Happycat

No maps this turn; although there was some movement and combat near Gibraltar, there are things going on in the combat areas that I need to keep under wraps. I can say that the coastal gun unit is potent and can cause some damage (1 step off of a Spanish corps). Regrettably I was only one turn away from a garrison moving into Jerusalem, but nevertheless, I only needed a short tweak from the defibrillator my wife keeps handy for Marc's surprises I'm happy that my reinforcements are starting to show up in the Middle East, and am not too worried about Egypt. There are two decent generals there (plus the guy in the Sudan who can stay there as far as I'm concerned). And even with the Spanish in, I now have naval superiority in the Mediterranean and expect that my air power will soon be equal or superior (in terms of fighters at least). British bombers attacked Dortmund and I think caused some losses to the German economy. Only the beginning... China is going to be a tough fight, and I think there is some risk of losing the capital, but it will now depend upon weather, and how quickly my new Chinese units get into the fray. The biggest problem continues to be the disparity in land warfare technology. Back to the Axis side, now.

Good post Al. And I agree with all you have said.

Michel, I think most people who have contributed to this thread are trying to be reasonable and respectful. Some are starting to get a little ticked off with you, and as someone who has been around on this forum for awhile, and who has worked with Hubert and Bill for a number of years, I have to tell you---these are the last guys who would try to take "easy money" as you call it. You need to rethink your approach, in my opinion. I have asked the forum moderator to look at this thread, and see what he or she thinks. My own opinion is that for a guy who has only made 16 or so posts, you are going about things the wrong way. As my friend Xwormwood said in his post, everyone has the right to criticize. But your accusations and insinuations take away all credibility from anything you have to say about the game. Criticism is great. Slander---not so much.

I quite agree Klaus and have asked the moderator to look at this thread.

My wife hates it when I use metaphors and similes, so I am delighted that it was appreciated. Yes, I agree, it is too bad when someone makes a comment in such a way that it raises everyone else's hackles a bit. But to give him the benefit of the doubt, and to expand on what you already said---it may be a totally unintentional thing, due to either language, age, or some other factor. Sometimes we all can say something which only moments later, we wish we hadn't said at all. Long weekend here in Canada as we celebrate our 146th birthday on July 1st. (also my wife's birthday, but she's not that old ) Now back to my AoD game with Abukede where, as you will see in the AAR "sticky", China (me) is having its problems.

The only other thing worthy of comment in the Indian Ocean theater of war is that I am of course well aware that there is a German surface raider operating off of the coast of Ceylon. Regrettably there is nothing I can do about it at the moment.

Spain's entry into the war has now become a reality. At least my absolutely brilliant diplomatic move a few turns back delayed it quite a bit. Of course this was my plan all along ... You can rest assured that anything whatsoever that appears to be a mistake on my part is actually devious and clever strategic planning! Well, China is certainly feeling pressure, which speaks well for the overall game balance in this theater. This turn, I made what I consider to be prudent defensive moves in China. Most cannot be spoken of yet, but I did move a lowly garrison into Changhsa. It wouldn't help now even if I moved an army in there, so a garrison is enough to delay his easy entry into the city---make the Japanese earn it, that's my motto China got a tech boost this turn (not in the most desirable research field, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick). And the next couple of turns will see new production come onto the map, which is good. Now to the Indian Ocean:

That's like asking a dog to ignore a flea. Sometimes things need to be responded to, and it would in my opinion have been disrespectful to Michel if everyone just ignore his comment. Clearly he has a problem with some aspect of AoC/AoD and I think it's perfectly reasonable and appropriate for others to respond. Having read over, again, the comments that people made, I don't think anything anyone said was out of line. But you too are welcome to your opinion. If you don't like this particular thread, do like I do when I don't like a tv show---change channels

Michel, I'm puzzled as to why you downloaded this at all. Given your earlier comments about "add-ons' ( I have read all of your previous posts) it is clear you think they are a waste of your money and time, although that puts you into a very distinct minority---most of us love the new subsets of games such as "Breakthrough", "AoC", "AoD" etc. You have a perfect right to your own opinion of course. But I think it's tacky to ask for a refund in such a public way. It's kind of like going into a department store and screaming at the top of your lungs that you don't like your new shirt and demand a refund. How likely do you think you would be to get one? I think it's more likely someone would call security and eject you from the store Given how hard it is to find good, never mind great strategy war games these days, I think that Fury and Battlefront deserve a lot of praise for the consistently high quality games made available to us, for reasonable prices. And even more praise for how the games are then supported with patches and/or new features at no cost. You leave me scratching my head, my friend.

US war readiness climbed again at the beginning of my turn but then dropped back a bit at the end of the turn, due to the continued presence of extra forces in Hawaii. I thought it might be just a one time hit, but apparently not---if it continues, I may reconsider my position on this deployment. Meanwhile, Tobruk fell to the British, and a German sub was sunk to the southwest of Ireland. China continues to dig in---the scale of the Japanese offensive is awe-inspiring, and so far unstoppable.

Oh my; level two Japanese infantry. That is not good...

Well, if Marc is going to play his cards close to his vest, then so am I Actually, I just have nothing to report this turn, other than my good fortune with research continues. Love it when the USA gets production ramp-ups! To offset that, and as I expected, my deployment of additional defenses in Hawaii seems to have made the isolationist group in Congress think that I actually care what they have to say. But I'm wearing my "FDR hat" and so I will be ready when the time comes. I am looking forward to seeing what Marc plans next in China---despite his best efforts, I have been able to keep my losses replaced. This turn I could have rebuilt a destroyed Chinese corps fairly cheaply, but a nice new HQ seemed like a higher priority. In China, I am a bit concerned that I lost track of his artillery. I know where it was two turns ago, but don't know where it is now. I suspect I will learn the answer soon enough, the hard way. Britain is hunting subs, but as Marc has mentioned, they are pulled back. I do see one in port in Cherbourg, and suspect it is one of the ones I damaged earlier. But indeed, I am wondering what my friend is up to. Sea Lion seems unlikely now, but maybe he's planning on getting Spain into the war, attacking and securing Gibraltar, and then flooding the Mediterranean with U-boats. That would certainly complicate the defense of Malta, but it would sure make the Minister of War Production happy if the subs leave his convoys alone. That's it for now; waiting for the Axis to reveal their intentions.

No action from the Allied side this turn---the relative calm of Marc's last turn gives me a chance to do some housekeeping. One encouraging piece of news---Russian research is paying off, which is good because I need something to make me forget my mistake as the UK with my diplomatic efforts with Spain. Russian needs to research tech for infantry, armour, industry and production and yet also has to ensure that it has built speed bumps to slow down the Germans when they come. American research is paying dividends too; but soon I will need to start putting money into production. However, it seemed wise for America to make investments into its industrial and production tech.

Hurray, a fan for the Allied side.

Also forgot to say---excellent move on France btw. As always, you are causing my graying hair to become even grayer!

brianlala---it just occurred to me that Abukede probably thinks (correctly, until about ten minutes ago) that I didn't know about the Spanish event. You might have spilled the beans for him

Uh oh---just read the scripts for DE 602 and 603. While I'm happy to see that it will cost the Germans 800 mpp's to get Spain onside, this is an unforeseen development for me. It makes my diplomatic investment a total waste of money, if he goes for a "yes" on this upcoming event. That said, I'm still happy otherwise---I wanted the possessions that would otherwise have been "neutral" to be Axis. Gives me a free hand with respect to invading them and not having the US become annoyed. And the Free French which I would have otherwise gotten aren't exactly a game changer It still remains to be seen if my strategic plan for this (Med) theater will work out. Spain could be an added complication, but it's always nice to have a game like this moving in an ahistorical direction, but one that "could have happened" as we war gamers are so fond of saying. By way of background, my gaming experience goes back to the dark ages of paper maps and cardboard counters. DGold, one of the regulars on the Battlefront site, and a fellow beta tester, is an old friend of mine since around 1982 and he and I, together with other friends, played many games over the years. We like our games "historical" and "believable", and Strategic Command in all its various iterations has always filled that bill for us.

Even without decision events, this game supports "what if's" extremely well. I suggest that if you have some specifics in mind, that you send them to Hubert to consider for the next generation of the Strategic Command series. Marc and I have played countless games where we have done ahistorical things, without any decision event support, and had very interesting and believable outcomes. I do like the fact that, as you said, the game punished the French for leaving North Africa. Hope that you are enjoying the AAR, and thanks for following it.

As might be expected France has fallen to the Germans. More surprisingly, as I see it is to some of you, Marc took the complete surrender and annexation of France. I expected this because, as he himself points out, there is no incentive for the German to form Vichy. There are some good reasons for the Allies to be happy with this surrender of all French territory---I can now attack several French possessions before Japan enters the war, and in addition don't need to worry about ticking off the Americans if I invade what would have otherwise been Vichy territory. Now, I have never played this option before---and I am concerned about something someone said about an event that brings Spain into the war voluntarily. If there is such an event, and I missed it, then I screwed up. But, it keeps things interesting, for sure. No action this turn, so nothing to post other than summaries:

That's all for this turn. It's interesting that Marc is happy with France and Asia, because I'm also happy. And we may both be right. Japan has made some great advances in China, securing the coast cities, but China on the other hand still holds some very defensible ground, and is rapidly gaining strength. France will go down, which will of course make Marc happy, but he may be less than pleased with the time it took and the loss of 14th Army. I'm happy because Britain is looking quite secure, and will soon have new DD's (and old American ones) with which to hunt the U-boats that are still hurting the economy. *****

Well, everyone may love Paris in the springtime, but the Germans will have to learn to love it in the fall. Next turn is Sept 1st and the Germans are not yet in Paris. In France, as will be seen, the French army isn't quite finished off yet, and in the Med, their navy gets in one last lick---a wee one, but a lick! The Royal Navy didn't do anything in the Med, mainly because the elements of it that came in from the Atlantic a few turns back made their appearance, and then scooted off to the North Sea. Some bait I set for the Kriegsmarine didn't prove interesting enough, I guess, so I found something else for the carriers to do. Read on, if you're curious to know what... China conducted its first counterattack, near Changsha. The results were not overwhelming, but not totally unsatisfactory either. I'm happy with the lowered Japanese readiness and morale, and I now have a lot more Chinese armies than I used to. Overall, China now has 49 land units to Japan's 60---and I doubt that all of the Japanese land units are in China. If they are, I'd be quite happy with that. Now to the detailed reports:

France continues to hold out, and some understrength French units have received replacements. It appears likely that the Germans will now attempt to surround Paris and threaten it from north and east. Meanwhile in the Mediterranean the British pondered whether to ground strike the two newly arrived German divisions in Tunisia, but in the end opted for a very successful attack upon an Italian submarine. As the attacks by Royal Navy aviators were being made on the Italian sub off of Tunisia, French warships steamed rapidly east and north, into the Adriatic, where they had some success against an Italian cruiser. CHINA: No counterattacks were made by the Chinese, although I was quite tempted to launch one in the south. Japanese forces driving north into the mountains seem to have neglected their western flank. But in the end, it did not seem worth giving up nicely fortified positions. While it seemed possible to heavily damage on Japanese army, that just isn't enough of a payoff considering the risks involved. ****

As we head into July of 1940, the French finally abandon great portions of the now essentially worthless Maginot Line. For the sake of secrecy, no maps are being distributed showing the new locations of the French units. However, I can tell you that the French now have a double line protecting Paris, and in a couple of spots the line is actually triple. The French and British are under no illusions however---the German air superiority coupled with their tanks will make things very difficult. In the Mediterranean, the British continue to build up forces on the Libyan frontier, and RN forces clobbered an Italian army that was pushing towards Tunis. We do have maps from China to show you: Last turn Marc had the misfortune of having a U-boat blunder its way into a nest of Allied warships. This turn, I had the misfortune of seeing that U-boat dive and escape after one attack, and then I sent several ships out to search for it. Only when I was running short of ships did I find it, and another attack (by a DD) again forced the sub down and it escaped. *****

Abukede has proven to me in the past that he doesn't shy away from the rough stuff---he will break the Allied defense methodically and if it costs him an army or two, he'll live with it. I agree with you that the French tank unit does an awesome job if placed in Paris, but that takes away what little offensive options the Anglo-French force has. Placing the armour where I did has a two-fold effect: every air attack he makes on it is an attack not spent upon other units that, to me, are more important in terms of where they are placed. And if he does not attack the armour, then I might get a chance to use it against him at a critical moment. That's the plan---Marc has a tendency to derail my plans however

Norway has fallen, and the first combat has occurred on the French border. I was, as Marc surmised, tempted to counterattack but opted not to. The Australian and Kiwi units, weak though they are right now, will be welcome additions to Egypt. While I was not ready to attack towards Tobruk, the numerous Allied ships in the Med made a bombardment of the Tripoli area too good an opportunity to pass up., knocking 3 steps off of the Italian IV Corps. No maps or pictures from China this turn. Marc thinks he surprised me in the center, but in fact the aerial recon I flew a couple of turns back gave me an idea of the number of armies I am facing on that front. And there was never any doubt in my mind that a big push from the south was in the works. China has a reasonable number of ground units now, mostly corps and divisions it is true. But there are some armies, and more on the way. My biggest concern is the shortage of HQ's, so I have had to be creative with using the ones I have until the new ones arrive. Over and out.