Landing ships too cheap?

[PanzerMike]

Landing ships for a full corps cost 75 PP and 90 days to build. Isn't that really cheap? Italy can easily build that and do surprise invasions of Cyprus and Vichy Syria. Italy building Higgins boats and LCT and what not in 90 days to invade with 40.000 men?

Shouldn't landing ships be much more expensive and take longer to build? Wasn't this something only really the Allies were capable of producing in sufficient quantity? It taking them several years to build enough of these craft to be able to do Torch, Husky, Anzio, Salerno and ultimately Overlord and Anvil?

Waddayallsay?

[stjeand]

Maybe for Italy...for the other countries no.

The US and UK need A LOT...

Germany wants a few for surprise...as does Italy really.

They should not be able to successfully invade either location with a little Allied planning.
I have seen them do this and get a foot hold...and another time drop off a mountain unit and two corps and fail, becoming unit suicide.

[generalfdog]

I like them as is, there is enough things to spend $ on, we don't need inflation in the game to!

[canuckgamer]

I agree with stjeand. Against an experienced Allied player the Axis will not be able to execute any surprise invasions of Cyprus or Vichy Syria. Once the two ports on Cyprus and the three ports in Syria and Jordan are garrisoned it would be very difficult for the Axis to take any of them without coming out in force with the Italian fleet. Given that the Allied fleet has superior numbers and the Allies can base air in Cyprus and on the coast of Syria or Jordan I would expect the Italian navy to get the worst of it.

Historically I count 6 major invasions by the Allies in Europe. North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, D-Day and southern France (Operation Dragoon). In our last PBEM game the Axis only made one invasion, Norway while the Allies made about 6 or 7.

The current low cost of landing ships means the Axis have to garrison a lot more coastal hexes which to me reflects their uncertainty as to where the Allies would land next.

Considering that the Allies developed landing craft like the LCI and LST compared to the Germans who basically were contemplating Sea Lion with barges I think the Amphibious Operations Advancement that is in WPP should be added to War Plan. However I'm not sure if the Axis should be given that advancement or maybe start them at 1939.

[PanzerMike]

Good points. I am adding an extra UK division and an extra Vichy Syria division to make the Cyprus backdoor route more challenging. Only the AI will receive them though.

I am trying to make playing the Allied AI more challenging without resorting to simply giving them free units all the time, but in this case I think it is justified.

I seem to have mastered the trick that the Allied AI also keeps a fleet at Gibraltar all the time. Starving it and taking it as Italy was so simple and changes the game massively in the favor of the Axis.