Strategic Bombing on Calcutta

@simon33:

I don’t reckon the transport is worth it. I used to do that but it is too easy for Japan to take the money islands back and also sink the transport. Unless you are thinking of doing something different with it?

I prefer sending Calcutta’s starting TT to Persia on UK1 with an INF and ART.
I liberate Iraq from its Pro-Axis ways on UK2.
I return to Calcutta with 4 victorious Brits on UK3, just before Japan closes off my harbor.

Theoretically you can get up 7 units to Calcutta before Japan closes off the harbor if you buy a TT, INF and ARM and place them in South Africa on UK1.

And, going forward London can start diverting income to a minor IC in Persia if you so chose to further create problems for the Japanese.

However, I have yet to find a strong strategy to stopping a KIF by Japan that places minor IC along the coast.  The Persia IC is more to fly FTR to Moscow than anything else.  And, it helps with Italy if they get too big for their britches.

@simon33:

I use the one from the Med with an art only and leave the Indian one for claiming Sumatra, although a J1 DOW can cause a rethink to that. Perhaps go to Java instead and be reinforced by ANZAC? My normal opponent uses a J2 DOW.

I’m guessing you use the Med TT to take down the Ethopian troops.

I find having both TT off of Persia to be a more flexible option, so I bring an INF and ART from both Calcutta and Egypt to Persia on UK1’s NCM.

They can still get back to Cairo, can liberate Iraq, can address the Italians south of Cairo, or I can simply start a ferry back and forth to Calcutta if I build an IC in Persia.  Lots of options and makes me less predictable by my opponent (who always will J1 DOW).

Solid idea.  Nice to do something different for India.

UkP 1 fighter purchase is great idea. Of course once Japan has Yunnan Or Shan or Burma intercepting is generally outgunning yourself. The fighter also creates a little extra counter pressure particularly if you send to your tact to Africa or Middle East. I always get an IC in Persia and try to get some land units to make up for it.

Who bothers to Strat bomb India?  I mean, why?  If Japan puts forth any effort at all, UKPacific is making about 6 a round.

Strat bomb Calcutta = far fewer UK units to deal with. We all know the trouble with taking India is getting enough land units to compete with UK land units. Strategic bombing Calcutta turn 2 3 4and maybe more is really going to halt progress in UK buildup making it a lot easier to take. The best bombings are done early when UK P still has the money.

J1 DOW, take FIC and Kwangtung.
J2 place Minor IC on both FIC and Kwangtung.
J3 Mechs
J4 Armor
J5 Attack if odds are good
J6 Attack with better odds and multiple ARM left to move to the Middle East.

Allies have a hard time dislodging those two IC and they provide support to turn off China while also being able to be in position rather quickly to supplement the siege on Calcutta.

I actually go for 3 minors with a J1 placement in Kiangsu as well - because the strategic ability to seal off China at Jehol is rather valuable with the Russians / US moving into Manchuria / Korea.

In the long run its cheaper to build on the mainland than try to protect SZ 6 from the US (or break a US blockade) and in addition, placing ships at FIC or Kwangtung really pushes back ANZAC / the US from the DEI and Flip.

Since discovering these placements via Grasshopper’s Japan walkthroughs, I have rarely had issue to SBR Calcutta.  Sometimes, I even leave Calcutta sieged without taking it right away because they cannot break out and simply leave SS to convoy what few IPC they can collect.

Sometimes its better to go for ANZAC’s throat or a decisive naval win in the Pacific because the Allies are racing to catch up and leave themselves exposed trying to protect / secure Calcutta.  Those minors will eventually produce enough ARM that you don’t even need to use your airpower to defeat them, so putting them to use to decisively secure the Pacific from the US Navy is worth the wait.

Like… who really cares about 5 IPC when you’re making 60+ and can put ANZAC on its heels because you immediately turn around and sink naval purchases and it only has 4 INF and two turns to purchase ARM to try to protect Sydney?

With the minor IC purchases, Yunnan is yours no later than J4.  You’re adding 6 Mech from the J3 purchase to the battle alone - not counting whatever survived the battles as you cornered China.

UK can of course make it more expensive to take by sending units to Yunnan, but it really makes no sense when Japan can skip right around via TT due to the minor in FIC being in the same SZ as Malaya which you should be able to take on J4.

Emptying Calcutta is a terrible idea to save Yunnan 9 times out of 10. Even staging on Burma is bad because - yes you can retake Calcutta, but with the amount of units piling up in Yunnan, Japan can just take a turn later - and possibly without planes being used at all because you’ll have 6 ARM to pair up with TAC which frees up FTR to reposition for your next advance.

Income from Calcutta falling is irrelevant to Japan, so running Japan I would prefer crushing UK units at Yunnan (closer to both IC) than having to wait an extra turn to send a kitchen sink at Calcutta to secure the VC.  I’ll let ARM and a few TAC finish off whatever you place after losing Yunnan.

Always learned its invaluable to keep those TT around and positioned to threaten Calcutta to keep him cornered.

@simon33:

If you are coming via sea, it’s pretty important to keep those unit numbers in India (Calcutta) down. Once you have Yunnan secure you can escort the bombers. But what is USSR doing up north while you’re doing all this? I’m guessing they’re coming down in a fair bit of force and liberating Chinese territories.

Another reason why a Shantung or Kiangsu IC is good.

@simon33:

@Spendo02:

UK can of course make it more expensive to take by sending units to Yunnan, but it really makes no sense when Japan can skip right around via TT due to the minor in FIC being in the same SZ as Malaya which you should be able to take on J4.

Different SZ - SZ37 off Malaya. SZ36 off FIC.

UK, ANZAC and US need to try hard to hold Malaya as long as possible. If it falls by J4 I would want to be able to take it back. ANZAC doesn’t lose its NO if Japan takes it and UK retakes it.

Note that USSR mobile units in Yunnan threaten Kwangtung as well as FIC. Mobile units in Yunnan are quite awesome against a lot of factories. None of them can be strongly defended and if India is threatened, they can get there in one turn.

Let me give you my J1 Opener for discussion then:

Buy:
2 TT, 1 Minor IC (Placed in Kiangsu)
DOW on Western Powers
Combat:
Load TT in SZ19 with 1 ART from Manchuria, 1 INF from Okinawa
Load TT in SZ20 with 1 ART, 1 INF from Kiangsi
Load TT in SZ6 with 1 ART from Japan, 1 INF from Korea

Send all 3 TT to SZ35, Declare Amphibious on Flip
Send 1 FTR/TAC from SZ33 to Attack Flip
Send all remaining warships to SZ33, excluding the 2 DD in SZ6 and the DD in SZ19

Move 2 INF, 1 ART from Jehol into Chahar

Move 1 MEC from Manchuria to Anhwe
Move 3 INF, 1 ART from Shantung to Anhwe
Move 2 INF from Kiangsu to Anhwe

Move 1 INF from Kiangsi to Hunan
Fly 2 FTR and 2 TAC from Manchuria to Hunan
Fly 1 FTR from Formosa to Hunan

Move 1 INF from Kiangsi to Kwangtung
Fly 1 FTR from Okinawa to Kwangtung
Fly 2 FTR and 2 TAC from SZ6 to Kwangtung
Fly 1 FTR and 2 TAC from Japan to Kwangtung

Move 3 INF, 1 ART from Kwangsi to Yunnan
Fly 1 FTR and 1 TAC from Kiangsu to Yunnan
Fly 2 SB from Japan to Yunnan

Move 2 INF from Siam to FIC

Sideboard Discussion
In order to do this, you have to accept that you will be trading FTR for territory.  Specifically Kwangtung and Hunan.  As Japan starts with a preponderance of aircraft, I feel that to maximize your opening move on a J1, you must be willing to trade aircraft for territory to save time by not having to stall your advance.

In addition, the overkill at Flip is to ensure there are enough ground units to load on TT to take Borneo and two DEI on J2.  It also creates a very legitimate threat to Queensland as typically Japan is left with 4 or 5 units with the overkill present.  It is a great deterrent for ANZAC against fortressing up Java because Japan can swing straight to Queensland.  I never want to do this, but I want the threat to be present that I COULD.

Non-Combat:

Move 2 CV from SZ6 to SZ20
Land 2 FTR, 2 TAC from Kwangtung on the CV now in SZ20

Move 1 CV from SZ33 to SZ35
Land 1 FTR, 1 TAC from Flip on the CV now in SZ35

Move 1 DD from SZ19 to SZ36

Move 1 DD from SZ6 to SZ16

Move 3 INF from Korea to Manchuria
Move 1 FTR from Korea to Japan

Move 1 INF, 1 ART from Kiangsu to Kiangsi

Land all remaining aircraft operating in China on Kwangsi.

Second Sideboard Discussion
The DD in SZ36 is to block the bombard from a potential suicide mission against my stacked aircraft in Kwangsi.  Yes, UK Pacific can still reach them with its aircraft and two ground units, but it sacrifices so much of its threat by doing so (losing a TT, BB, 2 FTR and 1 TAC).  I’ve seen it done and Japan does lose a few planes, but typically UK at best limps home with a FTR or worse, gets diced out in a single round.  The DD is simply a reminder of how expensive that decision could be for them, and I’m okay with sinking the UK fleet on J2 if they send the kitchen sink there.

Note that a DD is left in SZ6 as well as one blocking in SZ16.  The US is able to send FTR from Hawaii to SZ6 and sink the transports you are about to place there and then move its fleet from SZ10 to SZ7 to land them.  Being able to scramble 2 FTR over a DD ensures that is a bad idea and secures that TT purchase.  The 4 units you’ll put on those TT are essential to keeping and holding Yunnan.  The DD in SZ16 ensures the US cannot send its fleet from Hawaii to SZ6 on its first turn.  As I vacated Korea, I am willing to trade a DD to ensure that the US has to wait an additional turn to do that if it so chooses.  In addition, I’d much rather Russia take Korea or attack my 9 INF in Manchuria.

You will also notice that there were 1 INF, 1 ART now in Kiangsi (from Kiangsu) that were not utilized.  There are a multitude of reasons for this, but the most important ones are:
First, they are an insurance policy for securing Kwangtung if something goes terribly wrong.  I do not want to have to choose between giving up DEI on J2 by diverting units remaining from taking Flip to secure Kwangtung.  This is what I’d term going backwards - and is something I’d prefer to avoid.
Second, in the case China decides to attack 1 the INF on Hunan and wins, I will have 1 INF, 1 ART, 1 MEC that can go there from both Kiangsi and Anhwe while still sending 5 INF and 1 ART to Kweichow.  This ensures I can threaten both Szechwan and Yunnan on J3 and does not allow China to simply continue stacking on Yunnan. 
Lastly, if all went well in China, that 1 INF and 1 ART can act as reinforcements that can be picked up by an empty TT from Flip and take Borneo.  It also allows me to leave (typically an ART) on Flip so ANZAC has to send more than a single INF to try to take it back.

Place Units:
Place 2 TT in SZ6
Place Minor IC on Kiangsu

*Note, I prefer Kiangsu over Shantung simply because I play for Jehol to be where I stop the flood of Reds if I get diced in Manchuria.  Having that extra space can buy me another round of purchases that could make the difference between losing my minor in China or not.

Some quick talking points on J2:
1. I almost exclusively buy 2 Minor IC to be placed in Kwangtung and French Indo China as well as purchasing 3 MEC for Kiangsu.

2. Those 3 MEC will combine with 4 units from the TT (J1 Purchase) for 7 units plus whatever makes it through Kweichow and Hunan to land on Yunnan all at the same time on J3.  See point 5 below on why knowing this timing is important.

3. Depending on what ANZAC does, Japan has a few options on what DEI to take.  Boreno is almost always taken.  Some combination of the other 3 typically occurs, Celebes being the most typical, followed by Java and lastly Sumatra.  I don’t like taking Sumatra too quickly, but even if you suicide a TT to land units, you do technically have TT bringing up the rear-guard that can swipe up those stranded units (after delivering 4 units from Japan to FIC - your new primary base of operations).  I’d much rather keep the TT for later than collect IPC now, have to repurchase it later and have it catch up to be relevant.  However, if the US is seriously threatening Tokyo, sacrificing a TT to gain 4 IPC plus a 5 IPC NO mean which translates to more INF on Tokyo next round - it MAY be worth the trade.

4. Yunnan can get very dicey on J2.  If the UK decides to stack up what it can from UK1, you could be facing a Chinese purchase, its surviving units from the attack, 2 extra UK INF and 2 FTR and 1 TAC.  This is really where you have to accept that losing planes now means you win later.  UK specifically cannot replace these lost units with ease.  Japan, to some extent can afford to lose some planes because it has Industrial Capacity coming up that will making the lost aircraft irrelevant due to the proximity and pressure MEC and ARM will put on Calcutta that now only has INF and a dwindling income to turtle with.  Plus, as all your aircraft on are the land, and only ANZAC may have aircraft left, you don’t necessarily need to have all your CV loaded with FTR/TAC going forward to claim the DEI and finish off India.

5. If J2 is where you could get diced, J3 is where the tide changes (reference point 2 above).  Going forward you will able to place some combination of 9 ARM or 6 ARM and 3 MEC per turn.  At least 2/3 of them will be within immediate striking distance of Yunnan the very next round.  So, sometimes it may be better to exercise patience and let China build its ART for a turn.  They won’t last very long with DEI controlled by Japan and industrial complexes churning out twice the units China can in a single turn.

6. Lastly, this strategy is a hybrid compliment to Grasshopper’s initial Japan playbook.  I cannot take credit for fully developing this strategy.

@ShadowHAwk:

Nice this gives the UK the option to take JAVA and anzac the option to get 2 NO’s.

UK would take Sumatra UK1.  Java is an option of course, but even if ANZAC sends its ships there, the entire weight of Japan’s Navy falls on it.  Unless ANZAC moves to Java, Japan can take it with no resistance on J2 considering Japan goes before both nations

And you leave the UK BB alone, could be interesting fleet wise to group everything in queensland that can get there round 1 and dare japan to attack it.
2 BB 2 cruisers 2 destroyers and 3 fighters should be enough to either make it a mutual annihilation ( ill take that ) or an allied victory.

UK can run to ANZAC if it wants with its BB.  It’ll be isolated there and playing escort duty at best.

And move the US air from midway to Quensland so you wont be taking that 1 either, also gives a nice attack option near the money islands. This will force you to protect the transports and you cant protect them all unless you use blockers which ill gladly destroy.

As I said, I don’t want to take Queensland early.  I just want it to appear that I could attempt to.  US can easily fly itself down there - and typically would - along with its Navy.  The alternative would be to establish a convoy in SZ6 and/or take Korea.  Both I spoke about and attempt to delay it where possible.

The Allies can always stage off Queensland.  In fact, it is suggested to do so in order to contest Japan’s expansion in the South Pacific.

This is nothing new, but the goal is for Japan to always be a single turn ahead of a tri-headed navy with a logical confrontation off of Malaya or Java as the IJN turns back from it’s siege of Calcutta.

Even the loss of DEI early is mitigated with IC placement as DD/SS/SB being mobilized there really change what the Allies thought was a well crafted trap of the IJN.