RR game without a bid…
Germany round 1
Purchase: 5 infantry and 1 bomb
Save: 2 IPC’s
Combat movements:
Attack the UK sz: 1 sub (baltic), 3 fig’s and a bomb.
Attack Gibraltar: sub (atlantic) and a fig
Attack Labrador sz: 1 fig
Attack Egypt: load in 2 inf from SE and the bb, drop the infantry in Egypt.
(egypt attack force should have 3 inf and 1 arm)
Blitz true the open territories in Africa.
NCM:
Ship 2 inf over to Africa (from norway)
Stack EE with almost everyting you have (should have there 4 figs)
Leave 2 inf anf a fig in Weu
Land the bomber in Weu
Placement:
2 inf in SEu (in case the UK fails to sink your med tran)
3 inf in Germany
Reasoning behind this strat:
The extra bomber I make will threaten the US/UK navy or will help SBR the Russians.
I will take the Egypt gamble (usually I don’t prefer that attack on G1, because I can take egypt wil sufficient force on G2) because I want to decrease the UK income base asap and if they should build an IC on India they will have 1 inf less and will miss the arm to harras the Japanese player. Another reason is that I would like to increase the German income base asap to make up for the lpurchased bomber.
Japans round 1
Purchase: 3 transporters
Save: 1 IPC
Combat movements:
Attack Pearl Harbor: 2 figs (from Japan and the carrier), bomb, sub and 1 battleship (from Japan)
Attack China: with 5 inf and 2 fig’s
NCM:
Land 3 figs on kwantung
Load your 2 trannies and ship them to the solomon islands (the tran from japan should pick up the inf from wake/oki [can’t remember wich island lies on the route to solomon island] and drop the inf on solomon) So you will have 4 inf at the solomon islands.
Move the carrier to the Solomon islands and land the 2 figs on it.
Move the remaining BB to the Solomon islands zs.
Make sure you still have 1 inf on Burma and Manch.
Placement:
Place the 3 transporters in the Japan zs.
Reasoning behind these moves:
You want to optimze the Japanese Naval capabilities and leave non of the island based inf.
Try to lure the US to the pacific.
You want to help the Germans asap, and this time not by putting force on the Russians as soon as possible. (You will be delayed 1 full turn) But you want to try to throw some havoc in the pacific first and after that in the Atlantic. (possibly drop your in in Africa, so you force the UK and the US to counter that, wich gives the German player some time to take a breath)
But most of all to mix things up a little :D
Weak points I can already point out:
I can’t predict what the US will do with this build up, but it will have a harder time to build up his fleet, with 2 German bombers in striking range of their trannies and the Japanese fleet threatning their west coast at first… So give my strat a hard time and try to improve things I have overlooked :D
Lol, I just read switch his alternative naval strat and it looks pretty much the same to mine, but it seems I made a possible strike at panama possible on J2, but they are much a like… So my strat isn’t that radical :P
Russia is basically going to take Manchuria for free with the Yakut Stack (7 INF and an ARM).
And even though Japan has 3 trannies at Japan, they have nothign to transport in J2. That means the Yak Stack is then going to either take Kwang or liberate China. If Russia sent 1 FIG east (something I often do), then Japan is in deep shit for 9 IPC’s. Also, with all of your capital ships heading toward Central America, UK stages their bomber to Asia, Russia sacrifices 1 fig, UK then used teh bomber, and the 2 strikes are going to relieve Japan of possibly ALL of their trannies. UK can also have their FIGS in position to repeat a strike on unguarded trannies for UK3. To counter, Japan has to build an AC in J2 (preventing much in the way of land units getting to Asia in J3), or pull back form their forward positions against the US to prevent their trannies from being sunk.
Stacking Eastern with the forces you specify (EVERYTHING), leaves Ukraine either empty or nearly empty. Russia can take it without risk to Karelia due to the reduced G1 buy. That puts Russia at 30 IPC’s to build in R3, and either 30 or 33 IPC’s in R4.
UK takes the loss of their fleet in UK1, and build a couple of INF or a FIG in UK1. US drops a couple of subs in Western with the BB and tranny, and builds a bomber. Now your fleet retreats, or is destroyed.
UK builds an AC and trannies in UK2, US sends 2 figs to defend in US 2 along with building trannies for the Atlantic. Allies proceed as before, this time with Russia having much greater income (enough to counter those Bomber runs until they get shot down) and Japan is a non-entity due to having minimal income.
1)The counter attack on manchuria will still be devastating. The Russian player can’t attack Manchuria! The counter attack consist of something like this. 6 inf, 1 tank and 3 fig’s… Manchuria will be a deathtrap for the Russians. (4 inf from japan, wake and oki and the tank from Japan, 2 inf from the China attack)
2)Most of the time the Ukraine will get exchanged so why not this game… At the start Germany can overcome those losses by taking Africa pretty quickly.
3)Ok the USA builds some ships. I will go underneath straight to africa, take brazil for 3 ipc’s if I pass. :P
Without a bid, the Axis will always struggle anyway. Making different moves isn’t too bad an idea if it forces the Allies to play inefficiently (the only way the Axis should win). Perhaps the US will buy a carrier (18 ipcs) they don’t need to protect the EUSA transports…perhaps Russia will overextend itself in Manchuria losing the Asian territories quickly. If the Allied player(s) aren’t real experienced, they might make mistakes when they encounter something they haven’t seen before so that the Axis can win.
The main reasoning behind going to the atlantic for the Jap fleet is that Germany can hold Africa a little while longer because if the Japanese navy is there the US and the UK have a hard time taking back Africa. I know you will be behind on the Asian front, but at least you pick up the 3 IPC’s from Brazil :p The real problem is to defend your trannies in hte Japanese sz… :( Let’s have Japan start with 3 bb’s :D
1)The counter attack on manchuria will still be devastating. The Russian player can’t attack Manchuria! The counter attack consist of something like this. 6 inf, 1 tank and 3 fig’s… Manchuria will be a deathtrap for the Russians. (4 inf from japan, wake and oki and the tank from Japan, 2 inf from the China attack)
First off I misinterpreted your NCM post thinking you were sending 2 TRN from Japan to the Solomons, not thinking that one of them HAD to be leaving from Phillipines (thus I was thinking that Japan was 2 INF fewer units on site which is why I made the comment about “nothing to transport”
The difference of those 2 available INF sways the balance in Japan’s favor for Manchuria counter, as you state. They do however lose almost all of their land forces in the attack (1 ARM and 1 INF remaining on average) which slows their initial progress on Russia.
Now, the initial battle for China with 5 INF and 2 FIGS
Japan will win that fight with an average of 3 INF (and their figs). Pulling 2 back for a Manchuria counter-attack leaves you with 1 INF in China. To then advance into Sinkiang in J2, you will probably have to lose a fig, OR divert your tank to the Sinkiang battle. That means you cannot blitz SFE and Yakut (or blitz through Yakut into Evenk or Novo). Again, you slow your advance in Northern Asia down another round by diverting forces.
Assume an INF build sufficient to fill all 3 trannies in J2. That means that on J3, Japan will have…
1 INF in FIC
1 INF in either Yakut or SFE (with the other still in Russian control)
1 INF, 1 ARM in Sinkiang
3 FIGS somewhere in Asia.
New forces to tranny in J3 that are sittng in Tokyo
On J3, you get to land those tranny forces you bought in J2. Now your probably have SFE AND Yakut, China and Sinkiang.
But Russia has blocked your progress in the Kazakh/Novo/Evenk perimiter. You have 1 ARM, 1 INF, and 3 figs to try to punch it… a BAD idea.
And it will be J5 before those first 6 landed INF can reach the frontier to assist with that attack.
In the mean time, Russia can counter you in either R4, or R5 with INF supported by 2 FIGS to take out your forward forces and stop your move on Russia AGAIN.
All of this assumes that UK did not fly a bomber to Evenk/Novo in UK1 and sink 1 or more of your Japan trannies in UK2., or that the Russians did not move their figs to Yakut (striking Manchuria with minimal force while maintaining their defensive position in Yakut) and hit your unguarded trannies in R3.
2)Most of the time the Ukraine will get exchanged so why not this game… At the start Germany can overcome those losses by taking Africa pretty quickly.
Then the Axis strat is subject to the decision of UK in India. If UK defends Africa, Germany is not going to reclaim those IPC losses there. Also, Japan is in very poor position to exploit any UK move out of India with having only 1 INF that can reach India after J1. UK can counter in Egypt wth 2 INF and 1 FIG without totally abandoning India, leaving Japan stalled in FIC due to lack of gorund forces (unless you want to risk a fig for it, and lose the use of the fig on your Sinkiang attack)
3)Ok the USA builds some ships. I will go underneath straight to africa, take brazil for 3 ipc’s if I pass. :P
So you gain Panama in J3, Brazil in J4 (can;t reach Panama from Solomons in 1 move) or you loop Cape Horn and still reach Brazil in J4. total +3 or 4 IPC’s. You lose more than that by diverting forces from Asia that would have allowed you to take a nice chunck of Russia’s territory and India. Not to mention that the economic impact on the US is minimal compared to the impact of taking the same number of IPC’s from Russia.
By J4, US has already landed forces in Africa AND Norway. UK has re-built their fleet, shot down the German AF (if it tried to kill the fleet) and also is landing forces in Norway.
The simple fact of the matter is that, the move you advocate simply slows down Japan’s IPC growth too much to be viable; and the opportunity cost of taking US IPC’s later rather than USSR IPC’s sooner is suicide.
Remember, the BEST IPC’s to take are Russian first (the greatest impact on your Axis pincer strike), then UK, and LAST the US. And the earlier the Russian losses are, the better.
SFE costs them 1 INF a round. Add Yakut and they lose 2 INF (20 instead of 24 IPC’s)
Switch. I actually think I know most reasons not to play this strat, but most of the time the game will be almost the same everytime you play… I play 1v1 against a friend and I always have to play the axis, in a RR only game. I still win like 9 out of 10 games, because he is just a weaker player, but the mechanics I use as the Axis are pretty much the same every time. So after a while it gets kinda boring and you try some other stuff… I wanted to see if it has a small chance of succes. Sure the Japanese player is delayed a good 2, maybe 3 turns, but maybe the fact surprise is on my side this time helps :P
But thanks for shooting holes in my strat :P Too bad you can’t play the axis in a RR game any different, because you ill just give up the game :( /me start thinking about playing revised :D
Agreed. I have started 3 games of Revised. The first just to check things out, the second my horrid showing against Trihero on Round 1, and my second a Turn 8 resignation as the Axis (in a no-bid game).
Revised has a far greater number of strategies available. Is definitely better than Classic (saying a lot from someone with nearly 2 decades of the original under my belt).
I understand your desire to try new things. That is why I did the Alternate Japan Naval Strats thread last month :-) The main difference between yours and mine is pulling a higher number of your trannies away from Asia early on while I relied on just 1 tranny, and that only to get the Imperial Navy into the Atlantic via Panama. Everything else stayed on the Russia push in order to get that stack of INF and Tanks to Russia ASAP.
Now If I can only figure out how to get Germany into Karelia and still have some good “punch” left on G5 or 6…
