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Japan Basics
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In order to go through some of Japan’s basic moves I’m going to have to make some assumptions since there are quite a lot of variations they can see due to the play out of R1 thru UK 1. So I’ll assume any bid went to Germany, Russia attacked some combination of Wrus, Belo or Ukr, Germany took Egy, cleared out the Med of all Allied ships, and countered what it could in Europe, while the UK landed in Alg, countered Egy (or setup up an Afr counter in Rd 2).
Now the UK could also have attacked your sub at the Sol Is and/or your trn in the Kwa sz. They could also land a ftr at Pearl or Bury (reinforcing a Russian stack) so I’ll deal with some of these as they come up but overall I won’t be going into detail on countering a full blown KJF or the presence of a UK IC on India. I’ll be looking at Japan from the perspective of a KGF or at the very least an Allied strategy that doesn’t commit to either a KGF or KJF until US 1.
I will mainly deal with a slight “worst case” (in terms of a KGF) and go from there, so assume the UK took out your Kwa trn with its Ind DD and attacked sub vs. sub at the Sol Is.
I think there are only two “must attacks” on J1 and they are Pearl and China. Any other attack that can safely be made is certainly fair game but be very cautious about doing too many and speading yourself too thin.
One of your first priorities should be to set up a strong presence in Asia so you can increase your IPCs. I’ve found the best way to do this is to attack China with maximum force (6-7 inf and 2-3 ftrs). Your other priority should be to eliminate as much of the US Pacific Navy as possible so you will have free reign to pick up your infantry on your islands in later turns and set your sites on more IPCs by claiming Aus, NZ, and HI.
If India is left empty it might be worth it to send in one infantry but if UK leaves behind one infantry I don’t think it is worth it to divert 2 inf and 1-2 planes to take, esp since UK is probably set up to counter on UK 2. Don’t throw away those early inf. Instead, if you attack China with 6-7 inf and 2-3 ftrs (or more) you can all but be assured to take with 5-6 inf which puts immediate pressure on Sin and would now require additional Allied troops to fend off a potential attack of 5 inf and 4 ftrs on rd 2. Encountered with these kinds of numbers the Allies are likely to vacate Sin prior to J2 giving you more easy IPCs without slowing your advance toward Moscow.
If you have to, you can deal with Kwa sz DD with your EI BB, AC and a ftr and that shouldn’t take away from your two main attacks. Which brings us to Pearl…
I prefer Pearl Heavy and will focus on that since I think Pearl Lite has the potential to go really bad and in most cases is not worth the risk. So regardless of what is at Pearl, I’ll attack with 1 sub (if I still have it), 1 dd, 2-3 ftrs, 1 bom, 1 bb. My goal is to take it out in 1 rd of battle while hopefully limiting myself to only 2 hits. If I don’t have the sub, I’ll take one hit on my BB and lose a ftr (if I brought in 3), If I do have the sub, I’ll take the hit on the BB and lose the sub. I’m always looking to take Pearl with:
1 dd, 1 ac, 2 ftrs, 1 bb - with the bom landing in JapanThis all but assures no US counter. I’d even consider losing a ftr over the sub in some cases (if I was able to attack with 3 ftrs).
You have lots of options with your ftrs in terms of where they can go to attack and if you have your sub you’ll only need 2 ftrs at Pearl, you don’t necessarily need one for the Kwa sz, while 2 for China can work if you attack with 6-7 inf. So find a comfort zone that works for you, but I tend to overload China and Pearl in most cases.
Now what about the possible UK sub at the Sol Is.?
Ignore it if there is the DD at Kwa, otherwise you can just use some of those units for the sub. But you still have to be concerned with a possible submerging sub (since your DD is probably heading to Pearl), so I tend to suck it up and buy a DD on J1 unless it is safe to have undefended trns in Sz 61. Watch out for that Allied air.Now, what to do about Bury? If it is stacked Heavy (6 inf + uk ftr) I’ll ignore it, if it has just the 6 Russian inf, it is a very tempting target. This is a judgment call on what you think you can get away with elsewhere. It will require a lighter Chi attack and a lighter Pearl, but killing off 6 Russian inf is a big bonus. In this case you can still send the BB and AC to Sz 59, forget India and go 5 inf, 2 ftrs to Chi, 3 inf, 1 rt (or arm) + planes to Bury, and the rest to Pearl. If you lost your sub in the Sol too you’ll probably be open to a counter by the US, but it isn’t as big of a deal since there will now be nothing to stop Japan with its center and northern push in Asia. So if the US wants to risk its air and lighten the pressure on Germany that is usually fine by me.
Any time Bury is lightly defended (1-3 inf) you can either attack or ignored it on J1. It is not a real problem to leave that for J2 and I would not risk bad results in Chi or Pearl in that case. This is an instance where if I already have multiple other attacks I’m doing this one probably gets put off. If Bury is empty you can do a walk-in using your trn or wait a turn if the UK sub is within range of Sz 60.
Again, it won’t kill you to pass up that 1 ipc for a turn.You probably won’t have much in terms of NCM, just make sure your trn(s) is protected and out of range from any Allied ftrs or bombers.
Now, what should you buy?
I think a case can be made for:
1 - IC + trn
2 - trns + land
3 - trns + air
4 - 2 IC
5 - trns + defensive navy (dd or ac)
6 - otherOf all of these, I think #2 is the most diverse and doesn’t require any particular setup or master plan other then you want to make sure they can’t be hit by Allied air. I prefer to buy 3 trns and 1 arm or 1 rt or 1-2 inf and save an ipc or two.
I like to wait on the IC b/c I don’t want to lock myself into a certain path until I make sure the US is going to be going after Germany.
With a 3 trn purchase you will be set to get 8 more units to Asia in Rd 2 and will maintain maximum flexibility. It also should give you a good foundation to build upon for the remainder of the game.
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If the Solomons SUB lives, I am becoming an increasing fan of “Pearl Light”, with only the SUB and DST being sent forward as naval assets, the rest being air power that retreats… Pearl Light w/o a Solomons sub though can be a suicide mission for a whole lot of Japan forces…
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@ncscswitch:
If the Solomons SUB lives, I am becoming an increasing fan of “Pearl Light”, with only the SUB and DST being sent forward as naval assets, the rest being air power that retreats… Pearl Light w/o a Solomons sub though can be a suicide mission for a whole lot of Japan forces…
Welcome to the dark side.
I’ve been a fan of Pearl Light for a long time because it gives Japan options it doesn’t otherwise have on Round 2. IMHO. It’s also insurance against bad dice. Now you don’t run the risk of being left with a Battleship, Carrier and 2 fighters, which America can sink.
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Without the Solomons SUB though, your only option is either Pearl Heavy or Pearl Ultra-Light, with Pearl Heavy being the more cost effective for Japan, though it does reduce their options for the next 2 turns in Asia.
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I agree, without the submarine for fodder, you risk losing fighters to defensive fire. You still MIGHT, but the odds of America getting 3 hits against you is pretty slim.
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It is not the odds of losing 3 units and taking FIG losses in the SZ52 battle, is is the risk of not having a naval unit to block SZ52 and keep your loaded AC off Wake safe from US counter-attack.
Without the SUB, you have to lose FIGs to save the DST that is on a suicide mission to protect the AC behind it.
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I know we’ve discussed Lite vs. Heavy in countless threads, but it might make a good article on its own.
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I’m more worried that you’ll lose the BB, AC and 2 Figs to the US Counter attack if you DON’T have the submarine with you.
I’m not so worried about losing just a Carrier and a couple fighters in SZ 51 because I won’t put it there, well, I wouldn’t if I was worried about it.
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OK. Let’s analyze precisely what Japan can best do in the worst case (that is becoming quite frequent now):
- Russia pushes 6 inf to Buryat.
- UK takes Borneo (1-2 inf surviving), New Guinea (same), des sinks Kwantung tra, sub+ftr sink Solomons sub (and Brits survive) then ftr lands on US carrier. UK carrier moves off Philippines to block quick liberation of Borneo. Bomber also comes closer in range, say Yakut.
=> Japan buy ? Does it matter if there are 1 or 2 IPC saved ? (30, 31 or 32 to spend). I find even 4 tra cannot survive with good chances if serious escort doesn’t stay with them, so 2 factories (Indochina and Kwangtung) are quite ‘forced’. Or not ?
- Pearl Heavy ? How heavy ?
The absolute max. for Japan is: 1tra 1 des 1btl 1car 3ftr 1bmb vs Allies 1sub 1car 2ftr.
With normal dice, ~94% to survive with at least 1des 1btl 1car 2ftr (the minimum to deter US counterattack).
Attacking without the tra for fodder reduces this chance to ~78%.
Or, try just one round of ‘heavy’ to absorb the loss with the battleship, then retreat ? What loss options do Allies best take ? (e.g. if losing 3 units, keep a UK fighter, US fighter, or carrier alive ? All have good uses together with the Buryat air return base). - China ? Of course. 5inf 3ftr are plenty, but to send less involves increasing risks and extra losses. Assume Manchuria left empty (not practical to keep defense vs Russian 6inf) and defending Indochina needs 2inf + 2-3 returning fighters against UK 3-4 inf (India + landing back from Borneo) + bomber.
- Buryat is impractical without at least 3inf 1tnk 3ftr (btl) which is also the most Japan can send. It makes any one of the two above impossible. Worthy the trade-off ? Then the tra left E of Japan needs escort. The btl support does nice, with lots of new transports, but this prevents Pearl Heavy.
- Pick other easy targets, like lone transports, with fighter(s) ?
- South fleet (btl, car) can sink Kwantung des or Philippine carrier. May need 1-2ftr to land on car to defend against rest of massed Brits (2tra 1sub 1car 1bmb)
Now let’s think the options in groups that make sense together.
- Buy 2 factories, do Pearl max and China max, as above. Downside is that without transport (sunk first or out of position), it leaves freeing Borneo to turn 3 at earliest, and Manchuria income may be lost for 1-2 turns too. Serious pressure to Russia is delayed 2-3 turns due to income drop and delay in other income rises (India, Australia etc).
1’) Same, but transport with troops joins Southern fleet in Kwa or Phil. Ready for Borneo next turn. But increases risk Pearl goes bad. - Buy 3-4 transports, do Buryat max and China max. Maybe 1 transport picked. With so many naval survivors (UK just as good as defenders), US is worthy to start serious KJF !?
- If China goes lighter, what else (esp. use of scarce planes) can fit instead ? Worth the trade-off ?
Can a combination of Buryat + Pearl light + China lightest be squeezed to reasonable advantage vs risk ? [Now, what if the Japanese sub in Solomons survived ? does it make this combination better ?]
Other worthwhile combinations you see ?
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(disclaimer, lowluck experiences)
-> If UK’s mini-kjf goes that well, imho you cant hit pearl. dont have the air.
Assuming you don’t hit pearl….
I personally am not a fan of ICs that early, limits mobility for a country that is the axis’ flexible player. skipping pearl allows you to buy transports. transports are the only way to manage Asian pressure early. altho, to each his own.
Clearly, If the AC block is in place you need to do a combination of killing some/all UK vessels in order to ensure they dont block in UK2 and send the sz60 transport to somewhere useful to retake borneo, FIC is my suggestion.
-> Do NOT give UK 8 or 12 bucks for free from borneo, Ger can not afford it. (africa and WE issues can be important regarding this money issue.)
-> Try to take the opportunity to rid russia of 6 infantry. Surely, It does not come often.
-> Japan does not actually need to hold china, just lay waste to the infantry and fighter. no infantry means you dont lose kwang/manch/fic. no fighter helps against leaving pearl alive.
If you find the absolute need to not hit bury, then defend manch with the 2inf and some air. If you dont, then you will be bogged down in the sea of japan taking manch back from the ruskies in round2. do not give them the money and happiness of slowing you down.
If you have defended manch and you bought trannies, the ruskies will be getting their inf out of bury rather speedily in round 2. Even if you cant kill the bury troops, Germany will be glad you made russia waste the time of 6 infantry.
Other issues include a russian tank in India. an FIC hit instead of borneo. Rus ftrs in Kaz to aid bury troops. Granted there is alot of stuff that can be done to hurt the japs. Stay focused is my advice, think about the real issues. Giving UK money is bad. Letting Russia keep its units is bad. Destroying but not taking China isnt horrible, not the end of the world taking it in round2. Assuming KGF, leaving the pearl fleet gives USA an extra fighter which hurts G earlier, the ships take a while to get to the atlantic anyways, and by then you should have expected allies to rule the atlantic. And if USA wants to go PAC since it has the pearl fleet alive, let them, lol gg.
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I’m thinking I should have read this sooner…. :-D
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