Axis turn 1 guide

[ComradeP]

That's a good score Gremell, good job.

I'm still working on the rest of the guide, which is taking me more time than I had expected due to other commitments (both on the forum and elsewhere) taking a lot of time.

[Magnum88]

I few other things I do for Axis Turn 1 air actions:

I start with the deep airfields and work my way back to the closer ones. I want to make sure the longer-range bombers are used against the deep target, as there are plenty of shorter-range ones for close-in work. Fighters only seem to intercept missions in the vicinity of their home base not airplanes flying over so those big masses of fighters on the forward airbases are not a concern to the deep missions. Also, I hit the fighter airfields in the area first. They may try to fly some intercepts but destroying them on the first strike means they will not be flying against later strikes at nearby airfields.

I lower my Percentage to Fly to 10% again for my air drop of supplies to the Panzer Corps. More Ju-52's seem to fly, even though they can only do air drop the first mission of the turn, and either the Soviets fighters are all destroyed or too distrupted/busy by the end of the turn to do any interceptions. Additionally, I get the other Ju-52 unit out of national reserve so they will be ready for air drops on Turn 2.

I tend to kill 5100-5400 planes on these airfield strikes with abot 100-150 friendly loses.

[ComradeP]

Ju-52's are not affected by the "one transport mission each turn" rule, they can usually fly several.

I noew hit the bomber bases in the greater Smolensk and Kiev areas first and then work my way back. I leave some fighter air bases alone if they're outside escort range.

[Magnum88]

I realized my mistake about the first mission rule after re-reading the manual but you beat me to the punch ComradeP.

I understand that flying the Ju-52's results in the occasional lost airplane due to reliablity but is this "break rate" affected by fatigue? In other words, is there a big disadvantage flying them as hard as possible during the opening month or two given that the panzers need all supplies/fuel they can give or will you pay for it in higher reliability loses?

[ComradeP]

The main problem will be that they accumulate damage, which in turn will mean that at some point they'll drop out of the sky as an operational loss. Don't push them too hard. In fact, I'd even suggest using medium/level bombers to fly an air transport mission with fuel to your mobile unit HQ's. The HQ's will resupply its units from the dumps it has, provided they're within range. It's more cost effective than flying missions to every unit.

Also keep in mind that the Axis start with about 800 damaged planes to begin with.

[SuluSea]

Using the tips in this thread has made my first turn air stikes much more damaging than previous, thanks ComradeP and others. [:)]

[Twotribes]

3 months and no updates?

[PeeDeeAitch]

Everything that is needed is now known.  There is nothing new under the sun.

[ComradeP]

3 months and no updates?

Like PeeDeeAitch suggests, other threads have taken over the role of this thread. There are detailed threads on the opening moves of each army group.

[Twotribes]

ORIGINAL: ComradeP

3 months and no updates?

Like PeeDeeAitch suggests, other threads have taken over the role of this thread. There are detailed threads on the opening moves of each army group.

And are they marked and saved like this thread?

[Klydon]

Here is the thread for AGS: tm.asp?m=2694636

AGC/N: tm.asp?m=2701999

[ComradeP]

I'll ask if at the least the rethinking turn 1 and how to organize the Red Army threads can be stickied, as well as possibly the two threads Klydon linked to, even though the rethinking turn 1 thread presents the most recent strategies/ideas.

[OTZ]

Thanks for the tip! I've managed to wipe out close to 5300 Russian planes on turn 1...there's nothing left for me to bomb!

[kamshooter]

This is only my second game therefore I must be doing something wrong. After the bombing run I had 140 losses to 2119 soviet planes destroyed.

Any idea what Im doing wrong?

Basically my steps going into the bombing were: start Barbarbosa campaign, changed the "percent required to fly" to 10 in the Air Doctrine screen, and bomb airfields (using the shift-right click option). Going from North to South by the time I start bombing the airfields around Lvov I'm using the Rumanians, therefore I have nothing left to bomb the airfields around Odessa. (I'm bombing the airfields until less than xx/30). So it appears I'm using my bombers too quickly and NOT getting the results.

I'd appreciate any help you can possibly offer.

Thanks

[NotOneStepBack]

You probably aren't doing anything wrong, as this post was from last year and an earlier version of the game, the plane losses on the ground on T1 have been revised since then.

[kamshooter]

Oh thank you very much for the update. I've played this beginning about 5-6 times with similar results and couldnt figure it out.

[cfulbright]

ComradeP - how do you "go to the air groups screen and set all upgrades to manual"? Do you have to do that squadron by squadron, or is there a way to do that en masse?

[cpt flam]

you can do it from the commander report screen
you go to airgroup
you will have to make for each

[Schattensand]

Nowadays you do it more like this

1) Setting to fly first turn to 5 or 10%
Ground support to 0%
Ground support escort to 300% highest possible
General ground support to yes
2)Take a look at your fighter force or airforce in general
3)There are 5 or 6 airfilds rather far away a) from the front and b) from their headquarters. Move the units more to the front or the HQ to the units, at least bring the units in 5 hex distant to HQ.
4)Scout the map and the frontnear airfields till info everywhere is visible.
5)Start with the ground attack, usually in the north.
While your infantry advances your fighters will turtle shot the red air force. If you came close to an airfield stop your advance and move on in direction or sector of an other airfield. Do this over the whole map. Direct your advance to a point that you can overrun all frontnear airfields , but dont do it right now. Do all possible infantry fighting before overrunning any airfield.
6)Take annother look at your fighter force. You have shot down 500 to 700 sov airplanes right now for only few losses.
7)Now start the airfield bombing, setting both on 100 or above. Start with the frontnear airports, use Do117, Ju87, Me 110 and Me 109, simply all what is not He 111 or Ju 88. Do all out attacks.
If you click on an Tac bomber airfield you will have them on the screen together with all fighters in range.
Bomb only if the prey is plentyful and use all what you have. Some of the sov airfields only have halve of the original aircraft on duty by now. These you devastate normally in one single blow.
Repeat that with all airfields you can reach by tac bombers, Do 117 and the fighters.
8)If an airfild is down to 20 or 30 planes it is no more an good target. So the next part is overrun that airfields.
9) Now move if you can your fighters over the former border, not more than 5 hexes so, but still in command range, Cr is very important.
10) Now its time for your high altitude bombers, they should not have a single mile flown by now.
Pick the red airfields that you can reach with escort fighters first. If the target is 150 to 300 plane strong one again do all out attacks.
The open field airports are generally a better target, that those in citys, may be even dislodge city airports by overrunning first.
11) Now take the middle range away airfields, prefer the Bomber fields, that you can reach with your escort fighters. Prefer the fields your Panzers will overrun later.
12) Do the bombing in Kishinev and whatever you can reach fron Rumanian soil, till no flying mile is more availible.
13) Overun the airfilds with your tanks as it comes.
14) Refuel some panzercorps, a little is possible even in first turn.
15) Look at your commanders screen and to the death toll. Experience is high, Moral is high, even Ju87 should still have not less than 75 moral. If you do less than 3500 sov plane after first turn is over you still can make it better.

OR if that is to much detail play for you and you prefer lightning airstrike first tactik at least place your airfields in command range befor flying, so that your " My Ju87 are so useless, moral is downs to 40, sniff" days are over. That Ju 87 are later in game turn 2+ passable night bombers btw.

Enough for today

[VManteuffel]

Thx for this guide ! I learned a lot from it and now I'm ready to face my first PBEM. [:)]