The Japan Playbook

[Afrikakorps]

J1 : 3 transports, 1 inf

Philipinnes
• 1 fighter, 1 tactical (33) land in 35 carrier
• 1 inf 1 tank japan + transport
• 1 inf Okinawa, 1 art Manchuria, transport

S35
• 1 fighter (korea) land on 35 carier
• 1 tactical fighter (6) land on 35 carier
• 2 carrier, 2 bship (6)
• Destroyer, bship, sub (19)

S37
• Formasa fighter (land 43)
• 2 bombers (land kwangsi)
• Cruiser (s20)

Borneo
• 1 inf, 1 art (kiangsi)
• Transport (20)

S62
• 1 destroyer (33)

French Indo China
• 2 inf siam

Yunnan
• 3 inf 1 art
• 1 fighter 1 tactical kiangsu (land on kwangsi)

Kwangtung
• 1 inf – kiangsu
• 1 okinawa fighter (land on kwangsi)
• 1 tactical 2 fighter (6) (land on kwangsi)

Hunnan
• 1 inf kiangsi
• 2 fighter 2 tactical manchuria (land on kwangsi)

Chahar
• 2 inf 1 art jehol
• 1 mech inf manchuria

Anhwe
• 3 inf, 1 art shangtung

Non-combat

SZ43
• 1 tactical (japan) (2 if Formosa fighter died)
• 1 carrier (33)

Manchuria
• 4 inf korea

Jehol
• 6 inf, 1 aa gun Manchuria

Kiangsi
• 3 inf 1 art kiangsu

SZ 6
• Keep 1 sub, 2 dd, 1 cruiser, 2 fighters, 6 kamizake (defence of Japan)

[simon33]

I prefer to leave CVs in 36, 35 and 43. Protect all your transports.

[simon33]

Although given you don’t have any transports in 36 I guess you are protecting that, but you still need your Cruiser to survive in 37 to block the amphib on FIC.

Don’t love the 37 attack - it is basically guaranteed to cost at least the cruiser and probably the fighter too and the UK BB doesn’t achieve much. Worse is thinning the Yunnan attack.

[Afrikakorps]

It is basically copy of Cow updated J1 from 2018, but nicer visual overview.

I like taking the battleship, I see it as one of strongest elements of J1. I am OK with UK fighting back there, this helps Italy in Africa where I aim to take Egypt I3 (even after Taranto) with help of Luftwaffe.

[Afrikakorps]

It worked, Axis victory in Pacific.
Calcutta fell J3 in J7 Hawaii was taken.

[Cornwallis]

@cow how would you react to a J1 as an Allied player?

[taamvan]

@cornwallis @cow

Take tokyo

[simon33]

@cornwallis said in The Japan Playbook:

@cow how would you react to a J1 as an Allied player?

I would say be sure to hold Hawaii and Sydney while using the options opened up to weaken Germany and Italy.

So don’t build too many ships as ANZAC and keep the ANZAC planes alive and in reach of it. I am a fan of attacking the infantry in FIC with air UK1 (survivors land in Szechwan) but this is only worthwhile if there is no other Japanese land units within reach of Yunnan. 1 free round of holding Yunnan and building artillery is worth a fair bit to my way of thinking. Try not to lose a bunch of British land units in Burma also.

All of this can be changed if you have good odds to do something else.

[colonel ace]

Hey so my friend I play with loves to do the middle-earth strategy so I have been looking for a way to counter it so I came up with a Japan strategy to counter it and I need some opinions

[mainah]

@colonel-ace
Share. We are listening (reading?)

[colonel ace]

So I don’t have a exact idea of what units to bring where but the general idea is to do a J1 attack and take out Malaya turn one or two in order to put a factory there and bring down my navy so that turn three or four I have some transports, carriers, battleships and cruisers in sea zone 75 in order to either attack Persia or South Africa and kick the British out of the Indian Ocean what are all your thoughts

[mainah]

@colonel-ace
Hard pressed to take Malaya on J1. Can take on J2, but don’t forget to prioritize the money islands for the money.

Malaya factory can be difficult to hold. FIC is usually built first. From there, with the right NCM, you can go on to take Calcutta round 4-5.

Have you looked up the Calcutta crush? General hangrenade and young grasshopper have some YouTube videos that might help. Not saying follow them exactly, but it’s a start.

I lean towards fic J1, factory J2, and an overland push with an airfield in fic to help. Nabbing Calcutta j4-5 can mess with middle earth well

[colonel ace]

Ill look into a Calcutta crush but by then it might be too late due to British fighters coming down I want to try this strategy because a factory in Malaya can provide a ton of strategic options especially when attacking Sydney and holding the money islands also what do you mean hard to hold?

[mainah]

@colonel-ace
Well - harder to keep from being captured by the allies. Harder than FIC. Building an IC can be done, but timing and allies moves is what would dictate when/if I would put a IC I Malaya. I do it sometimes, but not a ton. Its far away from Japan, so takes a bit to get the forces to capture and keep it; keep in mind it’s 3 SZ spaces from Queensland, 2 from india. As far as land spaces to India, it’s just as far as FIC.

If the goal is to get pressure on Calcutta early, you can capture FIC on J1 with a single inf, IC on J2, plus reinforcements from Japan (one turn away, for transports or planes), and on turn J2,3, or 4 build an airfield.

Malaya is 2 turns from Japan with a TT or plane, has one land territory connection so that can be used to block, deadzone, etc. Malaya also has 4 inf on it at start, with a BB off shore, while all Japan can reach it with is a inf and art from the one transport that can reach on J1.

[colonel ace]

Could it be possible to send some planes from carriers to Malaya?

[mainah]

@colonel-ace
Not on J1.

J2, if you position on J1 accordingly, you could send 3 fig 3 tacs there. But that would mean an unmolested US fleet barreling into the Caroline islands early and cheaply.

[colonel ace]

The goal is not to put pressure on Calcutta or ANZAC its to be able to take major British factories putting pressure on Germany and Italy and allowing the axis forces in to the Middle East

[colonel ace]

@mainah
Aren’t those islands worthless?

[mainah]

@colonel-ace said in The Japan Playbook:

The goal is not to put pressure on Calcutta or ANZAC its to be able to take major British factories putting pressure on Germany and Italy and allowing the axis forces in to the Middle East

How do you plan to get Japan into the middle east without taking, or at least pressuring , India?

What other UK factories are you trying to capture? A minor in persia? or are there others.

Re Caroline Islands:

Do they increase you IPC’s? No. Worthless, FAR from it.

Control of them is worth a lot. The airbase and the harbor in conjunction with the location makes it a very valuable territory. From there, Japan can strike Midway, Wake, Hawaii, New Zealand, Queensland, FIC, Philippines, and all the money islands sans Sumatra. And can easily be re-enforced from Japan.

If held by the allies, they can strike all the above, plus the Chinese mainland, Japan, and Korea.

[mainah]

The Carolines are like Gibraltar of the Pac. The side that controls them dictates the flow on that side of the board.