Joel vs. Paul PBEM – Axis player comments only

[Joel Billings]

I thought it might be entertaining to post an AAR from a 2 player PBEM game where each of the players has his own thread. That way we can post our plans and commentary without the other player seeing it. Paul was nice enough to take me on in this game. This thread will be for Axis information only. Please don’t post anything here that would give me any information taken from anything Paul posts. If you want to give me advice, you’ll have to keep yourself from reading Paul’s reports. Feel free to ask me questions as we progress, but again make sure they aren’t giving me information about the Allies that I wouldn’t already have. The game settings for this Campaign I (1940-1946) include Fog of War on and Advanced Supply rules. In my next post I’ll try to lay out some of my thoughts going into the game and my first turn moves.

[Joel Billings]

Ok, so I’m the Axis player. So now what? I have a long term plan which I will try to stick with, but it is something that could change based on Paul’s moves. For that reason I also have several shorter term goals that I’m working towards. In this game, my long term plan is to coordinate a German and Japanese attack on the Soviet Union in 1941. Assuming things go well, Japan will then strike out at the Western Allies in late 1942. Germany will attempt to keep the Western Allies from making their presence felt until after the Soviets can be crushed, with the Germans and Japanese meeting somewhere in the Urals. If this is done successfully and quickly enough, it is possible for the Axis to win an Automatic Decisive Victory. Failing in that, the hope is that the Soviets will be sufficiently weakened to allow Germany and Japan to survive relatively strong until the end of 1946. One major risk in this strategy is that if the Soviets manage to survive and regain strength, they will be free to send forces against Japan earlier than usual. Japan does not have a ground army that can stand up against a substantial Russian effort as Japan does not have the production to improve many of its units through research. With much weaker artillery and armor, Japan cannot hold back a determined Soviet attack into Manchuria and Korea.

My German short term goals are:
1) Take France, the Low Countries and Yugoslavia and repair their infrastructure.
2) Put pressure on Cairo so that the WA is forced to defend it. Maintain a link to North African resources through the use of the Italian navy and airforce. If possible, capture Cairo, although this is not anticipated.
3) Chip away at WA naval/transport strength wherever possible and prevent WA invasions or airstrikes of my major territories. Conserve U-boat strength if possible until research improvements can increase their survivability. If WA invests in major ASW improvements, I will have to reconsider my U-boat strategy. With fog of war on, enemy research investment is not know until breakthroughs are made, so it is harder to react to enemy moves. I hope to use this to my advantage by gaining a march on Paul by starting heavy on research.
4) Begin a heavy research effort. This is to include major investments in U-boats, armor, artillery and fighters. New units should be built in such a way to minimize research/new equipment costs, and in such a way as not to waste population available for combat units. I believe that early German research is the key to ultimate victory.

My Japanese short term goals are:
1) Capture all Chinese coastal territories with minimal casualties.
2) Use airpower to reduce the size of the Chinese army. This is important as a large portion of my army will be tied up in Russia. I can’t afford to leave the Chinese strong enough to attack me in 1941-42.
3) Avoid moving inland in China unless something I see changes my overall strategy. Moving into mainland China will cause the US to enter the war early if I also invade Russia. I can’t afford to let that happen. While taking out China is a viable strategy instead of going after Russia, it’s very hard to do both. I will try to keep my options open for either in 1940 and early 41.
4) Research Japanese infantry land attack so that I can take on the Russians. This would be unnecessary if I was only going to be fighting the Chinese.

So those are my thoughts going in. I’ll give you a recap of my first turn when I get a chance. I can tell you it was a pretty standard first turn on my part with fairly average combat results.

[Joel Billings]

Here's the situation after the first German turn. As you can see, I moved the Italian fleet into the Central Med and reinforced Tobruk. I took out France and the Low Countries at the cost of 2 armored units damaged. U-boats damaged a transport and bombers and my Heavy Fleet destroyed the Dutch Light Fleet as it tried to escape. Due to poor logistical planning on my part, I couldn't get enough supplies into Western France to repair the resource center. I did however repair the factories there, which are more important at this time as I need their capacity to satisfy my early war production schedule. I should get the resource up and running next turn, along with Yugoslavia's which is my next target. Notice the U-boat in France. It can be a nice place to position them as long as you can protect them from air attacks.

[Joel Billings]

Here's the Military Forces screen after the German turn. Modest across the board builds (2 of the 3 armor in production were a result of battle losses) with about 10-12 points put into research. The carrier and one of the heavy fleets is actually on hold and will no doubt be scrapped shortly. I had 33 production points. Next turn I will have 37 unless Paul manages to damage something.

[Joel Billings]

I don't have a screenshot from my Japanese turn, but I took one of the two coastal territories controlled by China. I suffered one infantry unit damaged. Forces are massing in China. I captured and repaired 1 resource center and I think my production was 10. I started my research of infantry land attack with the maximum spend allowed (1 point). I also started production of some infantry, air units and supplies. Now I get to see how Paul reacts to my openings.

[SeaMonkey]

Joel, is there any provision in WaW that allows the capture of technology from an opponent, so that a quicker advance can be made in that category? This would allow a certain "catch-up" strategy to be played by either side when the opportunity presents itself, deviating from normal/planned patterns of technology investment. Seems like a feature like this would introduce more replayability, randomness of tech strategies.

[Joel Billings]

Sounds interesting, but no, there is no feature like that.

[Striker_002]

Seeing this post made me register on these forums. All I can say is, it sounds like a copy of the "Axis and Allies" Double team Russia strategy.

[Joel Billings]

Paul pulled off a nice attack against Morocco. It does free up my Vichy France areas, but threatens to cause me the loss of my 2 North African resources. On the other hand, his attack in Italian East Africa (Ethiopia) failed, something I've never seen before. This caused me to send my Italians to Sudan. He'll probably kill them this turn, but if not, I can cause some damage to some of his African resource areas. Paul reinforced Cairo, especially with air units (2 fighters and a tac bomber). Below is the status after my turn. I took heavy losses taking Yugoslavia (3 inf damaged), killed 2 transports with bombers flying from France (and the sub in France) and killed the British sub lurking in the Western Med. It took an expenditure of 10 supplies, equivalent to 2 production points, to kill the sub. This is a classic situation in this game. Often you have chances to go after enemy units, with the only expected cost being supplies. Since it costs 4 production points to build a sub, in this case I thought it was worth the expenditure, but often, for logistical reasons, it makes more sense to stay out of combat even when you will win. I made a larger effort in order to have a greater chance of killing the sub. Had I only damaged it (costing the Allies only 2 production to fix), it would have been a poor tradeoff.
I moved more forces to North Africa to continue the threat on Cairo. I also moved an armor and heavy air unit to Tobruk. The bomber could carry an airborne unit to Cairo or Algeria (if the Allies continue their advance). It could also carry troops and or supplies to sub-Saharan Africa (if the Italians can capture some landing zones). The armor can also move to Cairo or Algeria next turn if desired. It’s just part of keeping the pressure on. I don’t expect to take Cairo or hold North Africa for long, but I’ll make the Allies react to my moves. I also moved my Italians subs and a transport into the Western Med to evacuate the resources, supplies and militia on Sardinia. I could easily lose the ships this turn. My main goal is to keep the Italian fleet alive and in control of the Central Med for another turn.
What I didn’t do this turn is in some ways more interesting than what I did. I could have captured Scotland this turn. The Allied reinforcement of Cairo with air units, and use of artillery from England to take out Morocco, left Scotland very vulnerable. If I had been willing to use my fleet to invade and reinforce Scotland, only horrible luck would have kept me out. It would have put me in a position to possibly take out all of England. Had I started construction of 1 or 2 transports on turn 1, I might have considered it, but decided I’d stick to my basic long term plan. I didn’t want to risk my fleet this early and can’t count on the Allies being so weak as to let me take London.
Also note that I have not invaded Norway or Greece. I would rather avoid the expense of garrisoning these areas and get the resources from them through free trade. Of course, this has 2 potential problems. First, the Allies could invade these areas which would keep me from getting the resources (although it will cost them some of their own in the short run). Second, their resources will not count toward my production score. To obtain an auto-victory, I need to own 70 undamaged resource centers, and these two countries could provide 2 of the needed resources.

[Joel Billings]

Here's my German research spending status just before I ended turn 2. Notice the spending on Sub evasion and torpedoes, and the Heavy Fleet evasion. By the end of my next turn I will have my fleet evasion up by 1, which will give my Med fleet a much better chance of survival. I got lucky and made a 40% die roll and actually had my armor evasion go up to 8 when I ended my turn. The same kind of thing can happen next turn for my subs, but I won't count on that. I also started working on longer range fighters. Although I may not be able to get to it for awhile, if you can get your fighters to range 2, your operational flexibility increases tremendously. It puts a lot more pressure on your opponent’s air defenses. My production went to 37 this turn, but I was only able to squeeze out 10 points for research. Hopefully next turn I can boost that a little. From some of Paul’s comments on his other games, I have to assume that he is frantically researching Allied ASW. Not doing this can be devastating for the Allies. This probably means I won’t be able to beat him in the Atlantic. However, there are many ways of beefing up ASW, and only a maximum investment in multiple ASW platforms can guarantee success against a determined U-boat war. We’ll have to see how things develop. So far, my short term and long term goals/plans have not changed.

[Joel Billings]

I took the last Chinese coastal territory. This was opposed by militia only and was done without losses. this links my forces by rail from French Indochina to Manchuria. I then threw the Japanese airpower at the enemy concentration at Changsha. Losses were a little lighter than expected on both sides. China lost a fighter, 2 militia and had an infantry unit damaged. I had a heavy and a tactical bomber damaged. His total concentration of AA in Changsha was a good strategy, although I was tempted to bomb some of his unprotected infrastructure with my heavy bombers. Unfortunately I wasn’t in a position to bomb them with short-range bombers. Note to self, try to move some short-range bombers to the flanks to better threaten the infrastructure in the rear. Production continued on infantry and some airpower, while I spent 2 of my 15 production on researching infantry land attack. Things are going pretty much as planned.

[Barthheart]

ORIGINAL: Joel Billings

Also note that I have not invaded Norway or Greece. I would rather avoid the expense of garrisoning these areas and get the resources from them through free trade. Of course, this has 2 potential problems. First, the Allies could invade these areas which would keep me from getting the resources (although it will cost them some of their own in the short run). Second, their resources will not count toward my production score. To obtain an auto-victory, I need to own 70 undamaged resource centers, and these two countries could provide 2 of the needed resources.

This is very interesting Joel. I agree with not attacking Greece, but I always attack Norway. I find it makes an excellant base for u-boats and the KM to keep the Lend-Lease closed. Being able to sortie out, sink transports, and return to relative safety is a huge plus in the Battle for the Atlantic. I'll be very interested to see how you make out with this..... Of course Paul seems to have some trouble with his RN sailing. [:D] (re Gold PBEM)

[Joel Billings]

Although the Allies took out my Italian transport and took Algeria, they didn’t go after the Italian subs and didn’t reinforce Cairo. I decided to use paratroopers to take Trans-Jordan so the Allied forces would have no where to run. The attack on Cairo, with the help of the armor unit in Libya and an amphibious invasion via the Med was never in doubt. I shipped an infantry unit into Jordan to allow me to march on to Iraq if the Western Allies don’t put up a fight. I then consolidated a force in Western Libya to be ready to retake Algeria if possible next turn. It cost me a damaged flak unit and 2 militia to take Cairo (along with a damaged artillery and a destroyed fighter on the previous Allied turn). Not a bad tradeoff for the 8 Allied units destroyed or damaged.

Last turn I re-based a tactical bomber to Sicily and then had it patrol over the Central Med. The reason I did this was it put the unit within range of Algeria, as the unit returns to its base at the beginning of its next turn (Southern Italy is too far from Algeria). That paid dividends this turn as the unit bombed the Allied troops in Algeria and damaged an artillery unit. Bombers destroyed another transport off France.

I held the U-boats back waiting for research improvements and more subs to be constructed. I hit the jackpot this turn with my research, as my subs increased both their evasion and torpedo attack one turn earlier than expected. I now have 4 strong U-boats ready for action in the Atlantic. My heavy fleet evasion was increased, and this makes me feel a lot better about my naval situation in the Med (the 2 subs in the Med that are now stronger makes me feel better too). This is a moderate U-boat strategy. If I were going all out, I would have put 2-3 more subs into production. I’m still ultimately planning on launching an attack on the Soviet Union in the Summer of 41. My production stayed at 37, 14 of which were spent on research. All resource areas have been repaired and I’m stockpiling excess resources (I’m even getting free trade from Saudi Arabia now that I’m adjacent to it). All in all, things are going well so far for Germany.

[Joel Billings]

I continued airstrikes on Chinese troops in Changsha. I can say my good German luck was balanced by bad Japanese luck. I had 3 bombers damaged and only hit 2 Chinese land units. Not a good exchange. I’m probably going to have to call off the bombing, at least against the strong AA, until I can repair some of my damaged planes. I haven’t hit any of the Chinese flak units. Assuming some are about to roll off the production line, it’s going to be tough to resume bombing in the Spring 41 turn. Winter is almost definitely going to be quiet. I continued researching infantry land attack. This should go up after next turn. I maintained my 15 production, using it for more infantry and supplies while repairing my damaged air units.

[Joel Billings]

This turn I continued the advance in the Middle East, taking Iraq. My adventures in sub-Saharan Africa came to an end when my Italian unit was destroyed by an Allied militia unit that attacked it. I decided not to move west in North Africa as I’m trying to get in position for a move into Russia. I left a strong force in Libya to deter an Allied move east (Allied units had evacuated Algeria and retreated to Morocco). I also kept a smaller force in Cairo to secure the Suez Canal. At this time I hope to just maintain small garrisons in North Africa (I withdrew my armor unit from Cairo and moved it to Rumania) so I can concentrate on my attack on Russia. I will await further Allied moves to determine exactly how much force I need to leave in the Med. I’ve lost the 2 resources in Northwest Africa, but the free trade from Saudi Arabia makes up for some of this. I don’t plan on repairing the resource centers in Iraq at this time.

[Joel Billings]

In the Atlantic, my bombers destroyed a transport and a light fleet off the coast of France. Taking advantage of my early research success, I moved my German U-boats into the Atlantic, damaging 2 additional transports. Allied ASW has not yet increased, so only a maximum allied effort (and/or luck) will hurt my subs. I expect that situation will change very soon. During production, I completed the Axis Heavy Fleet and another U-boat, so my navy is about as big as it’s going to get. I spent 12 of my 37 production on research. I’m trying a slightly different strategy in that I increased my fighter speed (movement allowance) to 2 but have not worked on fighter air attack or evasion. This will allow my fighters to keep up with the front in Russia, and make it more likely I can find vulnerable enemy bombers to attack.

Nothing much happened during the Japanese turn. I repositioned my bombers so they can threaten some of the Chinese rear areas. I completed my research of infantry land attack, which cost 3 of my 15 production. This means I can confidently take on Russia with my infantry, at least for a year or two. I will still have a problem handling his armor, but at least I have a chance, and will have no problem with his infantry.

D-Day in Russia is still planned for Summer 1941 for both Germany and Japan.

[Joel Billings]

This turn I prepared for my attack on Russia. All armor is now on the Soviet border. I expect to launch a center/south strategy, as I expect Leningrad to be too strongly held. In order to facilitate this I moved the bulk of my bombers to Rumania along with half my armor. I was astounded to find the Soviet air force had jumped from 3 fighters to 9 fighters. Along with 5 AA, he has a formidable air defense. I decided I needed to build more fighters to counter this. This once again proved that with this game you really need to watch what your opponent is producing and researching so you can develop counter moves. All preparations for the invasion of Russia are complete, although I wish I had a few more supplies.
As expected, Allied ASW has increased for both Light Fleets and Carrier Air groups. This makes keeping subs out at see much more dangerous. After looking for targets of opportunity, I decided to take a small risk and go after the British Fleet off Scotland. There were 2 light and 2 heavy fleet units there. I could put 5 subs into an attack, and then go after any remaining units with my 2 heavy fleets. With my increase in Heavy Fleet evasion, my survivability vs. enemy fleets is up enough for me to risk a battle, and having the subs go in first would give me a big advantage on the follow up battle. The strategy worked. When my 5 subs took on his 4 fleets, the expected losses were .5 German / 2.3 Allied (this is the number of hits each side is expected to take). The result turned out to be 1 U-boat damaged, 1 Light Fleet sunk, 1 Heavy Fleet damaged and 1 Light Fleet damaged (1 German / 4 Allied hits). I then sent my Heavy Fleet in to attack the remaining undamaged Heavy Fleet. Since the defending fleet had already been in battle, and my Heavy Fleet had a research gained evasion advantage, the expected losses were .33/1.70. I was lucky and sunk the Heavy fleet with two hits and was not hit. The results were about as good as I could hope for: 1 U-boat damaged, 1 HF sunk, 1 HF damaged, 1 LF sunk, 1 LF damaged. I then sent my new Heavy Fleet unit into the Atlantic where it sunk a transport and then returned to France. My subs also returned to France after the one remaining bomber in France damaged an enemy transport. I haven’t done a lot of damage to Allied transport capacity, and it appears the Allies are building lots of new transports, but I’m satisfied with the damage I’ve done to his fleet.
In North Africa, I decided to use 2 of my fighters with their newly gained range to fly to Morocco and attack the fighter and heavy bomber that was there. I just couldn’t pass up the excellent chance to damage his heavy bomber. Unfortunately, the battle resulted only in an exchange of damaged fighters.
Production for the turn involved 12 of 37 production going to research, increasing my artillery evasion and armored land attack and evasion. My armor now has a 2 land attack edge over the Soviet armor. I did notice Soviet artillery has increased both its land attack and evasion. I fully expect to see Soviet factories producing hordes of artillery in the coming turns. Now if I can just get to those factories before they build too many of those guns. [:)]

[Joel Billings]

China pulled back from Changsha, leaving only a militia and flak unit to protect the factory there. I sent in most of my airforce to destroy these two units, damaging the flak, destroying the militia while having a fighter damaged. I then sent in two heavy bombers to bomb the infrastructure, damaging the factory and the rail capacity. I then shifted forces to Manchuria. Paul may be surprised when he opens the save and finds half the Japanese army on the Soviet border. With my infantry research completed, I started building 5 new infantry units this turn. Production was 15 and I didn’t spend anything on research. My heavy air attacks and air losses have taken a toll and has kept my supplies from building up as I’d like. I have enough to aggressively invade Russia, but rebuilding captured rail and resource centers will be difficult.

[Joel Billings]

Here's the total forces screen before the Japanese production phase. I placed 5 additional infantry into production, while my supply count ended the turn at 66.

[Joel Billings]

Here's the losses so far. I've reduced the Allied totals by their losses suffered when France and the Low Countries were taken.