Posts made by thespaceman

Hi all,

If G1 is taking out your Sz 2, 1 sub, 1 ftr, 1 bmb vs. 1 trn, 1 sub, 1 bb (10 vs. 7).

This actually seems like a pretty low odds move by Germany.
Cobat round 1 They are probably going to loose 1-2 units and UK can absorb 1st round hits on the BB and Russian Sub or tranny.

Round 2 They will probably start losing planes

Overall I would expect either mutal elimination or UK wins with BB surviving. In that situation UK has options to join up with canadian tranny and turn 1 purchases (CV + tranny). Also deploying German units in this manner improves the odds for further success for UK in the Med.

That means UK gets 4 units into Finland on turn 2

It would be easy for the Allies to block off the exit to the Med with 1 suicide unit, then bomb the subs with their airforce, remember the subs can’t fire at air so its a free shot.

It’s usually much better to build land units

Agreed. With 4 or more inf in UKR the Germans are in the stronger position. The question is what is the best strategy for the Russians.

Option 1. Take/strafe UKR with Everything in CAU and KAR. This could slow the Germans down for a turn but the downside is the potential loss of all Russian armour.

Option 2. Hold KAR with everything. This leaves CAU open as a walk in and the Russians will probably lose everything to a concentrated German Attack on round 1.

Option 3. Retreat to Moscow. Gather the Russian forces for a turn 2 or 3 counterattack. The downside is that it leaves 6 easy IPC gains for Germany on turn 1 (KAR and CAU)

Consider the following.

R1 Evac all forces to Moscow 4 INF KAR +5 INF CAU +3 INF RUS
R1 Build 8 INF
R2 Build 8 INF + 2 more from the East = 30 INF + 3 ARM + 2 FTR + 2 UK FTR in moscow

Even if the Germans throw everything at it on G2 that’s only about 20 inf 10 arm + planes (assuming about 7-8 extra INF bid in UKR). The Russians should be able to hold. If the Germans do throw everything at it then the rest of europe should be ripe for the picking by UK /US

Then it’s up to the allies to come in via FIN or through Africa to stop the Germans getting too many free points

With an overwhelming german force in UKR a russian withdrawal into russia could work. Then the allies could land UK/US forces in FIN for a turn 2-3 strafe/assault on the German Karelia forces.

Only problem is Germany picks up easy dollars for Kar and caucasus and can even blitz armour down to PER/SYR

Hi

Sounds like the loss of those transports is really going to hurt the most. You will be only getting 6 INF ashore per turn instead of 12. This is going to make it hard for the Japs to make headway.

Also sounds like Germany is pretty bottled up by large allied forces in Africa and more on the way.

Here’s what I’d do.

Priority 1.
Kick the US and UK out of Asia. The last thing you want in more UK and US forces popping up in central asia. Use your offensive power to clear India and Sianking ASAP.

Priority 2
Sink every allied transport you can. This will hopefully stem the flow of men to Africa. If you can’t effectively sink them try bluffing. The allies may go cautious for a few turns.

Priority 3.
Rebuild Jap attrition loss capability. Either more TRNs or ICs would work. You need 10+ JAP INF per turn landing in Asia to match the Allied production.

As a last gamble try hitting the Russians hard with Germany and following up with an aggressive move against Russia by Japan on the same turn could swing the economy enough to put Russia down enough for some breathing space. If you have captures SINK and MANCH then there are 4 territories you can grab in a turn. That would be a 16 point swing in ane swoop. Russia will then need to decide whether to retake its Eastern territories or go after germany.

Overall though it sounds like those opening moves have really hurt Japan so it will take some really good turns to get back on track. There was nothing really wrong with your opening strategy, although I’m a bit unsure about the suicide transport? A turn 2-3 fighter purchase would make more sense in order to keep pressure on the allied Atlantic shipping.

Also the 2 Hit BB definitely favours the Allies. The Atalntic convoy system will relly enjoy the extra protection from the 3 Allied Battle ships. The Axis really only gain from the Italian BB which doesn’t really impact the game to the same extent. I would argue for an additional German BB as compensation for this rule. Then you can replay the famous “sink the Bismark battle”

Could you clarify this point for me?

When you talk about Power Europe and Power Asia etc, are these official terms or just game players jarge.

Eg Do you have to place the units in specific locations? or is the axis player basically free to put them wherever they like.

I would respond by kicking your behind. Wanna play?

Sure, do you mean face to face or online?

The northern prong is too easy, and also is a direct assault on Russian Income (helping both Germany AND Japan) to ignore it.

How would you respond to R-T1: Russia stacks 7 INF + ARM in YAK. (if Russia Restricted is in play)?

Hi again.

I played a few games to refine the strategy a bit and think that the following timeline is achievable.

T1 Japs take China and Sianking, reinforce Manch and Burma.

T2 Japs take India (possibly SFE)

T3 Japs take SFE, YAK, NOV,KAZ,PER,SYR, Probably all with 1-2 INF in each. Syria/Persia would need a TNK to blitz

Basically it requires an additional 2 INF placed in burma as a bid strategy. Also a heavy AIR commitment is needed to finish battles quickly.

Even though the T3 push is weak Russia woud need 12 INF min to retake these territories. This would weaken their Western front to the point that Germany could be able to push through Caucasus to link up in Syria.

I think a UK/US landing in Alg on rd 2, and then a follow-up in rd 3 should be enough to win back most if not all of Africa, and many times a second landing isn’t even needed on rd 3.

This is the key to the games final outcome. If neither side commits a stupid error and looses a capital it becomes a game of economic and attrition. It’s very difficult for Germany to sustain an African Campaign or any other offensive quest for extra IPCs. That’s why a Quick move by Jap to target undefended zones between T3 and T5 can swing the balance in the axis favour. Japan could even develop it’s own Shuck Shuck from India to Italian East Africa.

Hi, Thanks for reply,

2. You can’t leave Pearl alone! It will bite you in the atlantic or it will start annoy Japan in the pacific, either way you are in deep trouble.

Yes, agreed , Pearl Harbour attack is a no-brainer, I should have mentioned it earlier. I would send enough forces to ensure the survival of the BBs and CV, the sub and FTR are attrition losses.

1. The attack on china, it can’t be poorly defended, because USA didn’t have time to move their pieces! If you don’t take out China with sufficient forces or leave it all alone you might get stuck with an USA IC on Sinkang. It will get you nowhere near Moscow in the near future…

What I meant was the possibility of the Brits attacking Burma (and losing) or sending their INF into Africa and India being weakly defended. If India is weak then an all out push could Knock UK and US out of Asis by JT1 or JT2 (depending on opening placement of bid items)
or if  USSR/UK sending reinforcements into INDIA China eg FTRs from russia or INF from africa. Then a more defensive stance is needed until JAP has sufficient INF reserves to take and hold any gains against counter attack.

Obviously If territories in SE Asia can be taken on J-T1 then the Jap player should be more aggressive and even go all out to gain as many territories as possible. But If the Allies have piled up reserves and are in a strong counter attack position then if the Japs are too aggressive they might not be able to hold any gains.

1. In your territory summary is no Russian territory at all! You want exactly those territories!!! Each IPC less for the Russian player is less infantry!

Obvioulsy There is potential Russian Territory that can be take but they can also shuttle enough troops acroos from Russia to stall a direct northern advance. This is why I am suggesting the Southern route. If It is possible both can be done thus attacking through Sov Far East and up through india and into Russia itself. The classic Pincer movement.

What I wanted to demonstrate is how a strong southern push could gain income parity without any large scale invasion of Russia. Let Russia build its INF and hold its central territories while Germany and Japan carve up the Brits strung out holdings.

2. Don’t waste your time island hopping! You want Russian Heartlands! Islands are worth less IPC’s, so why bother about them! You can take them later if you have a solid troop supply comming in. Now you have nowhere near enough troops to go after islands which are worth nothing

.

I do agree that Islands are a waste of time 90% of the time but If they can be gained quickly and easily against minimal opposition then the IPC reversal will add up over time. Even the threat of having a TRN within range of Africa could cause allies to redeploy troops away from Germany.

3. A first round IC is weak, because it slows Japan enormously! Transporters are way better to funnel your infantry over to the mainland! Don’t think about a mainland IC before round 3-4! The rounds before that you can just take lands with inf and airforce! After round 3-4 you can start pump tanks on mainland IC’s. you have the income base for it and enough infantry as fodder for your precious tanks.

The difference is that the items built on the mainland are in theatre straight away. It also expands the threat radius that newly constructed troops can reach in one turn.

Also the difference between 4 TRN and and IC + 2 TRN is slight

4 TRN
8 INF = 24 IPC

2 TRN + IC
6 INF + ARM = 23 IPC

The 4 TRN is probably more efficient but the ARM in burma has more potential to blitz through undefended regions like syria once the Brits in India are gone.

Assuming by turn 2-3 JAP had about 30-33 to spend then that allows total utilisation plus another TRN per turn to be built

Hi all,

Up untill now I have been a staunch builder of transports for Japan. However After studying the map (2nd Ed) I realised that a IC in India or French Indo China- Burma might allow certain possibilities.

Assume a fairly normal game so far using Russia restricted and/or a 20-25 bid for axis.

Russia Builds huge infantry reserves and bulds a wall of infa across asia blocking any rapid JAP advance.
Germany bombs UK fleets and starts Africa creep with 1-2 INF and a FTR
UK bombs German fleet and starts bulding TRNS
US start building Atlantic fleet for Overlord or Torch landings

German expansion will come to a stop quickly as all three allied powers can concentrate on it. It is up to Japan to turn the tables by gaining territories and income as quickly as possible

Now an IC in French Indo China-Burma may allow Jap to quickly pick up large amounts of money in previously safe areas.

JAP Turn 1[

Pull the INf from Kwang into Burma to help defend, also bring across the inf from phillipines. In addition to any INF placed as part of the bid process you could end up with 8-10 INF + 1-2 FTRs / +BMR in Burma on J-T1.

Also if allies are weak then India/China/Sianking could be attacked on T1.

The Northern flank will be left deliberately weak to draw Allied forces into the coastal areas where they can be hit by Jap Battleships and fresh reserves from TRNS from Japan. So any Russian / US advance into Manch/Kwang will be immediately countered with a double /triple landing all along the East coast

T1 Japan builds IC (Burma) and 3 INF JAP (or TRN)

[color=Red]JAP Turn 2

Concentrate on the India/China/Sianking triangle and build 1 Arm, 2 INF, 1 TRN in Burma, 2-3 INF in JAP. By pooling the inf into Burma the allies will be faced with either pulling back or being smashed by 10 INF + FTRS

Also counter any allied push into MANCH,

JAP Turn 3

Japan can now do a Southern Asia creep or push into Russia or launch other attacks. The 2 trns can scoot back to Japan to pick up INF and dump into MANCH or pick up INF from BURMA or the any of the Islands to drop into undefended UK territories. eg

1. Push infantry /armour through Syria into Egypt
2. Use a transport to get to Madagascar
3. Use a transport to get to Australia
4. Use a transport to shift troops quickly into South Africa.

By turn 3-4 Jap should be able to gain the following territories

INDIA 3 IPC
CHINA 2 IPC
SIANKING 2 IPC
SYRIA 2 IPC
MADAGASCAR 1 IPC
AUS or NZ 1-3 IPC
EGYPT 2 IPC

Total  15 IPCs

This would put their production to 40 IPC at which point they would be ready to link up with a German advance on russia

What do you think?