Euro-Axis bomber as can opener for Japan

@Gargantua:

The bomber provides “threat value”  even if it just SITS on the board.

Advertise it to your opponent like you are doing them a favour.

“Man, don’t forget, if you dont add an extra blocker…. I’m going to pop you with this.”  or whatever.

Glad to see others are attributing to my previous statements about threat… (not saying you have not always agreed, or that maybe it was I who was agreeing with you.)

Yes.  There has been occasion when Russia thought they blocked their retreating infantry stack from Japanese Mech/Arm stacks only to have the German bomber pop open the door so they can be wiped out before they make it to Moscow.  It was alpha 2, of course and there was a 33% chance the bomber was lost on the mission but I’ll trade 1, 12 IPC bomber for 54 IPC worth of Russian infantry. (Not counting the AA Gun that was lost because in Alpha 2, it didn’t do anything to Mech/Arm attacking.)

@Young:

German bomber from FIC attacks ANZAC destroyer and rolls a 5 (miss). ANZAC destroyer defends and rolls a 2 (hit) shooting down the German bomber and maintaining the screen. This could turn everything on it’s head if you depend too much on the bomber, in order to carry out big plans. I like your creative thinking though.

It is a double whammy though.  India, in your example, has to assume the destroyer is lost and prepare for it.  Germany does not have to attack the Destroyer if India is properly prepared.  Chicken and the Egg situation really.  But you are correct, the odds are:

Attacker: 1 Bom. v. Defender: 1 Des.
Average battle duration: 1.3 rounds of combat
Overall %*: A. survives: 56.9% D. survives: 14.8% No one survives: 28.3%

Chance.

So in reality, since all you want is the destroyer dead, you dont care as much about the bomber (you’d like to keep it, of course, but you’re willing to sacrifice it to achieve your mission, else the attack wouldn’t happen) you have a 85.2% chance of success and a 14.8% chance of failure.  I’ll take those odds just about every time, unless the risk of high value units for position on the board that isn’t important is the situation. (I wouldn’t attack the destroyer if I didn’t need to clear it for my allied nation to make an attack, but would every time if it opened the door for me.)

@gsh34:

Hopefully Axisplaya isn’t reading any of this. :wink:

You can count on that !  :lol:

@gsh34:

@Gargantua:

The bomber provides “threat value”  even if it just SITS on the board.

Advertise it to your opponent like you are doing them a favour.

“Man, don’t forget, if you dont add an extra blocker…. I’m going to pop you with this.”  or whatever.

Yea, that was my thought too. That it the threat that really matters.  Your opponent would have to factor that into his calculations.  Sure, he can  plan on my bomber missing and his destroyer hitting, but that’s only going to happen 10% of the time.  If he wants to risk me sinking his fleet or under-defending India because he has a blocking DD out there, be my guest.

Because of the threat value, I would do my level best to get two German bombers out there if I could.  Then, if they want to put up a blocking screen, it has to be a minimum of two vessels.  Plus, sometimes there is more than one route to get to a place and then the Allies would need 4 or more blockers to try to stop Japan.  At that point, it would most likely be prohibitive for the Allies to throw out so many blockers.  The bombers don’t necessarily have to be used either.  They could just sit in FIC (or where ever) and Japan would be able to send a SS + planes to bleed the Allies for naval vessels.

I really need to work this into a game.  Hopefully Axisplaya isn’t reading any of this. :wink:

Uhm…do you run into a lot of situations where Japan is far enough into Russia that the German bomber could can open for them, but Germany is not at war with Russia???  That means the Japanese have to be in there by round 3 and I don’t see that happening really…(On round 4 someone is going to declare on the other, usually…)

It’s a very good idea.

You don’t even need the AB in Rom.

You only need to own one of this territories : Sui, She, Hop, Kwe, Yun, Sze, Sik

You are totally due to have one of this territories by J2.

So G2 or I2 you land an Axis bmb in Rom or Bul or Gre, and by G3/I3, it’s safely landed on Japanese Soil.

I will sure give it a try.

Well, since it is my idea it would only be fair that someone else uses it against me first!  You would be the type of mean, dastardly, underhanded, no shower taking, tobacco chewing, missing teeth character to try that wouldn’t you Axisplaya?

Dunno about him, but I’m game.

The problem is, how often would the situation present itself?  And yes, I suppose Japan opening for Germany would be better possible than Germany doing it for Japan…seems even less plausible to me.  What would Germany gain from the opening that, for instance, they couldnt get from an Italian opening?

I like using the Bombers to soften Russia instead.

Hehe. Actually, i like that idea so much, that i think i’m gonna try it right now in my game with Questioneer. The German bmb will land Rom by G3 and will be in China on G4.

now if ONLY bombers could NCM an infantry unit to a friendly territory…. THAT would be fun.

@Gargantua:

now if ONLY bombers could NCM an infantry unit to a friendly territory…. THAT would be fun.

I dont see why paratroopers can’t reinforce places as well as attack them.  “Oops, we TOTALLY screwed up the drop zone!  Oh well, have some Wine and Cheese in Paris!”

Sounds like a good idea until the bomber missed and the Destroyer hit. I bet you could get lucky a few times and make your opponent worry and sweat and start sending multiple blockers out

@suprise:

Sounds like a good idea until the bomber missed and the Destroyer hit. I bet you could get lucky a few times and make your opponent worry and sweat and start sending multiple blockers out

You only need to be lucky 1 time !  Blockers are placed for good reasons. If you kill an important one and Japan gets to blow the allies fleet while keeping some planes and his capital ships alive, then this single bomber might decide the outcome of the war…
If you never use it but it makes the allies spend 2dd instead of one each time they want to block you it’s still very much worth it.

in some cases, there aren’t those “extra” destroyers to spare… Like going from a naval base you build in Hainan, to Calcutta…