Hey, fellows! I’ve a question for the more experienced players on this forum concerning Japan’s second turn naval strategy. This question takes it as granted that the Japs must both: A.) destroy the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, and, B.) invade and occupy the Hawaiian Islands during the first round of play. In an average game, the Japanese forces in the South Pacific after turn 1 should be as follows: 2 battlehips, 1 carrier, 1 transport in the Hawaiian SZ, 2 fighters on the carrier, 1 infantry occupying Hawaii, 1 infantry on the Soloman Islands, and 1 bomber on the Soloman Islands (flown there after the battle).
Now, my questions is: Should the Japanese concentrate on capturing Australia and New Zealand, or should they instead redeploy their fleet back to the East and focus upon the campaign against Allied forces in India and, eventually, Africa?
I am constantly weighing the longterm value of the 3 IPCs gained from the ANZAC territories versus the benefits of having the Japanese fleet in a position to immediately bombard Allied coastal forces in India and the Middle East (2 battleship broadsides per amphibious assault is tasty). Taking Oz and NZ takes the fleet away from the main theatre of operations for three turns. Are 3 IPCs per turn enough to make up for the delay in firepower/projection of force to India and the Middle East?