Axis Victories (what's the "magic" trick?)

@Cornwallis:

Zhukov,

With Axis we don’t have a fixed strategy. We have tried J1 (with some rare axis victories).
A red line for Germany are Art/Inf and 1 DD on G1.
Then G2 attack Russia and buy Armour (recently we have changed this to 2 bombers, mech and Art).
Japan does a J1 with a 2 Tpt and 1 factory buy. If they wait until J2 to attack they sometimes buy 3 Tpt and go full China the first rounds.

Usually Germany stealmates around moscow around G7 with US and GB Eur slowly advancing on the West.
My question is: do you play to take moscow (so a medium game) or do you play on the income and play in the long term (14-15 turns)?

Ok, a few points. Dump the G1 DD buy. You can’t combine it with 6art. You also don’t need a surface warship to block the USSR lend lease NO. If you are strafing SZ111, you’ll want a sub buy which still allows the hit soak in SZ112. Even if you are intending to run south to the Mid east, you still want the maximum threat to Moscow.

What does Japan do with its 3 starting TTs? They should all be positioned to strike the DEI and/or Malaya. New transports can hit the Philippines. Overland troops can hit Kwangtung, you shouldn’t need to use amphibious forces for that. Later on, Japan can use its navy to block SZ42 (Java) to protect 3 of the money islands from USN based at SZ54. Philippines isn’t that much of a weak point - with a few ground units and planes on it, it shouldn’t fall very easily. The real weak point is the Carolines. From there, they can hit almost everything.

I agree with Zhukov44 about Siberia being a distraction, unless of course something non standard happens. Perhaps if they stack Amur round 1, although even then you may only be playing for Europe victory from that point.

Make sure you can counter attack a US landing on Normandy or Southern France, best done with a few artillery in France combined with mechs in W Germany (which double as defenders of W Germany). Don’t forget that the UK can reinforce with both air and land. Of course, there may be times that your air is more needed for a Moscow take down and can’t be present here so you need to deal with this later.

Another of my non standard plays when playing OOB is to leave Normandy French so USA can’t take it. I also attack Southern France not just for the port on the Med (which I don’t find super useful) but also to ensure that Germany have 70 IPCs in case they go Sea Lion.

Don’t forget strategic bombing on Calcutta and Moscow. It’s a great value proposition if you don’t house rule fighters attacking and defending on a 2 (instead of 1) in SBR air battles, and sometimes even then. A skilled Allied player will make convoy disruption on Calcutta difficult but if the opportunity presents then put a couple of subs in SZ39.

Anyway, with my post on the previous page, I’ve given you a fair few of what things should be done as axis to win nearly every time.

Thank you for the feedback info on your Axis play so far.

I would recommend a Stratbombing campagne on Moscow when you have taken E. Poland.
A G1 buy of two StratB’s followed by a G2 10x Arm plus 1x Ftr and G3 Mech builds.
I2 dow taking E.Pol and Germany follows with dow on G3.
From there you bomb Moscow each round to submission.
Start off with this strategy and refine it.
Refresh your Bmbr losses or even add one each round from G4 onward.
Take Novo soon and Ukraine and build Artys and Arms there or what you just need.
Usually Mechs from Novo and Artys/Arms from Ukraine.
If Germany controlls W. Ukraine build a mIC there too.

But you don’t need strat bombers g1 to hit Moscow from g4.

@simon33:

But you don’t need strat bombers g1 to hit Moscow from g4.

What I like about strat bombers early is that they can also keep London modest and by threatening bombing London.
And don’t underestimate the power of a large air force taking out a stack of Russian without any ground support. Just killing it, expecting some losses and remove a big Russian threat before it can retreat to Moscow.

@Cornwallis:

The DD is used to kill the russian sub who convoys the entire game + serves to protect any transport ships you might built for a sea lion.
The Japenese 3 TT are used to take the money islands. Off course we don’t attack the russian stack in siberia, that would be stupid. All the things you mention, we do as well. The only thing we don’t always exploit is the strategic bombing of Moscow and India. Do you think this might be a decisive step?

Strategic Bombers not only increase your ability to project power across the board thus forcing the allies to play safer, but they actively limit the number of pieces India and Moscow can put on the board. Strategic Bombers are how you win a battle of attrition instead of getting stuck in a stalemate.

@Cornwallis:

The DD is used to kill the russian sub who convoys the entire game + serves to protect any transport ships you might built for a sea lion.
The Japenese 3 TT are used to take the money islands. Off course we don’t attack the russian stack in siberia, that would be stupid. All the things you mention, we do as well. The only thing we don’t always exploit is the strategic bombing of Moscow and India. Do you think this might be a decisive step?

Yeah, I understand what the DD is for. Still, you can buy it G2 and it does the same job. Germany doesn’t have many artillery in its starting push so having another one is pretty helpful.

Strat bombing is really useful for stopping Moscow and Calcutta from building too many units. If you don’t do that, the two most vulnerable capitals won’t fall as easily. So yes, I think it is plausible that such an omission could be decisive.

Well, to be fair, you don’t technically need a destroyer at all, for Germany, if you don’t have transports to protect, or still have your battleship to take a potshot if you do have a ship or two to shield from a Russian sub in the black sea.

A sub can sit in SZ 125 to block Russia’s N.O.

@simon33:

One more thing. Don’t buy slow moving troops g2 unless they are for amphibious use. They can’t reach Bryansk g5 which makes then not very useful. Buy A bunch of mech and armour.  It’s much more useful. The mechs can pair with art bought in the forward factories and also bought g1.

I’m reconsidering this one BTW. If a good allies player will stop the G6 take down of Moscow, why not plan for that? A bunch of art mobilised in Berlin G2 helps a G7 Moscow take down and mechs bought in W Germany G2 can still reach Belarus G4.

A conservative Japan and Aggressive G1 DoW doesn’t work too well, America ends up sending a death ball fleet to assist in Europe.

There are situations when the Soviet/UK  player rolls snake-eyes …  2 of 3 AAA shots…  Once that happens to the Axis player in a couple of games… you realize the Strat Bombing campaign is riskier than you realize.

@MeinHerr:

There are situations when the Soviet/UK  player rolls snake-eyes …  2 of 3 AAA shots…   Once that happens to the Axis player in a couple of games… you realize the Strat Bombing campaign is riskier than you realize.

Fair, but absolutely pounding Moscow for 3 turns in a row with 3 or 4 bombers starting a turn after your Russia invasion begins is well worth the risk, I think.  Literally my first unit purchase for Germany is to make sure I have 4 bombers available at all times, and that means always having 5 on hand.  So if I only have 4, I’m buying one this turn to replace a loss.

I normally use 3. The 4th bomber has a really high chance of having it’s damage wasted. Like about 1/3 of it. Of course, if one bomber is shot down then you’re probably glad for the 4th one so it’s a gamble either way.

@simon33:

I normally use 3. The 4th bomber has a really high chance of having it’s damage wasted. Like about 1/3 of it. Of course, if one bomber is shot down then you’re probably glad for the 4th one so it’s a gamble either way.

Average damage per bomber should be 5 (roll a 3 then add 2), so 4 gives me some cushion if I lose one (or two) AND means I’ll almost certainly max it and not have to bomb again for a turn.

@The:

@Cornwallis:

So you bomb London and later in the game Moscow and India.
Do you usually built with germany in order to attack and take Moscow or do you built units to withstand an attack from moscow so you can bypass and take middle east NO’s?

As Germany, I bomb every Soviet IC my bombers will reach. Hit Novgorod and Ukraine on the turn I declare war, then Moscow and Volgograd as I get within bombing range. Don’t let up until the turn you capture them. On the Western Front, I keep 2 bombers busy hitting London every turn.

Rather than Italian can openers, I prefer the Germans initially handle the USSR on their own, while I focus on getting the Italians into the Middle East as fast as possible (An I1 amphibious assault into Syria or Trans-Jordan while advancing on Egypt from Tobruk is key). Once Italy has secured the M.E., they can build a minor IC in Iraq or Persia, assault through the Caucasus and meet the Germans in Volgograd.

For the Germans, I build 1-2 strategic bombers per turn, maintaining a minimum of 5 (2 Western Front/3 Eastern Front) at all times. Beyond that, I build mostly armor and mech infantry until I capture Novgorod and/or Ukraine, then build regular infantry and artillery at those ICs. I find the early armor/mech inf build the fastest way to get ground forces from Germany into Russia, which allows me to rapidly gain territory before the Soviets can build up much of a defense force.

What the heck is the UK doing if your Italy is so easily able to “secure the M.E.”? I suck at playing allies and that is something that doesn’t happen to me. Heck I suck at this game period.

@Cornwallis:

Zhukov,

Yes, in recent games the Germans are taking more Russian territory and thus increasing their income and denying the Russians their income.
I guess that when you fail to take Moscow you go for a long game (14-15 rounds).
Do you attack USSR with Japan? I usually do. The plus side is the russian are getting less, but all too often, it sucks valuable Japanese ground forces needed in China in the early game.

I agree with the above post - I’m not sure what the UK is doing if the Italians are running hog wild in the med. It’s never been that hard for me to just neuter them with UK if I put a little effort in.

Also - as has been said - Japan should have Calcutta out of the game by the end of J4. If you’re short a TT, build an air base in Siam or Shan and take ceylon J3 so you can leverage all your material.

Germany should be able to topple moscow or take everything else and just have so much income that it falls eventually as long as you STB the factory.

The only way I would think that Calcutta is likely to fall j4 is in a j1 scenario. I assume that is what you are taking about. China would probably be pretty strong but if they can’t buy any more artillery,  They are mostly just defending.

I suppose if taranto fails, Italy could be going hog wild.

@simon33:

The only way I would think that Calcutta is likely to fall j4 is in a j1 scenario. I assume that is what you are taking about. China would probably be pretty strong but if they can’t buy any more artillery,  They are mostly just defending.

I suppose if taranto fails, Italy could be going hog wild.

A J4 attack on Calcutta normally depends on Japan controlling Yunnan turn 2 onwards. If that condition is met Japanese forces in Northern China can normally clean up any further resistance.

The axis has to be super aggressive to maximize their chance of winning.  By doing so, you force the USA player to sometimes make subtle purchase mistakes that can be exploited in a few rounds.  Only the USA can win the game for the allies.  So, I try to force them to make hard choices as early as possible.