I can’t seem to find the answer to this question anywhere.
I seem to remember the defender being allowed to destroy his/her industrial complex at the beginning of a battle to prevent it from falling into the attackers hands. Is this still allowed? I am assuming no since I can find it no where in the rules or FAQ.
Now then, back to the topic, which happens to be eliminating Italy.
Italy’s primary defense is obviously Germany. Britain can’t effectively hit them quickly because the third reich is right smack in between them. Pushing into the Mediterranean will be difficult because of the Italian fleet, which will survive past the first turn if you are playing an experienced player. What can be done about the Italian Navy then?
I intend to focus the US war effort on Japan, so that leaves Italy as Britains problem. My opponents tend to eliminate most of my navy on turn one, so I will have to start from scratch in that department. Aircraft are cheaper than ships though, and have longer striking range. Would a strong air force be Britians best bet at knocking out Italy?
Alright, so I played my first game of the new A&A50th last Wednesday, and will be playing another this coming Wednesday. I played as the allies the first time, and my friend was the axis. The game ended in what was clearly a draw. Here’s what I noticed about my first game.
Russia is slightly stronger, and can hold their own against Germany for some time. I built a mix of infantry, artillery and armor to counter Germany’s attacks. Not much change from Russia’s old strategies, but it was effective in forming a Eastern front stalemate. Eventually though, I could see that Russia was going to be overrun as my overall unit count was dwindling and the Germans was increasing.
Britain is immensely stronger and can split their attention to put pressure on japan and still harass the Germans and Italians. I built an IC in India on turn one (after making sure they would not be able to bring enough forces to take it amphibiously) to send tanks against the Japanese, and built a navy to neutralize Italy.
USA can swiftly gain naval superiority, which is much more important than in previous versions. I built pretty much nothing but navy for the first three turns which diverted Japanese income and forced Italy’s navy to flee down to the arctic.
Germany is still very dangerous, but they aren’t the powerhouse to start off that they where in previous versions. Germany makes gradual gains in the beginning though that add up, and make them into a powerhouse. They cannot be ignored as they will eventually destroy Russia, but they also cannot be tackled early in the game.
Italy is so weak that its almost laughable, but they can take a whole front away from Germany so that the Germans can send their troops elsewhere. The Italians can easily overwhelm the British presence in Africa in just a few turns if they focus their attention on it, and their navy is quite formidable. Italy should not be overlooked, but they are obviously the weakest axis power, and therefore their destruction should be the first allied priority.
Japan is the true powerhouse of A&A50th. Japan starts very weak financially, but they can make rapid gains which hurt the U.S. a bit, but severely injure Britain. Japan can overrun all of Asia if the allies let them, which is why Japan should be the top American priority, with Britain pitching in a few units.
Now, here’s how I think I am going to operate in my next game. As General Eisenhower said though, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.
Russia is of course, going to focus on defending against Germany. The Inf/Art/Tan builds seem to work best. This will change every turn, depending on how aggressive or defensive I think I need to be. Survival is Russia’s objective.
Britain is going to split its attention. Is going to once again split its attention. I will build an IC in either India or Australia to help fight japan, but most of my money will be going towards navy and air force in the Atlantic to knock out Italy. Germany will be harassed if the opportunity arises, but no large attacks will be made.
USA is going to focus completely on hitting Japan. An Island hoping campaign will work nicely I believe, as well as force Japan to build naval forces instead of land units to fight in Asia. My first objectives will be to secure the Philippines, and a Japanese home island so that I can get the extra income in the national bonuses, and detract from Japan’s.
Thoughts on this battle plan?