HamburgerMeat (Allies) vs Cpuncher (Axis) Educational AAR (1.06)

[HamburgerMeat]

1. Having at least two units is necessary to discourage a german or italian paratrooper drop from Sicily. But even with the two minimum units to prevent a guaranteed paratroop drop, a paratrooper can still make it across with a RNG skip. This doesn't count the possibility of Tripoli, which an italian paratrooper can transport to even before italy joins the war, then force march the following turn westward and prepare to jump, which can cover most of the two hexes around Algiers, greatly increasing the number of troops. The best solution for france is to move a corp to the Mareth line to try to prevent the paratrooper from getting into a good position, but the italians can defeat that corp if they anticipate it. And if you're not keeping N Africa port supply down, then german paratroopers can do the job just as well

2. France is only a life or death issue because of this 1940 USSR possibility. While I also like the fact it makes France more relevant, I would not say that N Africa is very secondary. While it is much less important than in WiE, it is still a gateway to knock out Italy and axis aligned Balkan countries/

3. Axis don't have as wide of a range of research necessary as the UK (if axis is going for a USSR first strategy), and the germans should be beating the UK 1:2 at a minimum in germany's favor.

4. The first part of your response is true, though repairing minor units is more expensive than major, plus you're paying transportation costs early on instead of researching. However, the germans can build an extra paratrooper on turn 1. I'm guessing you didn't count the japanese paratrooper since that's not relevant to this topic.

5. Last I was doing consistent sealion attacks was back in 1.02 when amphib units could move after embarking, and it was working then.

I am not saying that sealion > USSR invasion (especially since the USSR is so much historically weaker) but that the UK player needs to seriously prepare for the possibility, as a successful attack will put the allies at a significant advantage even despite the mobilization bonus to the USA and USSR.