Britain's Big Move

Well, the 3°ed rules (PC GAME 1998) still permit you to put a industrial complex in a neutral, but you can only make one unit on it.

Avin, thanks for that, makes sense now and should stop the heated debates me and my mates have been having.

I tend to plan with a bit more involvement than simply “see IPCs, must take”. :) The chief consideration for me is not the weight of one particular territory or its nationality, but the strategic situation taking it will create.

For instance, you mentioned the choice between taking Sinkiang and India. Sure, one is 2 American IPCs and the other 3 British and based on that consideration alone I should strike India, but look at where it will put my forces if I take Sink. Right smack under Russia. Sudenly the Russians will have a few more threatened territories and since I know they don’t usually have infantry to spare, if I have at least one armor in my force, I can blitz some of those IPCs. Even without armor, I can draw some of their forces out. If I have another force working up to Russia’s capital, that’ll be a nice help for them. If I don’t, presumably Germany does.

India, on the other hand is a nice choice because it will open the way to mideast territories that are usually ill-protected. It may make strategic sense to take if it is not too heavily defended. If it is, an attack there will be diverting a large force into a very bad position where it will have nothing to do for the next 1-3 turns.

In Africa, I don’t see how it matters that much if you hit UK or US territories. Both of them are overseas, so those IPCs would arrive on transports exactly one turn after being built anyway. So, when I do look at nationality, I mostly differentiate between Soviet and non-Soviet.

@madscientist:

Thank you for your thorough response.

No problem!

Would not have been worth posting unless it showed all the available info, including the initial negatives of the strategy.

I was at a local gaming convention. This guy had a large, 6x3, Axis and Allies board. He said it was home made, but wouldn’t tell me how to make it unless I went to another convention a few months later, much farther away. I couldn’t go to that convention for various reasons, so I never found out. This board looked just like the one that comes with Axis and Allies. Does anyone know how to make one? Is there a site I can go to with instructions? I thank you all for any help that is given!

On the other hand, I believe a South african IC can work rather well:

Ger1: Invade french east africa with 4 inf (2 from transport), 1 tank. Assume no losses.

UK1: Transport over 2 inf into territory directly below frech east africa, fly fighter to south africa, build IC there.

Ger2: Attack Territory below fr. eas. afr, assume 1 inf. lose.

UK2:build 2 inf, or possibly 1 inf 1 fighter.

Germany will now face 3 infantry and 1 fighter( or, preferably, 2 infantry and 2 fighters) vs. likely 3 infantry and 1 tank. Barring lucky dice, germany will not be able to take it, and the UK can now pump 2 tanks a turn and retake africa.

The germans are now faced with two options:

Build transports, and pump more men into africa

or

Forget africa, concentrate on defending europe, crushing russia.

If they choose the first option, they’ll have to buy at least 1 or 2 transports, and it’ll be at least 4 turns before they can take S. Afr, and even when they do take it they will gain very little from it, as they will already have all of africa at that point.

If they choose the second option, UK gains the 11 prod. from africa, and then can push forces into asia in attempt to aid the likely beleagured russians.

Case closed!

Hmmm, now that I think about it you may be right Yanny, Britian may have lost those transports already. With a little help from the Russians Britian might still have the transport from around the UK, and chances are the Germans will ignore the one off of Canada, so my plan still has a chance.