Slitherine

I don't see an option for that in the purchase screen. I can buy subs, destroyers, battleships, or carriers, but that is it as far as naval units go. Is amphibious warfare simply not in the cards for the Axis?

Nah, they're just abstracted. If your land unit or air unit begins adjacent to a port hex, look down at the bottom of screen, find the rail move button, with the little locomotive on it. Next to that should be a button with a picture of two arrows chasing each other around in an oval shape. Yeah, I know, a little ship would have been far more intuitive, but Johan has some odd Swedish ideas about icons to go on buttons. Talk to him about it, not me

Oh, and by the way, Garrison units cannot use Sea Transport in v1.06

Thanks!

So this means that if I want to try Sealion, I have to all my movement from Brest and the Hague? Two units per turn? It is even possible to pull it off on those terms?

MarkClark wrote:Thanks!

So this means that if I want to try Sealion, I have to all my movement from Brest and the Hague? Two units per turn? It is even possible to pull it off on those terms?

Actually, only Brest only allows one boarding per turn (since only one unit can be next to the port). The Hague allows 5 per turn (two is only if you don't move the boarded units out of the way immediately). Plus, you can do 4 from Wilhelmshaven and 2 from La Rochelle. All told, assuming you have the troops, you could hit England with 12 units per turn.

Jyri

Sorry to be so daft, but how do you unload transports?

I am getting ready to do Sealion, and as "practice" I am trying to move some Italian units from the boot into Africa. I loaded them up just fine, and moved them into position. I waited until the next turn. But I cannot get them off the ships. In fact, I don't see any button to press or anything. I can click on the ships to move them, but I can't make the unit appear, and all the buttons on the ship's panel are grayed out, and I never see any movement dots on land, just at sea.

MarkClark wrote:Sorry to be so daft, but how do you unload transports?

I am getting ready to do Sealion, and as "practice" I am trying to move some Italian units from the boot into Africa. I loaded them up just fine, and moved them into position. I waited until the next turn. But I cannot get them off the ships. In fact, I don't see any button to press or anything. I can click on the ships to move them, but I can't make the unit appear, and all the buttons on the ship's panel are grayed out, and I never see any movement dots on land, just at sea.

If you are in a location that allows you to unload, that same button with the two circles chasing each other in an oval should be lit up.

But note that you cannot move and unload in the same turn. You can load and move in the same turn. You can even load and unload in the same turn if no movement is taken (handy for invading Denmark).

If you start the turn adjacent to land, and that button isn't lit, then you're in an odd location that doesn't allow you to unload, but I haven't ever found very many of those.

Thanks, I got it to work.

Sealion is *&%$ing bitch! I landed 12 units, thinking that would be enough. The plan was to race to Cardiff and open the port to get supply. Epic fail.

Has anyone pulled this off? How much force do you need?

Dont forget to supply your troops by ship. After the first turn they will in poor condition without this.

How do I do that? I thought all I had to do was capture a British port? If so, easier said then done, as there is absolutely no way to take London or Cardiff on the first turn.

Ahh, missed that part in the manual, eh?

OK, for over-the-beach supply you need to have a surface combat ship unit, BB or DD or CV, adjacent to one of the friendly controlled coast hexes. Transports will not work, and subs will not work. For the Germans in 1940 that means your High Seas Fleet, since that's the only qualifying unit you have, unless you started building a DD very early in the game.

Sea Lion is possible, against the AI, unless you gave it much of an advantage. It's just very difficult, and tends to really screw up your preparations for Barbarossa. Use your subs cleverly to block the south end of the channel, and hope most of the RN is off playing silly buggers.

Is there any point to Sealion, or is it just a waste of resources?

Also, when I do Barbarossa, how much force do I need to leave in France?

Thanks.

MarkClark wrote:Is there any point to Sealion, or is it just a waste of resources?

Also, when I do Barbarossa, how much force do I need to leave in France?

Thanks.

Well, Mark, there are a number of variables there...

Are you playing a human opponent or the AI?
What is the advantage set to?
What month is it?
How is the air battle going so far?
Are you playing with oil on or off?

Usually, I don't bother with taking Weserubung beyond Denmark, and I skip Seelowe completely.

If you are playing with Oil on, you basically have two options, as I see it. You can pursue a strong Middle Eastern campaign to seize the oil fields in Iraq and Persia. Or, you can let the Italians hold in North Africa, and pour everything into Russia, with a strong emphasis on a "Southern Strategy" aimed at seizing the Russian oilfields. I really don't see a third strategy there, and any effort at compromise or doing both is probably doomed.

No oil, I am still getting used to the game. AI. Axis advantage. I guess I am finishing off France by July 1940. It takes me a while to eliminate the entire RAF, usually until around December.

MarkClark wrote:No oil, I am still getting used to the game. AI. Axis advantage. I guess I am finishing off France by July 1940. It takes me a while to eliminate the entire RAF, usually until around December.

If you can take Paris by July, and gain even a slight air advantage over the RAF, then you have a chance.

If you decide to go for it, my advice is go for a landing just above the choke point, and drive straight on London.

What's the choke point?

MarkClark wrote:What's the choke point?

The narrowest part of the channel, where one naval unit can block it completely, and you should definitely have a sub there to do so.

I think that's the Pas de Calais, but I wouldn't swear to it.

My own preferred invasion vs the AI uses 3 PZ Korps, 2 Mot Korps, 6 Inf Korps along with a Luftwaffe of 3 Fighter & 4 Tac bombers. That force can kill pretty much anything the British have at that point of the war and then get ready for Barbarossa in time. One way to game the AI is that since the AI won't base aircraft closed than 5 hexes to an enemy unit is to do your best to keep the RAF rebasing northward by moving something close to it as much as possible.
My own preferred invasion is along the southern coast. You have the Normandy choke point of two hexes and the London choke point of one hex, so you can use your uboats and surface fleet to guarantee no British naval attack on the transports, and since the RAF is initially based near the coast, instead of creaming the transports waiting to unload, it will rebase north allowing you to unload unscathed. I land the armor, motorized and a couple of infantry korps in the south, and then once I get around London, the final 4 korps land towards the north, linking up with the main force and finish off the British Homeland forces.

Jyri

You can manage to take England with less troops. I used two tanks, two mech (1 german and 1 italian), and four inf (one of them italian) and 3 fighters and 3 tactical bombers. You also need at least two BBs. Once you've taken London you can redeploy one tank and one infantry to the eastern front. It may take you a few turns ot conquer all of England but it's definitively worth it. And you will need all armour you can spare on the eastern front.

Don't forget to reinforce the middle east with at least 1 armour, 1 mech inf and 1 inf (all german) and the italian tactical bomber you should also send additional italian mech infantry in order to quickly advance to iraq and persia, forget about syria until later. Once you run a large scale campaign in russia you have to have the oil in iraq and persia.

Note: I have so far only played the AI