Battle of the Atlantic

Your German naval strategy also means an Italian naval strategy.  I think the Sea Lion threat(or promise) might be the standard opening move for Germany.

Sea Lion shenanigans aside, how does this sound for the first few turns.

1. After taking France and a few neutrals, Germany will be at an income of about 50 including National Objectives (say 30 starting, 7 for France, 5 for Sweden and Finland, 2 for one of those south-eastern European neutrals, one 5 IPC NO)

2. Starting turn 2, spend half of that (24 IPCs) each turn to buy two subs and a bomber at the Minor IC in Normandy/Bordeaux.

3. The subs and the bombers can threaten every SZ that UK can build into.  If you can clean out the UK navy in the first two turns, then you can start flooding subs into the open ocean, start attacking convoy zones, and force them to either build up a navy in Canada, or save for several turns to drop a supernavy all at once.

Man, America entering the war is going to prevent Germany from doing anything fun in the Atlantic.  I think we’re going to see a lot of “80 IPCS?!? OMGZ AMERIKKKA OVERPOWERED AGAINST AXIS PLAYERS LARRY HARRIS UNFAIR” threads.

Even with taking over England, UK’s capital IPC loss for one turn aside (+30 something for one round), Germany will still be sitting at only ~50 IPCs a turn and will have to hold off BOTH the US and the Soviet Bear’s builds for the first 3 neutral turns.  At least Germany will have 4 major ICs at this point… :mrgreen:

That would be fun. You capture London with Germany but you still lose to Russia on your doorstep and USA pressuring your newly conquered island.  :-D

Though I’m really thrilled there are convoy rules in the first place, what strikes me as really odd is that the SAFEST place for any convoy to be ( that is where you’re not subject to having IPCs taken away from you by (German) subs and surface ships) is in the MIDDLE of the ocean (No adjacent Island or coastal zone), where historically I’d dare venture they were at their most vulnerable?!

I hope I’m missing something here…

Yeah, I like IL’s map with its convoy zones and rules more…  Britain really did have some super stretched out supply lines around the horn of Africa.  Plus a majority of the British convoy/merchant ship raiding did not occur within a stone’s throw of England, especially not on the western side of it.  Both of those English convoy zones should be at least 2 SZs away in the middle of the Atlantic or spread out in a line from the US to England, to represent the “Lend-Lease” convoys in 1940.

I really wish there was a German-only “wolfpack” rule too, where German subs clustered together in a convoy SZ get a multiplier when it comes to convoy damage…  i.e., 2 subs get 2 times the amount of damage they would normally cause, 3 subs get 3 times, etc.

It depends on German/Italian war aims.  It will probably only be worthwhile building an Atlantic navy if they have serious ambitions of invading America.

Otherwise air power will be a better build to stop the US/UK convoys because:

1. Its cheaper

2. Its easier to protect

3. Its more flexible, i.e. it can more quickly be switched to the Eastern Front or other theatres.

I suspect that the U-boats are doomed to being taken as cannon-fodder for the LW.

@SgtBlitz:

G1:  This strategy centers around Germany’s ability to build from Western Germany into SZ 112.  Build an AC and two transports; or if you’re feeling less adventurous, build an AC and a destroyer and sub (or save the 6 IPCs).  Use the bomber, 4 fighters, and 3 tac bombers plus your starting subs in the Atlantic to clear the SZs around Britain.

You guys must have loaded dice to think you can send all of your air force against UK and still have enough fire power to take out France.  Sitting in France is 7 inf, 2 art, 2 tanks, 1 fighter.  The most land units Germany can bring is 6 inf, 4 mec inf, 2 art, 5 tanks.  That would be 8 (1s), 4 (<2), 5 (<3) against 9 (<2), 2 (<3) and 1 (<4).  If dice doesn’t go your way (and it never does for me, esp in the early rounds) then you don’t take France and have a much closer enemy than UK.

The attack is way over 90 % but you will likely loose all of you inf and polly a bunch of mec infs and arts aswell (and if you are very unlucky a tank). And you wont take normandy in turn one. If it sinks you another battleship I would say its worth it.