General UK Strategy

@calvinhobbesliker:

@Blitchga:

@calvinhobbesliker:

Mine is as follows(Assuming Alpha Setup):
UK1 buys 2 tanks and 2 DDs.
Attack Taranto, take Ethiopia with inf and art from India and inf from Sudan plus bombardment. Activate Persia with Z98 transport. Retreat all alex forces to Egypt and put the ANZAC inf as a blocker in Alex, especially if the Taranto transport survives. Move infs to Rhodesia and build 2 tanks SAF, 2 DD off Canada

A smart Germany and Italian player have just taken your capital. If I see the UK build anything less than 9 land units in London AND if they do not bring the carrier and destroyer north to home waters then I will respond by building enough transports on G2 with all my extra cash and laugh as London can only bolster themselves with 10 land units before I take their capital. If they block well then Italy can easily take out a destroyer, cruiser or whatever block they have surviving after G2. (Italy in our games tends to almost always build a fighter on I1)

UK buy of less than 9 land units on UK1 and a failure to bring as much available fleet to the north Atlantic is a good recipe for a German occupied London.

I am well aware of Sealion. However, if you build a carrier, I automatically build 9 ingf in London. if you do not, I will attack your BB and CC if they’re in Z112 or if they’re in Z113(which means some of my fleet has survived), I can bloack it on UK1 or 2, depending on the situation

I don’t think you understood my build as Germany. Why build a carrier it is a waist. I can simply build the transports on G2 and then attack London on G3, the carrier most people build on G1 is just a waste of funds.

@calvinhobbesliker:

@Blitchga:

@calvinhobbesliker:

@Blitchga:

@calvinhobbesliker:

Mine is as follows(Assuming Alpha Setup):
UK1 buys 2 tanks and 2 DDs.
Attack Taranto, take Ethiopia with inf and art from India and inf from Sudan plus bombardment. Activate Persia with Z98 transport. Retreat all alex forces to Egypt and put the ANZAC inf as a blocker in Alex, especially if the Taranto transport survives. Move infs to Rhodesia and build 2 tanks SAF, 2 DD off Canada

A smart Germany and Italian player have just taken your capital. If I see the UK build anything less than 9 land units in London AND if they do not bring the carrier and destroyer north to home waters then I will respond by building enough transports on G2 with all my extra cash and laugh as London can only bolster themselves with 10 land units before I take their capital. If they block well then Italy can easily take out a destroyer, cruiser or whatever block they have surviving after G2. (Italy in our games tends to almost always build a fighter on I1)

UK buy of less than 9 land units on UK1 and a failure to bring as much available fleet to the north Atlantic is a good recipe for a German occupied London.

I am well aware of Sealion. However, if you build a carrier, I automatically build 9 ingf in London. if you do not, I will attack your BB and CC if they’re in Z112 or if they’re in Z113(which means some of my fleet has survived), I can bloack it on UK1 or 2, depending on the situation

I don’t think you understood my build as Germany. Why build a carrier it is a waist. I can simply build the transports on G2 and then attack London on G3, the carrier most people build on G1 is just a waste of funds.

Okay. Where do you build your transports? If in Z112, I sink them(even if you move the BB and CC there). If in Z113 with the BB, CC, my CC in Z112 survived and is retreated for use as a counter or left there to block

They are left in the Baltic in SZ 113. Your right you can block on G2. I have no intention of attacking on G2, I simply throw the transports in the water on G2. Then on UK2 they respond by building 10 units in London and blocking, (if any ships are left after G2, G2 is when you finish off any navy in the North Atlantic). If somehow they still have a ship to block before G3 then Italy on I2 can take it out with its 3 fighters, clearing the way to London from SZ113. It is the perfect way to keep UK honest as they will only allow it to happen to them once. It is perfect as well because UK thinks that you are going all Soviet front when you buy a major factory or all land troops on G1 and push towards the Soviet border. Then if the UK did not go hard defense in London you respond with the transports and moving your troops back to the west and taking London since the UK player can only add 10 units to London’s defenses.

In order to be back on topic, I tend to build up cruisers and a destroyer for the Atlantic which will move to the coast of Morocco on the turn that the US is about to move their allowing the US and UK to combine fleets against the Germany and/or Italian counter attack. I then try to bring 2 land units from Canada a turn into Morocco. I will also make sure that I can place 3 land units into Union of South Africa, most often a tank, a man and an artillery. Occasionally I will also put a minor factory into Persia as well.

As soon as I can I will build the Strategic bomber force in London to two bombers in order to keep German fighters out west to defend the factories, naval and air bases that I bomb every turn. If I can I will send my fighter escorts to force Germany to have even more fighters.

@calvinhobbesliker:

Okay then. UK builds 2 bmrs. Now your BB and CC and transports are threatened with 3 ftrs, 2 bmrs. French CC remains in Z112 as a blocker. If you build ships to defend, that’s less transports you can build. Alternatively, I can build 1 bmr, 5 inf and move the tac to UK, threatening it with 3 ftr, tac, bmr.

The fighters and tactical do not have the range to attack until the turn that the German fleet moves out to take London on G3? You also wont have a carrier to block with as the German luftwaffe and sub force would hunt or push away away any naval blocking units.

@calvinhobbesliker:

I assume you build a Tr, inf, and tank in Quebec a turn? Does this start after US enters war?

Sort of I try to get two transports going and then I simply build two infantry for the transports and a destroyer a turn (IPC permitting as the 3 units for the Unions of South Africa are more important)

I will also take the transport that is in Canada and immediately move to take Brazil on UK2. I find that two IPC and 3 infantry to be much more useful for the UK player than the US, especially since the US has to wait until war has been declared to take Brazil.

I try to get the control of North Sea/North Atlantic as soon as possible.

_(You don’t need bombers to reach less/non escorted German transport builds in SZ 113

Buy a CV in SZ 110 and send the figthers.

Sunk 3 german transports last game.)_

UK 1:

First I send the DD, TRN from new Brunswick to UK and unload on UK. (Hoping to kill a german sub on the defense.9
Attack the Italian fleet and meet the french ships mit the CV.

Taking Persia with the Egypt-Trn + Art to get the additional infs.

Don’t like minor in Egypt.

Depends on wether I need the CV- build in SZ 110.

Produce a Trn at South-Africa + Inf + Art, DD in Canada and Inf + Art in UK.

UK2: Ship builds in UK, Ground forces in South Africa.

Try to sink the last italian ships in the med. Sea.

Slow down the italian ground-forces in North Africa.

Preparing for a combined amphibious assault with US forces vs. Normandy in UK 4.

@marechallannes:

I try to get the control of North Sea/North Atlantic as soon as possible.

_(You don’t need bombers to reach less/non escorted German transport builds in SZ 113

Buy a CV in SZ 110 and send the figthers.

Sunk 3 german transports last game.)_

of course however if three transports were built off Berlin you cannot get those ones. As well if UK has put enough planes into London to be able to build two carriers and get through the German battleship and cruiser then the UK player has not been silly and I do not need to embarrass them. I am not saying this is what I do to a UK player who does not defend London but rather one who does something other than maximize defenses on UK1.

“off Berlin” :?

Which Sea Zone do you mean?

Earlier you guys were all about buying DDs for UK… Why is this?

@calvinhobbesliker:

@LHoffman:

Earlier you guys were all about buying DDs for UK… Why is this?

To sink German subs

What if they don’t have any subs? What if there is only 1 or so left after G1… which is the typical case I have seen. Even if there were a couple, you only need about 2 destroyers because then your planes and other ships can attack them too, and since subs suck on defense, the probablitity they get hits on ships is not good. I don’t see the point in spending money on so many of them. I know there are proponents of Destroyer and Sub fleets… but I don’t see the great application.

@calvinhobbesliker:

Well, most of the time, Germany still has 2-3 subs left. A smart German player will build a sub in the Baltic to stop the UK NO. However, DD’s are the cheapest defense for a fleet except carriers.

In my experience, G1 typically leaves 1 or 2 subs, as Germany is forced to take hits on them. And yes, I agree that building one for the Baltic is smart. But there is really no way to get to it until late in the game.

My only argument against buying them is that England, again in my experience, does not need defense on the seas. I mean, they do, but the German player does not typically attack the British ships after G2 because it becomes a waste of their air force. In which case, cruisers or battleships are better for thier bombardment capability AND their defense capability. And you are right that carriers even more superior in fleet defense… all the more reason to buy one of those instead.

I guess this is just my personal strategy. I never buy large numbers of destroyers, and I only buy them singly when I see a direct sub hunting need for them.

@calvinhobbesliker:

The problems with buying CVs and BBs are that they are expensive and useless if Germany does Sealion. I prefer spending money on at least 2 tanks a turn in south africa.

No, I do agree. But I am not thinking about a Sealion here. I’d like to see it in practice so I can formulate ideas on it, I don;t know if I like it or not yet. But my thoughts for the Royal Navy are for a non-Sealion game. At least non-Early Sealion game.

My current game is the first in which I have played as the Allies, and as Britain we made sure to budget 6 IPCs a turn for a tank in SA… two would be even better. I think that is a necessary element to hold Africa. That plus a UK1 Taranto… we did that too and it worked brilliantly. Italy has been a non-factor in our game because of it.

I always have destroyers to regain control of the Atlantic. Germany (and even Italy can help in this) can build 2-4 subs a turn and easily wrestle the Atlantic away Britain and even delay the US if it is done right. If both Italy and Germany concentrate and some subs and strategic bombers they can virtually delay the US for turns after they enter the war. I wont go into details as I have written them down before.

As for what SZ I mean when you build out of Berlin I am talking about SZ 114. The transports can easily still get to London and are completely safe from attack until the SU enters the war which shouldn’t be happening if you decide to go after London.