Alpha 3 Game Report and Impressions

[Axisplaya]

Nice report. Tx for sharing with us.

I like the photos. It always makes a game report more fun to read.

Just a note : G1 buy was not legal. Unless you guys have a houserule for this, Germany has only 30 IPC to spend, not 31.  :wink:

[special forces]

Interesting report and indeed not too well played by UK.

@jimmihat: SAF mechs can be useful if the east african seas are not safe and you need fast units to add to an attack on an italian occupied Egypt. But if the coast is clear or there is enough escort fleet, then a transport is indeed a better choice.

[Jennifer]

@shadowguidex:

This is awesome.  The German “bowling ball” strategy wins again in Barbarossa.  Keep your German Army together and adds more and more units to the easternmost zone.  Perfectly executed.

Easiest way to stop the “bowling ball” is to dump every bloomin fighter you can into Russia.  Indian fighters, British Fighters, French Fighter.  The only fighter I dont see in there are the American ones in my game because America’s busy cowering in fear from the Japanese armada…My mistake was not to just crush the Americans on J1, then they would be dead, not cowering right now. /sigh, oh well!  Carry on!

@Axisplaya:

I like the photos. It always makes a game report more fun to read.

Agreed…

[Young Grasshopper]

Excellent report Soldier,

In hind sight, do you think the UK should have attacked the Italians fleet in the same manner, or would you attack the Destroyer and Transport with an all out amphibious assault on Libya or Tobruk?. That way, you could get odds and scramble planes from Malta in a defense effort during an Italy 1 attack.

Also, I don’t understand why you’re playing both Germany and Italy in a 6 player game.

Good Job, I also think the pics are a nice touch.

Forum observation: I find that these types of game reports get more respectful discussion and analysis because it is an actual game played result, rather than an assuming theoretical result.

[shadowguidex]

@Young:

Forum observation: I find that these types of game reports get more respectful discussion and analysis because it is an actual game played result, rather than an assuming theoretical result.

This is wise.  Theoretical strategies always suffer from the dreaded “units in more than one place” problem.  Sure, Britain can do this and this and this and……but you’re using the same fighter to defend against Sealion, attack the Med., and fight in Cairo depending on which post was last.

[JimmyHat]

@Young:

Also, I don’t understand why you’re playing both Germany and Italy in a 6 player game.

Indeed, 2 on 4 instead of 3 on 3?  I sure hope the best players weren’t the axis.  The allies are already hit with the disadvantage of a 4 headed dragon pulling in 4 different ways.  I would have hated to be  ANZAC personally.

[JeffM]

@JimmyHat:

From reading your summary I have a few observations.  Most likely they will be wrong due to the fact I was not present throughout the game.

The UK player really put the allies in the Lurch with a badly executed UK1.  1 ftr vs dd trn?  There is way to much advantage to the allies and disadvantage to Italy in that battle to only send 1 unit.  Think of these 2 ships as the sweetest……item or person you know.  Do not let them survive, send 2 units.

He also made a very bad purchase in Saf.  I have seen 2 mechs bought before in Saf, but I wonder why?  UK has enough units at the front to withdraw slowly from Egypt, and had he spent those 8ipcs on a trn he would have been shipping cheaper units in at the same speed.  2 arty would have also been a good purchase.  Sure its going to take a while for them to reach the front but when they do they’re going to add some punch.  2 mechs is nigh worthless for UK1.

This debacle forced US to spend more in the Atlantic and let Italy become powerful, be glad he wasn’t on your side.  As for Russia, why did he leave those aa guns in Novgorod?  Perhaps those are German and my eyes are bad.  Sure am glad in my home game we switched the Italian and French units.  It is so much easier to see the Italians in Russia when they are blue and not dark brown…like the Russians.

I agree with you.  I think that the Alpha 3 rules certainly put Italy in a better position in the Med; however, the UK’s decision to go “all in” attacking Sea Zone 99, and only using the fighter on Malta to attack the transport and destroyer in 96, REALLY allowed Italy to get a foothold in our game.

In retrospect, I think that the UK player would have done better to have moved the entire British fleet into SZ 99, and made sure that the Italian Transport and Destroyer where taken care of.  At that stage of the game, the Fighter in Normandy had not been destroyed… I would have had the fighter land on the carrier in 99, and use the other fighter to scramble from Malta if the Italians attacked.  In addition the UK cruiser in SZ 91 (if it is still alive) can also reach SZ 99 and help secure the fleet in the Med.

As for the AA guns in Novgorod, I am not sure why those where not drawn back.

[JeffM]

@Axisplaya:

Nice report. Tx for sharing with us.

I like the photos. It always makes a game report more fun to read.

Just a note : G1 buy was not legal. Unless you guys have a houserule for this, Germany has only 30 IPC to spend, not 31.  :wink:

Dang it, and I that adding was one of my stronger points  :lol:

[JeffM]

@Young:

In hind sight, do you think the UK should have attacked the Italians fleet in the same manner, or would you attack the Destroyer and Transport with an all out amphibious assault on Libya or Tobruk?. That way, you could get odds and scramble planes from Malta in a defense effort during an Italy 1 attack.

Yes, I think that moving everything to Malta and then launching an amphibious assault on Torbruk would be the best bet.  I think that you either need to put the UK Alexandria/ Egypt forces on the offensive right away or have them fall back… otherwise, I see them getting destroyed on I2 unless you sacrifice the UK fleet and block SZ 98.

If you attacked Tobruk, you could pick up the Inf and Art from Egypt, have the mech (in Egypt) move through Alexandria, and have all of the ground forces in Alexandria join the fight, you would have:

UK:  3 INF, 2 ART, 1 Tank, 1 Tac Bomber, 1 Fighter (if you bring the one from Malta)

Italy:  3 INF, 1 ART, 1 Mech, 1 Tank

[Bigtiti]

@JeffM:

@Young:

In hind sight, do you think the UK should have attacked the Italians fleet in the same manner, or would you attack the Destroyer and Transport with an all out amphibious assault on Libya or Tobruk?. That way, you could get odds and scramble planes from Malta in a defense effort during an Italy 1 attack.

Yes, I think that moving everything to Malta and then launching an amphibious assault on Torbruk would be the best bet.  I think that you either need to put the UK Alexandria/ Egypt forces on the offensive right away or have them fall back… otherwise, I see them getting destroyed on I2 unless you sacrifice the UK fleet and block SZ 98.

If you attacked Tobruk, you could pick up the Inf and Art from Egypt, have the mech (in Egypt) move through Alexandria, and have all of the ground forces in Alexandria join the fight, you would have:

UK:  3 INF, 2 ART, 1 Tank, 1 Tac Bomber, 1 Fighter (if you bring the one from Malta)

Italy:  3 INF, 1 ART, 1 Mech, 1 Tank

can’t italy ravish the british navy then, killing remaining brits in africa later through landings on tobruk, egypt and moving out of uncaptured ethiopia (to iraq?) ?

[Jennifer]

@Frontovik:

@JeffM:

@Young:

In hind sight, do you think the UK should have attacked the Italians fleet in the same manner, or would you attack the Destroyer and Transport with an all out amphibious assault on Libya or Tobruk?. That way, you could get odds and scramble planes from Malta in a defense effort during an Italy 1 attack.

Yes, I think that moving everything to Malta and then launching an amphibious assault on Torbruk would be the best bet.  I think that you either need to put the UK Alexandria/ Egypt forces on the offensive right away or have them fall back… otherwise, I see them getting destroyed on I2 unless you sacrifice the UK fleet and block SZ 98.

If you attacked Tobruk, you could pick up the Inf and Art from Egypt, have the mech (in Egypt) move through Alexandria, and have all of the ground forces in Alexandria join the fight, you would have:

UK:  3 INF, 2 ART, 1 Tank, 1 Tac Bomber, 1 Fighter (if you bring the one from Malta)

Italy:  3 INF, 1 ART, 1 Mech, 1 Tank

can’t italy ravish the british navy then, killing remaining brits in africa later through landings on tobruk, egypt and moving out of uncaptured ethiopia (to iraq?) ?

Yes, but the English can rebuild them very fast while the Italians cannot.