So, what are people using as a good overall game strategy for Italy?
I use Italy to take Egypt and help counterattack against landings in Europe.
Others use it to take Egypt and help Germany take Russia and the Middle east.
If the Battleship fleet at Taranto survives, shore up the MED and seal the suez. I usually have Italy take Bulgaria and Greece. I also do a pass at Yugo with Germany and let Italy take that her turn as well. 2 mech and 2 tanks head to Romania and Crimea to "can-open: gaps for Germany to storm in with tanks and mech. If you can seal around past syria and into the caucases to out flank the Russians, this adds the pressure and spreads the russian defences out a bit. I try and take as much of africa as I can, but try not to spnd too much time running around down there. My goal is usually to just take out the UofSA complex and call it a day. After you secure Egypt, try and buy another tranny before round 3. From the suez and Egypt, just bypass Sudan, somalia, etc and head straight for that complex. Granted, this is IF your battleship fleet survives round one. If it doens’t Italy is tough sledding.
It, obviously, depends on what goes on with the UK Navy, and outcomes from battle. I tend to try to get Italy to keep the US out of the med at all costs. This usually involves placing as many men in gibralter and then planes (in my games, Italy spend a disproportionate amount of money on planes, sub, and destroyers. As ong as the med is clear, you don’t have to worry too much (a bit though) about transports getting taken out. The germans can also add planes if they can spare them. It works alright, because the German Navy can hit anything sitting in the seazone outside of Gibralter. COnsequently, there are possibilities of both Ital and Germany hitting the US if they are unprepared, and causing huge damage to their navy (usually because they can’t take hits on their carriers because the planes can’t land anywhere (try to tkae Morrocco as weell). That being said, if the UK have transports and can take Gibralter, this all fails miserably and you can’t do nothing bu build men to try to hold Rome.
Of course, a big enough US force will smash Gibralter, so you need to balance the risk of losing your airforce on Gibralter and the oportunity ot wipe out one full load of US men). You have about four rounds to get, hopefully, 8 men and three planes to Gibralter. I often like to send a German tranny into the med by round three, so it is good if they take Morroco, and leave Gibralter to the Italians.
Definately don’t let the Suez fall into UK hands.
After that, I just try to make sure I hold Cairo (two men per turn seems to keep the mech and armor from SA at bay).
Then, whatever spare men I have, I send to Paris to help counter attack.
Obviously, this assume Italy is makeing about 20 IPC or more per turn. This happens in about 50% of my games.
Well, when I come over on USA turn 4 we’re talking a minimum 6-8 loaded TTs +whatever bombardment + possible air support if US stages its CVs in mid-Atlantic.
No way Gibraltar holds. It falls along with Morocco on first Torch landings.
Bodeacious,
nice writ-up. we just finished turn 2 and UK only has aircraft carrier and one destroyer left. LOL. the guy playing UK really screwed up. as of right now, USA has several distroyers and a couple transports. I )Italy) have the Suez and am heading to Gibralter now. will sweep Africa and also move into France to protect the beaches. my German partner has his whole navy and has purchased a little more. we lost zero pieces during the slaughter of the UK navy :) We think they are light on transports… we feel very confident that we will win this one (i know its still early)…
Let me weigh in on this topic.
The best strat for Italy’s survival is German troops in Rome and Naples to start with so that the Italian forces can move out more easily.
In my recent game… Germany built that “navy” to lure the UK carrier up to the north sea etc… so the med was clear after I1 so they got the Med NO.
Any more after that depends on where the factories are being buit…
AC
A good ploy is for Germany to build a sealion fleet which can be used either to take lenin or london. ine game of global I played the UK player used the fleat by Gib to take out my fleet plus a load of air this then allowed It to take out the brit fleet in the me and then the french.
@The:
A good ploy is for Germany to build a sealion fleet which can be used either to take lenin or london. ine game of global I played the UK player used the fleat by Gib to take out my fleet plus a load of air this then allowed It to take out the brit fleet in the me and then the french.
So you lost the German fleet on purpose? Is that why you didn’t load the carrier with planes when you built it?
Yes if I had loaded it with planes I would have lost crucial air and if I had realised that Berlin was in East rather than west ger I would have used them to protect It. i was saving them for the Attacks on the SU and was planing on sending a few down to Italy to help attack Cairo
@The:
Yes if I had loaded it with planes I would have lost crucial air and if I had realised that Berlin was in East rather than west ger I would have used them to protect It. i was saving them for the Attacks on the SU and was planing on sending a few down to Italy to help attack Cairo
Huh? If you loaded it with planes, I couldn’t attack the fleet and win
Yes but I would have been forced to keep the CV which I decided after I didn’t take France on G1 I wouldn’t do Sealion and I was hoping to eliminate UK air that could have been used to support Africa or SU. If I had of taken Fra on G1 I would have loaded my CV with air.
Well, when I come over on USA turn 4 we’re talking a minimum 6-8 loaded TTs +whatever bombardment + possible air support if US stages its CVs in mid-Atlantic.
No way Gibraltar holds. It falls along with Morocco on first Torch landings.
This is a real problem. A few things can help address this though, if the opportunity arises. An Italian (or German destroyer just outside Gibralter can prevent the bombardments. Immediately, that makes it much better odds.
Additionally, there can be a real chance to take out the US fleet there. It would be costly, but sometimes this is an option. Italian planes in Algeria and subs can be useful for this, not to mention what you are prepared to trhow at it from Germany (possibly quite a fe subs from 109 or 112.
Also, aint nothing you can do US 4 that will take Gibralter if the Germans have landed all their planes their as well. This can be a viable option because they are as useful for defending all of Europe from the US there as they are in any other territory that I can see.
It goes on a case by case basis, but the Italians and Germans can work together pretty well to keep the US out of the Med for quite a while. That being said, this works much better in Global than in Europe. I still struggle to be able to win as axis unless the opposition makes at least a few small errors.
If Germany stacks fighters in Gibraltar they are not being used elsewhere.
As USA, I could bring fleet over and take Morocco, blocking any German fleet with a DD.
Easiest is probably take an additional turn as USA to build up invasion fleet (65 ipcs build don’t forget). USA 5 no way Gibraltar holds. All those German planes will die.
If map had made Gibraltar an island, allowing scrambling, MAYBE this becomes a viable Axis strategy, with the Italian fleet stationed there.
They wouldn’t die, because you’d pull them out, wouldn’t you? I would.
It’s not all so black and white. You have to adapt your plan to the circumstances. You can’t ever do anything all the time.
If Gibraltar is where people are sending the US would it make sense to stack Italian and German land units in Spain with the German air?
German air staged in France can hit sz 91 2 spaces away by land, and they can hit the rest of UK waters. If you had an air base is Spain, you could just stage the air there and reach everywhere important as well.
With the neutrals pro allies, you might ever draw some US transports to S. America, delaying them a turn or more.
The main goal of the above ideas is just to buy the axis a few more turns. How many turns could this slow the US?
Italy needs to build its income up before the USA enters the war. So they need to clear the med of ships and take over Africa both of which Italy has the forces to do with minor German help.
In my curent game, the UK attacked the Italian BB, CA and Trn fleet losing a Tac Bomber and one hit on the UK carrier, letting the fighter from Alexandria land on the island in the UK Med. This move put a serious hurt on the Italians. They were faced with three bad problems. The French fleet would have to be ignored during Italy-1. The Italians could move 2 inf with their other transport to Trans-Jordan to close the Med via the Suez, but then this would doom the transport. Or the Italians could attack the UK fleet of 1 damaged CV, CA and DD with 1 CA, 1 DD & 2 figs. I opted for this attack and brought the tranny hoping it would be able to survive after the UK-2 turn. The UK got a hit and I killed the UK fleet. France came over with their CA and DD and finished the job so the Italians have no fleet in the Med at all at the end of turn 1. It will be a miracle if the Italians make anything happen before the US runs into and all over Africa.
The UK-1 attack of the Italian fleet looks so strong I can’t imagine it not being done. Can the UK not build enough infantry to prevent any possible Sealion so they will always be able to execute the Med attack on the Italian Navy?
