Wow, this game got interesting very fast (for WA standards). Paullus will most probably wait till his subs are researched to advanced levels, build them, and then unleash massive Uboat campaign in the Atlantic. I have to be prepared when that time comes. That means not only researching anti-sub capabilities of various weapons, but also supplying UK and their possesions while I still can do that relatively easy.
Keeping Egypt, and stopping any possible German advance towards Middle East is my primary task now. One of the starting German sub flotillas went hunting after my transports off the African coast. (This is rarely seen from our screenshots, but WA starts the game with a "chain" of transports all around Africa). Having no DD fleets to protect this route, I retreated 4-5 transport fleets to the security of South African ports, which effectively closed this transport route (he forced me to do that with just one damned sub flotilla!)
There are three ways to support Egypt early for WA:
a) transports from India (pro: can bring whatever is produced in India, hard to reach for Axis subs and far from their bases; con: India can't produce much: a unit or two every other turn, and some supplies)
b) transport chain from UK all around the Africa and Cape Good Hope thru Red Sea to Egypt and ME (pro: fine while it works; con: very vulnerable, and usually attacked in the opening turns of the game - you lose one transport, and whole "chain" is unusable - that's what Paulus did in this game, and my whole "chain" retreated to SA ports to avoid further damage, I don't have many DD fleets to play cat and mice with his subs that far from home)
c) transport chain via Med (pro: relatively short way, you can bring whatever is produced in big centres in UK and US; con: you have to fight with the Italians and run the gauntlet of Axis Med subs and Stukas)
d) there is a possibility of transport linkup with Australia, but I am usually reluctant to do that - Australians will be needed vs. the Japanese
What was my point with all this? Don't know, I forgot... [>:]
Anyway, only a) worked for me in this turn. I retreated some Med fleet assets towards Alexandria, cause I noticed he transferred some Stukas to South Italy. We completed the occupation of Persia (sorry Becket, nothing left for ya [8|]) We also crushed Italian resistance in AOI (losing one colonial militia unit in the process).
We find it hard to sustain our gigantic research effort in full so only selected areas of research got the funding this turn (atomic bomb here we come
)
O.
