• How do you guys split your America money?  Do you go ‘all-in’ in one theatre or split it up?

    I find that ‘all-in’ just leads to axis victory on the other board, but splitting it up leads to some americans on both boards, but not enough in either to make a difference.

    What say you?

    Assume early wartime - Turn 1 or 2.

    1st turn purchase (not at war):
    WUS: 1 CV, 2 DD
    EUS: 1 DD, 1 Transport

    1st turn purchase (Japan wiped out Pearl Harbor):
    WUS: 1 CV, 1 Ftr, 1 DD
    EUS: 1 DD, 1 Transport

  • '12

    I largely agree with your assessment.  The only out I see is that Russia & the UK can hold out a little bit longer solo against Germany & Italy than the Pacific powers will against Japan, especially if you hit Italy hard from the get-go, so I recommend going almost all Pacific.  If you get a G1 attack on Russia, chances are you will have more UK ships than usual which will also help in that theatre.  Initially I started favoring going 100% Pacific buys every round based on my own experiences and watching the Allies win in league games.  However, I’m starting to think that you need at least 1 round of a full Atlantic buy early on.  So my plans now are switching to doing a full round of DDs and Subs the first time the US gets its full wartime income, with all of it going into the Atlantic.  A fleet of this size that comes early should be able to prevent Italy from ever building up once you slip it into the Med, which will allow the Western Allies to hold out a little longer while the US focuses on Japan.  In this scenario you have to make sure that you hold on to Gibraltar so that your advance isn’t blocked into the Med, which may mean buying a TT or two if you don’t have enough survivors from the early rounds to get it protected before your fleet arrives.  The effort Germany and Italy will have to spend to stop your fleet from reaching SZ97 is going to take a lot of pressure off of Moscow & Cairo.

    I should also note that the 2 Carrier buy on US1 seems highly recommended (1 Pacific, 1 Atlantic).  With a fully loaded CV, CA, plus around 4 DDs and 6 Subs (lots of possible combos, and you have an even bigger fleet if your entry was delayed significantly), you can smash almost any fleet the Axis can put together in the first few turns, unless they go with heavy naval buys that will give Russia a breather.  You can certainly scare off any German fleets that might be trying to cover Gibraltar or convoy the UK.

    With 100% Pacific buys you can largely take Japan out of the game by turns 5 - 7, depending on when you went to war and if you were presented an opportunity to smash Japan’s fleet.  Once the USA can knock out the bulk of Japan’s Navy and Air Force, at that point the other Pacific powers will have enough income to keep Japan contained while the US shifts to 100% Europe.  If Japan is smart and avoids these decisive battles, then the game will run a lot longer and it is hard to predict in advance what your best moves will then be.

  • Customizer

    Usually when we have seen Allied wins, it’s because the US went 90-100% Pacific from the get-go. The US can usually out do the Japanese in naval purchases because Japan also has to get land units to take and hold territory and increase their wealth. The US doesn’t need to do that. So eventually, the US fleet will eliminate the Japanese fleet simply because they have more ships.
    With ANZAC helping to retake Japanese island possessions, especially the DEI, and China/UK India/Russia grinding away at Japanese land units on the mainland, it will be very hard for Japan to keep putting navy in the water and provide more troops for the land battles.
    Once the US Navy has eliminated Japanese naval presence, they can park a few subs in SZ 6 and convoy raid Japan silly. Add a couple of bombers to SBR Japan’s facilities and you have just about neutered Japan. He could have 100 guys on Japan, but if he’s making no money and has no ships to get them anywhere, there’s not much he can do. You can leave the actual invasion of Japan for later after Germany has been dealt with.

    One thing though, a lot of this depends on whether Germany has taken London or not. If they did, odds are Germany will win on the Europe board. The attack on Russia will be a little slower since Russia had more time to build up while Germany was going after England. However, I don’t think Russia could hold out too much longer since Germany will have extra money from London and be able to focus entirely on Russia with no UK harrassment in the rear. Also, Italy will run hog wild in the Med and Africa.
    If Germany doesn’t take London, then the UK will be around to harrass them and will probably pretty much stop Italy from advancing. But, Germany may be stronger against Russia and make quicker progress toward Moscow. Of course, even when they do get Moscow, then they have to turn around and deal with the Brits again and maybe the Americans if they have shut down Japan early enough.

  • '21 '19 '18 '17 '16

    I’ve started favoring a simple formula, buy four subs a turn to use for crushing Italy and the rest for Japan.  Sooner or later Italy will collapse under the submarine pressure.


  • @Degrasse:

    I’ve started favoring a simple formula, buy four subs a turn to use for crushing Italy and the rest for Japan.   Sooner or later Italy will collapse under the submarine pressure.

    This.

  • '16

    @Spendo02:

    @Degrasse:

    I’ve started favoring a simple formula, buy four subs a turn to use for crushing Italy and the rest for Japan.   Sooner or later Italy will collapse under the submarine pressure.

    This.

    … Interesting. I think I’ll try this next time, actually.


  • 4 subs/turn?  That is a LOT of subs!  Then again, after you kill Italian DD, they are untouchable.  May force Germany to build an IC in Yugoslavia.

    Hell, I may try this next game


  • @Degrasse:

    I’ve started favoring a simple formula, buy four subs a turn to use for crushing Italy and the rest for Japan.  Sooner or later Italy will collapse under the submarine pressure.

    This is going into my next game as USA, although I will only be starting it when USA has wartime economy.

  • Customizer

    This is a good idea. Even if Germany captures London, the US subs could bankrupt Italy and keep them from spreading all over Africa until an invasion force arrives or London is liberated.
    Plus, if Germany builds an IC to put destroyers in the Med to deal with the subs, that’s less money they are putting on the Russian front.

  • 2024 2023 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17

    But don’t you need Gibraltar to slip those subs into the Mediterranean? Especially if London falls, Italy can surely take Gibraltar. Or am I mistaken here, rule-wise?

  • '12

    @Herr:

    Or am I mistaken here, rule-wise?

    Yes. Gibraltar is the one exception to the straights/canal rules.  Subs and only subs have the ability to pass by a hostile Gibraltar.

  • 2024 2023 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17

    Thanks!

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    Don’t try it Herr KaLeun, I have a bad feeling… that even if you slip through the straight, your sub will just get bombed at harbour!


  • @Gargantua:

    Don’t try it Herr KaLeun, I have a bad feeling… that even if you slip through the straight, your sub will just get bombed at harbour!

    They won’t catch us this time! Not this time!

  • 2024 2023 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17

    Such is life. You try, and try harder, and succeed. And then something stupid happens.

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