Strategies: Allied

[BriantheWise]

There have been a number of very helpful (and interesting) on the strategies people are using against their opponents. However, many of them, even Huberts, were pre 1.06. So, now that I've played a few times on line, against excellent (and gracious, I would like to add) players, I figure I would restart this thread and bounce off a few ideas, some good (maybe), some bad (probably).

A couple of months ago, someone mentioned that the game is decided in Russia. I think that's changed now. I think that the game is decided in France, and how Russia fares will depend on whether the Axis are forestalled/depleted before the Russians get involved.

As Allies, I think the key, early in the game is to make sure that the French, and those key critical MMPs survive as long as possible, and you need to do everything you can to make sure that they last. Before, I used to make Britain have a hands off strategy, investing in research, and saving MMP's till the units got cheap. I don't think that works now.

I won't talk about the Dutch gambit, which is risky, but fun. It's already been discussed. And I wouldn't advise it as a determined strategy, since it can be handily countered.

Here is how I view it, playing the allies. The Germans start with 3 air fleets. The Allies start with 5, plus the polish and the bomber.

Turn 1: I do a little sub hunting with British fleets, but not the carriers. They go to London. They will have 100%, or close, readiness to defend. I flip the Med air fleet to London, and with the purchase of an English HQ on turn 4, the British have an effective air defense to help the French. This increases the Italian readiness, but you want that, because you have your French fleet racing down to crush the Italian navy with a lot of help from the British.

Over the next few turns, change out the French armies in the maginot with new bought corps, but just the bottom 2 hexes. The one at point you want as an army so he can punch the Germans units in the nose (because it's fun). The third corp goes into Marseille, as well as the fourth if you can afford it.

Now I drop the Candian army in France. I don't buy a French HQ (though some do). The candian corp goes to England.

Turns 2 and 3: Move the British bomber down into France, so he can see what's up. If there is an open German city, use a French unit to take it (I didn't do that, I experienced it. I didn't like it.)

I lose a British fleet against the German U-boats usually, but by turn six or so, that threat is concluded.

Turn 5: In the games that I have played IQ, the Germans begin attacking France about now. Poland, Denmark and the Low Countries have fallen. The Germans have 5 air fleets, but not so many MPP's per turn. So you are fighting a war of attrition as long as you can. And it can indeed be long. Sometimes it depends on when the Italians enter. Sometimes they don't make the difference then need to.

Kill the Italian fleet as safely as you can. If they run and hide up near Triest, the German air fleet might wipe out your French navy quick, but you should be able to take out a couple of the Italians. Keep them in Marseilles until one turn before you think the Italians will join, including the British fleet in Gibralter, for maximum readiness.

After you've killed off the German U-boats, bring the British fleet back to port.

France will fall, there is no doubt about it, and the British will have almost no air left. Nor much of a defense. But hopefully enough (this is a balancing act, that I have little experience in. I got crushed by Rambo in late 40 by an Italian landing because I got over agressive and was strengtheing the med, thinking he didn't have anything to attack me with. He did). And maybe 1 point sitting in industrial tech. But hopefully by using an aggresive defense, the Germans will be weak enough to need to use some of that plunder to fix their units instead of their tech, which they haven't even been able to invest in, because you keep punching them in the nose.

If you've killed off the Italian fleet, or even if you haven't, get the carrier out of there and have it ready to help you with the defense of England. Any ships you can spare will help. One of the major reasons to take Gibralter now, is so that those Italian fleets can come help Sea Lion.

One of Huberts strategies, after the fall of France, was pounding Brest to make it unable to launch transports. This impressed me. I had never thought of it. It works. and it's effective. Buys time, even though it costs ships.

On the other hand, that's what you have that navy for. Later in the game, it won't be doing much.

That's my thoughts. If it helps. Great. If you don't like it, great. But I still think that the game is pretty darn balanced now.

Thanks for letting me share.

[Carl G. E. von Mannerheim]

I am in the process of developing an excellent early Allied strategy, so far it has worked to good effect in my current game with Comrade, However i shall not tell you of it until the end Of my time in the tournament

CvM

[JerseyJohn]

In the 1939 scenario the early Allied strategy consists of two equally important parts: duck and pray.

[ December 24, 2002, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[waltero]

here is my two cents worth

playing allies I have tried some crazy stuff

I have learned to try and play as if the fog of war was off :confused: Plain and simple.

As Russia; you might want to pray :eek:

After that I Just run!

I don't make it a practice reinforcing units right off.

take your broken down ass and put it in the back line of defense (city, behind rivers ect. operate if need be). let them entrench, reinforce when enemy is near.

Russia should just pull back, and keep on pulling back!

I have tried to use the Russian Armor and air agianst the Germans. it never works for me

depending on your strategy?

you could use the russian tanks and air along with a HQ ( you will have to buy)

in Iraq.

I am going to keep this short.

you open a corridor to Russia through Iraq.

when you operate those units back to Russia operate up north to protect moscow.

let the allies guard the oil field in the south east.

I think operating units is a must! use it, dont lose it! keep being able to operate units at all cost!

aslo buy HQs.

sell research (=three corps) if you have to.

As for USA buy research lots of it Air first, maybe.

then when the time is right sell research and buy armies, then atack.

oh well that sums it up!

later

[JerseyJohn]

waltero

Thanks for the tips and the honesty. I've played the Axis too many times. I like starting in '39 and the first thing you see as the Allies is Poland with two full armies, a few corps and an airfleet, being flattened. :eek: The sight and then it's memory always leaves me traumatized for the remainder of the game.

[J P Wagner]

With Poland, I never counterattack the Germans...all you do is lose entrenchment values and strength points...I pull back and surround the capital, reinforce each turn and just take a beating until my time is up...depending on the luck of the strength point lose, you can gain an extra turn or two that way..I do something similiar in France, though I don't pull back as much...Using Bill Macon's mod I had the French Armor unit holding out against repeated attacks as I simply reinforced it. Then a 1 sp German unit was next to it so I attacked it...big mistake...I lost what entrenchment I had and the armor unit was wiped out the next turn...so it buys you alittle extra time, which, in the early stages of the war is important....

[ December 31, 2002, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: J P Wagner ]

[BriantheWise]

I did not know that a little stand in place foiling attack would kill the entrenchment.

like, oops.

[Jollyguy]

I think what Rambo meant is moving an entrenched unit to go after an Axis unit. I.e., leaving hex A to move to hex B, to attack an Axis unit.

Attacking in of itself from an entrenched hex does not diminish the attacking units entrenchment levels. That only happens when you leave the hex.

And I agree with Rambo on some Allied players who violate the integrity of their defensive line to go after an Axis unit. Doesn't make sense. They'll move 3, 4 units to try to take out an Axis corp. Doing so tosses your entrenchment level out the door, leaves holes in your lines, and costs the Axis player a paltry 60 or so mpps (the difference between buying a new corp vs. repairing an existing one.)

[BriantheWise]

Thank you, Jollyguy. I thought that was how it worked.

In my favorite game against Rambo (which I conceded, sadly, because late English mistakes), I did a move that Rambo never expected. He's agressive, France is losing, dying even, but my Maginot armies are untouched. I abandoned the line, and attacked like a mad dog drinking old english (the beer). It caused him much consternation. And he knows it. But he won.

That was just a side note.