Game 10 - Chris & Brian - Axis & Allies Global 1940

In which Chris once again plays the Allies in an attempt to devise a way to defeat the infamous J1 Declaration of War. This time he plays a Kill Japan First strategy, even going so far as to swing the UK Mediterranean fleet into the Indian Ocean. As a result, Japan's expansion is halted, but Germany and Italy explode, ultimately winning the game on the European board. We end with some thoughts about the J1 attack and how to compensate for it with house rules.

[@jediknight73]

Wow game has added allot since my 1980s version

[@Legacy1912]

Hey Chris and Brian, Just wanted to maybe drop you guys a hint on how to counter a J1. I play with a large group of players, usually enough people so that every nation is represented by a player (China and France of course represented by one of the other players). Anyway, based on how the OOB rules work, and it is even written by Larry Harris that "he wanted certain events to happen as they did in history," if the worse case scenario (A J1 attack) occurs in the game, only a few things we've noted tend to work, so here we go. 1.) Taranto has to happen, it is risky, and there is a 50% chance of failure, but the UK player must commit the Taranto raid and take out the Italian BB group and if they are ballsy enough, take the cruiser in Gibraltar and the plane to take out the destroyer and transport group in the Maltese sea zone. This has to be done to cripple the Italian Fleet and capability to wage war effectively in the Med. 2.) Japan WILL go wild in the Pacific, so, the only counter you can effectively make, (and admittedly it is a sucky one) is to use the Chinese as cannon fodder, leaving blockers where you can, wherever you can whilst protecting the Burma Road and stockpiling infantry and artillery. All the while, it is a plausible strategy to try and bait Japan into attacking Russia or simply forego the "Mongolian Pact" and attack Manchuria. 3.) UK FEC- Though weak and a fair bit splintered, the Pacific UK nation (UK FEC) must try to both buy time and muster a decent defensive force to counter Japan. Sadly territories such as Malaya will most likely have to fall and the money islands lost in some capacity, but if you can manage to stall them through blockers or taking some of the islands, it will eventually chip away at Japan. 4.) The US- The United States is arguably the most powerful nation on the board, however being split between two oceans is difficult. What we've done in the past is allot each board a portion of the total IPCs (an allowance if you will) in which, the bigger portion of money, about 35 of the 52 IPCs will go to whichever side is dealt the bigger threat. By default, this usually for turn 1 goes to Europe. You may think think this unwise however, comparing the two boards, Europe's board is less "Americanized" than the Pacific and so a build up is deftly needed. Best option, either plan for an Operation Torch foray to further cripple Italy, OR take Brazil for some extra free IPCs and infantry. Either is a good start. Also, work with the UK player to wipe the U-boats from the Atlantic, lest you both suffer the dreaded Convoy Raiding. 5.) Shucking- To borrow the phrase from the Cliffside Bunker, the US and UK player will be doing A LOT of shucking in the beginning of the game. The US, as unfortunately true to history, will need to gradually build the Pacific up and so will be ferrying units to areas of importance for the first few turns of the game (it is important to try and avoid direct confrontation with the Imperial Navy on the first turn or so.) Investing in Subs is an okay strategy for the beginning. The UK has a two part shucking. First, utilize Canada as much as you can as you can bet the German Player will, inevitably start bombing London's factory. So, use the Canadian factory for replenishing what ever you need critically be it ship, plane or ground support. (Now of course you should keep London stocked with its own factory as well and you will need to protect your transports jealously). The second part of le shcuking, is South Africa. If you are worried of loosing the transport in the Med or the Indian ocean, take one or both and send them to South Africa. There you should utilize the minor factory to beef up Cairo and the Eastern coast wilts being a royal pain to the Italian Player. Mind you this is ALL a gradual build up. So take it in steps. 6.) Russia- Russia is inevitably a meat grinder, so best I can offer is thus: While Germany is chewing on France round 1 (Sorry France) place at least 1 infantry on the front lines as blockers and pull things back one territory as you will need to begin building a continuous line of supply from your factories to feed and stave off this meat grinder. Invest in mainly infantry and artillery (most bang for your pitiful Soviet Buck) while mixing in the occasional tank. Usually on a 4:2:1 ratio if you can swing it. (That's 4 Infantry per 2 Artillery per 1 tank. 7.) Those dang planes of the Axis will always get you. They are a major ploy of Germany and Japan, so what ever way you can, get rid of those dang planes! They are expensive and so it hurts them to lose them. Japan especially relies on its planes in China and at sea because of their starting set up so every Axis Plane lost, is a greater chance for eventual Allied victory. Well, I hope those few suggestions will help you. They do help us as otherwise the Axis always seemed to win. However I must remind you it is very heavily dependent on the luck of the dice AND....the reactive and resourceful play of your allies and opponents. Still I hope this helps.

[@nathangayner7592]

Good stuff!

[@Hutcho72]

Having recently played the Global version, and then the European only version I tried out a few strategies, and modified the land bridge strategy somewhat. As America I ended up totally dominating the Atlantic along with the British Player. I smashed the Italian fleet by using Submarines, I ended up purchasing 20 of them over a few turns, much to the horror of my allied British player. I could move with impunity through the Med, as Germany was tied up in a massive campaign against the British and Russia, I even started sending American fighter planes to assist with the Russian campaign, as the Iceland airbase was still in operation, and the British captured Norway and strengthened it considerably. In the Global edition as this was my first time playing we boxed Japan in, and had two massive fleets eyeballing each other. I started building the Submarine fleet, to which I used with great effect in the above mentioned European only game played. Had we had more time playing the game, I would have had a wall of steel across the Pacific ocean, which I would have slowly started moving towards Japan. The key is to block Japan in the North with a massive U.S fleet, let the Anzacs work with the British and take the money Islands. By turn 3 even China was still in the game being reinforced by the British in India. You just have to box the Axis player in, and be it Germany Italy and Japan they cannot afford to lose aircraft is one thing I have found.

[@HunterJonesAxisandAllies]

Great game! I am also trying to find a way to counter J1 attacks.

[@kjrunft]

You guys got the VC conditions correct. The Axis must hold 8 VCs in Europe for an entire round starting from the turn the last VC was captured. So if I followed your game correctly, Germany got Moscow for 8, but then Cairo that same round was liberated by UK but then retaken by Italy. So victory was achieved on Italy's following turn, having continuously controlled 8 VCs for a round.

[@legoanimation20]

YES! I've been waiting for this! Great game!

[@TheCliffsideBunker]

Great game guys, I think you have demonstrated a lot of what I don't like about the victory conditions... Allies were doing very well against Japan but still lost, while Germany had free reign in Europe. My suggestion for balance would be to start small, I would give both the Russians and the Americans a 5 IPC national objective each for being at war with all Axis powers... this might force Japan to think twice about a J1 attack. The next evolution to your improvement as Japan would be to conduct a J2 attack while achieving everything that could be done as if attacking J1. Cheers.

[@turfzx]

Thanks, Guys! Always enjoy some good A&A action! So many choices, and everyone has an opinion. Having said that, here's mine... :) The only thing I think I saw (and maybe others did, too) was that the Russians sent those 18 troops towards Japan, and they probably could have used them in Moscow. If the Yanks are going to land in such force, perhaps let the Far East troops head home to Moscow. Japan has to keep a large force in place to contend the area, and that allows China to have some fun, but Japan is rarely in danger of being invaded, whereas Rome is always within reach and must be kept safe. I'm a much bigger fan of throwing everything possible at Berlin/Rome - no diverting. This keeps Moscow a bit safer, although Japan does run amok. It just looked as though Germany never had to look over her shoulder, and Italy was building stuff everywhere but in Italy. It isn't too difficult to keep Sydney, and Japan can't fully occupy Honolulu and Calcutta at the same time, so we tend to bulk up Australia and have some transports ready to go to respond to the Japanese invasion of Hawaii. Really enjoyed your game there! Looking forward to #11!

[@mema0005]

Nice video. I like it when I see people trying alternative strategy. When the game turns into the same strategy every time I'll stop playing

[@thomastaylor6355]

I just got Global. I am enjoying it. My favorite A&A game

[@mwperry2009]

Such a good game. It was so nice to see a game go differently. Granted axis still won but the game itself was so different. I think the allied strategy could use a little more fine tuning, Japan was effectively neutered after taking out the UK Calcutta/med fleet. I think using the med fleet to halt japan and then shifting the US builds to the Atlantic is worth a second look. PS Cliffside bunker victory conditions are boss.

[@bobbyfischersays1262]

Do you guys have a link to your most current house rules version? Thanks for your vids!

[@BrianPlaysG40]

Added a link in the bio!

[@erozionzeall6371]

make more please. It's really quick and gives us lots of scenarios

[@BrianPlaysG40]

Saruulbuyan Munkhtur working on it right now!

[@adamnorton1734]

I love watching these vids!

[@diamondender1127]

Good Job, almost 200 subs!

[@markknopfler6660]

The group I have played with add a French infantry in Indochina and one American infantry each on Wake and Guam. A teeny tweak that slows J1 ever-so-slightly and has some historical basis.

[@chrislavigne4478]

That seems like a practical solution. Thanks.

[@edumekation2931]

Hello gentlemen, a fine game. I wish you`d all play more than 2 a year, when I can`t find opponents, your videos are the next best thing. In any case, I`ve been thinking about these victory conditions, I tend to agree that the out of box rules are ``biased``, the allies need to capture 3 capitals, while the axis just need the victory cities, and not even all of them. How about this, the same victory conditions for each side? However they only activate for the allies after turn 3-4. If we look at your game, Japan was de facto finished, but de jure it was a stalemate in the pacific (it would be what, 4 more turns before Japan proper was captured). If it were just the 6 out of 8 cities, your allies would have won in the pacific. It would be an odd scenario wherein the allies own shanghai, hong kong, calcutta, and the philipines, but are not de facto winning in the pacific. Or make it 7 out of 8, so that if the allies own THE ENTIRE PACIFIC, with the exception of japan proper, they will win in the pacific. (In this scenario, global victory would be dependant on whether or not Germany got Moscow). In the Europe board this could make things far to easy for the allies, hence why i suggest the victory condition only start later (after germany has generally captured at least one russian factory, and or italy has Egypt). Again, in 95% of cases, if the allies own Ukraine, Volgograd, Novgorod AND Egpty, and its late game, the have de facto won in Europe. I think I`ll use this method in my next game, what do you all think?

[@BrianPlaysG40]

Thanks, Jay! I like it; good thoughts about balancing the game.

[@gotyourgirlonmolly6709]

America gets 70 ipc when at war with the axis correct because of there national objective ?

[@LuckystrikeNQ]

More please!

[@DanielPerez-rd5ig]

Could you guys try setting up a video for axis & allies Global 1942 scenario

[@simonlovell227]

Games I play don't commonly have J1 DOWs. I'm just not finding what you are here. Note that the Formosa fighter can join the attack on BB in SZ37. Not convinced about abandoning Malaya to allow its easier reconquest? Hmm. Taranto is possible without the CV but it has the risk that you won't be hit and will then need to move the CV to SZ97. A bid makes this option better - my number one bid item is a sub in SZ98. Number two is an artillery in Kweichow - although that is not very popular for reasons I don't follow. If Japan moves on the Money Islands, I generally move on SZ6 as the USA. This forces the IJN back to clear your fleet. They can't just allow you to convoy off all their home income and land on Korea (reinforced by the USSR). Look at the IJN in SZ6 J2 (08:54). I see 2Subs, DD, CV, BB, 2 planes and no scramble. The force in San Fran could have taken that down easily even with Kamikaze defences but it wasn't in range. SZ15 is reachable in one turn from SZ10 IIRC and you can't put down a blocker to stop the move on the second turn. A couple of games I've built a naval base on Midway and I'm not completely sure why I didn't keep doing that. Blockable but it requires 3 blockers. Probably enough comments for now.

[@chrislavigne4478]

Simon -- thanks for these thoughts. Good stuff.

[@MCCiabattaGrande]

Subbed!

[@nicholasparkin6054]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can't load a transport and attack in one move. The Japanese also do not start with anything on transport. So how have did the Japanese player take the philippines and Borneo on J1?

[@BrianPlaysG40]

nicholas parkin you are wrong. Sorry.

[@nicholasparkin6054]

Nevermind, just remembered this is a house rule of ours

[@nicholasparkin6054]

@@BrianPlaysG40 yeah I forgot it is a house rule we use because of so many issues with axis OP beginning, and OP Japan in general

[@BrianPlaysG40]

nicholas parkin interesting house rule idea!

[@nicholasparkin6054]

@@BrianPlaysG40 we made an additional tweak so as not to nerf transports too much. You can choose to offload only one unit and keep the other one on transport.

[@Teflon2017]

Brother Brian,Were you and Chris aware that young grasshopper has become a Christian and has professed his faith online on his channel? thought you might want a heads up so you can go over to his channel and congratulate him on eternal life.Brother Carl

[@daveneeman6496]

1:06

[@robertsnyder1890]

why build a massive fleet in the Pacific and not use it. wtf,

[@JadenMcGettigan]

Hey guys, what calculator app do you use for probability?

[@BrianPlaysG40]

AASim by David Skelly

[@jakekuzy5607]

Just land in Normandy and take back Europe as the US turn 3. If you do a taranto raid successfully Italy will be crippled. UK spend its entire European income on land units and transports and naval units and take Western Europe. Germany is more important than Japan.

[@mwperry2009]

Brian, had a quick question regarding what you took into 110 and 111 as Germany on T1, I see that you have the battleship in 113 so I assume it wasn't used in the assault. Did you not have any fear of a scramble using only subs and planes?

[@BrianPlaysG40]

I split all the ships, fighters, tacs, and strats that could reach between the the zones. I sent enough overwhelming force to each zone that the odds were in my favor even if he did scramble. So, I was hoping he would!

[@mwperry2009]

Ive been toying around trying to find a way to decrease the forces sent to wipe out the Atlantic fleet in hopes of finding the resources to take out the cruiser and plane at Gabraltar and possibly the two French ships in the med on T1. Trying to clear the way for Italy. Ive heard of people leaving the 111 fleet and hitting it on T2, ever tried something along these lines?

[@BrianPlaysG40]

I can relate to the temptation, but I would be very, very reluctant to not wipe out that UK fleet. If you let it go T1, they will consolidate in the Irish sea zone with their Canadian ships, build an AC and land two planes on it, and you will never again have nearly as good of an opportunity to set the UK back. And as a consequence, you'll be dealing with the threat of a D-Day move every turn.

[@John-iv2oz]

Hello guys, I think the problem was on turn 8 when the U.S. fleet turned southwest and headed into the Indian ocean. You loose a turn of striking power when you do that and instead you should have concentrated on invading Japan. I think you are just looking at a bad strategic choice at a critical moment effectively removing the U.S. fleet from the game for one turn when you need it most. This is just my opinion and that and 3 bucks can get you a cup of coffee at most places.

[@BrianPlaysG40]

Thanks for watching, John. Would have been interesting to see how a Japan invasion went, but remember the game was also about to end on the European map. I think that was a desperation move.

[@John-iv2oz]

Maybe it would be a desperation move but I don't think your Allied play was aggressive enough or even had a plan. After I hit "post" I was about to edit and say that by shifting his fleet all the way from the striking range of Japan and heading toward Africa it actually removed the American fleet for two turns and not just one. That was a big fleet to take out of the game for two turns. If the reason for your test was to put put the pressure on Japan and take them out then why shift such a big fleet all the way from the Philippines? It just does not make sense to me but again that is just my opinion (3 buck thing again LOL).

[@chrislavigne4478]

The entire Pacific map was meaningless at that point in the game because Axis was going to win on the Europe map -- the only way to get troops in theater was to move that fleet. Yes, it cripples the Asia board.... but locking down Japan and losing is still losing.

[@John-iv2oz]

You are over looking that if the allies had kept the pressure on in the Pacific and taken Japan that would have offset the Germans taking Moscow. This again comes back to a player picking a single plan and pushing it through instead of trying to switch plans mid stream and making them both suck wind.

[@zekejones6137]

John what chris is saying is that even if the allies had taken japan, the axis still would have gotten the VCs in Europe.

[@adamnorton1734]

I know it's expensive, but I think that naval base from turn 2 should be in Soviet Far East. That makes for a HUGE KJF investment; but (as my Granny would say) God hates a coward!

[@jfm1115]

How can America take Brazil on turn one?

[@BrianPlaysG40]

JF M the transport in SZ 101 can move 3 spaces because of the naval base. Because of the J1 attack, the US is at war its first turn.

[@jfm1115]

Yep, that makes sense!

[@jfm1115]

Also, just a thought, if the British player had not evacuated the Med fleet, he could have used the transport on turn one to drop an infantry unit on Persia, evacuated the army from Egypt, to either Trans Jordan or Sudan, sunk the Italian Transport with the British carrier units and land them wherever the army from Egypt is. The British Med fleet can move to the Suez canal to survive. For the build, Britain should build two Mech inf and a tank in South Africa. With two transports it will be hard for Italy to be able to take Cairo and hold it because Britain will be pumping out fast moving units in South Africa and sending any surviving/newly built planes from England. Turn two Brits can build a factory on Persia and then once Iraq is taken do then same. Now the Brits are outproducing Italy big time, even though Italy has the 5 IPC no ships in the Med bonus. Here's where it gets tricky because of the J1 attack. America needs to concentrate some resources in the Atlantic before switching to the Pacific. Build a smaller fleet, over three to four turns, some bombers (one ACC loaded with fighters and some fodder) with seven transports. Load the transports with Inf and art and get a conveyor to Gibraltor going. Leave the US Atlantic fleet in the Atlantic touching Gibraltor. Now don't neglect the Pacific, but until you have assembled the small fleet above, put the money into the Atlantic. the important thing is to fill those transports every two turns and drop them on Gibraltor. By turn five or six, you should have at least 3-4 bombers on England and the fleet touching the harbour of Gibraltor on the Atlantic side. use those bombers and the fleet to hit the Italian fleet. Even if the Italian fleet survives (unlikely) it will be crippled. Now while all of that was going on those factories Brits built in the Mid East should have stacked an army on Iraq. So to summarise, by turn six there should be an army on Gibraltor and Iraq. Now simultaneously, America invades the true neutrals by taking Spain and Brits take Turkey (don't forget your coastal bombards!). From this, the Axis will gain 3 IPC in Sweeden, six units there as well and two units in Switzerland. Really nothing in the grand scheme. Now the US is free to take over South America, Portugal and with Spain = 11IPC, a real treasure chest! Britain can take Saudi Arabia and Angola plus Turkey = 5 IPC! Now the allies are making big money to compete with Germany and Japan at the same time. You may be asking what about Russia? Here goes. Russia should, from turn one, leave one infantry on each territory along the front and pull back everything. The most important territory is not Moscow, it is the Ukraine. abandon Leningrad and pump out almost exclusively infantry with a few tanks mixed in for mobility and some Arts. I always build a bomber turn one in Leningrad to bomb the factory on Germany right off the bat and then land in England and keep bombing! So by them time Germany has pushed deep into Russia, you should have a massive stack which should retreat South towards Ukraine ( you can never lose Ukraine for this to work) dance around the Pripet Marshes and then block German access to the Caucus region with the Russia army. You will lose Moscow. No biggie. When Britain pops Turkey there will be a massive empty space in the Balkan/ near East region, and the German player will her forced to either pull out of Russia to deal with it or continue pressing in Russia, leaving the door to Berlin open. Most of the time the player will pull back allowing the Russian army to recover Moscow, army intact, and liberate Russia and press Germany. Don't forget that at the same time the US has been dumping units in newly captured Spain and Germany now has three fronts to deal with and the Allies have a crap ton of IPCS. As With Germany withering and bombed to hell, Japan, limited by its IPC output, is shackled to a corpse and the Allies, US in particular, can pour all of its IPCS into the Pacific. To protect India, Britain can ad factories in Saudi and India to pump out units (you have the IPCS, West Britain should be making around 48 IPC a turn). Take it from there..

[@sneakshotmcnsnuffins6563]

Doesn't Germany or Italy need to take London, Ottawa, or Washington?

[@PMMagro]

Viva Italia!I'd just limit what Japan can do J1 if that is such a problem, Like declare war in ONE Western allied Power only J1 (US or UK J1, J2 onwards no limits).Perhaps just change the victory coindition to Axis controills X number of victory cities totally?Allies then Force the axis back so they have less than Y victory cities totally?This whoudl mean a more global strategy, not just "win one map".I dislike the "continious for a ful turn" demand, that just makes for weird and unsound strategy where the whole turn is menaingless except the "Kairo battle".A full turn is ok, the enemy gets one full turn to fight back desperatly (climax).As an example Japan takes a new victory city pushing the allies to X or more globally.When Japan has moved next turn the Axis wins if the still controlls X or more so the Allies will go very hard for any victory cities anywhere that last turn...

[@rachelmcdonagh9846]

NVP Italy 🇮🇹

[@sneakshotmcnsnuffins6563]

They only had 7.