My friends and I are longtime classic players that just got into G40. After our first game and reading some strategies, we noticed something. Why isn’t it a common opening for UK to use their transport in SZ98 to move at least one, if not two infantry, up to Greece? If Taranto is the common opening move, and UK is willing to risk losing their Med fleet on such an opening, doesn’t it make sense to use the transport here? Also, grabbing Greece and its four infantry/two IPC? Are we missing something bigger?
This is one of the best gaming forums btw. Great stuff all around.
Some people do that. But it’s not common since Germany is usually in position to simultaneously smash the remaining UK fleet in SZ 97 and take Greece with some air, a tank or 2 from Yugoslavia, plus infantry from Bulgaria. The UK transport is more useful for hitting Ethiopia or activating Persia on UK1.
It usually depends on the player who is playing Italy and or Germany. I send the British transport to Malta after clearing the sea zone and take the troop and aa gun to Greece and get the extra income for England. It also forces Italy or Germany to attack Greece and hopefully knock out a plane or two in the process. After Taranto and the Greece attack it usually neutered Italy and limits what Italy or Germany can send towards Russia. It is a tough decision for the English Europe player for sure!
Those extra two infantry will probably kill one German infantry when they attack Greece on G2. Not only are you trading 14 PUs worth of units in return for a measly 3 PUs, but there are so many other things that you can do with the transport. You can send units to attack Italians on UK1, or take Persia on UK1. Persia is such a valuable place to build a factory because fighters can move to Moscow in a single turn, boosting the defense of that critical capitol.
Later on Italy usually captures a Med island, depriving the UK of their bonus. Having that transport still alive makes it easier to recapture all of your original territories.
It’s also useful for ferrying troops up from South Africa. You can buy mechs but then you can’t back them with artillery.
That TT does not have to die, even if your med fleet does. The italians can easily kill it with their bomber, they will often have no other target for the bomber anyways. Besides, you are short on transport in the pacific anyways as UK. A lot of bids include 1-2 extra UK transports in the indian ocean, since you are already short. You only have the one in 98, and one in 39.
On UK1, there are three/four common (land) targets ok UK1:
1. activate Iran
2. kill ethiopia
3. kill tobruk (depending on how you place bid)
4. take java/sumatra (if no J1)
All of these targets are better than greece. Activate iran is the most important IMO. That will allow you to build a mIC on UK2.
On later turns, you will need 2-3 TTs just to ship troops from south africa (some will land in egypt, some in iran). I would guess most player have 4-5 active TTs in the indian ocean in the midgame, more if the allies does a KJF.
Really Persia is the most important? All you are talking about is activating it one turn earlier than the west India inf can. Perhaps if you scrabbled no fighters g1, then I can see that. Otherwise the money is well used rebuilding the RAF.
You get it activated 1 turn earlier, and you get iraq 1 turn earlier. if you build mIC in both of them, it means 6 landunits more in the middle east, which is very important against axis players that do a south russian campaign with canopeners. you really need to build a huge army in the middle east to withstand that.
I usually lean toward knocking Ethiopia out, I consider the Italian presence there a nuisance that could take time to clean up if they disperse.
My preference is to use the transport to hit Ethiopia because I don’t like the Italian troops in the horn of Africa denying my UK National Objective for very long.
However, I have occasionally used it to activate Persia on UK1 which obviously has many benefits.
Really Persia is the most important? All you are talking about is activating it one turn earlier than the west India inf can. Perhaps if you scrabbled no fighters g1, then I can see that. Otherwise the money is well used rebuilding the RAF.
If Germany does do a final assault on Moscow during G6-7 timeframe, getting Persia on UK1 means 3 more fighters in Moscow which result in 8 more German casualties during the assault. If those hits are planes since all of the ground forces have been killed, Germany will no longer be able to hold off the Allied invasion of Western Europe. This scenario happens all too frequently! The Persia move is very good against German players who purchase ground units on G1.
Greece = horrible target. Infantry can’t defend, they can only die.
Iraq UK1 = requires odds battle, distracting
Persia UK1 = gives you more $$ and the best possible position vis a vis india, Iraq, Russia etc
Malta UK1 = certain death for your navy
Italian East African invasion = simple conservative move but these pieces are trapped and can die at your leisure…
SA shuck shuck plan = super conservative awesome add another TT on SA and switch em up turn after turn and Egypt stays Allied.
Retaking Malta, Crete (Egypt!) to regain integrity UK3-4 = way better idea
Sending UK atl money to UK pac/Russia in the form of bombers and middle eastern builds = best idea
Thanks for all the awesome replies. We play a new game today. It will be interesting how things play out for our second go around.
I like the logic of making it hard for Germany to attack both 97 and Greece on G2.
But I don’t think it’s worth sacrificing the transport compared to using the transport to take Persia.
This idea might be more viable in a 2nd edition game with a carrier bid to 98 making it risky for Germany to attack 97 on G2. But even in that case I’d rather take Persia in order to help the Soviets blitz south faster.
