After Action Reports

We did have a great time.

As far as the US retreat from the pacific…they could have stood up to Japan, they had several dd, 2 or 3 cruisers, at least 2 bb, 1 cv, 2 ftr, plus 2 ftr and a bmb on hawaii, and more ftr in W US.(They never even considered a dd screen) At that point three things happened to cause US to run…1)Russia was about to get hit and Germany was sinking the UK fleet every time it got deployed (heavy bombers for Ger weren’t in play at this point), so the allies needed help.  2)The 12 super subs were the equivalent of a nuclear deterent. 3)The US players personal desire not to loose their fleet.

I agree that tech is powerful and comes into play more often than we would expect or maybe even want. I think part of the reason there was so much tech in our game was that it was a new way to do it and we all remember the wasted money spent in past games and we wanted to see some redemption. My guess is that tech will hopefully settle out and not be used as much. Maybe, maybe not. I know I won’t use as much with Germany again. I needed more land units. If the Soviet Union played more defensively I might still not be home yet…

Title: Allied Domination (1941)

Date: Nov 25, 2008

Special Rules: NO & Tech

Victor: Allies with 13 VC

Game Length: 4 hours/ 4 or 5 rounds

Bias: 3 vs 3; Allies had 2 very experienced players with a first timer and axis had one experienced player as italy and two less capable players

Description: Japan was very poorly played, only attacking one chinese territory on T1 and attacking Hawaii on T1 (battle lost) and leaving 2 carriers with four planes and a destroyer and 2 trans of Hawaii coast, all of which were destroyed on USA T1.  Britian got heavy bombers on T1 and Germany got Industrial Tech on T3.  Germany took Karelia on T2, but Russia rolled lights out and only let Germany with 2 tanks on the whole eastern front.  Italy was pretty much a non factor.
Axis never took Egypt, but Australia and India did fall on round 4 to Japan, but it was to little to late.

Observation/Rec: This game was over after round 1 due to poor axis strategy and planning.  Allies had some great dice rolling on T1 and T2 which made it more difficult for the axis.  Japan got very big even after their terrible T1 moves and America focused all attention on Japan having 3 big naval battles with them (Japan won 2 of 3).  We all liked the NOs and think the new way of Tech developement is the best method to date.

hey, i reported on a '42 game  :-P

Stickied the thread until we find out if there is a better way of doing this.

BTW, this is a great thread idea.

Cond1024,
Seeing as how the Axis had one experienced player and two newbies, wouldn’t it make more sense for the experienced player to take control of Germany (or at least Japan) instead of Italy?

Since it was a new game we decided to do a random draw for countries.  The other two axis players weren’t newbies, they just aren’t as strategy minded as the Italian player was.  We decided after this game to not do random draws anymore!!

I think that Italy should always be played by some one who wants it or a newbie in AA world et some one not very experienced or played by germany……never draw from a randomly play

@TG:

1942 gets no love…

Cond1024,
Seeing as how the Axis had one experienced player and two newbies, wouldn’t it make more sense for the experienced player to take control of Germany (or at least Japan) instead of Italy?

I disagree. I think Italy is the critical component to the Axis. It will never take a capital but it’s job is to tie up as much Allied time and money as possible. The more it ties up the easier it will be for Germany and Japan to conquer Russia. And with Germany’s and Japan’s massive incomes there is built in leeway for purchasing and movement mistakes. The wrong move or purchase can instantly make Italy irrelevant so the experienced player would be my logical choice to play them.

Game 1

Title:  Axis Advance, 1941
Date:  December 6, 2008
Special Rules:  NOs and Tech were used.  13 VC victory. 
Victor:  Allies conceded with Axis at 11 VC and no sign of stopping
Game Length:  4 hours, about 4-5 rounds.
Bias:  Played with strangers, but likely Axis.
Description:  Germany smashed UK fleets and went for Caucasus.  Italy went for Africa.  Japan hit China and Pacific, taking Hawaii and destroying all US boats on J2.  UK went for India IC, and US went full tilt against Japan, but the combination barely slowed the Japanese down as they had 2 mainland ICs to answer the Brits.  Mech inf for Germany and Jet Fighters for Japan sealed the fate of the allies towards a conceded endgame.
Observations/Recommendations:  US needs to preserve their remaining early fleet to seriously threaten Japan.  Techs can really help the Axis if they get the right ones.  UK really needs to consider the worth of an India IC if they want to take on Japan.  Allies suffered from having no US help in Europe.
Link:  http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=13010.0

Game 2

Title:  Terrified by tea lovers 1941
Date:  December 6, 2008 
Special Rules:  NOs and Tech were used.  13 VC victory. 
Victor:  Axis Victory by Concession after Moscow capture
Game Length:  7-8 hours, about 8 rounds
Bias:  Slight Axis, but closer than last game. 
Description: 
Germany and Italy cooperated against Russia.  Germans took Karelia G2.  Japan went north against Russia as well, breaking through Russia, China, and India around J6.  US went full tilt against Japan and lost fleets.  Russia tried desperately to hold out.  UK took France frequently but was forced back despite a large income due to losing fleets to the Germans.  The game took a huge turn when UK developed Heavy Bombers.  Axis suddenly engaged in a hell-for-leather dash for Moscow before HBs ruined Europe and captured Germany.  Desperate counter-thrusts from Russia and UK (sacrificing bombers) held off the Axis for some time, but in the end a final, desperate assault with the last Axis units in Asia brought Moscow down.
Observations/Recommendations:
This game made me love technologies, because the development of Heavy Bombers turned what was becoming a clear allied loss into a huge, manic dash of a game, with no clear winner right up until the end.  I think I will have some trouble ever topping the fun I had at this particular game, but then again it’s only the second one I’ve played, so I hope I’m not speaking too soon.
Link: http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=13010.0

I haven’t seen a full KGF (or KIF) myself, so I don’t know how well it would work.

I do think that the US needs to do something to distract the Japanese fleet.  Even though the US in both our games lost their fleet to the Japanese, it didn’t have to happen that way if the players had been more careful with their units, and both times it did significantly slow down Japanese expansion in Asia, especially around India, where the fleet would have been otherwise.  That said, their absence from Europe was sorely missed - I think the US needs to do something in both theaters, contesting the Pacific enough to keep the Japanese from having free reign and posing a threat to Japanese pacific NO holdings (not to mention trying to acquire American NOs), while still sending troops off to Europe and Africa to help out there.

Next time I play I’ll try to be the US and see how well a balancing act works.

I dont see anyway the US can do anything of significance in the pacific in the 41 version. Maybe simply make japan keep her fleet closer to home in fear of a sucker punch, but thats about it. The US would be much more efficient in destoying italy first.

Title:  game of games (1942)
Date:  9th of December
Special Rules:  played with NO’s and Tech
Victor:  axis won, minus japan
Game Length:  around 7 hours
Bias:  skill level was possibily favouring alies a tiny bit
Description:  japan pushed on china and india. germany went for moscow, re-inforced italy in africa, and hassled british shipping occasionally. russia attacked germany at every opportunity. italy did its thing in africa, then pushed towards india also. uk defended an indian IC as long as possible, and used airforce tactics to annoy germany. america built up a huge airforce and attacked japan.
japan fell to america due to poor defensive planning. germany took moscow eventually, then took uk with the added IPC’s. america should have landed its airforce (6 fighters, 4 bombers) in moscow to crush the german push, but took japan instead. we played on after russia fell to see how the game went for another round or two, but america conceeded as germany had the IPC advantage (72 IPC’s not including NO’s by last round).
Observations/Recommendations:  russia’s stratagem of attacking germany worked really well (see link below). japan should have made defence plans at home, but was too busy focusing on china. america spent mucho IPC’s on an airforce to assist its fleet and went for japan, but if they had’ve diverted the fighters to moscow then the allies would have won by simple attrition. uk rolled long-range planes on their first turn, but didn’t use them to full effect. germany got super-subs turn 4, and jet fighters towards the end (after russia had fallen). definitely worth tossing a few IPC into tech rolls. germany also tried some strategic bombing on uk after russia fell. this worked quite well, as germany utilised 6 or so bombers, and uk was left with little IPC’s after repairing
Link:  http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=12974.new#new

usa pretty much spent its time building a large airforce and adding a few transports to its navy, then skirted the western coast of usa/alaska, lurking. they attacked japan when the japanese fleet was a few sea zones away. the only island they ever captured was wake

uk held india for a while, as well as japan. but germany sunk all their transports, as as america was busy in the pacific they didn’t bother building any to replace their losses (which i felt was a mistake)

super-subs didn’t do much of anything. i was just pleased at how much more efficient the tech rolling was

Title:  Pharaoh builds german fleet … again (1941)
Date:  11th and 18th of December
Special Rules:  played with NO’s and Tech. Target: 18 VCs. Face to face game.
Victor:  draw, because of time issues
Game Length:  8 hours, 7 rounds
Bias:  One bad player each side, one good player each side. I play USA/China/USSR, 1 guy plays Germany/Italy, another Japan, and another UK
Description:

1st round:

Germany builds AC 1st round (to Baltic sea) and fails utterly in Egypt (loses 5 guys to 1 uk inf). Barbarossa and killing some UK boats as normal, but he doesn’t attack Karelia.  1 tech roll fails
Soviets (me) buy 1 fig, 1 arm, 5 inf but not attack, stacking Caucasus and Karelia. Big stack of 7 in Buryatia. No tech roll
Japan enters the trap and attacks furiously soviet stack in buryatia. Soviets manage kill 4 inf before die, but Japan don’t attack Pearl Harbour nor the chinese fighter (only kills 1 chinese inf). Dutch East Indies and Philippines taken 1 tech roll fails
UK builds 1 IC and some fleet for Atlantic ocean. Kills the mediterranean german trannie, stacks India and retreat Desert Rats to Sudan. 1 tech roll fails. Bomber killed in SBR
Italy takes egy and trj (receives bonuses). Builds 2 inf, art and no tech roll
Me, as USA, kill 1 german sub with dd and aircrafts, building 1 AC to each coast and some more boat for west coast. No tech roll. As China, general retreat and gets 3 inf

2nd round:

Germany: 1 tech roll fails, Barbarossa continues and the last german sub kills USA dd. Germans buy IC, aa gun to France, and land units. Strat bomb on London makes 6 damage.1 tech roll fails.
Me, as soviets, take Finland and recover some ground at west. Against Japan, retreat last siberian inf to west. Big stacks at Karelia, Caucasus and Moscow (fear of 1-2 blitz with german tanks). I buy 1 fig and land units. No tech roll
Japan: advances a bit on China, takes Australia losing some buys and advances to a bit to west in Siberia. IC built last turn build 3 tanks. Also, a new bb is built. 1 tech roll fails. Japan reaches 50’s. IC to East Indies
Italy: Send more guys to ukraine and advance into Africa. Buys land units. No tech roll
UK: 1 tech roll fails. Build saf IC and more fleet for North Sea. Takes Norway. Stack advances to Burma
Italy: builds 1 tra and guys, send some fleet to Madagascar, advances to Persia and Africa
Me, as China: local attack agaisnt lone jap inf (fighter is good). Build 1 more guy
Me, as USA: east fleet attacks empty Morocco, killing the last sub in the process. Double SBR makes 7 damage to Berlin. Building 1 new BB and boats to west, and 1 trannie to east.1 tech roll fails

3rd round:

Germany buys 1 fig and fail 1 tech roll. Also, tanks and infs. Repair damage. Continue trading territories but don’t attack any mayor stacks. Bomber SBR is killed in London.1 dd to west mediterranean
Me, as soviets: 1 Successfull tech roll gives me War bonds and free 4 IPCs! Continue trading guys and massing stacks. Send some inf to Siberia to stop japs. With WB, I collect 38 IPCs
Japan: kills 3 chinese inf, losing 1 inf, 1 tank. Build IC in East Indies. Takes Hawaii and N. Guinea. Sends reinforcements to FIC. New shiny BB
UK: 1 tech roll fails, builds land units for the 3 ICs, and some repairings. Fearing Italy taking south africa (1 art, coast attacks vs 2 armors), retreats Desert Rats to south just in case a counter is needed. Baltic fleet killed, losing only 2 dds. Dieppe landings in Nort Western Europe!

Game will continue day 18 (sorry for the wall text  :lol: )

(My first post here)

Title:  It’s still just a dice game, 1941
Date:  10/10/08
Special Rules:  Allowed Tech development
Victor:  Axis…Allies?  Depends! (game called due to time)
Game Length:  4 rounds
Bias:  Axis had the higher skill
Description:  Japan (played by me) rushed to 34 IPCs by end of round 2, end of round 3 it held the Caucuses at 44 IPC.  America began to threaten Japan at the end of Round 2 with a Pacific navy.  Germany, played by a complete novice was a non entity.  Italy was the swing state needed to hold Axis in Europe.  UK was completely out of the war with ultra cold dice… until the end.  Russia did what Russia does.
Observations/Recommendations:  As my title suggests, this game to the core is too reliant on dice for me.  The game was called an Axis victory and we allowed the Allies to do Hail Marys one last time.  Japan fell due to a complete whiff of my main fleet in the home waters and the subsequent landing of 3 infantry and a tank took on my 3 infantry and tank (granted I could have had more in Japan but my fleet really should have never gone down to the American).  I was just the first, Russia fell to Germany in Round 4, but then Germany fell to the UK in an even more disproportionate battle.  My recommendation is an old one from me, I wish there was an official variant that relied less on dice.

Title:  We’re all speaking German - 1941
Date:  December 6th
Special Rules:  All optional rules included with the game
Victor:  Axis - Allies conceded
Game Length:  5 hours
Bias:  Germans (myself) have played the game the most (won tournaments), Russia and Japan weaker players.
Description:  For Germany, it was pretty straight forward.  I creamed Russia all along the front on the first turn but due to some bad dice rolls, I ended up with only 3 tanks left in the Baltic states (colonies now).  Russia saw the opportunity and attacked the tanks to try to wipe them out.  This was a mistake (they defend on 3 now) and I saw my opportunity and on the following turn counter attacked his force and invaded Karelia with all the infantry from Finland, etc… and 2 infantry via ship into Karelia and took it.  After that it was just waiting for my first turn’s infantry production on Germany to reach the front and I took Moscow.

Against England I attacked and wiped out most of the English fleet the first turn with my airforce and fleet, but left the bulk of my force in the Baltic for safety.  I pulled my troops out of Africa, and used them in a battle in the black sea before the transport was destroyed.

For tech I rolled Heavy bombers and in the turn before taking Moscow I build 3 bombers :)

Russia had a tough go, basicly building infantry and some artillery and tried, unsuccessfully to slow the German onslaught.  They focussed on keeping Caucassus and lost Karelia.

Italy was poor and wasn’t able to hold Africa, but did manage to keep their fleet.  They sailed with some troops and took Brazil and were going to attack in Africa before the Allies conceeded.

UK focussed on India and built a factory, and also built a factory in Eastern Canada.  They had a fleet by the end of the game for some harrassment, and kept Africa.

Japan failed Pearl Harbour and because they tried holding back fighters and taking the land territory.  They ended up having to retreat.  They retreated from the American fleet once they build up and parked themselves on Japan, but USA couldn’t win the land battle and lost part of their airforce trying to invade Japan and Japan successfully repelled them off Japan.

All of Japan’s, except 1 maybe, transports were distroyed when USA rolled Long Range Aircraft on the tech table… and they were being used independantly to take undefended UK southern pacific isles.

USA survived Pearl Harbour and kept their battleship and built up quickly and tried taking Japan but wasn’t successful.

Observations/Recommendations:  From 1 game, no changes necessary.  I wouldn’t recommend using any house rules whatsoever with a game that’s been out for less then 2 months.  You need to play it more to learn the ins and outs before any imbalances are found.  One thing I’ve noticed, in the earlier A&A Russia could fend off Germany by itself… now I don’t think it’s able.  I steamrolled Russia pretty bad, USA and England need to focus on Germany or it will win the game for the Axis.   
Link:  NA