Axis & Allies Revised II (Round 5 - United States)

[DeathNote]

America suffers no losses and takes Egypt.

Next Combat
bomber

Original Roll String: 1d6

1 6-Sided Dice: (2) = 2

fighter

Original Roll String: 1d6

1 6-Sided Dice: (6) = 6

Infantry

Original Roll String: 2d6

2 6-Sided Dice: (5, 3) = 8

Japan

Original Roll String: 1d6

1 6-Sided Dice: (1) = 1

[DeathNote]

we both lose one and I take Kaz back for russia. Land Fighter and bomber in Caucasus

[DeathNote]

Non combat stuff I'll figure out soon, I know I will transport units over but I am not sure what units I am moving around at home base or where to place the navy if I want to get a transport to threaten south germany

[Thurhame]

Purchase:
Transport x1 (8)
Infantry x6 (18)
Artillery x4 (16)

That's a total cost of 42 IPCs. You only have 40.

[Thurhame]

As far as moves, I think Japan has hit the limit of its momentum in Russia, with the exception of the factory-supported army in Persia. You'll probably want to bring more units in through Africa to keep it bottled up.

Leaving the navy where it is would protect your Africa transports and let them threaten Southern Europe. There isn't really any better place for it, since it can't enter the Mediterranean or the Pacific without getting slaughtered.

Japan can only hit your mainland with 4 infantry and one bb bombardment; so Alaska's fine defensively, and 4-5 infantry 2 artillery in WUS should be able to counterattack and retake any other target.

[DeathNote]

Revised Purchase cause Math hard:
transport x1
infantry x6
artillery x3

2 IPCS left over.


Non-Combat:
Load 2 infantry into Transport SZ 10.
Transport SZ 10 moves to SZ 12.

Load 1 infantry and 1 artillery into transport SZ 1
3 transports to SZ 2 unload units at GB and back to SZ 1
4 infantry load at SZ 3 move to SZ 4 unload at Karalia
4 infantry at Norway to Karalia
9 infantry and 1 artillery at Eastern US to Eastern Canada

Placement:
5 infantry in Western US
2 artillery in Western US
1 Infantry in Eastern US
2 artillery in Eastern US
1 transport in SZ 10

[Thurhame]

Non-Combat:
3 transports to SZ 2 unload units at GB and back to SZ 1

Unloading ends a transport's movement.

Placement:
5 infantry in Western US
2 artillery in Western US
1 Infantry in Eastern US
2 artillery in Eastern US
1 transport in SZ 10

That's the amount of your original invalid purchase. Please reduce.

[DeathNote]

One less in eastern then

[Thurhame]

9 infantry and 1 artillery at Eastern US to Eastern Canada

There are only 7 infantry and 1 artillery left. I assume this is what you meant.

The two fighters in Egypt must land in Libya / Eq. Africa / Congo / East Africa. I'll assume Libya, but if you want them somewhere else just say so.

I believe that concludes US turn proofreading. US collects 39 IPCs, for a total of 41 in hand.

[Thurhame]

Purchases

5 infantry
1 artillery
2 tanks

Combat Move

Move 2 infantry, 1 artillery, 2 fighters from Caucasus to Ukraine.
Move 1 infantry, 2 artillery from Russia to Evenki National Okrug.
Move 4 infantry, 5 artillery from Russia to Novosibirsk.

[Thurhame]

Combat in Ukraine - Round 1

Soviet Union - 1 infantry [1]

Original Roll String: 1d6

1 6-Sided Dice: (6) = 6

Soviet Union - 1 infantry, 1 artillery [2]

Original Roll String: 2d6

2 6-Sided Dice: (6, 5) = 11

Soviet Union - 2 fighters [3]

Original Roll String: 2d6

2 6-Sided Dice: (3, 4) = 7

Germany - 1 infantry, 1 artillery [2]

Original Roll String: 2d6

2 6-Sided Dice: (3, 6) = 9

[Thurhame]

Soviet Union scores 1 hit. 1 German infantry is destroyed.
Germany scores no hits.

Combat in Ukraine - Round 2

Soviet Union - 1 infantry [1]

Original Roll String: 1d6

1 6-Sided Dice: (5) = 5

Soviet Union - 1 infantry, 1 artillery [2]

Original Roll String: 2d6

2 6-Sided Dice: (3, 5) = 8

Soviet Union - 2 fighters [3]

Original Roll String: 2d6

2 6-Sided Dice: (3, 4) = 7

Germany - 1 artillery [2]

Original Roll String: 1d6

1 6-Sided Dice: (2) = 2

[Thurhame]

Soviet Union scores 1 hit. Germany loses 1 artillery.
Germany scores 1 hit. Soviet Union loses 1 infantry.
Soviet Union captures Ukraine.

Combat in Novosibirsk

Soviet Union - 4 infantry, 5 artillery [2]

Original Roll String: 9d6

9 6-Sided Dice: (1, 2, 2, 6, 4, 6, 1, 6, 4) = 32

Japan - 2 infantry, 2 artillery [2]

Original Roll String: 4d6

4 6-Sided Dice: (3, 2, 3, 1) = 9

Japan - 1 tank [3]

Original Roll String: 1d6

1 6-Sided Dice: (5) = 5

[Thurhame]

Soviet Union scores 4 hits. Japan loses 2 infantry, 2 artillery.
Japan scores 2 hits. Soviet Union loses 2 infantry.

Combat in Novosibirsk - Round 2

Soviet Union - 2 infantry, 5 artillery [2]

Original Roll String: 7d6

7 6-Sided Dice: (3, 1, 4, 4, 4, 3, 1) = 20

Japan - 1 tank [3]

Original Roll String: 1d6

1 6-Sided Dice: (3) = 3

[Thurhame]

Soviet Union scores 2 hits. Japan loses 1 tank.
Japan scores 1 hit. Soviet Union loses 1 infantry.
Soviet Union liberates Novosibirsk.

Combat in Evenki National Okrug - Round 1

Soviet Union - 1 infantry, 2 artillery [2]

Original Roll String: 3d6

3 6-Sided Dice: (6, 3, 2) = 11

Japan - 1 infantry [2]

Original Roll String: 1d6

1 6-Sided Dice: (2) = 2

[Thurhame]

Soviet Union scores 1 hit. Japan loses 1 infantry.
Japan scores 1 hit. Soviet Union loses 1 infantry.
Soviet Union liberates Evenki National Okrug.

[Thurhame]

Noncombat Move

Move 1 infantry from Belorussia to Karelia.
Land 2 fighters from Ukraine in Karelia.
Move 1 artillery from Russia to Caucasus.

Mobilize New Units

Place 2 infantry, 1 artillery, 1 tank in Caucasus.
Place 3 infantry, 1 tank in Russia.

[Thurhame]

Soviet Union collects 28 IPCs, ending its turn.

Map updated. It is now Germany's turn. As agreed earlier, PeregrineV has a week before Sky_Paladin is allowed to take the turn in his stead.

[Sky_Paladin]

Bump. Peregrine, are you still alive dude?

[Sky_Paladin]

Peregrine, do you have any intention of taking your turn? It's almost been a week, ol' buddy.

[PeregrineV]

Peregrine, do you have any intention of taking your turn? It's almost been a week, ol' buddy.

I am, and I do, but I don't want to pull a boneheaded move that will lose it for you when you are in such a good spot (provided I don't make any boneheaded moves).

So, my current rundown on my thoughts for my turn....
Purchase 2 tanks, 8 men
Blitz Belo and West Russia
Take Ukraine
Clear Kazah

My question to Japan is, how much to leave in each of Germany, South and West Europe to hold them all vs how much in Ukraine to prep clearing Caucus?

[Sky_Paladin]

I don't know 'the best thing to do', so don't worry about screwing up and being killed. We all got to die sometime. Just do what you think is a fun thing to do and if it goes bad, learn from it for the next game.

That said~
If you blitz all of your tanks in to West Russia, and drop your infantry + reinforcements from Germany right into Ukraine, you are in a position to do a lot of harm. I'll roll numbers when I get up tomorrow and see what crazy options there are.
You may also consider building an aircraft carrier and slap some of your fighters from West Europe on to it, because you can then threaten/knock out the US fleet and therefore contest Africa.

Karelia is not a valuable strategic objective, so you don't need to destroy the army or take the territory. Ukraine, on the other hand, is valuable because it's on the doorstep to Moscow. The Allies will be forced to fall back from Karelia to West Russia if you reinforce in Ukraine, allowing you to more easily contest central/northern Europe (including Karelia).

My question to Japan is, how much to leave in each of Germany, South and West Europe to hold them all vs how much in Ukraine to prep clearing Caucus?

I'll perform an analysis when I get up, today I'm very busy.

[Sky_Paladin]

Just to be clear, I'm not recommending an all-or-nothing assault in to the heart of Russia. It's almost always better to play cautiously, but if our opponents have left the road clear, perhaps we should exploit it.

I'll run the numbers and come up with some suggestions tomorrow; by all means proceed in your own way if you have a good feeling about something.

[Sky_Paladin]

My wife had food poisoning (I didn't do it!) so I took care of her yesterday. Now looking at the game state.

The concentration of Allied units in Karelia is dangerous on the defence, but it's very weak on the attack, because the allies cannot all attack in one turn. So your ball of units is largely free to move around unmolested. If you just drove your fifteen tanks in to West Russia, the main attack will be from the British. If they sacrifice everything in Europe, they will reduce you to 7-8 tanks.

If America then commits everything (on their turn), they will likely (65%) finish off the tank stack, and in any case, the survivors will be insufficient to withstand or take Russia.

On the other hand, if you have a bunch of meatsack infantry to protect your tanks, you can pretty much move this ball of death towards Moscow and destroy everything in the way.
On the other-other-hand, if you can remove the Allied presence in Karelia completely without losing your whole frickin' army, you can consider it victory in Europe.

If you contribute all your available ground units (including the tanks in Germany) it is pretty much a 50-50 thing. If you also contribute your aircraft, it becomes a massive landslide in your favor, even with the enemy AA gun present. You're likely to end with those same 6-7 tanks, but no real US/UK presence to worry about for a turn or two. Not a bad situation. Your fighters can also recall to West Europe to cover the zone from other allied attacks.

An all out attack on Karelia is a viable option, however, it should *be* an all out attack, and don't send anything off to Ukraine. Make sure to blitz a tank through Belorussia on the way to Karelia, too.

Other considerations:
Western Europe.
The allies can bring in the UK turn, 1 bomber, 5 infantry and 3 artillery against Western Europe (or 3 artillery/3 infantry against Germany).
With only 2 fighters, you can easily repel this attack - average four infantry + 2 fighters remaining.
Note that if you haven't attacked Karelia, the British can also send some fighters from there, which pitches the odds in their favor as it stands.
The US can bring a bomber, two fighters, 3 infantry, and an artillery.

If the British sacrifice everything, then the US attack *may* succeed. In any case, it's a very favorable trade for us, because the Allies have to sacrifice many expensive units to *possibly* secure the zone, and we can easily retake it with this turn's reinforcements from Germany. Your AA gun is also likely to pluck a fighter or two out of the sky, making it even harder for the enemy to take.

More concerning is Southern Europe, which is completely empty, and now has an enemy transport in range. America will probably want to keep ferrying troops across to Algeria. If they move their naval group in for Southern Europe, this will cost them in the long run.

I would reinforce Southern Europe only lightly; if USA wants to attack Southern Europe, they have to commit quite deeply into the Mediterranean, in range of your aircraft and naval vessels. You can also easily repulse an attack on Southern Europe. The Mediterranean is a dangerous place for your ships and also for USA because both nations have bombers and fighters to significantly alter the balance of power. If you want to go Navy, buy a carrier and put your existing fighters on it, and essentially blow this turns income on more naval units. Point-for-point, a submarine has the same cost-effectiveness as a destroyer, but destroyers can hit air so favor destroyers over submarines where possible.

Lastly, note that USA has 3 fighters and a bomber in range of your current Navy. This is likely enough to take out your ships, with a trade of one-to-two fighters if you're lucky. There's not much you can do to save your Navy if USA wants to take it out this turn. The US air may be more invested in the Japanese army, though, so who knows.

***

If you decide not to go all out for Karelia, then dropping everything in to Ukraine is an excellent alternative option, since we are both then threatening Caucacus, the main land bridge between Africa and Europe. Make sure to blitz a tank through Belorussia, and leave one infantry in Belorussia to prevent the Allies from doing the same.
Your units also threaten Eastern Europe should the enemy elect to advance.

I would send your 9 infantry from Germany to the Balkans, and then the Ukraine, because if they go Eastern Europe-to-Ukraine, Karelia will smash them.

Make sure to leave a single infantry in Eastern Europe

so that enemies can't blitz straight through to Germany. A sea invasion of Germany is unfavorable at this time, but if the Brits can drive tanks in as well, it becomes a promising option.

This leaves you in a strong position without risking much. It mainly maintains the current status-quo while slightly improving your situation.

***

Purchases - you need to (presently) maintain 3 tanks or two fighters in Germany, plus a bunch of infantry (8 or more) to dissuade allied landings.
You currently have 3 tanks and a maximum production of ten units in the zone.
So I'd keep one or more of these tanks in Germany as your rearguard, and send the rest off to fight in Ukraine.
You have nine infantry in Germany. Decide how many you want to purchase this turn, and send the difference off to Balkans.
You may also buy a fighter to squeeze in an extra production slot.

So maybe something like
1 fighter
1 tank
7 infantry.

Deploy 2 infantry in Southern Europe, and the rest in Germany, you currently have nine, so that means you can send five infantry to the Balkans.
Your new fighter counts as one-and-a-half tanks on defense, and you just built another tank, so you can send all two tanks off to the Ukraine. At a later date, build another fighter, and you don't need tanks in Germany any more.

***

Overall....

Completely destroying the Allied presence (as well as both the Russian fighters) in Karelia could be a game winning move. This may also be your only window of opportunity to strike at Karelia before the allies can reinforce further, as they seem want to do. Conversely, the Ukraine approach does improve your situation notably without risking anything.

I think that either approach is viable. But make sure you commit to one, and do not try to do too many things at once.

This is also the turn where you decide if you are going to contest Africa (requires Navy) or not. My feeling is that you have already lost momentum and that this is too difficult to achieve at this point in time - stick to purchasing aircraft, which can tri-purpose as land attack/defense, as well as exert their own coastal influence.

[Sky_Paladin]

I'll let this wait for another 15-20 hours before taking the turn :/