Axis & Allies Global 1940: Part 2

Turn 2 alignment

This article is a return to my previous article giving an overview of the complexity of playing a Global game of Axis and Allies. Take note that since I was the Axis Player for all 2 nations I will be mainly composing this article from the Axis point of view. The players on the Allied side were newer to the game so I did have a slight advantage, but I took care to advise when I saw them leaving me an opening for an easy win. This was largely a learning experience for the newer players.

On the 2^nd day of A&A 1940 Global I wasn’t too sure how the game would go. On one hand Germany was in a weak position. They didn’t have any air power or navy and were barely holding on to all their original territories.

Turn 5, Japan has the allies boxed in

Italy on the other hand was in a strong position which is nice for a change because Italy tends to be the weakest Axis Power, but on the rare occasions Italy is able to capture the Mediterranean and most of Africa they are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Japan was in the best position of all the Axis powers at turn 4. China was blocked in to one last territory, UK in the East had no navy and could not break out of their last 3 territories, and US and ANZAC were not able to threaten Japanese naval supremacy. Also of note, the USSR decided to not threaten my northern Asian territories so I didn’t have to worry about them like I was early in the game when I didn’t have my position established.

By the end of turn 4 was where a lot of things on the map that had changed. I started rebuilding a German navy since the US had located their Atlantic fleet down near the Mediterranean and the UK fleet consisted of a cruiser and a transport. They could still scramble so I started with 2 subs, which then grew to 4 in later turns. Not having to deal with a real invasion threat from the west allowed me to focus more on the East fight the USSR. The UK began to ramp up production in the South Africa minor facility since Italy had almost captured all of Africa. I had to pull Italy back in the face of a combined US and UK counter attack in Africa. Since my Italian Fleet was about the same size as the US fleet I wasn’t too worried about Italy getting beaten up.

Turn 7, Italy is able to keep the US at bay

In turn 5 the Axis continued to press their gains. China was eliminated by Japan which was quite an important feat for the Axis. Sending bombers into India really helped keep the UK in check because they couldn’t repair enough to build any sufficient units in response. I even began to take away some USSR territory. Germany was able to capture Leningrad while keeping the bulk of the USSR southern units in check. At this point the US started to make a serious buildup to start countering Japan since they were almost unopposed in the East. Even though Germany wasn’t that strong with Japan’s help they could both weaken the USSR to the point of falling.

Turn 6 and 7 were enough in the Axis favor to where we decided to call the game since we had already put in 14 hours playing and it looked like an inevitable for an Axis victory. The US was positioned to try and take Tokyo with a small force, but the odds were against them and they couldn’t get through 2 rounds of combat before being defeated. With USSR having lost 2 complexes, ANZAC/UK having no fleet and all Axis doing well economically it was called an Axis victory. I really think Japan pulled this victory and if the tables are turned in a future game and I’m the allied player I will most likely send the bulk of the US forces in Japan’s direction.