How do the allies defend a J1 DOW, Sea lion and J4 India Crush…
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
I dont think that Russia can put enough pressure to make the Germans go defensive without massive US interference (they take and complex norway, normandy, spain, or greece). Then again the Germans have a navy, and a large air force, It would take many turns for the US to build a fleet that can frolic around and take stuff. If the Americans really do focus 100% on Germany, then Japan has itself a field day especially with a J1 and then goes all in on Sydney and Hawaii for the win.
I could see this being made more difficult with a US1 bomber buy, but even then it wouldn’t be that significant. Another counter I could see is a Yunnan stack, but that requires an investment by Russia, India, an all in with china, and a sizable bid (i think you need a bid?), that could be easily circumvented by using only transports, carrier planes and bombers on India given they don’t have as much stuff as they’d normally have because of the Yunnan stack. I might be stupid and just be completely missing something that would completely shut this down, please let me know.
With India and London out of the game so early, It leaves the axis with peace of mind from the middle east given that it cant really be reinforced very well very quickly, hopefully allowing Italy to make more pizzas. Also, in BM3 the British isles are worth 13 IPCs to Germany, so it pretty much pays for its own defense in the long run as well as 20 IPCs of British territory not being taken advantage of by the allies.
Alternatively Japan could J3-4 DOW (more effort into taking Yunnan and buys more transports to take DEI as well as India at the same time on the turn they declare) and keep the US parked at home with 52 IPCs for as long as possible, making them get to London at earliest US4-US5.
@WindowWasher I can only speak to OOB, not BM3. I think this depends on Britain’s prep level, and how well the bombing raid goes. For example, when I see any kind of naval/transport build from Germany, I instantly drop either 6 inf and a fighter, or 9 inf in Britain. This is a strong start to building a sufficient sea-lion defense, especially if you then neglect to perform a Taranto raid due to the risk of German invasion (saving an additional 3 fighters for defense). In this scenario, it is clear by T2 that you are going sealion, and the US will likely focus pacific in order to try and liberate London in the event that it falls, and if Germany ends up with few troops remaining, it is more than possible that they made a massive investment and weren’t able to hold it, and now they have the Russians breathing down their neck. With Britain at roughly 29-30 a turn, even if you max bomb their factory, they will have enough to add a few more infantry to the stack, and there is the potential for the armored unit and infantry from canada to get in via 109 if your sub attack fails. I personally think that the Germans going for sealion is one of the best things that can happen for the allies, since their income is low in the long run, the Russians end up with some more expensive attack units, and Germany is forced to go on the defensive quite quickly.
However, I personally have had serious issues stopping a J1. In my current game on actual board, I have saved Russia, and am slowly encroaching on Germany with Russians, British and limited Americans due a tragic failed Italy invasion (89% odds lost). However, because I over focused on Europe, Japan has grown out of control making nearly 90 a turn, and now has like 12 carriers. I have managed to match their forces with a combined US Ancaz fleet, but now that they are in the Carolina Islands, I cannot defend both Hawaii and Syndey from an amphibious assault, and will be forced into a battle that will likely be a loss.
@Saber25 I think that Germany can have consistent good odds at sea lion if done correctly (assuming the british go for taranto). Ive been considering what if you didn’t spend your first 30 IPCs and saved them until round two, then deployed them where you saw fit whether it be sea lion or Barbarossa.
Separately if the British skip out on Taranto on UK1, Italy gets to keep alot more than the 30 IPCs spent on the German navy so even then its a win for Germany
Also I think you’re under estimating the difficulty of retaking London… If held, Germany can place 3 infantry a turn along with landing their entire air force, when enough infantry have been built, the air force can just leave for moscow
The way I see it, the one time boost in IPC is not enough to offset the monster coming from the East, but that’s just been my personal experience. You could be totally correct.
It is the combination of the IPC boost and the IPCs that the allies dont get to spend that leads to the long run advantage
