Friendly Fire

Vancouver here... I bought SC online and it arrived without any customs issue. (Ditto for the Combat Mission series games that I never play because of SC) There are a fair number of Canadian SC players, the market is not untapped I assure you. If you want SC, just order it!

August 22, 1943. The second offensive towards Kharkov has begin. Over the past few months Germany has been building up a large air force in the region. No less than six air fleets participate in the offensive led by Weiss. One armor divison and one army division are lost, but not without extracting a toll on the enemy. A counterattack ordered by claims an axis armor division and a couple of corps units. Some valuable ground is regained. The USA now occupies Bergen. Not wanting to be left out of the war, the UK assaults the Tobruk garrison, killing it but not yet occupying the city. The Victorious raids the Norwegian mine. Jet tech race: UK 4, USA 3?, Germany 4. Germany has LR tech also. No significant developments in ground tech. probably Allies outproduce Axis, haven't counted it up tho. Axis have some highly experienced units, and probably the HQs are pretty damn good now.

Games with Turkey involved are fun! Kurt and I are playing a game with Turkey Allied... Italy still in the war of course. It is pretty interesting. A multinational force (UK, US, USSR) is pushing up the Balkans and the UK has a strong naval force in the Med including 2 carriers. Lots of air on the map... FF

Not much news, minor skirmishes along the front lines in the East. Allies occupy Dublin and harass Bergen... has the other semi-final started?

Iraq falls to UK and Soviet forces (occupied by UK). One mine falls into Soviet hands. Axis air raid on soviet HQ stationed in Kharkov. Some fighting along the front lines in the east, but mostly both sides are preparing for the huge battle ahead. USA air force takes out it's frustration on Dublin corps. Dublin wiped out but not occupied. UK carrier raids Tobruk, Italian air raids Malta port.

Shaka, I don't see that this is the case. I specified that there would be a maximum drain on MPP, so it would be possible to damage, but not eliminate the ability of the USA to fight the war. The argument that you need to include the Pacific war into the equation doesn't seem true to me, because after all, if D-day is going poorly, you don't have the option in the game to seek extra resources from the other USA front. Why would it be different here? If Germany had the ability to hurt the USA economy (and it did), then shouldn't this be part of the game?

I don't see why it this is the case. It can be done in a very simple way. Right now, 180 MPP of the USA is free for use in SC. There are more MPPs allocated to the war in the Pacific, but this is outside the scope of the game. No need to change that. A simple model of allowing Axis subs to drain some portion of THOSE MPPs (30 or 40 or whatever) from the USA if they have sufficient sub strength off the coast would be fine in my opinion. The addition of this would make subs a more appealing strategic weapon; most Axis players don't bother with em! While we are on the topic, am I the only one who thinks surface ships should have the ability to naval blockade the UK (i.e. reducing MPPs identically to subs)? (and I guess UK controlling the med could impact Italy, but I'm not sure to what degree Italy depended on Mediterranean shipping during WWII) [ February 21, 2004, 02:45 AM: Message edited by: Friendly Fire ]

Here is something that isn't modeled in SC, but I suggest it would be a worthy addition to to SC2. In the early war, eventually, the British beefed up convoy escorts and air support, and shipping losses decreased. As soon as Germany declared war on the United States (Dec. 12, 1941), U-Boats headed for the U.S. Atlantic seaboard. From January to May 1942 was "Happy Time" again. During this period, Axis subs sank many ships within sight of the USA coast. For inexplicable reasons, the U.S. did not(in due haste) arm the ships, nor provide escorts or air cover, nor organize convoys along the Atlantic or Gulf Coasts or in the Caribbean. The U.S. Government did not order a blackout of seacoast cities until June 1942, leaving ships silhouetted against the shoreline. Allied ships were "sitting ducks" for the well-armed U-Boats lurking in U.S. coastal waters. U.S. beaches soon became littered with bodies and burned-out ships. Note that the bulk of the merchant vessels attacked were not bound for Europe, so the current game model does not accurately reflect this situation. In game terms this would be simple to model - subs within a short distance USA ports would inflict MPP loss on the USA. comments?

Dunkirk II. The last Allied unit leaves Brussels. (Run away, run away). The appearance of L3 german air was quite a shock to the Allied high command. So much for air superiority. In the East the Soviet counterattack in the South recaptures Kharkov. The battle of Iraq starts for real as a mix of UK and USSR units encircles Bagdad. Baddad corps entrenchment down to 2.

Hey Dragon, with that system what are players typically settling on as far as bids? You mentioned 200, is that seen as approx balanced? FF

Here is a supply tip, something that confused me for quite a while until I read it on the forum, worth mentioning again: Hexes adjacent to Paris act as full supply centers. So you don't need to take Paris to fully supply your Overlord expedition... If you are new to the game, here is another suggestion In the USSR, as Axis, as the campaign progresses and your HQs move more than 9 hexes away from Supply 10 cities, I suggest you try to keep HQs within 2 hexes of front line units (you want those units at supply level 6 for full re-enforcement). If you don't have enough HQs to keep all your units well supplied, consider purchasing more HQs instead of more ground units. Italian HQs work just as well as German HQ for supply purposes. Now the Soviets don't need to do this, your units will draw supply from the cities and don't need HQs (for supply). Of course you want the HQs for C&C but you can keep them well back to avoid Axis air... hope it helps FF [ February 16, 2004, 12:27 AM: Message edited by: Friendly Fire ]

Americans fall back and dig in around Brussels in the West... ("Well Ike, you did want to get their attention, right?") Stalins troops kill yet another Axis armor, bring em on! A counterattack is ordered in the south, where the defense seems to be mainly Italian and Axis minor troops. next few turns should be pretty interesting...

Dragonheart (Axis) VS FriendlyFire (Allied) brief update end of turn 3 USSR North: Axis attacking in strength towards Moscow with heavy armor and air support. USSR South: Quiet. Scandanavia: Axis lands units in Sweden and overpower the capital. Sweden fights on however. West & Atlantic: Allies force a German unit out of Brest and take the city with UK corps. German mine bombed. UK raiders land near Denmark and are thrashed by Italian marines (okay men, get in your boats, sail around, land where you started, and kill some Brits!). One sub spotted by air and sunk by two UK BBs. Med: Allies declare war on Iraq, the search for WMD is underway. Dragon - my stupid email provider is down, expect the turn very soon. [ February 12, 2004, 01:19 AM: Message edited by: Friendly Fire ]

Hey Kurt, I just re-sent turn 112. Let me know if you got it. I haven't been aware of any problems with my email since last week when the virus was wreaking havoc everywhere. Dragonheart, sent you a turn also. Terif, are you out there? I've tried sending a few messages to you but I haven't had any replies.

Ya, sorry guys, had to go out of town for a few days unexpectedly. The turn is on its way tonight. p.s. - Kurt - are you sending me a turn soon? Haven't seen anything for a while... [ February 10, 2004, 03:56 PM: Message edited by: Friendly Fire ]

JJ, I have been playing the '42 scenario lately, and like it a lot because it feels like WW2! because - - (usually) you won't see F16s in 1945 - armor means something - bombers are in play - blood and guts right from the start - lots of options for allies! I am also getting a kick of out games where Turkey is allied with one side or the other. (Allies just took Romania from the south in one of these games)

CvM, we started with a standard 39 scenario, but Kurt used the wrong campaign. So as Allies I was quite surprised to find Turkey on my side. I do not believe there were other modifications to the game. (oh ya, bid was 200 at 1:8). The game has been balanced, but the Allies may be gaining the upper hand now with (finally) the arrival of the Siberians. We plan to play a mirror game so Kurt will also have a chance to exploit the Turkish alliance At any rate, the game is quite interesting with way more activity in the Med than the standard '39 scenario. Kurt, anything to add? (and send me a turn!)

Game with Dragonheart starts in a couple of days... Dragon - (evil) Axis FF - (good) Allies we are playing PBEM, 1-2 turns per day probably...

Kurt88 and I are playing a variant of the '39 scenario with Turkey allied. Lots of action in the med, great fun! CvM, looking forward to trying your scenario! FF

Hey Dragon, TCP/IP is logistically difficult for me, have time and firewall issues to contend with. I can get a turn out to you each day. Am also in the PBEM league. thx FF

Dragon, that would be me. I've played the last 2 games as Axis, will be happy taking Allies. If okay with you just send me a move when you return.

What's the problem? Sure, the air fleet is vunerable to attacks on the port, but the Allies have the option to make Malta a real chore with an entrenched corps, or bomber unit... [ January 26, 2004, 02:24 PM: Message edited by: Friendly Fire ]

Update on Rannug (Allies) vs FriendlyFire Mid 1943. USSR North: Axis controls Finland and Lenningrad. Some fighting around Moscow but no major offensives from either side. Stalin is safe in the Kremlin for now. USSR South: The focal point of this war. Axis controls Rostov and Stavrpol (including the mines and oil field next to Grozny). For a second time the Russian oil supply is cut off. Three USSR corps are now trapped without supply in the swamps south of Stalingrad. The remaining Russian units in the deep south have are busy entrenching in the mountains near Grozy in order to protect the remaining oil resources. Stalingrad still firmly under Soviet control. No offensive action taken towards Sevastopol. Norway & Sweden - Axis. Med: All quiet. Italy has Malta. Iraq neutral. Atlantic: All quiet. Ireland neutral. France: Liberated! Germany formed a defensive line with Panzer divisions just east of Paris. This line has held for months. For a long time the allies had some measure of air superiority and recently managed to kill an Italian HQ. The balance in the air has shifted dramatically now as front line Allied units find themselves under attack from from the Luftwaffe armed with L3 jets. Allies appear to have as yet no advances in jet technology. No sign of French units, they seem to be saving for something... FF [ January 24, 2004, 01:06 AM: Message edited by: Friendly Fire ]

That wouldn't be fair to Xwormwood, as he graciously resigned when it was reasonably clear that I (Axis) would win - but he could have easily kept up the fight for another year game time.... I may have the edge on Rannug so it could be an academic debate. Will post some game details in the next few days. I take it that there is one game also still outstanding in the other group?

Fantastic information here, thanks guys.