Air casualities

@PrivateerPuffin said in Rules question about Fighters in Sea battles:

1st question: Does the word may in excerpt #2 allow for fighters to be presumed as casualties?

No, but it allows for carriers to be.

2nd question: Does excerpt #3 mean that there can never be more fighters in a battle than you have spots on carriers (if there are no other islands or territories to land in).

Yes.

An example if my question is nonsensical.
Japan took Midway, Alaska, and Western Canada last turn. On the US turn. 4 US fighters from two carriers in SZ 56 used 2 movement to attack a fleet in SZ 64. 1 fighter from Western US then uses 3 of its movement to also attack the fleet. The Japan player says that isn’t allowed because the 4 fighters will need the carriers to land. The US player disagrees and says that they could take a fighter as a casualty, allowing for there to be an open spot on the carrier which the fighter from Western US can land on.

The Japan player is correct.

During combat movement, you must be able to demonstrate possible safe landing zones for all attacking fighters. Once the combat starts, you may take carriers as casualties so that these safe landing zones are not maintained, usually in order to maximize the effectiveness of the attacking force. Once combat is over, all fighters that can still be landed must be (attacker’s choice of exactly which fighters, if there is a choice), and any that cannot are lost.

@Faramir said in Transport vs Sub:

Can a transport make an amphibious assault where there is an enemy submarine if an air unit escorts the transport?

No, as an air unit is not a “warship belonging to the attacking power”.

Rulebook, page 13:

“However, a transport is not allowed to offload land units for an amphibious assault in a sea zone containing one or more ignored enemy submarines unless at least one warship belonging to the attacking power is also present in the sea zone at the end of the Combat Move phase.”

@Panther Thanks!

@jpciv

Welcome to the forum :slightly_smiling_face:

I have moved your topic here, assuming that your question is about 1942 Second Edition. Please let us know in case you targeted another 1942 edition.

What do you mean by “counterattack”?

Scrambling planes is not part of the 1942 rulesets.
Also the rules don’t allow defender’s movement during the attacker’s turn.

Of course units can “counterattack” when it is their turn. But remember that planes can’t hit submarines unless there is a friendly destroyer in the battle, too.

So for the Airblitz part, are we talking a hit on Szech J1, even with the Russian inf and British fighter? Or like Kazakh on J2? Or you mean just like quickly moving them to the eastern front for defensive position? No bid?

Usually I’m landing the fighters in Kwang regardless, since they don’t need to be on the carriers, and it’s optimal after all the mainland battles as a landing spot. Kwang gives decent coverage at sea while allowing you to throw them westward if Germany gets an opening. But going forward into Caucasus on the second round seems like an option that would only present itself occasionally.

I guess as a counter you could try stacking the British in Persia with an India tank buy (if the transport in 61 is handled you can move a small force into position.) Might be enough to threaten a suicide sting, before Japan lands, to shave off enough German hit points to make a Russian counter more viable.

G certainly has a lot on the ground that could get in behind the lines, especially if no bid to knock Ukraine down.  Couple solid inf purchases by G to open the game, and Moscow is on the ropes. That’s a lot of Japanese fighters in Caucasus, but isn’t that what the Axis want anyway hehe. Japanese air cover to G. :-D

I think it’s pretty hard for the Allies on this map, if Russia doesn’t have enough to strafe or take Ukraine. All in on W. Russia you’d probably get forced back anyway if facing down such a heavy Ukraine stack. Even 6 artillery in the first round isn’t enough.

If Germany is committed and Russia only attacks W. Russia, then G can have a total of 11 inf, 7 armor, 1 art, 6 fighters and a bomber in Ukraine at the end of G1. With 5 infantry 1 artillery and 4 armor in Poland and Bulgaria (plus any mobile units you bought in Berlin) to back up the play.
Gives up the canal, but you can still take out the British battleship at odds with the cruiser and subs alone.

Against this Russia has a likely 10 inf, 3 artillery, 4 tanks in West Russia. No chance to counter Ukraine, even if they bought armor at moscow. For dead zone on Caucasus you could add to that like what 6 art, and muster 2 inf and 2 fighters at Moscow? Still not nearly enough if Japan sends fighters. So definitely a bind for the Russians to leave Ukraine alone against an aggressive Axis player out for blood. Center crush for sure.

But the dice keep it fresh. Every game is different. New challenges. The need to recover from different setbacks. I think the random element adds a lot to this game.

On the other hand it is all about probability. If it wasn’t we would not need strategy. Strategy is what I love about this game. My weakness is that I can lose focus when I start to add up big stacks of unit numbers and values.

A perfect mix of strategy and chance.

@guni-kid:

Mostly I bring what is stationed in the US heartland from the beginning over to North Africa in turn 3-4 (depending on German naval actions and purchases) and after that several turns to Scandinavia, bit by bit supported by UK to take back Karelia or at least keep the Germans occupied there in favor for the Russians… and finally directly to Europe: France and Northwest-Europe from turn 8-10 on (again: depending on German purchases and moves). If it didn’t work that way or the Russian died too early I lost my games  :cry: Quite often it comes to eventually giving up India (in round 7-9) to support Russia with 10+ UK Fighters and to take the Caucasus into UK hands for the time being, but keeping the Russian alive with it: He can turn east then and defend against the Japanese as long as UK and US are dealing with Germany.

You seem to be getting the gist of it. This is exactly the right way to play the allies.

@emerson303:

Can a fighter or bomber attack a defenseless transport and essentially kill it just by flying into the SZ?

Playing 1942, 2nd edition.

Thanks,

Yes. It has to be in the combat move phase. Technically a battle takes place but no dice are rolled, as the Transport has no defense value.