Archibald

6 Sep 42 - He pulls back to a line just to the west of the Norwegian-Swedish border. He's left a corps isolated in the montains in the west to sell his life dearly. Now for my big air offensive. He has Pavlov's HQ to the south west of Stockholm, and in range of all six of my air fleets. He counter attacks three times with his L2 fleets (work that advantage!), but Pavlov is destroyed. This puts half his units in Sweden out of command. His isolated corps is knocked down to two. Everywhere else is quiet, although my boffins are still producing the goods. The Fuhrer presents Von Braun with his own armour plated Mercedes in grateful recognition. [ January 15, 2003, 01:47 AM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

23 Aug 42 - Quieter in Norway, although he knocked out my Bergen corps near to Oslo. I build up my air power this turn. I note from the report screen that his air force is now at parity with mine in numbers, although I can only see two of them. I wonder if he's going to try for Iraq again? Everywhere else is quiet. Germany now at Ind Tech L2.

9 Aug 42 - He knocks the corps in Oslo down to nine and sends his armour group out to hit my previously retreated army, which is knocked down to two. I concentrate on his tank group and kill it. I continue to harry his trrops round Oslo from the air and am intercepted both times. He's still at L2, but he's obviously reinforced them. I was wrong in Iraq, as he's moved armour into the border. My Italian corps attacks, but takes slightly more damage than he inflicts. Techie bonanza - I get three technical advances this turn. Crikey! Nothing doing in the east.

26 Jul 42 - He attacks the army in Oslo again, and this time knocks it down to four. I get the army out and bring in a fresh corps via the port. As expected, Norway is turning into a major front. My air is wearing him down. Greece falls. I let the Italians have it, as I want to start pumping up their tech. He's pulled back from the Iraqi border. I decline following him, as it'll affect my supply and give him a two hex frontage on which to attack rather than the current one. Stillstand im Ostfront. My boffins have come up with L1 long range aircraft. All part of my great plan...

12 Jul 42 - He attacks Oslo again, but this time only knocks it down to five. I operate an army in from Bergen and harry his attacking units with my air. I also hit at a corps advancing towards Bergen. Either he starts using his air soon, or his offensive in Norway will fail. I declare war on the Greeks - I'm running out of minors. An Italo-German combined ground and amphibious attack on Greece knocks Athens down to two and takes a Greek army down to three. They'll fall next turn. Another border incident with Iraq. All quiet on the Ostfront. [ January 15, 2003, 12:19 AM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

Damn this new fangled Internet nonsense. Could you post your autosave?

14 Jun 42 - He attacked Norway again, destroying the unit in Oslo. No one left to move in and exploit, or is this part of a deep and subtle plan? I operate a fresh German unit in from Bergen and knock one of his infantry armies attacking Bergen down six. I'm still not confident they'll hold though. Dublin finally falls - Guiness Brewery razed to the ground as a punishment to the Irish for their stubborn resistance. Minor skirmishes on the Iraqi-Soviet frontier. All quiet on the Ostfront. No sign of his air. He's either a) planning something vile, waiting for his tech to improve, c) rebuilding them, or more likely d) all three. Germany maxed out on research. Now to concentrate on building that unstoppable military machine.

Shall we continue our deadly gavotte? Give me an IP for your autosave and I'll be there. [ January 14, 2003, 08:10 PM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

Heuristic's signed up as well. I'd like to sign up too. Could I start at the top so I can sky rocket to the bottom?

I usually try to "Copenhagen" the Regia Marina with an Anglo-French fleet as soon as they enter the war. With them knocked down I leave two surface fleets around Suez to forestall Axis transports around the Nile Delta. The carrier gets sent home to the UK. If I'm having a hard time of it, I won't leave a fleet in Gibraltar. if the Italians have been kicked hard enough they'll have trouble breaking through Gib even without a fleet in position. There's a temptation to use fleets in the defence of France, as they can perform a useful harrying function on the German right flank. Defending France is a fine art; a full blooded Franco-British defence can make life hell for the Germans (I have the scars from Rambo to prove it), but delayng the fall of France a few turns might leave Britain so fatally weakened that she can't stop an invasion. Usually I'll leave three or four fleets in and around Liverpool, with the same number in and around the Firth of Forth. Keep them close to the ports, as your supply will suffer otherwise. Use the French fleet to destruction. Use them as your spearhead against the Regia Marina and the Kriegsmarine. British fleets should be used for polishing off the enemy and gaining easy experience. It was about six or seven turns after, as I'd harried the invasion ports down to 0 and he had to redeploy the Luftwaffe and win air superiority over the Channel by forcing me to withdraw. If you don't knock those ports down, you can expect the Jerries at your door no more than three turns after France falls. Absolutely nothing. I personally believe in either giving France all you've got or just letting them stew in their own gallic juices. I left the corps in Canada. Don't put anything else there. It's usually not worth the Axis launching an unsuccessful invasion or a spoiling raid, as it makes the Americans go ape. The corps in Cairo and the French Syrian corps around Suez, which goes Free French if it's on British territory when France falls. If I can spare it, I'll send a corps round Suez to sit west of Cairo. This stops Cairo being surrounded on both sides and allows it to reinforce to eight per turn. Very little. At the most a point or two on jet aircraft. Once you're sure that Germany's looking elsewhere, you can begin pumping up the research.

Practice long and hard. Playing Rambo is like trying to stuff a wildcat into a shoebox.

I want to play. We have unfinished business. : ) [ January 14, 2003, 03:16 PM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

I've tried many of the beautiful icons that have been modded for the game, but in the end I've come back to using Hubert's originals. They give a great deal of information at a glance and work very well indeed.

Here's how it worked. An HQ without a supply source is at supply level 5. My panzergruppe was immediately adjacent to him. Unit supply = HQ supply - distance from HQ. Accordingly, at one hex from the HQ at supply level 5, my panzergruppe was at supply level 4. Normally tanks have 5 action points, but being at supply level 4 meant I had only 4 action points. It was just enough, as I moved through the mountain hex in Central Wales (2 AP), the clear hex in North Wales (1 AP), and into Manchester (1 AP). Despite having to move through an enemy ZOC, it didn't affect my movement. I know that if I move through contiguous ZOCs it costs me an extra AP. I did however move a corps into North Wales to scout Manchester. This meant my panzergruppe making a passage of lines through my friendly corps en route to Manchester. Perhaps this negated the enemy ZOC. The manual makes no mention of ZOCs and how their existence affects movement. Perhaps Hubert could make an amendment to the User Manual Update? Finally, as for bumping my HQ back up to eight, that was possible because I only did it once I'd taken Manchester. With a level 5 supply source, my HQ could reinforce to eight rather than five. [ January 14, 2003, 05:29 PM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

Maybe not, but Marty Zeilke will!

It's a frantic experience playing Rambo and writing AARs at the same time. He's a formidable opponent and doesn't dally with his moves. I write each turn's AAR when he's moving and don't usually get that long before he's ready. As a result, it's a constant cycle of plan-execute-report with no time to draw breath. Generally I like to sit back and ponder my strategy while the other player's moving. I'm not getting that chance in this game. It's a good point about saving screen shots and posting them. It would certainly have made my armoured master stroke on Manchester easier to understand. To be honest, I didn't think this AAR would generate as much interest as it has.

You don't get plunder for liberating countries that were originally conquered by your opponents. It is a serious flaw in the game however that the US or Soviets can't get MMPs for liberated minor allies once Britain's out of the war. Ironically, Rambo would have been better served by destroying the Italian unit in Ottawa and not occupying the city. He would have got 20 MMP a turn for the remaining Canadian resources. Additionally, Ottawa would have provided excellent target practice for building up the experience of the USAAF. Taking Ottawa and liberating Canada deprived him of this. Another problem with the minor allies after Britain falls is that once attacked they can't be reinforced. This has allowed me to attrite Vichy and the Portugese (but not the bloody Irish ) down to defeat with little effort. It's a shame there won't be a 1.07, as this is a problem which needs to be addressed.

I tried several times, but got "Connection Refused". It's late where you are anyway (I got up mega early here in Scotland). See you and your autosave tomorrow.

31 May 42 - He's invaded Norway. Interesting to note that he didn't use his air. Did I hurt him, or has he something else in mind? He all but surrounds Oslo, but doesn't take it. I carry out the contingency plan I had for a Norwegian invasion. These include the corps in Bergen operating adjacent to the reinforced garrison in Oslo. I doubt they'll hold, but if they do it'll mean I can reinforce Oslo to eight rather than to five. I am getting seriously annoyed with the "Irish Problem". The impudent swines have the temerity to knock a point off the attacking air fleet. They're slowly getting ground down though. On other fronts, I take Portugal and Iraq with the Spanish. He's pulled back his HQ from the Iraqi frontier. This is a huge shot in the arm for the German economy, which ends the turn at 1321 MMPs. Still throwing money at research. More good news from my scientists, but I'm not saying what yet. [ January 14, 2003, 11:33 AM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

Lost the connection - could you repost your autosave?

17 May 42 - It's long term economic warfare now. The Irish are putting up a surprisingly stiff fight. An air fleet pounds Dublin and reduces it to four, but the corps ashore in Eire makes no impact. Doubtless he's running out of supply. In Portugal, the corps in Lisbon is reduced to three. I declare war in Iraq. It's an Italo-German-Spanish combined offensive from Syria. An Italian corps drives towards the Iraqi-Soviet border and runs into a Soviet armoured unit in the mountain hex backed by an HQ. It looks like I just beat the Soviets to the punch. Two Italian armies, a Spanish corps and three German air fleets batter the Iraqis down to one. The Italians however have taken the oil resources, and with the border blocked I should hold the Soviets the one turn longer I need to take Iraq. All quiet on the Ostfront. We spat again in the air over Riga. On the boffin front, my lab rats have advised my that my planes will go faster if I paint them red and put a stripe on the side. I take the advice and I'm now at L3 aircraft. Pouring all that booty into research is paying off. Whoever wins air supremacy will probably win the game. [ January 14, 2003, 02:15 AM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

My apologies, I should have checked back sooner. I'm at 62.31.68.98

Rambo, I'm back from the land of Nod after recovering from last night's marathon. It's about 0515 here, but if you're still available I'll play some more.

19 Apr 42 - The Swedes finally fall after surviving unaided for three turns. In Ireland he counter attacked me and drove my corps down to seven. I counter counter attack and drive him down to six. Eat that bog-trotter! I declare war on Portugal and surround Lisbon with three Spanish corps and a German corps. They inflict the grand total of one point of damage. He jumps on my army near Riga and kills it. I do the sensible thing and run back for the German border. The Russian front presents a very weird site at the moment, with a hundred kilometres of no mans land between the two armies. The Yanks are quiet for now. They're probably beavering away at research and building aircraft carriers. We've called it a day there for now. It's four am in Idaho and ten am here in Edinburgh. Rambo's got work in five hours and I'm dead on my feet. Thank goodness I'm my own boss - I'm taking the day off. [ January 14, 2003, 03:19 AM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

Somehow the Swedes are still fighting. We have a minor disagreement in the air over Riga. I must be hurting him. All quiet on the Ostfront otherwise. Because I can, I declare war on Eire and land a corps. the Reich's potato supply must be ensured!!!