Fighter off Guam? You mean Phillipines, right?

Yes, my US1 move generally includes the Ftr moving from Flip to Guam in anticipation of flying to either DNG or landing on the US1 CV purchase that will arrive in SZ26 depending on if J2 attacked and allowed a US DOW.�� Moving it to a less valuable location such as Guam means Japan will have to decide if taking out a US Ftr is worth not taking a more IPC valuable resource location with its limited TT.

So in short, yes I meant the US Ftr that starts on Flip.

I move my fighter to the Solomons and then back to Pearl Harbor. An extra scramble really helps.

US1: 1 CV 1 Ftr 1 NB 3 Inf - Save 1
NCM US fleet from Pearl to Johnston Island - Leave 1 DD blocker at Midway, Send TT to SF
NCM US fleet from SF to Johnston Island - Bring 1 TT with Inf/Art
NCM SS and DD from Flip to Queensland
NCM Flip Ftr to Guam
NCM CR and TT (with Inf/Art) from DC to SZ28
NCM Bomber to Wake
NCM 2 Ftr from Pearl to Wake
Place 3 Inf in DC, Place CV and Ftr off SF, place NB on Johnston Island

India1: Full Inf purchase
Send TT from India to Persia, picking up the Inf from W.India and opening up Persian units
NCM BB from Malaya to DNG
NCM DD and CR from India to DNG
NCM Ftr/Tac from India to DNG
NCM Inf and Ftr from Burma to India
Place Inf on India

Anzac1: No purchase, bank 10
NCM 2 Ftr from NZ and 1 Ftr from Queensland to DNG
NCM 1 CR from NZ to DNG
NCM 1 DD 1 TT with Inf/Art to DNG

Now the stage is set:
SZ45 off DNG has 2 DD, 2 CR, 1 BB
DNG has 3 Anzac Ftr, 1 Indian Ftr, 1 Indian Tac, 1 Inf and Art from Anzac

Queensland has a US DD and SS
Johnston Island has a US fleet composed of 1 CV with Ftr/Tac, 1 BB, 2 CR, 1 DD, 1 SS
Wake has 2 Ftr, 1 Bomber
Guam has 1 Ftr
SF has 1 CV with 1 Ftr

J2 Can now decide to attack DNG or continue with India Crush.  Doing both exposes it to losses of ships.  All the non-Bomber aircraft on Kwang cannot reach DNG.  The two Bombers, however can.  The entire Japanese fleet can reach DNG, but that is okay.  It will take a few hits from the small Allied Fleet there and Japan would have to sacrifice aircraft to take DNG (no real economic value to Japan) with 1 Inf, 1 Art, 4 Ftr and 1 Tac there.

So if J2 ignores the DNG base build and continues with the India Crush - does it attack an open Flip?  Does it go after Malaya?  Take a DEI?  J2 Chooses one, its irrelevant which.

US2: 1 CV 1 Ftr 2 TT 1 CR
NCM US fleet from Johnson to DNG, landing the Inf and Art there.
NCM SF CV, Ftr and TT with 2 Inf to Johnston Island.
NCM CR and TT from SZ28 to Johnston Island.
NCM Ftr from Guam to CV at Johnston Island.
NCM SS and DD From Queensland to DNG.
NCM 2 Ftr, 1 Bomber from Wake to DNG.
Place 1 CV 1 Ftr off SF, place 2 TT, 1 CR off DC.

India2: Buy 1 AA, Rest Inf
NCM 2 Inf from Persia to Egypt
NCM 1 Ftr, 1 Tac from DNG to India
Place units on India

A2: Buy AB, Save 5.  Alternatively, you can buy a NB if you want the Allied fleets to be able to strike the India Crush fleet off India after J3.  AB is the conservative approach, but enables Allied Aircraft to support the Allied fleet hitting a returning ��� India Crush fleet.  Conversely, an Allied NB on DNG allows the Allies to strike with TT all across the mainland of Asia from India to Manchuria.

Anyways, this is the stage:
J2 ended its turn in position to crush India on J3.

The Allies has a fleet at DNG that rivals that of the Japanese fleet:
1 US CV with 2 Ftr on it, 2 DD, 2 SS, 2 CR, 1 BB
1 UK DD, CR, BB
1 Anzac DD, CR
There are both Anzac and US aircraft on DNG to scramble over the merged fleet.

In total, there is 2 SS, 4 DD, 4 CR, 1 BB, 1 CV with 2 Ftr and 3 Ftr to scramble over it.  Japan is going to lose ships if it turns from India Crush and it still may not be able to actually take DNG with 4 ground units on it and 3 US aircraft on top of it.

If J3 results in the Crush, Japan snags some extra IPC, but that fleet is trapped because it cannot move out of range of an Allied counter that will continue to get bigger.  Further, with A3 including a NB, from turn 4 and on, the Allies will be able to send TT all across Asia to start whittling away at Japanese gains on the mainland.  Japan is going to be hard pressed to hold Hong Kong, Shanghai and Manila for any VC win with its fleet having to face a massed US fleet at DNG that can reach any SZ it can reach on a return from India.

All in all, the US invested for 2 CV, 2 Ftr and 1 NB in the Pacific and can trap Japan in its India Crush.  The Allies can trade ships with Japan at any point, ships Japan will be hard pressed to replace.  All the while, the US continues to reinforce DNG and cut Japan off from both Sydney and India.  If Japan turns from the India Crush on J2 or J3 to attack DNG, you just saved India and now Japan probably lost its only opportunity to take India - and it will still have to start trading ships with the Allies.  The best part, is that even if Japan goes after DNG and you trade ships, the surviving ��� ships are not at a NB and have to spend an entire turn getting to a NB to first repair any damaged BB or CV and give the allies another round to build up the second wave of ships to finish off Japan losing the pacific.

Yes that's true, but 80% of $52 for the first 3 turns isn't really all that much, and the earliest their puny force can be at Gibraltar is round 4 because they are stuck next to US territories on the Europe map until then.   By that time Germany may be close to Moscow if they launched Barbarossa G2 or maybe even G1.

I've been tryng to think of what I would do as the allies against this and I am stumped.  It completely unbalances the Pacific so that Japan cannot win over there, but it also unbalances the situation so badly on the Europe map that the axis probably do get the VC win on that side.  They only need to win on one map.  I don't like it though because it feels phoney baloney.  There weren't thousands of japanese airplanes in Leningrad.

This is why it is key for the US to make Atlantic purchases early and the UK to preserve its Fleet in the Med by sailing it around the Horn of Africa to meet with the US TT arriving at SZ91 on US4, and being reinforced by the UK ships on UK4.

US1: 2 TT, 1 CR
US2: 2 TT, 1 CR
US3: 1 TT, Inf to fill up the TT
US4: 5 Inf, 5 Art (35 IPC), 4/5 TT (28/35) Land 5 Inf, 1 Arm, 1 Art, 3 Mech on Morocco.
UK4: Reinforce SZ91 with at least 1 CV, 1 DD, 1 CR + Whatever ships survived the G1 attack.  UK should be utilizing its surviving TT to get units out of Canada and onto Gib and then ferrying Inf from Brazil to Gib.

US then has a choice of either sending those Inf from Morocco on TT to any of the landing zones in Europe (Holland, Normandy, S.France - and if UK got a NB on Gib by chance Denmark, Norway, and W.Germany open up too).  If you want to ignore Europe, you can advance in N.Africa or even threaten Rome and N.Italy.  Those TT can even go back to E.USA on US5 to be in position to pick up more US units to start a rotation of TT landings in Morocco of 10 units every turn.

Italy is going to have a hard time of it taking Egypt by the end of I4, and even if it does, it isn't going to have a lot of ground units to defend both Rome, Egypt and N.Italy because it has to send literally everything it has to take a toughly defended Egypt. 

A split Allied Landing on both Rome and N.Italy prevents Germany from blitzing from W.Germany to Rome to Liberate Rome.  With a second US landing hitting Morocco the same time you possibly take Rome, you have 10 units of reinforcement hitting Rome.

Of course, ��� planes are the question mark here, but if the Axis cannot take and hold Egypt, or loses Rome - those ��� planes become less relevant as Japan has precious few resource centers to add more units to the Europe Map.

Fighter off Guam? You mean Phillipines, right?

Yes, my US1 move generally includes the Ftr moving from Flip to Guam in anticipation of flying to either DNG or landing on the US1 CV purchase that will arrive in SZ26 depending on if J2 attacked and allowed a US DOW.  Moving it to a less valuable location such as Guam means Japan will have to decide if taking out a US Ftr is worth not taking a more IPC valuable resource location with its limited TT.

So in short, yes I meant the US Ftr that starts on Flip.

There is no best way to split purchases.  The US is as varied as it comes, unlike the typical early German and Japanese moves that are generally straight forward.

Things to consider:

You want to sink the ��� fleet, to the point of being willing to trade ships with them.
At some point, the US will need to show up in force in Europe.  
The Axis needs to take either Moscow or London AND hold Egypt to win in Europe.
An early arrival of the US in Europe (in strength) spells trouble for Italy.

A typical US strategy is spending the majority of early IPC on a Pacific Fleet to match Japan's.  

US has the aircraft to basically fill 2 more CV, and technically 3 if you can get the Ftr off of Guam and the E.USA  fighter to fill the 3rd (4 total US CV).  You don't need to purchase a full compliment of Ftr/Tac on US CV early.

The US doesn't need a whole lot of TT in the Pacific, as the early fighting is going to be between ships with attack values.

Bombers on E.USA can reach a ��� fleet off Hawaii.

US Bombers on Hawaii can hit ��� ships in SZ6 and land in Mongol Buyant-Uhaa if Japan activated the Mongol-Russo NO.

Bombers + SS in W.USA and SZ10 provide a good deterrent against ��� aggression against Honolulu.

As I said before, it is hard to say there is a perfect US build because a lot depends on where Japan ends J1.  My "Base" build on US1 without an Allied Grand Strategy is:
1 CV, 1 Ftr in SZ10
2 TT 1 CR in SZ101

I could go into lots of plans (Allied Grand Strategy), but much of it depends on if I can play Anzac and UK along with USA.  Otherwise, some of my strategies fail without Allied cooperation.

Curious, can Chinese Inf board UK TT out of Burma?

What if you load a Russian AA gun onto a US TT... Japan sinks it.  Are they now at war?

Taking Calcutta or Burma is the equivalent of taking Yunnan or Szechwan:  No NO for China. 

Unfortunately for the Chinese, if Calcutta or Burma is lost you will require Allied intervention to ever get that NO back.

AFAIK China can never leave its borders.

Mission 1:  Sink ��� Fleet
Mission 2: SBR and Convoy them to the stone age
Mission 3: Hope you get enough into Europe to change the Axis fortune there.

Mistakes made on either side swing the game one way or the other.  That is pretty neutral to me.

Bad dice can swing the game one way or the other, regardless of how well planned and executed a strategy you employ.  That is pretty neutral to me.

I think a well played Axis can win consistently.  A well played Ally can win just as consistently.  Mediocre play on either side tips the scales in favor of the other.

I run the UK ships from India to Aznac and the BB too.� If India crush is happening, moving 1 Inf off India to get 4 IPC from a DEI just exposes the ships to a J2 attack and I only net a 1 IPC gain if I lose the TT and the Inf gets trapped on the DEI.

That's a good point I hadn't thought of. Also, if India takes those DEI islands, that could just be more money plundered by Japan once they do sack Calcutta.

Exactly.  I still haven't decided the best use for that Indian TT.  I have a couple theories.

The first includes grabbing an Inf from Malaya and dropping it on Java.  Those units can't get back to Calcutta in time anyways.  You end up trading a TT to get 4 IPC which equates to an extra Inf on Calcutta on UK2.  Side benefit of Japan having to actually attack Java or Sumatra so it isn't a "Free" take.

Second includes running that TT to SZ80 and dropping that Inf from W.India off in Persia a round early.  You can add 2 Inf to Egypt on UK2 this way.  If you snag the Inf and AA from Malta on UK1 you've added 3 Inf, 1 AA to Egypt by the end of UK2 and that TT that starts in the Med can make its way around the Horn of Africa to pick up units in Brazil on the way to SZ91

Lastly includes running that TT with the Indian fleet to SZ54 with the DD, CR and BB.  I don't recommend bringing any units on that TT, but Anzac can put Inf on it at a later date to take or retake a DEI as UK goes before Anzac in the turns.

Anzac runs its TT DD and CR to SZ54 with an Inf and Art to drop at DNG.  Also flies its 3 Ftr there too.

End of Allied1 includes 2 DD, 2 CR, 1 BB in SZ54.  1 Inf 1 Art 3 Ftr on DNG.

US1 includes a NB build on Johnston Island and the US fleet from Hawaii and W.USA stage there.  The Flip Ftr to Guam, the SS and DD off Flip run to Queensland.  Land the C.USA bomber on Hawaii.  Fly the 2 Hawaiian Ftr to Wake (if there's no ��� fleet with TT in striking distance).  Move the Hawaiian DD to Midway to block a J2 TT move onto Hawaii for nearly free.

If J2 attacks the Allied fleet off DNG, the US2 has the following to counter attack it with:

2 SS 2 DD 2 CR 1 BB 1 CV 4 Ftr 1 Tac 1 Bomber.  Two of those Ftr are tentative depending on where Japan has positioned its Caroline fleet.  You don't want that Caroline fleet hitting up Wake on J2 reinforced by J1 TT purchases to cut down 2 Ftr of yours.  It may be worth the risk to put them in position anyways.

Note the Bomber can reach SZ54 and land on either DNG (if Japan didn't take it from Anzac on J2) or New Guinea.

All in all, its a great trap for a portion of the Japanese fleet, and if Japan sees it coming and goes straight after DNG with its entire fleet, you bought Calcutta 2 more rounds of purchases and probably denied Japan from taking it while it still loses ships over a generally useless strategic location for Japan.

If left alone, Anzac 1 was no purchase so A2 includes an AB on DNG with a sizable Allied fleet chilling in SZ54.  With J2 in position to do an India Crush after J2, the US can still stage its fleet there.  Presuming Japan DOW on J2, the fleet now benefits from multiple scrambling Ftr (preferably US so Anzac Ftr can reinforce any US landings) if J3 turns from the India Crush.

All this just from the US1 buying a NB and CV and 2 TT for E.USA.  US2 has plenty of options, 3 Bombers sounds really nice if DNG was left uncontested. US3 stages them at Wake and they are in range of supporting an allied counter attack on a ��� fleet that went to DNG on J4.  By liberating Kwang, the US can stage an impressive counter on the ��� fleet off DNG and probably sink or cripple just about everything.

A nice house rule includes all US ships roll at 1 the first and only the first zone Japan attacks them in.  This only applies to J1, J2 or J3.  No aircraft can scramble from islands for the first round of combat, but enter combat normally on the second round.

It isn't exactly Hawaii, but it does give the Japanese the choice to sink a good portion of a US fleet within range before the US can declare war.

A lot of people seem to like the US1 purchase being 2 CV and 1 BB for W.USA.

US2 varies too much to discuss all the options.  Some people put 3 bombers on W.USA for example.  Others may spend on an Atlantic fleet on US2.

I like to do things differently, but I put a premium on getting US forces into the Med as early as possible. 

In example 2 TT 1 CR in E.USA for US1/US2. 

I will also put 1 CV 1 Ftr in W.USA on US1 and US2 and then merge up the the two CV on US3 with the 2 Ftr from Hawaii to fill up the CV with Ftrs. 

At the end of US2 I've equaled the Japanese Carrier's in the Pacific and staged 4 TT and 3 CR in the Atlantic. 

Depending on if Japan attacks on J2 which is very popular, I'll have plenty more to spend on US3 to beef up either side of the map. 

However, I also rely on the Allied fleets to reinforce both sides of the map for the US.  I give Italy the Med early and rely on that UK fleet to move around the Horn of Africa and arrive in SZ91 around the same time the US TT's can move past SZ102.

I run the UK ships from India to Aznac and the BB too.  If India crush is happening, moving 1 Inf off India to get 4 IPC from a DEI just exposes the ships to a J2 attack and I only net a 1 IPC gain if I lose the TT and the Inf gets trapped on the DEI.

Just realized that they're not at war 

Technically they can be if J1 declares war and doesn't clear out the BB... but then again I don't see much benefit from a J1 DOW.

The only reason Pearl isn't attacked is because it isn't worth that much for Japan in the bigger picture. 

In history it never really was either.  The goal was just to cripple US naval influence in the Pacific - which ended up backfiring on them anyways. 

Why make that mistake again as Japan?

Lots of options for the Allies.

Most stem around Japan's moves which varies accordingly to the Axis strategy as a whole.

The consensus for US purchases vary a lot and REALLY diverge after US1 / US2.

A good strategy is generally for the allies to go about sinking ��� ships at all costs as it is more difficult for Japan to replace them than the US so you can see a trade off of US for Japanese ships.

Its particularly difficult for the US to outright play a Kill Japan First strategy, in fact I don't think I have ever seen one put to discussion that has merit.  At best the US gets lucky and has a TT with a ground unit on Hawaii and Japan leaves Tokyo unguarded for the US to take.

Anzac can play many roles, it can reinforce any US advances in the Pacific with straight TT / Inf purchases that will land on successful US holdings.  It could play a screening aka "blocking" role that keeps the ��� fleets away from the US via DD purchases.  It could also go the way of augmenting the US fleet with ships of its own.  Lastly it can play a Mop-up role following US - Japanese conflicts with Anzac's own aircraft.

India is tough because Japan goes for its throat.  A determined Japanese Kill India First aka India Crush is hard to stop, but Japan generally ends up trading aircraft for Calcutta.  What Japan does after that is highly situational depending on the Axis position in Europe.  India at worst is playing turtle on Calcutta waiting on an India Crush.  At best is ignored by Japan and starts advancing first in DEI acquisitions and then later on mainland China.  Calcutta could also, if ignored by Japan, start sending units towards Africa or the Russian Caucasus.  In the mid-game, India can assist China in taking and holding the Burma Road in Yunnan - but you don't really want to do that until after Japan attacks or risk the US being unable to attack Japanese ships until US4 at the earliest.