Ground Strike:observations from a new player

[Joseignacio]

ORIGINAL: jboldt007

Btw. As GE I can't imagine going after Yu/ Gr at the same time as France and Low Countries. Seems like a recipe for disiaster - but I'm a newb...

To be true, it should not be that bad. You need to leave some troops garrisoning the border with FR + NL, and for invading DK anyway, and you don't need your whole army in Poland, half is enough. Then come the reserves, but they come disorganized.

But the second turn... you can use all the nice reserve units (even railing and restoring them with HQs in the front, plus your production from the "spiral" (what is being produced-in the setup-)and you still have to break through NL, which has very few units.

In this case you can send like 2/3 of your army from Poland to YU (while the rest is railed to NL), all you have to do is take a couple of cities with the help of the IT, and they are not too strong, nor they have FTRs to stop your couple of stukas + the IT planes you can send... The UK player is usually too committed in France to be able to land significant forces in YU...

But it's risky. Ambitious and risky.

[AlbertN]

An "old opening" to go against Yugoslavia on impulse 2 to deny Bessarabia claim. And exploiting "Med Weather" for the wintery turn to deal with Yugoslavia at least.
It includes aligning Romania in '39 that impulse so that Bessarabia can't be demanded. It has an amount of setbacks - one among them is that you have to buy Antonescu for instance (That is a '40 unit).

Obvious one should not touch Belgium in the process that the forces are away.

[Courtenay]

I like ART for the US. It is guaranteed to get through, and it is double on a US land O-chit. I also like it late war for the Soviets. They frequently won't have air superiority, so the ability to have an non-interceptable ground strike can be very, very useful. And in my opinion, they are key for the Chinese. They will not have air superiority, but without artillery, Japanese units can go out of supply with impunity. With ART, the Chinese have the possibility of cheap kills.

[Jagdtiger14]

I agree with Paul in post #15. They take up room in a '39/'40 France campaign that is very constricted and could be better utilized by other toppers. Offensively in a Barb is possible. Defensively probably behind the front lines adding to a critical hex would be best.

Like Joseignacio mentions in post #17, I practically never buy ART's (the bombardment types) since I rarely have the funds...maybe US or China.

I prefer the arty that fly's...costs about the same, but has range, rebuilt quicker when lost, can rebase to distant front lines without flipping (vs rail for ARTY), and possibly costing less when destroyed if the pilot is saved. You can take a chance in sneaking it in without having air parity as well. Sometimes just the threat of its use will require your opponent to factor it in their calculations.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Jagdtiger14

I agree with Paul in post #15. They take up room in a '39/'40 France campaign that is very constricted and could be better utilized by other toppers. Offensively in a Barb is possible. Defensively probably behind the front lines adding to a critical hex would be best.

Like Joseignacio mentions in post #17, I practically never buy ART's (the bombardment types) since I rarely have the funds...maybe US or China.

I prefer the arty that fly's...costs about the same, but has range, rebuilt quicker when lost, can rebase to distant front lines without flipping (vs rail for ARTY), and possibly costing less when destroyed if the pilot is saved. You can take a chance in sneaking it in without having air parity as well. Sometimes just the threat of its use will require your opponent to factor it in their calculations.

One advantage of ART that hasn't been mentioned is that they are doubled in Ground Support or add an extra die roll in Ground Strikes if the enemy is surprised. That makes them glorious in attacking Belgium - and in neither instance do they use Air Missions. I'll use the 8 combat factors from the 4-2 German ART instead of a 2 factor divisional "hit taker". The added heft to the attack can make it automatic - or near automatic - negating the need for a hit taker.

[Centuur]

That's also why they are very valuable in the first turn of war with the Soviets, to make it easier to take out the border cities in Bessarabia. It gives the Soviets something to think about when planning the defenses...

[Joseignacio]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: Jagdtiger14

I agree with Paul in post #15. They take up room in a '39/'40 France campaign that is very constricted and could be better utilized by other toppers. Offensively in a Barb is possible. Defensively probably behind the front lines adding to a critical hex would be best.

Like Joseignacio mentions in post #17, I practically never buy ART's (the bombardment types) since I rarely have the funds...maybe US or China.

I prefer the arty that fly's...costs about the same, but has range, rebuilt quicker when lost, can rebase to distant front lines without flipping (vs rail for ARTY), and possibly costing less when destroyed if the pilot is saved. You can take a chance in sneaking it in without having air parity as well. Sometimes just the threat of its use will require your opponent to factor it in their calculations.

One advantage of ART that hasn't been mentioned is that they are doubled in Ground Support or add an extra die roll in Ground Strikes if the enemy is surprised. That makes them glorious in attacking Belgium - and in neither instance do they use Air Missions. I'll use the 8 combat factors from the 4-2 German ART instead of a 2 factor divisional "hit taker". The added heft to the attack can make it automatic - or near automatic - negating the need for a hit taker.

Same happens with bombers anyway in surprise.

[Joseignacio]

ORIGINAL: Centuur

That's also why they are very valuable in the first turn of war with the Soviets, to make it easier to take out the border cities in Bessarabia. It gives the Soviets something to think about when planning the defenses...

That would only endanger units 1 hex away. When URSS player I keep always as far from the border (that too) as I can according to the limits imposed by the rules (it means within 3 hexes, so most are 2 or 3 hexes away), except Hero cities or woods/swamps, because the RU bomber but also several long range GE bombers, from Southern Poland can do the job all the same.