SeaMonkey

This of course makes sense(avoid jets catch up for Germany), but I always get one chit in UK jets ASAP to help France live. It can be very crucial for intercepts if you happen to get a lucky advance, makes Germany pay for using her air. Later that one level advantage carries the day in Brittany, Norway, Mideast/Africa. Then you keep Germany behind, go for AA and LR,GR, and perhaps AT, the idea is to keep the tech initiative, build air/carrier experience. If your tech advantage evaporates, well "Tuck your head between your legs" and kiss............replan.

Sombra, If you truly want to save France or seriously delay Axis, ultimately winning the original "Fall Weiss" campaign(no bid) which is the epitome of SC accomplishment IMO, get UK Jets 1 or 2 before Paris falls and see what happens. It has happened. See... Kurt knows the scheme.

You're right R45, it is about MPPs, but there is more than one way to skin a cat. Look at the total asset value of the French at game start, focus it on one idea, let the UK fill the other.

Here's the deal. If your playing a good SC player and playing Fall Weiss(original version), you cannot hold France. However you can delay and that's the key.....delay so UK can get jets and LR first. Now if you want to have a chance as Allies, make no mistake, its about Jets and LR so you need to get tech invested early. Where do you get that tech MPPs from? Anywhere you can and that means LC gambit. So who's going to get the plunder? NO!!!! not the ghostbusters(french) .. UK. But,...a good SC player won't let you get LC on turn 2. [ July 18, 2004, 10:42 AM: Message edited by: SeaMonkey ]

"Life is fun.....Live it!" Exactly what i'm doing....wargaming(SC ain't the only one) is just one sliver of the "life" pie. So many other things are enjoyable and so little time. Its all about a ponderous balancing of priorities. But I must say Tony...you have executed the prime objective..."Life is fun.....Live it!"

Waltero,....a word of advice....be a little more selective who you pick for an opponent(s).

Yap! Yap!, Flap! Flap!, Tony......probably you'd beat me...NOT!!! Seriously, I just don't have the time. I've got one PBEM going now and I may get around to a turn a week......now think about it.... this PBEM is lasting as long as the real WW2. My last loss (I don't surrender) took over a year....just ask Oak. When I kick ass or get kicked, it hurts for a long time.

I'm trying Kuni, but sometimes I could use a little help, especially with the historical recollections....are you listening JJ? JJ, I've got to chastise you a bit....I mean you are the "Forum Historian" and I sure could use a little reinforcement or correction...for the sake of historical accuracy, you are the final word. As far as the "Ronald Reagan Tribute" what a great exchange of ideas ...philosophy...see it takes all perspectives to keep us honest and enlightened, that's why we're such a successful species....not that we couldn't improve. I visit a lot of forums, and as far as a "sanctioned" gamesite forum....SC is the best of the best...kudos to you guys for making it so.

'Bout Time' Kuni, I've been trying to keep these new guys in line since the disappearance of the "Old Guard". Although there is a lot of rehash on the floor, some of it has stimulated some refined ideas (see Newbies are good for something). And I have to admit, I've scraped up some floor scraps from time to time that were...how do I say it.....rather "tasty". Still these N Bs do tend to get a little carried away with features that would bring SC2 to the brink.....dare I say it...of MICROMANAGEMENT. :confused: But for the most part they're civil and deserve our respect, now if they'll just learn to play the game. OK NooBees (crack whip!)...."Back in Line".

Bruce70, I like that idea...."Put two units side by side in one hex/tile". That creates all sorts of combined arms bonus possibilities.....and isn't that what "Blitzkrieg" was all about?

Only thing is R45, there may be specific requirements before your allowed to upgrade or reinforce and are you sure you would want to upgrade or reinforce those type units all over the map? I kind of like to use my low strength units for garrisoning/partisan suppression duties until I get enough MPPs to bring them back into the fray.

He still ...."won't get it"! Where do you think the word "Blockhead" came from? Look in the dictionary under "Blockhead" and you will see Sodak's picture as the definition, no need for words, a picture is worth a thousand ....."Blockheads".

Bill, have you got any hair left to pull out.....myself.....damn little Retributar.....its the "N" key. Before I ever select the "turn finish" I always cycle through all my units using the "N" key to see which ones haven't acted. The units will be cycled through top to bottom, left to right, no need to ever forget moving a unit. The "N" key which is inbetween the "B" key and the "M" key on my keyboard sure saves me a lot of heartache over not commiting a unit's action points for that turn. Did I happen to mention that the "N" key will help you cycle through all your unmoved units quickly and precisely?

"Thats simple politics." Finally, something intelligent. Exactly Sodak, Germany being an historical military power, in the recent few decades, developed a superior military system due to their military ideology of their political system. This is not about Supermen or genetics, its about training, that's why I'm a better chemist than you.

Welcome Joseph, This shouldn't be to difficult and why wait for SC2, open up SC1 editor and have at it, reduce forces accordingly and imagine 9-1-39 is 38. I'm sure there are a few references for an OOB, I'll look and see if I have some, if I ever get away from work.

No German stargazers here, but that is an interesting perspective, let's look back at the Earth from the stars' position. A small country on the European continent, without a lot of natural resources or a large population, needs the combined strength of the most powerful, populated, abundant natural resource nations of the Earth to bring about her demise and collectively it took them approx. 5 years, ok 4/US 3. And that after they had done it once before, 20 years earlier. Naahhh,... your right Sodak..."Don't mean nothin"

A most beautiful rendition Edwin, my congratulations, and here's hoping (raising beer bottle in salute) that SC2 has at least 75% of your outlined features. Or maybe we should have a decision algorithm that allows a variable percent feature list depending on what continental plate you are on.

Don't tell me Sodak, tell Trevor N. Dupuy, author of "The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History" and David L. Bongard with Richard C. Anderson Jr. who have studied and read books, coauthored books on military affairs collectively for the past 74 years. How old are you? Graduate of US Military Academy at WP, veteran of the Burma campaign in WW2, former professor of military science at Harvard and former director of the military history program at Ohio State. Where did you say you graduated from and what were your credentials? Shall I go on. OK, Bongard is a graduate of Ohio Univ. and has a M.A. from Univ. of Maryland and Anderson is a military analyst and a graduate of George Mason Univ, where he majored in history. Now that we have that straightened out, the concluding statement from the aforementioned gentlemen goes like this (after assessing multi encounters from the Battle of the Bulge): "man for man the typical German soldier was not smarter, braver, or more highly motivated than was the American soldier. But their leaders were, for the most part, more professional." I might add the reason they were more professional is they were born from a superior military system.

Ah yes Styx, believe my fav. album was Crystal Ball IIRC, still got it on vinyl somewhere.

R45, would be glad to distribute it to anyone interested, but I must clarify that this campaign only has Raeder's "Operation Sphinx" as a part of an overall modification of the Kriegsmarine's "Z-Plan" into a "World Fleet" (Welflotte). Hence it doesn't start until Feb 44(peace was made after Weiss), and begins with a massive naval battle in the Atlantic with the UK and USA. 1rst phase of Sphinx is to capture Gibraltar (Spain is Axis) so the Welflotte can retreat to the Med(join Italy) and begin phase 2(Suez) and 3(Iraq-Mideast Oil). Operation "Compass" has be initiated by UK's Wavell in Mideast(as a counter) and Turkey has joined Axis. USSR is random but will join very quickly at this late date, so Axis are under the gun to conquer LC and France expeditiously (Poland has already been conquered). So it is played best from the Axis side if you do solitaire. When SC2 comes out, I will do an enlargement (the whole map) to cover a Med scenario based on Op Sphinx without Welflotte. Be glad to post it, but where?

R45, you are dead right, and I have the books and the numbers right in front of me (Germany's oil shortage). To summarize, Germany was deficient in oil production from 1937 on and that includes Austria and Czechoslovakia. By 1939 German oil production was (000 Metric tons): Home crude = 888 Home synthetic = 2200 Imports = 5165 Total = 8353 Conclusion: not near enough to prosecute a war for any length of time. Hitler knew it and that was one of the primary reasons he decided to go conquer the resources Germany would need to fulfill his grand illusion.

Just sighting a reference of information, a small piece to a big puzzle, not concluding it is the end all of "the truth". Your opinion is respected for whatever its worth, just remember that opinions change as perspectives widen and knowledge brings wisdom.

What a monumental mistake, Hitler's DoW of the USA on Dec. 10, 1941. As bad as the Japanese decision to attack PH. By the way Lars, Stalingrad was the winter of 42-43, I believe Paulus surrendered the 6th Army in Feb 43, going by my not to great memory, small point. Yeah, the USA has been underestimated many times in the past, but Hitler's conclusion that the softy Americans were not up to the fight has to go down in history as one of the biggest diplomatic blunders of all time. Funny how history repeats itself for the folks that don't heed the lessons of the past.

SoDak, have you ever read "Hitler's Last Gamble"? If not, perhaps you should find a copy at half-price books or something. In the back of the book with the bibliography there is an interesting evaluation of a number of things related to WW2, among them a detailed conclusion of ratings for the combat soldiers of all major participating countries.

Retributar, I'm at work currently and the campaign is on my HD at home. Send your email address to bradtap@aol.com and I will send you the campaign. It is meant to be HtoH and may still need some fine tuning, so suggestions are welcome.