Defending sub surprise strike

Approximately half of the U-Boat losses were due to Aircraft.

However in this version of Axis and Allies subs may not be hit by aircraft without an attacking destroyer present. Axis and Allies is not a very accurate recreation of WWII. However, it is a fun game.

Welcome, Wileyone!

The transport dies, whether or not the sub submerges.

The important thing to understand about the defenseless transport rule is that it’s basically there to keep you from having to roll round after round of dice when the outcome is inevitable. The Soviet fighter would eventually hit the transport if the battle continued. It’s just a matter of time.

I think subs are underestimated…
I like them a lot more than the Cruiser for instance. The extra cost of 6 IPC’s doesn’t make up for the shore bombardment and extra punch.
Now, let’s take a look at their advantages:
-subs are CHEAP! 6 IPC’s for a naval hit is dirt cheap!
-subs are invulnerable to lone enemy aircraft => this allows them to swim around Europe/Pacific avoiding those German/Japanese ftrs.
-subs can’t attack airplanes, and apart from DD’s, other sea units are more expensive than airplanes. As a result, if a fleet has got only 1 DD, it won’t stand a sub attack, because the expensive carriers, cruisers, and battleships will be the first to get hit. This is often underestimated!
-subs have a greater mobility than other fleet units because they can’t be attacked without an enemy DD.

disadvantages:
-1 defense is little, even for 6 IPC’s. Don’t count on subs to stand tall against an organized attack.
-subs can’t hit air, but air with DD can hit subs
-subs don’t like a lot of DD’s (a single DD is seldom a problem)

To summarize: I like subs a lot the way they are implemented now. And I think Germany building a sole sub fleet is a viable strategy. If you just don’t let the British navy too close, the subs+air will keep the baltic.

I have seen a few Allied players skip the Flying Tiger attack. It is not a move I agree with. I will sacrifice Japanese planes I CAN REPLACE to take out that plane that can not be. It gives China a chance at offensive attacks and some defense.

I see no reason for Japan not to attack China. While killing all the Chinese troops in round 1 of a '41 game can be a bit of a stretch, the flying Tigers and some other territories should be attacked. While Japan may not want to spend the effort to totally eliminate China it is worthwhile to reduce them to just Chinghai. This way they can not produce any troops and are no longer relevant.

From the Allied side it is worth Russia’s troubles to send some forces to China to delay the Japanese. If China can be held to 2 or 3 territories they will produce free infantry and increase the amount of forces Japan has to commit for an advance through the central Asian front. In most games Russia will eventually have to retreat it’s forces as the Japanese become too numerous to hold out over China and its infantry, but again the whole idea was to delay Japan anyway. As far as other Allied liberations occurring these are very rare. Normally this will be done by the US and it will also normally be after all the high value UK territories and the Philippines have been liberated.

I would say just come to grips with the reality that China is a good idea badly implemented in AA50.

@TG:

@Romulus:

Casualty system in A&A is part of the success of the game.
Simple enough for not being too much time consuming but at same time allows for cannon fodder and protection of the expensive units.

If we condsider the real battle attacker do not “know” who are they firing. WW2 was not fought with Napoleonic style battles where 2 armies lined up one in the face of the other.
In WW2 units are camouflaged, entrenched and hidden. When and if a unit is discovered by the enemy it can be target of fire, but attacker is not “selecting” the target among all the defending unit, only the one that has become visible.
So to some extent is the defender, positioning an moving its units, that allow the attacker to fire.

The more “correct” way of picking casualties is the one used in Battle of the Bulge, random selection, with the possibility of overkilling one unit and totally missing another.

If we can not have random casualties then we should stay with the “defender pick the unit to be removed” mechanism.

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Thank you!

I think that in Anniversary it is the right system. House rule or other ruleset may use different casualties removal system  but it is the right thing for the “standard” game.

@Crazyivan_06:

Do fighters with long range aircraft tech receive their plus one movement, for total of two instead of one if their aircraft carriers was sunk in 1940 Global.

I would recommend to ask this question in the 1940 Global forum.
It’s confusing here, because LRA tech in Anniversary Edition is different from Global 1940:

In Anniversary Edition it is 4+2 / 6+2 (based on the initial range), see your question regarding this subject in the other AA50 posting
( http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=20225.msg1125838#msg1125838 ).

In Global 1940 it is “All of your air units’ ranges are increased by 1 space.”

But I agree with Make_It_Round, that - concerning Global 1940 - this is an interesting question - maybe for Krieghund.

Just my humble opinion, but seems that the AA50 treatment of subs generates a good chunk of inquiry…

so why not make a sticky thread for all sub rules questions and answers?

Not the tactical kind of question (what do you do with the sub at sz4) or asthetic (don’t the German subs look much sexier than the Russian) but cut-n-dry clarification stuff.

Heck, call it the Sub Pen or something if it “floats your boat” (every pun intended).

Hello Grognards.

I was playing a game of A&A Anniversary edition v3 on Triple A when my opponent hit me with a tactic I had not seen before.

R1: Buy 11 infantry
Attack Finland with two inf and 4 planes.

G1: Buy 4 bombers.

Troops in Norway +4 more Transported from Germany attack Finland.
Everything able attacks Novgorod.
All tanks not able to attack Novgorod, move into Baltic States. 
Two inf and two tanks into Western Poland.
All Air Force land in Baltic States.
All available subs are move to the sea zone above Eastern Germany.
All surface navy into the sea zone bordering Leningrad.

E1: I could see the writing on the wall, so I built surface navy.

Landed all Air Force into Leningrad.

Other countries: does not matter.

R2: Built three planes and some inf

No attacks.
Move several infantry and all planes and tanks into Leningrad.

G2: Bough all inf since my purchase with England was to pressure him.

All units in Finland and Novgorod attack Leningrad.
All Aiirforce (8 Fighters and 6 bombers) attack Leningrad.
All tanks in Baltic State attack Leningrad
Two inf and two tanks in Western Poland are transported into Leningrad

…Average rolls for Germany and slightly bad rolls for Russia.
…Leningrad falls with German troops remaining (5 inf, 3 arty, 8 tanks, 6 planes, 6 bombers).

In retrospect I might have attacked the surface navy with my English planes, but it would not have dropped Germany’s chances of winning by to less than 90% (98% chance of success for Germany without attacking surface navy)

What do I do to stop this?  Help!