Basic strategy for each country in various situations (A3)


  • Okay now for the axis part then  8-).

    Well, if the allies have to stay alive and outproduce the axis during the first 7(ish) turns of the game, then for the axis the task ahead is obvious, isn’t it ;-). Win the game before this happens.
    The easiest way to win the game is of course by taking enough VCs for a sudden allied death, but if the allies turn ‘their’ VCs into unbreakable fortresses the axis must rely on breaking them economically. This means that the economic difference between the axis and the allies must be at least somewhere near 55 IPCs more income per turn for the axis, before the allies can go into the counter offensive during turns 7-10.
    Why 55 IPCs? With Moscow unbreakable and the Western allies liberating the axis posessions in Western Europe while raiding Axis’ ICs into oblivion (worth 15 - 20 Axis IPCs going to waste every turn), the allies should be able shifting the economic difference by 51 IPCs into their favor (so the axis still have 4 IPCs more income per turn). 55 IPCs per turn if they can also contest Stalingrad and the Caucasus, and 69 IPCs per turn if they can permanently take those two areas away from the axis (in which case the allies take the upper hand in production again by 14 IPCs more then the axis per turn).Remember, if the allies permanently liberate an area, the economic difference would be worth double its IPC-value because the allies gain the IPCs the Axis just lost.

    The allied ability to shift the economic difference by a stunning 50 to 70 IPCs in a few turns once their offensives start should not be underestimated. Maybe the axis can halt the main allied offensive at a certain point but with equal military strength and more total income, the allies should be able to continue shifting the economic difference.

    The axis can make even a die-hard allied player sweat in fear if you realise a few simple facts:

    • A healthy Russian economy is the most dangerous threat to Germany.

    • A healthy UK economy is the second-most dangerous threat to Germany.

    • The USA cannot take Germany down on its own, so crippling either Russia or UK is priority number 1. Taking a little of their economy is not enough. Either one must loose >75% of its income.

    • Focussing 100% of its resources against the UK or Russia during the opening turns gives Germany a chance to achieve the above or to take either one out completely. Spreading resources against both the UK and Russia helps the allies survive. Rule of thumb: a two-front war is bad for Germany!

    • Japan’s actions have a huge impact on the Euro-axis. Particularly when it DOWs the western allies: J1 is too early for Japan. J2 is optimal for Japan, bad for Germany. J3 is not so bad for Japan, much better for Germany. J4 is difficult for Japan but optimal for Germany (no interference of Western allies until turn 5!).

    • The biggest threat for Japan is the USA focusing on the Pacific. Not much Japan can do about it but Germany has free reign in Europe and should try to become an economic monster. Cash in Europe as long as the USA is pre-occupied against Japan.

    • Japan can strike anywhere but not everywhere at the same time and hope to survive. Best targets for economic gains are:

      • Prio 1 -DEI and the Philipines.

      • Prio 2 -SE Asia, India, Russia and China (believe it or not, but not taking out China risks a lot of axis posessions in asia).

      • Prio 2 -Alternative: you can try to go for the National Objective “outer perimeter”, Hawai + the DEI as your prio’s to put more pressure on the USA, but expect losses in Asia.

      • Prio 3 -Whatever fits into your long term strategic goals. Offensively, either go east (Sydney, Hawai) or west (Middle East, Africa). If you prefer a more defensive playstyle you can go both east and west.

    • Again, Japan cannot strike everywhere at the same time. As a rule of thumb, Japan can hunt down all its priorities in the east OR turn west and face the USA, not both at the same time.

    • Japan can also try to quickly win the game in the Pacific by flash-grabbing 6VCs (only possible when the USA puts too much focus in Europe). In that case Japan must take Sydney + Hawai fast and take Hong Kong + Philippines to close the deal. This is a high-risk strategy because if it fails, Japan is screwed very badly.

    The biggest problem/guess for the axis is as always: what is the USA going to do. How will it split its economy? One of the best chances the axis have on winning the game is to put the USA on the wrong track. Deception…
    Combined with the difficulty a lot of players have when deciding how to split the US’ economy you may be able to ‘outmaneuver’ the allies!
    For example, if Germany is able to grab London in force, the USA possibly overreacts by sending too much of its forces into Europe freeing the way for Japan to grab 6VC in the Pacific.

    I know all this is pretty basic but I hope it can give you a bit of a template to mold your strategies into. Have fun!


  • Thanks! How do i buy effectively so i am not wasting units? That is one of my biggest issues


  • All right, one more thorough explanation then ;-). If you don’t want to waste units you have to calculate and that can be difficult and time consuming.

    There are many roads that lead to Rome, but I can give you 1 strategy out of many possibilities for each MP. As an example. Not necessarily my favorite, but what I consider a good basic from where you should easily be able to make adjustments should the need arise. Otherwise there are just too many _if_s and _but_s to cover… you get the picture.
    So the following builds are assuming a fictional game that flows roughly like I am used to see.

    Germany (strategy = crush Moscow):
    GE1 (30 IPCs)-> slow, 7ART+ save 2 IPCs (to allow surprise 10TRS GE2 vs. the UK). The slow units have enough time to reach the eastern front.
    GE2 (70 IPCs)-> fast, 9ARM + 4MECH. They go to attack Russia as well (GE3).
    GE3 (51 IPCs)-> fast, 5ARM + 5MECH, save 1 IPC. They can catch up with the advancing army in Russia.
    GE4 (50 IPCs)-> fast, 5ARM + 5MECH. In West Germany if the USA has shown up already. They go to Moscow anyway unless the USA wants to exchange units and attacks. If the USA is nowhere near, you can build ARM, FTR, TAC in Leningrad/Ukraine, for a GE6 attack-gambit on Moscow.
    GE5 (60 IPCs)-> From this turn and on, builds depend too much on the situation. The aim is to either continue to throw 10 fast units per turn into Stalin’s face (placing them in West Germany as Insurance against the USA if needed), OR to proceed with the ‘gambit’ (if the USA ignores you too much) and build 5 STR that can also attack Moscow GE6/GE7.

    Russia (strategy = react to Germany, IPCs = assuming Russia takes Iraq RU3):
    RU1 (37 IPCs)-> 7INF + 4ART. Seeing what the Germans have built GE1, it is safe to assume Barbarossa will be launched…
    RU2 (37 IPCs)-> 7INF + 4ART. Same comment as above.
    RU3 (37 IPCs)-> 12INF, save 1.
    RU4 (45 IPCs)-> 10INF + 2MECH + 1ARM, save 1.
    RU5 (40 IPCs)-> 6INF + 1ART + 3ARM.
    RU6 (?? IPCs)-> From this turn and on, stack Moscow with as much units as you can possibly get in there. INF. Add some ART only if the Siberian Hunters (those 18 INF you have in the far east) arrive.

    Japan (strategy = build up economically, reacting defensively to the USA first 6 turns -assuming the USA does not go KJF!):
    JA1 (26 IPCs)-> 2TRS + 1 IC (Shanghai).
    JA2 (40 IPCs)-> 2TRS + 3MECH + 1 IC (Shantung), save 2.
    JA3 (47 IPCs)-> 2TRS + 4MECH + 2ARM, save 5.
    JA4 (58 IPCs)-> 4MECH + 2ARM + 2IC (FIC/Hong Kong/Manchuria, depending on your strategy), save 6.
    JA5 (76 IPCs)-> 8MECH + 4ARM + 2TRS +2INF.
    JA6 (~80 IPCs)-> 12MECH + 2TRS + 2INF + 2ART, save 4.
    Further builds depend too much on the situation. Whatever you (must) do, try to keep producing at least 12MECH per turn With Asian ICs. With the left over IPCs, if you must defend against the USA, build fleet defenses. If not, build offensively against either Hawai/Sydney or (even more focussed) ME/Africa.

    USA (strategy = Stop -not kill- Germany First, if Japan’s actions allow it, otherwise KJF.):
    US1 (52)-> Europe: CV + DD + FTR + 2TRS, save 4.
    US2 (56)-> Europe: CV + 2FTR + 2TRS + 2INF.
    US3 (52)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + ART, Pacific: 28IPCs in the Pacific.
    US4 (72)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + 2ART + 2STR, Pacific: 30IPCs in the Pacific.
    US5 (75)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + 2ART + 2STR, Pacific: 33IPCs in the Pacific.
    US6 (75)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + 2ART + 2STR, Pacific: 17IPCs in the Pacific.
    US7 (??)-> Depends heavily on the situation… Spend 17IPCs + Japan’s budget in the Pacific minus ANZAC’s investments. ANZAC should be able to spend on the ‘combined fleet’ by now, relieving the USA of some of the pressure. By turn 7 (ish), even the attack strength of the combined fleet should be sufficient to keep Japan from over-extending (attacking Hawai/Sydney).
    Example: say Japan has spent 32 IPCs on warships J7. The USA, expecting the ANZAC to contribute 12 IPCs this turn, spends 32-12+17=37 IPCs on warships/air in the Pacific. The rest of its IPCs goes into Europe.

    China (finally, an easy one…):
    INF, INF and once again, INF. Except if the Japs do not close the Burma Road. Then build some ART as well.

    UK London (Strategy = react to the Germans and Italians. Stay alive and once that is secure, counterattack):
    UK1 (28)-> 1STR + 1TAC, save 5. Germany built for barbarossa. With at least 3FTR, 1TAC, 2STR, UK is armed to strike a surprise German invasion fleet.
    UK2 (40)-> 1CV (Canada), 2FTR + 1MECH (South Africa).
    UK3 (29)-> 2MECH + 1TAC (South Africa) + 1FTR (London).
    UK4 (28)-> 2TRS + 1FTR (where you want/need them), save 4
    UK5 (34)-> 1STR + 2FTR, save 2.
    UK6 (39)-> 1STR + 2FTR + TRS.
    UK7 (??)-> 1STR + ?TRS + ?INF/ART. From this point on, be prepared to flood units into Western Europe.

    UK Calcutta (Strategy = hold on to India as long as possible, send units into ME->Africa and retreat into ME before Japan will attack):
    UK1 (17)-> 3INF + 2MECH.
    UK2 (21)-> 1INF + 2MECH + 1FTR.
    UK3 (25)-> 2INF + 2MECH + TAC.
    UK4 (14)-> 2INF + 2MECH.
    UK5 (6)-> 2INF… Stay in Calcutta for as long as you can withstand a Japanese attack and keep building 1 or 2 INF/turn.

    Italy (Strategy = help defend Western Europe so Germany can -hopefully- remain focussed on Russia for longer):
    Italy can very effectively be used as can openers in Russia, but if Russia defends well, this is pointless (i.e. Russia leaves no cans to be opened). If Germany goes Barbarossa to the fullest extend, Italy will never win in Africa/ME and is itself in grave danger once the USA enters Gibraltar/Spain, therefore I often choose to defend as much as possible in Western Europe with Italy…
    IT1 t/m 6: MECH + ARM and twice as many INF + ART. Build an Army worthy of Mord… mainland Europe.

    ANZAC (strategy = create a fortress Sydney to demotivate Japan from ever trying to get in and then contribute to the combined allied fleet in the Pacific):
    AN1 t/m 6 -> 15INF + 3FTR.
    AN7 and on -> build FTR + SUB + DD. Contribute to the combined fleet (FTR are perfect scramblers from an AB and can even land on US’ CVs if need be).

  • Customizer

    @ItIsILeClerc:

    IMHO, games where the allies win typically last somewhere between 14-20 turns. Given that the Axis does not screw up themselves.

    Yeah, this is true. In our games, Axis wins usually happen in 8-10 rounds while Allied wins tend to be 12-15 rounds.

  • '14 Customizer

    Very interesting moves ItIsILeClerc .

    I do like your strategy with Germany but what do you do with your fleet?  For it to survive you will need to buy at least 1 Destroyer before you attack Russia. I guess from your plan you go 100% Barb and hope Italy can maintain.  I honestly believe Germany can buy anything on round 1. I have been having major success with buying 5 subs on round 1 with Germany.  To make up for it I build more inf and mech than I do armor and slowly approach Russia.  As you said in your post USA needs help to take out Germany.  One of the best ways to do that is to keep the pressure on Atlantic with subs.  Putting 1 sub in SZ 125 takes Russia’s NO away from them.

    I also find your strategy with UK interesting.  I usually build a Fighter and 6 Inf and send 1 fighter and S.Bomber at the Italian Fleet.  I am a firm believer that if Italy loses their navy then they are done unless they can rebuild one with Germany’s help in the Med or capture the neutrals which is even more risky.  Both though require the help of Germany.  But if you leave Italy with a navy they can continue to send units to Gib, Africa and the ME.  Also if Italy has no Navy they have a difficult time achieving their NO’s. I usually build round 1 a fighter then continue to build 1-3 subs plus inf each round.  The goal is to have 15 combined subs with Germany and Italy before USA enters the war.  Remember subs can move through Gib’s strait without needing control.


  • Hi Cyanight,

    Love to further discuss this!

    The answer to your question about the Kriegsmarine in the above build is painful but simple: I let it die. It serves its purpose briefly and then I hand over control of the Atlantic to the allies. Also, with the mentioned UK strategy I have found that a ‘surprise’ GE2 fleet buy does not get Germany into London (that is something entirely different from contesting the Atlantic) and if it does it was because of Lucky dice rolls during TWO combats (the UK attack on the Kriegsmarine and the German attack on London). Basically, what GE2 buys to fight an UK-attack on its fleet, leaves Germany with too few IPCs left to buy enough TRS to finish off London decisively.
    I like your UK-opening a lot as well as an alternative in many of my own games. Because I know if Germany does launch a surprise attack it will get London with (calculator-predicted) 11 survivors. We have discussed this before and I think we can agree that this is actually a favorable outcome for the allies, as the best Germany can do is take London with 1ARM and retreat its Luftwaffe (10aircraft) into West Germany, or face death by the Russian sword!
    I considered this as a more advanced line of thought when writing the builds above. I wanted to stay more ‘Basic’ and a little more on the safe side of the dicerolling part of things ;-).

    As for the rest:
    the allies can have at (or around) Gibraltar turn 3: 4CV, 7FTR, 1TAC, 4CA, 5DD (escorting 6/7 TRS, 6/7INF, 2ART, 2ARM, 2/3MECH). They will have a further 3STR, 8FTR, 2 TAC spread out over London/Gibraltar/Africa. By this time the axis can have 10submarines total but this cannot challenge the allied (air)fleet enough. Especially because Germans and Italians operate separately from each other. If Germany sends its Luftwaffe into this theatre as well, the allies do not need to be in the region because Russia is absolutely 100% safe from Germany. Alternatively, the allies may be in the position to attack the Luftwaffe and destroy it, if it is based too much forward around Gibraltar (i.e. in Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, or even Algeria). Yes they weaken themselves a lot as well by doing that but the gains for Russia are that much better that it is actually a no brainer…
    My rule of thumb: Germany/Italy needs the Luftwaffe where they want to have the upper hand. Either around Gibraltar, in North Africa to challenge Egypt, OR in Russia. They cannot be everywhere and where they are not, the allies should push forward.

    I find you have an Interesting and challenging view on A&A Global strategies. You often make me frown, doubt and think over my own strategies ;-). I certainly would love to read more of such interesting views!

  • '14 Customizer

    I think a lot of my strategies are to designed to throw off my opponent not the game, lol… I like to experiment with possibilities and Global has so many of them.  I do enjoy reading your strategies and always welcome your thoughts, frowns or whatever.  :)

    I have never sent all my planes the eastern front with Germany.  Do you keep 3 fighters in W.Germany to scramble?

    Gibraltar turn 3: 4CV, 7FTR, 1TAC, 4CA, 5DD (escorting 6/7 TRS, 6/7INF, 2ART, 2ARM, 2/3MECH). That is very impressive.  Never have I seen more than 2 CV’s come over on turn 3.


  • Cyanight - My buddy Dan and I have discussed this a few times since playing Global…It’s such an inner struggle on “doing what works” (aka what you think works lol) vs. Trying new and interesting strategies BECAUSE as you said, there are soooooo many ways global can go. Last game, my buddy Dan was like, “I am going to try something totally off the wall!” The game came, he didn’t do anything different or exotic or bold. Lol. One of our other buddies “I am finally going to do a STR bombing raid!” And he didn’t do a SINGLE bombing raid! Lol. Another guy “I am finally going to attack a Neutral.” Did he attack any neutrals? Nope. LMFAO.


  • @cyanight:

    I think a lot of my strategies are to designed to throw off my opponent not the game, lol… I like to experiment with possibilities and Global has so many of them.  I do enjoy reading your strategies and always welcome your thoughts, frowns or whatever.  :)

    I have never sent all my planes the eastern front with Germany.  Do you keep 3 fighters in W.Germany to scramble?

    Gibraltar turn 3: 4CV, 7FTR, 1TAC, 4CA, 5DD (escorting 6/7 TRS, 6/7INF, 2ART, 2ARM, 2/3MECH). That is very impressive.  Never have I seen more than 2 CV’s come over on turn 3.

    Not if I have no fleet left to protect ;-). And if I would have, the answer would still be no.

    Gibraltar turn 3: 4CV, 7FTR, 1TAC, 4CA, 5DD (escorting 6/7 TRS, 6/7INF, 2ART, 2ARM, 2/3MECH). That is very impressive.  Never have I seen more than 2 CV’s come over on turn 3.

    :-).

    Just read through my builds for the USA and UK, combine that with retreating/keeping the allied forces alive wherever you can in my previous posts et voilà, there they are, arriving at Gibraltar round 3. All the allies involved in this move before Italy. Except France but they can get there FR2.

    Of course, Italy/Germany may try to get the ‘retreating’ CV from SZ98, but this will cost them dearly (only 3 STR can reach it, and it defends with 1CV, 1/2CA, 2FTR that turn. They can also attack the French (they are also part of the deal), which I don’t see very often because it is risky for the axis air involved, OR the Italian navy must sail out and that will be the end of the Italian (surface) fleet. If Italy want a decent income it needs to conquer, another Italian dilemma because using aircraft against the French ships will decrease its chances of getting more IPCs. If they do go for the French, not really a big deal either, because it is ‘just’ 1CA and 1DD less from what you quoted ;-).

  • Customizer

    ItIsILeClerc,
    Now you have me curious about the Allied fleet that you say will be at Gibraltar (SZ 91) by the end of round 3. Since the US can not declare war until the Collect Income phase of Turn 3, I am guessing that you are assuming a Japan DOW against USA on turn 3 so the US can move their ships to SZ 91 on their NCM.
    Your strategy of the Allies retreating all units rather than trying any attacks on the Axis is intriguing.
    4 CV, 7 FTR, 1 TAC = I’m guessing 1 UK CV & 1 TAC from SZ 98, 1 UK FTR from Malta, then 3 CV & 6 FTR all US from SZ 101.
    4 CA = 2 UK (SZ 98 & SZ 91), 1 French (SZ 93) and 1 US (SZ 101)
    5 DD = #1 - 1 UK (SZ 98), #2 - 1 UK (SZ 109), #3 - 1 UK (SZ 106), #4 - 1 French (SZ 93) , #5 - ??. Does the US buy a DD to add to the fleet?
    I assume all the transports and land units are also US.
    Does this seem about right to you?

    So, how long do you build up at Gibraltar before attacking the Axis? Where do you usually attack?

  • '14 Customizer

    He buys a CV on turn 2 in Canada. USA only builds 2 CV’s on the Europe side.

    USA (strategy = Stop -not kill- Germany First, if Japan’s actions allow it, otherwise KJF.):
    US1 (52)-> Europe: CV + DD + FTR + 2TRS, save 4.
    US2 (56)-> Europe: CV + 2FTR + 2TRS + 2INF.
    US3 (52)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + ART, Pacific: 28IPCs in the Pacific.
    US4 (72)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + 2ART + 2STR, Pacific: 30IPCs in the Pacific.
    US5 (75)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + 2ART + 2STR, Pacific: 33IPCs in the Pacific.
    US6 (75)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + 2ART + 2STR, Pacific: 17IPCs in the Pacific.
    US7 (??)-> Depends heavily on the situation… Spend 17IPCs + Japan’s budget in the Pacific minus ANZAC’s investments. ANZAC should be able to spend on the ‘combined fleet’ by now, relieving the USA of some of the pressure. By turn 7 (ish), even the attack strength of the combined fleet should be sufficient to keep Japan from over-extending (attacking Hawai/Sydney).
    Example: say Japan has spent 32 IPCs on warships J7. The USA, expecting the ANZAC to contribute 12 IPCs this turn, spends 32-12+17=37 IPCs on warships/air in the Pacific. The rest of its IPCs goes into Europe.

    UK London (Strategy = react to the Germans and Italians. Stay alive and once that is secure, counterattack):
    UK1 (28)-> 1STR + 1TAC, save 5. Germany built for barbarossa. With at least 3FTR, 1TAC, 2STR, UK is armed to strike a surprise German invasion fleet.
    UK2 (40)-> 1CV (Canada), 2FTR + 1MECH (South Africa).
    UK3 (29)-> 2MECH + 1TAC (South Africa) + 1FTR (London).
    UK4 (28)-> 2TRS + 1FTR (where you want/need them), save 4
    UK5 (34)-> 1STR + 2FTR, save 2.
    UK6 (39)-> 1STR + 2FTR + TRS.
    UK7 (??)-> 1STR + ?TRS + ?INF/ART. From this point on, be prepared to flood units into Western Europe.

    I’m Assuming you move the DD from sz106 and  you take out the ships in SZ96 with planes and move the CV + tact + Fighters + CA to 92.  Do you leave the DD in SZ94 to block the Italian fleet?


  • Hello knp!

    Yes, let me clarify these things for you:

    @knp7765:

    (…)I am guessing that you are assuming a Japan DOW against USA on turn 3 so the US can move their ships to SZ 91 on their NCM.
    -> yes, I indeed assume a J3 DOW. I think that is a reasonable average. Depending on Japan’s actions (J2 DOW for example), the US can be at Gibraltar at the end of turn 2 already. Maybe with the same amount of men and material, maybe with a little less, but definately with the same amount in turn 3 and substantial more force by the end of turn 4. The US can NCM (or CM if they must) to Gibraltar. Your strategy of the Allies retreating all units rather than trying any attacks on the Axis is intriguing.
    -> Thanks! Some small sacrifices are made ofc but I didn’t want to dig too much into details… For example, the Uk typically takes islands of the DEI for as long as Japan does not DOW. 4 CV, 7 FTR, 1 TAC = I’m guessing 1 UK CV & 1 TAC from SZ 98, 1 UK FTR from Malta, then 3 CV & 6 FTR all US from SZ 101.
    -> Actually, there is 2CV + 4FTR from the US, 1CV produced in Canada and 1CV from SZ98 indeed. It is not set in stone btw. If Germany doesn’t produce a lot of warships GE1, the SZ98CV could be released for duties elswhere. 4 CA = 2 UK (SZ 98 & SZ 91), 1 French (SZ 93) and 1 US (SZ 101)
    -> Indeed.
    5 DD = #1 - 1 UK (SZ 98), #2 - 1 UK (SZ 109), #3 - 1 UK (SZ 106), #4 - 1 French (SZ 93) , #5 - ??. Does the US buy a DD to add to the fleet?
    -> I’ll start south and work my way up north. 1French (ZS72) + 1UK (SZ71) + 1US (produced) + 1French (SZ93) + 1UK (SZ109). The DD from SZ98 is used as a blocker in SZ94 to protect the CV that moves from SZ98 to ZS92. I assumed the blocker lost, but if it survives, then it is 6DD total. The DD + TRS from SZ106 may also or may not be added. The battle at Nova Scotia GE1 is often depending on who has the most luck, so I assumed them lost… I assume all the transports and land units are also US.
    -> 5TRS from the USA + 1UK TRS from SZ109. Again, the one from SZ106 is assumed lost, but if it is stil alive, then it goes to the mustering of forces at Gibraltar, sure. The USA could even add 2TRS (fully loaded) from the Pacific, as they are sometimes sitting in the Pacific, doing nothing for a long time because the USA and Japan are involved in an angry staring-contest where none of them attacks the other. But I left that out of the ‘analysis’ as well ;-).
    Does this seem about right to you?
    -> yes!
    So, how long do you build up at Gibraltar before attacking the Axis? Where do you usually attack?
    -> Depends on the Axis (re)actions. Since I expect Japan to turn on Hawai and Sydney after they took all of Asia, I assume I will have to go (as good as) 100% in the Pacific from somewhere around turn 7. Don’t want to have Japan grab its 6th VC  :|. Therefore, I am rather protective of my USA-troops in Europe and I aim to attack (only) where the Axis cannot throw me back into the sea right after I Invaded. The Usual attacks happen in Norway/Normandy and then attacking forward if possible. If Italy can be taken out however, that is also worth a lot. Normandy or Italy happens somewhere between turn 5 - 8! Norway goes down anyway. Turn 5 at the latest. It is an 11IPC economic difference per turn.
    I know this is a large margin but it really depends on how Germany and Italy organise their defenses. If they keep all the Luftwaffe in the West and have a lot of fast units in West Germany for example, attacking Normandy would not be wise. If I cannot attack at all, I comfort myself with the knowledge that Germany has had to give up taking Moscow for that. Comes turn 7 the UK will also have a decent TRS-fleet and Germany becomes at the risk of loosing Berlin in 1 turn because of the (in)famous allied leapfrog-attack. Having to defend against this, Germany usually has to give up its projected threat into Normandy and the Invasion there is a fact.

    The basic idea about the allied build-up in the west, is that Germany and Italy must choose where to defend (read: spend their IPCs) with enough strength to prevent an allied attack. If they can prevent the ‘Wallies’ from landing, Germany has spent not enough for the war in Russia and should loose its control over Stalingrad and Caucasus first and then collapse somewhere because the economic difference has become too pressing.
    Likewise, if Germany remains strong enough in Russia, the Wallies should be able to invade in force and take crucial territories that shift the economic balance ever further into the allied advantage.

    A HUGE variable is what Japan does after it took all of Asia. If it continues into the Middle-East, things become very diffent from just ‘building up’, as the USA can produce MUCH more in Europe (don’t liberate Paris in this case, but use the Normandy/Southern France ICs yourself for a while), while still building more ships in the Pacific than Japan does.

    Well, at least this is the ‘basic’ idea, but I have found it to have moved beyond the status of a ‘paper-tiger’ ;-).


  • A new reply has been posted while you were typing”… ;-).

    @cyanight:

    He buys a CV on turn 2 in Canada. USA only builds 2 CV’s on the Europe side.

    USA (strategy = Stop -not kill- Germany First, if Japan’s actions allow it, otherwise KJF.):
    US1 (52)-> Europe: CV + DD + FTR + 2TRS, save 4.
    US2 (56)-> Europe: CV + 2FTR + 2TRS + 2INF.
    US3 (52)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + ART, Pacific: 28IPCs in the Pacific.
    US4 (72)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + 2ART + 2STR, Pacific: 30IPCs in the Pacific.
    US5 (75)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + 2ART + 2STR, Pacific: 33IPCs in the Pacific.
    US6 (75)-> Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + 2ART + 2STR, Pacific: 17IPCs in the Pacific.
    US7 (??)-> Depends heavily on the situation… Spend 17IPCs + Japan’s budget in the Pacific minus ANZAC’s investments. ANZAC should be able to spend on the ‘combined fleet’ by now, relieving the USA of some of the pressure. By turn 7 (ish), even the attack strength of the combined fleet should be sufficient to keep Japan from over-extending (attacking Hawai/Sydney).
    Example: say Japan has spent 32 IPCs on warships J7. The USA, expecting the ANZAC to contribute 12 IPCs this turn, spends 32-12+17=37 IPCs on warships/air in the Pacific. The rest of its IPCs goes into Europe.

    UK London (Strategy = react to the Germans and Italians. Stay alive and once that is secure, counterattack):
    UK1 (28)-> 1STR + 1TAC, save 5. Germany built for barbarossa. With at least 3FTR, 1TAC, 2STR, UK is armed to strike a surprise German invasion fleet.
    UK2 (40)-> 1CV (Canada), 2FTR + 1MECH (South Africa).
    UK3 (29)-> 2MECH + 1TAC (South Africa) + 1FTR (London).
    UK4 (28)-> 2TRS + 1FTR (where you want/need them), save 4
    UK5 (34)-> 1STR + 2FTR, save 2.
    UK6 (39)-> 1STR + 2FTR + TRS.
    UK7 (??)-> 1STR + ?TRS + ?INF/ART. From this point on, be prepared to flood units into Western Europe.

    I’m Assuming you move the DD from sz106 and  you take out the ships in SZ96 with planes and move the CV + tact + Fighters + CA to 92.  Do you leave the DD in SZ94 to block the Italian fleet?Â

    I assume the sz106 as lost. It is more or less a Lucky hit for both sides if they win the battle there, so I “hope for the best but plan for the worst” ;-). In other words: whatever survives there will surely go to Gibraltar! Yes for the sz96-, move- and block actions.

    Yes I build only 2CV in Europe. But I see the European and Pacific fleets as one, actually. For example, if Japan allows it (USA moves after Japan so it can perfectly Judge if so), the USA can move warships from the Pacific into Europe to (really!) speed up when it can show up in force at Gibraltar. The effect on production is, of course, that the ships moved in this way will be swapped from ‘Europe production’ into ‘Pacific production’ first opportunity (US2 or US3).

  • '14 Customizer

    ItIsILeClerc - used your strategy for the Allies last night.  I was able to retreat the CV, 2 CA, tact and fighter to sz 92. Put the DD in sz 94 to block.  Made the round 1 buy of STR + Tact on UK1.  Germany bought a complex and 3 subs so I wasn’t fearing sealion much. I play with the guy as a partner a lot so I thought I would throw something new at him and see how he reacts.  So I decided to follow you allied plan.  On UK2 though I sent my dd, 2 CAs, 2 STR, 2 fighters, 1 tact at Italy’s navy and destroyed all including the planes and kept 1 STR.  I backed the CV toward Canada to link up with the combine USA and UK Navy.  On UK turn 2 I also purchased a DD instead of the one of the fighters since there were still 4 German subs in the water. I plan to eliminate them next round.  I made the mistake of trying to save the smoking BB and DD from Canada by moving into sz 109 with 6 scrambles but Germany ended up sending 4 subs and 10 planes, so I let him sink it without risking my planes that have a secret mission in Russia, ;)

    Do you try to destroy the Italian fleet on UK2 or do you leave it until USA enters the war?

    I also changed up Russia’s second round buy to 5 inf, 1 art, 3 tanks since Germany built a transport in the black sea and an Airbase as well.  Only produced 7 ground units so I produced some tanks instead of the 7inf + 4 art on R2

    Anzac - I decided to buy 1 TT and 3 inf round 1 and a DD + Sub round 2

    India - I bought inf, tank, art and mech on round 1.  One of each :)  Then I continued along your schedule and purchased inf + 2mech + fighter.

    We stopped at the beginning of round 3. Russia is still not at war but UK and Anzac are at war with Japan.


  • Hi Cyanight!

    Nice, a report from a game in action, I like it a lot!

    Germany bought a complex and 3 subs so I wasn’t fearing sealion much.

    In this case the CV wouldn’t be required to sail ‘Homewards’. Just so you know that ‘my’ strategy is not set in stone ;-). But I see you already figured that out because you made some good changes as your game progressed differently from what I am used to.
    So I get that Italy’s navy has been destroyed, including their aircraft? And what about the UK Navy in the Med? Anything Left?

    On UK turn 2 I also purchased a DD instead of the one of the fighters since there were still 4 German subs in the water.

    Great, I think I would’ve done the same. More German subs means less German land units means less need of units in Moscow (but Russia should not be getting overconfident now, keep building numbers). Seeing what Germany is doing, I doubt if you ever even need RAF in Moscow haha! But in the early turns you can do a lot with your RAF, they’re so wonderfully flexible. If they are ever out of position it isn’t taking too long to rebase them. Italian fleet is already gone, but ME might need some airsupport. For example to kill the German black sea ‘fleet’ hehheh.

    I made the mistake of trying to save the smoking BB and DD from Canada by moving into sz 109 with 6 scrambles but Germany ended up sending 4 subs and 10 planes.

    Too bad, the BB and DD would have come in handy later on, but this is a minor mistake. Nothing real bad will come from it.

    Do you try to destroy the Italian fleet on UK2 or do you leave it until USA enters the war?

    I try to use my common sense hehheh. I think my baseline stance towards Italy is that I will always destroy their navy if I can do so without loosing any aircraft. But loosing 1 or 2 planes for destroying the entire Italian navy is acceptable (as long as ‘my secret plan for the FTR’ does not come in danger).

    I also changed up Russia’s second round buy to 5 inf, 1 art, 3 tanks since Germany built a transport in the black sea and an Airbase as well.  Only produced 7 ground units so I produced some tanks instead of the 7inf + 4 art on R2

    Germany has bought 6 less (than maximum) land units GE1 and at least another 3 less GE2. You bought 2 less (than maximum) in total so far. Moscow will be safe, man :-). Looks like Germany is planning for some other stuff than hitting Moscow hard (as if that wasn’t obvious already GE1). My guess is you are going to need more fast units, unless Germany will still try to get Moscow. Just watch out for the possibility that the Germans try to get into Africa/Turkey, in which case fast Russian units may come in handy. IDK what Germany wants, but Moscow should be safe.

    And what about the USA in Europe? And I am also very curious as to what Japan and the USA are doing, but there’s  no hurry ^^.

  • '14 Customizer

    Sorry for the late reply. Kids and family had flu last week :(

    I managed to keep the CV, Bomber and 2 Fighters. Italy built a transport with a sub and has 1 fighter to scramble. Not sure I want to risk my only bomber on that. Nothing else in the Med can hit it right now though. I have a CV + DD in Canada and the other CV + 2 fighters in SZ 102. USA has 2 CV’s 4 Fighters, 5 TR, DD, CA, plus troops to fill transports. Looks like IM one inf short though so I will be sending 9 units over. Japan is trying to gain the coast and I have all USA navy in Queensland with a DD sitting in Hawaii waiting to block if Japan gets anxious. The next step is to start splitting the econ and buying - Europe: 2TRS + 2INF + ART, Pacific: 28IPCs in the Pacific. I have a huge mass of units in Yunnan but IJN has most of their planes in Japan and cant hit it very hard. Its only a 23% chance of success that Japan will take it. If it survives and he moves his air force down there I will need to retreat.

    Attached is the TrippleA file if you would like to see everything. I tried to follow your strategies for the Allies to the exact detail but had to detour in a few places like destroying Italy’s Navy and building more fast units for Russia.  Â

    I was reviewing to play an old game with Xeno(Skippi) last weekend and I could not believe what I had done in the past. The game was about 2 months old and since that time I have learned to become more stingy with Germany’s money compared to what I was doing before or in this game. I had bought 2 CV’s and lots of ships. It was turn and 7 Germany was still in Poland, LOL. What I was doing back then really surprised me, hehe. Needless to say I had to surrender to Xeno since he had built Russia up like nothing I have ever seen.

    I do believe I’m starting to see why Germany has to be more stingy with their economy. Its like they are a juvenile with a credit card at the mall and the sky is their limit yet there always comes that day when you have to pay the piper, ;) Germany has to respect the Russian unit count and I was NOT taking that very seriously. Thanks for your comments ItIsILeClerc.

    Ferrous_Pat_G3.tsvg


  • “May the force be with you, Cyanight!”
    Don’t worry about posts when having a flu in da house ^^.

    Not sure I want to risk my only bomber on that.

    If you doubt, then don’t. Your guts are probably right. Unless it really threatens to kick you out of Egypt permanently, you 'll deal with this TRS later. Once the USA is at Gibraltar, there’s not much left Italy can do with it anyway…

    there always comes that day when you have to pay the piper

    hehheh, I like that.
    yeah, this is much of the same insight that WILD BILL also shared: building up a strong Western army (either for defense or offense), will take away from the Russian theatre, which in turn will come knocking at your eastern doors and force you to pay the piper ;-).

    In general, Germany just has to realise that against decent allied investments in Europe, it cannot wage a two front war for long without paying the price somewhere. The key is where do you spend and how much for how long. The best I am personally able to do with Germany is achieve a stalemate for a short while at BOTH fronts (no side achieves anything anymore). Since the allies usually still make more IPCs per turn at that point, it is up to Japan to deal the final (economic) blow, and that comes with its own set of difficulties… Turning east (Hawai/Sydney) may well see the UK take back India but securing this VC, together with some parts of the Middle East and more parts of Russia may well see Japan loosing the arms race in the Pacifc and therefore -the DEI and the Philippines (to start with), heralding doom for the Axis as well.


  • Since my internet security program now fully accepts TripleA as a safe program, I can finally look into files and start making my own (really helps to clarify a strategy). I started with your file from your last post (this thread).

    Things should be going well for the allies if you can keep this up!
    There are 2 things that I am uncertain about for the allies in your game:
    A) UK&ANZAC DOWed Japan turn 2.
    B) Indian forces are in Yunnan with Japanese TRS closing in on Calcutta/Burma. It looks OK but be careful ;-).

    In all games that I played in an allied team where we DOWed Japan turn 2 the allies got themselves into a very difficult situation because of it. Those games ended either undecided or with an allied resignation because it really delayed the US entry. Therefore I never DOW Japan unless the latter can be set back seriously.
    The Indian forces in China may become cut off from India and in combination with a delayed US-entry this looks tricky.

    I also noticed you retreated the Siberians only 1 step in 2 turns but this may very well be OK since Germany has spent much less on land units as well (2 turns buying lots of ships&facilities).

  • '14 Customizer

    Yes, and I agree 100% on Yunnan.  It was a gamble and I should have held back so I could retake Yunnan again.  I normally never declare war on turn2 with UK unless I can block Japan from taking the DEI for 1 turn its the same as waiting 1 turn for Japan to attack UK and USA on turn3 except USA has to wait another turn if Japan does not take the Philippines.  Its very risky though and I probably would have not done it if Japan was in a better position with their air force and Navy. If Japan had a naval force in range to attack Queensland like from the Caroline Islands I probably would not have declared war.

    I always forget to move the Siberians. This is the trouble I have with playing TripleA compared to playing on the game board.  I get tunnel vision and forget the far east, hehe.


  • yeah, I think that would be my main problem with TripleA as well; loosing the big picture, tunnel vision, whatever you want to call it. Definately easy to overlook things that you would not on the game board…

    I think I am going to allow a lot of editing of ‘forgotten moves’ during an AAA-game, as long as it is done before the other side has reacted/is reacting to what has been done/fogotten ;-). If you can still follow what I am saying.

    Very curious how your game will unfold. Not in particular about the allied DOW on Japan and thus the belated US entry, but, still more than just a little curious about this particular development (mainly because I have such, hmmm, ‘mixed’ feelings about it  at home :-D).

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