I’ve read a couple takes on other peoples play of Japan and thought i’d offer my view.
I start off by buying 1 IC, and save the remaining 10 for next turn. For my combat moves, I first take the 2 battleships, sub, plane from the aircraft carrier, and another plane from Japan with the intentions of landing the 2 planes on the carrier in the Wake Island sea zone. (*you can also take the bomber from Japan to increase your odds) You should defeat the US navy with no problem. I then stockpile troops and planes on the mainland. 2 troops from the Phillipines to French-Burma along with the plane, two troops to Manchuria from Japan, and then I evacuate Kwangtung…moving one troop north and one troop south. Leaving $3 open is pretty tempting to the americans and let them take it if they like…all that does for them is spreads their army thin…which just makes it easier for you next turn. In the worst case scenario, the UK will have built an IC in India, which is perfect for Japan to attack and take control of. I place the IC in either Manchuria, or Burma…I prefer Manchuria for its effectness against Russia and as a defence for the homeland, but either will work. That was turn one, which should give you major influence in the Pacific, and a healthy number of troops and planes on the mainland…healthy enough to deter any attacks from any allies this turn.
Turn 2; buy 2 bombers and a tank (remeber the 10 you saved). Combat moves include taking out India, and possibly China, (depending on Russia’s situation in Asia) you may also want to take Eastern Russia for 2 bucks and a strategic point later on. Then get your navy out of reach of the mounting US airforce by bringing them down to Australia to use in an amphibious assault (if the 2 UK troops are still there). Bring down a transport and pick up a troop from Indonesia and follow thru to Australia. During the amphibious landing, your battleships should have no prob taking out one if not all troops there. The US still have a battleship and transport in Western US…but they will more than likely retreat thru the Panama Canal or sit tight. Now place the 2 bombers in Japan and the tank wherever your IC is.
Later on keep buying bombers until you have 5 or 6…which will make quick work for conquering Asia and Russia. Tanks and troops help out very much as well. Now if Germany did their part you should be on your way.
Ok, I myself have a few problems with your strategy, and since I’ve said this a million times, I’m not gonna argue against your industrial complex… BUT
Why buy it so early? Your not really putting it to good use. Your only buying 2 tanks second turn, and you have 2 transports already. Why not just not buy the industrial complex? Or even wait a few turns.
Second, why the bombers?
And third, how do you plan on taking a combined Sinkang/India factory combo? I see no feesable way to do this without buying more land troops early in the game. But I’ll let you explain that yourself.
You definitely need more land troops in Asia. I’m all for an IC in south-east Asia, but with limited troops in that region you might get overrun (Remember, they could sever your lines if you leave no units in Kwangtung). Your fleet is also in danger of destruction in Hawaii on USA’s turn, unless you know they will “tuck tail and run”. If they do attack you with all available units in Hawaii, they could eliminate your transports as early as turn 2. Russia could hold you off for quite some time without more land troops in Asia, unless they’re getting hit hard by the Germans…
I disagree in many ways with you plan. First, why do you need an industrial complex on the mainland, especially this early in the game. If you buy 2 more transports it’s only one IPC more and you will be able to move more troops on the mainland; if you buy an IC you can place 3 inf. per turn there, but with 4 transports you can move 8 inf. over. It’s a matter of whether or not you want numerical superiority.
Secondly, the US will wipe out your navy with their airforce and remaining navy. You may think that this won’t matter but you cannot afford to rebuild your navy, the US can and more than likely will rebuild their’s if you do manage to remove the remanants of it from play. This will eventually leave your islands open to attack by the US. This may not seem like much but all your islands are worth nine. That’s a little less than half your starting income. The question is, can you capture enough territory in asia to make up for the US taking the islands?
[ This Message was edited by: bossk on 2001-12-05 18:02 ]
The reason for the early IC is to put pressure on the allies…i stated in my statement that you would transfer troops from the Phillipines, empty out Kwantung, and bring in the plane from the Phillipines as well, this will leave you with about 5 inf. and 2 planes in Burma, and 6 inf. and at least 1 plane in Manchuria…now why would the US or even the UK want to attack with 2 inf and a plane each…not this turn at least…and by the next turn you can start stock-piling on the mainland. If the US wants to march into a free Kwangtung, let them!! That will spread thier forces thin and allow an even easier victory for you. An early pressence puts enough pressure on the allies that the will either send troops from other areas, which might not be a good idea for them, or they’ll sit there and defend…which is fine, cos then you build and run them over. If they build an IC in India or Skriang, you have enough troops to start a march towards their IC which is 2 turns away. Second, the Pacific is yours for a while after you take out the US navy at Hawaii…i admited that you wouldn’t want to stick around for long as the US airforce would prob. be building strength…while the US is rebuilding their Navy, Japan is building troops and transports for the North American invasion. And oh yes, the bombers. Why not? Attack strength of 4, travel distance of 6, they will definatly come in handy for blowing any US navy that comes your way…and they can also serve as a crushing force on the mainland. and also…after you take Midway…you can start Strategic Bombing runs on the US if you choose.
I bet you i can put more pressure on the allies with transports instead. I’ve said this a million times, and I am gonna say it again, you cannot put the desired pressure on the allies with an industrial complex. By the end of the second turn, with an industrial complex, you have the potential of 4 infantry 3 tanks on the mainland. Add in the 3 fighters and 1 bomber. Thats (8 + 9 + 9 + 4) 26 attack points with 11 ground units. Or choose 12 infantry 1 tank and the airforce (12 + 3 + 9 + 4) and you get 28 attack points among 13 ground units.
So infantry not only put out more attack points but more ground units.
I think waiting even one turn to start agresively atacking Britan and the US in asia is a mistake. If you used this against me you would be facing 10 Inf and 3 Ftrs in India and 12 Inf and 3 Ftrs in Sinkiang by the time you got there. This is not a very big investment for the Allies and it can be just enough delay to allow the allies to bolster the defenses of russia and stall the Japanese advance.
Before you ask I will explain.
Turn one
Russia moves 2 Inf from Eve to Novo
UK builds an IC in India, moves the transport to Aus, the Inf from syr to Persia, two fighters to Kar.
The US builds an IC in Sin, evacuates China to Sin.
Turn two
Russia moves 2 Inf from Novo to Sin, two fighters from Kar to Sin
Britain build 3 Inf in India transport 2 Inf from Aus to Ind, move 1Inf from Persia to India, move 2 Ftr from Kar to India
Us build two Inf. in Sin.
At this point I don’t think you will be attacking India or Sinkiang as you are clearly out matched. You will of course be able to over take the production of 5 Inf per turn But I believe it will be to long of a delay.
I think India and China need to be attacked on the first turn to set up the fall of sinkiang on turn two. If Russia attacks Manchuria they are setting themselves up for a swift counter-attack and sacrificing a valuable tank in the process.
So you don’t use your transport to block Japan from a naval invasion on india? Big mistake? Why?
With 2 inf 1 fighter in japan, I can not only easily assault India with the Phil transport, I can also keep my mainland reinforced and attack china. How? 4 Infantry 2 figher into India, 2 infantry 1 figher 1 bomber into China.
With it in blockig position I cannot take and hold it.
I believe Dezrtfish has it right. Ignore Britian/USA in Asia and face a stream of units underminding your infantry attacks against Russian Asia. Building an IC in French Indo-china Burma will give you the strength to take the Allied territories threatening to build IC’s while still advancing into Russian Asia. This will also threaten Africa and a more southern route into the Russian capitol…
As I said before, why waste money on something that can be captured by the enemy like an IC. You can send more troops to the mainland by buying transports. See previous post for the math.
If the USA takes a Japan first strategy, you could lose at least your transports by turns 3 or 4. Japan can’t afford to replace them, you’ll at least need 1 IC on the mainland operating to make up for it…
if Us takes a Japan first strategy russia can put his head between his legs and kiss his butt goodbye.
Not necessarily. If the US can quickly move armor and infantry via transports to the Asian mainland (Alaska to Soviet Far East), this will secure Russia’s north-eastern back door and kick the Japanese ultimately out of Asia. Again, all this depends on the skill level of the players in question. The Japanese player who loses his or her fleet in turn 1 runs a great risk of this. This is where mainland IC’s become vital for Japanese survival. Even in later turns the lose of their fleet can be seriously damaging. Japan must prepare for this scenario if the Axis is going to win…
Why would you buy bombers to attack Russia? You should be buying tanks. Bombers attack at a 4 and tanks at a 3, but tanks only cost 5 ipcs and bombers cost 18. You can buy three tanks and an infantry for the price of a bomber and they are each twice as good at defending as are bombers if the US decides to attack you or Russia decides to confrunt your forces in Asia. Also, bombers can not remain in the Russian capital to defend it if you manage to take it. Plus, you can claim territories with tanks and move them as a single force. With bombers you can not claim territories and have to have to split up your force when you move into a new territory (ground troops remain as single unit, bombers return to occupied territories). I see no reason for the bombers -buy tanks.
[ This Message was edited by: xenophobe on 2001-12-10 10:20 ]
On 2001-12-09 17:31, Yanny wrote:
if Us takes a Japan first strategy russia can put his head between his legs and kiss his butt goodbye.
I agree. For logistic reasons it is far easier for Japan to defend itself than it is for the US to attack it. Japan should be able to destroy most of the USs initial navy in round 1 while retaining most of its own fleet. There is no reason for Japan to build a navy to confront the USs navy if the US goes after Japan. Japan should be building a force of tanks to go after Russia and if the US wants to go after Japan that force can easily be turned on the US if Japan has to defend NE Asia. Japan should retain several fighters that are great for defense as well and one round of buying infantry can go a long way towards providing a defense against the US if they are foolish enough to go after Japan. Remember, it only costs Japan 3 ipcs for a unit of infantry in Asia and 5 for an armor plus a one shot 15 or so for an IC or two. It costs the US 7 for a unit of infantry ((3+3+8)/2) that only attack at a 1, and 13 for a tank (5+8).
Germany would love to have to contend with two countries rather than three. US goes after Japan is a very bad move IMO.
[ This Message was edited by: xenophobe on 2001-12-10 10:42 ]
