AI for MWiF - Germany

[Neilster]

npilgaard: great posts. Very interesting to read, informative and full of colour. Thanks very much. I think you're making an excellent contribution to MWiF.

What I like about Steve's development style is that he's encouraged all this interaction between experienced Wiffers, which is leading to an effective distillation of sound strategies and tactics.

From what I see, I think the AI is going to pwn me until I get a lot of practice. Excellent! [:D]

Cheers, Neilster

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: npilgaard

ORIGINAL: npilgaard
The ones I posted are old posts that I have kept, since I as well found them interesting when I read them. Most of them are by this guy, Bryce, who I think have a very good grasp of effective and well-thought out strategies. I will look my remaining saved posts and post what is of interest here.

I have now posted all that I have saved of strategy and tactics tips from the old list discussions - some of the posts are quite large, but there is a lot of interesting stuff in them, I think.

As Lawrence Welk always said: "Wonnerful, wonnerful. Let's have a hand for Nikolaj!"[&o][&o][&o]

[Neilster]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: npilgaard

ORIGINAL: npilgaard
The ones I posted are old posts that I have kept, since I as well found them interesting when I read them. Most of them are by this guy, Bryce, who I think have a very good grasp of effective and well-thought out strategies. I will look my remaining saved posts and post what is of interest here.

I have now posted all that I have saved of strategy and tactics tips from the old list discussions - some of the posts are quite large, but there is a lot of interesting stuff in them, I think.

As Lawrence Welk always said: "Wonnerful, wonnerful. Let's have a hand for Nikolaj!"[&o][&o][&o]

Mad magazine used to have fun with Lawrence Welk. You just reminded me.

Cheers, Neilster

[npilgaard]

Lol! Well, I thank for the hand [:)].

ORIGINAL: Neilster
npilgaard: great posts. Very interesting to read, informative and full of colour. Thanks very much. I think you're making an excellent contribution to MWiF.

I didn't write the original posts, though - so we better give Bryce (whoever he is) a hand as well [&o][&o][&o]
[:)]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
As Lawrence Welk always said: "Wonnerful, wonnerful. Let's have a hand for Nikolaj!"[&o][&o][&o]

Unfortunately I don't know who Lawrence Welk is (after all, I do live in Denmark - I assume he is American...), so I have probably missed half the joke... [:)]

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Lawrence Welk was from the 1950's and 1960's. My grandfather (went over the top 3 times in WW I) only watched 2 TV shows: the Friday Night Fights and Lawrence Welk. Welk 'directed' a small band/orchestra and had on different singers. He spoke with a very heavy Dutch (Belgian?) accent and after each performance by one of the singers, he would applaud politely (while holding the director's baton in one hand) and say his famous line - as quoted previously. Every comedian of the time was able to do a Lawrence Welk imitation. "Give a hand" was a request for the audience to applaud.

[Mziln]

Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was a musician, accordion player, bandleader, and television impresario, hosting "The Lawrence Welk Show" from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known to his large number of radio, television, and live-performance fans as "champagne music." He is a 1961 inductee of North Dakota's Roughrider Award.
 
Wikipedia: Lawrence Welk
 

[npilgaard]

Thanks - I get the 'wonnerful' joke now [:)]

[Shannon V. OKeets]

I am slogging my way through typing in the edits I made for the German AIO back in the spring. I intend to develop little "how to's" for the AIO for each country that Germany might conquer and garrison. An excellent start on these was provided by Patrice, and I have been ppolishing them up. I am interested in your opinions and possible additional details on these.

We'll start with the easiest first: Denmark. Hex (45, 36) is 2 hexes west of Copenahgen.
=============
Denmark
Plan to Conquer
∙ One 4-mover INF is needed to conquer Copenhagen at the first opportunity (i.e., fine weather).
∙ This should be done as soon as possible.
∙ Have a scond 4-mover (a DIV is enough) to occupy Frederickshaven and avoid a CW early war nuisance invasion of Denmark.

Garrison
∙ Denmark is garrisoned to defend against invasion and liberation.
∙ No partisans are possible.
∙ Garrison (crucial) Copenhagen since Germany must hold it until the end of the war. Copenhagen controls access to the Baltic Sea. It should always be garrisoned and it should never be lost.
∙ Garrison (normal) Frederickshaven and hex (45, 36) to prevent Allied invasion and eventual liberation of Denmark.
∙ Once the Allies have gotten ashore in Denmark, some German combat naval units are needed in the Baltic to prevent the Allies from tracing supply across the strait leading onto the Copenhagen island. This can significantly delay the fall of Copenhagen.

[dale1066]

Sounds sound

Would the AIO make a distinction between elite garrison units and non elite and would that be signifcant for Denmark?

Also is this the place to discuss setups for attacked minors or is/has this been done in another part of the forum ?

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: dale1066

Sounds sound

Would the AIO make a distinction between elite garrison units and non elite and would that be signifcant for Denmark?

Also is this the place to discuss setups for attacked minors or is/has this been done in another part of the forum ?

Setups for attacked minors would be useful. Rather than thrown that open to all of them, how about we do them one at a time.

So, where does Denmark put its single unit?

[lomyrin]

Denmark only has a unit to arrive the next turn.  Their 2 CA's and 1 convoy in Fredrikshavn and 5 convoys in Thorshavn is a sommon setup. I am not aware of any unit changes in the latest setup data.
 
The invasion only needs 2 Div size units.
 
Lars

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: lomyrin

Denmark only has a unit to arrive the next turn.  Their 2 CA's and 1 convoy in Fredrikshavn and 5 convoys in Thorshavn is a sommon setup. I am not aware of any unit changes in the latest setup data.

The invasion only needs 2 Div size units.

Lars

The Danish land unit is a 2-2 Reserve Militia - undated. Why doesn't it arrive during the DOW turn?

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: lomyrin
Denmark only has a unit to arrive the next turn.  Their 2 CA's and 1 convoy in Fredrikshavn and 5 convoys in Thorshavn is a sommon setup. I am not aware of any unit changes in the latest setup data.

The invasion only needs 2 Div size units.

Lars

The Danish land unit is a 2-2 Reserve Militia - undated. Why doesn't it arrive during the DOW turn?

Because Reserve units of Minor Countries arrive at the reinforcement phase of next turn (contrarily to Major Power Reserves). So this one usually never arrives.

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: dale1066

Sounds sound

Would the AIO make a distinction between elite garrison units and non elite and would that be signifcant for Denmark?

Also is this the place to discuss setups for attacked minors or is/has this been done in another part of the forum ?

Setups for attacked minors would be useful. Rather than thrown that open to all of them, how about we do them one at a time.

So, where does Denmark put its single unit?

Nowhere, Germany should prevent its arrival by conquering Denmark.
If Germany was fool enough to DoW Denmark in a weather not allowing Copenhaguen to be occupied immediately, then maybe it could arrive, but also maybe CW can land troops there, as the Baltic would not be closed.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Here are two more minor countries. I have added the defending units (in 1939) including the Reserve units which arrive as reinforcements the next turn.
===========
The Netherlands
Plan to Conquer
∙ It is crucial to conquer Rotterdam and Amsterdam on the first Impulse after declaring war, to prevent CW troops coming to the support the Netherlands.
∙ If playing with the “no ZOC on surprise” optional rule, the Netherlands can be conquered during the first non-rain weather impulse. By moving into whichever city is left empty.
∙ If not playing with the “no ZOC on surprise” optional rule, wait for the German PARA to be deployed to take whichever city is left empty.
∙ There must be sufficient troops to insure an overwhelming attack odds (on the Assault table) against the Dutch units. This will typically be against a single occupied city.

Garrison
∙ The Netherlands is primarily garrisoned to defend against invasion and liberation.
∙ There is a chance of partisans but if there is sufficing garrison troops to prevent invasion and liberation, then partisans shouldn’t be an issue.
∙ Garrison (crucial) Amsterdam since it is an Objective hex.
∙ Garrison (important) Rotterdam as soon as possible. Both Amsterdam & Rotterdam they vital for the Allied return to the continent.
∙ Deploy (less important) a third garrison corps on the North Sea coast when the Allied invasion threat is high.

Belgium
Plan to Conquer
∙ Cross the Dyle in the first impulse of the declaration of war and conquer at least 2 of the 3 hexes Antwerp, Brussels, and the Belgian resource hex (53, 32).
∙ Use breakthrough aggressively, even if it causes German units in the Ardennes forest to become disorganized.
∙ An HQ has to be near enough to reorganize disorganized units.
∙ Crossing the Dyle is critical.
∙ The tactics are to ground strike and blitz the Belgian units, plus any other Allied units that enter Belgium.

Garrison
∙ Belgium is primarily garrisoned to defend against invasion and liberation.
∙ There is a chance of partisans but if there is sufficing garrison troops to prevent invasion and liberation, then partisans shouldn’t be an issue.
∙ Garrison (crucial) Brussels and Antwerp as soon as possible.
∙ Garrison (normal) the forest hex (54, 33), because its ZOC prevents partisans from appearing in the French resources hexes to the south.

[lomyrin]

The Netherlands is sometimes bypassed by Germany in order to later on coordinate that attack with Japan's attack on NEI.
 
Lars

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: lomyrin

The Netherlands is sometimes bypassed by Germany in order to later on coordinate that attack with Japan's attack on NEI.

Lars

Ok. I'll add that as one of the alternatives. How do they coordinate?

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: lomyrin

The Netherlands is sometimes bypassed by Germany in order to later on coordinate that attack with Japan's attack on NEI.

Lars

Ok. I'll add that as one of the alternatives. How do they coordinate?

This is a German Alternative. Generaly it will be used in conjunction with an anti CW strategy.

Pros :
Denying the extra CP & TRS to the CW.

Cons :
It makes Conquest of Belgium harder and likely that Antwerp will be CW held, because the Germans won't be able to attack from Rotterdam.
It opens the "no Brussel defense" for the Belgians, that can put 2 units in Antwerp, and one in Liege, thus nearly garantying that the French & CW will be able to advance to the Dyle & Maas. The parade for the Germans is to then Paradrop on Brussels, that the allies can counter by denying the territorial, resulting in the PARA alone on Brussels and open to counterattack (not a very strong one).

They coordinate (Japan & Germany) by DoWing the Netherlands at the same moment (and often CW & USA & France), in late 41 when Japan is ready of ITS CONQUEST IMPULSE.

[Zorachus99]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

Here are two more minor countries. I have added the defending units (in 1939) including the Reserve units which arrive as reinforcements the next turn.
===========
The Netherlands
Plan to Conquer
∙ It is crucial to conquer Rotterdam and Amsterdam on the first Impulse after declaring war, to prevent CW troops coming to the support the Netherlands.
∙ If playing with the “no ZOC on surprise” optional rule, the Netherlands can be conquered during the first non-rain weather impulse. By moving into whichever city is left empty.
∙ If not playing with the “no ZOC on surprise” optional rule, wait for the German PARA to be deployed to take whichever city is left empty.
∙ There must be sufficient troops to insure an overwhelming attack odds (on the Assault table) against the Dutch units. This will typically be against a single occupied city.

It is crucial to take Amsterdam, because it is the only factory. Netherlands will experience incomplete conquest at the end of the turn. The para is inconsequential in any regard. Allies have to DOW Belgium to stuff Rotterdam effectively. Though it seems a good position initially; reinforcing the BEF to Rotterdam is a mistake in most situations IMO.

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Zorachus99
It is crucial to take Amsterdam, because it is the only factory. Netherlands will experience incomplete conquest at the end of the turn. The para is inconsequential in any regard. Allies have to DOW Belgium to stuff Rotterdam effectively. Though it seems a good position initially; reinforcing the BEF to Rotterdam is a mistake in most situations IMO.

A mistake that may well result in the Wallies holding the dyle line when the Germans attack Belgium, which is very dangerous for the Germans. Using the PARA is an insurance that Belgium & the Netherlands will be conquered without risks.