The Allies playbook: Standard openers and suggestions for sequential rounds

@Panther Thanks for clarifying. It may be best not to even include a carrier with a guest fighter when attacking.

@JDOW also would you mind if I read your input on youtube?

I’d agree with everyting said.

I believe that any 2player game should be played with a bid or a handicap based on skill (in a broad sense of the word). We have had players here who believe the axis can’t win, and need a bid of 20. That is probably correct for the way they play the game. That being said, it is an interesting exercise to figure out what the bid would be on an expert level.

One thing that has not been mentioned is the game LL or not?
a LL game has to have a higher bid than a luck game. LL attacks can be optimized a lot better, an a smaller force in needed to ensure a win. Just try to calculate how much you need to be 99 % certain of paris falling in a LL game vs a regular game

Italian canopening is even more effective when combined with the Germany “Dark Skies” option with lots of bombers.  The tanks+mechs+bomber attack options means that the Allies cannot place moderate-sized stacks within two spaces of the German/Italian main stack.  Russia ends up cowering in Moscow with a few minor exchanges each round.  UK ends up with a strong stack near Iraq, never daring to move it too close to the Germans.

Meanwhile the huge range of the German bombers give that power flexibility to find opportunistic attacks:
*Allied ground forces in W. Europe
*Allied ships in the Atlantic
*Allied ships in the Med
*Push into Siberia
*Mid-game Sealion or Egypt attack

I am not saying that this plan guarantees victory, but it allows League players to aim towards eventual victory in G13-17.  Most face-to-face games end up with a Moscow attack on G5-8 when the Axis players just decide that the numbers look close enough.  With the battlecaculator and more time on PBEM/PBF games, Germany can comb through the options every turn and patiently wait for the right opening with a big TUV swing.

A lot of times what usually breaks the Allies is how poor US reacts to what side of the world to fight on.

Back to the OP. One other point I’m coming to see is devastating is to land 4 ground units on Kwangsi J1. These units really make a big difference in being able to hold on to Yunnan. While you can’t get the TTs back to Japan J2 unless you combine a Naval base on Hainan or Kwangsi, the main game in Asia isn’t to get Japanese land units on Asia but to deny the Burma Rd. If you can do that, your one step on the way to Axis victory in the Pacific. One of the land units can come from Okinawa, two from Japan so you are only relocating one unit within Asia, the artillery from Manchuria, but in a very advantageous way.

Great, thanks again. Great forum with awesome reaction time to simple questions!

Keep it up guys!

Do You want your German tanks to take France on round 1 and then grab Western Ukraine 5 spaces away by round 3? Then read on.
_* Warning the author of this article and the websites it is on do not claim responsibility for games lost due to following the advise below.

Reader discretion is advised._

Take France, on round 2 attack Yugoslavia with 1 Romanian infantry, 2 other infantry/mechs, and 4 armor in France (sending 5 risks winning). Attack one combat round, retreat to Romania with 4 surviving tanks and maybe a Mech depending on if Yugoslavia hit 2 or 3 times. Then attack W. Ukraine (assumes you declared war round 1 or 2 and captured Bessarabia or E. Poland.

Next:

Can you grab S. France, Greece, Iraq, and Egypt all at the same time on round 2 with Italy (gaining a National Objective) and proceed to Caucasus round 4? I can, see below.

(The allies can stop this with effort and foresight)

I1: attack Yugoslavia for 1 combat round with all N. Italy land units and 1 Albanian infantry, retreat at least 2 artillery and 1 armor to Albania. Move other Albanian infantry into Bulgaria to gain 4 infantry. Transport 1 armor from Albania and 1 South Italy infantry to trans-Jordan (if it is not empty stop reading, I am your opponent). Attack Alexandria with all the Tobruk land units. Move the 1 S. Italy troop and 2 fighters to N. Italy and build 1 artillery and 2 infantry there.

G2: land your W. Germany staged airforce 3 air units (if you built 3 planes G1) to Trans-Jordan after sending the 8 air units staged in North Italy to attack Egypt and land in Trans-Jordan. Maybe send 2 tanks from France into S. France if France placed 2 infantry and 1 artillery there, retreat when you hit once. Only do this if you don’t like attacking 3 units with Italy’s force shown below.

I2: Attack S. France with N. Italy land units and 1 fighter. Attack Greece with Albanian and Bulgarian land units plus a fighter unless you want 2 fighters on S. France. Capture empty Egypt or fight any units built there on UK2 with Alexandra force (move the mechs/tanks to transjordan non combat). Move Transjordan infantry and tank into Iraq. Secure your first National Objective!

G3: Land some air units in Iraq if UK has transports that can hit, Maybe clear Persia of any UK units there and land some air units in Egypt to secure it.

I3: Take N. Persia and move tanks/mech from transjordan into either Syria, Persia, or N. Persia as needed.

G3: Use air force in area to clear Caucasus if heavily defended. Then Italy can handle any reinforcements. Works well if you declared war turn 1 and are in Russia drawing them North.

I4: Take Caucasus with up to 4 infantry 2 armor, 2 Mechs and 2-3 fighters.