I would usually not liberate Paris until Northern Italy and Western Germany were both in Allied hands. OR, Italy was taken out and Germany is in such a poor position that they couldn’t afford to mount an attack against Paris. In that case, the US/UK would have to have a lot of units in Paris along with the free 12 IPCs of French units. So much so that Germany just can’t muster enough attacking units to make it worth their while.
I remember one game where we had a situation like this and our German player got all crazy like “Oh, I got to get Paris back!”. Germany did get Paris back and gained something like 15 IPCs (some French territories were still in Axis hands), but they lost so many units in the process it ended up being a negative for them. Plus, their defenses were severely weakened both in W Germany and Germany itself. Russia had a fun time on the Eastern Front.
So, basically I wouldn’t liberate Paris unless the Allies had an overwhelming force to either keep it or make it stupid for Germany to retake it.
Another reason is the Normandy and S France factories. I like for the US in particular, but also the UK to have factories on mainland Europe. I don’t want to give them up until I have and can keep the factories in Italy and possibly W Germany. Then you can give up the French factories.
Southern France
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If you decide to take Southern France as Germany, what do you normally attack it with? On turn 1 the only land units available are 3 tanks from GSG. Do you use just these or do you throw in an air unit or 2 to make sure?
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I use 2 mech from w. Germany and 1 tank from GSG. Maybe a plane if required.
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2 Mechs & 2 Tanks or 2 Mechs, 1 Tank, 1 Tac Bomber
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damn never even realized the mech inf from West Germany… thanks for that
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If I go after Southern France I will normally bring either:
- 3 mech (W. Germany) + 1 tank (GSG). This is what I normally would send at Normandy so if I’m not doing Normandy I would send it at S. France instead.
or
- 2 mech (W. Germany) + 1 tactical bomber (Germany) + 1 fighter (Slovakia). I go with this option when I decide to take all French territories, hit the french navy, and SZ110. It doesn’t fix your problems in the Atlantic very well but it sets you up well for action in the Med.
Alternatively,
You could attack it turn 2 with surviving slow movers in Paris.
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is a slight gamble but tac from W Germany, mech from W germany, armor from G Southern Germany
Land tac in S Italy for possible scrambling -
is a slight gamble but tac from W Germany, mech from W germany, armor from G Southern Germany
Land tac in S Italy for possible scramblingA gamble matters on what you plan for G2
If you’re interested in using S. France to help Italy, no gambling.
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Southern France seems to be the Norm in my games. I usually take it to setup a port in the med for me to work off.
All depends on the plan.
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If S. France can be useful for Germany if they want to put boats in the Med on G2…
Does Normandy have a use in early game that would be a reason to take it on G1 instead of S. France?
I’ve used Normandy on G3 to help block U.S. navy when I do Sea Lion, but that’s doesn’t require a G1 attack.
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One that I could think of is that it is a Axis port in SZ 110 and SZ 105. A few ideas that popped into my head that didnt work:
1. IPC’s (S. France is worth more)
2. Facilities (S. France has both)If I take S. France, Italy is taking Normandy on I2 to bolster their Income. Straffing Normandy is also an option so that you can leave it French so the US cant use the IC there.
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