SkyVon
Member
What benifit does the Allied player get by having the USSR conquer Iran? I know that a few Iranian units will appear, but other than that, what happens?
Iran...why?
- Thread starter SkyVon
- Start date
Mantis
Member
A fairly vast buffer zone against the Axis hordes, all in treacherous terrain where supply will be tenous at best for an attacker vs. a tenacious defence, in a front that in previous versions of the game showed itself to be so unbalanced that an Axis player could win the game by simply taking this route, as opposed to any great displays of skill whatsoever.
(How's that for a run-on sentence?)
This is absolutely vital.
The prize at the end of this roud for the Axis player is the oil rich Caucusus area. Taking Baku (likely the first target of opportunity for an Axis player taking this route) carries with it the bonuses of a +4 to Axis supply, and a -4 to Allied supply, activating Turkey (a land link to the Euro front), new units (armor, I believe?) extra equipment being released to your replacement pool (late war armor?), a great chance at a potential front-line landlink with your Euro front forces, and last-but-not-least, the little 'burp' that so nicely assists you in making it to the next of these bonus hexes, Grozny.
Now, Grozny doesn't give you the same jackpot as Baku, but it still releases 'signifigant equipment' to the replacement pool. (Also late war armor, iirc). Another sweet little burp to push you onwards to:
Maikop. The last of the targets. This also releases 'signifigant equipment' to the replacement pool (guess what type of units?), and makes almost certain a link with the Euro front. From here, it's just all gravy.
The Russian player cannot let this happen. Putting a formation or so down in Iran will buy a good deal of time, and the defender has a decided advantage.
Hope this helps.
(How's that for a run-on sentence?)
This is absolutely vital.
The prize at the end of this roud for the Axis player is the oil rich Caucusus area. Taking Baku (likely the first target of opportunity for an Axis player taking this route) carries with it the bonuses of a +4 to Axis supply, and a -4 to Allied supply, activating Turkey (a land link to the Euro front), new units (armor, I believe?) extra equipment being released to your replacement pool (late war armor?), a great chance at a potential front-line landlink with your Euro front forces, and last-but-not-least, the little 'burp' that so nicely assists you in making it to the next of these bonus hexes, Grozny.
Now, Grozny doesn't give you the same jackpot as Baku, but it still releases 'signifigant equipment' to the replacement pool. (Also late war armor, iirc). Another sweet little burp to push you onwards to:
Maikop. The last of the targets. This also releases 'signifigant equipment' to the replacement pool (guess what type of units?), and makes almost certain a link with the Euro front. From here, it's just all gravy.
The Russian player cannot let this happen. Putting a formation or so down in Iran will buy a good deal of time, and the defender has a decided advantage.
Hope this helps.
Chuck?
Member
Actually there is no reason why the Allied player shouldn't invade Iran. It doesn't affect the entry variable, allows some of your units to receive some experience, and creates a large buffer between Iraq and Soviet Caucusus states.
Mark Stevens
Europe Aflame Forum Moderator
Well, Tehran's worth 5 VPs of course, and historically the British and Russians did partition Iran between them in 1941, bundling the Shah off into exile.
But it's mainly to give Southern Russia some strategic depth and defensible terrain, especially in view of the importance of Baku.
In earlier scenarios the exclusion zone ran along the Russian border, and there was a general consensus that it was too easy for an Axis Player to park a load of units, supplied from Vichy Damascus, on the border, just waiting for the Russo-German war to start so that they could stroll into Baku.
You could argue that this represents Hitler adopting Raeder and Kesselring's strategy of putting a lot more resources into the Mediterranean Theatre, but apparently - I never experienced it - the tactic did make taking Baku a doddle.
If the Allied Player sees this happening now, he can send the Red Army into Iran, overrun the weak defenders, and set up a line a lot further south-west. I know this will weaken the main front, but presumably if the Axis have sent a lot of troops to the Middle East - where the terrain is less suited to attack, and supply is difficult - then their assault on European Russia will be proportionately weaker.
One last thing: if the Axis take El Alamein, and trigger the Iraqi Revolt, the unrest will spread to Iran in several turn's time and the Shah will mobilise his meagre forces. Although they're only two '3 - 6' cavalry units (he rose to power as colonel of the Iranian Cossack Brigade) plus a garrison in the capital, it might make things awkward for the Allies depending on the timing. Knocking them out first avoids this.
But it's mainly to give Southern Russia some strategic depth and defensible terrain, especially in view of the importance of Baku.
In earlier scenarios the exclusion zone ran along the Russian border, and there was a general consensus that it was too easy for an Axis Player to park a load of units, supplied from Vichy Damascus, on the border, just waiting for the Russo-German war to start so that they could stroll into Baku.
You could argue that this represents Hitler adopting Raeder and Kesselring's strategy of putting a lot more resources into the Mediterranean Theatre, but apparently - I never experienced it - the tactic did make taking Baku a doddle.
If the Allied Player sees this happening now, he can send the Red Army into Iran, overrun the weak defenders, and set up a line a lot further south-west. I know this will weaken the main front, but presumably if the Axis have sent a lot of troops to the Middle East - where the terrain is less suited to attack, and supply is difficult - then their assault on European Russia will be proportionately weaker.
One last thing: if the Axis take El Alamein, and trigger the Iraqi Revolt, the unrest will spread to Iran in several turn's time and the Shah will mobilise his meagre forces. Although they're only two '3 - 6' cavalry units (he rose to power as colonel of the Iranian Cossack Brigade) plus a garrison in the capital, it might make things awkward for the Allies depending on the timing. Knocking them out first avoids this.