brian brian -> RE: AI for MWiF-Italy (9/1/2013 9:18:55 PM)
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I totally agree that Axis air is the best defense (the infamous 1 box horde will roll themselves in eventually, as long as Italy is still around (time) to call combined impulses and activate it while the German army moves around in Russia), and can really disrupt Allies not wise enough to have a steady stream of AMPH on the production spiral, rather than just one large face-up force to start their invasions of Europe with. The Italians aren't going to win the battle with the Allies. They have to play to cost the Allies the most time, as must all powers playing defense in World in Flames, a game with a time limit. Only China and Russia are going to survive on the defense, as they have nearly unlimited space to trade for time, and healthy partisans behind the invaders that take a lot of space. Clearing Sicily takes time for the Allies, and they will do it. If they get it unopposed for free, that's potentially a turn or two less that Italy could still be in the war. And the Allies are going to knock out Italy even if they have no further plans to ever attempt breaching the Alps, to knock out a set of Axis action limits, though if the Allies want to pour resources into the single most difficult approach to Germany, the Germans should be OK with that. You want the Allies to invade in the north. The terrain is far better for the defense; there is much less room for maneuver and building up garrison points. It's much closer to Germany (Luftwaffe can arrive with just one rebase mission, rather than two; German infantry can march to the scene rather than rail in). A narrow coastal only bridgehead won't make Italy surrender. So the Allies want to invade in the south, closer to their air, better terrain, more room. So you have to defend the south to cost them time. If they invade the north because it looks more lightly defended, that's good for the Axis. They are going to get ashore somewhere. Units in the center can respond to a rare invasion in the north, or to the more likely invasion in the south. You do need a few units in the north though. Italian MIL aren't that effective on a factor/BP basis, but MIL are outstanding on a turn/BP basis at 0.5, and that is key to cost the Allies time. Most things Italy has to defend are on the coast, and the Axis can't hold coastal hexes very well when powerful Allied ground units are doubled by Shore Bombardment. But they can hold them well enough that the Allies can't overrun them for free, and can make the Allies spend at least an impulse to get every hex they want, and they are unlike fighting the Russians in that the Allies can't take all land impulses all turn long. And thus German MIL and GARR are very useful in Italy too. Ideally, the Rome MIL dies in Sardinia, then it dies in Sicily, then it dies in the Naples/Taranto area (and then Italy surrenders). Same for the 4-3 Italian MIL. So I say spend some Axis BPs in Sicily to cost the Allies time, rather than saving those BPs to help hold that first Italian factory hex that the Allies are going to take anyway. Perhaps those BPs spent on the mainland could force the Allies to use an O-Chit to meet the surrender conditions, but O-Chits don't cost the Allies very much time, the way clearing non-overrun hexes of cheap units does.
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