A&A Revised Edition - Game 1 Round 1 - Snapshots

Axis & Allies - Revised Edition
Round 1

Snapshots from the war

The game is being set up as Europe prepares for war.

     

Japan weighs their options -- who to strike against first? UK or USA? Or both?

National Production Chart

USSR: 24

Germany: 40

United Kingdom: 30

Japan: 30

USA: 42

Total IPCs per side:

Allies: 96 IPCs

Axis: 70 IPCs

     The Allies have the early IPC advantage, but the Axis have more units and can strike quickly. Still, the clock is ticking from the very first move. The Axis must press their attacks and get lucky dice rolls if they are going to have a chance.

     A highlight shot of Eastern Europe and a preview of the battle between Moscow and Berlin. With two Victory Cities already within German grasp, it seems as if the game will be decided in these few territories.
     USSR's plan seems simple enough -- protect their factories and the Victory Cities.
     Germany has a few options -- follow the course of the the actual war and spread their army out in three directions, or ignore the temptation to take everything and focus on Moscow and knocking their opponent out of the game.
     Either way, this is the main focus for the early rounds of the European theater of war. Germany must act quickly, before the Allies have a chance to build their forces and counter attack.






      USSR takes a powerful force into West Russia. The goal is to destroy the German infantry and prevent any invasion of Moscow on Germany's turn. Once that is done, USSR must keep their tanks together and intact. This is their best fighting force and will be instrumental in the fight against Germany.








      USSR gets some lucky rolls and is able to destroy almost all of Germany's forces in the first round of combat. German's invasion will be slowed by at least one round.
     They make the tactical decision to retreat and regroup and protect Moscow. The Soviet tanks and fighters are all brought together to create a strong combined force.

     Germany is aggressive and strikes out in several directions. They move to take over Karelia and capture their first Victory City in Leningrad. Secondary goals are also met -- they move troops into the Middle East and destroy the UK navy in the Mediterranean Sea. Their move ends with a series of victories and strong advances.

Europe after Germany's turn is complete.

    UK strikes back against Germany. Its first round goals are simple in the European theater -- keep its remaining navy safe and do what it can to chip away at Germany's navy and industry.
     Controlling the skies will be important and keeping their air force together means USA can focus more on their own navy and worry less about helping protect UK from an Operation Sea Lion maneuver on Germany's part.

 
     UK also wants to prevent Germany from moving deeper into the Middle East. UK needs this buffer to help protect USSR and India. They use their pieces in Egypt for this instead of fighting to push German troops out of Libya.
     This may be a bad decision as it leaves Egypt and much of Africa open. But there is no Victory City in Egypt in this edition of the game, so certain sacrifices can more easily be made.

      While things in Europe went according to plan for UK, the war in Asia didn't finish very well. UK won their first battle and cleared Japan out of French Indo-China, opening the door for them to build their factory in India. But then tragedy struck and all their plans began to crumble. Their destroyer was supposed to take out the Japanese transport, but the dice had other plans. Despite long odds, the transport won that battle. This represents the first stumbling block for the Allies and it is a major one. India is now exposed and Japan has a nearly clear path to move into the Middle East and possibly Africa or USSR.
     This battle highlights a major difference between this edition of the game and more recent versions. In newer editions, transports do not fight back. This battle, this failure, this possible game changing event, couldn't even occur in newer editions. Whether it's historically or militarily accurate at all, giving a transport a chance to defend itself is a big deal in the earlier versions of A&A. Right now UK would be happier playing with more recent rules, but not today, not in this game.

      UK tries a desperate move for defense -- instead of landing their fighters in India, they land both planes on their aircraft carrier in an attempt to stop the Japanese navy from even getting a chance to land troops.
     If successful, this could save India and keep their original plans intact. If it fails, UK will have to fall back to Africa and prepare a new strategy.

 
     UK solidifies their navy and uses the USA navy to protect their Canadian transport. They have one bomber for strategic bombing raids on the German factories, but it is apparent they will need more in order to slow the German war machine.

     Japan leaps at the chance to destroy the UK navy and to take over India. This battle will give the Axis two Victory Cities, which would mean a minor victory and in a shorter game, the Axis would be the champs.
     This playthrough requires a major victory condition, so this move won't be quite as devastating. It will still have a major impact in the Pacific theater and might tip the balance of power to Japan. USA might be all alone in their battle against Japan.

     Despite the fact that this game is set in 1942, it still gives Japan the opportunity to play out their own version of Pearl Harbor. Japan takes full advantage of this. Their strategy is to expand rapidly in Asia and build up enough IPCs to challenge the mighty USA economy. But they need time to secure and reinforce their holdings in Asia and build their earning power. To insure this strategy works, they must keep the USA navy near the west coast and out of the Pacific. Winning decisively here would be a good first step.

     The United States takes its time and builds navy pieces off each coast. They fly their bomber to UK to help bombard German factories and build a new one to aid in this effort in later rounds. Soon they will be sending troops to Africa and possibly USSR or France, but for now, strengthening their navy and preparing for later rounds is paramount.

National Production Chart

USSR: 22 (-2)

Germany: 42 (+2)

United Kingdom: 27 (-3)

Japan: 33 (+3)

USA: 42 (--)

Allies: 91 (-5)

Axis: 75 (+5)

Round winner: Axis (+5 IPC earning power)