Alpha +3 = UK1 Factory in EGY breaks the game?


  • Our little gaming group has made the G1 attack on Southern France a standard move. It allows German submarines or transports to be built on G2. Normally this means that the Germans do not have enough forces to hit Normandy as well. But no matter they catch it the next turn. The British fighter gets away but sometimes the Germans get their Egyptian NO bonus as early as turn 3. It helps.

    Lately one player has decided to attack Spain, Turkey and Norway on turn 3 with the Germans. Almost every game. It worked well the first time when it was a surprise. Not so much thereafter. He loves the flanking move near the Caucasus and being able to reinforce Gibraltar.


  • I totally Agree with Gargantua. The allies are way too strong. Has anyone tried a UK take out of Italy’s destroyer and transport with fighters and moving all fleet that can reach to gilbralter (still in the Med)? Ya Italy’s fleet is safe, but UK has 4 planes (5 if normandy isn’t hit) and 2 destroyers 2 cruisers or whatever Else germany didn’t kill as well as an aircraft carrier. UK can then on Turn 2 kill Italy fleet, or if Italy blocks or moves out of range UK can just move to in range and kill Italy fleet on UK 3 for the loss of very little. This also coupled with a UK build of an IC on UK2 in Egypt Italy is gone from Africa by UK turn 4 or 5, and Italy’s underbelly is under threat from UK with transports and all of UK fleet plus fighters. Buying 7 infantry for UK and 2 mech infs for SA turn 1. and if Germany Builds all transports turn 2 UK can then just build all infantry for UK and defend seal lion, while still killing all of italy’s fleet easily. UK can then go 100% Italy until turn 5 or 6 when US is in the war with enough to defend UK transports up north. Then UK can buy transports for UK and have 3 transports shucking men in from med. and 4 UK transports or 5 from UK shucking men. UK can do this because of all the money UK has. This is around 40 because of all of africa and middle east.


  • In it something is. Many thanks for the help in this question. I did not know it.

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    REMOVED, point is valid, but was a bit inflamatory.  Only leaving this note for those who follow Gargantua’s link from the other forums.

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    Deleting previous two posts, PMing Gargantua to continue discussion.

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    You can usually BLOCK the Germans going to GIB by putting a destroyer in the English channel.  The one off England usually lives…

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    @Gargantua:

    You can usually BLOCK the Germans going to GIB by putting a destroyer in the English channel.  The one off England usually lives…

    In Alpha 3, however, the Italians have a strategic bomber that can hit SZ 104.  I dont really like the odds as you only have a 57% chance to survive, but you do have an 85-86% chance to sink the British destroyer.  I’d do it, if getting to Gibraltar was detrimental to my plans with Germany.

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    Or if you build all ground units  + 1 destroyer with UK first turn…  hmm.

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    Yea that SBR is going to be mince meat vs any kind of a scramble, FYI.

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    @Gargantua:

    Yea that SBR is going to be mince meat vs any kind of a scramble, FYI.

    Ah, my bad, I thought we were talking about SZ 104.  That’s where Jim and Jimmy keep saying they put it, but you are correct, in SZ 110 all Italy has are 2 Fighters and a Strategic Bomber to hit it.  Might be worth it, might not be worth it.  Really up to the Italians to decide, no?


  • @mantlefan:

    @Stalingradski:

    A German Minor IC and Airbase in Greece is very, very nice… I’ve done it in my last two Alpha 2 games. Once the Allies get powerful around the Eastern Med, Italy and Germany can tuck into SZ97, with the cover of six Axis aircraft of your choice. A German Sub or Destroyer per round (or as needed) in the Med becomes a real thorn for the good guys.

    It also becomes a huge money pit for the Germans. A med IC drains a ton of what you need in russia. If you really feel the need to build a German IC for the med, do it in Yugo. It’s easier to protect once the Axis starts losing pace with allied Naval upkeep. If UK already took out 96 and 97, it won’t take much for the Allies to eliminate the rest, unless Germany is spending so much in the med that Russia isn’t being threatened fast enough.

    Greece is incredibly vulnerable and takes a bit longer to get. Yugo still allows a 97 drop while allowing the axis a much easier chance to retake than Greece if it were captured.

    Also the main point for when I place a german factory in yugoslavia, it threathens to drop units into the med and taking egypt if UK places a factory there.
    By placing a factory in yugoslavia I dont think its a good idea for UK to build a factory in egypt. Hence I by the yugofactory and then buy mech inf in it for the russian front paying 1 ipc more per inf (compared to a poland/romania factory) but preventing a egypt factory on UK r2.


  • how does a yugoslavia factory prevent an egypt factory?

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    @theROCmonster:

    how does a yugoslavia factory prevent an egypt factory?

    It does not.

    IMHO there are two ways to deal with an Egypt factory.

    1)  Do Sea Lion.  England just shot itself in the foot.
    2)  Invade Turkey and sweep into the Middle East which requires containing Russia, but not beating Russia.

    If you do not do 1, I think you are best advised to do 2 simply for the fact that it stops them from getting complexes in C. Persia and Iraq (well they can get them, but they won’t be using them.)  Meanwhile, you can put a major in Romania or some minors in Greece/Turkey to use against them and those are pretty safe.  (Also kind of nice to have SZ 100 so you can swing transports into and out of the Black Sea threatening everything and being defended by 1 or 2 airbases and accompaning aircraft.)


  • Invading Turkey (!) or doing a Sealion does not deal with the Egypt IC either.

    I don’t think building a Yugoslavia factory is a particularly good idea, but at least then you can build TTs and troops to invade Egypt with

    I think that if you as Italy have naval control of the Med and some planes in range to shoot off any transports in the Red Sea shuttling troops from S-AF, you will eventually always take Egypt and any IC built there would be a waste of money and resources. German ships built in S-France could help with this.

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    You’d be surprised how effective invading Turkey can be, even with an Egyptian Complex.

    And yes, Sea Lion ENDS the Egyptian complex.  You may not take it from England, but England is not using it anymore so you “dealt” with it, did you not?


  • true i guess, but that argumentation is kinda the same as saying that getting 8 victory cities deals with the Egyptian IC, because if the game is over, they cant use the complex anymore

    and i’ve invaded Turkey once and it was a disaster.

  • '10

    Invading Turkey does not sound a good idea, because then you’d have to deal with us troops landing in Spain every subsequent turn.

    But threatening Sealion is usually the best answer to UK heavy spending in the Med/Mid east.

    It doesn’t have to be a big buy of 8 tr to threaten UK, you can buy one or two each turn until you got 5 or 6 of them and then start landing troops in Scotland. Believe me, when you start doing this, UK is not going to spend any more IPC in the Egy IC…

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    @Piet:

    true i guess, but that argumentation is kinda the same as saying that getting 8 victory cities deals with the Egyptian IC, because if the game is over, they cant use the complex anymore

    and i’ve invaded Turkey once and it was a disaster.

    You’d have to be prepared for Italy to take Spain on the same round true.

    But taking London is not “game over” for the allies.  Taking London G3 with Russia neutral for two rounds of German builds (Placement on G3 + build/placement on G4) was much closer to “game over” for the allies.  Now, at least, Russia can invade the instant London falls.


  • @Cmdr:

    You’d have to be prepared for Italy to take Spain on the same round true.

    What is Italy going to be using to take Spain with? In this speculative scenario, isnt the ENTIRE Italian fleet, and perhapse a part of their airforce, destroyed?

  • '10

    @Clyde85:

    @Cmdr:

    You’d have to be prepared for Italy to take Spain on the same round true.

    What is Italy going to be using to take Spain with? In this speculative scenario, isnt the ENTIRE Italian fleet, and perhapse a part of their airforce, destroyed?

    Clearly not if they stack a few troops in Sfr before attackin Spain…
    But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s probably a bad idea to allow US to land troops there every subsequent round.

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