Avoiding War

[geofighter]

Hello,

Thanks to everyone who replied to my thread regarding North Africa. Your comments were helpful. I decided to let the Italians "hold the fort" but only one has succeeded in resisting the British.

I have some frustration (hey, but overcoming obsticles is what makes a game fun, right.) with the war entry rules. I'm playing the Axis in the 1939 World at War campaign. The Germans took out France, Denmark, Norway, Yugoslavia, and Greece rather nicely. However, the Russian's decided to jump into it. I find this frustrating because I haven't been aggressive towards the Soviet union. Yet each turn I see their belligerance on the war map rise a little more with each turn.

I question this. The Soviet Union was not ready for war in 1941 nor do I think they were expecting it, historically. Likewise, America isn't in the war yet but we were pretty isolationist until attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. Basically, I don't think the Soviets or the US would jump into the war unprovoked. Is there a way of controlling the belligerance of the US and Soviet Union? If the Axis pours money at them through deplomacy can that reduce their chances of jumping into the war?

Your thoughts and many thanks. Telling my friends and hope they buy the game.

Cheers,

Geofighter:)

[crispy131313]

I think attacking Yugoslavia is a big no-no when it comes to Russian activation, unless you are prepared to invade just afterwards of course. Garrisons in Poland are also important.

[Hubert Cater]

Yugoslavia as well as taking Gibraltar and the Middle East all come to mind in terms of ramping up US and USSR anticipation for war. This is simply modeled in to reflect the situation on the ground and how other majors may suddenly take more interest in Axis (in this case German aggression).

That and what Crispy mentions about the Garrisons in Poland are quite important and there should be a few popups in game reminding the German player to keep these areas fortified with troops.

Hope this helps and I'm glad you are enjoying the game

Hubert

[geofighter]

Can I still buy off their belligerance through diplomacy. If Germany spends a 100 MPPs on Russia can it decrease their chances in addition to what was already mentioned?

[Gypsy]

There's a couple of scripted decision that Germany can avoid to not bring the US into the war.

1st of all you can avoid taking the gold and ships from Fort-de-France. If you do take this option then leave Fort-de-France immediately.

2nd you can not help Peru out with subsidies and turn them Axis.

3rd (I'm not 100% sure about this one) garrisoning Iceland may incite the US some too.

Also, don't violate the line that the US declares off-limits in the Atlantic. This line appears as a bunch of white ships with US flags in them.

I wouldn't spend any money on diplomacy with the US or USSR as it won't buy you too much extra time. That money is better spent gearing up to fight the Allies.

[Gypsy]

Can I still buy off their belligerance through diplomacy. If Germany spends a 100 MPPs on Russia can it decrease their chances in addition to what was already mentioned?

Buying one chit of diplomacy for the USSR as Germany won't help you much in the long run.

It only represents a 5% chance each turn of potentially swinging them Axis a small percentage.

The largest swing I've ever seen in percentage was from Sweden to Axis by 39% (If I recall correctly).

However, usually these swings are small and incremental around like 10%.

I think that the swing also has something to do with the country you're trying to swing. Countries like Sweden, Spain, Finland, and the Vichy countries are already leaning Axis so I think that they're program to respond more enthusiastically to Axis diplomacy.

I doubt that the USSR would have a massive swing. It would take you a lot of chits to slow the USSR down and a lot of resources. In my opinion better spent fighting the USSR.

[Hubert Cater]

Yes but only so long as Germany gets a diplomatic hit in their favour regarding the USSR. Essentially though in the long run Gypsy is correct, it may not help much at all in terms of the big picture.

[geofighter]

So let me ask another question about the Diplomacy Interface. I know it's where I can by "chits" to influence a country but what does the little military symbol mean next to a country? (i.e. Spain has an Iron Cross next to it). Does it just mean it leans towards Germany? I say this because I notice that even though there is an Iron Cross next to Spain, Spain is not an active minor ally of Germany. Just need clarification.

Cheers,

Geofighter

[Bill101]

The Iron Cross denotes that its leaning is towards the Axis, even though it remains neutral. This is really a guide to choosing where to invest, because a country with the right leaning and a high percentage has a good chance of joining your cause with just one or two diplomatic successes.

[geofighter]

Thank you Bill!