I once was able to counter a Sea Lion attack in the following way. I kept the Russian sub out of the fight at the start and instead moved it to sea zone 6 (submerge if attacked). I then built a Russian bomber. The German player put a carrier in sea zone 5 along with another cruiser and 2 transports. I then attacked it with my British air force which did some damage but was totally annihilated. I then attacked as the Russians using the sub, one fighter from Archangel and the bomber from Russia and was by the skin of my teeth able to destroy the remaining fleet and 3 transports. As the Americans I sent fighters to the UK via Canada which arrived in the second turn, at which point it was pointless for Germany to try again.
I appreciate the thought you put into this. It's always great to think outside the box. That said, this is a comically bad strategy - please don't try this at home kids. The UK buy is 8 inf for London (NOT 2 fighters). The standard play for R1 is to leave a fighter in Archangel, which can be moved to London as well. The wasted IPC from Germany almost guarantees a strong russia start. Standard buy for R1 is 4inf and 2 tanks...the extra tanks are used to crush a weak G1 Karelia stack. Further, letting the UK destroyer live in sz17 almost guarantees the Indian UK carrier survives in sz33, causing all sorts of other problems.
I think you overlook the problems with UK stacking Infantry in London. You can see the detailed math I do analyzing the various contingencies in this video: th-cam.com/video/6Rb1bk5TL5o/w-d-xo.html Essentially, 3 transports in SZ5 enables Germany to fast-track troops back and forth across Germany, making it an extremely flexible strategy, which can easily pivot to out-stack Karelia.
Agree with this analysis. Also, please don't use the in-game calculator. Use an online calculator. It's better. G1 build threatens 4I 4T 5F + 3C 1BB, essentially 13 units. UK starts with 8 defenders. I assumed the UK was building 6I 2T, but you pointed out that 8I works just as well. The UK now has 16 defenders against 13 attackers. The Tank in Canada makes 17 defenders. The US Bomber makes 18 defenders. Online calculator gives G2 a 9.7% probability of success, assuming the UK and the US did nothing about the UK Battleship and Transport. Assuming these get traded for the Destroyer, the probability drops to 0.8%. Now let's see his analysis on the problems of stacking infantry in London as a legitimate response to a Sea Lion threat. Added - He did use an online calculator in the other discussion. I still don't see anything wrong with spending 24 IPC for the UK to defend against Germany spending 38 IPC on a threat.
Sorry think you have this all wrong, uk would just by inf for Britain, you didn’t land US bomber in the UK and you didn’t change the UKs defence profile!
Definitely inf buy for UK, along 1 destroyer to block all 3 German cruiser bombards. 31 IPC gives UK the destroyer block and 7 infantry, with 2 IPC remaining, thus it can also choose to buy another AA gun along 6 infantry. Assuming it does use its Canada destroyer along the planes to take out the battleship and its transport, the German round 2 See Lowe attempt would be: German attack: 3 infantry + 3 tanks/arties + 5 fighters (up to 6 fighters and 1 bomber, depending on USSR round 1 Ukraine attempt), vs. UK defense: 8 infantry, 1 artillery, 2 tanks, 2 AA guns, 2 fighters (I calculated both the destroyer and bomber lost, although the bomber might survive more times than not) and that gives Germany between 3% and 19% to kill (much less to conquer though), depending on the Ukraine outcome... this even not calculating the US bomber which might arrive to drop odds down to max 12% vs. full 7 German planes... OK the move does hinder UK a tad bit in the Indian ocean, not allowing 3 infantry to be placed there in UK round 1, but since Germany just sunk major IPC into abyss and is not threat at all towards USSR or North Africa, UK can pull ground out of Egypt easily towards India for round 3 as US will retake Africa that might then temporarily be lost, while remaining UK fighters will definitely get into USSR next round or help build a fleet in 2 rounds. Meanwhile Germany had 3 completely wasted cruisers for the whole kaboodle, no remaining air force, no ground threat to Moscow whatsoever...
Might have missed this but what is your ranking for AA online? Have you found this strategy successful against good players? Instant response is that Axis has lost if it wastes IPC pursuing this method. As posted the defence is inf buy for the U.K. plus us bomber landing. The benefit to the axis is ephemeral; The long game sees Allie’s victory.
th-cam.com/video/6Rb1bk5TL5o/w-d-xo.html Detailed explanation of the math and long-term value of the transports in SZ 5. The short answer is stacking Inf in UK overcommits IPCs that are dead or locked, and Germany can pivot with tempo to shuttle troops to Karelia.
@@zaldinfox have you tested this strategy against good gold or platinum players? A lot of your narrative suggests that this has not been tested in battles. The units are not trapped in the U.K. since the Allie’s answer is go KGF once the initial assault fails. Always open to new approaches but haven’t seen any of the top platinum players play this (for this that post videos) nor have u seen it as high gold. Your rank?
At 43:25 would attacking France be better than attacking the U.K.? It still takes a victory city, gives 6 income instead of 0 for the U.S. and may distract Germany, allowing Russia a slightly better chance of getting to Berlin. I expect a good percentage of Germany players would spend most of their extra IPCs fortifying London on G3, rather than in Europe. Allies are still on the back foot, for sure though.
Yes, I imagine there are a few refinements, especially as you note, fortifying London G3 somewhat; I was mostly trying to sketch out the general strategy.
I tried it and it works in most situations :D Now, do you have a similar strategy for Japan, I mean, what is the best course of action after capturing UK?
Alternatively to the below comments, GB could buy a carrier and two destroyers and place them in zone 6 with two fighters. Germany must use some of its fighters to take out this force, thus leaving GB safe. The destroyer in 10 (along with a fighter) can be used to either attack any surviving German subs in zone 7 or used to block the German battleship from joining the fight in zone 6 (or to attack the German battleship with GB sir power). Also, the Allies have two chances to skink the German battleship and transport by sending the GB two fighters and bomber (or one fighter if a fighter is needed to kill any remaining German subs) and the US can attack with its destroyer and bomber, which has a decent shot of succeeding.
Edit. Too harsh. Appreciate anyone posting content and drawing attention to the game. More eyes the better for the long term viability of the game. Regarding the strategy: UK needs to buy 9 inf 1art. One inf & art for India. UK has the option to clear the two fighters in Norway with UK with the tank, 2f and bomber. 97% chance of success. That attack brings Germany down to 31% to take Ukraine. Even less if more than 1 UK fighter survives. At that point Germany is completely neutered for the rest of the game. Germany will lose fast no matter how well Japan plays. UK needs to attack 61. 37 is a completely unnecessary risk at this point. Just need to slow down Japan. Next US can drop the bomber into UK and the 30% is now 21% (or lower depending on UK success) or attack the G battleship with dest and bomber. 50% battle. If won, Germany no longer has a chance at taking UK. Through all this UK still drops 2 into India (or 3 if the Norway attack goes well) while still keeping a 70% chance (at worst) of keeping UK. Basically this strategy has very low odds vs a competent opponent and doesn’t really accomplish the secondary objective of forcing UK to over spend on defense.
Forgot to add, one Russian fighter will typically be in Archangel which someone else mentioned. That’s another defender that brings German success down to 7% even if the US takes and loses the battleship battle.
Larry Harris 3. version: This is what I get if UK knows what's coming and stacks 8 infantry and moves the tank from Canada, and also take out the battleship and transport(93%). Germany gets the Carrier so the other fighter can make it from Africa if it helps the battleship in round 1. Attacker: 3: Infantry 3: Tank 7: Fighter 1: Cruiser 2: Bomber Defender: 1: Anti-Air Gun 10: Infantry 1: Artillery 2: Tank 2: Fighter 1: Bomber Only 40.6% to win with a tank remaining. But the odds go up pretty quickly if Britain does anything other than max defend. If they put two less infantry down win % goes up to 70%, if they forget to move the tank from Canada 85%. So I could see this catching some folks. Will reply with calculator as link I think was preventing comment from showing.
Yes, I think you are right that people are not really thinking about the math on this one (really in either Cruiser or Carrier); for me the really interesting part is that a full UK stack just allows Germany to pivot (clearing out any Allied Atlantic fleet perpetually), using the transports - which will always be protected either by Cruisers or Carrier - to do rapid deployment of Infantry through Sea Zone 5. Thanks for testing!
Now you are talking, now that would be a result i would be interested in instead of what the other player may or may not do! A true test against a human@@Rudmin
@@Rudmin oof, your right I went back and looked it is only 6 possible fighters and you need the bomber to survive round 1 and purchase a bomber round 1. With only 6 fighters instead of 7 the odds go way down only 23% to win, so that changes things pretty dramatically. Instead of bomber could go with another transport and then you could bring another tank and infantry raising odds slightly to 32%.
Still disagree, based on how I and most people play, the UK would have an AA gun 10inf 1 artillery 2 tanks 1bomber (I’m assuming 1 would be lost attacking the battleship) and 3 fighters (1 would come from R as i and most people leave 1 in Archangel rd1) Germany would have 1 bombardment 4inf 4 tanks and 5 fighters, if you have an extra fighter and bomber left from the Ukraine it means Russia has had an awful rd1 in which case wouldn’t you just go for Russia instead of this strategy. Based on this Germany would have a 1.3% chance to take! @@orionwhite8429
I once was able to counter a Sea Lion attack in the following way. I kept the Russian sub out of the fight at the start and instead moved it to sea zone 6 (submerge if attacked). I then built a Russian bomber. The German player put a carrier in sea zone 5 along with another cruiser and 2 transports. I then attacked it with my British air force which did some damage but was totally annihilated. I then attacked as the Russians using the sub, one fighter from Archangel and the bomber from Russia and was by the skin of my teeth able to destroy the remaining fleet and 3 transports. As the Americans I sent fighters to the UK via Canada which arrived in the second turn, at which point it was pointless for Germany to try again.
I appreciate the thought you put into this. It's always great to think outside the box. That said, this is a comically bad strategy - please don't try this at home kids. The UK buy is 8 inf for London (NOT 2 fighters). The standard play for R1 is to leave a fighter in Archangel, which can be moved to London as well. The wasted IPC from Germany almost guarantees a strong russia start. Standard buy for R1 is 4inf and 2 tanks...the extra tanks are used to crush a weak G1 Karelia stack. Further, letting the UK destroyer live in sz17 almost guarantees the Indian UK carrier survives in sz33, causing all sorts of other problems.
I think you overlook the problems with UK stacking Infantry in London. You can see the detailed math I do analyzing the various contingencies in this video:
th-cam.com/video/6Rb1bk5TL5o/w-d-xo.html
Essentially, 3 transports in SZ5 enables Germany to fast-track troops back and forth across Germany, making it an extremely flexible strategy, which can easily pivot to out-stack Karelia.
How come you won’t play an actual game with anyone who disagrees with this strat? I’ll even go best out of 3 or 5 or 10.
@@zaldinfoxwhat troops as you spent ALL in navy?!? there is NO MORE troops in Germany to transport...
Agree with this analysis. Also, please don't use the in-game calculator. Use an online calculator. It's better. G1 build threatens 4I 4T 5F + 3C 1BB, essentially 13 units. UK starts with 8 defenders. I assumed the UK was building 6I 2T, but you pointed out that 8I works just as well. The UK now has 16 defenders against 13 attackers. The Tank in Canada makes 17 defenders. The US Bomber makes 18 defenders. Online calculator gives G2 a 9.7% probability of success, assuming the UK and the US did nothing about the UK Battleship and Transport. Assuming these get traded for the Destroyer, the probability drops to 0.8%.
Now let's see his analysis on the problems of stacking infantry in London as a legitimate response to a Sea Lion threat.
Added - He did use an online calculator in the other discussion. I still don't see anything wrong with spending 24 IPC for the UK to defend against Germany spending 38 IPC on a threat.
Sorry think you have this all wrong, uk would just by inf for Britain, you didn’t land US bomber in the UK and you didn’t change the UKs defence profile!
Tried to tag you but tried to work this out, although admittedly forgot about the bomber landing from US, that would give an extra body to UK defense.
Definitely inf buy for UK, along 1 destroyer to block all 3 German cruiser bombards. 31 IPC gives UK the destroyer block and 7 infantry, with 2 IPC remaining, thus it can also choose to buy another AA gun along 6 infantry. Assuming it does use its Canada destroyer along the planes to take out the battleship and its transport, the German round 2 See Lowe attempt would be:
German attack: 3 infantry + 3 tanks/arties + 5 fighters (up to 6 fighters and 1 bomber, depending on USSR round 1 Ukraine attempt), vs.
UK defense: 8 infantry, 1 artillery, 2 tanks, 2 AA guns, 2 fighters (I calculated both the destroyer and bomber lost, although the bomber might survive more times than not)
and that gives Germany between 3% and 19% to kill (much less to conquer though), depending on the Ukraine outcome... this even not calculating the US bomber which might arrive to drop odds down to max 12% vs. full 7 German planes...
OK the move does hinder UK a tad bit in the Indian ocean, not allowing 3 infantry to be placed there in UK round 1, but since Germany just sunk major IPC into abyss and is not threat at all towards USSR or North Africa, UK can pull ground out of Egypt easily towards India for round 3 as US will retake Africa that might then temporarily be lost, while remaining UK fighters will definitely get into USSR next round or help build a fleet in 2 rounds. Meanwhile Germany had 3 completely wasted cruisers for the whole kaboodle, no remaining air force, no ground threat to Moscow whatsoever...
Might have missed this but what is your ranking for AA online? Have you found this strategy successful against good players? Instant response is that Axis has lost if it wastes IPC pursuing this method. As posted the defence is inf buy for the U.K. plus us bomber landing. The benefit to the axis is ephemeral; The long game sees Allie’s victory.
th-cam.com/video/6Rb1bk5TL5o/w-d-xo.html
Detailed explanation of the math and long-term value of the transports in SZ 5. The short answer is stacking Inf in UK overcommits IPCs that are dead or locked, and Germany can pivot with tempo to shuttle troops to Karelia.
@@zaldinfox have you tested this strategy against good gold or platinum players? A lot of your narrative suggests that this has not been tested in battles. The units are not trapped in the U.K. since the Allie’s answer is go KGF once the initial assault fails. Always open to new approaches but haven’t seen any of the top platinum players play this (for this that post videos) nor have u seen it as high gold. Your rank?
@@matthewhudson3180 wood.... but votes as everybody else...
Wood for sure
At 43:25 would attacking France be better than attacking the U.K.? It still takes a victory city, gives 6 income instead of 0 for the U.S. and may distract Germany, allowing Russia a slightly better chance of getting to Berlin. I expect a good percentage of Germany players would spend most of their extra IPCs fortifying London on G3, rather than in Europe. Allies are still on the back foot, for sure though.
Yes, I imagine there are a few refinements, especially as you note, fortifying London G3 somewhat; I was mostly trying to sketch out the general strategy.
try this in platinum lol
Why not AC instead of 2nd cruiser on first build?
Less bombardment for UK attack? Watched more of the vid and came back to my own ask lol
I tried it and it works in most situations :D Now, do you have a similar strategy for Japan, I mean, what is the best course of action after capturing UK?
Solid wood level play right here
Alternatively to the below comments, GB could buy a carrier and two destroyers and place them in zone 6 with two fighters. Germany must use some of its fighters to take out this force, thus leaving GB safe. The destroyer in 10 (along with a fighter) can be used to either attack any surviving German subs in zone 7 or used to block the German battleship from joining the fight in zone 6 (or to attack the German battleship with GB sir power). Also, the Allies have two chances to skink the German battleship and transport by sending the GB two fighters and bomber (or one fighter if a fighter is needed to kill any remaining German subs) and the US can attack with its destroyer and bomber, which has a decent shot of succeeding.
It does work, just tried it. Thx!!
Edit. Too harsh. Appreciate anyone posting content and drawing attention to the game. More eyes the better for the long term viability of the game.
Regarding the strategy:
UK needs to buy 9 inf 1art. One inf & art for India. UK has the option to clear the two fighters in Norway with UK with the tank, 2f and bomber. 97% chance of success. That attack brings Germany down to 31% to take Ukraine. Even less if more than 1 UK fighter survives. At that point Germany is completely neutered for the rest of the game. Germany will lose fast no matter how well Japan plays. UK needs to attack 61. 37 is a completely unnecessary risk at this point. Just need to slow down Japan.
Next US can drop the bomber into UK and the 30% is now 21% (or lower depending on UK success) or attack the G battleship with dest and bomber. 50% battle. If won, Germany no longer has a chance at taking UK.
Through all this UK still drops 2 into India (or 3 if the Norway attack goes well) while still keeping a 70% chance (at worst) of keeping UK.
Basically this strategy has very low odds vs a competent opponent and doesn’t really accomplish the secondary objective of forcing UK to over spend on defense.
Forgot to add, one Russian fighter will typically be in Archangel which someone else mentioned. That’s another defender that brings German success down to 7% even if the US takes and loses the battleship battle.
Larry Harris 3. version: This is what I get if UK knows what's coming and stacks 8 infantry and moves the tank from Canada, and also take out the battleship and transport(93%). Germany gets the Carrier so the other fighter can make it from Africa if it helps the battleship in round 1. Attacker: 3: Infantry 3: Tank 7: Fighter 1: Cruiser 2: Bomber Defender: 1: Anti-Air Gun 10: Infantry 1: Artillery 2: Tank 2: Fighter 1: Bomber
Only 40.6% to win with a tank remaining. But the odds go up pretty quickly if Britain does anything other than max defend. If they put two less infantry down win % goes up to 70%, if they forget to move the tank from Canada 85%. So I could see this catching some folks. Will reply with calculator as link I think was preventing comment from showing.
Yes, I think you are right that people are not really thinking about the math on this one (really in either Cruiser or Carrier); for me the really interesting part is that a full UK stack just allows Germany to pivot (clearing out any Allied Atlantic fleet perpetually), using the transports - which will always be protected either by Cruisers or Carrier - to do rapid deployment of Infantry through Sea Zone 5. Thanks for testing!
Now you are talking, now that would be a result i would be interested in instead of what the other player may or may not do! A true test against a human@@Rudmin
How does Germany get 7 fighters and 2 bombers in range of UK on round 2?
@@Rudmin oof, your right I went back and looked it is only 6 possible fighters and you need the bomber to survive round 1 and purchase a bomber round 1. With only 6 fighters instead of 7 the odds go way down only 23% to win, so that changes things pretty dramatically. Instead of bomber could go with another transport and then you could bring another tank and infantry raising odds slightly to 32%.
Still disagree, based on how I and most people play, the UK would have an AA gun 10inf 1 artillery 2 tanks 1bomber (I’m assuming 1 would be lost attacking the battleship) and 3 fighters (1 would come from R as i and most people leave 1 in Archangel rd1) Germany would have 1 bombardment 4inf 4 tanks and 5 fighters, if you have an extra fighter and bomber left from the Ukraine it means Russia has had an awful rd1 in which case wouldn’t you just go for Russia instead of this strategy. Based on this Germany would have a 1.3% chance to take! @@orionwhite8429
This is nonsense