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I don't know if these are good UK strategies, but I am still in the game
You can't win the war by yourself, so don't even try recognise what is valuable and what isn't, and defend what is to the death.
Gain sea superiority as quickly as possible, or at least bottle up the Kriegsmarine in the Baltic. Then reinforce Med to facilitate cutting off Italian landings in Africa and Italian steel supply.
Reinforce N. Africa with a small mobile group (1 arm, 2 mot). These can be landed any beach in N. Africa and zoom through undefended coastal prov. Just remember to supply landing beach immediately.
From '36 - '38 You cannot do only research, you will need units in different places at different times. Try to always be building 2 or 3 things at a time, usually things that auto- or never upgrade (mot, mec, inf, and trans), though you might want to build the odd unit that you know will be obsolete in a year (older tanks with upgrades are quite effective in the plains against Japanese inf.). You can also build Basic aircraft types, since you will not likely research Improved types until a while after the war begins, and you will need some fighters sooner than that.
USA can afford to do all research and then if war breaks out, stop all research and crank out 50+ divisions (of mixed types) in 6 months or less. UK could only achieve some 20+ divisions with this tactic, not worth 6 months of no research. So if you want adequate defenses when war breaks out, you will have to trade IC's for time and start building early.
Also for first 2 years, improve industry in all prov that start with 1-3 industry, and put up some coastal defences in England, lvl 1 coastal fort, lvl 1-2 AA, 1-2 inf. Also keep a mobile reaction force centrally located in England.
Calcutta is of #1 importance, both from a resource and strategic standpoint. You get more rubber from Singapore and such, but they are not nearly as defensible, and are vulnerable to supply interdiction. India can be supplied from Karachi, a long way for the IJN to go. India is also vital as a staging area for UK Pacific fleet. Don't bother adding extra defence to anything east of Calcutta, keeping Calcutta, the prov N. of it, and the mountains NE well defended (You may want to add a little D to Singapore and Hong Kong, but it will only slow the Japs down)
North Africa is far less important from a resource standpoint. (If you are worried about Iraqi oil, park some good troops there). Strategically, Gibraltar is vital, as is Suez Canal. Rest of N. Africa good for keeping Italians from Ethiopian steel, as well as some industry.
Again, I can't stress building units as well as research. If you have no extra units when war breaks out, you WILL lose India and N.Africa, whereas Italy and Japan have enough troops at the start to take these areas.
As far as convoy defense goes, don't worry about it. Unless using large surface raider groups or 'super stacks' of subs, all the Axis can do is cause you to spend more time managing convoys (sorry DieFledermas, but I have 700 more convoy transports than when I started the game)
Researchwise, pick a model type and stick with it. MR fighters give the best range/firepower/defense balance for the money.
Don't bother with any light bombers, stick to tac and naval.
I personally don't like to build str. bombers, too expensive. Likewise, pick a tank type and stick with it. You don't have IC's to throw at different variants.
Keep infantry techs up, you can be sure Germany and Japan will have very good inf. Yours may not be quite as good, but you will be on the defensive for the first part of the war, so terrain, weather, and the occasional hidden reserve thrown into the fray can even the balance, or even tip the scales in your favor.
Naval is not as important, since by the time the Japanese have a significant tech advantage, they're not worried about you anymore, and you should still have a good tech (and numbers) advantaage over the Germans and Italians.
Artillery techs are good, go for the ones that provide auto-upgrades to all inf and arm (don't bother with brigades, they are too expensive, maybe use them later in war when they provide more bang for the buck and your manpower is low.
Doctrines, doctrines, doctrines. These will guarantee that, although your equipment is inferior, you will stay in the fight longer, get your enemies' org lower, and slow his advances. Judging from my experiences as Germany, in the same time period, UK inf has attack and def values 2 pts. avg. lower than German units, but similar org. (both as me, not AI) So a combination of defensive tactics, air support, and weather can even the score.
Remember above all else - you CANNOT win the war by yourself, so don't try. Just holding what you have until USSR or USA enters the war will make the Axis' cornflakes soggy and any small annoyance attacks you can make are gravy. (If you can reduce the IJN, USA can throw more stuff at Germany)
You can't win the war by yourself, so don't even try
recognise what is valuable and what isn't, and defend what is to the death.Gain sea superiority as quickly as possible, or at least bottle up the Kriegsmarine in the Baltic. Then reinforce Med to facilitate cutting off Italian landings in Africa and Italian steel supply.
Reinforce N. Africa with a small mobile group (1 arm, 2 mot). These can be landed any beach in N. Africa and zoom through undefended coastal prov. Just remember to supply landing beach immediately.
From '36 - '38 You cannot do only research, you will need units in different places at different times. Try to always be building 2 or 3 things at a time, usually things that auto- or never upgrade (mot, mec, inf, and trans), though you might want to build the odd unit that you know will be obsolete in a year (older tanks with upgrades are quite effective in the plains against Japanese inf.). You can also build Basic aircraft types, since you will not likely research Improved types until a while after the war begins, and you will need some fighters sooner than that.
USA can afford to do all research and then if war breaks out, stop all research and crank out 50+ divisions (of mixed types) in 6 months or less. UK could only achieve some 20+ divisions with this tactic, not worth 6 months of no research. So if you want adequate defenses when war breaks out, you will have to trade IC's for time and start building early.
Also for first 2 years, improve industry in all prov that start with 1-3 industry, and put up some coastal defences in England, lvl 1 coastal fort, lvl 1-2 AA, 1-2 inf. Also keep a mobile reaction force centrally located in England.
Calcutta is of #1 importance, both from a resource and strategic standpoint. You get more rubber from Singapore and such, but they are not nearly as defensible, and are vulnerable to supply interdiction. India can be supplied from Karachi, a long way for the IJN to go. India is also vital as a staging area for UK Pacific fleet. Don't bother adding extra defence to anything east of Calcutta, keeping Calcutta, the prov N. of it, and the mountains NE well defended (You may want to add a little D to Singapore and Hong Kong, but it will only slow the Japs down)
North Africa is far less important from a resource standpoint. (If you are worried about Iraqi oil, park some good troops there). Strategically, Gibraltar is vital, as is Suez Canal. Rest of N. Africa good for keeping Italians from Ethiopian steel, as well as some industry.
Again, I can't stress building units as well as research. If you have no extra units when war breaks out, you WILL lose India and N.Africa, whereas Italy and Japan have enough troops at the start to take these areas.
As far as convoy defense goes, don't worry about it. Unless using large surface raider groups or 'super stacks' of subs, all the Axis can do is cause you to spend more time managing convoys (sorry DieFledermas, but I have 700 more convoy transports than when I started the game
)Researchwise, pick a model type and stick with it. MR fighters give the best range/firepower/defense balance for the money.
Don't bother with any light bombers, stick to tac and naval.
I personally don't like to build str. bombers, too expensive. Likewise, pick a tank type and stick with it. You don't have IC's to throw at different variants.
Keep infantry techs up, you can be sure Germany and Japan will have very good inf. Yours may not be quite as good, but you will be on the defensive for the first part of the war, so terrain, weather, and the occasional hidden reserve thrown into the fray can even the balance, or even tip the scales in your favor.
Naval is not as important, since by the time the Japanese have a significant tech advantage, they're not worried about you anymore, and you should still have a good tech (and numbers) advantaage over the Germans and Italians.
Artillery techs are good, go for the ones that provide auto-upgrades to all inf and arm (don't bother with brigades, they are too expensive, maybe use them later in war when they provide more bang for the buck and your manpower is low.
Doctrines, doctrines, doctrines. These will guarantee that, although your equipment is inferior, you will stay in the fight longer, get your enemies' org lower, and slow his advances. Judging from my experiences as Germany, in the same time period, UK inf has attack and def values 2 pts. avg. lower than German units, but similar org. (both as me, not AI) So a combination of defensive tactics, air support, and weather can even the score.
Remember above all else - you CANNOT win the war by yourself, so don't try. Just holding what you have until USSR or USA enters the war will make the Axis' cornflakes soggy
and any small annoyance attacks you can make are gravy. (If you can reduce the IJN, USA can throw more stuff at Germany)
Nice breakdown. The only thing I disagree with is your lack of strategic bombing. It really can hurt. But don't worry, you'll be experiencing that as UK soon enough
The most important thing is probably lobbying the other players to keep the clock tick as slow as possible. You need huge accounts of real time to reorganise your starting forces, manage your convoys, patrol the sea lanes, develop the empire upon which the sun never sets, fight in multiple theatres and so on. Being the host probably helps so that you suffer less from lag while you are clicking furiously on convoy sliders and the like. And it's good to start in 36 so that you have a period of peacetime in which to get organised.
A big decision is probably whether or when to take military control of the dominions or not - Canada, SA, NZ, and Australia. On the one hand, their units boost the size of your army greatly. On the other, do you have time to micromanage their forces as well as your own?
Me, I've played the UK several times in MP games and am still getting the hang of it. It's all I can do to manage a fraction of the whole and usually spend most of my time fighting the Italians in the Med. I just took Rome in the latest game but they haven't surrendered yet. Hmm ...
Andrew
A big decision is probably whether or when to take military control of the dominions or not - Canada, SA, NZ, and Australia. On the one hand, their units boost the size of your army greatly. On the other, do you have time to micromanage their forces as well as your own?
Me, I've played the UK several times in MP games and am still getting the hang of it. It's all I can do to manage a fraction of the whole and usually spend most of my time fighting the Italians in the Med. I just took Rome in the latest game but they haven't surrendered yet. Hmm ...
Andrew
Originally posted by Diefledermas
Nice breakdown. The only thing I disagree with is your lack of strategic bombing. It really can hurt. But don't worry, you'll be experiencing that as UK soon enough
I have found recently, however, that even Pre-war str bombers work ok as long as no enemy air or AA (Sevilla's road network reduced to rubble in 1 wk by 1 unescorted Wellesley bomber
To be honest, I might consider some str bombers now that I have more experience with them. I originally thought you needed big stacks of them to be effective.
that they are but one thing to keep in mind when using strategic bombers to take out fortresses is they will ALSO take out the infrastructure at the same time which may impeded your advancing armies and hurt your supply lines, just a thought
Yes, re-tasking 3 flotillas of bf109's was a bit of a "distraction"
but seriously - nice harrassment technique
Not sure if this is a good thing in MP, but if you keep a single Royal Marine Division in Indian Ocean, Carribean and South Pacific Isles you can capture non-defended islands/provinces and build IC in those provinces. Sort of like Special forces.
Then disappear to another island before it can be retaken.
If youre lucky the previous owner will only retake it but be forced to leave it undefended so it can be retaken.
At worst, they will have to leave behind a force to defend each island which means less troops on the frontlines.....
Then disappear to another island before it can be retaken.
If youre lucky the previous owner will only retake it but be forced to leave it undefended so it can be retaken.
At worst, they will have to leave behind a force to defend each island which means less troops on the frontlines.....
The worst thing to do is to send 60 ships into the mediterran and harrass the poor italians
I would say that;
1. Withdraw your ships to the British Isles and camp it there to defend the UK. Build lots of DDs when you can, to stop the current German Strat of building a stack of Med Subs and Transports and landing at Scapa Flow.
2. Build defensive Infantry and force the Japanese into a war of attrition in India-Burma. The terrain is superb in Burma with all the Jungle for defensive action. Sadly, Hong Kong and Singapore are very difficult to defend. So expect to lose them.
3. At Home Build Defensive Infantry and guard all them Beaches. If IC permits...Start Building a Strikeforce of Armor and Mechanized Units for the eventual D-Day.
4. Be the Drug Store (as Tuuttu puts it). K-Mart more than anything else. With the Vast Resources and Transports at your disposal, supply ALL your allies with Rubber, Oil, Coal and Steel. get a good feeling of what all the Commonwealth Countries need by playing them in Single player so that you'll know what to convoy to them. Spread your resources generously around and convoy to countries like China (if allied in MP or AI controlled). It frees up the need to trade on the World Market for the Allies and helps starve the Axis Economies.
5. Send some troops to France if you can spare them, but have transports ready to do a Dunkirk. Better if you let the French Defend central and Southern France while the British Defend the Northern Flanks. So you can run...real quick if you need to.
6. In MP, with French Allied to you (and I mean really allied...no Commie/Axis France) get France to take over all the Allied Minors and Direct your French Partner to the deployment of these troops. If you have a Canadian or Australian Player let them take control instead. You will need all your concentration on your vast Empire.
7. Wait for the Yanks to get into the picture, constantly checking their WE. Invite them the minute their WE hits 100. Sadly, the Brits rarely have a chance to lead an assault, so the brunt of the fighting will be by American troops.
8. As for technology, there are many strategies. Either concentrate on Land Tech so that you may try to lead a D-Day or concentrate on Air. Concentration on Air is pretty good as the Axis tends to ignore Air Power. Build Strat and Tact Bombers and Bomb away. Build Escort Fighters to escort your Strat Bombers, and Air superiority Fighers to counter possible Axis planes. Tact Bombers are good to hurt and slow down Axis Armor and Strat Bombers are great to harass the German player. Each successful Bombing run will force the German player to adjust he's Production....sometimes in the heat of battle....he might just rack up a dissent or two....and will slow down he's production and research... everyday counts!
hmmm thats about all i can think of right now.
1. Withdraw your ships to the British Isles and camp it there to defend the UK. Build lots of DDs when you can, to stop the current German Strat of building a stack of Med Subs and Transports and landing at Scapa Flow.
2. Build defensive Infantry and force the Japanese into a war of attrition in India-Burma. The terrain is superb in Burma with all the Jungle for defensive action. Sadly, Hong Kong and Singapore are very difficult to defend. So expect to lose them.
3. At Home Build Defensive Infantry and guard all them Beaches. If IC permits...Start Building a Strikeforce of Armor and Mechanized Units for the eventual D-Day.
4. Be the Drug Store (as Tuuttu puts it). K-Mart more than anything else. With the Vast Resources and Transports at your disposal, supply ALL your allies with Rubber, Oil, Coal and Steel. get a good feeling of what all the Commonwealth Countries need by playing them in Single player so that you'll know what to convoy to them. Spread your resources generously around and convoy to countries like China (if allied in MP or AI controlled). It frees up the need to trade on the World Market for the Allies and helps starve the Axis Economies.
5. Send some troops to France if you can spare them, but have transports ready to do a Dunkirk. Better if you let the French Defend central and Southern France while the British Defend the Northern Flanks. So you can run...real quick if you need to.
6. In MP, with French Allied to you (and I mean really allied...no Commie/Axis France) get France to take over all the Allied Minors and Direct your French Partner to the deployment of these troops. If you have a Canadian or Australian Player let them take control instead. You will need all your concentration on your vast Empire.
7. Wait for the Yanks to get into the picture, constantly checking their WE. Invite them the minute their WE hits 100. Sadly, the Brits rarely have a chance to lead an assault, so the brunt of the fighting will be by American troops.
8. As for technology, there are many strategies. Either concentrate on Land Tech so that you may try to lead a D-Day or concentrate on Air. Concentration on Air is pretty good as the Axis tends to ignore Air Power. Build Strat and Tact Bombers and Bomb away. Build Escort Fighters to escort your Strat Bombers, and Air superiority Fighers to counter possible Axis planes. Tact Bombers are good to hurt and slow down Axis Armor and Strat Bombers are great to harass the German player. Each successful Bombing run will force the German player to adjust he's Production....sometimes in the heat of battle....he might just rack up a dissent or two....and will slow down he's production and research... everyday counts!
hmmm thats about all i can think of right now.
Mister HCookie,
All your points ring true. It depends on how the game pans out, as sometimes the Japs become part of the Commitern and dont attack. Especially, if the Ruskies are losing versus the Jerries.
However, point 6 is the best idea of the lot! Dont suppose you could plant a list of ANZAC resource requires hear?
For those of us that prefer to stay with the UK!
TIA
All your points ring true. It depends on how the game pans out, as sometimes the Japs become part of the Commitern and dont attack. Especially, if the Ruskies are losing versus the Jerries.
However, point 6 is the best idea of the lot! Dont suppose you could plant a list of ANZAC resource requires hear?
For those of us that prefer to stay with the UK!
TIA
Do you mean to bring all your ships to the UK? You still have to defend the med and harass the Japanese.
Well, i've discovered its better to hide the British navy in UK ports till the Yanks come in...rather save my ships then meet the Japanese Fleet head on.
For harassment..i usually use my Subs in the Far East...but all my surface ships go back to UK...and hmmm....hide....
Meeting the Italians in a Med is good, though it really depends on the German tactic. Mostly, i would supplement the French Navy with close to a third of the British Fleet to counter the Italian navy.
Playing Allies requires a lot of co-ordination, especially bringing troops form South Africa-Australia-New Zealand to the appropriate fronts.
Originally posted by 2Coats
Mister HCookie,
All your points ring true. It depends on how the game pans out, as sometimes the Japs become part of the Commitern and dont attack. Especially, if the Ruskies are losing versus the Jerries.
However, point 6 is the best idea of the lot! Dont suppose you could plant a list of ANZAC resource requires hear?
For those of us that prefer to stay with the UK!
TIA
Ok, the breakdown is as follows;
Australia
Coal-72
Steel-36
Rubber-18
Canada
Coal-128
Steel-64
Rubber-32
New Zealand
Coal-32
Steel-16
Rubber-8
South Africa
Coal-38
Steel-19
Rubber-9.5
As we all know, the Allied Minors is able to produce surpluses for certain resources, but considering that the AI tends to build IC in some provinces, its better to send a rounded figure of each resource to the countries. Better to fill up their Strategic Stockpile and hope they dont trade on the World market.
UK has lots of Strategic Stockpiles 'round the world...better to deplete them, (Especially the rubber in Singapore) than letting them fall into the hands of your enemies. I believe in giving freely and as much as your transports allow.
I don't know, I believe you have to use your strengths. If I have Michael Jordan on my team in a big game, I don't sit him all game so he is fresh for the fourth quarter. I have him out there as much as possible. I think the UK navy has to be out asserting it's dominance, going after the Italian fleet, sinking convoys, bombarding shores during land battles, taking out some small Jap fleets. Not hiding in port, waiting for the Americans to come save the day.
hmmm i seldom see a 'small' japanese fleet...after the fiasco when the total combined UK/French fleet got whacked by the total Japanese Fleet.......i seriously believe in hiding
Originally posted by Holistic_Cookie
hmmm i seldom see a 'small' japanese fleet...after the fiasco when the total combined UK/French fleet got whacked by the total Japanese Fleet.......i seriously believe in hiding
The great thing about the Japanese only having one huge fleet, is that if you know where it is, you know where it isn't. But if I'm a Japanese player and I notice that there are no allied ships in the pacific or indian, it's a pretty easy invasion of India.