Global War - confessions of an armchair strategist

[Walker84]

Agreed, anyway the Germans have the initiative back and have determined a plan to thrust due west with an armoured spearhead from Brussels towards Lille. As only two units have the facing it is vital that the Luftwaffe succeed in disrupting Billotte and the French cavalry corps and the die roll is a good one.

The picture also shows German arty attempting to neutralise French armour in the adjacent hex.

[Walker84]

The tension mounts as the Germans fly in their only available air unit - a bunch of Emils acting as fighter-bombers. They pass a wing of French LeO's flying the other way and both units score hits. The final land result sees Billotte retreating back over the French border in disarray and German armour regrouping for a second attack along the line.

[Walker84]

Axis impulse 3 sees the reorganised Luftwaffe punching through the weak French fighter cover and preparing the ground well for the land attack to follow.

[Walker84]

Here's the position at the start of Allied impulse 4. The line appears to be bulging but holding for now. However, the French dare not risk any counterattacks as too many of their best units and HQs are disorganised. The BEF continues to hold the line for now but Gort is prepared to fall back on Calais and leave Antwerp to its fate should his lines of communication become threatened. Note to self - due to the commitment limit the Queens will have to leave Calais first to allow the motorised corps back into France.

[Walker84]

After a botched ground attack attempt by a harassed haggle of Hampdens hailing from Harwich, Dowding's seriously splendid Spitfires punch their way through German fighter defences but the beastly Blenheims are unable to convert the try. Allied bombers have been getting some singularly bad rolls during the campaign so far.

[Walker84]

Its Axis impulse 7 and Germany has played the first Offensive chit, enabling HQs to reorganise the armoured spearhead, plus selected air support units. I should note at this point that the Guderian Armoured HQ was an early purchase so Germany currently has 4 good HQ units in the West and plenty of high strength reserves to fill any gaps in the line.

As the Panzers drive West the only unit standing between them and Le Havre is a disrupted French bomber wing. The French are desperately trying to regroup in front of Paris but in the process have left the Ardennes front dangerously weakened...

Meanwhile, Mussolini continues to watch from the sidelines. His main contribution to the campaign has been to keep a moderately sizeable French force neutralised in the South but he is showing signs of building up in the Med and Libya. The CW have deployed a garrison in Malta and a South African Spitfire unit is en route to Suez.

Stalin takes advantage of Hitler's preoccupation to demand Bessarabia - request granted.

[Walker84]

To make matters worse for the beleaguered French High Command, German forces then switch their focus to the Ardennes, achieving a second breakthrough even though the plucky defenders manage to destroy a German mech corps in the process. The line is unravelling fast...

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Walker84

After a botched ground attack attempt by a harassed haggle of Hampdens hailing from Harwich, Dowding's seriously splendid Spitfires punch their way through German fighter defences but the beastly Blenheims are unable to convert the try. Allied bombers have been getting some singularly bad rolls during the campaign so far.

warspite1

Nice use of a collective noun Walker84 [;)] I must confess I never realised that is how one referred to a number of Hampdens.

[Courtenay]

Did you double any German units' combat values when you used the O-chit?

[Walker84]

Why thank you, Warspite1.

I must confess that I have been indulging freely in the festive spirit of late which can be a great source of inspiration - especially when it comes to identifying new collective nouns. Mind you, one must urge extreme caution when referring to a fleeing flock of Fairey Fulmers, especially if in the festive mood [:D]

[Walker84]

ORIGINAL: Courtenay

Did you double any German units' combat values when you used the O-chit?

No, I didn't, although this may well have been advisable. I had never used an O-chit before so read up and it seemed that this was one of several mutually exclusive options. I was mainly concerned with keeping my units undisrupted and this was achieved very well - I even managed to flip a few Stukas back into service which meant the German pinpint attacks were highly effective.

[Courtenay]

No. When you use a land O-chit, during the movement, combat and advance after combat steps you may double up to twice the reorganization value of the HQ. (Each time you double a unit counts; a unit that overruns doubled someone in the movement phase, attacks another doubled in the combat phase, and overruns doubled yet another unit in advance after combat counts as three doublings.) This does not flip the HQ. You have to individually double each unit by right clicking on it, selecting "Land Combat" from the menu, and then clicking on "Double combat value" (not sure of the exact phrase here). Then, in the reorganization step, all land units that HQ reorganizes requires half the normal reorganization points. After that, whether you reorganize anyone or not, the HQ flips.

The doubling is the main point of the offensive O-chit. It does not exclude the reorganization benefit at the end of the turn. Don't use the HQ for HQ support, though, or that will flip it before it can reorganize units.

[Klydon]

It sounded like he used the O-chit to unflip a bunch of HQ's, which then in turn reorganized a bunch of disrupted units or flipped the HQ that used the O-chit to flip over a bunch of units at the reduced rate.

If he did the latter, he did indeed miss out on the benefits of doubling a bunch of units that should have turned the French line into garbage along with potentially sending the BEF packing.

[Walker84]

Courtenay, Klydon,

Thanks, that's great advice fellas. It won't happen again - I promise! (Luckily my understanding opponent was happy to let me off... again...)

[brian brian]

I hate to tell all of you 5th Edition players this … a lot of German players don't use their Offensive Chits in France at all. Unless they are in a big hurry to reach Gibraltar. Otherwise, they save them for Stalin…. keep playing…. hint: re-organize the Stukas until the French are fleeing in terror, or there are no French left….

[Walker84]

Thanks for the advice, Brian Brian - it sounds like you are a proponent of the 'ironman' approach to world domination [;)]

My main reason for deploying the chit was the crappy weather in May/June which had put the Axis behind schedule, otherwise I might have been happy to depend on Stukas and tanks as you say. As a new player, I'm also effectively playtesting the game this time round, and I'm glad I ironed out the issues with deploying the chit before taking on Stalin.

[Klydon]

I have read a couple of strategy articles covering the use of an offensive chit in the West in 1940. It does seem to lean towards not using it, but there were some good cases made to use the chit in order to speed up the downfall of France and get access to most of the French resources that much faster along with French production.

I don't know as I see a hard slog for the Germans without the offensive chit against the French defenses I have been able to construct (typically at least 10 point stacks and the best the Germans are typically going to get before air is 3-1. 4-1 isn't a real sure thing depending on how the dice go as well).

From the comments of most of the experienced players, it seems it is a wonder the Axis get anywhere except for Japan in China.

[Walker84]

ORIGINAL: Klydon

I have read a couple of strategy articles covering the use of an offensive chit in the West in 1940. It does seem to lean towards not using it, but there were some good cases made to use the chit in order to speed up the downfall of France and get access to most of the French resources that much faster along with French production.

I don't know as I see a hard slog for the Germans without the offensive chit against the French defenses I have been able to construct (typically at least 10 point stacks and the best the Germans are typically going to get before air is 3-1. 4-1 isn't a real sure thing depending on how the dice go as well).

From the comments of most of the experienced players, it seems it is a wonder the Axis get anywhere except for Japan in China.

Weather depending, I certainly feel that I will have to become more experienced before I could comfortably defeat France without resorting to deploying a chit at the critical moment. Mind you, I didn't really deploy it to the best effect this time.

At the moment speeding up the downfall of France is the order of the day. The Allies have managed to use their impulse to straighten the line. However, with the Germans continuing to pour through the Ardennes, Gen. Georges and the Metz militia are taken out with odds of 6:1 on the blitzkreig table.

[Walker84]

At this juncture (Axis impulse 3 Sep/Oct 1940) Mussolini finally decides to throw his cards on the table, declaring war on France and the Commonwealth while authorising a land attack across the Alps where intelligence suggests that a French militia unit will fold at the first opportunity.

A fast Italian cruiser force enters the Eastern Med simultaneously, surprising the Allied convoys there and forcing them to abort. Wavell is left unsupplied in the western desert and curses the Admiralty for their complacency in leaving the Eastern fleet deployed at Aden.

[Walker84]

The scale of the threat now facing Paris can be gauged by this screenshot...