Sealion in WiF

World in Flames is the computer version of Australian Design Group classic board game. World In Flames is a highly detailed game covering the both Europe and Pacific Theaters of Operations during World War II. If you want grand strategy this game is for you.

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Numdydar
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Sealion in WiF

Post by Numdydar »

There is a good thread in the WitP forum http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3773378 discussing this. So it made me wonder has something like this been done in WiF?

In Europe Engulfed (board game) I was able to do a SeaLion solely due to the UK overcommitting in Egypt in min '40. As Germany I had a 50% chance to land because I had built extra naval forces to offset the British ones (they had overcommitted ships to the Med too, but kind of had to due to my buildup of the Italian naval forces). So it was like a 'perfect storm' of events that even gave me a 50/50 chance of successful invasion. Which I was very happy with when it succeed [X(]

The down side of this though was my '41 invasion of Russia was not so hot. So it seems like if the Axis want a Sealion they pretty much have to give up on a '41 Russian invasion. At least in that game anyway.

So I just wanted to see how these strategies would play out in a more detailed game like WiF.
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paulderynck
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RE: Sealion in WiF

Post by paulderynck »

Sea Lions can and have been done in WiF, for much the same reasons and with much the same results.
Paul
NCommander
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RE: Sealion in WiF

Post by NCommander »

Its doable, but difficult, the CW has to screw up to make it possible. I won't try and invade Russia the same year either ...
AlbertN
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RE: Sealion in WiF

Post by AlbertN »

Given how the production works, I think the CW player should be either very unlucky, or very blind - or lacking some cogwheel in the brain - to not realize SeaLion is coming and prepare for it.

Marines take 3 turns at least. TPS and Amph even more.
Ur_Vile_WEdge
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RE: Sealion in WiF

Post by Ur_Vile_WEdge »

I can't ever remember a Sealion working if the CW player prepared directly for a Sealion and buckled down for that kind of storm. It usually happens when a CW player is spending too much money on extra ships and forgets about building land units.


Especially since I play with LoS, even if you can get ashore, it can be VERY hard to stop the Brits from knocking out your convoys/transports at a critical juncture, and then you can lose the whole Wehrmacht in a turn. And I remember a solitaire game I watched, where it "worked". Britain did indeed get conquered, but by that time (it was a late 41 early 42 conquest, by way of Spain and letting the Italians in to help) America was in the war, and were putting pressure on the Germans in the North Sea.


And the Russians had managed to break the garrison, and Germany had too many units, especially the valuable HQ in England where they had trouble getting them home in time.


Sealion can be very, very risky. Awesome when it works though.
"When beset by danger,
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Wave your arms and shout."
brian brian
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RE: Sealion in WiF

Post by brian brian »

It's the great thing about World in Flames that allows an Axis player to explore this. However the Allies can lose the UK and still come back and win the game if Axis accomplish a UK conquest by having the Japanese attack the CW too early and accelerate US entry too much.

And everything you use on one front in the game comes at the expense of another front.

A fun way to do Sea Lion is the surprise 1940 invasion, with minimal builds telegraphing that it is coming. Once the Germans reach the Channel coast, they can take a shot at it while the BEF is still in France and vulnerable to artillery strikes keeping it there. It's a shoe-string campaign but it might have as much chance as a heavily prepared (on both sides) 1941 version. So many CW players build air and naval and can be relatively thin both on the ground, and with ground units on the reinforcement track. The Italians can effectively double the size of the Luftwaffe and play many other support roles as they will have no threats to their Home Country at all at the time. If the Germans can take London and seize a lot of the Midlands and manage to stay in supply at the end of a turn, they can wreck a lot of British factories.

But in general it is a high risk / high reward decision as two really good search dice pairs favoring the Royal Navy can end the whole strategy quickly and the Germans have to convert their war effort to a Sitzkrieg.
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Centuur
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RE: Sealion in WiF

Post by Centuur »

Well. You don't have to conquer the UK to give the Allies a tremendous blow. Simply destroy as much blue factories as you can when you are on the Island. If you can havoc destruction on the Midlands, than you have done enough...
Peter
Numdydar
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RE: Sealion in WiF

Post by Numdydar »

So it looks like it is just as risky in WiF as it was in RL [:)]. And if things do not align, just like in the board game, then it is best just to be forgottten. One of the many choices in the game though.
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