New to the game - Basic Questions

[IBender]

Can someone tell my why the germans would want to invade Spain? Reading an AAR that has that occuring and it is really interesting. However, seems it gets Germany some resources and factories but not that many, but gets most of the germany army as far from russian as possible, which I would think is bad. Also, Doesnt this set up a very large area for Germany to try and protect from future allied invasion?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Azorn01

Can someone tell my why the germans would want to invade Spain? Reading an AAR that has that occuring and it is really interesting. However, seems it gets Germany some resources and factories but not that many, but gets most of the germany army as far from russian as possible, which I would think is bad. Also, Doesnt this set up a very large area for Germany to try and protect from future allied invasion?

Thanks for your thoughts.

The key is to have enough attacking hexes to take Gibraltar. With Italy coming in from the south, Germany from the north and a paradrop onto Gibraltar, the hex can usually be taken by the Axis. It won't be easy and may take an o-chit plus several attacks during the same turn to overwhelm the British defense. But once Gibraltar falls, the Axis can focus on Egypt and the Suez Canal. Closing both ends of the Med, makes the Med an Axis lake. That prevent the invasion of Italy by sea.

There is also the possibility of then taking the Italians fleet out into the Bay of Biscay and invading Great Britain. The question is always how big the Commonwealth losses were in France, in the Med, in Spain, and in Egypt. If the Commonwealth throws everything it has into the defense of those places, Great Britain might not have enough air/sea/land units to prevent a successful invasion. Until the US enters the war, the Commonwealth is pretty much responsible for defending the entire world. Japan can DOW the Commonwealth early if there are zero units defending India et al.

Of course once the Med is 'closed' to the Allies, the Axis needs to either go for a Sea Lion or quickly switch gears and go charging off to the east against the USSR - which has been buttressing up its defensive line.

---

These possibilities are what make World n Flames so interesting. Both sides have big decisions to make about where to commit their units, as well as what to build, and how desperate to be in trying to win tactical battles in the air, at sea, and on the ground.

[IBender]

That is very interesting. I had not considered such things. Thank you.

[IBender]

Please help me understand the odds found in the screen shot I hope I attached. Help me understand this and also see if maybe I do indeed understand.

First turn. Weather is fine. No offensive chit. Terrain is clear. Not crossing any rivers or strange obstacle. Just open land. You can see german units attacking 2 polish units. Polish are disorganized. Total polish strength is 6. Total for germans is 31. If I recall I flew a support plane in for germans with strength of 2 but dont hold me to that. If I am correct so far that matches what is in the top left of screen..._15(+16B) (33:6). 33 points vs 6 points.

Now it gets fuzzy.
How is the combat ratio +11? My math must be wrong as I dont come up with 11.

I get disorganized is +3. (2 for corps and 1 for division) German HQ support is +1 If I understand this right the bonus to combat is variable based upon the corp reorg value + a roll of the die? "Roll 1 die for each HQ providing support. If the roll is less than or equal to the HQ’s reorganization value, you shift the odds in the combat 1 level in your favor. " If this is true, then does it also follow that a high reorg might lend the attack higher bonus?

Armor bonus is +1.00B what is the B?

I think it boils down to the combat ratio I dont get. Where did the +11 come from? 33:6 is a 5 to 1 ratio. I see on the odds chart that a 5:1 gets my +10 on the die roll which is awesome...but I dont see that reflected in any of this math. Sorry for the rambling. Just trying to get hold of this. I know I am close.

Perhaps someone might just do the calculations for me and I could follow them? I seem to get close each time these days but fact that I cant figure it exactly bugs me.

My math basically says 33: 6 is 5 to 1. Therefore (+10 die roll +3 for disorg to die roll +1 HQ support, +1 armor to die roll) which equals a die roll bone of 15

Thanks a bunch for the help.

[paulderynck]

The confusion here is mixing some 1D10 combat table concepts with the 2D10 table, which must have been the option selection for this game.

In 2D10 you produce a die roll modifier (DRM) to a roll of 2 10-sided dice. The DRM is the odds times 2 plus modifiers. The +1B is an armor/mech attack mod. The 'B' means you'll only get it if you call a Blitz combat rather than an Assault.

Also in 2D10 - unlike 1D10 - you don't roll the die for HQ support BUT whenever you choose to use it, the HQ will be disorganized afterward. This will stop the extension of supply to advancing legions because the HQ will not be able to move until the next turn. It also means the HQ will be unavailable to re-organize other units that might get disorganized in battle. So you want to be quite judicious about using HQ support. Only do it for important attacks where every DRM pip counts or possibly if you 're pretty sure the turn will end soon, AND you can afford the oil in an Oil game.

In 2D10 an HQ contributes half its re-org value as an added DRM. See page 219 of the Players Manual and/or word search 2D10 in it as it appears a LOT.

So in your case 33:6 times 2 = 66:6 = +11. With the added mods you get +15 Assault, +16 Blitz.

Edit: As far as deciding whether to use the 1D10 or 2D10 combat tables there is much to discuss and many discussions have been held here but you'll probably have to extend the thread search past the default 365 days to find them.

[IBender]

omg that helped so very much. Totally awesome!!!

[IBender]

By the way I really do appreciate the information as what I read in the various manuals not only cleared things up further, but they also led me to understand that there are alternatives to always going for maximum ground strikes. One practice round I did zero ground strikes for a particular battle, but instead sent in huge amounts of aircraft for...I think its call ground support? may have name wrong, but this resulted in massive shift in the die roll. While I didnt go for the +2s of getting disrupted units, I got a huge number added in other ways. I need to explore this more but it is clear there may be times when rather than automatically trying for the most disruption in ground strikes with planes that instead using them to support the battle may be significantly better choice.

[paulderynck]

That can be the case but it depends on the number of defending units (lower number the better) and if it is a Surprise impulse in which all bombing factors are doubled on ground support (compared with rolling one extra die with the same bomb factors for ground strike).

Another angle is that ground support does not cost air missions - which are almost always in short supply.

A good guideline is that (including weather effects) if the bomb factors equal the defense value of the hex, you are guaranteed an extra +2 DRM with ground support, but only that number of tens of percent to get a +2 with a ground strike. OTOH a lucky ground strike on a fully stacked hex gives you a +5...

And finally a successful ground strike on an out-of-supply black print unit means it will have a defense strength of 1.

[juntoalmar]

ORIGINAL: Azorn01

By the way I really do appreciate the information as what I read in the various manuals not only cleared things up further, but they also led me to understand that there are alternatives to always going for maximum ground strikes. One practice round I did zero ground strikes for a particular battle, but instead sent in huge amounts of aircraft for...I think its call ground support? may have name wrong, but this resulted in massive shift in the die roll. While I didnt go for the +2s of getting disrupted units, I got a huge number added in other ways. I need to explore this more but it is clear there may be times when rather than automatically trying for the most disruption in ground strikes with planes that instead using them to support the battle may be significantly better choice.

Yes, this is one of the skills to learn in this game, Ground Strike or Ground Support. As Paul suggested there is no single answer but "it depends". Depending of what you are attacking at, one option can be more likely to help, and the other statistically with less chances but with better profit.

I would say, calculate the benefits for Ground Support, and compare to profit and % of success with Ground Strike. Do it a thousand times while playing, and you will get a feeling of what works best for you.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

One of the considerations not mentioned so far is that ground strike occur before declaring land combat. So you can do a bunch of ground strikes and then declare land combat on the hexes where you were successful. On those where you weren't successful, you can try more ground strikes the next impulse.

For instance, I like to use weak bombers to ground strike 4 or more different hexes in the 'first' impulse. Some of those might succeed. For the second impulse, I'll use the better bombers to ground strike the ones I missed in the first impulse. This tactic also has the effect of drawing out the enemy fighters against the weaker air units - or lets them through unmolested.

EDIT: The larger lesson here is that you should think in terms of the Turn, not the Impulse. And as for risking really good units, think in terms of the Year, not the Turn.

[IBender]

That is really interesting. I do love the complexity of the game. Its just deep. I need to consider what you and the others have said in terms of game play and how I can use it.

On a side note: Do any of you know where the rules that explain the following situation is located - beginning of game, germany attacks poland. 150 mm 4-2 arty attacking polish units first impulse ground strike. I expect it to get one strike each unit. Instead I see it got 3. Is this a surprise thing? Anyway, I cant seem to find exactly what explains it. Thanks in advance.

[Courtenay]

ORIGINAL: Azorn01

That is really interesting. I do love the complexity of the game. Its just deep. I need to consider what you and the others have said in terms of game play and how I can use it.

On a side note: Do any of you know where the rules that explain the following situation is located - beginning of game, germany attacks poland. 150 mm 4-2 arty attacking polish units first impulse ground strike. I expect it to get one strike each unit. Instead I see it got 3. Is this a surprise thing? Anyway, I cant seem to find exactly what explains it. Thanks in advance.

It should get two, unless you doubled it with an O-chit, which I doubt. The second strike comes from the surprise impulse. All ground strikes (including ART) get an extra roll in a surprise impulse. If you got three, there is a bug.

[rkr1958]

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

Edit: As far as deciding whether to use the 1D10 or 2D10 combat tables there is much to discuss and many discussions have been held here but you'll probably have to extend the thread search past the default 365 days to find them.

FYI: tm.asp?m=3849839&mpage=2

[paulderynck]

ORIGINAL: Azorn01

That is really interesting. I do love the complexity of the game. Its just deep. I need to consider what you and the others have said in terms of game play and how I can use it.

On a side note: Do any of you know where the rules that explain the following situation is located - beginning of game, germany attacks poland. 150 mm 4-2 arty attacking polish units first impulse ground strike. I expect it to get one strike each unit. Instead I see it got 3. Is this a surprise thing? Anyway, I cant seem to find exactly what explains it. Thanks in advance.

You would get three if you expended the O-chit as well as had surprise.

Very unconventional though, since holding on to the O-chit to use on France or even perhaps to have two going into Barbarosa would be the expected play.

[IBender]

Thanks. I am playing global war for practice solo just trying to work my way through it all. Want to push to the end one way or the other. Really want to see 1945.

Also, When foreign troops are deployed...specifcally a couple british corps in france. How is their supply handled? I have 1 corp HQ and 2 regular corps in france. All side by side, not spread out in otherwords. Suddenly they are out of supply yet...the HQ and 2 corps are sitting 1 Calais and boulogne (side by side) yet they are suddenly out of supply. I am thinking that they trace supply to nearest french city?? and now that city is cut off from them? Is this correct that they trace supply to city or HQ?

Thanks

[paulderynck]

They have to trace overseas to a CW primary supply source because they don't cooperate with the French (and vice versa).

So depending on whether you are using Basic Supply rules or the Limited Overseas Supply (LOS) option, you need to trace from Gort either through the North Sea or Bay of Biscay to the UK.

To have this problem so early, I'm betting that you are using LOS.

[IBender]

Thank you that makes sense and indeed you were correct. I simply moved a convoy point into the english channel and suddenly I had supply. Nice. Thanks.

Two more question. They are unrelated to each other:

1. I have taken paris twice now..two different practice games. Both times I feel I took more german casualities than I should have. It wasnt horrible, but I lost 3 corps and 1 division in my latest. I dont think this is horrible, but I also dont think its great. Readign AARs I see other people taking losses also, sometimes more than I have. My question is...can germany take france down with close to zero casualties? Doesnt seem like I can replicate what really happened in world war 2 so far.

2. Next, I must be doing something different in this most recent global game. France fell. New turn, Japanese, and I get a message "japan cannot use any oil to reorganize units." I am confused on this as previously I have used oil. Also I have not any japanese convoys. What changed? Is this simply a logistics issue that I need to trace down? Can Japan be out of oil? Yes things have changed with America, might that be it? I guess that is my basic question...does this message simply mean that japan has 0 oil saved and 0 oil being imported? If so...I gotta fix that.

Thanks

[AlbertN]

To take France without losses is doable but requires an amount of luck. A large amount of luck!
Considering usually it requires an O-Chit (That's 15 BPs already, 1 turn of Production pratically by itself at that time of the war); there are so many factors like air battles (Which are very luck based in the end, you'll have a +1 or +2 maybe and the enemy -1 or -2 top) and land battles which can go wrong.
But 3 corps are a lot - you should try to always have 1 MIL or 1 DIV (Inf or Mot division) as loss soaker. If then you roll somewhen on Assault table vs a city or so the dreaded 14 there is little you can do about it.
The 3 corps you speak about, if all are INF plus 1 Division tally 11 BPs which still are 2/3 of 1 turn production.

About your 2nd point Japan may run out of oil.
It's important to make Synth Oil; to stock up some for when the Embargo will hit - because when Embargo hits Japan is at 0 oil income (unless they got a Synth or have prematurely attacked NEI or so - but that means war is just behind the corner anyhow).
And you'll need oil stocks then to live on it the few turns that can span between Embargo and jumping on NEI / USA etc.
Bear in mind too at times the game screws up with convoys and you send them home without realizing and your pipelines are broken! You need a Convoy link to OIL (I do not remember right now if a TRS suffices for oil but I think not, it does for supply though).

[Courtenay]

France will almost always do better than historical in almost any operational WW II game, because the historic French command was abysmal. Few gamers can match the historic ineptitude of the French.

"Ou est l'est masse de manouevre?"

"Aucune".

[paulderynck]

ORIGINAL: Azorn01
3. Next, I must be doing something different in this most recent global game. France fell. New turn, Japanese, and I get a message "japan cannot use any oil to reorganize units." I am confused on this as previously I have used oil. Also I have not any japanese convoys. What changed? Is this simply a logistics issue that I need to trace down? Can Japan be out of oil? Yes things have changed with America, might that be it? I guess that is my basic question...does this message simply mean that japan has 0 oil saved and 0 oil being imported? If so...I gotta fix that.

Thanks

As it seems early in your game I suspect you used all the Japanes oil on the turn prior. They start with 4 and you need to budget very carefully and try to spend as little as possible. If you spend like a drunken sailor (either on oil dependent unit re-org or on production or both) then you are really in a jam because lent oil cannot be used for re-org on the turn it arrives. This is due to the way the sequence of play works. And until Japan takes out the NEI, all her oil is borrowed via trade agreements (i.e. it is "lent oil").