Moderator: Shannon V. OKeets
First of all, you have 6 moves planned, and the USSR only gets 5 moves. Second, if the Shanghai MIL moves out of Ankang, it will end up OOS. Third, evacuating that mountain hex probably will let the Japanese get a fair to good odds attack on Sian; if not, it doesn't do much more than delay the CAV for a single impulse. And, finally, the moves in the north that you have planned would allow the Japanese 4-3 INF to get into position to take Yenan and eventually outflank from the other side.ORIGINAL: Orm
I would use up all the USSR land moves (5) by moving the unitd Communist China has. It is time to withdraw to stop the Japanese from outflanking. I would move them something like this.
Point #1 is correct. I wasn't looking closely enough at it.ORIGINAL: Orm
1) It is only 5 moves for the Communits Chinese. The last move is for a Nationalist.
2) Better to let him begin to outflank in the North. At least it gives you a US entry roll.
3) The Communist Cavalry will be in a position to continue to ZOC the southern Japanese outflanking movement. And this one is potentially dangerous at the moment.
4) I am aware that the Nationalist unit will be put out of supply. But the Japanese cavalry is already a potential threat to Chengtu so it must be slowed down.
5) Losing Sian is not a disaster. Getting the main part of the Communist Army trapped aroud Sian is. Besides, Lanchow is a much more important city and I consider Sian as only the forward defence of Lanchow.
Two points on this: the first is that you figured out why I put the Chinese Communist CAV in Yenan instead of a better defensive spot. [:)] Force the Japanese to defend the already-conquered territory, and with only one HQ in the area.ORIGINAL: Centuur
I would suggest something better for the Chinese Communists. That is to crush the 3-1 GAR which is quite vulnerable on his own. I suggest moving Mao into Sian, the GAR there into the hex NW of the city and there you are, a 6-1 attack (no Chinese attack weakness from Communists...).
Now, those bloody Japs should know there is a price in grabbing all those Chinese cities. An attack is the best defense there is in this situation. And, even better: next impulse you're threathening to kill that 4-3 MIL too, by moving across the river.
Also, the Communist CAV should move aggressively 2 hexes East. Imagine what happens if that CAV will cut off the railroad supply by ZOC it. Let the Japanese advance if they want to. Terauchi will have to stay put, to keep his army in supply. I'm sure they won't like a communist CAV taking back cities now under Japanese control and putting a whole Japanese army group out of supply if he grabs Chengchow or Kaifeng... I really love CAV units in empty backlands, especially if I'm able to retake home cities and get in supply at the end of a turn so I'm going to move again. Peking, here I come... [;)]
The Japanese isn't paying attention to his defenses against the man with his Red Book... So I would use those Chinese ricepaddies and start moving into Japanese controlled area's. Let him try to put my CAV out of action. That isn't very easily done...
The Jap CAV moves next impulse: let him. He'll move himself OOS and thus out of the action. I would suggest retreating the Cheng-Tu Warlord towards his home city to prevent that CAV from doing harm...
Rail Antonescu into the action. HQ's are never without value at the frontlines. Also, the use of von Leeb for reorganisation isn't bad in this situation at all. The French only got one factory city left and you should try to grab it this turn. Von Leeb isn't in a position to get to that city in time, so von Bock should do the trick there. Those two reorganised units should be capable of adding factors to the attack on Toulouse. Toulouse is a very difficult hex to grab, but with only one French land unit in there, it should be attacked before another one comes out of the Production Spiral (is there a land unit arriving for France next turn?). You're goal is to empty the hex and this is difficult enough with 14 defense factors in the hex with rivers on two sides of the city.ORIGINAL: Red Prince
One last note about the German front and the use of HQ-I von Leeb to reorg units so early in the turn: if I find myself in a position which requires another HQ to provide supply in France, I can always rail HQ-I Antonescu from Rumania into a useful spot. Since it now seems obvous that Germany is heading into Spain, the Soviet border merely needs to be maintained this year. It's even early enough that a '41 Barbarossa is still a possibility. Once Athens is taken and Yugoslavia aligned, and if Italy can get the Iraq Oil, too (still hoping for that), Germany can send fewer resources and BP to Italy, which means it can bulk up on its forces for the next full year.
I thought there wasn't, but to my surprise, there is: a 4-3 INF is coming into the game in M/J '40, so taking that hex is a priority this turn, indeed. Which means, actually, that my plans for the French CAV have changed . . . he's going to take back the resource hex in order to ZOC out the I Slovak MIL. That's one less German that can try to make it to Toulouse before the turn ends -- unless the Germans and Italians play creatively, of course.ORIGINAL: Centuur
Toulouse is a very difficult hex to grab, but with only one French land unit in there, it should be attacked before another one comes out of the Production Spiral (is there a land unit arriving for France next turn?). You're goal is to empty the hex and this is difficult enough with 14 defense factors in the hex with rivers on two sides of the city.ORIGINAL: Red Prince
One last note about the German front and the use of HQ-I von Leeb to reorg units so early in the turn: if I find myself in a position which requires another HQ to provide supply in France, I can always rail HQ-I Antonescu from Rumania into a useful spot. Since it now seems obvous that Germany is heading into Spain, the Soviet border merely needs to be maintained this year. It's even early enough that a '41 Barbarossa is still a possibility. Once Athens is taken and Yugoslavia aligned, and if Italy can get the Iraq Oil, too (still hoping for that), Germany can send fewer resources and BP to Italy, which means it can bulk up on its forces for the next full year.
No, I'm not playing with the No Surprise ZOC optional rule. It is one of a dozen or so optional rules that won't be in the initial release.ORIGINAL: Centuur
You are playing with the no ZOC on impulse option, am I not mistaken? This set up for Spain will not do any good at all if that's the case. To prevent any German armour spearheads to bypass you're defenses around Barcelona, you really have to rearrange you're Spanish setup. The Germans should fight you in the Pyrenees and not simply walk into Saragossa in the first turn (which is probably the case in you're first game.
I suggest the following: set up the 3-1 GAR into the hex where the 5-4 MOT is and put that unit into the hex West of the 2-5 CAV. Put the 3-3 INF with the 4-1 GAR into Bilbao and the 2-5 CAV into Barcelona. This is of course only valid if there isn't a Italian invasion possible. If there is, the 3-3 should stay in Cartagena and the division should be put into Bilbao.
After all the French units are off the map, the Spanish will have a 7 hex front in the NE (all mountain hexes). Figure out which units you want where to defend that mountain line. The Cav should be swapped with the 3-3 so its mobility can be used to run around in the south if the Italians invade the coast.ORIGINAL: Red Prince
Here is the proposed setup shown in Post #33 of the AI for MWiF - Spain thread. It is intended to be used against " Large threat (by land/paradrop) against the north border of Spain and a Small threat (by invasion) to the east cost of Spain". I've expanded the view so that you can see Spanish Morocco, too.
I think the one thing I might change is to either put the INF Diviosn somewhere in Spanish Morocco, or to put it in Cartagena in place of the 3-3 INF, and move that INF to Spanish Morocco in these circumstances.
I'm posting this now, even though it will be a while before I have to set Spain up, because I would like to hear any new thoughts about this. With an overwhelming force in my last game, Spain lasted for only 2 turns, and Portugal was conquered during that 2nd turn, too, if memory serves. It may not. I may simply have been in position to take Portugal on the third turn.
This defense did end up costing the Germans an O-chit, even before reaching Gibraltar, but it allowed Madrid to be taken quite easily by the route through Barcelona. I found that the units guarding the middle were quite easily put out of action using Ground Strikes, and then using ZOC to isolate them.
-----
Edit: This time around, there should be no trouble at all getting the 4 CW Corps into Spain, since there are definitely enough TRS and units in the area to get that job done.
