J4 Attack America?

Congratulations: I could not wait to be a Tank (and wished I could have remained one!).
I started playing in 87 at university.

@Whackamatt:

Well, I suppose the US economy could go up if they took some DEI, but really, if that’s happening, that it’s pretty much over for the Japanese anyway.

Not in my game  :-)  Func really likes to snipe at those DEI islands.

@jim010:

I amphibiosly attack Philipines.  There is a transport in the sea zone.  My BBs can ignore the transport and do shore bombardment, while I hit the transport with planes and/or other ships?

No.  If you attack the transport, everything attacks it.  You can either kill it or bombard, not both.

@jim010:

While I have your attention, can I build a minor factory on a zone worth 1 IPC?

No.

@Hobbes:

The counter there by the Allies would be to move the US/UK/ANZAC DDs and CA to SZs 37/43/35/45. It limits J transports in SZ36 (South China Sea) or SZ33 (Carolines) to attacking Malaya, Borneo and Phillipines on J3. You can take the remaining DEI on J4 but the transports will require protection because the US can fly the 3 bombers to Australia on US3 and the UK planes can also attack.

Simpliest solution to that is to park your fleet in SZ 42 on J2.  Just make sure the UK/ANZAC cannot sink it, US isn’t allowed to attack until turn 4 and cannot land planes on Australia until they are at war so they do not matter in this case.

@Vareel:

Oh i’m not saying you have to attack hawawi, nor that you should try to take it.  But it is a good idea I feel to send the US fleet at pearl to the bottom of the ocean.  The way I do that is with 2 carriers parked in SZ 31 with some extra boats to add to the attack, like a BB, pair of DDs, pair of subs, and keep a bomber or two in range, along with a purchased sub or 2.  Just 2 carriers alone in SZ 31 bring 8 planes into the fight allowing for 24 punch and 8 or 12 hits if you bring the carriers.  Add to that a pair of bombers, 2 DDs and a BB and you got 40 punch with 6 more hits.  And thats not counting the purchased units or the pair of subs you can position there if you want.  That still leaves you with a carrier, a battleship, 2 DDs, 2 Cru, and 15 planes for the DEI area.  Now I do sacrifice my transports to take DEI islands in the end, but I feel it is worth it.  If the US cannot be at Pearl on US2, or is sunk there, the earliest turn they can get to the DEI area with a significant force would be on US 5.

I understood that the propose is to prevent the US from moving the fleet to Pearl, not taking Hawaii itself and I agree that it is a good move. Most likely I’d move the US fleet to Line Islands and buy a naval base, allowing them to reach Australia on the next turn by leaving a DD on Johnson to block any J attacks.

The worse though will be if the US moves its airforce to Australia after J has attacked. Any Jap fleet on the East Indies will be threatened.

Japan can pass through those sea zones during the non-combat phase while not at war with the ally powers.  So really, is it that big of an issue?

AA 1940 Pacific has been released for 18 Days (Not 1 month as someone said, closer to a 1/2 month).

Let’s see if this question changes over the weeks/months.

Hawaii on round 1 is a pretty dicey proposition.

With no shore shot hits, the odds are about 20% of taking the Island.
If one shore shot hits, you are at 41%. 
If two shore shots hit, you are at 76%. 
Yes, you can get a third shot, but I would count on three hits. 
This assumes that you attach the Islands with all three transports including 3 infantry, 1 artillery and 1 tank (max 5 units since you only have 1 at Caroline)
Bottom line is that you need to be fairly lucky to take Hawaii round 1. 
I think the payoff is huge, but I can’t reccomend building your strategy around something that has such a high chance of failure.

If you fail badly (brick) then the counter attack could be pretty ugly.  The US has 8 planes that can reach along with 5 ships.  That is 13 total units.  You have (If I recall correctly) 15 total units that can reach, including 6 carrier aircraft.  You will likely win.  However, since they will be getting a check for $62, they can afford the losses, but you probably cannot.  You gained nothing on round 1 except a few territories in China.

Too much of a crap shoot for my tastes.