to add one more AAA Gun for starters, and then add men. If you lose your airplanes in some foolhardy attack then the India defense will be a lot tougher, keep those planes alive!! There’s not to much navy that I personally would purchase, it always seems like a waste of money. If on the off chance Japan isn’t going to India (Don’t fall for a feint) then I slap on a few tanks and start rolling up the Burma Road. If somehow things are going really really well a Hong Kong factory isn’t out of the question. But for UK, capturable, valuable territories are hard to come by.

For Australia : If you can obtain your objectives early, you’ll have enough dollars to buy planes for the India Defense. A carrier in SZ57 can help this happen. You’ll be helping out the US who may come in with a swift strike force via Sydney. Don’t group your ground forces in the Capital. Your homeland defense force can hit all Australian zones from “South Australia”. Safe, Effective, Transportable.

For U.S. Northern Strategy : Alaska Factory is a must for the northern strategy to work. Your goal is going to be Korea and the destruction of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Get your objectives and deny your enemy his at the same time. Free naval/air bases are available in Caroline Islands. I use Manila as a point to cut off Japans Navy and lasso your pacific fleet up to SZ6 for the final series of battles.

For U.S. Southern Strategy : A Naval base in either Line or Johnston Islands is key. This’ll help you leap frog to Sydney and on to the D.E.I. and/or India. This is a slower stretegy but lets you get a lot more ships on the board before the battles start. An Australian naval base in West Australia or your own Naval base in Java does just as well. You can also halt at Line/Johnson Ils. and head West to take out Caroline and Keep your Phillipines army alive and ready for combat.

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

My buddy Gord played as Germany one time and loaded up each coastal zone from Picardy to Poland stacked with 14 artillery. Needless to say, Entente  coastal landings were a bit tricky.  I’m a huge fan of the artillery pre-fire.

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

I like playing as the US,
The challenge of capturing Cherbourg as well as defeating the foe near the middle city is too tempting.
It’s hard getting off the ships but with timely allied help the Reich can be stopped and a beach-head secured.

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

I must have got the rules about the unprevoked declaration mixed up.

Starlight Sniper

How’s this for a “Crush India” campaign . . .

J1 - You gotta declare war on India (and Anzac), still keeping the US out till later in the game
      Take Kwangtung and if possible the UK ships floating about.
      Set up  IJN ships around Borneo and Malaya for convoy disruption.
      Navy set up in SZ 6 & 36
      Great call on the Naval Base on Hainan Isl. Exactly where I would have put it.
      Purchase Transports for India Invasion (Use existing Trans. and North Asian forces to move to Kwangsi )

J2 - Attempt to secure Borneo, Malaya, SZ 37, 38, 39.
      Convoy Disruption in SZ 39.
      Bombing runs on Calutta
      Land forces advancing through Yunan could secure Shan State and Burma
      By now, Indias money has dried up like the Saraswati and they are ripe for Invasion.
      If you can secure “Ceylon Isl” you can purchase a T3 Naval Base to facilitate transport back to Hainan Isl.
      Purchase max trasnports and enough to fill em (include North Asian force)
      Continue the Loaded Transport Purchase until India falls. Once it does, the rest seems easy as Sushi (Pie).

J3 - Now we’re ready to continually invade India until it crumbles. Anzac and US may attempt to reload it with fighter planes via West Autralia Air Base OR    Philipines Air Base  OR  with a small amphibious force but if your IJN forces are concentrated in the Indian Theater they should be able to take out whatever the Allies can muster ( IMHO ).

I’d like to only take Anhwe, Hunan and Yunan and leave the Chinese to only 3 units per turn.
Also, I like to use the Korea, Manchuria, Japan land forces as the units for my transports. 
The J3 sudden capture of multiple Indian targets is right along with what I like to do. Single out the stranded opponent and hit em hard. In the last few years, I’ve learned to appreciate the value of crippling your enemies economy.

Best of luck in your future games,

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper

I’ve always preferred the choice of these three when it comes to transports :

1 - Three Infantry
2 - One Infantry + One Machine
3- Two Machines

Cheers,
Starlight Sniper