If Germany attacks the Soviet Union on G1 then I think the best strategy would be to go for a “hedgehog” defense for all the Soviet VC’s and IC’s. THe thinking being that if Germany is going mostly tanks then they arent going sealion and are neglecting their western front. So the Soviet player should play very defensivly holding the important parts of Russia and wait while the British player should be going all out to re-invade France and take Germany down from the west. Trying to create “hard points” out of the Soviet IC’s so that the Germans can only take them down one at a time and with full concentration of effort will slow them down and give the British (and hopefully the US at some point) time to invade from the west and liberate France. Also this will give the western allies time to take down Italy as well which in this scenario will likely be focused on helping (ie; “can-opener”) the Germans against the Soviets.
In our most recent game the us and uk invaded normandy and liberated Paris multiple times however the us was shouldve invaded west germany cause it was wide open but sailed his trns back to us even i said buying more would be faster as he already had the units in eastern us
Build MEN, and 1 fighter a turn until you have 4.
By round 4 or 5, his offensive will have failed, start adding other units to the mix in pairs… 2 art, next turn, 2 tanks, etc, whatever makes sense for the dollars. Focus on preventing the Germans from getting their NO’s, and destroy any clusters of equipment when you get the chance.
Build MEN, and 1 fighter a turn until you have 4.
By round 4 or 5, his offensive will have failed, start adding other units to the mix in pairs… 2 art, next turn, 2 tanks, etc, whatever makes sense for the dollars. Focus on preventing the Germans from getting their NO’s, and destroy any clusters of equipment when you get the chance.
I agree, but Russia should buy men and 1 fighter every round, not just until they have 4.
You don’t want to get locked into scripted thinking… Don’t buy fighters, JUST because you have been buying fighters… IE if you have 10 fighters on the board, that’s almost too many… you need all the fighting components for a winning strategy.
4 should be your BASE number… if you have 5 or 6 or whatever, that’s fine, you just don’t want to get stuck with 12 planes, no other means of attack, and an opponent who shoves his AA guns to the front. You have to be fluid… Get a few planes, then buy 1 art 1 arm instead of 1 fgt.
Thanks I’ll try that next time. Also I’ll probably poke around norway, france, and italy with U.S. and U.K.
You don’t want to get locked into scripted thinking… Don’t buy fighters, JUST because you have been buying fighters… IE if you have 10 fighters on the board, that’s almost too many… you need all the fighting components for a winning strategy.
4 should be your BASE number… if you have 5 or 6 or whatever, that’s fine, you just don’t want to get stuck with 12 planes, no other means of attack, and an opponent who shoves his AA guns to the front. You have to be fluid… Get a few planes, then buy 1 art 1 arm instead of 1 fgt.
I just think that 12 fighters for Russia is like having 12 tanks that don’t need to be stranded on the front line after an attack, and they also double as the best defenders in the game when it comes time to defend Moscow.
A few fighters on top of a stack of infantry is a strong defense, but you have to have enough infantry so that the planes get to roll more than once or twice. Also, nothing sucks worse than having a big file of infantry all attacking at 1 like the Chinese. As I see it 8 fighters = 20 artillery.
@Vance:
A few fighters on top of a stack of infantry is a strong defense, but you have to have enough infantry so that the planes get to roll more than once or twice. Also, nothing sucks worse than having a big file of infantry all attacking at 1 like the Chinese. As I see it 8 fighters = 20 artillery.
I never attack with Russia (my German opponents never give me a battle worth fighting), so I retract…… and 70 infantry, 2 tanks, 2 mechs, 1 tac bomber, and 8 fighters makes for a tough Moscow.
Also, I ask Germany for permission to send my cruiser and sub through the Denmark straight every round. They always say no of course, but I am consistant with serious persistance. When they laugh and ask me if I’m serious, I say with a straight face… “of course I’m serious, I want to move my ships out of the Baltic sea”
Fighters are great for defence, that’s no lie. You want them, you need them, your allies can used them to help you in a quick pinch.
But everyone forgets… Infantry are the BEST Defence. There is no unit is better.
For the price of a fighter… 1 Hit Point… 1 dice at 4…
3 infantry + save an IPC… 3 hit points, 3 dice at 2…
Multiple this so it’s equal.
3 fighters = 30 IPC’s Total defence value 12. Statistically 2 hits a turn, with 3 hitpoints.
10 Inf = 30 IPC’s Total Defence Value = 20 Statistically 3.2 hits a turn with 10 hitpoints.
A few fighters on top of a stack of infantry is a strong defense
a SUPER STACK of infantry, with no planes - per above, is an even STRONGER defence.
The DIFFERENCE however, is all in the attack. The mobility of the fighters, and their punch, is what gives them the edge. You build fighters to attack, NOT to defend - though they obviously get used for that. And of course, a good offensive leads to an easier defence - hence why you build however many fighters you NEED, as opposed to just a fighter a turn every turn.
70 infantry, 2 tanks, 2 mechs, 1 tac bomber, and 8 fighters makes for a tough Moscow.
96 Infantry, 2 tanks, 2 mecs + 1 tac, save 2 IPC’s is a STRONGER defence. :)
(Yes I am aware some of your 8 fighters are the ones you start with - Just saying)
70 infantry, 2 tanks, 2 mechs, 1 tac bomber, and 8 fighters makes for a tough Moscow.
96 Infantry, 2 tanks, 2 mecs + 1 tac, save 2 IPC’s is a STRONGER defence. :)
(Yes I am aware some of your 8 fighters are the ones you start with - Just saying)
OK… but when the smoke clears and Russia has won the battle of Moscow, wouldn’t you rather have and 8 fighters left over, than 27 infantry?
I really don’t know what I’m saying right now.
I dont think Russia’s strenght here lies in its ability to attack but rather to hold up the Germans and defend. I think in a scenario where the Germans attack on G1 you need to look for the Soviets salvation to come via other fronts. If the Germans are attacking on G1 then it should be assumed that the Japanese will be doing the same, so with the entire Axis cooridnatedly moving against them, the only thing the Soviets should be doing is trying to defend and not worrying about being able to attack. On the contrary the Allies should be looking for ways to be as aggressive as possible against the Axis. If the axis are going all out against the Soviets then its up to the US to go all out against the Japanese and the UK(Europe and India) to go all out against the Germans and Italians.
@Young:
OK… but when the smoke clears and Russia has won the battle of Moscow, wouldn’t you rather …
When that happens, you have won the game.
Garg is absolutely correct about infantry being superior on defense.
I don’t really believe that Russia can afford to buy expensive planes in a consistent way.
1 Art + 1 Arm is better than a fighter on both offense and defense.
The only benefit a fighter/tac gives that ground forces don’t is mobility, and the ability to move back after attacking.
Thus planes are great for trading, and a mobile threat, but not much else.
The three that Russia starts with, I’ve found, is usually enough.
Sometimes I could do with one more fighter, but otherwise it’s all Artillery and Armor for me.
@Young:
OK… but when the smoke clears and Russia has won the battle of Moscow, wouldn’t you rather …
When that happens, you have won the game.
Garg is absolutely correct about infantry being superior on defense.
I don’t really believe that Russia can afford to buy expensive planes in a consistent way.
1 Art + 1 Arm is better than a fighter on both offense and defense.
The only benefit a fighter/tac gives that ground forces don’t is mobility, and the ability to move back after attacking.
Thus planes are great for trading, and a mobile threat, but not much else.
The three that Russia starts with, I’ve found, is usually enough.
Sometimes I could do with one more fighter, but otherwise it’s all Artillery and Armor for me.
After this conversation, I think I have been persuaded to change my purchase habits to 9 men and a fighter for the first 4 rounds, and 9 men 1 tank and either a infantry or artillery or nothing after 9 men (depending how the drop in income goes) for the last half of the game.
Just build what you need dog :p You got it !
3 fighters = 30 IPC’s Total defence value 12. Statistically 2 hits a turn, with 3 hitpoints.
10 Inf = 30 IPC’s Total Defence Value = 20 Statistically 3.2 hits a turn with 10 hitpoints.
OK boss now you got me thinking.
If I have 120 IPCs to defend Moscow I can buy:
12 fighters: Total defense value 48; 8 hits per turn on defense; 12 hitpoints
20 tanks: Total defense value 60; 10 hits per turn on defense; 20 hitpoints
30 artillery: Total defense value 60; 10 hits per turn on defense; 30 hitpoints
30 mech: Total defense value 60; 10 hits per turn on defense; 30 hitpoints
40 infantry: Total defense value 80; 13.3 hits per turn on defense; 40 hitpoints
So on defense infantry wins hands down.
But what about a counterattack? I want to go after them after they give up and retreat. So if I were left with 120IPCs worth of units still standing I could have:
12 fighters: Total attack value 36; 6 hits per turn on attack; 12 hitpoints
20 tanks: Total attack value 60; 10 hits per turn on attack; 20 hitpoints
30 artillery: Total attack value 60; 10 hits per turn on attack; 30 hitpoints
30 mech: Total attack value 30: 5 hits per turn on attack; 30 hitpoints
40 infantry: Total attack value 40; 6.7 hits per turn on attack; 40 hitpoints
So on the attack artillery is the best deal, especially if you get lucky and have some infantry left to match them up with. Then you are really in the money because its like for every infantry you get the attack value of artillery for 25% off!
So I want a mix of like 3/4 infantry and 1/4 artillery or so when the Germans finally get to Moscow. They can kill off my infantry and then my artillery will kill them.
Ah, but you forget about a tanks advantage of mobility. Many people underestemate the ability to be able to attack so many different places with a tank. They are perfect for finding week points in your enemies defences and making them pay for these weeknesses.
Ah, but you forget about a tanks advantage of mobility. Many people underestemate the ability to be able to attack so many different places with a tank. They are perfect for finding week points in your enemies defences and making them pay for these weeknesses.
My enemys are very skilled and don’t offer many weaknesses to exploit.
Game is won or lost at Moscow, the rest doesn’t matter so much. Hell I might even start pulling some infs from siberia back (you get the nuetrals if japan attacks).
The western front is relatively easy for germany to take back or reinforce… step 1 for uk would be to knock out norway/finland and get guys into russia. America can focus on italy (UK just does the initial strike on the italian fleet). UK should begin to handle the north while you wrestle the mouth of the crocodile. USA punches the belly.
i like to mix infantry and artillery. You don’t want to get tricked and watch germany blitz down to india… that would be super hilarious to see and be so out of position for all the powers other than russia to take back.
