when I first played Axis and Allies 1996 with my dad as a child one of the main strategies used for the Allies and the Germans was air raids which a bomber would hit the capital city and if it wasnt hit by AA it would be able to take out 1 to 6 IPCs from the player more if you bring more than 1 bomber. The next axis and allies version we played and continue to play is 1940 global and with the newer rules of AAA and fighters being able to intercept and now that instead of directly losing IPC from a raid the player hit has to spend IPC to repair facilitates hit by the raid, This would be find infact I like it being able to hit shipyards or Airfields to eliminate their bonus but the fact the fighters can intercept now and the Added AAA has kind of prevented these raids from occurring because their is just too much risk for little reward since escort fighters are usually out of range (for Allies anyway) and the Anti- air is too strong in certain areas (England). Does anybody now of a way to fix this to make Air raids possible?
Actually, SBR are way more in favor of the attacker.
Don’t be afraid of a few fighters if you still have the number on your side, even if only with StBs.
Don’t need escort, just at least 3 of them as minimum against undefended IC.
The odds of making damage are very high compared to other and older methods.
G40 2nd Ed. IS the most generous amongst all from attacker POV.
You play 1D6 +2 damage per Strategic Bomber, right?
All planes in air combat roll @1, right?
Some players, like Young Grasshopper and his fellow board players even find it too much and keep 1D6 basic damage unless the StB starting point is an Air Base. Only then, it is 1D6+2.
I have found that the interceptor/escort option often ends up favoring the attacker. Most times as the defender, unless I out number the attacker, I won’t bother sending up interceptors. In most cases, the attacker will gladly trade bomber losses for defender fighter losses as in many cases, the defender really needs those fighters to defend their capital.
Also, losing them in SBRs just seems like such a waste since they only defend at 1, while regular defense is at 4 plus you can take infantry as hits before losing your fighters. In an SBR, any attacker hits go straight to your fighters.
Here’s a good example: One time I was playing Russia and Germany decided to SBR Moscow. He had 5 bombers and I had 5 defending fighters. I thought with even numbers I had a good chance so I sent my 5 fighters up against his bombers. I did manage to down one of his bombers while he hit THREE of my precious fighters! End result: My defense of Moscow took a nasty hit while he still had enough bombers to pound my factory to oblivion.
Also, the AA guns haven’t changed too much, particularly in the case of SBRs and facilities. Each facility has their own AA protection and they only roll 1 die per attacking airplane. That is just like the old AA gun rules.
As for the other AA guns on that territory, if you are running an SBR, you ignore those other AA guns. Those are only there to protect the military units in that territory. It doesn’t matter if your enemy has 20 AA guns there, if you are running an SBR, those AA guns do not matter to you at all.
So to make it worth it and be safer doing an air raid with at least 2 bombers would be good that way if the AA or interceptors do get a hit it wont hurt to bad and ill still be able to hit my target. Maes sense ill have to try on our next game
So to make it worth it and be safer doing an air raid with at least 2 bombers would be good that way if the AA or interceptors do get a hit it wont hurt to bad and ill still be able to hit my target. Maes sense ill have to try on our next game
Don’t forget, even on 1 StB vs 1 Fg interceptor ratio, attacker still have the better hand.
A bomber can kill a Fg and bomb IC.
You have your chance to kill interceptor with the same odds against you.
Yes as KNP replied above it seems my intercepting doesn’t go very well either. Granted I don’t do it a lot. What they are good for is forcing the attacker not to try it on the cheap. Which keeps a couple planes from performing other missions.
Yes, barney makes a very good point. A lot of times I play Germany and I want to pound England’s IC and air base. I usually have 2 or 3 bombers while UK has been piling up defense for fear of a Sealion attack and has 5 or 6 fighters sitting there. I won’t send in my bombers if the enemy has more fighters than I have bombers. I’m just afraid that is too many chances for them to kill my bombers.
Is there really any reason to bomb the London factory if there is no intension to conduct sealion?
@Young:
Is there really any reason to bomb the London factory if there is no intension to conduct sealion?
Well, it would slow down any Atlantic fleet construction, but the UK can build a bit more slowly in Canada instead…
@Young:
Is there really any reason to bomb the London factory if there is no intension to conduct sealion?
Only if your planes have nothing better to do, which seems rather unlikely except perhaps G2
@Private:
@Young:
Is there really any reason to bomb the London factory if there is no intension to conduct sealion?
Only if your planes have nothing better to do, which seems rather unlikely except perhaps G2
I almost always use my German air force G2 to sweep the Med of allied ships left over after Taranto.
Im thinking more for the Allies, the only good bombing for Germany would be to hit the factory in the Ukraine or Novograd since it would make it easyier to capture those positions. The Allies however can do more damage by hitting the french factories as well as the factory in Western Germany because it forces the Germans to spend IPC on repairs instead of equipment and troops which can really hurt their war effort.
Mr. Fox;
The problem with SBR, is that that Allies can’t effectively use it. Germany has access to 5 or 6 minor and 2 major complexes, so he can simply ignore a significant amount of damage and place nearby instead. If somehow he has to repair, Germany has 60-70$ to do it with. Japan can only realistically be bombed by the US, and then only from Iwo Jima or Mainland Asian bases. The UK only has 1 bomber, and it doesn’t stay up north very often. The US doesn’t have any extra $$ to buy strat bombers with, they are useful but you can’t buy more than a few. Russia cant sensibly afford any, which is why many people give them one to balance things out.
To the allies, it is devastating. “Dark Skies” is an Axis Strat Bomber heavy strategy. With even 6-8 bombers, they can paralyze London, Leningrad, Ukraine, Bombay and eventually Moscow. With more, they can fly anywhere and sbr or strike almost anything. Uk and USSR only have 30+ money and access to a few factories, so they have to repair the damage and they can’t afford to waste even 1 infantry.
Some people have even asked the question why damage the factories that you are about to seize (and then subsequently repair the damage you caused). This highlights the imbalance, the Axis may choose not to bomb in order to capture them intact, using the strat bombers on the attack instead without risking AAA.
SBR can be used effectively against Italy - not like you need it, but it can.
When you’re ready to invade Rome you can SBR before hand to prevent Italy from using its meager remaining income from adding units to its defense.
If you’ve beaten Axis in the Med, and have the SZs stuffed with subs to blockade away Italy’s income, one good SBR run on each Italian factory can shut them down for good, since it can be very difficult for them to come up with even the few IPCs needed to repair it. This can stop Italy from building the inf or two a turn needed to work in conjunction with Germany to trade territory or can-open.
