Can I get a short and concise explanation of strafing?


  • 1. Can I get an example?
    2. When is it best to use?
    3. Why it’s important?

    Thank you


  • Attack the enemy to your advantage, but retreat before capturing the territory.

    Some reason you might do this:

    1. keep your expensive attack units safe from enemy counterattack
    2. weaken a territory so your teammate can capture the ipc’s with less effort
    3. save the surviving units to defend from another attack

    An example would be Germany strafing Yugoslavia on its first turn, so that Italy can get the IPC on its first turn.  Germany can try to knock out 3 or 4 of the 5 neutral infantry, but leave at least 1 infantry as a favor to Italy.  If you retreat the Germans to Romania, the infantry in Greater Southern Germany are now positioned to attack Russia too.

  • Sponsor

    @Soson:

    Attack the enemy to your advantage, but retreat before capturing the territory.

    Some reason you might do this:

    1. keep your expensive attack units safe from enemy counterattack
    2. weaken a territory so your teammate can capture the ipc’s with less effort
    3. save the surviving units to defend from another attack

    An example would be Germany strafing Yugoslavia on its first turn, so that Italy can get the IPC on its first turn.  Germany can try to knock out 3 or 4 of the 5 neutral infantry, but leave at least 1 infantry as a favor to Italy.

    Excellent answer.

  • TripleA

    Another example. USA/UK have 10 units on normandy. You attack and score 9 hits, you retreat to avoid any potential counter attack.


  • @Soson:

    Attack the enemy to your advantage, but retreat before capturing the territory.

    Some reason you might do this:

    1. keep your expensive attack units safe from enemy counterattack
    2. weaken a territory so your teammate can capture the ipc’s with less effort
    3. save the surviving units to defend from another attack

    An example would be Germany strafing Yugoslavia on its first turn, so that Italy can get the IPC on its first turn.  Germany can try to knock out 3 or 4 of the 5 neutral infantry, but leave at least 1 infantry as a favor to Italy.  If you retreat the Germans to Romania, the infantry in Greater Southern Germany are now positioned to attack Russia too.

    I appreciate that!

  • TripleA

    Strafing is also good if you want to combine two mid stacks into one. Say for example China has 14 infantry in yunnan, so you attack with 8 guys from hunnan and stack that is in french indo china, then you can retreat your guys into one location.

    ~

    Sometimes you have to do stuff like this with naval units.

  • Customizer

    Another good example is the German G1 attack on Sea Zone 111. Typically, Germany will send a sub from SZ 124, a fighter from Norway, a Stuka from W. Germany, a Bomber from Germany and the battleship from SZ 113.
    They will conduct 1 round of combat, hopefully sinking the UK destroyer and cruiser and leaving the UK battleship damaged, then retreating the German battleship and sub (if it survives) to SZ 112 and the planes to W Germany. The German battleship will probably be damaged but will be there to help defend other German fleet units that are placed or moved to SZ 112.


  • Another, more defensive example:

    Say Germany is positioned in Smolensk to attack Moscow its next turn.
    Russia has retreated their Siberian units but they are in Novosibirsk, arriving just 1 turn too late to be able to help defending in Moscow.
    Luckily for Russia, Germany also has 2 units in Vologda. 1INF from Moscow attacks together with 4-5INF from Novosibirsk, with the aim to score only 1 hit, retreating all survivors into Moscow.

    Believe it or not, only 1 extra defender can mean the difference between victory or defeat (let alone 3 to 6), even if talking game, not just 1 battle.


  • By the way, speaking of it, if the siberians cannot help defending Moscow (at all), they can retake it if Germany only got a pyrrhic victory over Moscow… With a decent allied presence in the west (decent enough to make it difficult for Germany to attack Moscow again) this is certainly a viable option.

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    Remember that you although you Generate IPCS when you capture territories,  you basically degenerate your opponets IPCS when you destroy his units.

    Your units increase your on the board value, by destroying the enemies on the board value.

    A strafe is used anytime you can strike at your enemy, and cost him more IPC’s than it cost you, whilst preventing or discouraging a counter attack that would cost you valuable units yourself.

    Well explained previously.

  • TripleA

    Some people use the term strafing to describe say Italy attacking egypt from alexandria sudan and transjordan and then retreating into transjordan instead of fighting more (I have done this).… it is particularly useful when you know you probably are not going to get a territory but you know he does not have enough to attack you back (germany flies fighters in then your Italy can move into the middle east to collect money you otherwise would not have gotten for Italy). Also stops uk from making minor ics there and flying fighters into russia (less fighters into russia means great success when germany goes for the win).

  • TripleA

    Strafing: Pre-planned retreat after a planned attack.

    Cockblocker: blocking a fleet from an attack, usually with a lone destroyer.

    Nutcracker: The use of another country to destroy cockblockers. Example: German bombers in the Pacific, Germany nutcracks cockblocker ships so that Japan may attack freely. This seriously busts most allies in the balls.

    Nutbuster: Game deciding battle. Germany attacking Moscow, Pacific fleet showdowns, etc. These are nutbusters because someone’s gets screwed really hard while the other celebrates a victory.

    Assblaster: A really tough decision, usually associated with nutbusters. Examples: “This purchase is a real assblasting nutbuster.” “this turned out to be a real nutbuster, I might have to retreat, this is an assblaster, I need to think about it for a second.”

    Nutbusters and assblasters share the same definitions and can also be used to describe getting diced in a critical battle.

    Buttclenchers are really close battles.


  • I think a very important component to strafing is understanding how it can rapidly move units beyond their normal movement range - which has been displayed in the G1 Yugoslavia to Romania example in prior posts.

    It would be impossible to get the units from Greater Southern Germany to Romania on G1 without understanding strafing.

    Of course, the units could simply step into Hungary and still be in position to strike at Eastern Poland.  However, you sacrifice the utility of clearing out much of Yugoslavia and thereby helping Italy by not understanding the mechanics of the “Strafe”.

    Russia can also employ a Strafing strategy that would trade resources (generally Russian infantry) with Germany in a way that blocks a German blitz or denies the Germans the use of a minor IC.

    In example:

    Russia withdraws its stack to Bryansk in response to a German stack in Eastern Poland, inviting a German blitz of
    Armor and some Mech into the teeth of 30 infantry, and another half dozen armor and artillery supported by Ftr and Tac.

    Germany, unwilling to risk its Armor without protection, elects to blitz a single armor to Ukraine, waiting on a stack of Mech to arrive as reinforcements in Eastern Poland.

    On the subsequent Russian turn, the Russians strafe into Ukraine, which is currently owned by Germany with 2 Infantry, 2 Ftr and 1 Tac.  Russia prevails, losing 1 Inf.  Effectively, Russia has denied Germany the use of the Ukraine IC, and traded a 3 IPC INF for a 6 IPC ARM.

    On the subsequent German turn, Germany claims Ukraine for good, losing 1 Inf in the process.

    Total cost for the Russian strafe:  6 IPC for Russia, 9 IPC for Germany + losing a turn of production out of Ukraine that can immediately threaten Moscow.

    That, is the value of a strafe from the Russian perspective.

    The list goes on, but understanding the strafing technique helps develop the early round strategies to keep pressure or alleviate pressure depending on the nation you play as.

    Later in the game, understanding the strafing strategy can completely ruin your opponent and potentially tilt the scales in your favor to an economic stalemate or quickly end a game for a player not cognizant of the strafing applications.  From experience, this becomes a significant strategy to understand in the Pacific theater in application during the mid to late game.

    A final input, is a variant of the strafing is a can-opener applied by Italy.  Italian units, due to their turn in a round, can open a door for a German blitz that Russia planned on having blocked.  Italy typically accomplishes this with Mech/Armor and a Bomber whereby opening a flank can ruin Moscow’s day.

    The US has a variant of this if Germany leaves Berlin undefended whereby the US seizes Denmark, and the UK sails through the straights to land on Berlin.

    Neither of these are true strafes, but they employ the same strategy of taking territory or denying territory in unconventional ways.

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