After Action Reports

Title:  Epic
Date:  5/10/09
Special Rules:  1942 with Tech + $4/8 NOs + Dardanelles Closed + Escort/Interceptor rules
Victor:  Allied Victory > Axis Concession
Game Length:  13 rounds
Bias: About equal

First off what $4/8 NOs means is that instead of being $5 National Objectives we played with all NOs for all countries being worth $4.  The single Russian one was worth $8.  The objectives themselves were unchanged.  Why?  Cause Popeye and Santa told us to do it that way.   :-)

The game got started in an unusual fashion when instead of buying a carrier or more fleet the UK instead bought 2 bombers on their first turn and moved all fighters within striking range of the Italian fleet.  This meant dropping off 2 infantry in Gibraltar and landing 2 fighters Gibraltar in turn 1.  On turn 2, the Italian fleet was attacked off the coast of Egypt by 4 fighters and 3 bombers, who all then landed in Egypt.   Although the UK got higher than average losses, the Italian fleet was sunk after having used it only once - to invade Transjordan.  Throughout the whole game Italy only got more than $9 income when Japan took Egypt and Transjordan for a round or two.  This was in exchange for UK getting a somewhat late start building a fleet.

Prior to turn 7
Allies had adopted an “all in” European strategy to attack France or Italy.  If you’ve played AA50 more than a couple times you know the drill, the UK builds a fleet and does some little landings in Norway or France maybe.  The US builds a big fleet and ships it over around turn 3 or 4.  The difference in our game is that the US was in SZ12 on Turn 2, since there was no Italian fleet to worry about anymore.

Turn 7
Ok so we pick up around turn 7 when things start to get interesting.  UK and USA do a joint landing and combine fleets in SZ6 and land in NW Europe of all places with about 40 units total.  This is enough to prevent being immediately counter attacked by the Germans and destroyed, but by the turn after it was impossible to hold this position without being wiped out.  At this point Japan was starting to threaten Africa and had secured all of the pacific.

Turn 8
Despite having a low income, Italy had basically been buying infantry all game long, and so now if you do the math they had like 25+ infantry sitting around.  Germany and Italy both had to play somewhat defensively because of big fleets off the coast but Germany was still putting the heat on Russia, and by now Japan had motored up into the Caucus and taken it along with some Germany forces.   Russia decided to take a chance and try to take back Caucus from the combined Japanese and Germany force there.  Russia rolled incredibly well, and although they statistically should have won this battle, they won it by a landslide, and even retained some infantry.  This very will might have been the turning point for the game.  UK and USA, being unable to hold their position, decide to split their fleet, the UK going north to Archangel and beginning to funnel troops from UK to Archangel, 8 at a time each turn.  USA went to SZ12 and kept the threat on Italy and France but not before leaving some troops (about 16) in the Karelia for help to Russia.

Turn 9
About this time USA got the wacky idea to build a transport and a sub in the pacific and start to threaten Japanese holdings in the south pacific with some bombers too.  Japan had just moved all its navy near Egypt, ready to take it and move into the Med.  However, Japan turned some of its fleet around to deal with this new American threat.  USA was maintaining fleet in SZ12 and also dropping troops off in Africa, both to hold it from the Japanese and threaten Italy.  Russia was slugging it out with Germany and had the bright idea to advance into Persia, which held up the Japanese advance in this area, although still Japan was advancing through China and across Siberia.

Turn 10
One thing that was interesting about this game was she sheer amount of USA and particularly UK troops in Russia at this point.  Numbering between them over 40 units, it really stalled what would have been a Russian defeat at the hands of the Germans and also Japanese.  Japanese still building up and doing a good job mobilizing forces and getting ready to take on Russia, but it’s not possible yet.  There are just too many UK troops around.  On this turn Japan gets Paratroopers and USA gets Heavy Bombers.

Turn 11
By this time USA had 15 fully loaded transports sitting in SZ12.  Still, Italy and Germany would have been able to at the very least counter attack and destroy any landing force in France or Italy.  The German air force was like 9 fighters and 3 bombers by this time, stalemated against a USA fleet of 3car,6fighters, 1battleship, 1cruiser and a few destroyers.  So if the USA lost any of those fighters attacking Italy, it was a dead fleet.  The Italian/German player is very thorough and careful, and it is extremely difficult to find a weak spot in his defenses to make a meaningful attack.   So the Allies make the decision to head east.  The Japanese kind of over-committed a portion of their fleet to deal with a very small American presence in the Pacific.  The Americans head to the Med (SZ14) but don’t actually attack Italy, just take the Balkans for an NO cash-in.  The american pacific bombers withdraw and start the trek east to join in a battle two turns from now….(forshadowing!)

Turn 12
USA fleet heads to SZ34, within striking distance of Japan’s IC in India, Burma, and East Indies.  The fleet is an even match for the Japanese fleet in the area, but the USA has 30+ ground forces and the Japanese have more like 20.  Russia adds 15 tanks to the mix and it’s advantage allies.  USA Heavy Bombers mean a strike on the Japanese fleet is a good idea.  Germany and Italy figure out what is going on and start heading east with massive amounts of troops they were saving in the west to fight a USA landing in France, but it will take 4+ turns to get to Moscow.

Turn 13
Japan, knowing it cannot hold India this turn, withdraws from India.  Russia advances into India.   UK immediately builds 3 ground forces there.  USA moves 20+ more troops to India — then also to East Indies and there is a big sea battle.  4 carriers on each side, a battleship and a cruiser.  But the USA brings 4 heavy bombers to the party and it’s lights out for the Japanese.  Japan lose their fleet and their IC in East Indies.  A smaller 2nd battle in the carolines goes badly for the Japanese and at this end of this round Japan has 4 transports and one destroyer left.  USA has 3 carriers full of planes and about 15 transports in the vicinity of very underdefended pacific holdings.  Japan has now lost 2 ICs in two rounds and a 3rd in Burma is in jeopardy.

Axis concede.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Economically speaking the stats aren’t much to look at.  The Allies were down consistently about $10 a turn compared to the Axis.  Germany hovered in the 40s most of the game, Japan in the 60s, peaking at 71.  USA was consistent at 42-48.  UK was generally in the 30s.  Russia was in the 20s, higher earlier on, lower 20s later on.

Title:  Allies Snatch VCSs
Date:  5/15/09
Special Rules:  1941 with Tech, Without Nos, Dardanelles Closed, With Interceptor/Escort SBR
Victor:  Allied Victory > Axis Concession
Game Length:  5 rounds
Bias: About equal

Allies won in turn five by attacking 4 underdefended Victory Cities (Paris, Warsaw, Manilla, Calcutta) and holding them we were playing a reduced VC game.

As you can see here the economics were than Allies were up by 22 in the first round, and then in later rounds up by 3-6 IPC until the last round when taking France and Poland helped boost the money

We were playing with Tech and UK was the only country to get something, Increased Factory Production, which never helped the UK once.

G	R	J	UK	I 	US
38	27	30	35	10	38
36	29	42	27	10	38
35	26	44	28	12	38
33	28	43	27	14	38
32	26	44	35	14	46

With 40 pieces why not just wheel backwards into France?

Well at the time the Allies landed in NW Europe that was the only place the fleets could meet and join up.  UK had been up near Archangel and USA had been in SZ12.  The reason the Allies didn’t stay in NW Europe or move to France is that Italy had 25+ pieces they moved to France and Germany had 40+ pieces in Germany.  Completely outnumbered, the Allies would have been destroyed in France.

How many VCs did you declare necessary for victory?

12

First time poster… but here it goes.

Title: Can’t stop Japan

Date: 5/17/09

Setup: NOs,no Techs 1942 scenario

Victor: Axis won, Germany took moscow, Japan too strong

Game length: 7 Rounds,  10 hours

Bias: Nearly equal skill level. Maybe a little bit in Allies favor

Description: As being Axis, I wanted to establish myself heavily of course in Asia. However my main focus was weakening UK, because a weakened UK player means no Allies victory in my opinion. As Japan I ended up buying 3 complexes the first 3 rounds ( First in Burma, 2nd in Manchuria, 3rd in India.) Germany sunk every single british ship in the Atlantic round 1 except for Cruiser and transport near canada. Axis took over both Egypt and India both in round 2. Everything from this point looked to be a footrace towards moscow, and as the Axis player I actually got worried because the US nicely reinforced in the Atlantic and UK started to build up a little bit so that was going to be a bit of a problem eventually. Turning point in the war though was in turn 4 when Germany got a bit lucky with dice rolls and was able to take Caucasas with hardly nothing left in Russia so Russia fell the next turn without even a single Japanese force there. From this point it was definitely over, as the next turn for Germany they purchased 7 bombers which was the end of the allies.
Observations/recommendations: Basically in this version if Japan is played right, there is nothing the allies can do. The US actually in round 4 purchased some navy and tried to threaten Japan but since Japan was so strong and saw them coming they just matched them which ended up being a waste for the US. UK was making right around 25 Ipcs the whole game which is a very good thing for the Axis. Italy actually wasnt much of a threat, they assisted with a lot of the Africa campaign but mostly Germany was just strong and well played. Russia made a few purchase mistakes, as they need to be ready for anything. They lost a bomber in a worthless battle and actually purchased a fighter in round 3 which they really can’t afford. What I found very useful is after the Navy battle around india in round 1 the Japs will usually have a batteship and carrier left from that fight and using them to help defend Italy’s fleet worked really well. Having that flexibility and defense over there was very useful. Overall the turning point was Caucasas falling to good rolling by the axis. The odds were pretty close but Germany still had a such a force left that they just tore right into russia. In regards to Japan, who was making 50+ ipcs all game, are incredibily hard to stop. I feel if the US did a full on Pacific theatre, then that would leave Germany to be even stronger as then they wouldn’t have the US breathing down there neck. This is the only game Ive played with this strategy and maybe there is a counter that I will find eventually, however right now Japan looked pretty awesome.

This was the fifth time I played the 42 version. Previous times were with a lot less experienced players, so this game marked the first where the 2 skilled players got to face each other  :-P

Title: Hang on…where’d my empire go?
Date:  June 9, 2009
Special Rules:  Played 1941
                    NO’s + Tech (increased factory production tech works on territories with 2 or more IPC’s)
                    also due to a misread of the rules, players can build ICs in territories captured that turn, and build units from ICs the turn they capture them. (ruins british capture france,build IC, recapture france,build 6 men strategy lol)
Victor:  Axis Victory by Concession
Game Length:  2 hours, 2 1/2 turns
Bias:  equal experience (4 players with 8 games each), axis slightly better
Description:
Allies: russia built man man artillery combo, only attack was manchuria turn 3.
         U.S. ran away from pacific, sent planes to england, attacked north africa. started building subs in pacific to harrass japanese shipping
         england built a factory in france, recaptured it turn 2. didn’t build factory in asia (would be gifting it to japan)
Axis: Germany unlocked IFP, sunk some british fleet, attaked EVERYTHING into russia(karelia first turn, caucuses 2nd, moscow 3rd)
       Italy took egypt, then put everything into defending france.
       Japan attacked some U.S fleet with planes, rushed india with 3 transports + entire fleet. took china, south-east asia with fighter backup(lost all but 2Inf but no opposition so who cares?). invaded africa,pacific on 3rd turn.

Observations/Recommendations:
The first game where the axis have won  :-)(finally got it sorted). it seems that our usual containment tactic doesn’t work against super aggressive axis players. allies had an effective navy/airforce in europe but were being far outproduced with no realistic way of crippling the axis(turn 2/3 assaults on Europe seem suicidal). what am i missing?
Link:  None

how did england build a factory in france and then recapture it in turn 2? this seems impossible….

Title : Tokyo falls, Moscow falls, Axis win
Date : Last week 25th July, at my friend’s house
Game setup : 42, with NOs, sz 16 closed.
Game lenght 8 hours, about 10 turns
Gaming experience. We were 4 players. I got Germany+Italy. I consider myself as the player with most knowledge (as I read alot in these forums). I was playing against very capable players. My ally was a good player too, although he has really bad luck with dices.
Game summary.
Japan 1 : Can’t do much in 42 due to the lack of mobility. My partner do not attack Pearl Harbor, fail at destroying China (But destroy Yunnan with loss of airplanes). Hit 0 in BRY, total failure… (2 fighter, 1 bomber retreat to MAN). Attack on UK fleet and he manage to lose a BB + 1 fighter…
Russia 1 (probably the second player with most knowledge) : Build a bomber and try a very suicidal 3 INF + bomber against 1 bomber + 2 fig. The attack against Japan airforce fail. Japan lose 1 bomber and Russia take 3 inf as casualties. Ukraine attack fails
Germany 1 : The usual sink British ships. Home fleet and Med fleet are sunk without too much loss to my airforce. Im trying something new. Built 1 DD 1 cruiser and bought 17 of inf, art. Take Karelia without loss (he abandonned it). Take down most of his tanks.
UK 1 : Rebuild fleet (2 cv and with us Plane). Doesn’t do much that turn.
Italy 1 : Egypt is too strong… so I go and take Trans
USA 1 : Build some fleet. Combine his pacific fleet and take back Solomon island for his bonus. Start to bomb Germany

That’s the round 1 for everyone. Japan, my partner, keeps doing his things, fail at beating China because of his bad luck. He kill Russia bomber that landed in BRY. Built an IC in SUM but it was probably the worst place because USA had their fleet Sol Island. Japan is forced into a navy war against USA in the Pacific. A lot of hit and run. The smaller Japanese fleet are sunk easily (Bomber + fighter). I think its only after round 4 that UK loses his bonus definitely (his African troops being slowly killed). USA did managed to take one Japanese Island, so that gave another +5 to UK. Eventually, USA bomber + ships sunk the entire Japanese fleet. He sailed in Japan sea with 4 loaded transports. So my friend that had drank quite a lot, didn’t see the threat. (He had 14 units in Japan and thought it was enough. He didn’t count shore bombardment, and aircrafts….)… Tokyo has fallen! Fortunately for us, only 1 American soldier survived.  My partner was able to do a suicide attack on US fleet, and do an attack on Japan with 1 art + 1 fighter and took it back.

Germany : I’ve built like 0 tank in the entire game. By doing the G1 naval build, my fleet survived for a really long time and scared UK a lot. I was able to unload 4 inf each turn in the Russia front. So I didn’t need tank’s mobility. Every round that I made 50+, I’ve built 2 planes and the rest art+inf. The rounds where I made less, I tried to max my production, while trying to produce 1 aircraft. Eventually, UK and USA realized that my fleet was weak (3 dd, 2 ss, 2 cruiser). So they just sent in their airforce and sunk everything without too much casualties. But by doing so, they made the mistake of sacrificing 2 of their precious Fighter. My airforce was equal to UK fleet defense. So I sent my entire airforces and sunk UK fleet. It was a crazy roll! I rolled really badly the first round (my bomber hitting none). Eventually, It was 1 fighter vs my bomber. I need to destroy fighter and survive. If not, the transports survive and Germany/France were threatened due to the loss of Fighters. I roll a four and await my opponent roll…. and he roll a 6! I sink Uk’s transports and win a lot of time. Africa has been quickly retaken by America. Against Russia, I’ve been able to hold him on the defensive (due to my 4 troops transported there each turn + 2 inf/turn in KArelia that helped me to keep Russia in check). Eventually, Japan threw everything she had at Russia. My partner rolled terribly, as always… He lost everything, but Russia had 3 fighter left. Even with 6 inf, that wasn’t enough to stop Germany

Italy did what Italy do. With sz 16 closed, not much to discuss. Italy was never seriously threatened, so I’ve sent everything I had in France, my tanks went east.

It was a great game, mistakes on both sides, tons of fun. Playing with people is a lot better than playing online 

Its a very risky gamble. But I see it like this: Putting alot into the navy allows it to survive some turn against UK (if you’ve sink their fleet). Your fleet act both as transport (transporting 2-4 inf each turn to the eastern front. Average, its about 1-2 turn faster than walking all the way there), but it also threatens United Kingdom, which is fun. Combined with airforce (that you build starting round 2), you can easily sink almost any UK fleet for the first few turns. At a point of the game, UK will have spent so much into his fleet that it will easily beat yours (you can’t commit too much into fleet like UK can). But if before attacking your fleet, he needs to be sure that the survivors will survive to your air strike!! and this is when things get interesting. Germany navy will be week. But if UK rush to kill it, he will lose his too!! And that’s a very fair trade for the Axis.
My opponent probably made the mistake of not calculating well. The fleet could have been sunk with just their incredible airforce (due to my japanese partner being incapable of getting rid of US soldiers on his worthless islands, that give a powerful +5 ipc to UK)

Robert

I agree. A bomber rush could have easily sunk my fleet. And you also pointed correctly that going bomber rush mean that the fleet will be weak, so uk won’t be able to put any transports into sea

Robert

Title:  Allies vice on europe 1942)
Date:  8/25/09
Special Rules:  Tech NO’s FTR escort/intercept
Victor:  Allies won by axis surrender after taking Berlin
Game Length:  6hrs
Bias:  0 Bias me and my friend are equally skilled we play all the time so we know some strategies so we have to change it up a lot.
Description:  Russia set up a defensive perimeter with infantry for 2 rounds then purchased tanks and artillery and began its push into eastern europe while Britians air-force dominated the atlantic  as america stocked on transports with tanks and infantry protected by cruisers and destroyers….    a land invasion of france while germanys bulk forces were occupied holding off the red army opened up a dominating second front.  Japan was suppressed in the pacific by the US’s dominant navy after they rolled improved shipyards.  Japan dominated south east asia but berlin was captured very quickly allowing the allies to focus land sea and air forces on japan, china retreated west in the beginning to concentrate forces which was vital to their successful defense of 50% of china despite the japan dominance in SEW asia   
Observations/Recommendations:  germany needs to establish a fleet in the atlantic Japan needs to go for US so Britain cant open up another front

Italy had all of africa by the end of the game… But it was too late as the allies had already established a huge foothold on the western front of europe and berlin had fallen… Italy was quite strong but the soviets, if berlin was liberated by the italians, would have easily crushed the counter offensive the next turn and recaptured berlin.  I belive if germany had lets say a fully loaded aircraft carrier and a cruiser or two with subs ect… they could have easily held off any allied landing force, while spending money on infatry in order to hold their ground in the east untill britians cash was exhausted due to italys conquest of afrika… this is simply my opinion, it might have worked, but i guess we will never know

Title:  Russian Agression
Date:  December 19th, 2009
Special Rules:  NO’s + Tech (1941 setup)
Victor:  Allied victory, world domination
Game Length:  12 hours
Bias:  About equal, 1player allies (me) against 2 axis players 
Description: 
Russia implemented an agressive strategy and bought mostly tanks and artillery for several rounds. They used up their infantry on high risk battles but this severely wore down germanys assault possibilities. UK took scandinavia and supported Russia with infantry. US established a bridgehead in Algeria and kept Italy from moving his fleet to the caucasus. Japan soon controlled the entire pacific after long ranged aircraft bombed away every allied navy vessel there. However, the UK had built a factory in india and SA where land units where sent to fight a land war in asia. After the italian navy was sunk by UK planes the Americans took the balkans and Roemenia, russia followed with reinformentment. From here the Italians were soon defeated and allied navies rushed to the passific using the suez canal. Germany fell after a long war of attrition. Japan lost their fleet and production and capitulated.

Allies techs: UK, warbonds/jetfighters, US, jetfighters
Axis techs: Japan, Jetfighters/Long ranged, Germany: Rockets
Observations/Recommendations:
Germany had a really hard time dealing with a very agressive Russia. They tried to counter it with lots of tanks but this only made them vulnerable. Japan was sole ruler of the pacific but it didn’t bring them victory because UK put all there effort on land. I would recommend every allied US/UK player not to attack France or Netherlands unless you’r able to bring enough to survive any counter attack.