Hello A&A.Org crowd. I used to be a regular on the forums and avid gamer many years ago, but dropped off due to various life commitments. Now I find myself in possession of this wonderful thing called Axis and Allies 1940 so here I am again to peruse the thoughts of strategy masters.

An aggressive UK player can virtually eliminate the Italians from the game on UK1. This is dependent, however, on the Germans and if they give indication of a Sea Lion or not. I typically purchase a transport, infantry and artillery for South Africa first, and use my remaining 14(global) or 15(Europe) IPCs for navy or air in the Atlantic because Germany has typically decimated the available forces on their first turn.

IF the Germans make no Sea Lion preparations you can send the entire RAF from London to strike the Italian battleship (The Taranto raid). The fighters can land on the carrier, because you will need to bring the navy parked at Egypt as well to discourage a scramble. Don’t get too attached to that Mediterranean navy because it won’t last long, but the blow delivered to the Italians makes its loss worth it. The combat strength of the UK in this attack is 15 with 6 units, and the Italians have a strength of 7 with 2 units or 19 with 5 units made possible by a full scramble supported by Germany. Not the best odds, but still a good battle for UK because you are killing valuable units. They don’t stand a chance without the scramble, so the Italians might scramble their two planes which is even better because you get to kill the Italian Air Force. Even if the Germans send planes to scramble I make this attack because it’s one of the few opportunities to chip away at the Luftwaffe which gives the Germans enormous flexibility.

With the cruiser in SZ 91 (assuming it wasn’t sunk by the Germans which in many cases it won’t be) I usually strike the Italian fleet at Malta. I will throw in the fighter from Gibraltar for good measure and land him on Malta. The Malta fighter can either support the Taranto raid or be used in an assault on Tobruk.

The Tobruk battle is perhaps the most important one on UK1. Italy has 3 Inf, 1 Art, 1 Mec, and 1 Tank to face off against the British forces in Alexandria totaling 2 Inf, 1 Art, and 1 Tank. Poor odds for the Brits. Wait a minute, you have a Mec in Cairo that can make it into the battle, and the transport in SZ 98 can’t be used for fighting the Italian fleet so load up an Inf and Art for amphibious assault! Now we have a combined UK strength of 3 Inf 1 Art 1 Mec and 1 Tank, which is equal to the Italian force. Now this isn’t enough to take the territory without exceptional dice, so we need more forces. Well here’s where the Malta fighter and the Tactical Bomber from SZ 98 come in. I’ll bet you were wondering why he wasn’t in the Taranto raid. So the UK now has a total combat strength of 20 with 9 units against the Italian force of 6 units and a strength of 13. Good odds, and as a reminder the British can replace lost forces fairly quickly, while the Italians cannot.

This is my standard opener for the UK and it effectively knocks Italy into irrelevance. They are reduced to only one weak fleet, and only 2 units in North Africa.

@Sgt-Mclusky Unlike previous renditions of A+A I find that AA40 has so many options and paths to victory that were still playing it and seeing new strategies in my group. Granted I was late to the party with this version so I don’t have years of experience, but we do play an awful lot, and almost never see the same game twice.

@Guam-Solo From reading the forum I have deduced that I am a highly unconventional Allied player, therefore I disagree wholeheartedly with everything you have said. 😆 I take issue with the first word on two of three points: Defense.

Defense of London: Obviously it’s a huge blow to lose ones capitol, but is it sometimes worth it to generate an overall Allied victory? Think about it, if you dump too many IPCs on defensive units you will find you have a nice shield but no sword. Now you don’t want to give up UK too cheaply to the Germans, but I still advocate for a “just barely enough” defense to make taking UK costly for Germany, but not an impregnable fortress. Also, if London falls then the Russians and Americans both get to declare war on Germany.

Defense of the Atlantic: I can’t disagree with you here. The Atlantic is the Anglo American ocean. Don’t let those Krauts gain any “ground” there because “nibbling” at Germany becomes impossible, and the US retaking London is very difficult if they must first establish Sea superiority.

Defense of Egypt’s: Attack attack attack. Until I am shown some super strategy that’s a 100% guaranteed success I will always say attack those Italians before they get to move. Build troops and a transport for S.Africa and even an Egyptian complex to crush Italy. UKs economy is three times the size of Italy’s. Show those pastafarian chaps that the sun never sets on the British empire.

I will call my playbook once I have completed it the “Allied book of Banzai” 😂

Wow I’m seeing lots of neat new strategies here. The G1 Carrier purchase that many seem to agree as a standard for Germany would make me the laughing stock of my group, until they saw an actual Sea Lion attempt, which we virtually never do. Typically I have had great success with a throwback to A&A Classic: The IPM. The Luftwaffe can give the infantry plenty of attack power, but the problem is they are slow so a G1 or G2 Barbarossa is essential. Has anyone else had success with the classic infantry march to Moscow?

Im seeing quite a few recommendations of a 1st turn purchase of an aircraft carrier and destroyer even if just to bluff a sea lion. Doesn’t this leave you with a very thin 2nd wave for Barbarossa on G2? Has anybody had a successful Barbarossa with a G1 fleet purchase?

I have some fairly strong allied strategies, primarily for UK that I will have to summarize in a form of playbook. They’ve all been tried against me or used by me with good success rates and tend to keep the Allies competetive. When in doubt, Attack!

@Guam-Solo Wow, sounds like en epic battle. Germany took out both SZ111 AND 110? When I’ve done this I find myself spread a bit too thin and the Luftwaffe takes casualties due to scrambles. That’s actually a win for UK if you trade your fleet for German planes because it reduces their strategic flexibility. As mentioned Canada is the best spot to start building ships. If the Luftwaffe is in range they will just get sunk every round for minimal German casualties.

I’m curious about you’re statement that the fighters from UK couldn’t reach the action in the Mediterranean. Even if they’re guaranteed to be lost should the carrier have to take a hit I always send them. Trading UK planes for Italian ships is a positive for the Allies, because you can build more fighters, while the Italians can’t build ships.

@AldoRaine I like it, but I have questions. No attack on Tobruk? Italy still has two transports, so they can drop four units into Trans Jordan or Alexandria giving the Italians ten units to crack Egypt, (And sieze Iraq) plus the three coming up from Ethiopia. Can enough reinforcements reach Cairo UK 2 to prevent its capture?

Well naturally almost every allied plan is an “if, then” plan. The openers I propose are ones that typically work regardless of what the Axis are doing.

@Panzer-V I also play solely with a group of friends and find that contrary to the consensus on the forums, the Allies are hardly at a massive disadvantage. This could simply be as a result of playing with a group of equally skilled opponents who know how you think, therefore granting an immediate advantage to the defender, the Allies.

Everything changes when you’re playing an opponent you don’t know.

My groups been playing A+A for about 15 years and G40 about 20 full games in the past couple years.

@DessertFox599 Yes that’s certainly effective. I personally like to take and hold a territory if possible though, because it gives that added level of threat to Germany and especially Italy.

Okay now you’re making sense. If Germany is sending the Luftwaffe to attack fleets though they are 1. Losing valuable planes and 2. Not sending those planes to the Eastern front.

My focus has always been getting as many ground troops into Europe as fast as possible, and damn the casualties. Any attention drawn from Germany is a positive.

@DessertFox599 I’m a Germany first guy myself, but 90% 😱 It just seems excessive. I believe you are correct in Germany being the primary threat but USA has to put some effort into the pacific because UK and ANZAC are usually steamrolled by Japan in 5 or six turns. You gotta save Sydney at least. Even if you put just 20 IPCs into the Pacific , Japan can’t be storming India, Australia, and protect its Islands all at the same time. Germany is already battling Russia with only a 10 to 20 IPC advantage, so USA coming with an additional 50 can’t be stopped without diverting valuable troops from the eastern front.

@DessertFox599 bit of a defeatist perspective I think. Your saying that the US landing 10 units on Gibraltar or in North Africa turn 3 isn’t going to do squat? What about when they invade Normandy and the Brit’s reinforce it? Now Paris will fall and you lose a victory city just before nabbing Russia. Catastrophic in my experience.

And how exactly are the allies on the verge of defeat when the wars just started? There is more hope than you realize my friend. They may be unprepared but with far larger economies they can rapidly close the gap. The Axis rely on speed and greater starting forces to achieve victory, so the faster the Allies can start attacking even if only in limited strikes the better.

@DessertFox599 Now are you speaking theoretically or from personal experience? I have NEVER won as the allies when the USA dumps everything into one theatre. I’m not saying split 50/50 because he who attacks everything attacks nothing, I’m saying do a 60/40 or 70/30 split. You must crate a credible threat in one theatre while mounting a serious offensive in the other. USA has the income to achieve this with prudent purchasing. If you divert German attention for one round away from Russia that can be a deciding factor.

What exactly is happening in your games? It’s not abnormal for the Axis to win 6 or even 7 or of 10 games, as most everyone on the forum will tell you the game is tilted in their favor. It would help if you posted some of your overall strategies and where specifically you’re having trouble so that we could cover counter strategies.

@Chrisx Well the USA isn’t just sitting there I hope, because by round 8 they’ve been in the fight for at least 4 turns so they should be pressuring both sides of the map and also increasing their enormous economy.

Focus 100% of attention on one theatre is a mistake in my experience. Always split your purchases and prepare to attack by turn 2 in case Japan brings you into the fight early.

If this still isn’t working then you are always free to make house rules regarding victory cities.

@Chrisx Perhaps, but the Axis must fend for themselves against multiple opponents, most notably the US which, is essentially the dual to all Axis powers once it’s actovated.