GW36 Italian Strategy - Operazione Chiave (Operation Key).


  • are we talking about global 1936 or 1939 which gamemode


  • Oh heaven for bid. It’s the 36 almighty game .


  • @SS:

    Oh heaven for bid. It’s the 36 almighty game .

    Seriously SS.
    You got a burr up your backside over this game. Just let it be.
    Why do you hate it?

    Also, if you dislike it so much, why do you even frequent this message board? I really don’t understand.  :?

    That being said, much of your posts; apart from your odd remarks, can actually be quite insightful and informative.


  • OK Jimx.

    My beef with this game is not the great map or people that play it.

    It has to do with the map coming out and being told the 39 rules will be out in a month. ( also my group of 12 people will not play 36 do to 75 pages of rules, to many railroads and victory conditions with less value territories. Plus another group I talk to all the time will not play it and also some game designers I know. But thats all are opinions ). So be it.

    First off don’t come out with a game unless you have everything ready that goes with map. For me they came out with this game so they could get people to buy more expansion sets and keep coming out with them for the 3 different starting years for playing map.
    Fine, that’s the way they make money without designing new maps. Smart.

    Then they say we will not answer any questions that pertain to 36 map, rules and setups on this site.
    Now when you go to there site they don’t answer any questions. BS .

    Now people are coming here to site to get there questions answered for 36 game. Thats fine. But I feel people should make at least 1 donation to site for all the awesome info you get from this site. Plus other people for other games and the Triple A players too. IMO.

    IL is coming out with his new game and thats been taking a few years to perfect it so he doesn’t get jammed with a 1000 questions pertaining to game. That’s the correct way to do it. Granted you still will get a few questions on game.

    So Seriously, I will try my hardest not to make anymore comments towards this 36 game. HBG does make great pieces and so but don’t BS me.

    I will not reply to any comments to this message.   :-)


  • @Chris_Henry:

    Great topic and thread. I’ll preface by saying I have not yet had the opportunity to play my game just yet, work gets in the way, and having someplace to keep the awesome, hulking map, set up for extended periods of time alludes us.

    I’ve done my best to familiarize myself with the game and rules though.

    Point here as it relates to this topic, is that the Spanish Civil War really does play into this strategy a lot as well when you think of it. If the goal for Italy/Mediterranean Axis is Gibraltar, doesn’t making sure the Nationalists win the Spanish Civil War take on a whole great importance? As you say in your original post, the amphibious attacking is brutally costly. Activation and alignment of an Axis Spain though would alleviate the need for an amphibious assault on the Rock.

    I’m sure that has not alluded you or anyone else here, that’s not my point. The point was that when discussing Italian objectives being Gibraltar, I think you need to add the Spanish Civil War into the wider spectrum of steps to attaining that goal.

    That just adds to the fun and intrigue of the game for me. Thinking that one thing, maybe seemingly not connected to an action, truly is in the grander scheme of strategy!

    I’ve been thinking about what you wrote Chris_Henry, and I think you pose a really good thought!

    From the Italian perspective, the Nationalists should win the Spanish Civil War. But, should the Nationalists win the Civil War before Germany is at war with the Soviets, or win postpone winning it until after.

    If Nationalists win the CW before Barbarossa begins; Spain is secure from Allied invasion, barring Allied payment of a decent penalty. If Spain is relatively secure from invasion: any attack on Gibraltar must be with a deadly Amphibious Assault.

    If the Nationalists win the CW after Barbarossa begins; they Align to Germany, and now there are three different territories in which Allies can put a foothold, and therefore the Axis must protect to greater or lesser degree.

    One foothold, Leon-Castille is the best American foothold in Europe. Leon-Castille is within reach of American Naval Transports, and as a cherry on top, it also has a Port, that means it becomes the primary shuttle point to drop off American troops into Europe. From Washington & New York to Leon-Castille. The Atlantic Railway.

    From Leon-Castille the Allies can go south into the plains of Extremadura, from there to Gibraltar without amphibious assaults, from there…well…anywhere.
    From Leon-Castille the Allies can go east to Asturia-Vasconia and then into France.

    Its such a tempting target for the Allies that if the Italian Operation Key manages to fortify in Gibraltar, then it is almost worth it for the Americans to to declare war against Nationalist Spain, pay the penalty, and invade.

    Neutral Nationalist Spain is weak and cannot stop the Americans invading.
    Axis Nationalist Spain, with its Madrid Factory and leftovers from the CW, has just enough time to fortify itself a little. It also gives 2 additional IPP to Germany.

    It depends on the mentality of the Allies, will they pay a penalty of cash, or a penalty of blood. The Atlantic Railway, against an Axis Spain or Neutral Spain, or the Normandy Landing.

  • 2023 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17

    Wow, missed your response to me from before Jinx1527!

    That’s a very good point re winning the SCW before/after Germany is at war. That also plays a large part into the effectiveness of planning. My points towards having a Nationalist Spain so that Italian troops don’t have to amphibiously assault Gibraltar, can also be turned on it’s head: The Allies can then just invade Nationalist Spain, and then retake Gibraltar, also without having to amphibiously assault it! Though, they’d still need to amphibiously assault somewhere on the Spanish mainland as well, and you’re very much correct, Leon-Castille is a prime target. Nationalist Spain would definitely need to beef up defenses on the Atlantic coast.

    All very interesting, each part really plays into another part as well in this particular strategy you discuss. I guess you’d need to weigh out what’s more important/effective: 1) Having a Nationalist Spain enter the war, giving Italian troops overland access to Gibraltar, but thus opening up Spain to Allied invasion/widening the defensive window for the Axis or 2) Keep a Nationalist Spain neutral, thus closing easier access to Allied forces to invade mainland Europe, but in the process making an invasion of Gibraltar all the more unlikely again by amphibious assault.

    My initial gut response leans with option one: having an activated Nationalist Spain. I think this would, overall, greatly support the Italians more than it would detriment the Axis as a whole. While Spain is now open to assault without Allied penalty, there’s still going to be Spanish troops there to make amphibious landings costly. All the while you’ve stopped, at least for a time, the flow of Allied reinforcement of North Africa/Mediterranean by holding Gibraltar, and/or, depending on how well Italy is doing, opening up the Atlantic to possible Italian interference, if their fleets can comfortably leave the Med.

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