Old posts from the list re strategic bombing:
Post:
(68750 Bryce):
" > Having just finished a game as Germanywith a VERY heavy US/CW bombing offensive, let me say that
> it is devastating for Germany. Not so much the actual bombing, because you know you have to use
> FTR to stop it.
I would concur, and add the following from a current game: our CW and US players built many Lnd4 and fairly early. They started with raids on the factories they could escort to (France, Belgium), but quickly switched over to first raiding every uncovered factory in range and finally escorting large raids into the Ruhr.
As the Russian player, I of course want them to give me more LL and to open a second front (I think the amount I've gotten is shabby). But I cannot complain when in the last year Germany has gotten 8 factories rubbled (6 of those in Germany), not to mention the PP lost (ain't double-dipping nice?) and of course the 4BP required to repair those same factories (32BP is ONE TURN of production out of 6).
My observation is that, once the Allies gain air superiority in an area, the bombing quickly escalates, with shot down Axis FTR almost as preferable as rubbled factories. Almost, that is.
Bottom line: strat bombing is VERY MUCH a valid strategy. But be careful that it does not begin to seriously impact your other goals (LL, territorial expansion, Italy, second front, etc.) whatever they happen to be. Forex, an aggressive Russian front and Allied strat bombing will NOT win the war for the Allies.
In games with oil rules, strat bombing can become much more important; if Germany is consuming 6-8 oil per turn fighting Russia, a concerted effort to put her on a crude oil diet can work wonders on the German limiting all his HQ-A from flipping, ground strikers flying, etc.
Finally, large bomber forces can take time off occasionally to bomb the front lines instead; D-Day can be pretty unfun when the whole Axis army has been flipped and/or carpet bombed by these huge bomber forces.
One caution here, while using your Lnd4 in this role occasionally isn't a bad idea, don't get married to it. You must threaten the German everywhere, overloading his resources so he has to spread out (while you 'concentrate'). It means that a lone German Me109 in the Ruhr is set upon by several of your FTR escorts. It means your short legged FTR guard the A-20's, B-25's and Tempests on the front (well, the Tommies would argue that their Tempests are self-escorting).
The ability to occasionally carpet bomb a key hex (even if playing carpet-bombing only shatters) is also pretty powerful. After all, if you do carpet bomb, the German must now have FTR near the hex to
counter carpet bombing, paradrops, ground strikes and ground support; it ain't often that they can achieve this FTR density. If the German has a key hex with too much air power guarding it, feel free to fly Lnd4 against it. If you get rid of a unit on a 9+, can the German allow you to have a +1 (or even a +2 with intel) on that hex? That's a 30% of tearing a hole in their lines. I think they'll fly.
The trick about carpet bombing (shatters or not) is simple; if there are less than 3 units in the hex, when you roll a high attack THEY ALL DIE. Even if the 15-5 SS ARM survived the carpet raid, it doesn't get blitzed onto the spiral by the attack. IT DIED. With shatters sometimes your best bombing result will be to hit the div and then roll a */2B or /2S on the corps left in the hex.
This applies somewhat to the Russian front as well; if you have the resources, carpet bombing hexes on supercombineds (even at night) is horrible, because the German doesn't have enough FTR to interdict every mission, and if you get lucky and shatter the 9-6 ARM, that hex is going to fall without an OC.
Not to mention targeting key HQ providing supply, taking one of those out is the holy grail since OOS Germans can't intercept your other air missions, and flipped OOS Germans are dogmeat against the Soviet juggernaut. 'Course, most Germans know this and keep those suckers in forest hexes (among other reasons).
My guess is that the Allies spend 1/6th of their strat bombers (or less) doing carpet raids; the exception is key invasion turns or the turns after they get ashore. Then you might see ALL the Lnd4 flying ground strikes or carpet raids exclusively.
The Soviets (if they build this ability) will use their bombers this way roughly 1/4 of the time (bombing Ploesti and serving as LR ground support/strike units takes the rest). You have to be willing to expend OC occasionally as supercombineds, otherwise flying in combineds and use your artillery to try and flip the units on the front at the same time. As you can tell, I prefer to leaven my Soviet land impulse OC with a couple supercombineds.
For all my gushing, though, bombing alone isn't going to bring the Axis to heel; they've already got their huge army on map. You need the Russian and/or a concerted Allied ground army to finish the job. So don't get distracted by bright, shiny objects in your force pool."
Post:
(68773 Bryce) :
" > The real cost here are probably that it demands a full air impulse
> each turn making it a very costly strategy indeed.
> Not in my experience. The US is usually popping a Supercombined a turn. The
> air wave goes during that impulse. Ike and your ATRs then reorg all of the
> stratbombers which rebomb during the remainder of the turn against unguarded
> factories where the German fighters are flipped, and/or with the Brits when they do
> their bombing runs.
Dave is right on the money. The Allies don't have huge land armies, but they do have (or should have) at least 1 OC (sooner for the US and later for the Soviets/CW) multiple OC per turn.
This is another part of that same old recurring thread; the Allies win WiF (or lose it) by (in)competent use of their ACTION LIMITS. Pulling a super as the US allows you to do everything, including setting up your CP protection, etc.
OC can of course be used in other ways. Don't knock playing an OC on an air impulse as the US (or the CW). If you've built a fair number of good FF units and they are in your front, a CW land OC coupled with a US air OC can tear the freaking heart out of a German defense. Forex, assume that the Brits have 2 hexes on a 25 defense stack of German blitzers. Using the 2d10 this is a -5 stack, pretty formidable. Let's assume that the Germans even manage to get 5 support in, for a 30 defense. Oh my.
The Brits get 2 stacks against it, doubled. Thats roughly 72? I think we can safely assume the stack is also flipped (hordes of planes can fly and they are pretty good). Next realize those US planes flying support give double factors; a good A-20 can lend 10 factors to this battle. And the west has how many again?
Not even counting paras or carpet raids or anything else, the Allies have a darned good chance of having a 4:1 battle (+8 +5flips +6blitz -5blitz +2HQ). A +16 attack (maybe less if the German HQ avoids the wave of ground strikes0.
In other words, the Allies can 'eat' 2 or more German kill stacks on their front a turn under ideal conditions (terrain and weather certainly play roles). The German should dread most rain turns and
positively fear endless JA44 turns.
Finally, don't forget the critical point here: when you do a super air or combined, you have the ability to unflip all those planes to fly again while Germany's air force has shot its bolt. In followup impulses your ability to just pile on unescorted bombers in battles will always generate higher odds, and ultimately higher losses.
After all, how often is your Soviet player going to give the German the respite to throw an air impulse and reorg? Even in the winter the Rompin' Stompin' Russian Red Ass is on the offensive. Or at least he should be, I've seen many recent posts from people where they seem to
be rebuilding the Soviet army later than I think they should be. But that's a whole 'nother post.
One last little item: the Allies have a second ability the Germans can never equal: paradrops. If you've built well, you can have 4 FF ATR on map, enough to ensure that EVERY attack you make will have 2-3 Para in them, ideally. A French ATR is worth 2 Brit or US ATR for mission purposes (not for reorg), yet they (and FF TRS/AMPH) are the most overlooked units in the Western arsenal.
What I am saying here is, 3 FF ATR and George behind your lines can fly 6 paradrops (3 impulses worth if each one has 2 missions). This continual bonus addition to your battles is easy to achieve, and requires the German to have even higher FTR density in his hexes to protect them. Somehow I don't think that's the case. Use them lavishly."
