WWII Global 2.1: SidGermany, 1942 week 13
Well it has been another incredibly entertaining game so far. Rather than bore you with the fine details, I will simply highlight a few of the events that I have found to be most interesting.
House Rules and their Consequences
I imposed the following house rules, some of which have led to some interesting game play:
1) I left all neutral European countries alone as long as they remained neutral and with the exception of those countries that Germany invaded historically (Norway, Yugoslavia, and Greece). As things stand now (Spring 42), the Swiss and the Portuguese remain autonomous. I was drawn into war with Spain in the Spring of 1940 and the Swedes in the Summer of the same year. Both are now in my possession.
2) I made every effort to maintain peace with the USSR in the early part of the game. I traded wine and gave them money to hold the peace. It lasted until the Soviets declared war in Finland on week 23 of 1940. Even then, I maintained a purely defensive posture (fortunately, I had taken enough time and workers to build up a chain of fortifications on the Eastern border defended by infantry and 88s). I made peace on week 33 only to be drawn back into war the next week (Japan initiated). I remained on the defensive (with one exception) until we secured a lasting peace with the Russians on week 40. (the exception: by this time the Red Army had taken all of Turkeyto gain access to the Black Sea, I quickly took Istanbul before negotiating peace).
My plan was to wait until the Spring of 42 before executing Operation Barbarrossa (sp?), but the AI forced me to jibe with historyon week 27 of 1941 I was once again drawn into war with the Soviets by Finland. Fortunately, I had taken the British Isles (week 19, 1941) and was making steady progress in North Africa (Alexandria taken on week 10), so I was able to put up a rigid defense against the Red Army and quickly shifted into offensive operations. Then winter set in. . .
3) I made every effort to consider the effects of winter when fighting on the Eastern Front. By the 45th week of 1941 all of my offensive operations against Russia ceased. In the north I had taken Murmansk and Kem but the Russians massed a counter-attack and re-took Kem (my remaining units had to be evacuated by seathe fleet then hastily retreated to Murmansk before getting frozen in).
In the Center I made some progress before winterI took the Baltic cities, Minsk, and some Ukranian cities, but Leningrad and Kiev remained in Russian hands.
In the South, I took all of the cities surrounding the Black Sea (I did this to help the Italianssee below) and the DAK pushed all the way to Bagdad. Strangely, the Russian AI also suspended most offensive operations in the Center and massed their counter attack at my southern-most theatre. Man, the stacks of armoured Red Army units sent toward Kuikirk and Bagdad were enormous. So, much of the time from week 45, 1941 to now (week 13, 1942) was spent being on the defensive.
This proved to be fruitful because by the time Spring had arrived, I had whittled the Red Army down significantly and now my offensive operations are rolling forward quite effectively (though I have only just started). I am confident that I will push the Red Army east of the Urals by the onset of winter 42 at which point I will negotiate peace (perhaps to shift attention to the US).
4) I will assist my allies as much as possibleeven if it means some amount of sacrifice. After hearing about the aggressive moves of the French AI against Italy, I resolved to take all necessary means to prevent the loss of an Italian city. I was successful, but the drain of air and land units to the Italian defensive front meant that it took me much more time to take France. I also gave whatever resources my allies needed. I have been particularly attentive to Italy. When I took Spain and Gibraltar, I sealed off the Med Sea so that Italy could build up its Navy. I also blocked all land routes to the Russian front so the Italian AI could build up its Army. Once I had secured the cities around the Black Sea, I blocked all land routes to the Middle East except for a strip of land heading to Africa (Syria and Isreal). I then ceded Istanbul to the Italians and watched them send their rather large army to Africa (sadly the AI is on a full blown rampage, razing every French city it come acrossfour so far in the deserts of No. Africa).
I have assisted the Finns largely by my defensive efforts against the Red Army. With the use of well-placed fortifications and bombers from Murmansk, no Finnish cities have fallen. Indeed, the Finns went and took Kem from the Russians on week 4, 1942!
My aid to the Japanese has been minimal (weve traded luxuries, and I have given them Aluminum). Once I had taken the Suez, I put together the largest fleet I could and sent it off toward the Pacific via the Indian Ocean, but by the time it got there, I was amazed to discover that the Japanese AI had everything under control. . .
AI Behavior
I know that some of you have complained about the Japanese AI performance, but I am here to tell you that (at Sid level at least) they are not to be trifled with. At the current stage of my game, the Japanese have taken all of Indonesia, all of China, all of Southeast Asia, every small pacific island except Hawaii and New Caledonia, have razed two cities in western Australia (Darwin was one of them), have razed four cities in eastern India and have taken Dehli! The US and British AI have sent forces to reclaim island possessions and have even succeeded a few times, but the Japanese have always come back (I was hoping I could beat them before they re-took Port Moresby, but alas, I was too slow-Japanese armoured units will take it this turn I believe. It is true that they have appeared to be passive toward the Soviets (they did take Bugian-sp?), but you can hardly blame them.
The Russian AI represents I think the most challenging aspect to this scenario. They were an incredibly difficult opponent when I played as the Brits, and they have been no less difficult playing as the Germans.
The American AI has been remarkably aggressive given their distance. Only a few turns after I had taken the UK city of Plymouth, was I shocked to discover the city being attacked by an American transport fully loaded with Marines. When I moved on to take Iceland, I nearly lost the city to an invading convoy filled with five marines and three Lee/Grants! This has forced me to maintain a very strong naval presence in the Atlantic.
So there it is, IMHO playing Germany has been as entertaining as playing the Brits, just different. Im not sure what I will do once I meet my objectives on the Eastern Front. I do want to give version 2.2 a try. . .
