Do you really go to syria with your battleship and transport? I’ve always liked the move, but never had the balls to actually do it.
I don;t play with bids (lacking the RAM on my PC to handle the Java based version of AA available online). So I normally do the initial landing in Egypt.
However, on those occasions when I “change up” my strategy and send air support to Egypt instead, I will indeed attack Syria on G1 with tranny, using the BB to plow through the sub. The odds are highly probable that the sub is going to go “glub”. And if it happens to hit on the counter, I’ll lose the tranny, and the INF. I will ONLY attack Syria in a no-bid game when I have bought a tranny for the med as part of G1’s buy; so I have a replacement just in case. Obviously my version does not work against the mega-stacked Karelia strategy (since it pulls too many INF’s from Europe due to tranny buy and multiple troops to Africa). But against anything less than the mega stack, it makes for an interesting game that is a bit off the “normal” game flow.
As far as losing some troops in the exchange… that is kind of part of the game, especially for the Axis… roll the dice and go for it.
Using the bid-strategy outlined in the preceeding posts, and likely counters, by the end of G2, Germany is going to have all of Africa (perhaps less SA, assuming UK moves that INF to Rhodesia to cut off the tank blitz) plus Syria.
And if you only single INF the West Africa territories (putting 3 INF of the 4 from the bid in Libya) you could also land in Madagascar in G2 (in addition to grabbing Congo, Italian East and Rhodesia) leaving yourself staged for Persia OR India in G3 AND getting your navy out of reach of those pesky UK fighters that are somewhere in Russian territory…
Unless of course those UK figs stage to Persia… then you don;t blitz Africa in G2, you send the tank from Egypt through Syria to hit Persia, combined with your INF that survived the Syria landing and 2 transported units, and your BB, and add any fighters from Ukraine or Eastern, and your bomber. Say goodbye to the UK Airforce :-D And if they pulled forces from India to Persia in UK 2, so much the better. Now Japan has India free in addition to being able to follow-up in Persia in J2.
All in all, risking that sub to get your med fleet into the Indian Ocean in G2 is a damn fine idea; bid or no bid.
