Desert Dave

... on my way out the door -- too bad there is such a thing as Work -- gets in the way of game playing... luckily we can set up a scenario -- from what I've read so far about the scenario game-tools, anyway, and try out the Leibensraum First! strategy -- it would be ideal to play it against another person, as opposed to AI, though, maybe we shouldn't judge beforehand... maybe that AI will be formidable indeed. I knew that the Russian had great troubles in Finland, but didn't realize it was 10 to 1 in casualties. Also, the Fin was inspired by a charismatic leader, I forget his name? Well, the USA -- what with old Joe Kennedy's influence and the American Bund's agitations, was not all that keen on Russia's potential might either, so perhaps you are right that Britain would not have backed France's play... was the West Wall in place? If so, and if France's attack lacked finesse or even, any mailed-fist urgency, Germany may well have pressed on toward Moscow, and merely played defensively in the West.

If Germany had not attacked in the West -- unlikely, since Poland was the final straw from the French point of view -- and they had the massed army on the Continent, not Britain -- had been able to unleash all those fresh, gung-ho troops at USSR, I expect that they would have defeated them... except, if France had then modernized their ancien doctrine, especially in regard to tanks, which were actually stronger than the early panzers, and wheeled through the Ardennes toward the Ruhr. As far as Finland, Russia was just too hesitant, for whatever reasons -- maybe due to Stalin's senior-officer purge, and could have conquered that country -- therby denying an assault on Leningrad from the North... I hope this will be properly simulated in the SC game.

I would guess that there will be situations when you will not have nearly enough time to do all that will be necessary, and other times when you can just goose the machine to get past those long, long November and December bogs. I wonder if they are going to have special unit modeling, such as mechanized, or mobile artillery? and if we will be able to send envoys to entice a reluctant Franco?

I agree with vonManstein39 -- the goods and material coming across the Atlantic from the USA was Britain's lifeline, a tether that was stretched -- to the snapping point. OK, so we don't have it. Good enough. Here is the problem that I anticipate:( The game might reduce to a mad-bomber type of thing, and why should anyone bother with investing in Capital Ships when Subs are less expensive? Presumably the Brits can order them en masse as well. In the War, I can only recall a few daring U-Boat captains infiltrating Scapa Flow early on. In terms of FUN -- this sounds great, since it would be interesting and harrowing to always worry about Subs suddenly surfacing. Everything depends on the sea-worthiness of the AI and FOW. Also, it depends on the damage that can be afflicted with EACH bombing run -- too much and you will encourage every player to stock up on bombers. Once again, depending on how much those potentially lethal instruments cost.

In those old WW2 flicks, you would always see the Russian rockets being fired from the back of trucks -- this is not a rocket detachment, this is no more damaging than heavy artillery. Which do we have here? V-2s or truck rockets, or both? Far more important is my question about the battle of the North Atlantic -- if Britain cannot be harmed or harassed by Subs, how do you wage effective strategic warfare? The Allies have their funds for bombers, which by the way were only marginally effective, but what does the Axis have? If this is embedded within the game, ie, Britain receives fewer than usual MPPs, then how do they gain MPPs later, since they are very limited as to which factories or cities they can capture?

Let me join the chorus -- it's about time we get a grand strategy game of WW2, and much thanks to Battlefront for providing it. A few questions: 1) For operational movement, can you transport ANY unit-type across water, say from Liverpool to Alexandria, and is this long distance included in the basic MPP cost? 2) Do submarines NOT target Britain's industrial output or ability to wage war? 3) Why can any country get rockets, when only Germany developed them, or are they considered to be heavy artillery? 4) What if you wish a small air fleet in Bergen, say size 3 -- do you have to wait until another fleet is reduced, or can you order it that small to begin with? 5) Is there a penalty attached to blitz attack, so that moving first is not as powerful an attack as standing still?