So far we’ve found that the Japanese are toast unless you can really get in a good defense. The biggest problem is the weakness of their tanks in comparison to the western ones. The best thing I’ve found so far is to focus on infantry and artillery, and only use tanks for attacking wayward enemy infantry. My brother is much better at the game than me but even still he can’t win with the Japanese.
the japanese army is just good for suporting the german army…they shld not be used as a pure faction otherwise u will really get ur ass kicked :lol:…the infantry is gud enough but they lack good tanks…in the 2nd set so far i only got 2 type 97 tankette n 1 type one ho-ni…these two tanks cnt even go up wid the m4a1 shermans or the m3 stuart…(not unless u have god-like skills in rolling ur attack rolls)…apart from that even if u have 2 ha-gos fro set 1 it still wont make good…japanese army is a good canon-fodler for the german army :mrgreen:
an all out jap army just blows. almost as much as a all out china army
No way it’s as bad as an all China Army.
An advantage of Japanese armies are the Imperial Snipers, which are probably the best sniper in the game if you are fighting in a heavy woods map. America has the best officer (Red Devil Captain) for medium/long range against personel, so if you take them all out, you’ve got a good move. The biggest problem is the inability to fight against tanks.
One word my friends: Tankapalooza. Japanese tanks are insanely cheap, which makes up for their horrific armor. The Ho-Ni can pretty much kick the snot out of any tank, you just gotta take care of it. Also remember, Arisaka’s are great for bum-rushing weaker tanks, and this made even easier with an imperial sergeant. The Te-Ke is also good for this. It’s extremely cheap, has lots of mobility, and isn’t affected by BAR’s to boot. You may snicker at the Japanese, but I’m a tojo to the end.
PEACE
So low tech, hyper aggressive tactics are the way to go huh? Sounds as good as anything. I’ll give that a try next chance I get.
Isn’t that kinda how the Japs fought to begin with? :wink:
Well depending on where they were. At Edson’s ridge, they tried again and again with charges. At Iwo, Tarawa, and many others, they dug in and built elaborate fortifications. Tanks in the Pacific were mostly used as stationary anti infantry guns.
The Japanese are great, but you have to be super aggressive with them. Their snipers and mortars crews are outstanding and give lots of long range firepower. Once you get in close the imperial sergeants and arisaka rifleman are something to be truly feared in hand to hand combat. Tanks just need to be swarmed with enough infantry, and in my experience, if your opponents takes too many tanks, he doesn’t have anywhere near enough infantry to slow you down on your way to the armor. Banzai!
The Japanese require some skill to play, which is why many players dismiss them out of hand. Set II provided some good JP units that allow them to be competitve.Â
The Ha-Go is a decent tank. It has a low cost, and should never be more than damaged at long range. The ability to simply zip at speed 4 through trees can’t be underestimated either. It’s dice may not be fantastic, but they are good enough for harrasment and 8-7 dice can potentially hurt medium tanks. It’s the Ho-Ni that really provides Japan’s answer to the many high defence units. It’s attack dice are the same as an M4A1’s but for only 12 points. If playing a Japanese army I’d consider fielding at least two of these.Â
Arisaka Rifles are your basic infantry, and while slightly inferior to most infantry of other nations, their Hand-to-Hand 12 can be lethal. The Imperial Sergeant allows them to move and attack, is often found in a Japanese army leading the Arisakas. Mortars, MGs, or Snipers can be used to disrupt enemy infantry while the Arisakas Banzai in and finish them off. This generally doesn’t happen too often though, as the Japanese are often dependant on the terrain to close the distance. Until their rifles reach medium range they are fairly useless. Another infantry tactic is to use the Type 89 Mortars commanded by an SNLF Captain at range to decimate the enemy. 7 dice at 5+ gives you at worse a 74% chance of disrupting the enemy, and a 43% chance of destroying. The SNLF combined with Seasoned Crew means your opponent will only save on a 6. The Type 92 Machine Gun is a somewhat cheaper option, but despite having double shot is often far less effective.Â
The Imperial Sniper is generally not worthwhile. His SA won’t come into play too often, and either the MG or the Mortar are usually better choices. An SNLF Paratrooper or two can be useful to harass the enemy from vulnerable sides, but I wouldn’t rely on them doing too much. The Type 2 Ka-Mi and Type 97 Te-Ke are just bad units. The Type 97 Chi-Ra is ok, but I’d rather give up a few bad anti-infantry dice for the extra dice the Ho-Ni has. Set III gives us the Mitsubishi A6M Zero aircraft, which helps dictate somewhat the actions of your opponent - always useful. The SNLF Fanatics, and Type 89 Chi-Ro give you a few more options, and the Type 87 Armoured Car gives some much needed mobility.
If using the ‘swarm’ tactic it’s important to keep your enemy pinned down whenever possible. Use MGs to target multiple units, or Mortars-SNLF to go after specific ones. Defencive fire is the bane of Arisakas. Against vehicles, and in particular high defence vehicles, swarm him. Give him hard choices like staying surrounded, or taking defencive fire and moving away. Then if it turns out the exhange won’t be good for you… scatter. But mostly just keep the pressure on. With enough attacks one will get through, and once the target is disrupted you hit it with everything you’ve got and take it out.
Has Set III given the Japs anything good? My browser is being REALLY annoying tonight, so I can’t check if they got anything. Somehow I doubt D-Day will get anything for them. Blegh. One day I’d like to field them, but right now my units are on the wimpy side…
-=Grim=-
I must differ with you on the matter of the Te-Ke. Yes, it is a bad unit, but a very cheap one. They’re great for harassing, moving around quickly, and in general making a nuisance of its self. On all other points though I applaud you, superb tactics. If you have any other japanese tactics or ideas feel free to PM me. By the way, I’m curious if you know the actual stats of the Chi-Ro and Armored Car, or if your speculating. If so, do tell.
I must differ with you on the matter of the Te-Ke. Yes, it is a bad unit, but a very cheap one. They’re great for harassing, moving around quickly, and in general making a nuisance of its self. On all other points though I applaud you, superb tactics. If you have any other japanese tactics or ideas feel free to PM me. By the way, I’m curious if you know the actual stats of the Chi-Ro and Armored Car, or if your speculating. If so, do tell.
I’m afraid I disagree on the effectiveness on the Te-Ke. For a mere two points more the Ha-Go is far more effective at harrasing the enemy.
Chi-Ro (1939, Rare)
Vehicle - tank
Cost 7
Speed 3
Defence 2/2
vs INF 7/7/6
vs Veh 5/4/3
Trench Crossing
Weak Suspension
Type-87 Armoured Car (1939, Uncommon)
Vehicle - Armoured Car
Cost 8
Speed 3
Defence 2/2
vs Inf 7/6/6
vs Veh 2/-/-
High Gear 3
Thin Wheels
Strike & Fade 1
I don’t think either is particularily great, but as I said they do at least give you some options. Wouldn’t use either in a tournement army. However the Zero I could see using 2-3 of.
