hitting the axis early

[CanInf]

I am increasingly of the opinion the allies need to be hitting the Axis at the earliest opportunity. I have seen players hold back to help the US enter earlier, but it seems only to lead to disaster. I think many would agree that if Italy only declares on France the CW needs to declare on Italy, but what other means are there to bring the fight to the Axis?

[Centuur]

It depends on what kind of opportunity is available to the CW. Can they take out Lybia or not? Can you take Sardinia? Where are the Italian TRS? Can you strike them during a port attack with a reasonable chance of succes? Can the CW contain the Italian TERR in East Africa, or not...

Don't forget: bolstering the defense of France is the most important thing the Allies have to do. If Germany needs to use two offensives to get to Paris, that's a huge plus for the Allies.

And: there's the Italian Fleet (and especially the Submarines) to consider too.

Strat bombing German factories is also a possibility to explore...

[davidachamberlain]

There are other ways to affect the Axis without hurting the US entry.

There is nothing to stop you from putting CW units in places that inhibit actions by Italy against France. You could also set up for the DOW by Italy or prepare to DOW against Italy or start your offensives, but hold off as long as you can.

You can certainly build units, such as territorials, in locations that can make it harder for Japan to invade or conquer locations when they DOW.

Early DOW on Italy or Japan can set you up for bigger multi-front challenges that will spread your forces too thin to be able to adequately resist. One of the worst places to be is for CW to be at war with both Italy and Japan while waiting for the US to get into the war. Delaying them adds more risks to your own survival.

The US entry is very important to allow them to be able take their actions and be able to DOW earlier. Delaying that puts CW and Russia in a tougher position.

[CanInf]

I was also thinking about strong support for China... and making sure the USSR gets support

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: CanInf

I was also thinking about strong support for China... and making sure the USSR gets support

One thing I had to do in my recent game was to take two Commonwealth HQs to Burma and from there into China.

One HQ sits at the end of the Burma Road, which lets INF rail move to that hex. The HQ reorganizes the arriving INF. Of course, you need to a second HQ actually in China to satisfy the FTC requirements. I had Alexander in China and Gort at the end of the Burma Road rail line.

The Commonwealth INF help defend the Burma Road up to Kunming. They need to keep the Japanese far enough away to prevent them from exerting a ZOC onto the Burma Road and stopping the flow of resources (and build points) to Kunming.