The Afrika Korps

@Kreuzfeld:

@Afrikakorps:

<germany>1. I expect 2-4 Infantry but even when empty I will take with full ground forces. Airforce has nothing better to do since JDOW4. Would you also do JDOW4 or consider JDWOW1 with this strategy?</germany>

There will be 0, 1 or 18 inf there if you are playing against any decent player.

If you can hit with all that, It will probably be 0.

If there is 18 units + 2 AA you will lose all your landsunits and 1 plane. They will be there if the allied want to draw you away from the south. If they are there and you attack, you can probably expect a DOW from UK and anzak right after.

If you put in all your units and there is 0 units there, you have just given the russians mongolia and a counterattack with 21 infs against 9 inf, 1 art and 1 mech. You will lose everything, and they will lose 10 units.

Will it make the difference if you also use 1 Tank, 2 Infantry and 1 Artillery from Japan? As long as aircraft can reach Yunnan and transports FIC in Turn 3 anything is possible.

If all retreats attacking Mongolia could also be an option as I attack Strict Neutrals in G2 anyway (but might signal intention to the UK + USA)

Thanks! I will soon test it out! Also, no battle plan survives combat as Erwin Rommel wisely said.

It is still a race against the clock but in a wealthy and often regarded as secondary theater of the war (Middle East and Africa). If it fails I could easily adjust to Barbarossa because of the armour being build (I hope).

@Arthur:

This has been a very interesting gameplan.  Let me know if you ever want to test it out in a friendly game.

I would love you only I have only played offline so far!

I would also like to add the Grand Philisophy to this strategy. As noted before, a lot of point are to be gained in Africa and the Middle East, 52 IPC, this is an 104 IPC swing into the Axis favour, most notibly for Italy (Axis) and UK (Allies). It is also a real possibility most of the IPC’ are taken before 5-6.

You also don’t leave Russia with its 38 IPC as Japan will play extremely agressive in the East and Germany at three different flanks, south combined with Italy. This is another 25 IPC gained for the the Axis and thus 50 IPC swing before turn 5. Yes you delay the capture of Moscow with 2-4 turns but you make a 154 IPC swing before turn 5 while the USA has just started to cash 70 IPC. This is just Russia, Africa and Middle East. Add the IPC swing of a broken China and the UK Pacific gets taken in J4.

After Turn 4 the economies will look like this

Axis: 210+
Germany: 90+
Japan: 80+
Italy: 40+

Allies: 135+
USA: 75+
UK Atlantic: 15+
UK Pacific: 0
Russia: 15+
Anzac: 25+
China: 5+

While the Axis are still advancing, Japan will get Money Islands, Germany rest of Russia and Italy some more Africa.

A more tactical benefit of using your initial German armour to push through the Middle East (therefore creating Afrika Korps) is that no matter what, the Axis are in control of the Middle East, there is nothing that could stop that since you force the UK to play defensive with your G1 buy (otherwise it could send all its airforce to the Middle East). By just giving Italy some of the oil nations (I prefer both Persian countries) they are really close to making 40 IPC combined with the other NO’s. Even when Egypt or Stalingrad gets somehow blocked, you could build Axis ME factories and start pumping armour.

Another tactical move of Japan underlined. In J2 you send a big part of your fleet and 3 full transports to Caroline Islands. This forces ANZAC to turtle or you could take sydney. They will still be together wih India invasion force in J3 and take India in J4 but you delayed ANZAC 2-3 turns from expansion.

Oke some new ideas possibly improving the strategy some more.

In my G1 build 2 Transports are actually too much as with just 2 Transports, 1 Battleship, 1 Aircraft Carrier, 2 Infantry, 2 Artillery I can take Gibraltar, Morocco just fine same as dropping off a German land unit in Egypt (or actually take it after Italian strafe). It was also another 2 Infantry less on the Russian frontier which is already missing the Bulgaria and Greater South Germany Infantry (12 total).

As I needed some Submarines in my G2 anyway I build 1 Submarine instead of the Transport. This gives me +6 IPC in G2 and even better can start convoy raiding the UK in Turn 2 instead of Turn 3. Still Sea Lion feint and if UK really screws up I can take London.

G2 buy actually just needs 1 Sub for SZ125 as soon war starts with Russia. Also, the Baltic Fleet has been reassigned to the Africa Korps therefore leaving the Baltic empty so actually I also do not really need that Destroyer. Insteas of those 2 Submarines and 1 Destroyer I now buy 8 Tanks for Russia instead of 5. I keep the 1 Bomber buy in G2 as Bombers provide a lot of things the Tanks can not.

While my initial plan for the Afrika Krops was three waves of armour, the buy of an German Africa Fleet in G1 has lifted the task for taking Egypt, combined with the 5 Third Wave Tanks this would be overkill and inefficient. More efficiently I use them directly in frontal assault against Russia. With a G3 buy of 7 Tanks and 1 Bomber I made the diversion of the 6 Infantry towards Spain no problem at all at sending 15 Tanks instead. This means I can take Leningrad also in G4!

Therefore in G4 I am really able to get all (besides Moscow) National Objectives!

• NO for Sweden
• NO for Iraq
• NO for Egypt
• NO for Caucasus
• NO for Leningrad
• NO for Stalingrad

If I can somehow get one more 1 IPC somewhere I can build 8 Bombers in G5 netting me 14 Bombers. Another 8 In G6 already gives me 22 Bombers to either kill the USA fleet or take Moscow in G7-8. Also don’t forgot that Italy is earning 40 IPC from I3 onwards easily capable of defending Europe while helping Germany in Russia.

Thank you all for pointing out possible loopholes or possibly critical weaknesses of the Afrika Korps strategy! Before I can actually test it out in a real battle it remains theory crafting and you may all be right.

However,

I want Taranto to happen as this gives me the UK Med fleet on a silver plait for the Luftwaffe in G2. This also mean the Royal Airforce out of position to threaten the German Tropical Fleet. As long as I can attack Greece with 1 transport and Turkey with at least 1 Transport I am confident I can take Turkey with Italy.

Yes Russia can buy 10 Infantry and then 9 Artillery in R1 and R2 and has more troops at the frontier then Germany they have to defend four flanks (Scandinavia, Leningrad, Ukraine, Stalingrad) and with all that Infantry and Artillery a lot less flexibility than Germany with it Tanks, Transports and Luftwaffe. As soon Italy captures Turkey a fifth flank opens through the Black Sea.

You do make an excellent point about the UK expeditionary forces in the Middle East before G3. Those will need attention as  both the UK and Russia at same time would mean suicide. Then just delay the South attack.

Germany has actually 6 Infantry, 1 Artillery in Scandinavia (Army North), 16 Infantry, 1 Artillery, 11 Tanks, 4 Mech. Infantry at western border (Army West) and 9 Tanks in Turkey (Afrika Korps) assuming 2 Infantry died in the capture of Sweden and the 6 Infantry + 4 Mech. Infantry died in the battle of the Middle East against the UK expeditionary forces.

That are 22 Infantry, 2 Artillery, 20 Tanks and 4 Mech. Infantry supported by 4 Bombers, 3 Fighters, 3 Tactical Bombers (assuming 2 Fighters and 2 Tactical Bombers died against the Royal Navy able to attack of four different flanks. From G4 the amount of Bombers will exponentially grow.

Also, as I leave the Romanian border very weak, a logical response of the Russian might be to concentrate force there and therefore not reinforcing those troops to either Leningrad or Stalingrad.

OK so he really reinforced Leningrad unable to capture? Both Novgorod as Belarus 10 Infantry with 10 Artillery able to kill my stack? Attack Western Ukraine and push through to Moscow going to Belarus or Bryansk, you are always one step ahead of Russia. Yes he might come for Berlin but this is so easy to counter with some defensive builds of your own.

Remember: as long you focused enough on the Middle East oil and African gold you will have money to blow as Axis. That is the whole point of the Afrika Korps strategy, pushing your starting tanks and mechs through the Middle East to provide an early Axis counter-force against the normally easy IPC taken as UK and Russia. I really believe it is possible to take the Middle East from the UK with your Afrika Korps (9 Tanks, 4 Mech. 6 Infantry, 1 Fighter) only.

Even when your Baltic fleet gets destroyed with heavy air losses for the RAF eventually this does not matter, you just need 1 German ground unit to be in Egypt at the end of G4. You could as easily send some Tanks from the Africa Korps (always a good idea) to get the NO. The point of the Baltic Fleet to the Med is just to give the Afrika Korps Tanks the option to go full Russia instead.

I might make tactical mistakes with planning or playing due to inexperience (<20 games) but I am confident that strategically going South (Oil + Gold) instead of West (London) or East (Moscow) in the first four turns gives the Axis something unknown to us: Time. Normally its you either decide Sea Lion or Barbarossa and if it fails, you lose. Not with the Afrika Korps. It might provide the sensation of World Domination instead of capturing enough VC just in time to not be destroyed by the USA the next turn. This would also make the battle of the Middle East and Africa between the UK and Axis so much more intense, giving many old school player a fresh exciting Axis & Allies experience!  :-D

In the scenario Russia is just too strongly defended in the Caucasus to push through them with your initial forces, put some Middle Eastern factories there and do it the slow way. You have the luxury to take it slow with the oil and gold income, they don’t.

Germany also do not need to crush Russia in G4 or G5, just several Tanks capturing the NO territories let me break Russia within 1-2 turns.

Actually I would be glad if the Russian wanted to try defend all its flanks and send those defensive troops so far forwards. From J3 I am bombing the hell out the Russia so he will not be given a chance to recover losing his big stacks.

I am also much more willing to face the Russian fast troops in the Caucasus with my German Tanks then in China against my limited Japanese ground forces trying to keep Yunnan closed. With China destroyed after Turn 4 Russia is even more surrounded with 2-3 more flanks to defend as the Japanese reach Russia through the north, China and south by capturing the Russia of the Pacific (India).

I did changed my G1 a little, buying an Aircraft Carrier, Submarine and Destroyer. I can buy the needed transports to take Egypt in G3 in SZ93 and gives the Tropical Fleet protection against the odd Russian or UK Submarine.

Don’t forget the Italian Army: 1 Tank, 1 Mech. Infantry, 2 Artillery, 4 Infantry removing 3-5 Infantry before the German attack on Egypt.

I am not sure if you guys observed the small detail that might give so much more feeling to the battle? Its one those fluffy things like keeping the Bismarck alive or doing something cool with your French fleet (I once finished the Axis fleet with the French after USA and UK failed attacks). Its the creation of Erwin Rommel himself coordinating the Italian Army in Africa and later the Afrika Korps in the form of the Tobruk fighter. It instantly makes the Tobruk fighter have something heroic and you wanting to preserve it at all costs  :-D. This ofcourse also applies to actually making an Armoured Afrika Korps instead of a German Infantry shuttled to Egypt by an Italian Transport.

Or what about the scenario Italy horribly fails with Turkey (taken by the French soldier from Syria in F2) and you get to move 5-6 French soldiers into Caucasus to defend Southern Russia or even Moscow? Germany that fails to finish off the French troops in Southern France/Normany and that last soldier creates a French army in Spain? Epic!

@ShadowHAwk:

You are mostly ignoring what the allies can and will do.
You are just saying the allies will do X and Y and i counter that.

Fine but what about those 12 inf + 4 art in the north. Finland and soon sweden and norway will fall giving russia a nice 13 ipc bonus and taking away 12 ipcs from germany.
This ensures the north is secure for russia for a long time those 13 ipcs a round make for a nice 25 ipcs swing in favor for russia.

Russia now has to defend what, caucasus and the western front, sure ill stack south of leningrad and you are not getting anywhere. I can stack Ukrain as well as caucasus and your locked out.

Stalinggrad is 2 far off to be threathed by your strategy.

So you dont get leningrad or caucasus or stalinggrad by at least round 4-5 while at the same time russia is getting finland round 4 and norway sweden round 5.
Inf is immobile but so is your inf stack, and really as russia i welcome you attacking with just tanks against my inf stacks.

Us will just drop tanks + mech in afrika and put subs in the med so your out of afrika after a few rounds. and the spare space can be inf that can push through spain into france

UK will be pushing from the S-Afrikan factory and take all the neutrals in the area for extra inf bulk.
UK-India can send stuff over as well to help russia with contesting the middle east and turkey because japan is no real threath

How would you propose to do it?

I can leave the Baltic fleet in the Baltic instead of Med.
I can change my Germany Purchases
Japan can JDOW1 and take different approach towards Russia.

I want to make this strategy work and think it can work. But also lack the experience with playing as Russia to understand how I can best take them out even when crushing the neutrals and while I transform the initial armour into the Afrika Korps.

There must be a way  :-)

@CWO:

I’m not an A&A rules expert, so this probably won’t be much use, but for whatever it’s worth here are a couple of comments.  Your initial post said “This is an alternative strategy that is based on creating the German Afrika Korps in order to make Germany the dominant player in Africa while making Italy much more crucial and fun” and your latest post said, “I want to make this strategy work and think it can work. But also lack the experience with playing as Russia to understand how I can best take them out even when crushing the neutrals and while I transform the initial armour into the Afrika Korps.  There must be a way.”

I think it’s important to realize what people usually mean when they propose an A&A strategy.  Usually it means proposing a new method by which a player can accomplish the game’s existing objectives, using the game’s existing set-up.  What you seem to be proposing doesn’t sound like a “strategy” in that sense of the word; it seems to be an alternate set-up, with alternate objectives, whose primary purpose is to add something new to the game that you’d like to see: the presence of the Afrika Corps.  Technically, that’s not a strategy; it’s an A&A house rule, or even arguably an A&A variant, so this thread should probably be in one of those two sections of the forum rather than in the Global 1940 section.

Note that when you say that you “lack the experience with playing as Russia to understand how I can best take them out even when crushing the neutrals and while I transform the initial armour into the Afrika Korps,” you’re essentially making the same point that I just made.  A strategy is a method of winning, and what you seem to be saying here is that you’re looking for a method of winning under the modified game conditions that you’ve described.  In other words, you’re actually asking for a strategy rather than offering one.  Which is perfectly fine; I’m just saying that discussions of this type – which are very interesting – tend to work better when there’s a clear understanding of what the discussion is about and what it’s trying to accomplish.

Great observation! I am indeed looking for a overall Axis strategy to make this Afrika Korps method under the normal Global 1940 rules. In the meantime I am trying to do this myself but are open for all suggestions. I also might have been a little too enthudiastic in all the National Objectives after Turn 4. So now the question is: what is realistic and could be a winning strategy?

Great to see the discussion! I would like to say that I do not purchase units for the Afrika Korps, rather I use the German units to something they are currently not used for (Middle East / Africa) and this leads to German Armour taking Africa thus the name Afrika Korps.

My strategy is to make Germany the richest player on the map, therefore aiming at collecting Middle Eastern oil and African gold, the Afrika Korps is a means to achiece that goal, not the other way around. This wealth could create a strategic advantage: time, as it compete with both USA and Russia. Although thats the theory.

As its new it could be really not working that way, first go for Russia, then to Egypt. However things like Dark Sky, Taranto has also needed to be invented. This could be just the same case with Afrika Korps. This is what the initiative can offer you (Axis) in a situation only the UK can react. Therefore I am finding out how to prevent the UK from preventing this battleplan to work.

I think I got distracted with the Russian oil and expectations rose to unreal. However its just another puzzle to fix. Yes Midway might have been lost because of a rigid plan, the Germans blitzed through France because of a rigid plan, twice! (under Bismarck 1891 and Hitler 1940). I can create a realistic battle plan that the opponent does not expect, I might do the same in the game.

I try to find a new way to expand Italy, after it gets crippled by Taranto. I still think going through Turkey might provide this. However by crushing the neutrals I lose Infanty at the frontier against Allies and I am trying to find if there is a way to minimize this disasvantage while maximizing the advantages of controlling the neutrals might give.

All good points Wild Bill, therefore I came to some new insights and changes.

You want to achieve: rich Germany and Italy while Japan sacrifices potential income to let them do it. Going through Turkey with Afrika Korps provides this, however you now need to do full neutral crush. Sweden is no brainer, but do you really need Spain in G3? No, this can also be done G4. Also, it is the taking away of German infantry of the Russian front for neutral crushing combined with Baltic fleet to med and Afrika Korps to Middle East that give the Russia so many options.

In total its 12 Infantry south and 7 Infantry being slower at Russian frontlines because of Sweden while 9 Tanks and 4 Mech attack Egypt instead of Leningrad.

All I need to do with my first Germany builds is replace these troops as normally Leningrad and Ukraine are possible to take with just starting Germans. Therefore 9 Tanks in G2 to replace Afrika Korps. The 6 Infantry from GSE are difficult to replace on time, so I don’t send them to France anymore. Instead I build 3 Infantry + 3 Mech. Infantry in G3 to take Spain in G4 combined with some more Tanks for the Eastern front.

Also leaving the Baltic is not smart because of reasons mentioned before but also because Sweden leaves your Scandinavian Infantry out of position. The Aircarrier and Transports is still a good buy to fix this and maintain your control of that area. However with Italy going for Turkey you will not get Gibraltar NO anytime soon. Therefore I sacrifice 1Transport to take Gibraltar G2 with 1 Infantry and 1 Artillery that can later be used against Spain. This costs Germany 7 but gives Italy +5, a nice trade. Also Italy taking Southern France in I2 gives them +3. I will also send 1 Tank, 1 Mech. and 1 Infantry to take Northern Africa as Germany is coming to get Egypt anyway.

This let me come to the idea that the goal of the Afrika Korps in specific is to help Italy out in Africa and the Middle East. Yes the Russian oil is something I also really like but Germany can get there eventually. However by kicking the UK out of Egypt you break the chains of Italy. Also Middle East is secondary. The goal should be to take Egypt as soon possible (G4) without building a med fleet. From that point you can expand quickly with both Italy and Germany. Ofcourse this also depends of the Allied defence: where are the weak spots and attack there.

You can reach Egypt in G4 with 3 Tanks, 4 Mech. Infantry, 2 Bombers, 3 Tactical and 1 Fighter in case the Italians could open Trans-Jordan, Turkey worked and Greece worked. I also think its really possible, especially after Taranto so let Italy have 40+ IPC after its Turn 4 in this way.

So to conclusion the most important of this strategy is that you help Italy to expand as Germany. With some Aircraft, with some Fleet, but mostly German Tanks on the ground in Africa.

With Italy also made a major Axis you are now ready to take on USA as Axis while finishing the other Allies from Turn 4.