Colin I

Also, I think paratroopers should be cheaper but cost MPP to drop. If it costs MPP to move them by sea it should cost more to deliver by air. this avoids slightly silly situation where you make paradrop in friendly territory (e.g. across a mountain barrier or straits) to move faster/cheaper,

Upgrades can be useful - if you are fighting a long way from home with just one HQ its good to make sure you have a decent commander. I just upgraded a Japanese HQ in China vs Jollyguy - would have taken an age to walk a better one there. I guess HQ experience stays same - seems fair if the expertise is largely in general staff and logistics. Presumably it can be used to return Von Manstein and Zhukov from the dead pile fast too? As there were only moderate casualties from generals and other commanders in WWII (Admiral Yamamoto apart) guess thats not so silly. Your choice is to rebuild a whole command structure or attach a general to an existing one. Guess its expensive - I assume upgrades do not get half price rebuilds. Its a minor feature but an interesting detail.

Bill - think I just found it - emailed to you at Fury. Now trying to remember the source.

There is a WWI picture of a shell going off a few meters from the photographer. The guy died but his camera, amazingly, was intact. Its a creepy picture (b/w) when you know the story.

I think there is no single rule for Allied intervention in terms of speed - you may need to counter a fast/aggressive/skilled player early before he gets a lock on. But I agree on hitting Axis at multiple locations. Its very tempting in GC to aggregate the UK fleet and later, as US, go West or East en masse. JG did this in the Med but the gains were only moderate. But for the Axis the difference between an opponent putting up no fight vs a limited one is quite big. I particularly advocate not ignoring Japan, which is really quite feasible to contain and limit its MPP if you take action, but can run riot if unopposed. It was a very good game - thanks to JollyGuy.

WEST Big fight in France – Paris changes hands every turn but Axis the are winning. US down to one L5 armoured unit and lose a lot of infantry this turn. In Med still some limited Naval action - here Axis get the worst of it. MIDDLE EAST German armour takes El Alamain from wrong direction, i.e.Alexandria. RUSSIA Russians advance. Germans target lead Russian armour with TAC and armour. Japanese lend a hand. EAST Dammit – Tibet still holds out.

WEST Allies get unlucky – the weather breaks allowing the Germans to counterattack in France and Benelux in quite some strength. Paris and Brussels are retaken, two (of four) US L5 tanks destroyed and some Allied HQ and air units severely stressed. German high command prays for rain in the coming turn - think that would finish him in France. MIDDLE EAST Egypt is taken by German paratroopers and armour. Allies sink an Italian battleship off Cyprus. EAST Bizarre. Japanese try to take Tibet. I figured no problem and, expecting a weak unit heavily dug in, so hit the place with 1 bomber, 2 fighters, 1 TAC air and Elite paratroopers. I guess it has a full corps defending. I can only assume the Tibetans were of Shao-Lin Monks who can catch bullets (and bombs) in their bare hands as they hold out, absolutly no problem. So, Japanese are the terrors of the East, previously only the Russians gave them a bloody nose, their Empire reaches from West India almost to New Zealand. But it takes the Dalai Lama to stop us. Oh the shame of this, I’ll be replacing the commander directing the operation who has just fallen on his sword…..

WEST Allies take Paris and get more units ashore - this is a serious try at D-Day. Bad weather stops this getting really violent. The Bismark and a German destroyer sunk. MIDDLE EAST Axis advance on Alexandria in some force and sink an Allied destroyer. The rest is quiet though Russia is due to flare up soon.

WEST Allies land in Benelux with 2 L5 tanks (but no motorization?) and lots infantry. Germans reinforce the Siegfried line and damage a US carrier. MIDDLE EAST AND MED He pulls further out of Med so Axis attack. Sink one UK battleship. Drive on Egypt from Syria with armour and paratroopers launched from Iraq kills a corps, a US paratrooper and a bomber. RUSSIA We prepare, he prepares. It is towards end of year. FAR EAST Nothing. Right now game really is Germany vs the World with Japan as onlooker. Allies look for a way into Europe whilst Russians try to claw back the motherland. Its noticeable in the games I've played as Axis, that the lots of Allied players try to finish Germany first. In this case > 95% of JG forces are orientated to this end. Against that, German military are very experienced and have excellent MPP income from holding a lot of the Middle East, Russia and West Europe and broad operational capability (from Stalingrad to Syria to Spain though he will cut the latter). Certainly there are some fights coming, though maybe weather slows that until next year. JG has threats in Europe but an interesting dilemma with Egypt facing a serious assault.

I suspect a post WWII game needs a far more sophisticated air model and more air technologies. Given the extended ranges possible you need to do something to prevent rather simplistic battles over long distances that rapidly destroy the weaker force. It would be useful to have ground radar installations (or at high technology AWACS) that allow you to spot the source of an attack (a specialized version of spotting range - if enemy air unit strikes within X tiles then can spot the source within Y tiles range). AA guns would return as missile batteries with increasing range with technology. You may need all weather flight technology - this decreases weather penalties - and delivery of WMD (nuclear but also air-fuel explosives and chemical) technology and ECW/Stealth. Intercepts should not be automatic (if enemy has stealth/ECW or is much higher technology) - rather than a big air battle very sophisticated attackers probably simply evade and reach target rather than indulging in a lot of dog-fighting.

WEST Germans reinforce Fortress Europe. Given he is no longer so Med orientated, I expect action elsewhere. He sunk some Italian ships. MIDDLE EAST Stalemate except a minor Axis army finally destroyed. RUSSIA Germans take one more city near Urals. Big confrontation coming. FAR EAST Shockingly peaceful apart from Indian partisans. Co-prosperity sphere achieved.

WEST JG is pulling his navy and some US ground troops out of the Med. Italians pursue sinking a battleship. He takes Tobruk. RUSSIA Japanese LR bombers show Russians are massing for a last stand in central USSR. Germans take it a bit slow but now own Gorky too. Germans have Russian rail network moving. Now the Russian armour has moved North Japanese move forwards once more. EGYPT Confrontation building. Apparently Saudi cannot be attacked. REST Not much action.

MED Allied carriers kill an Axis cruiser and bomber but lose a battleship. Tobruk will fall next turn. RUSSIA Germans get rolling and take 2 cities including Moscow. Main Russian armour pulls back from fighting Japan. The rest is pretty quiet. JG seems to concentrate his forces so many theatres are inactive.

WEST Very quiet - even his Med navy has moved East. Germans show increased interest in Russia and have L5 armour so there is trouble on the way. MIDDLE EAST Allies show some interest, landing around Suez. EAST Russians continue against Japan, this will slow down soon as he has to face German armour and poor supply into Japan. Broadly, Europe, half Middle East, Western Russia and all of non-Russian Asia plus most of Oceana plus Peru are Axis. UK, Med, central Russia, Africa, North and South America and Egypt are Allied (plus a foothold in Sicily). Allies have best Navy but IJN is undefeated. Axis have had a lot of excess MPP for a long time and very few unit losses (exception - Kriegmarine was demolished and Japan took some hits from Russia) so its going to have to be spectacular from the US.

Fortify strong points. Dig in. Try a pre-emptive strike against Finland or Iran. This has to be done well, but increases your MPP. Build a reserve to counterattack. Russians can have an armour advantage. Build threats with Western Allies. Force him to keep operating units to deal with these. Use weather, especially if he likes TAC air. Get Zukhov and the Eastern armour west. Try and keep a fighter running against his TAC. Try and keep Japan busy so they do not join in. Do not panic if they do - Germany is the biggest threat. If Japan starts stealing cities its a problem but a big effort for them to strike deep and they do not have armour like the Soviets. Then use US/US to threaten Japanese interests. This is SC - if someone is strong in one theatre they may be weak elsewhere. Keep MMP coming (convoys to max) and concentration technologies that help you build more cannon fodder. Use partisans to cut rail lines so he cannot operate troops in deep, or use this to escape where he is weak. Know when to retreat. Good luck!

WEST Allies hold Sicily but Axis sink two battleships from the air. MIDDLE EAST Its Axis except for North Africa. EAST Japanese under pressure in Southern Russia but British India surrenders.

WEST Allies eliminate an Italian engineer and invade Scicily. MIDDLE EAST For some reason Iran does not get liberated - is it now part of Russia? EAST Japan advances on Lahore, India may well be 2 turns from surrender. Russians continue to repel Japanese troops.

WEST Jollyguy continues to bombard in the Med. Italian engineer feels picked on. MIDDLE EAST Iran nearly liberated. EAST Russians counter Japanese very effectively though Japanese long-ranged bombers have some bite. India is crumbling for the Allies with 2 corps and a Special Forces destroyed, only Lahore to go. Polynesia taken.

Rambo - got your turn - but still on 1.03 with Jollyguy. Can I safely upgrade or do I need to wait for JG game to finish.

Lets concentrate on the flashpoints: Allies invade isolated Med islands (Sardinia, Crete). Axis threaten Iran. Russians rally a little and control Japanese. Yet more partisans in Russia. Japanese take Delhi.

Absolutely- bring it on. I'm not a fast player so one game. You want axis? If so, just email to colin.ingham@wur.nl

WEST Allied fleet very active in the Med around Italy and North Africa - German air sinks a weak Destroyer. More partisan trouble in Russia. MIDDLE EAST Iraq liberated. Tigers head South. EAST Fight escalates in India, both sides lose an army or similar but Allied armour killed from the air. Allied transport probes off Russian islands.

WEST Germans seriously chase partisans. Real infestation. MIDDLE EAST Winding down - Caucasus are Axis and, though it took 4 L4 tanks, we finally nail the Russian general. Luftwaffe starts to attack USN in Med. EAST Big fight building in India. Russian opposition building against various Japanese probes into the motherland.

WEST Leningrad falls. W. Allies swarm the Med still, but no major assaults except Tripoli and he retreats from the Eastern Med. MIDDLE EAST Assault continues with Tblisi falling and Zhukov staring at 88 mm tank guns. German paratroopers take Kuwait and land troops enter Amman. EAST Japan takes 2 more Eastern Soviet cities and squares up to the British in India.

WEST Med is abuzz with Allied ships looking for places to land. He takes Tunisia only though. I'm sure he can get ashore but Axis have garrisoned well including fortifying Rome. Axis bombs a weak cruiser off Marseilles. In Russia Leningrad is assaulted and partisans dealt with though more appear. MIDDLE EAST Bad weather in Caucasus but still the Tigers advance. Japanese carriers and Axis minors destroy the HQ holding Aman. Axis bomb a British battleship off Syria. EAST Japan nibbles away at the Russian cheese. Some more island hopping, including situation where Allies loaded an amphibious vessel only to have Japanese amphibious unit bump into it, land take the port and destroy the Allied unit.