.

Not bad, but where are pacific US carriers?
Missing in pictures.

This still needs special rules:

Germans get a number of tank destroyers/heavy tanks adjacent to Kursk 4-4-2-8 ( you can convert armor by paying 2 ipc)

These represent the waffen SS. Use HBG pieces or the 41 tiger tanks.

Germany needs volksstrum 0-2-1-2 units ( quantity limited by D6 roll- ‘Himmlers rearguard swine’). Production begins only if original german area goes to allies.

Give Soviets a fixed number of Shock Armies about 6.

Germany gets a new NO: Total War 5 IPC as long as Berlin is German and they have control of Hungary ( oil)

Fixed Tech developments for some nations.

Really cool setup. I’ve got to try this out. I did notice a few things:

1 - You have Japanese units listed in Burma, but it is supposed to be Shan State.

2 - It would be helpful if you also listed the territories that are controlled by another power but doesn’t have units in it. For example: Japan controls Sumatra and Celebes, UK controls Persia, Ethiopia and Libya. Also, for those territories that have two powers’ units in them, we need to know which is controlling for income purposes – Example: Yugoslavia has German and Italian units.

3 - What about the Ally occupied French territories? Since Paris is still under German control, shouldn’t those IPCs go to USA and UK? Just until Paris is liberated of course.

Thanks for your time and effort in putting this together.

You are also missing all your ports and airbases.

Thanks for the updates. I’m afraid I noticed a few more possible errors:

1 - You put the US NO income at $30 but it should be $20. I am assuming you are going by the Global 1940 NOs.
––$10 for control of E USA, C USA and W USA
----$5 for control of Mexico, SE Mexico, Central America and West Indies
----$5 for control of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Hawaiian Islands, Johnston Island and Line Islands
----$5 for control of the Philippines UNDER JAPANESE CONTROL
––$5 for at least 1 land unit in territory of France UNDER GERMAN CONTROL

2 - You put the UK income at $50 and I realized you combined Europe and Pacific economies into one, but I can only come up with $42. I don’t think I’m missing anything.
––$7 for all Canadian territories
----$8 for England and Scotland
----$13 for all original UK African territories & Trans Jordan
----$8 for all French, Italian and formerly Neutral territories
----$6 for UK Pacific territories

3 - I don’t understand the listing of naval bases with the Russian ships. How can a naval base be in a sea zone?

I’ll set this up and roll some dice if I have time after work.

Do any nations start with techs to balance the game?

Thanks again for the corrections and clarifications. Looking forward to trying this out this weekend (My weekend is Monday/Tuesday nights).
I do have one more question. I noticed a number of facilities have changed from the 1940 setup. Just a few examples:
1 - Philippines, Wake and Guam no longer have air bases. They are also under Japanese control. Perhaps the Americans wrecked the air bases so the Japanese could not use them?
2 - E USA, W USA, Iceland no longer have air bases. Scotland’s air base changed to a naval base. India no longer has a naval base.
3 - Most shocking to me is that Germany’s IC has been downgraded to a Minor. Really curious about why.

My question is: Are all the facility changes SUPPOSED to be there?
If so, then I will set it up just as you have it. I just wanted to make sure that these weren’t accidental omissions/changes.
I do understand that some places would get new facilities between 1940 and 1943 while some others might fall into unuse or be destroyed and therefore be eliminated. A few of them were really curious to me though.

I think I noticed a couple of more errors:
1 - There is a Major IC on New South Wales. New South Wales is only worth 2 IPCs so can only support a Minor IC.
2 - There is a Minor IC on New Zealand. New Zealand is considered an island so can not support an IC, major or minor.

I have a question about Germany’s navy, or lack thereof. I understand that the Surface fleet had been mostly eliminated by 1943 (although the Tirpitz was skulking around in Norwegian Fjords until 1944) but didn’t they still have a strong U-boat presence?

Japan is an island and has a major.
Islands can start with ICs, you just can’t build new ones on them
Considering it’s a_NZ_ac, I think an IC on NZ is ok, considering this is 4 years into the war for them.

The piece count is totally out of control, and I am having bad feelings about what may happen during opening battles.
For you see, when you set the piece counts so high, there is a danger that a combat will favor one side, leaving the winner with like, 20 units in prime position.

The problem stems from the fact that AA battles are fought “to the bitter end”.
Meaning the attacker never has to stop, can use his fodder, and end up with a zillion units in your face, that are worth more IPCs that you will collect in 10 turns.

A stack of 20 planes with 10 subs under it will knock out a bunch of battleships and cruisers no problem.
You keep your planes, and their expensive boats sink.

Massive battles go the attackers way because he can lump in overwhelming odds.
When I get to setting it up I will be on the lookout for just such circumstances.

Also, have you considered starting some facilitates as damaged? (such as the UK Factory, or the Italian port & battleships)

Thanks for the German naval setup update. It just looked weird for Germany to have no navy at all. It looks pretty strong, but compared to that huge UK fleet in SZ 119, it probably won’t be much of a problem for the Allies.
I like the U-boats in SZ 125, cutting off the Soviet Archangel NO.

Also thanks for the ANZAC correction. Yes, oztea, Japan is technically an island - described as a land mass entirely surrounded by a single sea zone - but it is also a MAJOR Axis capital. Even the rulebook says this is the ONE exception to the rule. It would be pretty dang silly to have a major Axis capital without manufacturing abilities.

Well its fine then for islands to start with ICs, just not build new ones on them
So I am fine with NZ having an IC.

Ok, I just got 5 minutes into setting up the US and came across a problem.
The overall unit value on the board for the US is 1,390 IPCs.
Thats 19 turns of production worth of units.  :-o

Their current income of 72 is 5% of the total worth of their current military.
Thats preposterous.
Every turn they will be able to replace 5% of their military, so any losses of more than 5% in a single turn can’t be recovered unless you take a turn off of the attrition.

The level of IPCs available on the board vs the level of units on the board is skewed.

Also, why do no units start in central US, why no airbases in mainland US, why does the US get an IC in India?
No AB on hawaii….dude
Why does India not have a port and airbase.

I think its better to craft a setup from the ground up, trying to attain the ‘feel’ of the year. Not mimicking the actual force depositions of powers, because it is actually so lopsided its scary.

Who controls Java (nevermind I found it)?
Does the axis literally have no chance on purpose?

Italy will be out of the war on US1 (enough air power to wipe clear SZ 95) AA, art, Inf vs Tank, bomber, Art…even if the US doesn’t take, UK will
Japan out on US2 (US 1 cram whole fleet into SZ 7) on J1 and J2 you need to put an AB on Korea and buy all fighters and boats to survive
Germany out by US4 (Buy all transports US1, US2 to Gibraltar, US3 to West Germany)

I got it set up earlier tonight and played part of one round. I got through Germany, Russia and Japan’s turns then something came up and I had to put it on hold.
Already I can see it doesn’t look good for the Axis. They made some gains, but I can see the Allies will be able to erase them and make gains of their own very soon.
Take Germany vs. Russia: Germany eliminated all Russian navy except for those ships trapped in the Black Sea, took Leningrad and Karelia. Then Russia promptly took Leningrad back and eliminated the German force in Belorus. Plus, the Russians have a much stronger front line from Leningrad all the way down to Rostov. Not sure what the Germans will be able to do against that. Any attacks will leave their flanks open. Plus they are totally weak up north now.
Japan made some decent gains but they are spread way thin and SZ 6 is totally vulnerable to attack by US Navy.
Hopefully I will be able to pick the game back up in a day or two, at least finish round 1.

Hi all. I have been following without commenting as I did not want to appear rude. I too would love to try and play this 43 set up, but believe the Allies need weakening in unit numbers.  I do think the Allies have to have fewer units, for the economical reason you mentioned MidnightExpress.I also think it is fine for the Axis to always lose, but think some fighting chance is needed to want some people to play them. When it has been play tested, maybe Axis Victory could be realised by holding out beyond a certain number of turns.
I think the work you have done is commendable and wish to thank you for bringing it here.

You may have better luck with a late 1944 setup, with the axis played robotically (and by that I mean scripted turns of "build fighter + as many infantry as possible or something)

And have an Allies vs Comintern game.
I would probably strip Italy from the game, and use them as Chinese communists.

This should be a totally different topic, but with this setup, and the downfall of the axis almost assured, it would be more fun to play an “alternate history” game.

Okay, I’ve managed to get through the first two rounds now.
Germany is pretty strong, but in real trouble in Russia. The Russians have been smart in eliminating one German army at a time. This way they kill a lot of Germans, but still have a strong front. The only German army left is sitting on the Ukraine and it is way outnumbered on two sides. Russia is at the door of German territory in the north. Meanwhile, US and UK bombers are SBRing all but the W Germany IC to max numbers. The only reason W Germ hasn’t been bombed is they have 4 fighters sitting there. In other places, Germans have lost fighters trying to intercept.
Italy has lost Rome twice and liberated it twice. Now Germany has some men to help Italy hold Rome, but USA just arrived in SZ 91 with 5 or 6 loaded transports. We will see what happens there.
Japan has lost Korea and is holding the coastal territories, but just barely. US Navy is full in SZ 6 and Japanese Navy is extinct. Japan doesn’t have much air either. One little bonus for Japan is all Russians have been killed in the far east and they have a tank up there ready to start blitzing territories.
Germany still has sizable navy (2 BB, 1 CA, 2 DD, 1 SS) but only because they are hiding behind Denmark. If the Allies manage to take and hold Denmark, German navy won’t last long.

Yeah, I am even more certain now that the Axis was pretty much doomed from setup. Too many Allied resources at hand. They will manage to drag it out for some time, causing untold suffering to civilian and military alike, but the end will be the same. I imagine Rome will fall for good soon, between UK and US working together – one takes Rome itself while the other takes N Italy to prevent reinforcements. Japan will probably be pushed off the mainland in 2 or 3 rounds and they have nothing to protect their islands. With US, UK and ANZAC all having transports down there, Japan will lose all it’s islands in a couple of rounds too and be pretty much cornered on their island to be convoy raided and SBRed into oblivion. Then all that will be left is to squeeze Germany into submission and with the massive Red Tidal Wave from the east, I would give them a max of 3, possibly 4 rounds until it is all over.
So, off hand I would say we are looking at about a 5-7 round game maximum. Still, it was a fun thing to try out. Perhaps oztea is right that there should be some sort of victory conditions or set limit of rounds for the Axis to possibly win.
Someone mentioned a 1944 setup. I think that game would even go faster. Quite a bit less Axis stuff and a LOT more Allied stuff with less Axis territories to capture. Hey, how about a Spring 1945 setup? That would be a game of, what, about a round and a half?  ha ha ha.