Posts made by Dawkland

If The Soviet Union decides to attack Japan early on with their 18 inf in the east there’s not much Japan can do to stop them that would at least be productive.  So since you’ll probably lose Manchuria and Korea if Russia does attack why not use these units to go on the offensive.  Round 1 send them against China and cede the territory to Russia.  Let them keep chasing you down the coast and when they get in range of Japan’s massive air power send what inf you have backed up by air and you should wipe the Ruskies out.  Also it puts a hell of alot of pressure on the Chinese early.  Anybody disagree, if so i’d love to hear your thoughts.

The last game I played I saw the first ever successful sea lion to lead to an axis victory.  I now fear a sea lion more than I used to.  I firmly believe that the UK has to cripple Italy the first round or they grow out of control and become an enormous problem.  The question is if Germany is gonna go Sea Lion should the UK commit to taranto to cripple Italy’s fleet or should the UK turtle every aircraft and possible land unit in the UK.  My approach would be to purchase 9 inf but still go through with Taranto.  I just believe that Italy has to be stopped and if they are it makes the US’s job in the med much much easier.  Germany will accomplish sea lion barring terrible rolls with this approach but ultimately it seems like the right play.  Do you agree or disagree and if so why?

Everybody sings the praises of Taranto.  Me personally I never use it, it’s too risky.  If Germany doesnt fly a fighter there then it’s a different story but when the German player does you’re looking at A cruiser, Battleship, and three fighters for Italy vs. A fighter, Tac, Cruiser, Destroyer, and Bomber from London.  Those odds are definately in Italy’s favor.  I like the attack on Tobruk much better.  I use that and it really hurts the Italians and makes expansion through Africa very difficult.  I have though seen a Taranto work before but the British player got very lucky and won the battle and Italy was screwed.  If Taranto works it’s devastating but it’s a huge gamble with the odds against you and if it fails Italy should be able to capture Egypt and spread throughout N. Africa and the Middle East especially if Germany also flies in a Tac so they can help clear the med of any allied scragglers.

Ok I’d suggest not using this strategy.  I got my ass handed to me.  Didn’t help either that I was mildly intoxicated  :-D.  I ultimately only got 5 bombers to the UK.  I was able to hold Egypt and the US bombers smashed the Italian fleet.  I wasn’t able to put enough pressure on Western Europe and Russia got smashed.  Also Japan carried out a successful Calcutta crush.  It just takes to much time to setup a successful bombing campaign especially when Russia falls G6 or 7.  I feel that Russia needs to build max infantry to stay alive as long as possible which I didn’t do even though I usually do build a ton of inf with Russia.  Anyway it was a lost game but a good learning experience.

Heys guys wanted to apologize.  Said i’d let you all know how it went unfortunately one of my friends in my play group got real sick with e. coli so we couldnt play.  We may play this tuesday if so I’ll post what happened.

I appreciate your insight Stalingradski.  I agree with you how important Norway and the SZ around it are.  But if Germany is spending all that income on airbases, carriers, and destroyers then they aren’t purchasing what they need; Mechs and Tanks for Barbarossa and Inf/Art to defend western Europe because the Italians can’t do it alone unless they’re making bank which doesn’t happen every game.  Actually that’s part of my strategy, denying Italy It’s growth.  Last game I played Germany/Italy and we won despite Japan getting neutered early because Italy was making 40+ a round after the first couple rounds.  But anyway I’ll post on Wed let you guys see how it worked out.  I just think that in the end if Germany is spending that much denying me Norway or at least making me really have to earn it that the defense of W. Europe and Barbarossa will suffer.

Yeah I’ll definately give you guys a game report on Wed next week.

This coming week I’m going to be playing the allies against 2 friends one will play Japan and one will play Germany/Italy.  We will be playing the latest version of Alpha 3 (3.9).  My game plan is to Attack Italy in the med with the UK round 1 and wipe out their forces on Tobruk.  I plan to spend 2 full rounds producing in the Pacific against Japan not to beat them just to neutralize them so they dont get there 6 vc’s.  Starting US3 is when I purchase full out for Europe.  US3 full naval purchase (loaded carrier with destroyers and possibly a cruiser).  US4 purchase 3 Bombers the rest transports and inf/art.  the idea is to fly the bombers to England send the fleet to Gib then invade Norway.  Every round buying at least 2 Bombers.  Using Norway as a base to bomb W. Germany, Germany, and N. Italy.  I plan to every round bomb the axis industry to ashes so if they produce in western europe it’ll be at great cost.  My plan is to let the UK land and take Normandy and Paris.  Once the bombing campaign is underway and the luftwaffe is cleared from the sky I’ll start building all inf/art and transports to help the Brits in western Europe.  Never heard of anybody staging a massive bombing campaign i want to see how it goes.  I’m talking Massive……I’ll probably have 12+ Bombers in Europe at any time once I get under way.  Has anybody tried this and if so did it work?

@seththenewb:

Dawk, all combat is simultaneous. So you can’t destroy the AB to prevent scrambling on that same turn. The attacker makes all his combat movements and then the defender has the option of scrambling before any dice are rolled. Then and only then do you start rolling for the various battles. What you’d be doing in essence is hitting the airbase after his air is already off the ground.

Ok that sounds like it makes sense I guess we’ve been playing wrong.  Almost no reason to hit an airfield then because they’re so cheap to repair and scrambling is so worthwhile.  Anyway that being the case I would’ve done it a bit differently then.  I would’ve hit the seazone next to England with everything I had and whether he scrambled his fighters or not he would’ve lost that fleet there.  I would’ve made sure to keep the Battleship so that it would block the fleet next to Scotland from moving to the med that round and so that it would possibly be in range of my air and subs round 2.  My intent on that attack on his entire fleet was to assure that Italy would have a few turns to grow.  If he didnt Bite and moved the fleet up around Scotland out of range of my air it would only buy Italy one more turn but it’s better than nothing.  That being said it would also give me an extra turn to reposition my aircraft to hit them if they tried to come into the med.

@g�ddan:

Hi all,
I’m new to A&A and I’ve looked everywhere here for a detailed starting move for Germany to go vs USSR, but haven’t found one.
The player Cow was mentioning something along these lines in his Japan playbook thread:
“I seldom do sea lion honestly. I just push russia. I don’t do anything fancy. round 1 france and yugo that’s it. finns and that other spot for extra infs.  g2 push everything up to russia. take normandy 2 guys and air. the rest push. then you push russia g3.”

So I’m asking for detailed buy and move for G1 for Barbarossa with the intention to hit Moscow as early as possible.
Thank you in advance.

I’ve never been a big fan of a G1 Barbarossa.  I tried it once and it didn’t work.  You go into Russia half ass basically.  I find that a G2 Barbarossa is best, it still allows you to hit the Soviets fast but that extra round makes all the difference getting the full force of your infantry in.  I just finished a game with my friends last night where I played Germany and I won.  I believe I attacked Moscow round 7 or so and when the battle was over I still had 15 tanks left.  My positition in Western Europe was very strong.  The Brits and Americans took Spain and America was shucking 5 inf and 5 art to spain everyround on top of building three tanks a round by a minor ic there.  They still couldnt take Paris.  Here’s how I started the game:  first purchase was 1 destroyer, 1 Art, 6 Inf.  I started by sending all available ground units into Paris including the 3 tanks from S. Germany with the exception of 2 infantry that I left in Holland.  I strafed Yugoslavia by sending all the inf in S. Germany with the fighter in slovakia and Tac in Poland on there way to southern Italy.  That worked perfectly Yugo was left with 1 inf for the Italians.  I then bombed the Airfield in England so they couldn’t scramble I brought in 1 tac and 1 strat ( the tac was an insurance policy if the airfield was successful with its aa shot) I also used 2 fighters to escort the bomber and tac.  The airfield was taken out, I lost 1 fighter and the brits lost the French fighter. I then sent 2 subs on the fleet off England ( no Scrambles now) and I sent 2 subs and my Battleship against the fleet off Scotland.  I also sent the rest of my available air into both battles.  I lost all the subs and 2 aircraft I believe but the UK fleet was removed in both areas.  The above assault on the UK fleet is a gamble, if the dice dont go your way it can be catastrophic.  My result was about average or maybe a bit above average.  Its worth it though because now he cant send that fleet to the med to cripple the Italians.  My non-combats were the usual moves into Bulgaria and Finland.  I also non-combat everything else to the front with the Soviets.  The next round I purchased 6 mechs and 6 tanks for Germany and 2 Inf for Paris.  I sent everything into the Baltic states going to take novgorod and i a turn or 2 later I sent forces to take the minor ic on Ukraine.  I then went on to take Volgograd and just kept pumping tanks and mechs and bombers from my new russian ic’s.  I also started strat bombing Moscow that helped reduce the size of his stack……think he had 47 inf when i attacked.  This is the best way to play Germany I believe.  One thing to keep in mind is a strong Italy.  The tac and fighter I sent to Rome stayed there until round three, they helped clear the Med of UK ships this allowed Italy to grow strong.  Toward the end of the game Italy was makin around 40 IPC’s a round.  It’s so important to have a strong Italy to help defend W. Europe.  One last thing to mention.  I was helped greatly by getting advanced Artilery.  We play with a house rule that any nation that earns 30+ IPC’s gets one free tech role and germany got advanced art.  That did make it a bit easier but I still would’ve won without that.  Anyway I hope this wordy mistake prone run-on post helps you out  :-D

Don’t mean to sound like a n00b Cow but I’ve seen in may of your posts pinoy.  what the hell does pinoy mean lol.

Has anybody considered taking the four inf from korea and moving them into manchuria so you now have a stack of  inf there.  If he tries to attack Manchuria he’ll either break his entire stack or if he opts to take Korea you concede the three ipc a round to him but he’s trapped there because if he attacks Manchuria even if he wins he’ll only have a few inf left which is easily handled.  the only problem arises if the US Lands their four units on Korea and then the next turn before Japan goes the Russians reinforce then the US builds a factory on Korea.  Thats a major threat and pain in the ass.  If that doesnt happen then the dirty commies get Korea and their three ipc a round.  Germany should start srat bombing moscow by round three or four anyway.  I’m a firm believer in barbarossa think SeaLion blows.  I’ve never tried it but I’ve seen it be successful every game and Germany starts decay not long after.  Can’t take your foot of the Soviet neck at all Barbarossa G3 the absolute Latest.

Actually just wiping the Brit fleet holding Malaya, Hong Kong and Borneo does starve UK east and neutralizes them so maybe making that the objective is preferable to the Calcutta gamble.  One thing that kills me though is if you go after the islands you cant leave transports unguarded which means that you have to split up your fleet to defend them.  If you do that the US can eat your navy up a little at a time.  One of the things I like about the Sydney Startegy is that it forces the US to attack your fleet down there and whether Japan or the US wins that engagement whoever walks away is gonna be weakened.  Having a weakened US fleet far from Tokyo and Mainland Asia is a positive in my book.  When I play America my first two rounds of production are all fleet for the pacific I go after the Japanese fleet and have had success doing it.  If I see the Japs split their fleet apart I’ll attack no questions asked.  I use the Carolines as my staging area as I rarely go for Japan early. And since my friends have seen me do this I’m sure they’ll pick up my tactics.  Going for Sydney prevents me from having to split my fleet as well as keeping the US far from Japan.  But i could see a more static kind of play with Japan where the objectives are to hold Malaya, Borneo, and Hong Kong while keeping the Jap fleet together and close to mainland Asia.  It’s not as aggressive but it’s safe play that may require the US to dedicate turn four or five production to the Pacific side helping your German friends win from there side.

Hey guys wanted to get your ideas for a game i’m gonna be playing next week.  I’ve never played Japan despite the fact that I’ve played 10+ times.  Everybody is big on the Calcutta crush although I’ve never seen it successfully pulled off in anyone of my group games.  It definately has its merits because of how devastating it is to the allies if successful.  I look at it as high risk high reward.  The two problems I have with the Calcutta route are firstly if you’re not successful you’re pretty much screwed, secondly I dont like my entire fleet all the way down by India while the US has a huge fleet sitting off the coast of Japan convoy raiding it and making it very easy for them to take back the Phillipines.  In the meantime the Japanese fleet had to engage the small British fleet in order to open the way to Calcutta.  I realize that the Brit fleet will be wiped out easily but can still weaken the Japanese fleet somewhat so when you have to swing it all the way back toward Japan to confront the Americans your fleet will be somewhat weakened.  I still support the idea of plowing through China building a Factory on Kiangsi and trying to push towards Calcutta that way.  My proposal is a J2 attack against Australia.  First Round purchase 2 transports and a minor for kiangsi.  Second round you now have 6 transports.  bring your entire fleet and amphibious force to take the phillipines while your land units take Hong Kong plus the usual in Yunnan for the Burma road.  The Allies will probably think a Calcutta is being prepared but instead J3 attack queensland with everything from the Phillipines.  This will put you one step from Sydney and probably will give you Anzac.  I like this because t forces the US to attack your fleet off of Queensland bringing that to a head.  Even if you lose you’ll still break the strength of his fleet and now it will be so far from Japan that you can build another fleet….if he tries to build another fleet he’s taking valuable pressure off Germany and you could get a win on the Europe side of the board.  He will only have  transports and  units to try and dislodge your Japanese units on Queensland.  If he can’t severely weaken you it could very well be lights out for Anzac.  Then America has to decide if they want to liberate Anzac or take needed resources away from the Europe board.  Is this a viable alternative to the dreaded Calcutta crush?

Ok need some opinions concerning Uk’s first move with their Med fleet.  Attacking the lone Italian destroyer and transport is a must.  I like to use my cruiser from the Atlantic side of Gibralter and my fighter from gibralter and land it on malta cause now there’s no more airbase on Gibralter.  Ok the conundrum stems from the three available options from the rest of the British Med fleet.  Option 1: Attack the Italian Battleship and cruiser in the Adriatic plus it’s fighter cover.  Option 2:  Stay put off the coast of Egypt and let the Italians attack so now you have your carrier involved which defends at a 2 and can absorb 2 hits.  Option 3: Retreat the fleet to India to help defend against the Japanese onslaught against Calcutta.  I like option 2.  I know it doesnt seem very aggressive but I think it’s important to slow Italy’s advancement as much as possible.  I dont like attacking because the odds are so stacked up against the UK.  You have 3 fts if Germany landed one in S. Italy a Battleship and Cruiser vs. a destroyer, cruiser, ftr, and Tac.  Uk would be lucky to take out 2 planes and do damage to the battlehip.  If you defend you’re taking on the Italian fleet from both seazones but you have 2 extra hits from the carrier an extra die at 2 plus only two ftrs attacking at a 3 instead of three ftrs defending at a 4.  Neither option is great but 2 seems like the lesser of all evils to me.  I dont like option 3 because it allows Italy to grow too quickly and by the time the US is trying to bust into the Med they have to deal with a huge Italian fleet.  Your thoughts?

Ok had no problems installing it but it’s only showing me the Europe map I cant see the whole world and I can’t get the map to scroll any suggestions?

OK we all know that to successfully play the US you have to excel in something that the US military always has……Logistics.  It’s not easy to continually keep pressure on the Axis because the US is so far away.  An attack on Italy could be successful but that would leave the US almost no troops holding it and the Germans would take it back next round.  So I figured what might be a viable startegy would be to do a feint against Rome.  Instead of attacking Italy Liberate Egypt have your Brit allies build a factory there.  If the Germans DO NOT have a major IC on Romania take those American troops land them in Greece build a minor IC.  That’s 6 units a round for the allies between the US IC in greece and the UK IC in Egypt.  Of course with the US you would still be building infantry and artillary and Transports from the Eastern US.  If Germany wanted to build a ton of tanks to come and attack Greece they would probably be successful but that just takes pressure off the Soviet Union.  No matter what happens now the Allies have opened up a viable Southern front on the axis, one which the Italians couldnt defend alone as by this point they wouldn’t have the economy due to loss of NO’s and territory, plus the allies should be bombing the piss out of Rome by this point so Italy would be struggling just to build a few infantry every round.  This would force the Germans to divert some of their production south which would pretty much take the boot off the Russians neck and allow them to not only survive but possibly drive the Germans back.  I know this plan may not be as direct as just wave after wave after wave of US landing against Italy but each wave takes time to set up.  This may not be as direct but I think it could possibly be more crippling in that it’s smaller pressure but constant every round.  What do you guys think, any merit in this?

Economically it’s viable I think.  Germany starts now with 2 strats so to have 4 bombers by G3 is 24 ipc’s.  you figure you’ll lose an average of 1 every other round so that’s about 6 ipc’s per round investment to maintain the bombing campaign, which is roughly 10% of Germany’s income to drastically reduce Soviet ability to stack infantry.  So for the cost of one tank per round after G3 you cripple the soviet economy reducing probably 3-5 infantry a round or more depending how much territory is gobbled up amongst the axis powers.  I’m really looking forward to seeing how this works. If somebody tries it let me know.  Thanx.

Had an idea to use as Germany in a Barbarossa campaign that I’ve yet to try in a game.  I was thinking that along with the regular tank/infantry push towards Moscow if Anybody bought an extra SB or two and stage 3-4 SB’s out of Eastern Poland to hit Moscow every round right from the beginning of your first attack turn to prevent the Soviets from building a 50 inf stack.  You would probably be doing at least 10 ipc’s worth of damage every round at a cost of losing maybe only 1 bomber every other turn.  If he intercepts you then you at least get a pop at his two fighters which he can not easily replace.  Next time I play Germany I’m gonna go with this strategy and see how it works.  Has anybody tried it before and if so did you feel it was effective?

Really interesting post Garg.  Some good points.  I especially agree with point #2.  When I play Germany I usually concede the sea to the allies and there are times when the US has a massive fleet off of Europe with little in the way of loaded transports.  So since I’ve already conceded the water and have consolidated my land defenses all those cruisers and Battleships are just wasted economy.  I would always suggest to build your fleet around your transports.  Just enough to keep them protected….unless of course you’re going after Japan and need to smash their Navy.