Lessons Learned: Crete, North Africa & Barbarossa

[rkr1958]

These are some lessons learned that I passed on to one of my opponents in a game in which I believe I'm in good shape to win as the allies. I thought I'd pass them along for comment and discussion.

1. Failure to secure Crete. I know it's in vogue by some as the axis to deemphasis North Africa and to ignore Greece. I personally think that's a mistake. As in the actual war I believe the US & UK are not strong enough in 1942 and early 1943 to take the axis on directly and the best place for them to take pressure off of Russia is in North Africa and against Italy. As the axis my strategy is to delay the fall of North Africa as long as possible and to force the allied player to launch a traditional Torch in order to do that. Crete, in my opinion, is vital for that. Crete allows the axis player to quickly (i.e., within two turns) to move air units between Russia and the Med as needed. Crete is vital as a deterrent to the British against them moving in too early into Libya and / or the RN being too active in the Med. And, if this deterrent fails, axis air units deployed to Crete serve as a force multiplier to punish the British for such moves.

2. Early loss of the Italian Surface Fleet. I believe there are times that you need to be aggressive with the Italian fleet but only when there's a specific objective in mind, such as the invasion of Greece or to counterattack against an aggressive RN. However; to counter an aggressive RN I believe it's imperative that the Italian fleet is backed up by strong axis air based in North Africa AND Crete. As I recall you lost the Italian surface fleet off the coast of Egypt and Libya in a "probing" action. If you had had control of Crete then I would not have countered against this "probe" in fear that you were setting a trap for me. Four German bombers parked on Crete supported by two or three fighters in Libya makes for a nice trap that can wreak havoc on the RN if it falls for the trap, setting the allies back significantly in the Med.

This early loss of the Italian surface fleet coupled with the certainty of no axis air presence on Crete allowed me to be ultra aggressive (for me) in North Africa and march into Libya from the east and from the west launch an US amphibious invasion against Tripoli quickly after US entry. This allowed me to launch a very weak Torch, which was basically a mop up operation, and to go for the kill against Italy earlier and a bit easier than I usually have it.

3. Non-Threatening Barbarossa. Now this is the one that I'm really trying to learn better how to execute myself. In our game I never felt as risk in Russia and I was able to hold on to a lot of cities that gave me a lot of PPs per turn. This allowed me to build up the Red air force and tank force and wait patiently to use it. I've learned that there's no need to be in a rush; especially in Russia. Still, I was able to make an early push beginning in the winter of 1942 (if I remember correctly) that put you on the defensive early. This coupled with the push in North Africa and Italy I believe stressed your PP and oil resources greatly. In games that I currently have going against Borger and Joe and in one I finished a while back against Max, I was in fear that they were going for a knock out blow in Russia. And in my game against Borger I feel I'm still not out of the woods yet. Against Joe, I thought he had a good shot at that but it turns out his push in the center was a diversion with the real objective in the Caucuses. While I'm in trouble now in the Caucuses I was actually a bit relieved by this. In all three games I lost significant territory and PP income in Russia.

[richardsd]

So why go for Vichy at all - just free PP's for the Axis? (if you are doing well in Libya)

[rkr1958]

So why go for Vichy at all - just free PP's for the Axis? (if you are doing well in Libya)

Free French forces! The only way they spawn is by an attack on Vichy France.

[richardsd]

do you think you need them if you are doing well - thats a lot of PP's to give the Axis?

[rkr1958]

do you think you need them if you are doing well - thats a lot of PP's to give the Axis?

Maybe it was a bad choice but I really wanted, and needed, the Free French corps for Italian campaign.

[Peter Stauffenberg]

it's certainly possible to bypass Vichy France. Joe did that against me with success. I often launch Torch because other places are too hard in 1942 for the Allies to land. I want to get the units into action and Morocco and Algeria seem like a good place to start. If you knock the Axis out of Libya in 1941 then you can send the Allied invasion force to Sardinia and Sicily instead of Morocco and Algeria. That speeds up the fall of Italy.

[ferokapo]

These are some lessons learned that I passed on to one of my opponents in a game in which I believe I'm in good shape to win as the allies. I thought I'd pass them along for comment and discussion.

1. Failure to secure Crete. I know it's in vogue by some as the axis to deemphasis North Africa and to ignore Greece. I personally think that's a mistake. As in the actual war I believe the US & UK are not strong enough in 1942 and early 1943 to take the axis on directly and the best place for them to take pressure off of Russia is in North Africa and against Italy. As the axis my strategy is to delay the fall of North Africa as long as possible and to force the allied player to launch a traditional Torch in order to do that. Crete, in my opinion, is vital for that. Crete allows the axis player to quickly (i.e., within two turns) to move air units between Russia and the Med as needed. Crete is vital as a deterrent to the British against them moving in too early into Libya and / or the RN being too active in the Med. And, if this deterrent fails, axis air units deployed to Crete serve as a force multiplier to punish the British for such moves.

2. Early loss of the Italian Surface Fleet. I believe there are times that you need to be aggressive with the Italian fleet but only when there's a specific objective in mind, such as the invasion of Greece or to counterattack against an aggressive RN. However; to counter an aggressive RN I believe it's imperative that the Italian fleet is backed up by strong axis air based in North Africa AND Crete. As I recall you lost the Italian surface fleet off the coast of Egypt and Libya in a "probing" action. If you had had control of Crete then I would not have countered against this "probe" in fear that you were setting a trap for me. Four German bombers parked on Crete supported by two or three fighters in Libya makes for a nice trap that can wreak havoc on the RN if it falls for the trap, setting the allies back significantly in the Med.

This early loss of the Italian surface fleet coupled with the certainty of no axis air presence on Crete allowed me to be ultra aggressive (for me) in North Africa and march into Libya from the east and from the west launch an US amphibious invasion against Tripoli quickly after US entry. This allowed me to launch a very weak Torch, which was basically a mop up operation, and to go for the kill against Italy earlier and a bit easier than I usually have it.

3. Non-Threatening Barbarossa. Now this is the one that I'm really trying to learn better how to execute myself. In our game I never felt as risk in Russia and I was able to hold on to a lot of cities that gave me a lot of PPs per turn. This allowed me to build up the Red air force and tank force and wait patiently to use it. I've learned that there's no need to be in a rush; especially in Russia. Still, I was able to make an early push beginning in the winter of 1942 (if I remember correctly) that put you on the defensive early. This coupled with the push in North Africa and Italy I believe stressed your PP and oil resources greatly. In games that I currently have going against Borger and Joe and in one I finished a while back against Max, I was in fear that they were going for a knock out blow in Russia. And in my game against Borger I feel I'm still not out of the woods yet. Against Joe, I thought he had a good shot at that but it turns out his push in the center was a diversion with the real objective in the Caucuses. While I'm in trouble now in the Caucuses I was actually a bit relieved by this. In all three games I lost significant territory and PP income in Russia.

I fully agree with you on all three accounts. Especially 1 and 2: In a current game as Axis, Crete was essential in crippling an early Allied offensive (the TACs can even bomb Libya from Crete). In another game as Allies, I was able to sink the Italian fleet early, which allows me to be very aggressive in the Med from early on, even though my forces are actually rather weak.