G1

Here is what I typically do on G 1.

Research & Development
None

Repair Units & Facilities
None

Purchase New Units
1 Aircraft Carrier
1 Destroyer
1 Submarine

Combat Movement
SZ 091 = 1 submarine
SZ 106 = 1 submarine
SZ 109 = 1 submarine
SZ 110 = 1 submarine, 3 fighters, 3 Stukas, 1 Bomber
SZ 111 = 1 submarine, 1 battleship, 1 fighter, 1 Stuka, 1 bomber
Normandy = 1 tank, 2 mechs
S. France = 1 tank, 2 mechs
France = 7 infantry, 3 artillery, 4 tanks, 1 Stuka
Yugoslavia = 6 infantry, 2 artillery, 3 tanks, 1 fighter

Non-Combat Movement
1 Cruiser, 1 transport to SZ 112 (1 infantry, 1 artillery from Germany to Norway)
3 Infantry from Norway to Finland
3 infantry, 1 artillery from Germany to Poland
1 infantry from Germany to Slovakia
1 infantry from Romania to Bulgaria
6 infantry, 1 artillery from Germany to W. Germany
1 AA gun from Germany to Poland
2 AA gun from Germany to Slovakia
1 Stuka from France to W Germany
3 fighters, 2 Stukas, 1 bomber from SZ 110 to W Germany (assuming all survive)
1 Stuka from SZ 110 to land on carrier in SZ 112
1 Stuka, 1 bomber from SZ 111 to W Germany
1 fighter from SZ 111 to land on carrier in SZ 112
If any British units survive in SZ 111 after 1 round combat, retreat 1 submarine, 1 battleship to SZ 112 (assuming 1 or both survive)
1 fighter from Yugoslavia to S Italy

Place New Units
1 Aircraft Carrier SZ 112
1 Destroyer SZ 112
1 Submarine SZ 112

Collect Income
$44 territories
$10 National Objectives
$19 Capital Plunder
= $73

With these movements, assuming all are successful, Germany reaps the following benefits:
$5 more in the bank for next round. Even if I decide on Sealion and buy 10 transports, I can get an extra infantry to put somewhere.
The four extra Bulgarians will help guard the Eastern Front in Romania.
The artillery in Norway will go to Finland so those troops will have a little offensive punch for Barbarossa.
Germany now controls ALL of France with 2 extra minor ICs and naval bases. Also, with taking S France has access to the Med if want to help Italy. Minor drawback, French ships in SZ 93 could convoy raid and lower German income, but still not below $70.
SZ 111 = UK gets an average of 2 hits, which would sink the sub and damage the battleship. By retreating to SZ 112 after 1 round of combat, it should leave the UK with 1 damaged battleship while leaving Germany with 1 carrier (w/fighter and tac), 1 battleship (damaged), 1 cruiser, 1 destroyer, 1 submarine and 1 transport in SZ 112. If all UK ships are sunk and UK doesn’t scramble from Scotland, then German BB will be stranded in SZ 111 but Royal Navy is all gone.
Attacking SZ 109 eliminates that UK transport which could go to Canada for more reinforcements or even take Holland which will likely be unguarded. Granted, it will be a small force easily overcome, but still a nuisance.
Attacking the cruiser in SZ 91 could be great help for the Italian fleet, may even prevent a Taranto.

Now, I would point out that all these gains are dependent upon German successes. If the dice go bad or UK scrambles, could be a whole different ball game afterward.

@knp7765:

Normandy = 1 tank, 2 mechs
S. France = 1 tank, 2 mechs

How do you move all that mech onto S. France and Normandy without armor accompanying it?

TripleA allows mech to move independently of tanks, but my understanding of the rules was that they need to be paired 1:1 (player enforced in tripleA).

As for my own G1 approach, I play only regular dice rules, so that factors into my strategies.  :-D
If conservative I might try something similar to what Knp and YG do, but I would also observe the following…

Hitting the British cruiser in sz 91 is a fairly high risk play, but the payoff is also substantial. Its basically a 1 in 3 chance to sink the cruiser in the first round of combat at a trade of 6 TUV for 12 TUV, but the real payoff is that it stunts UKs options against Italy in the med. So this is a gamble, but one I consider a solid gamble. I think there is an interesting choice to be made between sz 106 and sz 109. In 106 the german sub doesn’t face any scramble threat, and its basically a 50/50 shot to sink 15 TUV (killing a transport in the process.) Sz 109 is also interesting because that transport and dd could potentially threaten annoying UK1 amphibious launches. If going to 109 I may send the single fighter from Holland, in the event you can draw a UK scramble to that sz over the others, or to take the hit on the fighter and try to keep the sub alive to sink the transport.

sz 110 can only get 1 sub onto it if you go for those prior two attacks, and sz 111 can get dicey as well. I would also send the battleship into the fight in one of these, plus at least 1 sub each. I usually throw the strat bombers into whichever fight I didn’t send the battleship to. The exact break up of TacBs and Fighters is a little flexible. If bringing the Holland fighter to sz 109 then you have to do an uneven split, if forgoing sz 109, I like to go 2 of each fighters paired with TacBs in both sea zones 110 and 111.

If gambling for the whole of Europe:
1 inf, 1 art, 1 tank to Normandy (89% odds). 1 tank 1 mech to S. France (minor gamble at 52% odds, if it fails left for Italy.)
On France 6 inf, 3 mech, 2 art, 4 tanks and the tac Bomber from Poland (93% odds on Paris.)

If Not gambling for the whole of Europe:
Only Normandy, with the units from the S. France attack just going to France 5 tanks (for 99% odds on Paris)

or vice versa, only S. France (no Normandy attack sending them to French Capital instead for 99.8% odds on Paris), depending on the whether you want to press Baltic or Med. In either case, bringing the tactical bomber from Poland is a given, just to ice it! haha :-D

Finally, I go with the Romania Bounce move!
A staple, I see it in practically every one of my games. The play is like this…

all ground units remaining in Greater Southern Germany, along with the fighter from Slovakia Hungary, and a single Infantry unit from Romania will attack into Yugoslavia. Strafe for 1 round, to soften up the territory for Italy, then retreat all attacking units to Romania. If you get a clean sweep, then that’s fine, but the ideal is to strafe for the movement exploit.The fighter involved in this attack may land in Southern Italy to cover Taranto (esp. if the sz 91 sub attack against the cruiser failed) or it can fly to anywhere else you might want to put it.

On Non Com, I take Finland for Germany light with 1 inf (if sz 109 failed) or heavy with everything (if sz 109 succeded.)

Depending on what happened with Yugoslavia I may also take Bulgaria at this point for Germany, or leave it for the Italians if the attacks went well. For fleet movements I prefer to leave the cruiser in sz 114 to trap the Russians (prevents their cruiser from blocking in 114 on R1), but might move the transport forward depending on how the air attacks went against UK (whether they scrambled, if so how many units remain, or if not then staying in sz 114 for sure haha.) Depending on how many of my fighters survive in the attacks against the royal navy, I like to try and land at least 3 air in W. Germany for the AB scramble option, but may leave air in Holland with aaaguns, if my fighter from there or tac B from Germany to sz110 somehow survives.

As for Purchase, I think you have some flexibility there too. I like the carrier and 2 transports buy. Or the carrier + destroyer + sub buy. Or 1 strategic bomber and 1 sub with 12 ipcs left over.

12 ipcs left over is a decent spread. You can spend on infantry, tanks, a bomber etc. even a minor factory. This last only if Romania is part of the plan. I find it better to buy the minor and then upgrade for 20, an additional 2 ipcs cost, rather than drop 30 ipcs on the major all at once. Its easier to stage over two rounds, gets you three units production in the interim, and I find the additional cost is pretty negligible. Its 12+20 over two rounds, vs 30 all at once, and for me at least, the former is bit easier to work with despite the minor increase in total cost. A Romania factory isn’t necessary though, and can spread Germany overmuch, if the other battles didn’t go off well, so I’m not sure how much faith I’d put in it on G1. Still its an option with the 12 ipcs remaining.

I also think the G1 airbase buy can be kind of fun, though that’s putting a lot of eggs into one basket. The main thing is to strike a balance between conservatism and taking some chances where the trades would really benefit Axis if they prevail. G1 is probably the diciest round in the game, and you might get diced no matter what you do, so I think it does make sense sometimes to try for a few reaching attacks. That’s why I kind of like the 1 sub against each sz model. Though if you really want to play it as safe as possible you can just try for sz 110/111 and then send the lone wolf to sz 106 for the target of opportunity kill, and to try and draw the UK destroyer back to Canada instead of forward towards Norway or Holland or Gibraltar etc.

G1 you really need to focus on maintaing overall Air superiority against the sea zones bordering London that could potentially drop ships. Two approaches to that, either threaten invasion with transports and force them to buy ground instead of ships for defense, or have enough air at the ready to deter any attempt to get in the water by UK. Basically mass luftwaffe with subs serving as the fodder.

Oh also, for the non com phase, if transports weren’t part of your first round purchase, I think it makes sense to drive everything south, with the 3 remaining tanks to Romania, and everything else on the eastern front stacked in Slovakia. From here they can support the Romania bounce/stafe if it succeeded, but can also redirect with the entire force onto E. Poland on G2 if desired. I think the question of whether to take Bulgaria with G, or leave the units for Italy can be very interesting. I haven’t decided which I prefer.

@Black_Elk:

@knp7765:

Normandy = 1 tank, 2 mechs
S. France = 1 tank, 2 mechs

How do you move all that mech onto S. France and Normandy without armor accompanying it?

TripleA allows mech to move independently of tanks, but my understanding of the rules was that they need to be paired 1:1 (player enforced in tripleA).

The only time mech has to be paired 1:1 with armor is when blitzing enemy controlled territories. When passing through friendly territories, they can move 2 on their own. As for my movements:
2 mechs W Germany > Holland/Belgium > Normandy
2 mechs W Germany > Northern Italy > Southern France

We have played with a house rule that mechs can blitz on their own, so even that would not be a consideration for us.
By the way, I only use regular dice rules as well (no low luck!).

One move you mentioned was the “Romania Bounce” where you simply strafe Yugoslavia with units from Greater Southern Germany and 1 infantry from Romania, then retreat all units to Romania. I understand that it is a very good strategical move and gets your guys up to the Russian border faster, but I have just never liked that move. Too unrealistic for my tastes. Yes, I know a lot about this game is unrealistic, but I guess that just pushes it too far for me. The “All units retreat to 1 territory” rule has been more of a burden for me when I play (leaving key territories undefended). While this is a good way to turn it into a help, I just don’t like it and almost never use it that way. Thinking back, it might have cost me a few losses, but that’s just how I prefer to play it.

Fascinating! My reading of the rule was always that the Mech needed to be paired with Tanks 1:1 anytime their movement resulted in attack into enemy territory across 2 spaces. So you’re saying the only time they need to be paired is when blitzing both moves 2 spaces through hostile territory?

That is fairly huge! Definitely alters G1 in favor going for Normandy and S. France.

To think, all the while I was unaware of this! I had always just figured it was an issue with tripleA, and that people were ignoring the movement pairing. Thanks for the clarification there dude. This basically upends my whole assessment of G40 strategy for years. Take it back to square one I guess. How could anything I know be trusted now?

Legit, I’m telling you, in every game I have played since this board came out, I have been playing that Mechs needed Tanks to attack into enemy territory across two spaces. If they can move 2 spaces into an attack all by themselves, provided the intermediate territory is friendly, that basically changes a whole series of possible plays! Earth shattering. Funny how I can play all that time, and it takes something like this to bring it to light for me.

You just went atomic on me with that bombshell dude hahaha! back to the lab I guess. Gah! :-D

Ps. I think I may adopt your HR with respect to Mech blitzing independently all the time, since now their pairing with tanks just seems silly to me. Before the way we treated it, Mech could move 2 spaces solo on non com, but if they were going to move 2 spaces into combat, they were always accompanied by Armor. This meant Tanks and Mech together, always, for any attack across 2 territories, regardless of whether the first territory was friendly or not. If Mech can do this alone, it basically changes everything. Axis must truly crush the way you guys are playing in that case! And I thought they had the advantage before, but this really allows G/I to put the stomp down with can openers. Crazy.

My mind is thoroughly blown. Now I need to go sleep this shocker off haha. Night all

I was casually sifting through some of the Tier 1 League games, and I noticed that taking Southern France on G1 seems almost universal.  I have been a bit hesitant with that, since I’ve been burned by having less forces in France, but it’s something I’ll be incorporating into my future games for certain now.

As for buys, though, I’ve never really gotten the need for the Aircraft Carrier.  I guess it’s because I tend to not bother with a German fleet.  Sealion is a trap.  I like to either buy nothing, or go with two Bombers and a Sub.

Research & Development
None

Repair Units & Facilities
None

Purchase New Units
3 Artillery
3 Submarine

Combat Movement
SZ 106 = 2 submarine
SZ 110 = 2 submarine, 3 fighters, 3 Tacs, 1 Bomber
SZ 111 = 1 submarine, 1 battleship, 1 fighter, 1 Tac, 1 bomber  (strafe if possible)
France = 7 infantry, 3 artillery, 6 tanks, 4 mechs
Yugoslavia = 8 infantry, 2 artillery, 3 tanks, 1 fighter, 1 Tac

Non-Combat Movement
1 Cruiser, 1 transport to SZ 112 (2 infantry Denmark to Norway)
Retreat SZ 111 to SZ 112 if possible
3 Infantry from Norway to Finland
13 infantry, 3 artillery from Germany to Slovakia
1 infantry from Romania to Bulgaria
3 AA gun from Germany to Slovakia
3 AA gun from W Germany to Holland
2 fighters, 2 Tac from SZ 110 to Holland
1 Tac, 1 Fighter from SZ 110 to land in W Germany
1 Tac, 1 Fighter, 1 bomber from SZ 111 to W Germany
1 Fighter, 1 Tac from Yugoslavia to S Italy

Place New Units
3 Artillery Germany
3 Submarine SZ 112

Collect Income
$39 territories
$10 National Objectives
$19 Capital Plunder
= $68

Subs can hunt down any 111 survivors and protect the bb.  My move into France was so that I get the best outcome with as few casualties as possible.  My naval priorities are similar, best bang for the buck.  Germany turn 2 sets up in Romania, then invades turn 3.

@Young:

Interested more in safe plays rather than risky ones, I mean how would most experienced players feel about their German teamate trying to go after France, Normandy, Southern France, 111, 110, and Yugoslavia all in turn 1?… what are the odds like?

Well I’m still reeling from this Mech revelation, but it really doesn’t alter my opening assessment all that much, just that I’ve been spending a lot more on tanks to activate mech, than I needed to haha.

I think overcompensating for Paris comes about in a dice game, because of the experience of getting burned there “that one time.” Once you’ve been shocked with heavy casualties, or seen a complete dud, or even witnessed Paris somehow surviving, then you want to pad for it in all your games. But statistically France should be a shoe in. For example in the attacks outline by KNP, which may seem high risk both Normandy and S. France are above 80%, and Paris itself (if you bring the stuka) is 90% with 5 units remaining on average, meaning all the armor lives and stuka lives.

If you forego either Normandy or France, and send the extra units from one of those attacks to Paris you jump the odds 99% with 10 units remaining on average. So its basically a question of how much you are willing to risk in casualties.

Now before if I really wanted southern France, I would bring 2 tanks 1 mech to get that battle at 90%, (because of how I thought mech pairing needed to work), but now that the reverse is possible, 1 tank 2 mech at above 80% odds, I would almost certainly go for it.

How to play the sz attacks is more complicated, because you can’t control for the scramble, and whether UK scramble or not may have to do with what G purchased. Its it trickier situation to parse the odds. In general if you go safe sz110, sz111, and sz 106 then you should prevail handily, but its still possible to get ruthlessly diced even if you pad for it. Likewise if you do the sub split like KNP suggested you may also get burned, but if you don’t and if you win, then you have set up your Axis partner for an excellent start, and they will probably be patting you on the back for having such vision and trust in your dice haha. Or you could get totally smoked, at which point they might blame everything that goes wrong for the rest of the game on you ;)

That’s just the way it goes in A&A, but in a team game, I like to see Germany exploit the initiative and use G1 to max effect. We all know how easy it is to get burned by dice, but if the teammate wants to take a considered risk to set up a winning game, I generally support the idea.

Great Idea, YG.
I would even like a turn-by-turn outline for both sides if it ever gets to that. Just to see what the consensus is, especially for the allies (the black sheep in our family ;-)). As far as Axis strategy goes:

Research & Development None

Repair Units & Facilities
None

Purchase New Units:
6 art
2 inf

Combat Movement:
SZ#106 - 2 Submarines
SZ#110 - 2 Submarines, 3 Fighters, 3 T.Bombers, 1 S.Bomber
SZ#111 - 1 Submarine, 1 Battleship, 1 Fighter, 1 T.Bomber, 1 S.Bomber
France - 7 Infantry, 1 Mech, 3 Artillery, 6 Tanks
Yugoslavia - 9 Infantry, 2 Artillery, 3 Tanks, 1 TAC (from Poland)
Southern France - 1 Fighter (from Hungary), 3Mech

Non-Combat Movement:
1 Cruiser, 1 Transport into SZ#113
1 Infantry from Romania into Bulgaria
3 Infantry from Norway into Finland
9 Infantry, 3 Artillery, 3 AA Gun from Germany into Poland
3 Infantry from Germany into West Germany
3 AA Guns from W.Germany into Holland
1 T.Bomber from Yugho (Poland) to S. Italy
1 Fighter from S. France (Hungary) to N. Italy
Surviving air units from the Atlantic:

• (1 TAC must land in Holland) 2 TAC, 2 FTR to Holland

• 2 FTR, 2 TAC, 2 STR to West Germany

Place New Units:
Art in Germany
Inf in West Germany

Collect income:
$42 income
$10 National objective
$19 Capital gain
$ x  lost to convoying of #93 by France
= $71 - x

Grand strategy here is to buy a 30-40ish fleet in the med to give the UK some real headaches for a change while still going for a late barbarossa. Not with the aim to capture Moscow, but to get to an axis ~200IPCs income total, reducing the allies to ~130-140IPCs. And that is without Egypt or any of the ME territories so if you can also grab those (if the UK for example succumbs to the pressure and looses Egypt)…
Japan goes for a J4DOW and kills China + takes Russian territories from the get go. Siberians are forced to retreat with the minimum needed Japanese land units + the airforce. Rest of the IJA marches into China/towards India.

Nothe that this G1 works optimally with LL (100% winchance everywhere). Still when rolling dice you have to be very unlucky to fail. I’ve got burned in France too but the odds for that are very low so when that happens I just immediately surrender and start the game over. After all, it is only Turn 1 so not a lot of time lost. Sadly enough, this is how A&A works: playing chess and let dice decide if you may take your opponent’s pieces…

@Shin:

I was casually sifting through some of the Tier 1 League games, and I noticed that taking Southern France on G1 seems almost universal.  I have been a bit hesitant with that, since I’ve been burned by having less forces in France, but it’s something I’ll be incorporating into my future games for certain now.

As for buys, though, I’ve never really gotten the need for the Aircraft Carrier.  I guess it’s because I tend to not bother with a German fleet.  Sealion is a trap.  I like to either buy nothing, or go with two Bombers and a Sub.

Buying a fleet with the aim to do SL is a trap indeed. Buying it in the med is just giving the UK major headache. BUT… only if you can agree with the Japanese they wait with their DOW. With an early US entry a German fleetbuy in the med is definately not optimal. Alternative is to buy a fleet in #113 and then take Gibraltar with it G2 but once again, this only works with a late US Entry. Because a #113 fleet is more easily cut out of action (blocked) by the UK anyway, I prefer a G2 buy in Southern France :-).

YG, I think you should pull back a little and first discuss over-arching Axis strategies before jumping through the looking glass at specific piece moves.  One thing I’ve found with inexperienced players is they want to know what pieces to move, with little consideration to strategy.  Or they’ll know a move is good without realizing why it is so.
If you lay the foundation of solid strategy, they can then determine what’s best for them on any particular G1.
First, a Germany player must consider what their goals are, and how they’re going to go about them.

• What is your Russia strategy?  Are you going to buy all land units and plow into Moscow, knowing that you must contend with Allied landings at some point?  Do you slow down your assault, shaving some money off towards a navy?  Is the navy meant to last, or merely a distraction?  Are you going to purchase additional factories to help the Russia front (Romania, Finland), or march from Berlin?  Are you going to deal with the Russian navy, as little as it is?  Will you maintain a fleet East of Denmark to help move troops to the Russia front via transports?

• What is your UK strategy?  Do you want to keep Operation SeaLion open through a naval purchase Rd 1, with a Rd 2 all transport buy?  Are you going to clear out their starting navy in SZ110 & 111?  Or are you going to let them regroup, and plan on countering any amphibious assaults with counter-attacks from Paris and Western Germany?  Do you plan on trying to convoy the UK with subs?  It could turn into a cat-and-mouse with destroyers and subs, so expect a constant drain of resources from the Russian front.

• What is your strategy for the Med?  Are you going to land planes in Southern Italy to help scramble for the expected Taranto attack on the Italian battleship and cruiser?  Are you going to soften Yugoslavia and retreat to Romania or take it for Germany?  Will you leave Southern France to Italy, or do you plan on deploying naval units to help Italy take Egypt?

I love the game because of its complexity.  There are many safe opening moves,  all that are very different.  Barring “risky” moves that see low odds of winning (70ish) with only a few pieces in the battle, like a G1 attack on Russia, there are still many variations.

Another factor to keep in mind is what is your overall Axis strategy?  Are you going for a European win with Japan being on the defensive and keeping the US out of the war?  Are both sides going all-out and Japan attacks J1 or J2?

When the US enters the war, Germany must be prepared for the possibility of naval units in the Atlantic, threatening landings on any coastal area.  The sooner the US is in the war, the more naval pressure you’ll feel from the US.  Even if they buy all Pacific, you’ll likely be seeing a transport or two landing in Africa.  Is Germany going to plan for and react, or ignore?  If you don’t do an initial naval buy, then on Rd 3 decide the US fleet will be a problem, they’ve got a substantial headstart.

So for each posted opening, it would be helpful for a 1-2 sentence explanation of what your strategy is.  “With this summary, I’m going after Russia, but only after the UK fleet is cleared up.”  or “All in vs Russia, Allied landings be damned!”

Hey Black Elk,
Snicker, snicker. Sorry, I just have to laugh a bit that you didn’t know fully how mechs worked. After all the time you have spent playing. Still, I can’t laugh TOO much because I have come across things like that. I had been playing something a certain way for a long time only to find out I had been doing it wrong. Well, I’m glad I could straighten things out for you. Also, I strongly recommend allowing mechs to blitz by themselves as well. I don’t think an armored halftrack full of angry infantry need to be escorted by a tank to take over enemy territory that is unoccupied by enemy units.

By the way, I have a question regarding the G1 move and I would like to hear some opinions.
Here is the situation:
Sea Zone 111 – Germany moves the sub from SZ 124, Battleship from SZ 113, the fighter from Norway, a Stuka from W Germany and 1 bomber from Germany to Sea Zone 111. The UK decides not to scramble the Scotland fighter.
During the first round of combat, Germany gets 2 hits while England gets 1 hit. Germany takes the soak hit on the Battleship and England takes the soak hit on it’s Battleship and loses the destroyer.
Normally, Germany would retreat it’s naval units back to SZ 112, but this would leave a damaged Battleship and a Cruiser. So, Germany decides on a second round of combat.
The German sub scores with it’s surprise strike and sinks the UK Cruiser. The remaining German units get 3 more hits, but the UK Battleship also gets a hit.
Now since the Luftwaffe is of most importance to Germany, the UK hit must go to either the German submarine or the German battleship. Whichever unit survives will have to remain in SZ 111 with no protection.
Do you take out a 6 IPC submarine and leave the damaged Battleship which will likely be targeted by UK air? Or do you kill the 20 IPC Battleship allowing the Submarine to survive knowing that it will take a UK destroyer in order to take the sub out?
WHICH WOULD YOU DO?
We ended up sinking the Battleship. While it seems stupid to lose a 20 IPC unit in favor of a 6 IPC unit, we thought the Battleship would just be sunk by British air and was really no longer any good to us. The sub could not only not be hit by planes, it could be used to convoy raid or something else. As it turned out, the UK destroyer in SZ 109 survived the G1 attack so it went up to SZ 111 along with the Scotland fighter and promptly sank the German sub without UK loss. At least the battleship might have also sunk the destroyer. Still, I thought it was a better idea to save the sub instead of the battleship. Especially if that dang DD in SZ 109 could have been killed G1.
So what do you guys think?

@knp7765:

bmarine
SZ 109 = 1 submarine
…
Attacking SZ 109 eliminates that UK transport which could go to Canada for more reinforcements or even take Holland which will likely be unguarded. Granted, it will be a small force easily overcome, but still a nuisance.

…

Still, I thought it was a better idea to save the sub instead of the battleship. Especially if that dang DD in SZ 109 could have been killed G1.
So what do you guys think?

First off, I don’t quite understand the 109 attack. Sending one sub there invites a 4 scramble, which deletes your sub for a 1/3 chance of hitting the dd. The transport will die only if UK whiffs 1dd/4 fighters.

Your hypothetical is interesting, but I personally think the battleship is the clear choice to keep. As you say, it’s likely the UK will hunt down whatever sea unit is left in 111 (remember, ~66% that the 109dd is alive), and keeping the bb gives you a much greater chance of killing either the 109dd or a UK fighter on defence. Also, ditching the bb makes Taranto a much easier decision for UK.

@Whackamatt:

“All in vs Russia, Allied landings be damned!”

Purchase New Units:
1 Major Industrial Complex

Combat Movement:
z106 - 2 subs
z91 - 2 subs
z111 - 1 sub, 1 Battleship, 1 fighter, 1 stuka, 2 bombers (consider retreat depending on scramble and dice)
France - 7 inf, 2 art, 3 tanks, 4 fighters, 4 tacs
Yugoslavia - 1 inf from Romania; 6 inf, 2 art from Greater Southern Germany (retreat to Romania)

Non-Combat Movement:
Finland - 3 inf from Norway
Bulgaria - 1 tank from Romania
Poland - 3AA, 11inf, 3 art from Germany
Poland - 1 inf from Denmark, 1 art from West Germany via tt z114–>z113–>z114
Slovakia - 4 mechs, 5 tanks
Romania - 2 inf from Slovakia (plus ~5inf, 2 art retreat from yugo)
Southern Italy - land some planes
Tobruk - land some planes
West Germany - land remaining planes, 1 inf from Denmark
z112 - cruiser if BB retreated

Place New Units:
Major IC in Romania

Collect income:
$66

G2: build 10 fast units in Romania; DOW and march everything East, watch Bolsheviks run away; finish Yugo
G3: build stuff to defend coast of France; walk in to seize ICs in Ukraine and Leningrad; kill everything

I haven’t crunched the numbers, but I will say this.  After winning a game when the France attack failed (because my opponent was also attacking Southern France – I can’t even imagine also attacking Normandy), I started thinking about my G1 plan more, and it seems that sending every land unit available to France turn 1 seems to make more sense on every level, unless you have a purposes for taking that IC on turn one (for example, building some German ships G2 in the med in SZ93).

Here’s why:

If you are attacking Southern France and Normandy, even if you win every battle, you are gaining only 5 IPC’s in income extra for one turn (you’d have them on G2 anyway).  I bet that you will be losing at least one extra unit that you wouldn’t have lost had you just hit France on G1 and then the other territories on G2.  And, if you are losing 2 (or more than 2) then it is a net sum negative for the German player (in addition to the fact that you are now leaving yourself open to at least a 2% chance of losing the France battle).

When it comes to G1, all I can say is overkill is good…  :mrgreen:

Now, again, if you are planning to use Southern France on G2, that’s a different story, but I’m still not sure why you can’t just build those boats on G3…

so we have operation “All in on Russia ,Allied landings be damned”      and operation"overkill is good", which could be the same thing.

They both sound cool :)