MWiF Global War Hot-Seat (AAR)

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

When I finally figured out how to get this to work the way it was intended to, it ended with 10 Destroyed French ships & only 3 Damaged Italian ships . . . there were a few aborted on each side, I believe. The big problem is I had to fiddle with things so that the French ships that survived (from the Italian Coast) could abort to Malta . . . which meant clearing out the INF that was there. This leaves Malta a bit of a temptation, should Italy decide to DOW the CW next time round. Which means the CW may have to act pre-emptively.

I shouldn't complain too much. This is what we do when debugging. We run into a problem, figure out how many ways it manifests itself, then find a way around it. We report the whole thing, and Steve works his magic. My problem was that this was a bug that showed up last week, that Steve warned us about, and I simply forgot about it until I was in a situation where I needed to find a solution or start the whole game over again. My mistake, and I paid for it with time and energy.

However, as I said, it did finally teach me the reason why Japan needs its O-chit to gain surprise on the US and/or CW. Those extra Surprise Points you get (technically the opponent doesn't get) are astoundingly useful, even if you start at about even odds. Granted, the French probably shouldn't have sailed as they did, but I wasn't yet aware of what the consequences would be.

Attacking the French naval is dangerous for the Italians. The reason is that if you just wait until VIchy is declared virtually the entire French navy becomes Vichy. So all the BPs lost by the Italians in fighting the French navy can be considered an unnecessary waste. Of course if you have something that needs to be done by the Italians in the Med before Vichy is declared, then its not a total waste. The other risk to the Italians right now is that the Commonwelath can DOW them and gain suyrprise on the Italian navy which is out at sea: what goes around comes around.

Yeah, that's the big worry for Italy, but the French issue isn't so much, because I'm not planning on Declaring Vichy. I'm determined to punch right through into Spain and Portugal and try that whole fiasco one more time.

Plus, I was a little extra delerious when I set up the CW navy, so I don't know if it is actually in position to do the damage that it could. It may come down to what the US Entry potentials are. after those first few high chits, it's all been low and/or nothing. The USSR has business to take care of in Poland, and Persia (the Baltic States can wait), and depending on how things look, a CW DOW might be risky. Probably not, though. The thing is (and correct me if I'm wrong), unless they can really take advantage of it, they should wait for a better opportunity, since they have not yet had time to reinforce anything . . . in fact, they need to focus on that in the next impulse . . . which doesn't mean they can't launch some naval aggressiveness as well, but they didn't draw very well for bombers.

[Red Prince]

Here's another for you: The 5-3 INF could move as shown, still protect Canton from the 4-3, and attack the 1-3 Div at 5:1 odds. It doesn't even have to advance afterwards, which would leave Canton open to the 4-3. Of course, this means that the 3-3 has the opportunity to take either Canton OR Chungchow, but probably would be better off heading for that RP to the NW.

So, is a 5:1 Assault this early too much of a risk just to annoy the Chinese? I mean the unit does have an 80% chance of survival, and it is white print . . .

So, any thoughts?
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Edit: Actually, the 4-3 could still get to Canton, but it would be a slightly risky move, I think.

[Centuur]

If there is a Japanese Land unit in Canton, this attack can be risked, provided this unit is a corps/army and moves to the place where the 5-3 is at this moment, and if you're prepared to risk getting a flipped unit OOS in a woods hex. If not: don't since the loss of Canton and the forced rebasing of the Fleet/air units there results in disorganising those units and that costs oil, which is precious to the Japanese. You have to reconquer the hex and that means another US entry roll for the city. The factory isn't probably of interest of you, but if you're convoy lines are getting the Hainan resource to Canton and not further to Japan, you'll lose a Production Point. Not a very good thing to happen early in the game.

Also, I don't like the position of the Japanese Marine Division at all. It is all alone out there and can be put out of supply. I don't know if there's a Japanese unit left in Hainan, but if there isn't, the Chinese can recapture the minor port and make this division an immobile one. Personally I think you're a little to opportunistic at this part of the front.

Now, that very nice 8-3 north of there (three land units?) is the one who should move south, making life very difficult for Mr. Chiang, if he is able to get an attack on that very nice oil barrel with hopefully a low combat factor Chinese land unit underneath (if not, forget about attacking...). Even with an attack succesful here, you shouldn't be willing to lose Canton.

[Red Prince]

Just in the nick of time. I was about to post my "new" Japanese setup in China . . .

ORIGINAL: Centuur

If there is a Japanese Land unit in Canton, this attack can be risked, provided this unit is a corps/army and moves to the place where the 5-3 is at this moment, and if you're prepared to risk getting a flipped unit OOS in a woods hex. If not: don't since the loss of Canton and the forced rebasing of the Fleet/air units there results in disorganising those units and that costs oil, which is precious to the Japanese. You have to reconquer the hex and that means another US entry roll for the city. The factory isn't probably of interest of you, but if you're convoy lines are getting the Hainan resource to Canton and not further to Japan, you'll lose a Production Point. Not a very good thing to happen early in the game.

Also, I don't like the position of the Japanese Marine Division at all. It is all alone out there and can be put out of supply. I don't know if there's a Japanese unit left in Hainan, but if there isn't, the Chinese can recapture the minor port and make this division an immobile one. Personally I think you're a little to opportunistic at this part of the front.

Now, that very nice 8-3 north of there (three land units?) is the one who should move south, making life very difficult for Mr. Chiang, if he is able to get an attack on that very nice oil barrel with hopefully a low combat factor Chinese land unit underneath (if not, forget about attacking...). Even with an attack succesful here, you shouldn't be willing to lose Canton.

To answer the questions you raise, there's only an air unit under that oil, so no attack possible. Instead, I've shifted my forces so that I can threaten a direct charge on teh heartland, using Ichang as a link for the HQ in the region, while still threatening Chiang and his pals. To the far north, I have all of those troops from Manchuria giving the Communists a case of the willies, and I also still have 2 Marines, an ENG, an ART, a MIL, and my big bad HQ-I Yamamato sitting on TRS waiting to reinforce as soons as needed, and wherever they are needed.

No, there is nobody protecting Hainan, but if neither of the nearby INF make an attempt to retreat toward Kweilin, it is easy pickings for the MAR Division (given good weather, of course). You should probably know about me by now, that I really like to take risks. Sometimes they pay off, and sometimes they screw me. But I'm comfortable with the Marine and HQ backup being able to take Canton back if/when that becomes necessary. Remember, Canton only becomes a supply source for the Chinese at the beginning of the next turn, so if they take it, they'll have to hold it that long, because they'll surely lose other sources they are now using.

I could be wrong, probably am, but I'm a'gonna give this a shot.

I have groceries to pick up, but I'll run the battles when I'm done with that.

-Aaron

[Shannon V. OKeets]

The 5-3 attacking the 1-3 is very dangerous. There are 1/1 results on the 5:1 table (1D10), even a 1/R result on the Blitz table. What the Japanese front in the south look like if the 5-3 dies?

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

The 5-3 attacking the 1-3 is very dangerous. There are 1/1 results on the 5:1 table (1D10), even a 1/R result on the Blitz table. What the Japanese front in the south look like if the 5-3 dies?

I'll skip it if you think I should, but that's only a 20% chance of happening. My southern front is actually waiting in Fukuoka and Sasebo right now. With the good weather, I've run only Lnad impulses so far, so I'll skip this. Easy enough.
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Edit: It just so happens, that like you, Steve, I have a bucket-load of dice I've bought over the years . . . I just took my favorite 10-sided die out (because of it's color, not it's "tilt") and rolled a '5' . . . so I would have been safe [;)]

I'll still be skipping this attack. [:)]

[Red Prince]

So, here are the attacks I actually made:

And here were the results:
Attack on Lodz: Assault, Roll = 6+1 = 7 = */2S
Attack on Hungary [57, 44]: Assault, Roll = 7 = */2S
Attack on Hungary [58, 44]: Blitz, Fractional Odds .920 (No); Roll = 10+1 = 11 = */2B
Attack on China [81, 139]: Assault, Fractional Odds .623 (No); Roll = 5 = 1/2 (disorganized)
Axis chooses to lose the Tokyo MIL

[Red Prince]

Okay, here's what the world looks like at the beginning of the Allied impulse #4. The first decision I have to make is if the CW is going to DOW Italy. I don't know if it is really in a good position for that . . . 2 of its TERR units were in Nigeria, for example. I'm going to gather some screenshots of the CW position worldwide, explain what I planned to do, and then ask for your opinions about what I should do.

The only think to be aware of is that I used Gort to reorg the white print units, so I can't send the BEF to France -- and wouldn't, anyway. As aggressively as I play Germany, they just end up dying quickly. I think they'd all be much more useful preparing for the inevitable attack on the Med territories . . . but when that should happen is going to have to be a judgement call made by players with a little more experience than I have.

As a few people have noted, my plans for the Axis are optimistic, to say the least, because a good Allied player will counter with nasty plans of their own. Well, you might have guessed by now that I am not a good Allied player. I might not even rate competent. Let's just say I understand most of the rules which apply to the Allies, and leave it at that. [;)]

Anyway, it's been a terribly long day, but I don't manage to sleep much lately, so I might have some screenshots for you before morning rolls around.

[Joseignacio]

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

Does anybody else feel like they are burning up brain cells whenever they play WiF in any of its versions? MWiF, CWiF, WiF FE, etc.

Maybe it's just that I'm sick right now, but I'll tell you, this game uses more brain power than any other game I know. In fact, it may be the trigger we need for the next step in human evolution!!!
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Edit: By the way, this is my home town of Bangor, and believe it or not, the rail does actually split just like it is shown on the map. I was very impressed by that.

Bangor? Do you have a little airport out of town? I think I may have been there years ago as a scale in one trip.

[Red Prince]

Yeah. BIA (Bangor International Airport) actually has the longest runway on the east coast. Used to have a major military base there, as well as to the North. All of the troops heading overseas come through here to refuel, and all that make it back do the same.

[Red Prince]

I swore I was going to do nothing with MWiF today. I had a bad night, and I'm not having a great morning. But, besides the "promise" I made, I just can't stay away from it. It's an addiction of sorts. And I really do want some imput before deciding whether or not the CW should DOW Italy or not.

So, the first image is the "Atlantic" Fleet based in Nova Scotia. Nothing special here:

[Red Prince]

Next up are those Nigerian TERR the CW drew . . . all I could think to do with them was to place them in position so that they could liberate any nations that went Vichy . . . . if this was going to be a Vichy game:

[Red Prince]

The current fleet in Gibraltar . . . . remember I was a bit delerious when I set up the CW units, so just take it for what it is:

[Red Prince]

I just don't have the energy to edit all the flyouts like I did for Germany before, and I'm stil not all that good at using the Naval Review Details or Naval Review Summary forms, so I'm just going to tell you the basics of what you see here.

Starting in Hull: 11 ship fleet, with 5 CV, 2 BB, and 4 CA
Liverpool is a fleet of 7 very long-range CA, plus the NED SUB and CP
Portsmouth has my Shore Bombardment Fleet: 10 BB, 5 CL, the Polish CP (and an INF Division)
Each of the TRS you see has a good unit under it to send to far off places: London and Bristol have the white prints to reach Gibraltar, and Portsmouth has a 7-6 MECH that might be able to reach Egypt in good time, or be in position to support France in N. Africa.

As you can see, my LND and FTR draws were less than ideal. As I've said, I have no intention of bolstering France, since I've never done it successfully.

[Red Prince]

This is what happened to Malta due to that massive mistake I made in forgetting about a known bug. Note the Italian INF Division in position to invade. He was intended to invade either Greece or Syria . . . or even Egypt . . . but being forced to move the 5-4 INF from Malta to Bombay so that I could abort the French navy . . .

Anyway, the CW can't reinforce Malta, so it is a delicious target. This may be the primary reason a DOW is essential.

[Red Prince]

Following up on this, what you see here is the current defensive force in Egypt proper . . . minimal, at best. The insert shows the Italian troops waiting for a solid port to enter once they decide who to fight first.

[Red Prince]

The Sudan is another unorthodox setup I like to make. The Italian units in Eritrea are Isolated -- until that Supply Unit gets used, which happens as soon as the CW and Italy are at war. Two impulses later, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is conquered by Italy, and there ain't nothing the CW can do about it, short of abandoning some other important defensive position.

[Red Prince]

Moving along the Red Sea, the CW has problems here too. French Somaliland is going to fall, and those damn Nigerian TERR mean that other localities are at risk. The idea behind putting the CV fleet in British Somaliland is because they could get through the Med pretty easily to get CVP from the UK. A DOW on Italy could seriously mess with that.

The two other fleets in Port Sudan (see above post) and Aden were intended to keep supply open through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

[Red Prince]

Another concern to the south is the Italian Somaliland TERR setup in a very threatening position. Italy may not be ready to take on the CW yet (even with the Malta temptation), but if the CW does DOW Italy, you can be sure that first Mombasa, then Nairobi, and then Kampala and/or Dar es Salaam are going to fall to Italy. Maybe. It is going to definitely mean Kenya is a goner. And unless TERR picks improve, and/or help is sent, the rest will follow.

Now, Africa really isn't important in terms of Victory Cities, since there are very few there. The ports are useful, though, and the mere fact that Italy is swallowing up the Empire is going to really irritate the CW. I love the nuicance factor of playing Italian TERR in Africa.

[Red Prince]

Now, there is some hope . . . sort of: The UK has some fast lift capacity, and there's at least one unit protecting Cape Town: