American, Soviet, and French strategies

[Cadwaladr]

Hello,

I will be participating in a Global 1940 game as the USA, Russia, and France (we’ve been wrapping the third player with these three nations) and am seeking some advice on strategy.

I have usually played as England or Germany in prior games, but not as America.

As I have considered options, I am curious as to whether or not to build a minor factory in the Philippines or Alaska as staging grounds?  Lately in our games America seems to be attacked very last by the Axis so is rarely brought into the game early.

Thoughts?

[Nippon-koku]

Welcome aboard

You can’t buy a factory on an island, so the Philippines is out (that and Japan would end up with it).  Without overloading you, I’d suggest the following:

Russia - 9 inf and a fighter for the first 2 or 3 turns.  Those extra fighters will come in handy on a few levels

USA - don’t try to split the money evenly.  Pick a theater to be aggressive in early, then play catch up in the other

France - tech rolls

[Private-Panic]

You cannot build factories on islands in his version.

US fleets are critical to clearing the Med, landings in northern Europe, defending ANZAC and contesting the money islands. All are two ship moves from the US and an Alaskan factory would not change that.

It could provide a single move base for Japan. Seems to me though that then defending that factory against J’s superior build capacity in sz6 would require the distraction of US resources from achievable objectives. I will be interested to see if anyone says differently.

Once at war a factory in Brazil is possible. I guess that might offer value is Axis forces are rushing south through Africa? But not otherwise.

Later in the game Norway can be great for a US factory, but only when the resources are at hand to defend it.

I would love to gain a US factory in Persia or Iraq, but not seen a viable way to achieve it. Has anyone else?

[Arthur Bomber Harris]

My general strategy is a KJF (kill Japan first). 
Round 1:  build 3 US carriers in the Pacific (some people prefer 2 carriers + 1 Battleship)
Round 2:  Build some planes in Western US and subs in the Pacific

move these fleets to Hawaii and then to SZ 54 off of Australia to meet up with ANZAC forces.  The US fleet contains the Japanese navy, while ANZAC zips in and retakes islands.  Once Japan loses the money islands, ANZAC + China + India can keep things contained in Asia without much more assistance.

Starting on Round 3 or 4, I start shifting most or all of the US spending to Europe.  You need a couple of carriers, along with destroyers and subs to protect transports that will shift troops to Gibraltar or North Africa.  From that stepping stone you have 3 choices to attack Germany:

A) Invasion of Scandinavia (major loss of income for Germany and threatens recapture of Novogrod)
B) Invasion of Normandy (gives you factory, threatens movement into West Germany or Italy)
C) Invasion of Spain (Easy supply chain for reinforcement troops from the US).  Must also be able to have UK invade Turkey to pull off the Neutral Crush.  Otherwise Axis will quickly drive to Egypt.

The trick to pulling off the KJF plan is successful defense of Moscow.  Russian needs to be primarily building infantry plus an occasional plane.  Don’t ever do even trades with Germany (1 Rus inf for 1 German inf) unless that also recaptures territories or prevents his rapid advance.  Later on build a few mechs or a tank that you can prevent a rapid breakout of German forces into Siberia.  Meanwhile, UK needs to be flying planes to Moscow to bolster the defenses.  The planes can be built in a factory in Egypt, but more preferably in a Persian factory since fighters can immediately go to Moscow in one turn.  If you pull the plan off right, Germany will be faced with a tough choice of losing many planes if they go into Moscow on G6/7.  If the Axis hesitates much past that, the US will start diverting resources back towards Sweden/Normandy area.

Key goals:

1. don’t lose Egypt (If the Axis get it and hold it with a strong force, the game might be over).
2. retake some of the money islands from Japan (If Japan can get 70+ PUs per turn, it will require excessive American spending in the Pacific to contain their growth
3. Around US6-7, have an invasion force land in Spain/Normandy/Scandinavia

Note that I barely mentioned France since it has minimal use in the game.  You sometimes get lucky and can use the limited forces to kill a couple of Axis infantry during Fr1.

Do go through the replays of League matches by better players.  It will give you many good ideas for the first few rounds.  It takes about 5 games before you become comfortable with the map in general.  Playing Allies is far more difficult than playing Axis.  Also note that when two highly-skilled players compete, the Axis wins about 70% of the time.  Additional starting units are required to balance the game.

[Boondock]

Here’s a basic strategy for those countries: Smash all Italian units quickly and whenever possible.

[WILD BILL]

Being this is the first time you will be playing these powers you should take a look at YoungGrasshoppers strategy videos. He has done an outstanding job on laying out what each power should do. Once you click on the U-tube links, there are many more to scroll down on the right.

Russian video link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBK_hdAjUpw

USA video link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8MrQdo0hhI

France–Best thing you can do with the French is roll really really good against the Germans as they take your capital on the first turn LOL. Seriously though if you end up killing German art and some mech or heavens forbid a tank you have done a great job. Much will depend on the Germans, and if they are greedy and try to take all three French territories making them more risky battles. Other then that start moving your W African and Syrian inf towards Egypt starting on your first turn (don’t forget). Your N African territories can be taken pretty easily by Italy if they want them, but most axis players avoid them knowing that the US will just end up with them and be able to collect the income (as French the allies can’t collect income from them). If the Italians don’t take them out those French inf can reinforce Morocco or follow the US across N Africa. Who knows once the US makes a landing in Europe a couple of those French inf can hop onto a US/UK transport and make it to their homeland. Most times your mini French navy (sz93) is sunk before your first turn, but if not try to get them to safety, if alive they can reinforce the Western allied navies. Move your dd off Madagascar towards Egypt, again to reinforce your Allied navy positions.

Russians–First thing to point out is to pull back all your inf off the front on the first turn, and to temporally fortify Leningrad from an easy Amphib (you will most likely evacuate this VC later though). You won’t be able to hold back the Germans when they come so don’t give them easy kills. When they attack, most Germans will supper stack in E Poland and go south of the Marsh targeting your Ukrainian IC as they move towards Moscow (leading to the oil NO’s to the south). Like I said you need to fortify Leningrad early against an Amphib, but don’t make the mistake of trying to defend it too long (slow moving or dead inf can’t defend your capital). You need to look at moving your Leningrad inf the turn that the Germans attack or the German stack will beat your Leningrad inf to Moscow unless you can delay them (need UK fighters in Moscow).

As the others pointed out building inf is key in the long run. The 9 inf 1 ftr is a good purchase in general, however I also like to build some art in the forward bases (Leningrad and Ukraine), so my first purchase might be 5 inf, 3 art and a ftr (might even mix in a mech occasionally for Leningrad because mech can move back to Moscow double time). The Russians need to do a defensive withdraw from both these ICs, meaning as you evacuate, you set-up a counter attack so you have the option to re-take (trade the territory) so the Germans are delayed from building in your former IC.

Depending on what your German counterpart brings to the front, with a few art you might be able to strafe his stack of units as he closes in on Moscow. I only pointed this out because it sounds like your group might be fairly new to G40. If the Germans pull into Bryansk and don’t have the numbers, forgot to bring AAA guns with them or w/o German planes you might be able to strafe them with everything you got (hit and run). This is a risky move, but could lead to high reward.

Another tactic the Russians can pull off is to take Iraq. Besides getting the 2 IPCs for the territory, it is a pro axis neutral so you also get the 3 IPC bonus (worth 5 IPCs overall each turn). Get an inf, your mech, tank and air ready to strike (from Caucasus) the turn that Germany attacks you (you are no longer a neutral Power and can invade the Mid East). You need to take NW Persia first, then on to Iraq. The UK may be able to take NW Persia for you which will allow you to blitz into Iraq with your mech/tank and air. Your surviving mech, tank and air should be able to get back before the Germans threaten Moscow. This move allows you to keep your income up as the Germans take your land.

Finally you need to have good communication with your allies (especially UK). A good German player going straight Barbarossa will have Moscow ripe for the taking around turn 6 if you don’t get help. Plan on getting some UK fighters to Moscow. You need to plan ahead because unless the UK builds an IC in Persia, it takes 2-3 turns to get UK fighters to Moscow. One route is move planes to Scotland (be sure to move some inf and AAA for protection too). From Scotland (airbase) you can land on Russian safe/fortified territories in the north (Archangel or Nenetsia) then to Moscow next turn. From Egypt you can also fly to Middle East or southern Russian territories that are safe, then on to Moscow next turn. This sounds crazy, but I have also flown in UK/US bombers to Moscow just to tip the scales of the attack, or cause a delay. UK/US bombers can make it from Scotland directly to Moscow in one turn. Also have the allies keep sz125 free of German warships so you can get that NO, until the UK starts landing in Russian territories.

The USA-- A force to be reckoned with once at war, but as the others have said USA must be decisive. Pick a theater dominate it, and play defense on the other side of the map. At some point you’ll have to switch gears, but avoid going back-n-forth every turn. Spend most income for 2-3 turns on one side, then to the other side for a couple turns etc… Much of what the US does is reactive to Japan because they decide when the USA can come into the war. If the Japanese don’t attack J1 (J2), I’ll probable spend most income in the Pac for the first few turns to get on even par with Japan. So capital ships it is on US1 because you can only build 3 ships in the Pac until at war (followed by many dd’s). Plus the US can move more freely in the Pac theater by rule.

Your little buddy Anz is key in the Pac, they can build navy and combine to help defend your US fleet. Queensland offers air cover and is a great staging point for the US. In the Pac the US is the hammer (destroyer of Japanese ships), and Anz is the clean-up crew finishing off Japanese capital ships that are damaged and grabbing money islands, so build accordingly. I will also occasionally split my US fleet and sacrifice some as long as I have a good counter attack including Anz (of course Japan has to take the bait). Like some else said you’re looking for mutual annihilation because the US is able to replace losses, but Japan really doesn’t want to buy ships (need land units in Asia). I’ll also have a couple US loaded transports ready if I can break though. Look for openings when the Japanese air force is tied up (like when they are attacking India, or China)

Europe is a bit different, you still need a navy, but loaded transports are key (and lots of them). You need a strong enough combined allied navy to be able to take a hit from the axis and survive that could include a double attack from both Italy and Germany (keep watch). Once at war the US normally stations at Gibraltar because it offers several options for landings in Europe (good place for a UK air base for added air cover too). UK can also be building ships in Canada at the same time and join you at Gibraltar. At some point you will have to make a landing in Europe. Use the turn order and have the US take land (to grab or build an IC), and have UK reinforce with all available land and air units so you can hold territory (should also include some AAA guns). Some times this might include a stop to London to pick up more units (possibly delaying your attack). If you are going to Norway you may have to deal with the German navy. If in the Baltic the German navy can counter/resupply Norway. It can also be used to suicide your fleet with an air strike after you make your landing in Norway (or Normandy).

[simon33]

I dislike the fighter buy on USSR1. You have plenty of factories at this time, no threat of SBR and no need whatsoever for the fighter. Better to buy it later when you are building solely in Moscow and can’t spend more than 30 IPC on inf. It is useful later but mostly only needed when the German bombers are in SBR range.

Artillery is a bit more useful because you can at least threaten a counter attack with it.

[taamvan]

Most groups wont pair US and RUS.  These 3 powers don’t have much unity of purpose unless you know exactly what the plan is.

If you are going to have two allied players and KJF (Pacific Strong), the power that is most useful to control conterminously with the US is ANZAC.  (one player plays china, Anzac, us, the other uk x2, Russia, france)

If you are going to have two allies players and the plan is HGE (Atlantic Strong; hurt Germany eventually, there is no such thing as KGF), then it is best to coordinate Russia and UK (and also incidentally China and UK).  one player plays UK, Russia, china, the other plays US, Anzac, and france)

Lots of players feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of 2 great powers, and the minor powers of china and france don’t take much more than rolling, little planning is involved.

America doesn’t need factories.  It needs carriers.  Your plan will depend on what the axis does and whether japan attacks on turn 1, 2, 3 or 4.  The main plan you need to begin the game with is

1. allocation of either east atlantic or west pacific and the teams, as above
2. be ready to react rather than stick to a pre-set movement plan because you don’t have the initiative until US4.

[WILD BILL]

@ShadowHAwk:

Nice Wild bill but you are basing your moves on assumptions on what the german and japan player might or might not do.

That is where all the allies strategies writen down go wrong, you can have basic guidelines but you cannot write it down like that.

What if germany actualy pulls back in order to prepare for sea lion? Will you still vacate your front line?

What if japan does J1, of J2 or J3 of J4? That does affect your USA gameplay a lot.

So yes if germany and japan play exactly as you expect them to do, and they roll the dice average and they follow the right strategy then yes under those criteria you can write down a strategy for the allies to follow. This is why there are so many axis players winning against allies players, it is far easier to start learning axis in this game then allies.

Shadow, I don’t see my post as a do this ……and allies win list, I feel most was expectations and how to react. You are right though, I made several assumptions, and a first time Russian player should be thinking Barbarossa IMO. The Germans can be pretty good at covering up their intentions on G1. Even if the Germans are considering SL, they will most likely hide it still leaving units at the Front (may send inf in Germany east, and recall them to fill transports etc…). They often include naval purchases to keep their options open (could be undecided) or force certain reactions from the allies (mostly UK). As a rookie Russian player you really don’t want to leave valuable inf at the front R1, because even if the Germans are thinking Sea Lion or a G3 Barbarossa you may have just changed their minds with easy kills.

I recall our first couple times playing Russia, and some mistakes that were made (some repeatedly LOL). Thinking you can fight the Germans at the front, or getting caught up in defending Leningrad. You can lose or trap a bunch of units up there only to realize it was a side show and the Germans are gunning straight for Moscow and will beat you there. I thought it best to have him be aware, as he makes decisions.

Same for pointing out the Iraq NO, allies keeping sz125 clear, and getting ftrs to Moscow just tools I would have liked to known my first time playing Russia.

For the USA it wasn’t a bullet point of things to do, it was a philosophy.  Pick a side and don’t be wishy washy. Spend the bulk (not all) of your income on one side, over 2-3 even 4 turns to gain an advantage, then play catch up on the other side as needed. Most have found that if the US spends evenly each turn that you end up with a weak US on both sides. Obviously when Japan attacks dictates much of what the USA can do. There are many debates on what side the US should go if Japan hits on X turn, but I stand by which ever side you go to dominate, and use you allies.

Both Russia and the US need to work with their allies. The Russians may need help getting their NO’s, or defending their capital. Be that with planes in Moscow, or landings in Western Europe. The US needs to work closely with the Anz in the Pac, and UK in Europe. You need to be aware of the turn order, and how to take advantage of it.

[Nippon-koku]

@simon33:

I dislike the fighter buy on USSR1. You have plenty of factories at this time, no threat of SBR and no need whatsoever for the fighter. Better to buy it later when you are building solely in Moscow and can’t spend more than 30 IPC on inf. It is useful later but mostly only needed when the German bombers are in SBR range.

Artillery is a bit more useful because you can at least threaten a counter attack with it.

Disagree that there’s no need for it early on.  It deters SBR (by G3 Russia will already have 4 fighters), it helps with those little counter strikes (instead of having to use artillery on the front lines you can strike with 5+ planes), and using the money on extra infantry early doesn’t equal more infantry later.

Let’s say turn 1 and 2 Russia spends 74:

• 24.67 Inf

or

• 2 ftr & 18 inf

Now let’s say you want to get those extra planes on turn 3 and 4 instead, and lets say Russia can spend 65 total:

• 21.67 inf

or

2 ftr and 15 inf

Either way, Russia has 2 ftrs and 39.67 inf.  So the question is what has more value in those first few turns: 6 extra inf, or two extra ftrs?  I’d argue the latter

[taamvan]

There was a post last month that argued at length for Russia buying primarily artillery, and this is smarter than tanks or planes.

Tanks are for counterattacks from the back lines.  You shouldn’t be attacking anything with Russia, its a massive miscalculation unless Germany is ignoring you.

Planes are too expensive and you don’t have enough to make a difference anyways.  You don’t have 3-4 fighters R1…you have 2.  Even if you add a few, its not enough to deter a SBR.    Many people make the argument that even if you shot down a strat bomber, the risk of losing a fighter in return is too great, they are too precious and Germany should gladly trade 1:1

Mechs are surprisingly good, because they pair with artillery (and tanks if you have any).  Mechs can rush into battle from your backlines to ensure that you have local 1:1 artillery matching.

Infantry are OK, but you only need to buy as many as is required to match arty 1:1 in every standoff.

The OP points out that unless he is bringing in Japanese or Italian air, that the germans may be reluctant to set their big armor stack right next to your capitol.  They need that armor in the stack because that’s the only way it can stop from being destroyed.  Stacks of “2” defenders are notoriously vulnerable…but in this case, arty is pretty much better than inf (same D, x2 better Offense for 1 IPC more)

If you have 20 men and 20 artillery or more in Moscow or one of the squares next to it, you have the most versatile stack (offense/defense) that you can in the shortest amount of time.  If you need to hold out, the UK will have to provide the air (and squash your NO).

[theROCmonster]

@Nippon-koku:

@simon33:

I dislike the fighter buy on USSR1. You have plenty of factories at this time, no threat of SBR and no need whatsoever for the fighter. Better to buy it later when you are building solely in Moscow and can’t spend more than 30 IPC on inf. It is useful later but mostly only needed when the German bombers are in SBR range.

Artillery is a bit more useful because you can at least threaten a counter attack with it.

Disagree that there’s no need for it early on.� It deters SBR (by G3 Russia will already have 4 fighters), it helps with those little counter strikes (instead of having to use artillery on the front lines you can strike with 5+ planes), and using the money on extra infantry early doesn’t equal more infantry later.

Let’s say turn 1 and 2 Russia spends 74:�

• 24.67 Inf

or

• 2 ftr & 18 inf

Now let’s say you want to get those extra planes on turn 3 and 4 instead, and lets say Russia can spend 65 total:

• 21.67 inf

or

2 ftr and 15 inf

Either way, Russia has 2 ftrs and 39.67 inf.� So the question is what has more value in those first few turns: 6 extra inf, or two extra ftrs?� I’d argue the latter

That is a very interesting though Nippon-Koku. There are several factors you have to account for to see which buy is better for Russia. Are the fighters worth it at all, and if they are when should they be purchased?

At first I thought the answer was obviously those 4 extra inf and 2 arty are better a few turns earlier because they can be used to counter/defend against Germany earlier. The infantry you build in Moscow take time to reach the front and become an implied threat, but the fighters you build in Moscow are immediate implied threats, so infantry should be purchased before planes with that line of thinking. When you look past game theory and go into real game scenarios, though, more factors come into play.

A. Can the 4 inf 2 arty be used for a more effective possible counter attack than 2 fighters. The answer is yes, obviously, but is the counter attack reasonable? The answer to that is simply, no. A good German push is going to be un-counterable/defensible anyways. Meaning countering a German/Italian stack in West Russia/Ukraine/Bryansk isn’t realistic. The odds would be at best horribly unfavorable for you to attack.

B. Can the 4 inf 2 arty be used for a more effective defense than 2 fighters. The answer, again, is obviously yes, but is the defense reasonable? The answer depends on what you want the allies to do as a whole. Russia alone can’t defend certain key positions without support from her allies, regardless of how many infantry they buy. If you want to have UK help defend Bryansk later in the game with fighters, then you might want to build 4 inf 2 art over 2 fighters, but if not then maybe you should build the 2 fighters over 4 inf and 2 art.

C. What would the planes be doing if purchased early rather than later/not at all? This depends on what your strategy is for the allies. The only reason you’d want early fighters is to help china. Russia and China alone cant stack stack Szechwan with enough units to defend against a J1 that puts 20 planes in Kwangsi. You’d have to put the 3 UK planes there as well, which would mean you are declaring war against Japan as UK on turn 1. That is because Russia and China can easily stack Szechwan if Japan declares war on turn 1. Here are the numbers for what the defense in Szechwan would look like given maximum values for offense and defense minus 3 infantry for China that would be used to take back Yunan, which is average.

Japans Offensive power that can reach Szechwan:

10 fighters
8 tacs
2 bombers

Total offensive power: 70

Russia not purchasing two fighters turn 1, and UK not declaring war:

10 Chinese infantry
1 Chinese fighter
2 Russian Mechs
2 Russian tanks
2 Russian fighters
1 Russian Tac

Total Defense power: 45
Win %: 3

Russia purchasing two fighters turn 1, and UK not declaring war:

10 Chinese infantry
1 Chinese fighter
2 Russian Mechs
2 Russian tanks
4 Russian fighters
1 Russian Tac

Total Defense power: 53
Win %: 22

Russia purchasing two fighters turn 1, and UK declaring war:

10 Chinese infantry
1 Chinese fighter
2 Russian Mechs
2 Russian tanks
4 Russian fighters
1 Russian Tac
2 UK fighters
1 UK tac

Total Defense power: 64
Win %: 76

In Global 1940 2nd edition with an average bid of 25 I’d say the buy might not be worth it. That is because Japan declares war Turn 1 much more often then in the balanced mod version, and a turn 1 declaration means a lot less air-power that can reach Szchewan.

[theROCmonster]

@taamvan:

Infantry are OK, but you only need to buy as many as is required to match arty 1:1 in every standoff.

In my oppinion the maximum ratio of infantry to arty is 3:1. Meaning you have 3 infantry/mech for every 1 arty you have. That is because you only want to loose 1’s on the first round of dice, if the rolls are average. This will give you perfect efficiency because you won’t loose any value on your artillery the second round.

[simon33]

It’s only 1 IPC difference. You would likely still have some ones on the second round with that ratio.

Back to the USSR1 fighter buy, I’m still of the same opinion. I did say it might be plausible when the German bombers move into SBR range, although might also be better to use British fighters for the purpose. As others point out, if the Germans come in with a single stack the counter attack possibilities don’t eventuate or are better to use ground troops, perhaps with a strafe. Fighters only make sense in secondary theatres and for that to make sense, you have to be virtually guaranteed that they survive and can return to defend Moscow.

[theROCmonster]

You can only really use the british fighters if Japan declared war T1.

[MeinHerr]

If Japan does a great J1 DOW on W.Allies,  ie:loses just 1-2 inf… ,

how should US respond? It’s first 2-3  rounds of buy?
And UK India? Should it keep its FTRS or send them to the Med?