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ORIGINAL: Symple

So you are scrapping only to get rid of units you do not wish the game system selects to deploy?

ORIGINAL: Ur_Vile_WEdge

All counter draws, both in setup and production, are random. I don't get to choose "I want to build that super-strong 12 factor ARM I've got." You build "An ARM" or you set up "An ARM".


So you scrap to make sure you don't waste your money/setup space on weaker units, instead getting the stronger ones. The downside of this, is that you shrink your force pool overall; you only have so many units you're allowed to build.

Exactly so: the game randomly selects units to set up or produce out of the units in the force pools. If I don't want a unit to be available, usually because it's too weak, I can scrap it, either before set up or before production.

...for set-up, with the proviso that the unit availability date must be 3 years prior to the current year. (3 years if at war, 4 years if neutral) Later on in the game, if a weak unit with any availability date is destroyed, it can be scrapped then. Not all units have availability dates (FREX Militia and Reserves) so not all can be scrapped.

If I recall the rules correctly, you can choose to scrap a unit after it is destroyed, therefore you can scrap Militia and Reserves, as long as you send them in harms way, of course. I don't know if MWiF has replicated this.

Regards,
Toby

ORIGINAL: DQ2004

If I recall the rules correctly, you can choose to scrap a unit after it is destroyed, therefore you can scrap Militia and Reserves, as long as you send them in harms way, of course. I don't know if MWiF has replicated this.

Regards,
Toby

This is only for dated units.

Before getting on with Allied strategy, I should like to first share in this thread the objective hex/victory total form again.

Allied Strategic Considerations

For the purposes of this discussion, and indeed for this scenario, the trio of cooperating major powers of France, Commonwealth, and United States will be called the Allies. The USSR and China will be considered separately.

Abbreviations I will use in this and all following segments of the strategic discussion:
Fr for France (major power)
CW for Commonwealth (major power)
UK for United Kingdom (home country)
US for United States (major power)

Objectives
The Allies begin the scenario with the following objective totals:
Fr - 3
CW - 17
US - 9
Tot. 29

According to the scenario booklet, at the end of the July/August 1945 turn, they ought to have the following objective totals to tie the game:
Fr - 1
CW - 19
US - 17
Tot. 37

Since I control all major powers (including USSR/China) I'm not particularly concerned about individual victory totals. So the Allies thus have the objective of ending the game with at least 38 objective hexes under their control, or 9 more than they begin the scenario with.

Advantages
The Allies have the following advantages:
- Large, powerful navies, stacked up against weak, defeated, oil-hungry enemy navies.
- Large, powerful air forces, stacked up against dangerous but outnumbered enemy air forces.
- Large, reasonably strong armies, stacked up against dangerous but badly outnumbered enemy armies.
- Enormous production advantage.
- Once France is liberated, a set of primary supply sources on mainland Europe.

Disadvantages
- Attention and forces split between the European and Asia-Pacific theatres.
- Requires overseas supply for armies in the field (until France is liberated in Europe).
- Critical shortage of sealift units.
- Can't always perform optimal impulse calls, due to naval requirements or multi-theatre obligations.

Is there a bidding form?

The Allies vs. Japan

The Japanese carrier fleet is potent, but easily swatted aside if forced to do battle with the US carrier fleet. Further, the Japanese are heavily dependent on oil shipments from the NEI, or at least on maintaining a supply line to the NEI. Either way, the Japanese need a convoy line keeping its theatres in contact with the NEI.

As such, the Allies have the following timeline for combined arms operations, and a separate consideration for the strategic/naval war.

May/June 1944
- The US will attack and conquer Rabaul. Being in the South Monsoon weather belt it stands a reasonable chance of having good weather most or even all of the turn.
- The US will also advance on Truk, securing Ponape (the minor port in the middle of The Solomons sea area) and the nearby islands.
- The CW will advance on Burma and Thailand.

July/August 1944
- The US will seize Truk: if out of supply and disorganized, its defenders stand little chance against a maxed-out attack.
- The US will also advance along the south of New Guinea, towards the NEI.
- The CW will continue its advance in Burma and Thailand.

Fall/Winter 1944
- By now the Allies should have spare sealift, made available after the invasion of France and its reinforcements, starting to appear, along with some extra land units.
- The CW will advance into Malaya, with the intent of recapturing Singapore.
- The US will advance along three axes:
(1) North to the Bonin Islands, to secure airbases on the China Sea
(2) Centre to the Philippines and the capital, Manila.
(3) South to the NEI and the capital, Batavia.

Winter/Spring 1945
- The Allies aim to conquer Manila, Singapore, Saigon, and Batavia, if they have not done so already.
- The Allies expect, by this time, to destroy the Imperial Japanese Navy as an effective fighting force, whether through naval combat or oil deprivation.

Summer 1945
- The only objective hex the Allies are committed to seizing this turn is Taihoku.
- However if unit strength and Japanese weakness permits, an invasion of Japan, with the intent of capturing Tokyo, will take place.

Strategic War
Due to the distance between airbases and targets, a strategic air war against Japan is unlikely to be a major part of the Allied war effort. But strangling Japan's sea lines of communication with submarines and the carrier fleet, is likely to be key to crippling and defeating Japan. As such the US and CW will raid with submarines constantly and send late-turn surface or carrier fleet raids to attack the Japanese convoy lines.

Once Allied land-based air can reach the China and/or South China seas, naval forces will sit in these sea zones all turn long.

ORIGINAL: Zorachus99

Is there a bidding form?

I set up a solitaire game so I didn't see one. It appears Netplay games will have bidding functionality.

(I would expect there would be intense bidding to be an Allied power this game, such that the Axis would go for ridiculously low bids.)

The Allies vs. Germany

The German Army is probably (still) the best army in the game. However, it is critically short of units in the theatres the Allies are operating in. Perhaps its most crucial shortage is a shortage of fighter aircraft with which to give battle against the flying armadas the Allies can muster.

The Allies have the following timeline for operations against Germany.

May/June 1944
- The Allies will take a little bit of time before invading France: deploy their fleets, fly their bombers en masse to attempt to disorganize the German forces in theatre, and put pressure in the Italian sector to split German reinforcements.
- The Allies will invade in the north and, unless the French partisans are all destroyed, debark onto them in the south, preferably simultaneously to stretch the German defenders past the breaking point.
- The current plan of attack is for the CW to land in St-Malo, on the Channel coast, and for the US to land in St-Nazaire, on the Atlantic coast.
- These landing forces will be able to spread out so as to get a 3-4 hex attack on HQ von Rundstet in the nearby forest, possibly secure Nantes if the Axis could not reinforce it in time, and capture Brest as well. With Brest, Lorient, and St-Nazaire in Allied hands, further reinforcements from the US will be able to be shuttled straight into France.
- Both the US and CW have their marine engineers in theatre: these units may be able to get up to shenanigans to bypass Axis defensive lines.
- HQs Montgomery and one of Bradley or Eisenhower will debark as soon as possible after the invasion, along with the Allied armoured fists.

July/August 1944
- The US and CW each begin the scenario with 1 offensive chit; this turn is the one they aim to use them, ideally to crack open the German defensive lines.
- The US and CW forces expect to drive the Germans across France to the Seine river line, bust their way across, then liberate Paris (probably granting the honour to the Free French army).
- Elsewhere, the Allies aim to advance to and crack the mountain line in Italy, and to liberate Marseilles.

Fall/Winter 1944
- Through the next two turns of 1944, the bad weather will likely slow down the Allied advance.
- During this time Allied sealift, except for some minimal required amount, will transfer to the Pacific theatre.
- The Allies will work to liberate Belgium and the Netherlands.
- They will also attempt to conquer Milan and liberate Athens as well.

Winter/Spring 1945
- The only peripheral sector the Allies expect to act in this turn is in Norway & Denmark. Assuming the Soviet Union has conquered Finland, if the Allies can cut supply to Norway they can overcome the strong defence of Oslo with relative ease.
- Otherwise, the Allies will attempt to cross the Rhine into Germany in force, if they have met the above time-table, or work to catch up to it if not.

Summer 1945
- Any remaining German forces can expect to be swiftly defeated in a storm of land units, airpower, and offensive chits.

The Strategic War against Germany
- The Allies are set up to cooperate (figuratively, not game-mechanically) with the USSR to raid the Baltic, disrupting German production in this way.
- Capturing resources and factories in France, Italy, and the Low Countries will also serve as very effective strategic warfare.
- Finally, once the army has landed in France and is securely "ready to go", the strong Allied bombers will resume the Combined Bomber offensive - this time, as we shall soon see, with B-29s in tow.
- It is quite possible that Berlin, rather than Hiroshima, will be the first target of the American atomic bomb. Other options include Kiel and Tokyo (if it still harbours the Japanese Navy).



This map shows the planned beachheads for Operation Neptune: St-Malo, on the Channel coast, for the Commonwealth, and St-Nazaire, on the Atlantic coast, for the United States.

Peripheral Theatre Setup

Brazil
The Brazilians are set up to be sent overseas. Due to the shortage of sealift and the fact that the Brazilians don't cooperate with the CW or Fr, they may end up sitting the war out.

Africa

This section of Africa just has convoys and ships allocated to their defence.

The current Free French home country, Gabon, is here.

West Africa

More of the same as south-central Africa.

East Africa

The CW drew a surprising number of territorials for this region.

Suffice to say this sector is unlikely to see any action, save perhaps for transferring territorials to Iraq for garrison duty.

South India & Ceylon
Most of the Indian Army is placed around India to ward off pesky partisans.

Currently based in Ceylon is the Royal Navy task force assigned to the Asia-Pacific theatre.

Burma

With the Imperial Japanese Army withdrawing from Burma, the Indian Army will advance to recapture the oil and liberate the country.

Egypt

The land units currently based in Suez will join with the Indian Army as soon as the sealift can be spared to ship them.

The United States

West Coast
The militia corps will, if sealift permits, be shuttled to Hawai'i and either Dutch Harbour or Truk to serve as late-game garrisons.

The paratroopers and air units will of course find more meaningful use from the start of the scenario.

East Coast

The large army here awaits only sealift to become available to ship it to Europe.

This army should be sufficiently large so as to allow the Allies to overpower any opposition.

The Pacific Theatre

Hawai'i
The US fast carrier fleet is based in Honolulu, ready and able to deploy across the Pacific. While its primary purpose early on is to wait for the Japanese fleet to sortie and then attack it, this force stands ready to launch a late-turn raid into Japanese home waters.