abukede

These were the final positions for the invasion of Poland. You can see I occupied the mine, (get that production going baby!) and destroyed the border defenses, including the Polish HQ. I have also advanced 3 units adjacent to Warsaw so that next turn my prepared assault bonus can help take down the city. Also note how one of my corps assaulted the Polish medium bombers… I do not want Jim having the ability to cause me greater casualties. Note how few casualties my assaulting forces took in breaking into Poland. Moving to Japan… you can see she starts with investment, however one of the key areas you will need is not yet invested. My first purchase with Japan is in Industry! This is critical. Japan must upgrade her industry to at least level 3 by December 1941 or she has no hope in competing with the Western Allies. This makes a huge difference. Do not neglect it! These are the starting positions for Central China. Japan looks strong right? Not really so. Those forests are where partisans can pop up. They need to be occupied. I spent much of this turn reorganizing my forces and I conducted no attacks. There are a bunch of things I must do first to reorder the Japanese army in China… but I expect to begin to conduct major operations within a couple turns. More on this later. Now off to Jim!

Okay… with the imminent release of the game… we’re back for a much more intense Official AAR. We have switched sides, with Jim now taking the reigns of the Allies. I will take the Axis. The Axis in this game plays much differently than in previous releases of Gold. It is important to note: Playing the Axis is less forgiving than in previous versions… in that if you have a major reverse it is much more difficult to recover and regain the initiative. So play careful attention as I roll out my attacks and strategy. I intend to show you what Germany, Japan and Italy can do in this game. Jim is going to attempt to stop me. We are going to hold nothing back and you will see less experimenting with strategy and much more action. Likely one of us will end up intensely disliking the other for a few weeks. I hope you all enjoy it! Note these cities. Japan starts with an HQ, several armies and a cavalry unit deployed in Manchuria. Most of these will be needed elsewhere. Make sure these cities and towns are garrisoned at all times, especially when swapping units out. You do not want Russia to enter the war early… trust me. This is an interesting decision event. I always say “Yes” to this one… even through the unit arrives early and understrength, especially if I wish to invade England. It opens up your strategic options. In this game I think there are times when the paras can be the most dangerous units in the game. Stand by for more on this! Note the starting positions for Germany. The Reich starts with a powerful army, with 3 HQ and 2 more in the build. Germany begins with 11 deployed corps, 5 armies, 2 armor, a tactical unit, medium bomber and 3 fighters. You also begin with 3 cruisers, and 3 subs. This by far, due to the concentration of terrain (Europe) and the compact nature of the theater of operations, makes the German military the most potent force on the map at least for the first year of the war. Germany must take full advantage of this… and it is very important to take as few casualties as possible so that you can grow this combat power. This also gives Germany a head start on what you need to build for Barbarossa. My medium bomber began the game with the ability to upgrade. Instead of throwing an under tier aircraft into action I made the decision to upgrade his capabilities and use him next turn. This makes him much more effective and when I begin my assault on Warsaw he should come in very handy. This is the beginning of my invasion of Poland. My turn 1 objective is to eliminate the Polish HQ so that it cannot add strength to the Warsaw defenders. A secondary objective is to eliminate the frontier defenders with as few casualties as possible. Basically make my offensive as bloodless as possible from the German perspective. This means using my armies that are adjacent to the Polish defenders to attack first… you gain a prepared assault bonus with adjacent units meaning you take less casualties and do more damage. Then you follow up with secondary units and finally by armor to mop up, all the while building valuable experience that will make the difference on the Eastern front in nearly 2 years time.

Well this is the end of this AAR/Walkthrough. With the “imminent” release of the game we are going to quickly switch sides and show you a different perspective of gameplay! I think in the last game there were a number of decisions and moves Jim wishes he could take back. I am sure he is going to take his revenge out on me in this upcoming game… but that said I intend to give him a run for his money. I will let Jim post some of his thoughts as unlike other Global games the Axis is much more difficult to play in AoD . They are much less forgiving. Thank you all for following the AAR/Walkthrough.

I can tell you China in this game is a very tough nut to crack. The Japanese player needs to effectively manage China... instead of going for a complete conquest. What I mean by managing is to take as much territory as you can and then do the Chinese enough damage to keep them from hammering you. In my opinion if you try for a knockout blow you will need so much force that you risk seriously weakening your forces for operations elsewhere. The mountains and supply in China for this game tend to really be a major factor.

Done Pgtomli I will send you a turn one the game is released. One other slot available. Who wants it?

Lots of fighting this turn. In China Jim showed up in the center with a lot of forces. I pulled back slightly to firm up my line because he was coming at me from 2 directions. I still hold the city I took in the center and as a result supply for Jim’s forces is a problem. Pulling back slightly I was able to bring my forces back into better supply. In Southern China I took Amoy and there was heavy fighting as I assaulted his paras once again. No real action elsewhere in the Pacific. I had several sightings of Japanese naval units via intelligence… so I feel I have a good handle of what is going on. I am planning several operations… more on that later. On the Eastern Front, Jim pushed forward apparently regardless of reduced supply effects that still carried over from winter and also on poor ground. I took the opportunity to launch a major offensive that claimed a German armor, corps and mauled a number of units. Here you can see the beginning of my offensive having kicked off. Note the final positions and relative strengths of units on both sides. The soviets are in a commanding position at the moment in the south… at least until German supply rebuilds. If Jim stands and takes it in the short term… I think he will have a difficult time and the initiative will swing decisively to the Russians. The disparity of armor tech is killing him.

There was also heavy and brutal fighting on the Eastern Front in Southern Russia as Red armor and infantry forces hammered at the Axis lines. I managed to destroy a German corps and mauled a minor country corps. The weather across Russia is still terrible… it will not last much longer. Major offensive operations for both sides should be kicking off shortly. Thing seem to be progressing well. I am wondering what monkey wrench will be thrown into my gears. Back to Jim.

Very busy and exciting turn. Lots of action and heavy fighting. Jim hammered at me in the Pacific working to expand his foothold, especially in the South Pacific. He discovered… probably to his horror that the Australians have garrisons on several key islands… meaning he will have to fight to take them. They are also dug in. In China my offensive in the center of the country continued. You can see Jim brought up an HQ… but I feel he is too far back to provide the supply bump he really needs to push his counter offensive forward. I was able to destroy the targeted army in the picture. You can see a number of Jim’s units are understrength from fighting. The costs of fighting in China are adding up for him. This is the picture in the south. I hammered away at his para with good results. I also began pushing at Amoy. I am going to try to make gains quickly before Jim can get sufficient carrier support in the region to slow me down. Those carriers will have to contend with ground bases air cover… which could prove costly. Jim did use carrier air in support of his Hong Kong offensive last turn. So I expect him to use them again against Chinese targets. Every casualty keeps him from building new units and gives the US and UK time to build up. One of the numerous US submarines raiding Jim’s convoy routes discovered a Japanese troop convoy. It seems like all of Jim’s DDs are off the US west coast… so I am hoping it will make it much more difficult for him to evict my subs conducting strategic warfare. In addition… he will need to begin clearing routes from Southern Japan to China so that his transports with fresh troops are not interdicted. This little guy was probably headed for the Philippians… which shockingly I still manage to hold! The British fresh off their success in North Africa invaded and occupied Ireland. I needed the readiness boost for operations in the South Pacific… to make it more difficult for Jim to take some of the islands… and hopefully increase his casualties. I also needed the cash. The readiness boost should also help in Italian East Africa. Jim learned where two of my UK carriers were this turn. His cruiser the Graf Spee pressed forward on hunting for my DDs which he found. Unfortunately one of my carriers was laying in wait. Just further north of this position several UK BBs and subs engaged an Italian DD and sunk that as well.

Since we are getting close... and honestly I have no idea on when AoD is due out... (just a feeling) I figured I would drop an offer for a multiplayer match to 2 players following the AAR. If you are interested post here on this thread. First come first serve. Perhaps Jim will be kind enough to offer a game as well?

Interesting turn. We are now into March 42. I was able to nail another sub in the North Atlantic. A German cruiser made his presence felt but I was after U-Boats. I think that the major threat posed by the U-Boats is mostly over. Jim may have put his surface navy to sea. If he did, things could get interesting. On the eastern front my Russian armor destroyed a minor country corps and mauled a couple of other units… the ground is still not good for major action so no real tectonic shifts yet of the front. The UK began the assault on Addis Ababa this turn in Italian East Africa. A picture on this next turn. As you can see… Allied raiding of the Japanese convoy lines has begun. This tiny amount combined with the sudden action in China should make things very difficult for Japan. To date there are no serious Japanese forces in the Philippians. I can only confirm 1 unit has made landfall. The UK still holds onto Singapore and the DEI and I am working fast to strengthen those positions. I have absolutely no idea as to what Japan is up to. Perhaps an invasion of the USSR? I really don’t know… it has me very concerned. In China… the Chinese continue their offensive drives in the North and South, inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese. I was able to secure SuChow in the center. I was very surprised to see a cavalry unit defending the city. Cav are weak units and are better suited toward garrison duty. Also notice the absolute lack of Japanese HQ’s near the front. Where are they? You simply cannot fight in China effectively without HQ support. Losing this city translates to low readiness and morale due to decreased supply. Having taken this supply center from the Japanese, I have effectively unhinged Jim’s entire line supply wise. It will be interesting to see how he responds. He now has a real crisis in Central China. If he was preparing an invasion of the USSR… he had best reconsider and work to push the Chinese back or things could get bad for the Japanese quick. As you can see by the chart Jim posted… Japan has the largest number of ground forces deployed in the game. Where are they? In Southern China my offensive continued attacking the town of Shenzhen. Here is a better shot of the front. I have taken Shenzhen after having destroyed the defending corp. Effectively I have split Japanese held China in two. Most of Jim’s combat power appears to be trapped from Canton to Nanning to Hanoi. I don’t know how he is going to respond to me but now… he has to beat me back at all costs. A powerful China is why the Japanese need to strike China early and hard… inflicting heavy casualties on the Chinese. For those who thought China in this game might have been a pushover… I believe I have demonstrated that she is far from that. Momentum in the game seems to be slowly shifting to my favor. That said… we are a long way from Allied victory and things could change very rapidly back in the way of the Axis.

In the North Atlantic… there was very heavy action against Jim’s U-Boats. The Allies have a large surface fleet of DDs now and Jim’s U-Boats are taking a beating each turn. He seems to be operating close to bases in the Atlantic… there has been no naval raiding in the Indian ocean… and other spots which makes my job of sweeping the seas that much easier. He lost a U-Boat this turn and had another hammered pretty hard. The convoy lanes were swept clean once again as a result. I think the war over the Atlantic has decisively swung in my favor. Over all I am very pleased. That said… the game is far from over and I cannot let my guard down.

There was very heavy fighting across much of the globe this turn. I am trying to create as many fires for Jim to put out as I can. I am sure that as he watches the replay he is probably reaching for some Advil. In Southern Russia the Red Army launched a major offensive which culminated in the destruction of an Italian army and the mauling of several Axis units. The destruction of the Italian unit particularly hurts because the Italians are bleeding national morale and are now down to 41%. Every loss speeds that slide. Speaking of the Italians… Here is a screen shot of what is going on in Italian East Africa. As you can see the Italians are in trouble there. It is only a matter of time before organized resistance crumbles and the Italians take another major NM hit. In the Pacific, the Royal Navy caught an unescorted Japanese transport North West of Guadalcanal and sunk it. Jim is probably a bit surprised to find there is a little more resistance than expected in the islands of the South Pacific. After all… the fighting in the Med has been over for some time. He has got to be wondering where the bulk of the RN is. The Chinese opened up a second major offensive this turn in Central China. Here is the first stage of a direct assault on his line. With the Chinese, I am attempting to take advantage of the distraction caused by the action in the Pacific, the cash drain there due to fighting and also the current advantage the Chinese have in infantry technology. Notice the fortifications Jim built. I am now confident he never had any intention of attacking China in strength and probably lacks the ground power to hold me back in the long run. What seems strange is a lack of invasion forces for Singapore, the DEI, the Philippians and several other islands. Jim seems to have a very large navy and it is possible he over invested in his Navy. If so… I think he might pay a very heavy price for that… the bulk of his navy is across the Pacific at the moment… I counted 15 separate surface combatants and 1 sub in the action that has taken place there. This means there is not a lot of home defense at the moment. The allies might just have the superiority in numbers navy wise south of Japan… I intend to try to take advantage of that… regardless Jim is facing a potential major crisis in China and has to put some serious attention there or he risks losing it all.

Jim surprised me by raiding the west coast with carriers. I suspected it might happen so I moved my carriers months ago to a safe place. Jim has to be wondering where my carriers are? I went after a light carrier off the Hawaiian islands with 2 fighters and a cruiser that had low supply and had no chance to escape. Sadly I only was able to inflict limited damage on the carrier. I launched a major Chinese offensive in Southern China slamming into Japanese lines with fantastic results. Jim’s main body pushed over to Hanoi. I was waiting for that and the opening of the war with the west before I opened my offensive. Here you can see the start of the offensive. Here you can see the offensive in mid swing… destroying a Japanese army and the fortifications with it. The fortifications are interesting because I think they demonstrate no real intent on Jim’s part to press the Chinese. Perhaps that was his strategy all along. If so, I think it might cost him deeply. Notice that the Chinese forces are upgraded to level 2 infantry. Not pressing the Chinese for a long period of time permits significant investments into tech and new units. As a result… Jim suddenly has a crisis on his hands in southern china. In the Atlantic I hammered a number of U-Boats to little effect… poor weather contributed to them slipping away. I was able to use strategic bombers from Africa this turn against an Italian mine… costing the Italians cash and building up experience. The fighting is still going on for Italian East Africa. It is a miserable place to fight. Once Addis Ababa, which is a national morale center, surrenders… I think the Italians are in real trouble. Italian morale was at 42% this turn and dropping fast. Continued casualties, the loss of the bulk of the Italian fleet and the British holding most of the Italian towns and cities in North Africa and Italian East Africa that generate NM are bleeding the Italians rapidly. On the Russian front… the Germans in Northern Russia took a massive hit due to General winter this turn. The Russians launched a major offensive in Southern Russia with limited results. I mauled and pushed back an army and did some damage to other units… however winter is really affecting combat operations. I was able to finish off the German forces in Finland, destroying the remnants of a division. Finland surrendered this turn and gave Russia a nice boost cash and readiness wise. Those forces that were used to subdue Finland have begun moving back toward Leningrad. Operations for the remainder of winter will be limited and it is now time to begin preparing for Spring operations against Germany. Overall I am very pleased with my progress game wise. I think Italy and Germany are in trouble long term. The UK has a very large army… that is now essentially free to operation elsewhere. The US is in the war… Japan… it is harder to read. Jim did not invade the Philippians, the DEI or Singapore and there was no real blitz of the Pacific. Only a few isolated islands were attacked… On one he found a garrison holding the town and was unable to dislodge it, effectively stranding a special forces unit without support. I really do not know what Japan has planned. Will there be an invasion of the west coast? Or is Japan’s offensive in the Pacific simply delayed due to distances? I am unsure. Japan has a large fleet. I have no idea where he is going and where his main focus will be… I do know where the bulk of his fleet is however… which could mean an invasion of the west coast. He can invade and have some initial success… however it will not prove to be the solution to his long-term income problems… especially with the war in China becoming suddenly very hot. He does not know where the US fleet is at… and he’s also lost track of much of the British fleet, including 4 carriers that were in the med… where are they? I wonder…

Turn wise… it was very interesting. I spotted the main body of the IJN via intelligence off of Pearl. They are not where I actually expected them to be… but very interesting. Jim may be attempting a landing on the West coast of the US… which could prove very interesting or he could be just setting up to hit Pearl from an odd direction. Jim’s U-Boats suffered very badly as he learned I had 6 DD’s within reach of where he sunk a DD last turn. I hammered his wolf pack something fierce. As a result I was able to clear the convoy routes once again of German U-Boats. In the last few turns… Jim’s U-Boats have taken a real beating. Tripoli fell this turn. North Africa is mine. Italian morale took a massive hit, which should effect combat capability. In this picture you can see victorious British forces entering the city. Here is a shot of the city falling. Addis Ababa in Italian East Africa will be next. I was able to destroy an Italian garrison and also begin working on Jim’s Special forces unit there. I have a lot of free British units now… where should I send them? In Finland Helsinki was captured though the Finns are soldiering on. Across Russia I launched a number of limited attacks. I did conduct a spoiling attack with armor in the south, mauling a corps and forcing it to retreat from Stalino. Zhukov led that operation. The weather has deteriorated… and it is making operations difficult. I expect that things will become more difficult for Jim in the coming turns. Especially when my winter offensive kicks off. Nothing really to report in Asia. I am very interested to learn what the Japanese are up to.

Only one screen shot this turn. There was heavy fighting in Finland. I destroyed the Finnish HQ, broke the German defensive line... mauling a German corps and nearly managed to take Helsinki. I wanted to cost the Germans cash… and I am doing just that. Finland has become a debacle for the German High Command. Time to evacuate Helsinki I wonder and salvage a bad situation? I wonder... I toyed with the idea of opening a major offensive this turn… but then looked at the date. We are into late November. Winter is coming. I can wait. It snowed across much of the front. In the Atlantic I found 2 more German U-Boats. One is safely resting on the bottom. The other was damaged. In China there was very heavy fighting in the center as the Chinese attacked a Japanese army and drove it back. They also hammered a Japanese division. In North Africa… Tripoli came under heavy aerial bombardment as UK ground forces approached the city. In Italian East Africa commonwealth forces have closed a ring around Addis Ababa… sealing the fate of the Italians holding out there.

I thought I would post a few more screen shots to show you how valuable production tech can be. Here you can see what is left in my build pool… really a whole lot. Notice that all of my fighters are deployed and nearly all of my divisions… aka speed bumps. Those two were destroyed. Notice the cost for a fully upgraded mechanized unit. 250 as opposed to 280… a savings of 30!!! A fully upgraded replacement division costs me 49!!! (This is a division that was shattered in combat.) My savings on the Mechanized unit due to my level 3 production tech is more than half of the value of a replacement division! Note the 33 savings with an armor unit! It cost me 400 in research expenses… but you can see how rapidly Russia can make that money back through cost savings in unit production and replacements. I did not start purchasing units with Russia until I had production 2. Why waste that income? I feel with Russia you usually begin the war at a disadvantage and need to maximize your production so that over time you can be competitive. This is one way to do that. With luck by 42… I will be have a great many more units in the build.

Claus... yes they do get them... and they were able to escape from the front!!!

Germany continues to push into Russia. Jim is currently working his way through my speed bumps. The Russians did manage a few limited counter attacks this turn inflicting some casualties on the advancing Germans. I have been keeping my muscle well out of way as I gather my offensive firepower. I would say we are pretty close to having the first major ground battle of the war in the East in at least 2 places. Stay tuned! In Finland I was able to roll over the surviving Finnish corps on the frontier. My army blitzed inward striking Jim’s Finnish HQ and knocking him down to 1 step before he retreated. Next turn I will begin the assault on Helsinki. It will be interesting to see if Jim manages to bring in reinforcements or really dares. Anything he brings in is likely to be lost. Notice that not all of my units are upgraded! I don't have the cash for that and must be selective in where I spend. I got risky and put a lot into tech, which will be described below. I promised a screen shot of Russian tech and technology purchases. Here it is. Notice my heavy investment in production instead of industrial technology. This means that my units are much less expensive. As the Germans destroy bucket loads of Russian units… it means that I can much easier purchase them back… meaning that my income goes further. Also note my investment in motor, industry and fighter. I made sure I had at least 1 in each. I have a number of fighters deployed and this will help with air defense. Jim has a large air force… between Germany and Italy… and anywhere I can bleed his strength I will. Industry bumps up production… but my motor allows my upgraded armor to launch a surprise attack form out of view. This all combines to help me achieve my goal of inflicting heavy casualties on Jim during the first months of the war in the East. The Germans out number me at the moment, however I feel I have the combat power to hammer him hard and keep him from knocking Russia out of the war early. I don’t have enough for a knockout blow… yet… that will take time and a lot of effort on my part. It will also require help from the western allies. Likely Jim and I will have a couple major engagements before winter sets in… over winter we will rebuild our armies and then go at it again in Spring/Summer 42. That campaign season will probably decide the game, though it will take several years for it all to come to an end. Right now Russia is making in excess of 450 a turn… and my income will continue to increase over the next few turns. I will invest in 1 chit additional tech a turn until I max out, while spending the remainder on replacements and units. No other pictures in Russia as I am maintaining operational security. In the Atlantic I managed to locate and destroy another German sub. In Asia… China went over to the offensive in the center of the country. Jim advanced 2 armies forward with poor supply. I had several units supported by two HQ’s waiting for him to test my defensive line and this was too good an opportunity to ignore. I was able to shatter the damaged army. In the South Jim took Nanning. The Chinese advanced a division in the south and attacked an exposed bomber doing some damage. The US has placed an oil embargo on Japan and any damage I cause him hurts that much more. The Japanese are now advancing on Hanoi. We are into late October and he must be preparing for his attack on Pearl Harbor and his offensive against the Pacific. There was literally no action from the Japanese for over a year… so I am wondering what surprises he has in store for me. Japan can be the game changer. That said… I have managed a few surprises for him that I hope will slow him down.

I have never had a problem researching Infantry 2 and Armor 2 for Germany. Germany begins with plent of units... and I think it is of critical importance to get those 2 techs in place by June 41. I think this is simply a matter of play style.. and I beg to differ on Russia... you need units... units units... and then some just to hold off Germany. Buying tech, which is critical... keeps you from buying the untis you need. I actually got risky in our game because Jim gave France to Italy... I suspected that the German assault would not be as bad as it normally is... so I took a risk and put more into tech than I normally would have. Next turn I will post the Russian tech picture.

In my games I never have a problem researching tech 2 by June 1942. Look at Russian infantry tech. I started with 0. Now I have T2. It is easily attainable.

Jim invaded the USSR and hit me hard on the border as I expected. He is currently working his way through my speed bumps and it’s late September. I felt that I had a bit of time (as in the coming winter) so I prepared operations elsewhere, which I will describe in a moment. I will admit I was surprised that his armor is not upgraded. He probably is going for mass of units as opposed to a mix quantity/quality wise with the intention of upgrading them later. I think this is a risky strategy. I received an interesting decision event… I think many of you have seen this one before. I will let Jim guess which one I went with. Due to the lateness of the invasion… with winter coming on… I invaded Finland to pre-empt the Finnish from entering the war on Jim’s terms. I was successful in knocking out a Finnish corps, securing a town, advancing deep and hammering his HQ… which will translate into lower supply next turn. Note the Soviet armor upgraded to level 2. I think that Finland has now become a crisis for the German high command to worry about. The Soviets also invaded Perisa… knocking out the defending corps and capturing the capitol. I also had a force invade the north of the country to insure it surrendered. The Persians surrendered and the Soviets looted 70+ income. The importance of this invasion is the securing of oil and added revenue for the Soviets as they will begin to lose income as the Germans advance. There was a lot of action at sea… just off of Scotland, where Jim had positioned 4 subs. Nothing was knocked out… but I was able to open the Canadian convoy route again and damage Jim. I had a number of DD’s just out of range. In North Africa… the British continued their advance unopposed. There seem to be no Italians about. In East Africa… British forces assaulted an Italian garrison north of Addis Ababa. Back to Jim.

Jim hammered a division next to Nanning last turn and destroyed it. His casualties were heavy in taking it down, which included air and ground. My goal is to make china as expensive as possible so that it keeps him from building up forces elsewhere that can be used against the Australians and US. I would say that the war in China is about to ramp up which is good. I have made it as difficult as I can for Jim to advance significantly in the south. He will pay for every inch of ground he gains. In the Atlantic I found another U-Boat… thanks to intelligence and hammered it good. He came out with subs on the Canadian convoy route and managed to cut it, meaning he put to sea additional U-Boats. It looks like the war over the Atlantic might heat up again before it cools. Tobruk fell this turn, beginning the fast slide of Italian morale. Tobruk is a national morale objective. Tripoli and Addis Ababa are national morale objectives as well. I am currently closing in on Addis Ababa in Italian East Africa with powerful forces. Jim has an HQ left there with a special forces unit and Garrison. I do not expect them to last much longer. Now that Tobruk is secure I can begin the long advance across North Africa. I do not expect significant resistance… however since Jim handed France over to the Italians I am surprised he is not putting up more of a fight over North Africa. His shifting of forces was more of a feint or bluff than anything else… though in the end it has cost him heavily… 2 armies, 2 corps, 1 fighter and a medium bomber. In this picture Axis soldiers having been captured in Tobruk make the long sad march into captivity. When France surrendered the Japanese got a message that French Indochina is poorly garrisoned… basically inviting the Japanese to invade. I noticed that Jim did not invade. I suspect he was holding out and saving it… to take advantage of the readiness boost from conquering a country… so that he could use that readiness boost for an offensive at a later date… perhaps even his assault on the pacific? I thought to myself… it’s a shame that French Indochina would be used in such a way and also a greater shame that the potential income from that country was being wasted… so well… the Chinese kind of declared war and invaded. These are the Chinese forces that marched from the Nanning front into Hanoi occupying the city. The Chinese were able to loot the city for 40 MPP and likely will be able to use the readiness boost this coming turn. I suspect that Jim will be a little miffed by my blatant action… however should he ever be able to evict the Chinese from Hanoi he will have the satisfaction of knowing that he will have liberated the city and gained himself a valuable ally. Sadly… there will be no readiness boost for him to take advantage of. Crispy to answer your question... I have been able to make significant gains against China... in the south when I commit early. It takes effort and a lot of income but it can be done... and in this game China does not get easily steamrolled. I believe you can take China but it is much easier to manage it by making gains in the south... while putting more resources toward knocking eith Austrailia or India out of the war.

No pictures this turn. Pictures next turn... I am sure. I hammered a Japanese army down to strength 3 and he retreated. Japanese supply is terrible where the action is going on. Jim needs more HQ's there and closer to the front to do some serious damage. I took 2 towns in Italian East Africa in the south and have begun advancing northward. I will also be attacking from another direction shortly so the fall of IEA should speed up. In North Africa... I began pounding Tobruk... knocking the heavily entrenched defender there down to strength 5. In the Atlantic I found another sub and knocked him down pretty good. He will escape but this is the first turn in a long while that German U-Boats and surface raiders have not struck at my convoy lanes. I think this is a good sign that I have done heavy damage to Jim's U-Boat fleet. We are now into July 1941 and no attack on Russia. Russian readiness was at 63%. I am also very curious as to what the Japanese are up to. Virtually... no action from them in China since the beginning of the game... means that Jim has likely been building up a massive fleet and the ground units to take as much territory as possible. Hint... The US to this point has primarily only invested in Technology. As soon as the war in the Pacific begins I will tell you a bit of my strategy. Oh and the US imposed an oil embargo on Japan this turn. Back to Jim.

Turn wise… lots going on behind the scenes. I am not surprised Jim decided to delay his offensive on Russia. I suspect that Germany is hurting income wise… from giving France to Italy. That said… the Axis has a lot of cash. Italy is likely building up fast. So it is likely only a matter of time until he invades with his units upgraded. If he chooses to really delay… Russia will give him that time as she is only at 53%. In North Africa my offensive continued. I decided to bypass Tobruk this turn in favor of finishing off the Italian army and corps. I did not want Jim to get to a position where he could strengthen those units back up. My primary purpose is to defeat his ability to wage an effective war in Africa. You can see by the relative strengths of the town and ports my strategic war combined with holding Malta is making supply in Africa very difficult. I was able to take Benghazi and destroy both army and corps. Next turn I will begin working on Tobruk. We had some action at sea where I was able to damage another U-Boat. Over the last few turns Jim’s U-Boat fleet has taken a bit of a beating. I also hammered a Japanese army… not much else to report at the moment.

That is an interesting idea. I would say that it probably is too later to add such a feature to AoD... but I will add it to the list of features to be considered for SC3.