Posts made by Trig

@jbuckbuddy
I believe that Free France would then be “France”, and thus not attackable. However, the Germans could take Paris, remaking “Free France” and then the Vichy could attack Aquitaine in the next turn, (assuming it was Aliied) as it would be Free French.

@noneshallpass
But it is not.
Examine the wording-
“These are made at an Attack of 7 with target selection vs. surface ships of “1-2” and have First Strike.”
The prepositional phrase “versus surface ships” is nestled between the phrase “with target selection” and " of 1 to 2." Those obviously go together, so by basic English sentence structure, the first phrase modifies “target selection.”
There is no reference to surface ships in the rest of the section.
In 0.1 (page 2) it says that any game-specific terms are capitalized. “Attack” is capitalized. Thus we use the definition of “Attack” found in 0.9. This just says that attack refers to the player taking a turn and their actions.

Therefore, one may conclude that there is no restrictions on the “attack” the Kamikaze may make, only the standard rules of combat movement.

@insanehoshi Great Idea! The only danger is Vichy capturing Normandy. It could attack your ships nearby, but that is not that bad.

@jbuckbuddy Maybe, but every planes the Vichy gets then has to be killed by you, when it could have been killed by the Germans. Even that Medium bomber is a risk.

@jbuckbuddy Do remember that is takes 3 Target selects to sink that thing. It will dent it, but I prefer to use my target selects against juicy cruisers instead, where I take off 6 or 7 pips instead of 2.

Can you Kamikaze subs?

On Japan’s NRS- "Beginning as soon as USA reaches Wartime Income, Japan may make up to 2 kamikaze Attacks per Calendar turn to a game total of 6. These are made at an Attack of 7 with target selection vs. surface ships of “1-2” and have First Strike. No fighter is required or expended for these Attacks. Kamikaze Attacks may be made from Home Country and have a range of 4. Kamikazes may also be used when Japan is the Defender in a sea zone adjacent to Japan or Okinawa or during the Shore Bombardment phase of an amphibious assault."

To me the most important part is this-
“These are made at an Attack of 7 with target selection vs. surface ships of “1-2” and have First Strike.”
This seems to say that it is an “attack” with no restrictions on what they hit, but they have a TS aginst surface ships. They only restriction I see is that when used in defense, they must be used adjacent to Japan or Okinawa. This means that you could Kamikaze subs, land units, or even planes. (at least when attacking)
Is this correct? Compare with G40-
"The Japanese player has the ability to make a special defensive strike against Allied surface warships. Japan is allowed to make 6 kamikaze strikes during the game. These strikes can be made only in sea zones that contain the Kamikaze symbol: those surrounding Japan, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Formosa, Marianas, and Philippines. If an Allied player attacks Japanese units in or declares an amphibious assault from one of these sea zones, the Japanese player can announce at the beginning of this phase that he or she intends to launch one or more kamikaze strikes in that sea zone. They are resolved before any combat begins.
The Japanese player must declare how many kamikaze strikes will be made, in which sea zone(s) they will be used, and which enemy ship will be struck by each kamikaze before any dice are rolled. For each declared strike, 1 Kamikaze token must be spent (no actual air unit is involved) and will be removed from the game after the strike is resolved. A kamikaze strike can target any specific enemy surface warship (not a submarine or transport) belonging to the attacking power. More than one kamikaze strike can be made against the same ship. Kamikaze strikes hit on an attack roll of 2 or less. If a hit is scored, it must be applied to the chosen unit. Surface warships that are destroyed by a kamikaze strike (capital ships still take 2 hits) are immediately removed and will not participate in the subsequent battle. A kamikaze strike prevents offshore bombardment supporting an amphibious assault in that sea zone, whether or not the strike is successful (place the used Kamikaze token in the sea zone until you resolve the amphibious assault to remind you that the ships may not bombard).
A bit wordy, but it specifically mentions surface warships.

So what is it? Can you hit anything with a Kamikaze? That is what it seems to say, but that seems contradictory with history.

-Trig

@noneshallpass You will always be able to get you units back in time, unless Germany attacks extremely early. Just use strategic naval move and a militia upgrade.
As for the not hitting Germans, yes the Germans go in less easily, but if you plan it out you can still force the most casualties. I don’t like the risk, to me it is better to have a slower build up with no oposition than the risk of a runaway Vichy and no buildup at all.

@noneshallpass Yes, that was my thought. Not that it is useful. I was somewhat hoping to be able to rail the hordes of Chinese militia.

It may seem obvious, but can you rail militia? It says in 10.4 that “Air and Land units may noncombat move along rail lines any distance.” Would this apply to militia? They are land units, but with a move of one (mostly) they cannot noncombat move.

The French have a unique lot in any WWII game. Damage control. They will almost always fall, and thus their job is twofold- maximize German casualties, and strike back afterwards. In v3, which the new rules for Vichy, a 3rd is added, defend the empire aginst the Vichy.

The prevailing philosophy among most players is that some form of backup is need. Whether that be a small force in Algeria or Cameroon, or support for Abyssinia, there is almost always a cache of units that attempt to roll Free French so the French have an army.

The inherent problem with that is twofold. One, you are gambling. You are hoping that you roll and get those units on the Vichy rolls. This is a 50% chance, so mathematical half of those units will go Vichy and fight you. That isn’t that great. Even if Abyssinia is used, you still have to win the war, which is hard. Another problem is that you are draining resources from France itself, thus reducing the German casualties. No matter what, it seems something is sacrificed.

But is it? What if you do the unthinkable- empty everything into France. In that case, all forces you own, all you build, and even a militia upgrade for the one in Syria., goes to France. This means that nothing is left in the colonies. I’m not going to talk about where these go inside France, but I will assume you position them ideally. I think that is the ideal French plan. By its very nature it maximes German casualties. Secondly, due to leaving nothing for the Vichy to get, there is no danger of a early breakout in Africa. The only danger from Vichy is in the form of a transport. Hopefully you will have ships to stop that. Finally, you say, there is no French to use now! How will we strike back? By using your greatest advantage. Production. The Vichy cannot build anything, and only receive one lend lease per turn. They get a recruitmentroll, but it is at 2, and that mean you can expect an infantry once every 6 turns, or about 2 per game. Meanwhile, Free France can build, as well as receive at least 2 items of lend-lease, 3 if the Soviets are nice. This allows you to quickly build up a force and attack the undefend areas of Vichy. This then gives more money and allows a faster conquest.

In short, I believe that emptying the colonies and going all out in defense of France is the best tactic for France to empoy. It limits the Vichy options at no risk, maximies German casualties, and still allows for a quick buildup and counterstrike using lend-lease.

@hbg-gw-enthusiast
It appears that has been changed in the Errata.

@captainnapalm It was not historically accurate. When would someone attack a area and not hold it? That would be cowardice, and no military man is going to be a coward. Sure you could, but your generals wouldn’t do it.

@captainnapalm I believe that you are right according to the “tells you what you can do, not what you can’t” principle. I also see no option to blitz to a friendly territory. It is a great tactical option, but doesn’t make much sense from a historical perspective, you were never going to go size land and then turn around and leave it, only go forwards.

@sjelso A great example of militia use is the Current YouTube game of Operation Winter Solace. They are useful as a quick reinforcement in a threatened zone.

According to the rules on page 8 (1.7) - “If the roundel in a land zone is located in a terrain type, the entire land zone is subject to the rules for that terrain type.”
The roundel in Western Australia is in the Impassable desert of the Outback. Does this mean that the entire territory is impassable? That could change a lot.

@sjelso I would assume so, on page 35 in section 8.7 it says “Maritime air patrol is a form of combat movement for aircraft.”
Thus I would assume all aircraft can go on MAP. It is realistic, as strategic bombers like the B-17 did patrol sea areas, such as the Solomons.

@manincellv Wrong, a sub may submerge or roll. However, it gets to wait to see if IT is hit before it decides. If the sub gets hit it obviously is no submerging and is taking its final shot.

@hbg-gw-enthusiast
You are welcome. I love the diversity in this game and the depth that gives. It makes it far better than A&A.

@hbg-gw-enthusiast
According to the reference sheet:
TIGER 1E
(HEAVY ARMOR)
8 7 2 8 Blitz, Target selection “1-3”
(vehicle class)
I take this to mean that all Heavy Armor Germany builds is the Tiger 1E. Thus all of then have TS 1-3, which is the only difference between a Tiger and normal Heavy Armor.

@sjelso No, once they become a major power they are always a major power.