Posts made by wally

Thank you for clearing this up. I was thinking it would be unrealistic for the Germans to drop a sub in 125 and reduce Soviet income by 9 so easily

Hi everyone, I have not been on the forums for many years now, but I find myself with a gameplay question I am unable to find an answer for, so I thought why not try the old A+A forum? Anyway the convoy in SZ 125. It is not in fact a German convoy for Norway but a Russian convoy if I read the national bonuses correctly. How is it disrupted? Can the Germans disrupt the four IPCs in the Soviet coastal territories in the north? Or just the 1 IPC for Archangel? Or is the “disruption” simply the elimination of the 5 IPCs in the Soviet national bonus income? Can the Allies disrupt the 3 German Norway IPCs? Thank you for any insight.

Depends on who you are playing I suppose. I play with a friend who never does much with Africa as the Axis, so it would be worth trying, but if I was playing as the Axis (As I usually am) I would have that complex on Italys 2 or 3 at the latest.

Can you sticky this please Imperious Leader?

Yes, but in the long run it makes shuffling units into Russia much quicker. Its the same as Germany putting a complex in Poland really.

Back on topic here, I believe that an industrial complex in the Balkans would be a good means of getting infantry and artillery into the Ukraine, but the problem is Italy doesn’t start with enough money to buy one. Securing the national objectives seems to be the greatest source of income for Italy from my experience, and they aren’t all that difficult to get.

I am going to try building a complex in the Balkans and use it to move infantry and artillery against Russia. After I have seized Egypt that is.

We have a few German and Japanese strategy threads, but no Italian ones!

The reason being probably is that there is so little for Italy to do, that there aren’t many options. Here is what I worked out for Italy to do.

ITALY 1
Purchase: 2 Infantry 1 Artillery
I’ve toyed with getting a fighter or a destroyer, but Italy really needs some ground units to put into Africa, and a destroyer would get destroyed easily since It must be placed in SZ 14 while my navy will be moving to SZ15 to support operations against Egypt.

Combat: Egypt and France

FRANCE: I assume that France is taken by the British, as I like to prepare for the worst case scenario. If France is taken, I estimated that the Brits will have at most 1 tank or 1 tank and 1 infantry there. The 1 infantry, 1 artillery, and 1 tank should be sufficient to neutralize them.

EGYPT: I hit Egypt first the Germans. I know its virtually impossible to take, but it can be softened up for Italy to hit.
2 Infantry from Libya, 1 Infantry and a tank from the Balkans, the fighter from Italy, and a BB and CA offshore shot should be sufficient to take Egypt, even if the Brits reinforce it with the units from Transjordan.

In summary, Italy is up by 2 IPC’s and might have one of their NO’s meaning they collect 12-17 IPCs.

ITALY 2
Purchase: Personally I love naval forces, so depending on how the Germans are doing against the U.S.S.R. and defending on if their air force destroyed the British transports, I will build either a tank, infantry, and artillery, or a cruiser.

Combat: Trans Jordan and Persia

You should have a tank left in Egypt, so blitzing into Persia should be an easy matter as I doubt the British will send forces that ways when Japan is coming. The British still have troops in Africa remember, so transport an infantry and artillery into Egypt, and maybe land a fighter there. The Americans have probably taken Algeria at this point though, so you might want to attack that amphibiously, but dont put your navy in a vulnerable area.

Thats pretty much it for Italy. It’s hard to come up with strategies for them because they start so weak and their turn is after Britain, but I hope this helps.

From the few games I’ve played, I believe that the Germans simply must take Karelia on G1 or face a long and bitter struggle with Russia. Germany doesn’t start without alot of forces, so they need to knock out as many of Russia’s as possible. The Karellia attack on G1 is risky, but it must be done.

the aircraft carrier solves this dilemma I think. It gives you a surface ship (although one with low stats) and a pair of fighters who have a rock hard defense and excellent striking range.

I’m going to try a balanced air and naval approach. I am assuming that most of my navy is destroyed on round one, and that after wards my opponent shifts his air power to the eastern front. (I’ve played him alot so I’m certain he will do this) A carrier and pair of fighters on B1 will provide a good defense while I prepare a force to invade Africa.

The United States will be putting pressure on Japan, but depending on the situation, I could send a few ships into Africa if the Brits need help, but for the most part, this is going to be a British invasion force.

Karelia sounds like a nice way to bait the Germans. Let them have it, but have your allies bomb the complex so that he cannot readily reinforce it. Then you can strike Karelia after you have gathered your forces together. It could work out like a Stalingrad of the north.

Why do I get the feeling that Jennifer is trying to antagonize people?

The rules are quite simple when they are written down in the rulebook. There really shouldn’t be any kind of argument when the book is quite clear. Read Calm Dragon’s post. Can that be the end of this childish argument please?

Back on topic: Italy. I have made up my mind to use an Italy First strategy with the UK in the game I will be playing today. I will let you folks know how it works out.

It really depends on the situation. If the Germans have a stack of ten infantry on france, but the italians only have a couple of tanks and infantry, you hit Italy. taking a country’s capital is always a devastating blow. It means that Italy (or Germany) must retake their capital but won’t be able to buy any units, effectively eliminating them for a round of play.

seems like a waste of an aircraft carrier to me when the Eastern U.S. is so close by.

From my short experience with the greatest war game of all time, the 1941 version is very well balanced, while the 1942 version is more in favor of the Axis. I advise anyone who loves a good long war game to buy it.

I don’t have it with me, but I’ll get it Wednesday.

I haven’t played a 42 match yet, because 41 was simply too much fun!

Just looking at the maps though, it does look like the Allies are at a serious disadvantage. I sure don’t see Russia lasting very long, and the British presence in Asia is laughable because it can be wiped out on the first turn.

41 seems very well balanced though, so folks who thin 42 is unbalanced could always stick with that.

The rulebook we have says that you can…A typo perhaps?

Thats how it used to be, but the new rulebook states in the industrial complex entry that units can be produced at an industrial complex that has just been captured.

So it is a huge boost to Germany if they seize one of the USSR’s IC’s. Especially since they can build units there that same turn.

I can’t seem to find the answer to this question anywhere.

I seem to remember the defender being allowed to destroy his/her industrial complex at the beginning of a battle to prevent it from falling into the attackers hands. Is this still allowed? I am assuming no since I can find it no where in the rules or FAQ.

Now then, back to the topic, which happens to be eliminating Italy.

Italy’s primary defense is obviously Germany. Britain can’t effectively hit them quickly because the third reich is right smack in between them. Pushing into the Mediterranean will be difficult because of the Italian fleet, which will survive past the first turn if you are playing an experienced player. What can be done about the Italian Navy then?

I intend to focus the US war effort on Japan, so that leaves Italy as Britains problem. My opponents tend to eliminate most of my navy on turn one, so I will have to start from scratch in that department. Aircraft are cheaper than ships though, and have longer striking range. Would a strong air force be Britians best bet at knocking out Italy?

Alright, so I played my first game of the new A&A50th last Wednesday, and will be playing another this coming Wednesday. I played as the allies the first time, and my friend was the axis. The game ended in what was clearly a draw. Here’s what I noticed about my first game.

1. Russia is slightly stronger, and can hold their own against Germany for some time. I built a mix of infantry, artillery and armor to counter Germany’s attacks. Not much change from Russia’s old strategies, but it was effective in forming a Eastern front stalemate. Eventually though, I could see that Russia was going to be overrun as my overall unit count was dwindling and the Germans was increasing.

2. Britain is immensely stronger and can split their attention to put pressure on japan and still harass the Germans and Italians. I built an IC in India on turn one (after making sure they would not be able to bring enough forces to take it amphibiously) to send tanks against the Japanese, and built a navy to neutralize Italy.

3. USA can swiftly gain naval superiority, which is much more important than in previous versions. I built pretty much nothing but navy for the first three turns which diverted Japanese income and forced Italy’s navy to flee down to the arctic.

4. Germany is still very dangerous, but they aren’t the powerhouse to start off that they where in previous versions. Germany makes gradual gains in the beginning though that add up, and make them into a powerhouse. They cannot be ignored as they will eventually destroy Russia, but they also cannot be tackled early in the game.

5. Italy is so weak that its almost laughable, but they can take a whole front away from Germany so that the Germans can send their troops elsewhere. The Italians can easily overwhelm the British presence in Africa in just a few turns if they focus their attention on it, and their navy is quite formidable. Italy should not be overlooked, but they are obviously the weakest axis power, and therefore their destruction should be the first allied priority.

6. Japan is the true powerhouse of A&A50th. Japan starts very weak financially, but they can make rapid gains which hurt the U.S. a bit, but severely injure Britain. Japan can overrun all of Asia if the allies let them, which is why Japan should be the top American priority, with Britain pitching in a few units.

Now, here’s how I think I am going to operate in my next game. As General Eisenhower said though, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.

Russia is of course, going to focus on defending against Germany. The Inf/Art/Tan builds seem to work best. This will change every turn, depending on how aggressive or defensive I think I need to be. Survival is Russia’s objective.

Britain is going to split its attention. Is going to once again split its attention. I will build an IC in either India or Australia to help fight japan, but most of my money will be going towards navy and air force in the Atlantic to knock out Italy. Germany will be harassed if the opportunity arises, but no large attacks will be made.

USA is going to focus completely on hitting Japan. An Island hoping campaign will work nicely I believe, as well as force Japan to build naval forces instead of land units to fight in Asia. My first objectives will be to secure the Philippines, and a Japanese home island so that I can get the extra income in the national bonuses, and detract from Japan’s.

Thoughts on this battle plan?