Crispy vs Sugar - Mini AAR

[Harun]

OK, I can see the logic of that.

Obviously any WW 2 game, we have the hindsight of history and we play repeated games, so we can "learn" that different strategies are important.

Though, that decision 603 is looming large. Assume you couldn't know it would fire (as in real life) then wiping out the UK forces and having German forces take Gibraltar would be your actual plan...not "take a specific town so that Franco makes a 100% decision to join.)

If we were to test this with uncertainty, you might wipe out the UK forces and take Gibraltar but not get the Spanish decision. It just makes that decision a bit easier.

Very interesting to think about. As gameplay, I can't fault it. We all know the decision is there, that you know you have time before Russia, etc.

[Harun]

I think the AARs have been really exciting in the regard, and the tourney, too.

I'm looking forward to Taxman vs. Sugar!

[KorutZelva]

ORIGINAL: Harun

I think the AARs have been really exciting in the regard, and the tourney, too.

I'm looking forward to Taxman vs. Sugar!

Look at you taxman! Went from the battle of the newbie to the hero of the people in few short months. [8D]

[Taxman66]

ORIGINAL: Harun

I think the AARs have been really exciting in the regard, and the tourney, too.

I'm looking forward to Taxman vs. Sugar!

I would get crushed.
I have 0 pbem experience as Axis, and can manage shakey wins vs. Average AI.
As the allies, I have no ideas how to stop his steamroll.

[Taxman66]

ORIGINAL: KorutZelva

ORIGINAL: Harun

I think the AARs have been really exciting in the regard, and the tourney, too.

I'm looking forward to Taxman vs. Sugar!

Look at you taxman! Went from the battle of the newbie to the hero of the people in few short months. [8D]

I don't think Sugar is going to make mistakes that my opponents have been making (excluding that rofl stomp you gave me). Even then I don't think I can 'win' my current game until middle 1946 at best. If I hadn't gotten incredibly lucky with Spain, I think I might have lost my current game or eaily gone to 1947 last turn without taking Germany out.

[KorutZelva]

Crispy where's our post-mortem? [:)]

[crispy131313]

Thanks for reminding me KorutZelva. I can't not re-open the campaign so unfortunately I do not have any final images that I can share but I can make some final comments.

My main objective in this match was to prepare the USSR for war rather then wait for it happen at the Axis player's leisure, and that entailed a very large amount of MPP invested early into USSR diplomacy by both France and the UK. Expecting a very calculated match it was my assumption that the Axis would take actions to keep Soviet mobilization low (such as no DOW on Belgium) and also not prioritize Barbarossa, both of which eventually proved right. The USSR was collecting 185 MPP per turn by the time France had fallen and I felt I had succeeded in this aspect. By the time German attacked the Soviets had Tanks II, and at the time of surrender in spring of 1942 I was about 1-2 turns away from Tanks III, and I was already researching Infantry III, the Soviets were holding firmly at Smolensk and Dnepropetrovsk, and I was still waiting for Soviet forces to transfer from the Far East.

Despite being very satisfied with the Eastern Front my taste for the game had soured exponentially as I was systemically defeated in the other theaters of war. Having chosen to neglect mainly naval warfare as the Allies, I had satisfactory ground forces deployed in Africa and felt I had protected against DE 603 shenanigans with my Algerian gambit. As it became apparent that the British were being pulled into an MPP wasting Vacuum in Egypt against an expanded Luftwaffe and additional Tanks Corps the 8th Army, US supplied Tanks, and both British HQ's sailed for Casablanca to ensure an Allied foothold would remain in Africa. As a backup I had DOW'd Syria to keep Iraq from enacting their coup, with the hope that we could maintain our foothold in Kuwait should we look to re-enter the middle east at a later date.

After the fall of Egypt it is well known by the pics in this short AAR that the advancing Luftwaffe with some ground support were able to conquer Morocco and Sugar eventually DOW'd Iraq to capture Kuwait, again denying any entry point onto the continent. This systemic elimination of possible theaters (including the Iberian Peninsula when Spain joined) provides many benefits for the Axis and I'm sure no explanation is needed. Their are limited options for the UK to defend against this systematic elimination tactic due to aircraft battles being very expensive, so the power of the Luftwaffe is exponential in creating imbalance through this period of war.

In retrospect I can only now wonder if the Soviets were set up well enough that I could have held the Axis back long enough for the Western Allies to win the eventual war of attrition as I had originally planed, and I actually think they were personally. But my own personal morale in this match was essentially shattered by the Luftwaffe capability in North Africa and I even voiced some rare frustration with the capability of the Luftwaffe in one of the main board threads in response. Secondly I found that essentially the Germans don't need to attack the USSR in 1941, it is actually just a sideshow formality as more important objectives can be achieved in North Africa (which seems incredibly odd). I think the illusion that USSR matters has come from the bias of my own rendition of the campaign, in which if Fall Blau fails to meet objectives by Dec 1942 German and USSR morale will essentially flip, and their will be Axis oil shortages. As well I am used to Germany needing to capture Soviet MPP, but that clearly isn't an objective in the vanilla campaign as Germany had Industry V by spring 1942.

But in the end I lost against what is heralded as the best Axis player on the forum, so I humbly accept my defeat. Good match Sugar!

[Sugar]

I agree the Sovyets are ever too late to be a threat after losses in all other theatres, even if a player is as well prepared as Chrispy was. I mostly don't feel the need for a DoW before autumn of 41, and just to destroy the alarmed units.

My solution would be to reincrease attack values, cancel the need to develop Inf. 3, and exchange some tac. bombers for tanks. The Sovyets should also have more units, and maybe to compensate additional german units could be placed along the russian border in case of a DoW. Similar to what Chrispy already implemented in his famous mod.

Good match Sugar!

My pleasure!

[Elessar2]

The Russians should also get substantial hits towards a DoW for each British/Allied country which falls (this may already be true, note)...

[elxaime]

Thanks for the interesting AAR. It mirrors my own experience as Allies versus good Axis players, in that the Eastern Front becomes moot after the Axis steamrolls the Middle East/North Africa and there is little the UK can do against a good player as you are in reactive mode. There does seem to be a high risk gambit where you pile everything into surprising the Axis with an all-out defense of France, so as to delay and attrition the Germans and delay their attentions elsewhere, but I am skeptical this could work against an elite player. I am glad to see the pending changes on Spain and Vichy, as in most games I have played the Axis doesn't seem deterred from DOW everyone and their mother, and usually gets Spain through diplomatic means. Yes, this moves up US entry and may help the Soviets too, but the return - Axis dominance of the rest of the map - means it is very likely the Russians get ground to powder before the US becomes a factor.

On the other hand, there does still need to be rewards for good Axis play.