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I suppose you can just ignore Italy altogether. It won't make a big difference either way. But Italy gives your air force a chance to earn safe experience. After Italy, I usually move my air back to the Russian front where they can do some intercepts and then act as spotting units. I generally don't build the Luftwaffe back up until I go on the offensive in Russia. Taking Italy will allow you to create an Italian corps every 2 turns or so. Although these units have little combat value, they are good for mop up duty and fighting partisans. By the end of the war Italy can actually field an HQ, some armies, and even an air force ... albeit with minimal experience and zero tech.

I've tried this scenario many times against the AI since it's the only one I can't win. This is what I do. -Operate units from the Russian front line closer to Germany. Try to form a solid line near the Polish/Russian border and on down into Rumania. Must protect the oil fields. -Operate some units from the eastern front to the western front. Keep them south of Paris so the obscene Allied air force can't pound them. -Move all air to the Italian theatre. Can take Rome in 3 turns, but risky to move down the Italian boot. Once you smash the Allies in Italy, the AI pretty much gives up on it. -Play defensive in Russia till the AI blunts its attack on your front. Keep armor in reserve to plug holes. -Play defensive in France as well, but it's ok to sacrifice a corps to completely eliminate a piece. Keep in mind that any piece north or Paris will get bombed to death in one turn so only move your units up when you see an opportunity. It's not hard to hold France. The problem is I run out of time before I can conquer Russia. The closest I've gotten is to the gates of Moscow, but they just move the capital. Sea Lion or Invasion USA is a pipe dream. If anyone has won this scenario, on any setting, I'm all ears.

If you're a fairly advanced player, try a 1.06 game as the Allies. Give the Axis Expert AI and +2 experience and you'll likely get a game that plays similar to how WW2 actually went. Germany is so powerful in the beginning she is able to take out Spain, Portugal, and her own satellite nations in the Balkans. By mid-1943 Germany will have something like 6 panzer armies and 8 air fleets. Britain can do basically nothing in the early game except hang on and invest tech. The RAF will get slaughtered against the experienced Germans so the Battle of Britain is actually a battle between the Luftwaffe and British air defense installations. France falls by June 1940 as usual, sometimes as early as March. Russia enters the war right around June 1941 primarily because Germany has run out of countries to fight. At the beginning the Russian army gets spanked so badly it winds up near Moscow around late 1942 ... just when the Siberian Army shows up to turn the tide. America enters the war about the same time as Russia due to all the German aggression. By 1943 America and Britain have sufficient force to invade the mainland. This causes Germany to pull back 40% of her forces in the eastern front. With high tech jets and industrial capacity, the RAF (including carriers) is able to hold their own against the Luftwaffe. American armies and Shermans fighting alongside Free French forces eventually drive the Wermacht back. 1943 is the year of decision. If the Allied player waits any longer, Russia cannot hold out. Allied troops lack experience, but make up for it with technological advances and a greater economic base. German reinforcements simply cost too much for her fragile industrial base (400 MPPs per turn) to keep pumping out. Slowly the Russian army is able to beat back the poorly supplied German army on the eastern front. In the west, once air superiority is established, it is only a matter of time before the Allies take Paris and march to the Rhine. If the Allies own Paris, and the Russians still hold Stalingrad and Moscow, the outcome is pretty much decided ... just like it happened historically. The main differences are that Germany conquers everything from Spain to Bulgaria, and Italy will likely go after Greece as well. The Germans are extremely unlikely to get to Moscow by December 1941. D-Day will likely be required in 1943 to save the Russians. There is no Allied strategic bombing offensive; the Luftwaffe is too powerful until Britain has sufficient jet power. Sicily, Italy, and basically the entire Mediterranean is not a factor as Britain simply cannot afford to send troops and HQs down there against the experienced Italian navy. For some reason the Italians don't take advantage of this. Try it. It kicked my ass the first time. I suggest being very patient with building up America and Britain before D-Day. Also, use a mobile defense in Russia. In my second game, Berlin fell in early 1945 to the Soviet juggernaut, while the Brits and Americans wound up in Rome by late 1945.

Ah Ok thanks. But why not warships? Are they too big to fit through the canal? This would be an excellent way for the Allies to shore up their Mediterranean fleet in anticipation of an Axis invasion of Egypt.

Using the original 1.06 patch, I have a French battleship that will not loop around Africa. It just sits there on the red arrow. Been there since 1941 (it's 1944 now). France fell in 1940 and this battleship was the only naval vessel that joined Britain. It has zero supply though ... perhaps that is why it won't make the trip to the Suez. Or maybe it's a bug.

Oh the Germans are going to punch holes in your line no matter what you do. But you should have enough cash to form a double line of defense in critical areas so the Panzers can't break through entirely. This is most easily accomplished around the city hexes where you can deploy new units immediately. There's no need to double garrison areas like the marsh and behind river hexes. Also, keep your precious tanks away from the front line. Use them to hit the German units that manage to break through. Only use them on defense if you absolutely need to plug a hole, and never move them forward on their own. Also, pull your three air fleets back (they are just fodder for the Luftwaffe) and use them to hit Finland for easy experience. Then when those Panzers with 3 and 4 bars of experience punch through, you can soften them up with a semi-capable air force before sending in the ground forces. The German player will only have a few battle-hardened Panzers so if you get a chance to destroy one ... go all out. Because of the experience disparity, it's probably best not to attack with units in key defensive positions. It's cheaper to reinforce than to buy an entirely new unit so you want important defensive units at max strength at the end of your turn. If you are still gaining 400+ MPPs by 1943, you should be in good shape to take the initiative. The trick is to only build defensive units - corps and armies - for the first year or so. Outproducing the Germans by 100 MPPs per turn doesn't seem like much at first, but after a year (33 turns?) it really adds up.

You can build 4 corps a turn with 480 MPPs and Industrial Tech 2, and still have some left over to repair units with. If you can form a straight line of defense with no salients, then the Germans can only hit each piece with a max of 2 land units. Also, use the marsh, forest, and any river hexes to your advantage and the German offensive will eventually run out of steam. Remember you get 480 a turn, he gets 350 or so. This is basically what the Russians did in 1942. Throw masses of men against superior German infantry and armor to wear them down. You will likely lose 50 or more units playing the Russians, but you can afford these losses. Go out of your way to destroy any German unit you can, even at the expense of a few Russian units and you'll see just how fragile the German economy is if they can't get to Moscow in 1942. With this strategy you really don't need HQs till later when you gain the initiative. Just build corps and a few armies in the cities. It's possible to stop the AI on Expert +2 from capturing the first line of cities if you're good at this strat. You don't even need the Siberian army to win.

I'm attempting to relate SC's research levels to actual real-life units that were developed during WW2. Where would you place these and perhaps other units? Tanks Level 1: German Panzer 4, US Grant Level 2: British Churchill, US Sherman, USSR T-34 Level 3: German Tank Destroyers with 88mm, USSR KV-2 Level 4: German Panthers, USSR IS-2, US Pershing Level 5: German King Tigers Infantry (based upon logistics, mobility, artillery support, and sheer manpower available) Level 1: France, Italy Level 2: Level 3: Britain Level 4: Germany, USSR Level 5: USA Fighters Level 1: British Hurricane, US P-40, USSR Yak-9, Italy MC-200, French D-520 Level 2: German Me-109, US P-47, USSR La-7 Level 3: German FW-190, US P-38, British Spitfire Level 4: US P-51D Level 5: German Me-262 Strategic bombers Level 1: USSR Pe-2, US B-24, British Blenheim Level 2: US B-17 FF, British Lancaster Level 3: Level 4: US B-29 SF Level 5: Battleships Level 1: US Tennessee class, British Nelson class, Italian and French ships Level 2: British King George V class Level 3: German Bismarck class Level 4: US Iowa class Level 5: Japanese Yamato class Aircraft Carriers Level 1: US and British CVEs, German Graf Zeppelin Level 2: British CVs Level 3: US CVs Level 4: Level 5: Submarines: Level 1: France, Italy, USSR Level 2: Britain Level 3: USA Level 4: Germany Level 5: Granted there are many variations of each unit, but in genereal, where would the entire class fit into the research ladder? The idea is to provide a limit to the number of research levels each country could attain according to what they really accomplished during the war. For example, only Germany and the US would be able to research level 4+ planes since, well, they were historically the only countries that developed such technologically advanced planes. It's an option I've been kicking around to keep research from being too decisive a factor while maintaining historical accuracy. Your input would be appreciated.

I read a review of the game that alluded to a 50-page pdf manual that should have come with the game. I was unable to find it on the Strategic Command CD. Is it buried in a subdirectory somewhere or perhaps available on-line as a download? I've been using the FAQ as a play guide but it doesn't explain much about the game. Surely there must be something better.

I read a review of the game that alluded to a 50-page pdf manual that should have come with the game. I was unable to find it on the Strategic Command CD. Is it buried in a subdirectory somewhere or perhaps available on-line as a download? I've been using the FAQ as a play guide but it doesn't explain much about the game. Surely there must be something better.