MWiF Global War Hot-Seat (AAR)

[Red Prince]

Moving into the cold weather, these turns which despite the weather are the "calm before the storm", have little real action going on. Italy transported a GARR from Italy to Beirut in preparation to align Iraq. Japan began to move its troops away from Sian and toward the coast. Germany continued to shift units toward the Soviet border.

One attack this impulse:



And the results:

Attack on Debrecen: Assault, Roll = Automatic

It was a Partisan . . . what else can be said?

[Red Prince]

As the Commonwealth player, I can't wait for the USA to enter the war . . . not just to relieve the pressure, but also because it turns out I'm short 4 convoys. The USA has lots to spare. The French can add another to the chain M/J '41, but that's a little later than I'd like. I could swear I counted out my needs, but I guess I was wrong. Two factories in the UK will remain unproductive in the meantime.

I could reduce that to a single factory, but it would mean using up a TRS to reorg 2 convoys. It might be worth it, though, for the sake of the extra BP. It means stealing CP from a different part of the chain (where they aren't actually doing anything useful at the moment), and they'll eventually have to be replaced, but an extra BP per turn is probably worth using up a TRS. Especially since this turn is likely to be a short one, anyway.
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Edit: Given the weather, I've decided to evacuate Wavell after all. I'll return him to Beira, Mozambique at the end of the turn, and I can provide him with 2 additional units to start moving up the E. African front (one from Bombay and the 5-4 INF from Kuala Lumpur). This will leave India slightly vulnerable to Partisans at the end of the turn, but a fresh Indian INF is coming in to start off 1941. Keep those fingers crossed.

The force Wavell will command should have 2 INF, 1 MIL, and either 2 or 3 TERR (depending on what action choices I make during the next two turns). It isn't overpowering, but it should be enough to get the job done starting early in 1941. If that doesn't irritate Italy, I don't know what will.

[Red Prince]

It goes from bad to worse. The Allies did what they could, and then rolled for the Impulse #7 weather. Seems the ice age has reached Texas -- and having lived in Dallas, I can tell you they haven't the faintest idea what to do in this kind of weather. Schools will be closed for weeks (if not months) before they manage to clean this mess up.

But hey, looking good for Germany -- at least it isn't raining in the Sahara!

[Red Prince]

The weather may be nasty in most parts of the world . . . hell, even the fertile crescent is seeing some snow . . . but Italy finally managed to align Iraq! And promptly took a page out of the early-game Japanese book by rolling a '1' for the US Entry roll:

Italy aligns Iraq; USE-1 (+1 chit, 91 [1])

Okay, now here is the reason I wouldn't explain why I wanted to align Iraq as soon as I could manage it. Normally I would prefer better weather, so that the Iraqi CAV could set up in this hex and still be in supply. From there it's a short walk to Kuwait and a major port is taken away from the CW. Not a truly important one . . . unless they want to build up troops for an attack on Iraq. [:)] Even OOS, the CAV can still do the job, and there's nothing the CW can do to prevent it.

Yes, this move could easily have been countered by sending one of those troops that was heading to Suez off to Kuwait instead. But everyone was too busy worrying about Gibraltar, Suez, and East Africa. Nobody was paying attention to this. I figured that since nobody mentioned this potential threat, no matter how many times I said that aligning Iraq was a priority, my "Allied peronality" must not have a clue that this was likely to happen. So I didn't send anyone to Kuwait, and the CW will pay for that mistake.
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You can't see it in this image, but as an added bonus, the desert hex where those 2 CW units got stuck is experiencing Fine weather, but the Red Sea has Snow over it. Instead of full Defensive Shore Bombardment, only 4 factors can be applied, so if Italy (and the German LND) can find a way to attack 12 factors at relatively good odds, those 2 units can be sent home (packed in ice, of course).

[Orm]

You can't see it in this image, but as an added bonus, the desert hex where those 2 CW units got stuck is experiencing Fine weather, but the Red Sea has Snow over it. Instead of full Defensive Shore Bombardment, only 4 factors can be applied, so if Italy (and the German LND) can find a way to attack 12 factors at relatively good odds, those 2 units can be sent home (packed in ice, of course).

Unfortunately for the Italians it is the weather in the combat hex that counts for shore bombardment modifiers. So full shore bombardment will help the CW defenders.

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Orm

You can't see it in this image, but as an added bonus, the desert hex where those 2 CW units got stuck is experiencing Fine weather, but the Red Sea has Snow over it. Instead of full Defensive Shore Bombardment, only 4 factors can be applied, so if Italy (and the German LND) can find a way to attack 12 factors at relatively good odds, those 2 units can be sent home (packed in ice, of course).

Unfortunately for the Italians it is the weather in the combat hex that counts for shore bombardment modifiers. So full shore bombardment will help the CW defenders.

Really? That's counter-intuitive. If it's the rules, it's the rules, but it seems strange to me that a ship on stormy seas can more easily bombard a hex in Fine weather than it can in Rainy weather (say, perhaps 2 adjacent hexes). I would think it is the conditions from which the shells come from that would matter. But, as I said, if it's the rules, it's the rules.
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Edit: Given this new information, obviously I can't get a good enough attack to be worthwhile.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

ORIGINAL: BallyJ

Surrendering China!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can not understand why you would want to surrender China?
USA is close to being in the war.
Once USA is in the war Japan will have to take naval turns.
While China is alive Japan has to keep its army in China.
As soon as China surrenders all those units are free to redeplore to other thearters.
I would never surrender China.
Make him fight you.
By the way I have enjoyed the AAR.
Thanks for taking the effort.
regards John

You're very welcome, John.

China now has only 4 units left (including the Communist MTN unit. For the purpose of "keeping the army in China", well, China really isn't alive. The same units that are needed to screen the remaining defenders are the ones that would end up on garrison duty, so everyone else is free to redeploy anyway.

With Suez and Sian now taken, the only remaining actions that might generate US Entry chits are aligning Iraq and taking over Kunming (in which case, China is lost). So, the USA is still probably 2-3 turns away (minimum) from passing War Appropriations. Once that is done, the US still is another turn or two away from actually entering the war.

No. If the units screening the Chinese are in zones of control they are not serving as garrison units. The total units in China are the garrison + the screening units. If the Japanese retreat from the Chinese (so they are out of ZOCs and can act as garrison), then the Chinese should advance right up next to them. Surrendering China would be lovely for the Japanese. It should not be done. The only situation where I would surrender China is if doing so brought the US into the war IMMEDIATELY and the Japanese would be caught flat-footed, without their invasion troops ready to deploy. Once the US DOWs Japan I would have the Commonwealth DOW them too, so Japan would get no surprise benefits for their invasion.

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

ORIGINAL: BallyJ

Surrendering China!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can not understand why you would want to surrender China?
USA is close to being in the war.
Once USA is in the war Japan will have to take naval turns.
While China is alive Japan has to keep its army in China.
As soon as China surrenders all those units are free to redeplore to other thearters.
I would never surrender China.
Make him fight you.
By the way I have enjoyed the AAR.
Thanks for taking the effort.
regards John

You're very welcome, John.

China now has only 4 units left (including the Communist MTN unit. For the purpose of "keeping the army in China", well, China really isn't alive. The same units that are needed to screen the remaining defenders are the ones that would end up on garrison duty, so everyone else is free to redeploy anyway.

With Suez and Sian now taken, the only remaining actions that might generate US Entry chits are aligning Iraq and taking over Kunming (in which case, China is lost). So, the USA is still probably 2-3 turns away (minimum) from passing War Appropriations. Once that is done, the US still is another turn or two away from actually entering the war.

No. If the units screening the Chinese are in zones of control they are not serving as garrison units. The total units in China are the garrison + the screening units. If the Japanese retreat from the Chinese (so they are out of ZOCs and can act as garrison), then the Chinese should advance right up next to them. Surrendering China would be lovely for the Japanese. It should not be done. The only situation where I would surrender China is if doing so brought the US into the war IMMEDIATELY and the Japanese would be caught flat-footed, without their invasion troops ready to deploy. Once the US DOWs Japan I would have the Commonwealth DOW them too, so Japan would get no surprise benefits for their invasion.

I mis-stated what I meant by the same units would be needed and that the others are free to redeploy. What I intended to say is that they could redeploy within China without having to stick around to destroy more Chinese units. The ones doing the screening operations can eventually do that if/when Ground Strikes succeed. It's going to take a while for Japan to get most of its units out of China anyway, so it won't have Partisan troubles for a while.

Particularly with the bad weather. In fact, the weather was so bad that very little happened this turn (which ended after the 4th full impulse). The CW did get a chance to make that convoy switch and will have troops in Mozambique. Iraq was activated, and Germany continues to cross over toward the Soviets. Anything else I think of, I'll mention in my End of Turn Report (which should be short).

Here's how miserable the weather was in N/D '40 (Turn #8), and you can expect more like it coming up:

[Red Prince]

So close, so close . . . but not quite there yet. Time for another break, while you peruse the US Entry Options. (Not picking a damn thing, of course).

[Red Prince]

Before I do take my break, I want to show you exactly how little happened this turn. Here you see the only unit destroyed in N/D '40:

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

If you're now wondering why I haven't tried to produce more NAV units, then, I have another image for you to study. Most of the units I started the game with are in the Reserve Pool now, and they are only good for Convoy protection. There are a few worth building now, but those NAV/ATR units are very expensive at 4 BP each. Starting in 1941 I'll have some more reasonably priced units to work with.

With such a high demand for sealift and cheap land units, I haven't felt the risk/reward value was high enough to justify building my FTR and NAV force in large numbers so far. Add in the destruction of so many of my CVP in early battles, and I figured I could get 2-3 CVP replacements for the price of a single FTR or NAV. Yes, that doesn't take Pilots into account, but as a rule CVP Pilots typically survive their engagements. So, I built a bunch of CVP and some Pilots, trying to fill out my CVs and empty the Reserve Pool of any units that might actually be useful.

Some of the air units can be scrapped come 1941, which will improve the overall quality of the force pools.

It is the Wildebeest and Sunderlands that you want. They should have the range to reach the Med (or Gibraltar) - assuming the Allies haven't lost every island in the Atlantic. What you want to do is place them to either attack the Italians as they are roaming around the Med or to threaten to do so - forcing the Axis to keep fighters nearby to contest the Med. You do not want to lose those NAVs, so if the Axis defends correctly, the Allied NAVs sit on the tarmac and paint ferocious images on their airplanes.

The Axis doesn't have very many fighters. It is going to want to position them all over the map to perform various defensive and offensive duties. The goal for the Allies is to stretch the Axis fighters out to the limit of their ranges to cover everything. If you can force Germany to build fighters instead of infantry, then you are helping the USSR. It is the German offensive units that are the real danger to the USSR. [Which is why all those armor units sitting in north Africa is raising everyone's eyebrows. The threats on Baku would be equally effective if there a half dozen Italian infantry in Iraq].

[WIF_Killzone]

Churchill may be rolling over in his grave but I'm licking my lips waiting for the games release. Nice move with IRAQ CAV.

[Red Prince]

The Axis doesn't have very many fighters. It is going to want to position them all over the map to perform various defensive and offensive duties. The goal for the Allies is to stretch the Axis fighters out to the limit of their ranges to cover everything. If you can force Germany to build fighters instead of infantry, then you are helping the USSR. It is the German offensive units that are the real danger to the USSR. [Which is why all those armor units sitting in north Africa is raising everyone's eyebrows. The threats on Baku would be equally effective if there a half dozen Italian infantry in Iraq].

Germany currently has 7 x FTR-2 and 3 x FTR-3 on the map. Italy has 3 x FTR-2 on the map. Whether this is a small number or a big number, I can't say. It's pretty much cleaned out the German force pools, though.

As for the German units "sitting" in North Africa, in these 2 sour-weathered impulses, they still managed to work their way into Tunisia. Yes, the Italians can threaten Baku, but they still need to finish off those Indian units in the Sinai. After that, there is a threat getting ready to come up from the South. More importantly, the Italian units can't activate Turkey. Only the Germans can do that. These were the fastest units already in Africa, so I sent them. Will this slow down the speed of Barbarossa? Probably a little, but if the Soviets choose not to defend against these guys, the Germans are going to catch them with their pants down.

Coming in at the beginning of J/F '41 for Germany: HQ-A Rommel, the 9-4 INF (white print), an 8-5 MECH, a 6th SUB, and a Pilot for an 8th FTR-2. Also, there will probably be 3 more MIL units, too, including the powerful Berlin MIL. I've built out my MECH pool, but I still have 3 ARM to build. Plus whatever is coming into the pools at the beginning of the year.

The short turn hurt Russia more than it hurt Germany.

Italy should really start producing some LND, but there hasn't been time for that yet. With the Italian FTRs covering at Gibraltar and Lisbon (and somewhere else -- I forget where), Germany should be able to cover its producing territory with 3-4 good FTRs, at least until the CW gets some real units on the map.

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: WIF_Killzone

Churchill may be rolling over in his grave but I'm licking my lips waiting for the games release. Nice move with IRAQ CAV.

Thank you. I quite enjoyed that move.

[Centuur]

Now: on building strategies. This turn the USSR should build as many INF possible. Gearing limits on INF need to be as high as possible when Barbarossa starts. I don't agree at all on the building of ARM and MECH by the USSR last turn. This is a huge mistake. You need quantity before quality as the USSR. If you have spare build points, build a CAV instead, but do not build a MECH if you cannot build all INF the gearing limits allow for. The builds of last turn are really bad for the USSR (even if they arrive before the USSR goes to war). You need far more INF units to be on the board when the Germans attack. You aren't going to get those in time if your gearing limits on INF are only two. The gearing limit should have been four or five INF type units for this turn and six for the next, so you can empty those infantry pools and build all MIL's the turn the Germans go to war with you. That than means the USSR gets about 10 INF type units in the first reinforcement phase after the war starts to compensate for the losses the USSR wil get in the first few turns of the war. If you keep the INF gearing limit as low as it is now, the USSR is doomed...

Kuwait isn't an important place for the CW at all. Sure, it is nice to have, but it's more important to keep a good hold on Yemen and kick those Italians out of East Africa. Kuwait should only be defended by the CW if he's got the units to spare for that. At the moment, he doesn't have those units or the TRS to get them there, so why burden the CW with another area to defend when he hasn't got the capabilities to do so? I didn't mention it, because of this...

[Red Prince]

Before I actually start Barbarossa, I'll make another one of my "famous" cluttered-up pictures to show you every unit involved, but for now, I just want to show you why I'm not extremely concerned about those strong units spending the winter in North Africa.

I've been trying to retreat the Soviets in a semi-orderly fashion, but you can clearly see they aren't ready for an attack. Even with the numerous reserve units they'll get and the ability to start building MIL units, they just aren't ready.

[WIF_Killzone]

I concur on USSR build strategy. They need way, way more infantry.

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Centuur

Now: on building strategies. This turn the USSR should build as many INF possible. Gearing limits on INF need to be as high as possible when Barbarossa starts. I don't agree at all on the building of ARM and MECH by the USSR last turn. This is a huge mistake. You need quantity before quality as the USSR. If you have spare build points, build a CAV instead, but do not build a MECH if you cannot build all INF the gearing limits allow for. The builds of last turn are really bad for the USSR (even if they arrive before the USSR goes to war). You need far more INF units to be on the board when the Germans attack. You aren't going to get those in time if your gearing limits on INF are only two. The gearing limit should have been four or five INF type units for this turn and six for the next, so you can empty those infantry pools and build all MIL's the turn the Germans go to war with you. That than means the USSR gets about 10 INF type units in the first reinforcement phase after the war starts to compensate for the losses the USSR wil get in the first few turns of the war. If you keep the INF gearing limit as low as it is now, the USSR is doomed...

Kuwait isn't an important place for the CW at all. Sure, it is nice to have, but it's more important to keep a good hold on Yemen and kick those Italians out of East Africa. Kuwait should only be defended by the CW if he's got the units to spare for that. At the moment, he doesn't have those units or the TRS to get them there, so why burden the CW with another area to defend when he hasn't got the capabilities to do so? I didn't mention it, because of this...

Two points:

1. I built the MECH and ARM because They were both strong units I'll need in the summer months, and there weren't enough INF left in the pool for me to maintain gearing limits this turn if I built more. Therefore, I had to "pace" myself.

2. The USSR doesn't need any particular gearing limits the turn after it is DOWed. When it is first attacked, it gets unlimited gearing limits.

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: WIF_Killzone

I concur on USSR build strategy. They need way, way more infantry.

I would also concur, but they just don't have them available yet. I think you guys are forgetting this is still 1940. All the units that would normally help with gearing limits for a 1941 or 1942 Barbarossa just aren't in the Force Pools yet.

[Red Prince]

To illustrate my point, here's a picture of every remaining land unit the USSR can build at the end of this turn (N/D '40). I'll probably end up building the INF, the PARA, and either the SKI or MTN Division, plus whatever else I can afford . . .

I don't think you can argue with my building strategy, since almost everything useful and/or quick is already either on the map or on the Production Spiral.