A World Ignites... (AAR)

[Neilster]

I'm a bit busy to wade through it all. I'll let Steve or Orm post that stuff.

Cheers, Neilster

[Orm]

Here is a picture that explains the units status indicators.

[Orm]

Before I continue with the Soviet set up I want to post the optional rules that I play with in this game. The optional rule Blitz bonus affected my thinking when I scrapped units with USSR so I opened the help information for that option.

[Orm]

I scrapped many units with the USSR as well. Three and four in strength is to weak for motorized infantry to spend resources on so they get scrapped. If mechanized units did not get a bonus (in this game) when fighting some battles I would, probably, have scrapped the 5 strength Mech as well.

With that said I know that some do not scrap any land units at all when they set up USSR.

[Orm]

The Soviet Union gets to place seven land units in Siberia and that is an entire army. But when one looks at the Siberian - Manchurian border it is easy to see that it is impossible to defend all of Siberia with just 7 units. Especially since Japan set up their forces after USSR.

[Neilster]

Actually, those seven units would, unless I'm mistaken, represent at least one Army Group, or "Front" as the Soviets called them. I'm just trying to help people get a feel for the vast scale of the number of men at play here [;)]

Cheers, Neilster

[Orm]

A HQ, 5 corps and one cavalry division plus one supporting artillery formation makes a strong Army or a weak Army Group in my book. [:)]

In defence of Vladivostok I place the three strongest infantry corps that The Soviet Union has available. They are supported by a artillery division. This makes a decent defence but if Japan are going to attack Vladivostok in force it is not enough. The superior Japanese navy with almost unlimited shore bombardment available makes it very, very tough to defend coastal hexes (in the Pacific) for USSR.

[Neilster]

OK cool. I didn't realise they were corps and not armies. Russian infantry units are often armies, folks [:)]

Cheers, Neilster

[Orm]

The three remaining Soviet land units in Siberia I place north-west of Manchuria. Note that the cavalry corps I placed in the swamp is out of supply.

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: Neilster

OK cool. I didn't realise they were corps and not armies. Russian infantry units are often armies, folks [:)]

Cheers, Neilster

The units in Siberia is the elite portion of the forces USSR has available for set up. [:)]

[Orm]

In Europe I assign all available land and air units to Army Group Timoshenko located in south-west Ukraine.

The reason that I place all the European forces there is because I plan to put pressure on Germany and demand Bessarabia from Rumania. But at the same time I do not want to go to war with Rumania since that could annoy the US public opinion. In short, I try to convince them that resistance is futile and that it is better to give in to my demands. It is a rare German player who risk the Rumanian oil against such display of power.

I want to occupy the Finnish Borderlands as well but I opted to go for Bessarabia first since the Rumanian army is weaker and winter is coming soon and I do not want to risk a winter war against Finland.

[Neilster]

A winter war against Finland? Hey...c'mon...what could possibly go wrong? That puny Finnish army against the might of the Red Army? [:D]

It may be obvious but the "Flyout" is a quick on-map representation of the units in the Odessa hex. When more than one unit occupies a hex they are said to be "stacked". There are various rules for how many and what kind of units can stack. Note that the number of units stacked in the hex is represented by the number above. For Odessa it's 5.

You can also just see that Sevastopol in the Crimea has fortifications. Fortifications help defenders. Also visible around Bucharest is a major oil resource area and a factory (major concentration of industrial potential). In the Krivoy Rog hex is a large concentration of conventional resources and Dnepropetrovsk has two factories. Their colours are different for reasons that will be explained later (I assume [;)])

Cheers, Neilster

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: Neilster

A winter war against Finland? Hey...c'mon...what could possibly go wrong? That puny Finnish army against the might of the Red Army? [:D]

Of course nothing could go wrong. Our troops would soon march into Helsinki. Those capitalists has no stomach to fight our heroic soldiers. And winter is just a state of mind. If one is resolute in attack then cold is no obstacle for the Soviet Army.


A picture of the Finnish force pool and the units that would be set up if Finland enters the war. Note that three of the units are 'reserve' units in 1939 and will arrive as reinforcements. The reserves are the 6-5 Mot, 4-3 Mil and the fighter (FTR2). Finland will get more units in the future but this is the situation in 1939.

[traskott]

Suscribed!!!

Factor 5 Finish troops? Your militia will eat them for breakfast!!! Oh, wait....

[Easo79]

ORIGINAL: Neilster

It may be obvious but the "Flyout" is a quick on-map representation of the units in the Odessa hex. When more than one unit occupies a hex they are said to be "stacked". There are various rules for how many and what kind of units can stack. Note that the number of units stacked in the hex is represented by the number above. For Odessa it's 5.

Cheers, Neilster

Thanks for bringing here this point, because I was a litte ashamed to ask. The "flyout" appears when you hover over the stack with the mouse or when you click on it...doesn't it? I ask this because many times I have seen here the expression "adding a flyout" and I was wondering if it is a Photoshop thing added to the image "a posteriori"

[paulderynck]

The fly-out ability is easily turned on and off so it does not annoy you when you don't want it. When on, hovering over a stack causes the fly-out to appear.

[Orm]

Next nation to set up its forces is Italy. And as with all nation the set up begins with scrapping old units if that option is in play.

I think I my scrapping policy with Italy is fairly common. I suspect that some do not scrap those two transporters. But I prefer to to make sure that I have the four movement point TRS on the map from the beginning.

[paulderynck]

I never scrap any of the LND3 transporters in the hopes I'll draw one. In probably 10 games, I've never drawn one.[:@]

[Orm]

Italian East Africa (IEA) is a conflict area that begins with few counters. And in some games this part of the world see little action. But is some there is plenty of stuff going on here. Once or twice I've seen a couple of Italian units conquer most of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Italy must set up three units in Italian East Africa and that is not enough for both offence and defence.

[Orm]

I decide to not be adventurous in IEA from the beginning and place the units in defensive positions. But I do place the Ethiopian territorial (Terr) so it can reach Djibouti but at the same time is in supply from Addis Ababa in fine weather.