Battle for the Med

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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alexvand
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Battle for the Med

Post by alexvand »

In the last few games I've played the Axis has been able to dominate the Med and Italy has proved a tough nut to crack.

Here's what I see happening:

The Germans loan enough resources to maximize Italian production. Then the Italians build every NAV they have and some fighters. The Germans send a couple of Focke-Wulfe fighters. If they can spare it they build their NAVs too, but that's not always necessary.

Then when the Allies move to invade the Axis air keeps sinking AMPPHs and Transports. The Allies constantly struggle to get through the Axis air.

There are a few things that seem to make it hard for the Allies:

1) Because the Axis doesn't need to escort transports they are happy with a lower sea box and will deploy their fighters to the 2 box and have all the NAV react from Sicily into the 2 box. With one or two German air moves and 3 Italian air moves in a combined they can easily have 5 fighters at sea. The CW only has a few fighters that can reach the 3 box to escort their transports, and while the US has more it takes even longer to get them in theatre.

2) The Italians are able to take a combined almost every impulse and activate the sea zone again and again. So even though they are in a low box, they eventually will find.

3) Because the Axis has no surface ships Allied NAVs are rarely present. Which means that when doing A2A combat the Axis can divert all the DA and DX results to their bombers and preserve their air superiority in fighters. Even if this costs them a few extra BPs for the more expensive bombers, it means they get to keep control of the air which leads to even more air battles that the Axis wins.

I've watched the Allies have a dozen or more AMPHs and transports sunk/damaged while trying to get into Italy. What techniques do they need in order to do better?
brian brian
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RE: Battle for the Med

Post by brian brian »

a few things come to mind

1 CVs, with the most current possible aircraft models. I admit I don't play with double CV plane counters from CVPlanesinFlames like MWiF does, I think

2 use NAVs to get the search bonus when an eligible CV-plane is not available - if you get 4 surprise points, you can avoid combat and hit the beaches. every 10% helps. A NAV in the 4 box gets you an automatic 2 point bonus over Axis NAV in the 2 box, if your own NAV can roll in to the combat, 50% of the time

3 don't use Convoy Points to carry supply - another 10% required for the Axis to find you - tough it out with 3 BBs and a TRS staying at sea at end-of-turn

4 keep pressure on Italy continually - don't invade Spain in 1942

5 use lots of FTR3 - rebuild them immediately when lost, except the Whirlwind - also send the American P40 and P47 to the Med, rather than Lend-Leasing them to China or Russia

6 use LND-4 as strategic bombers, not tactical bombers - keep the Axis air busy in many theaters - attack Ploesti

7 attack manically with the Russians

8 carefully use all your best AA ships in the Med, but be careful with your target profile too

9 invade late in a turn

10 get the Free French Air Force rolling
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Centuur
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RE: Battle for the Med

Post by Centuur »

ORIGINAL: brian brian

a few things come to mind

1 CVs, with the most current possible aircraft models. I admit I don't play with double CV plane counters from CVPlanesinFlames like MWiF does, I think

2 use NAVs to get the search bonus when an eligible CV-plane is not available - if you get 4 surprise points, you can avoid combat and hit the beaches. every 10% helps. A NAV in the 4 box gets you an automatic 2 point bonus over Axis NAV in the 2 box, if your own NAV can roll in to the combat, 50% of the time

3 don't use Convoy Points to carry supply - another 10% required for the Axis to find you - tough it out with 3 BBs and a TRS staying at sea at end-of-turn

4 keep pressure on Italy continually - don't invade Spain in 1942

5 use lots of FTR3 - rebuild them immediately when lost, except the Whirlwind - also send the American P40 and P47 to the Med, rather than Lend-Leasing them to China or Russia

6 use LND-4 as strategic bombers, not tactical bombers - keep the Axis air busy in many theaters - attack Ploesti

7 attack manically with the Russians

8 carefully use all your best AA ships in the Med, but be careful with your target profile too

9 invade late in a turn

10 get the Free French Air Force rolling

Agreed. The most important thing the USA and the CW needs to do is build TRS and AMPH in 1942 and 1943, together with the air force. Thing is, land based air units (especially NAV and long range FTR's) together with a small carrier fleet can kill of any Italian ships in the Western Med. You don't need a lot of land units to capture North Africa and invade Sardinia. Air supremacy is everything in the Med.
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alexvand
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RE: Battle for the Med

Post by alexvand »

It's not the Italian fleet I see being a threat. It's the Italian air force backed up by a handful of good German fighters. (Or perhaps led by the Germans with the poor quality Italian fighters acting as backup fighters would be a more accurate description.)
Ur_Vile_WEdge
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RE: Battle for the Med

Post by Ur_Vile_WEdge »

Especially if the Soviets have anything in the air though, usually even by 42 it's a stretch to contest the airways of the Med, and by 43 it should be close to impossible. There's not really a lot of tricks with the Allies: Build a big stack of Ftr3, back them up with a few navs, and brute force your way through.


Edit: Corrected a few spelling errors.
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AlbertN
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RE: Battle for the Med

Post by AlbertN »

Even more reasons for the Axis to close the Med early on.
In '42 the USA start to get lots of FTR with 12 range that can go in the 4 Box. As said above, pair them up with some NAVs and fleet, and the Axis is pretty much toast on the sea.
Ur_Vile_WEdge
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RE: Battle for the Med

Post by Ur_Vile_WEdge »

OF course, closing the med usually keeps you from doing a Blitz 41. And the Soviets can get awfully big and scary if you give them that extra year to keep swelling up their forces.

"When beset by danger,
When in deadly doubt,
Run in little circles,
Wave your arms and shout."
brian brian
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RE: Battle for the Med

Post by brian brian »

ORIGINAL: Cohen

Even more reasons for the Axis to close the Med early on.
In '42 the USA start to get lots of FTR with 12 range that can go in the 4 Box. As said above, pair them up with some NAVs and fleet, and the Axis is pretty much toast on the sea.

I send the 12 range FTR to the Pacific and fight in the 4 box (11+ in MWiF), along with the fastest AMPH and TRS perhaps. In the Med I use the 7-10 range FTR and fight in the 3 box. I might use one long range fighter with the NAV scout in the 4 box, or a small CV group with a good Fighter. You only have to fight one round of air combat if your main force in 3 box isn't included via the search rolls. But there are only so many of the American long range FTR, and they mostly come along a little later than when the war in the Med starts getting hot. The CW FTR3 do the bulk of the fighting there, with some US.
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alexvand
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RE: Battle for the Med

Post by alexvand »

I just find that the Axis can field so many NAV and FTR to the 2 box and search so many times with the Italians that the Allies can't face the Axis air power in 1942 and will struggle even in 1943 if the air battles don't go their way early.
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Zorachus99
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RE: Battle for the Med

Post by Zorachus99 »

ORIGINAL: Centuur
ORIGINAL: brian brian

a few things come to mind

1 CVs, with the most current possible aircraft models. I admit I don't play with double CV plane counters from CVPlanesinFlames like MWiF does, I think

2 use NAVs to get the search bonus when an eligible CV-plane is not available - if you get 4 surprise points, you can avoid combat and hit the beaches. every 10% helps. A NAV in the 4 box gets you an automatic 2 point bonus over Axis NAV in the 2 box, if your own NAV can roll in to the combat, 50% of the time

3 don't use Convoy Points to carry supply - another 10% required for the Axis to find you - tough it out with 3 BBs and a TRS staying at sea at end-of-turn

4 keep pressure on Italy continually - don't invade Spain in 1942

5 use lots of FTR3 - rebuild them immediately when lost, except the Whirlwind - also send the American P40 and P47 to the Med, rather than Lend-Leasing them to China or Russia

6 use LND-4 as strategic bombers, not tactical bombers - keep the Axis air busy in many theaters - attack Ploesti

7 attack manically with the Russians

8 carefully use all your best AA ships in the Med, but be careful with your target profile too

9 invade late in a turn

10 get the Free French Air Force rolling

Agreed. The most important thing the USA and the CW needs to do is build TRS and AMPH in 1942 and 1943, together with the air force. Thing is, land based air units (especially NAV and long range FTR's) together with a small carrier fleet can kill of any Italian ships in the Western Med. You don't need a lot of land units to capture North Africa and invade Sardinia. Air supremacy is everything in the Med.

Completely agree with this.

As an aside, you can encourage the Italians to try to fight from the 1 box early in the war. This allows *all* your axis fighters help assert air superiority, and clean the Brits from the air. The NAV and any CP help a bunch of course. This makes axis shipping considerably safer as well if you have the extra movement point to move through by moving to the escorted '1' box, before continuing on to port.
Most men can survive adversity, the true test of a man's character is power. -Abraham Lincoln
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