Hi everybody,
We’ve played the following scenario on AAE40 with the latest alpha 3.9 rules and set up.
I’ve always been intrigued by the role the Finnish played in World War 2 and they might have been a more valuable ally to the Germans then the Italians were. Altho the Fins did have their own agenda (like retaking the territories lost in winter war, the Fins helped with the encirclement of Leningrad but did not move beyond that point, they also didn’t bother to attack Leningrad or even shell it with artillery as that was not their main objective) and did book great military successes only by themselves (with no aid from anyone else).
I myself like to play with the Axis the most and I’m kind of dissapointed that there’s no Finnish troops and the lack of Axis powers (altho there weren’t many in World War 2). I know it’s hard to put Finland on the board because of their lack of territories and their lack of colonies, however, I’m gonna try :)
Territories and starting set up:
Finland: 1 minor IC, 4 infrantries, 2 artillery, 2 fighters, 1 tactical (the finnish did have a significant and very effective air force during continuation war), 1 AA gun
SZ 114 (together with Soviet vessels, but neutral): 1 submarine, 1 destroyer.
Political situation:
After the Winter War, Finland lost parts of vyborg and because of stiff resistance, a cease-fire was signed between the Soviet Union and Finland (Finland was supposed to be completely invaded and ruled by the Soviet Union in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact). Germany took notice of this and strengthened ties between both countries, especially because of the lack of aid by the British and the Swedish.
Finland starts Neutral with all countries (except for Germany) and cannot declare war on anyone. Their vessels are free to operate in the Baltic Sea up to the Danish strait (SZ 113-115). They can only declare war on the Soviet Union when Germany decides to attack or when the Soviet Union declares war on Germany. The Soviet Union can also declare war on Finland on R4. They cannot declare war on Finland when London falls. France, the USA and the UK can only declare war on Finland as soon as Finland is in a state of war with the Soviet Union (altho I’m trying to think of a rule where the USA can’t declare war on Finland as they were never at a state of war with Finland during world war 2, but it can be too complicated to make it actually work. It could seem interesting tho to make an entire new campaign in this game.). When Finland is Neutral, they are only allied with the germans wich means that Germany can land units into Finland. Finland can also land units in originally owned german territories. Finland cannot attack any other Neutrals until they are in a state of war with the Soviet Union. When Finland is in a state of war with the Soviet Union, Finland will also ally itself with Italy and Japan.
National Objectives:
When not at war with the Soviet Union: +5 IPC’s that are transferred from Germany (Germany loses 5IPC’s) in the form of economical and military help.
When at war with the Soviet Union: +5 IPC’s when Finland (or other Axis powers) controls both Vyborg and Karelia. Theme: Some Elements in Finland dreamed of a ‘Greater Finland’ wich included soviet-controlled Karelia.
When at war with the Soviet Union: +5 IPC’s if Novgorod is under Finnish control (deny the +5 IPC’s to Germany). Theme: Boost in moral in display of showing great military capabilities.
(this is a picture of the “greater finland” imagined by some high officials in Finland during World War 2)
Finland’s capital will be Helsinki and it will be located on finland itself. It will not be considered as a victory city and when Finland falls, Finland transfers its remaining IPC’s to the Allied player that captured Finland.
Finland starts with 7 IPC’s and Germany will earn 5 IPC’s less when it is not at war with the Soviet Union (you can give up the NO with economical benefit between Germany and the Soviet Union).
Now the problem with adding all this fancy Finnish stuff, is that it adds 82 IPC value to the Axis powers. It also looks like the Finnish are probably only going one way and that is into Russia. It seems fair to give the Russians an addition of around 80 IPC’s worth of units wich will be displaced a little behind the front lines.
SZ 114: +1 Destroyer
SZ 127: +1 Destroyer
Russia: +1 Strategical Bomber, +1 Tank, +1 Artillery, +1 Mech, +3 Infrantry
Archangel: +2 infrantry
Nemetsia: +1 infrantry
Vologda: +1 infrantry
Smolensk: +1 infrantry
Novgorod: +2 infrantry, +1 artillery
this is an addition of 76 IPC’s with units scattered all across the northern parts of Russia so the player still has a little bit of mobility to move them where he wants.
I’m also thinking in making Sweden pro-Finland (they will act as a strict neutral when attacked by other axis powers) when either Norway is attacked or when Finnish land troops encounter french, American, Anzac or British forces, but I’m not sure wether this will be good for balance. At least I’d like to do something with Sweden becomming pro-Finland.
Now how our game ended, the Axis won by concentrating almost exclusively on Russia. The gains the fins made were hard as my oponent moved all his additional forces towards the finish border and Leningrad. Finland needed help from the Germans to be reinforced. But they did manage to capture Vyborg and Karelia. It was hard to manage when they were at war with Russia and didn’t capture Vyborg and Karelia right away (this gave the Finish their only 2IPC income). When Finland finally captured Karelia and Vyborg, Germany captured Leningrad. The Finnish then acted more like a reinforcement force or counterattacked Soviet attacks (the Finnish went behind the Soviet Union here in this game). They went on to secure Archangel and some other northern territorry and watched how the Germans captured Moscow. When the Allies landed in Norway, Finland was able to push them out succesfully.
It was fun to see another Axis power on the board, the white pieces from HBG really did their job. A nice addition!
However there were still some questions. Remember, we played AAE40, not the global version:
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We placed them 3rd in order, behind the Soviet Union (except when the German player attacked, they were placed right after Germany to assist on the assault, but it didn’t matter as no attack came as both Vyborg and Karelia were too good reinforced and would leave Finland vulnerable on the counterattack, the rounds after that they were back in 3rd order). What do you think is the best place to place the Finnish?
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Do you have any more National Objectives that you can think of and anything to counter that to keep the balance in the game?
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Any idea on making Sweden pro-finland or pro-axis?
Please tell me what you think and if you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them!
