Slitherine

quote:

Jan/Feb 1942
Impulse: 7

Given what happened in France, the Axis are loath to trust to the air war dice god. They therefore choose to attack with the subs only.

I am amazed. I thought it would be something of a turkey shoot given the lack of escorts, but instead, the Italian submarine force has been hurt with two of the four attackers damaged and one 1/2 abort.

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the non-SUB side’s ASW factors:

0.5 for every U.S. or Commonwealth convoy points included in a combat in 1942;

1 for every U.S. or Commonwealth convoy points included in a combat in 1943; and

1.5 for every U.S. or Commonwealth convoy points included in a combat in 1944 or later

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So what can the subs do in response?

Well they destroy 1, damage 1 and abort 2. I do not know if these are counters or convoy points though. I was not asked to choose - the computer went straight into the dice throws??

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ORIGINAL: Courtenay

quote:

Jan/Feb 1942
Impulse: 7

Given what happened in France, the Axis are loath to trust to the air war dice god. They therefore choose to attack with the subs only.

I am amazed. I thought it would be something of a turkey shoot given the lack of escorts, but instead, the Italian submarine force has been hurt with two of the four attackers damaged and one 1/2 abort.

Since it is 1942, all Allied convoys have intrinsic escorts:

quote:

the non-SUB side’s ASW factors:

0.5 for every U.S. or Commonwealth convoy points included in a combat in 1942;

1 for every U.S. or Commonwealth convoy points included in a combat in 1943; and

1.5 for every U.S. or Commonwealth convoy points included in a combat in 1944 or later

quote:

So what can the subs do in response?

Well they destroy 1, damage 1 and abort 2. I do not know if these are counters or convoy points though. I was not asked to choose - the computer went straight into the dice throws??

Since all you had were convoys, you didn't have any decisions to make, so the computer had nothing to ask you. Assuming the computer doesn't roll any elevens , each X kills two CPs, each D kills one, and each A aborts one. So your combat killed three CPs and aborted two.

Note on the intrinsic ASW: Only the CW and US have intrinsic ASW. French, Netherlands, or other incompletely conquered minors don't have it. Completely conquered minor's CPs that have been taken over by the US or CW do.

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805

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ORIGINAL: Orm

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ORIGINAL: warspite1
May/Jun 1942
Impulse: 3
For $%^& sake PAY ATTENTION!!!!!!
By not shattering I've allowed the Soviets to retreat north of the Dvina.... the very thing I was trying to guard against.

I suggest a new rule you should play with for a while - 'Never convert to retreat!'.
It is almost always better to shatter the units rather than to retreat them.
Do remember to keep it simple.

“We never felt like we were losing until we were actually dead.”
Marcus Luttrell

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ORIGINAL: WarHunter

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ORIGINAL: Orm

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ORIGINAL: warspite1
May/Jun 1942
Impulse: 3
For $%^& sake PAY ATTENTION!!!!!!
By not shattering I've allowed the Soviets to retreat north of the Dvina.... the very thing I was trying to guard against.

I suggest a new rule you should play with for a while - 'Never convert to retreat!'.
It is almost always better to shatter the units rather than to retreat them.
Do remember to keep it simple.

Good Morning General Warspite1. I see your progress in the war has engulfed Soviet Russia. May Luck bless the side with bigger battalions.

I would also like to recommend General Orm for a medal. His advice in dealing with land combat, 'Never convert to retreat!' is wise council.

It is better to strip units off the map, unless the retreated units can be assuredly surrounded.

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805

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ORIGINAL: Orm

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ORIGINAL: warspite1

Great I've missed the declare war on the Soviet Union stage...

This has happened to me several times.

Edit: But I commonly cheat and load the autosave.

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ORIGINAL: warspite1

May/Jun 1942
Impulse: 6

The Soviet southern sector looks a tad vulnerable all of a sudden. No ground strikes are proposed - who knows where this turn will end. The call goes out "Straighten the line!".

Frankly, there is not much of a line to straighten....

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The CW are then asked if they want to initiate combat in the two contested Mediterranean sea zones. I didn't think this would happen as nothing new had occurred in those zones, but anyway...

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ORIGINAL: Courtenay

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The CW are then asked if they want to initiate combat in the two contested Mediterranean sea zones. I didn't think this would happen as nothing new had occurred in those zones, but anyway...

If you call a naval or a combined and have an unflipped naval unit in a sea area where your enemy has any units, you may always initiate a naval combat during your impulse.

If you have an unflipped air unit, you may initiate a naval combat if you called a naval, air, or combined.

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805

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Just an observation and a query.

In both my AAR's the US Entry appears to be very slow (certainly in historical terms). Is this normal or has there been some unfortunate dice?

Just curious as to the "average" time it takes to get the US in (assuming the Axis player is not overly aggressive in the first half of the war).

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ORIGINAL: warspite1

Jan/Feb 1942
End of Turn

A Partisan arrives in India, blocking the resource near Hyderabad and another arrives in the NEI at Palembang.

US Entry edges closer as the US announce an Oil Embargo.

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ORIGINAL: warspite1

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ORIGINAL: Courtenay

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The CW are then asked if they want to initiate combat in the two contested Mediterranean sea zones. I didn't think this would happen as nothing new had occurred in those zones, but anyway...

If you call a naval or a combined and have an unflipped naval unit in a sea area where your enemy has any units, you may always initiate a naval combat during your impulse.

If you have an unflipped air unit, you may initiate a naval combat if you called a naval, air, or combined.

warspite1

Okay thanks - I seem to recall that in 5th Edition you needed to spark a search by entering the sea area...

quote:

ORIGINAL: Courtenay

quote:

Just an observation and a query.

In both my AAR's the US Entry appears to be very slow (certainly in historical terms). Is this normal or has there been some unfortunate dice?

Just curious as to the "average" time it takes to get the US in (assuming the Axis player is not overly aggressive in the first half of the war).

The game is designed to average around M/A 42 for US entry. However, a comment on your US entry actions: You have mismanaged your Ge/It tension pool. You have picked far too many US entry options, given the tension rolls you had. You have a German entry level of 34 and a tension of 30. If you had chosen fewer US entry options, you could have had, for example, ten fewer points in the tension pool land and ten more in the entry pool. This would have given you 44 in the entry pool, and 20 in the tension pool, which would be a 50% chance of declaring war on Germany, instead of a 20% chance. The chart to study here is the "It's War" chart on the WiF charts on the Help menu. For the opposite extreme for US entry, take a look at my after action report, where the Axis had some early atrocious luck, and the US has had better entry than in any other game I have played. The US looks like it will be entering the war sometime in 1941, assuming that the US doesn't bungle its entry rolls.

Here is how I manage the tension pool:

First, try and get to 11 tension in both pools, so one can get gear up. Going a little over is not too bad. Next, go for 17 in both pools. Once one gets there, stop, until one picks War Appropriations. After that, one's entry options should always be picked looking at the "It's War!" chart. (Somehow, when I am the US, it always feels like the "It's War?" chart. The State Department never seems to have any exclamation points, just question marks. ) For example, in my AAR the American public has been very touchy, and Japanese tension is 30. This means that the US will not pick many options that I would normally pick. I had one face-to-face game where the US public was completely indifferent to the actions of its government, and it was quite hard getting to the 17 points needed for War appropriations; I was picking every random option I was eligible for.

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ORIGINAL: warspite1

Jan/Feb 1942
End of Turn

A Partisan arrives in India, blocking the resource near Hyderabad and another arrives in the NEI at Palembang.

US Entry edges closer as the US announce an Oil Embargo.

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805

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ORIGINAL: warspite1

May/Jun 1942
Impulse: 7

The turn is rounded off by the Germans using the last of their reorganisation points to organise some of the previously flipped units and the Japanese loading aircraft onto carriers.

The destroyed pool makes unpleasant reading for the Soviets...

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ORIGINAL: warspite1

May/Jun 1942
Impulse: 9

The CW has 8 surprise points to spend - all 8 of which are used to increase the combat column. The actual result was not quite as bad as it could have been - but it was still pretty awful.. 1 submarine sunk and two aborted.