Dealing with Japan is such a pain.   

TripleA Turn Summary for game: World War II v3 1941, version: 1.4

Game History

    Round :4

        Purchase Units - Germans
            Germans buy 1 armour and 15 infantry; Remaining resources: 0 PUs;

        Combat Move - Germans
            1 armour moved from Egypt to Anglo-Egypt Sudan
            2 infantry moved from Bulgaria Romania to Ukraine
            1 infantry moved from East Poland to Ukraine
            1 armour moved from Poland to Ukraine
            1 bomber moved from Germany to Ukraine
            1 fighter moved from Germany to Ukraine
            2 fighters moved from Baltic States to Ukraine

        Combat - Germans
            Battle in Anglo-Egypt Sudan
                Germans attack with 1 armour
                British defend with 2 infantry
                    Germans roll dice for 1 armour in Anglo-Egypt Sudan, round 1 :  0/1 hits
                    British roll dice for 2 infantry in Anglo-Egypt Sudan, round 1 :  1/2 hits
                    1 armour owned by the Germans lost in Anglo-Egypt Sudan
                British win with 2 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is -5
                Casualties for Germans: 1 armour
            Battle in Ukraine
                Germans attack with 1 armour, 1 bomber, 3 fighters and 3 infantry
                Russians defend with 1 artillery and 2 infantry
                    Germans roll dice for 1 armour, 1 bomber, 3 fighters and 3 infantry in Ukraine, round 1 :  4/8 hits
                    Russians roll dice for 1 artillery and 2 infantry in Ukraine, round 1 :  1/3 hits
                    2 infantry owned by the Russians , 1 infantry owned by the Germans and 1 artillery owned by the Russians lost in Ukraine
                Germans win, taking Ukraine from Russians with 1 armour, 1 bomber, 3 fighters and 2 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 7
                Casualties for Germans: 1 infantry
                Casualties for Russians: 1 artillery and 2 infantry

        Non Combat Move - Germans
            3 fighters moved from Ukraine to East Poland
            1 bomber moved from Ukraine to Germany
            3 armour, 1 artillery and 5 infantry moved from Baltic States to Karelia S.S.R.
            1 armour moved from Poland to Karelia S.S.R.
            3 infantry moved from Poland to Baltic States
            7 infantry moved from Poland to East Poland
            1 armour moved from Germany to East Poland
            1 armour moved from France to Poland
            10 infantry moved from Germany to Poland
            1 submarine moved from 19 Sea Zone to 22 Sea Zone

        Place Units - Germans
            2 infantry placed in Karelia S.S.R.
            10 infantry placed in Germany
            1 armour and 3 infantry placed in France

        Turn Complete - Germans
            Germans collect 32 PUs; end with 32 PUs total
            Objective 1: Germans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 37 PUs
            Objective 2: Germans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 42 PUs
            Objective 3: Germans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 47 PUs


Territory Summary for Germans :

    Baltic States : 1 flag, 3 infantry
    Belorussia : 1 flag, 1 infantry
    East Poland : 1 flag, 1 armour, 3 fighters and 7 infantry
    France : 1 flag, 2 armour, 1 factory and 9 infantry
    Germany : 1 flag, 1 aaGun, 1 bomber, 1 factory and 10 infantry
    Karelia S.S.R. : 1 flag, 5 armour, 2 artilleries, 1 factory and 9 infantry
    Poland : 1 flag, 1 armour and 10 infantry
    Ukraine : 1 flag, 1 armour and 2 infantry
    22 Sea Zone : 1 flag, 1 submarine


Production/PUs Summary :

    Germans : 32 / 47
    Russians : 20 / 29
    Japanese : 31 / 47
    British : 41 / 38
    Italians : 13 / 19
    Chinese : 3 / 0
    Americans : 38 / 49

Uh, I just noticed my UK destroyer in SZ 6. Uh, wtf was I doing? It should be with the rest of the boats. I must not have clicked enough times.

I hope you don't mind if I move it. It serves no purpose but to be destroyed there.

No prob.

TripleA Turn Summary for game: World War II v3 1941, version: 1.4

Game History

    Round :12

        Purchase Units - Russians
            Russians repair 1 damage on 1 factory; Remaining resources: 27 PUs;
            Russians buy 3 armour and 4 infantry; Remaining resources: 0 PUs;

        Combat Move - Russians
            1 artillery and 14 infantry moved from East Poland to Ukraine
            6 infantry moved from Kazakh S.S.R. to Persia
            3 armour moved from Caucasus to Persia

        Combat - Russians
            Battle in Ukraine
                Russians attack with 1 artillery and 14 infantry
                Italians defend with 1 infantry
                    Russians roll dice for 1 artillery and 14 infantry in Ukraine, round 1 :  4/15 hits
                    Italians roll dice for 1 infantry in Ukraine, round 1 :  0/1 hits
                    1 infantry owned by the Italians lost in Ukraine
                Russians win, taking Ukraine from Italians with 1 artillery and 14 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3
                Casualties for Italians: 1 infantry
            Battle in Persia
                Russians attack with 3 armour and 6 infantry
                Japanese defend with 1 infantry
                    Russians roll dice for 3 armour and 6 infantry in Persia, round 1 :  2/9 hits
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 infantry in Persia, round 1 :  0/1 hits
                    1 infantry owned by the Japanese lost in Persia
                Russians win, taking Persia from Japanese with 3 armour and 6 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3
                Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry

        Non Combat Move - Russians
            1 aaGun and 1 infantry moved from Kazakh S.S.R. to Persia
            1 infantry moved from Russia to Urals
            1 infantry moved from Russia to Novosibirsk
            1 infantry moved from Russia to Kazakh S.S.R.
            1 aaGun moved from East Poland to Ukraine
            4 infantry moved from Caucasus to Persia
            6 infantry moved from Caucasus to Ukraine
            1 infantry moved from Caucasus to Russia
            3 armour moved from East Poland to Caucasus
            4 armour moved from East Poland to Ukraine
            1 submarine moved from 38 Sea Zone to 35 Sea Zone

        Place Units - Russians
            1 armour and 2 infantry placed in Caucasus
            2 armour and 2 infantry placed in Russia

        Turn Complete - Russians
            Russians collect 27 PUs; end with 27 PUs total


Territory Summary for Russians :

    Caucasus : 1 flag, 4 armour, 1 factory and 2 infantry
    Finland : 1 flag
    Karelia S.S.R. : 1 flag, 1 factory
    Kazakh S.S.R. : 1 flag, 1 infantry
    Novosibirsk : 1 flag, 1 infantry
    Persia : 1 flag, 1 aaGun, 3 armour and 11 infantry
    Russia : 1 flag, 1 aaGun, 2 armour, 1 factory and 5 infantry
    Ukraine : 1 flag, 1 aaGun, 4 armour, 1 artillery and 20 infantry
    Urals : 1 flag, 1 infantry
    35 Sea Zone : 1 flag, 1 submarine


Production/PUs Summary :

    Germans : 25 / 30
    Russians : 27 / 27
    Japanese : 45 / 57
    British : 32 / 39
    Italians : 9 / 16
    Chinese : 0 / 0
    Americans : 40 / 56

TripleA Turn Summary for game: World War II v3 1941, version: 1.4

Game History

    Round :11

        Turn Complete - Americans
            Americans collect 40 PUs; end with 41 PUs total
            Objective 2: Americans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 46 PUs
            Objective 3: Americans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 51 PUs
            Objective 4: Americans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 56 PUs


Territory Summary for Americans :

    Australia : 1 flag, 2 bombers
    Caucasus : 1 flag, 1 fighter
    Eastern Canada : 1 flag, 1 aaGun, 1 armour and 2 infantry
    Eastern United States : 1 flag, 1 factory
    Iwo Jima : 1 flag
    Morocco Algeria : 1 flag, 1 armour and 3 infantry
    Solomon Islands : 1 flag, 2 infantry
    Western Canada : 1 flag, 4 infantry
    Western United States : 1 flag, 1 aaGun and 1 factory
    12 Sea Zone : 1 flag, 1 destroyer and 1 transport
    32 Sea Zone : 1 flag, 1 submarine
    46 Sea Zone : 1 flag, 6 carriers, 8 destroyers, 12 fighters, 10 submarines and 2 transports
    56 Sea Zone : 1 flag, 1 carrier, 6 destroyers, 2 fighters and 1 submarine


Production/PUs Summary :

    Germans : 22 / 31
    Russians : 25 / 28
    Japanese : 46 / 57
    British : 34 / 39
    Italians : 11 / 16
    Chinese : 0 / 0
    Americans : 40 / 56

TripleA Turn Summary for game: World War II v3 1941, version: 1.4

Game History

    Round :11

        Turn Complete - Chinese


Territory Summary for Chinese :



Production/PUs Summary :

    Germans : 22 / 31
    Russians : 25 / 28
    Japanese : 46 / 57
    British : 34 / 39
    Italians : 11 / 16
    Chinese : 0 / 0
    Americans : 40 / 1

TripleA Turn Summary for game: World War II v3 1941, version: 1.4

Game History

    Round :3

        Purchase Units - Italians
            Italians buy 1 fighter and 5 infantry; Remaining resources: 1 PUs;

        Combat Move - Italians
            1 transport moved from 15 Sea Zone to 14 Sea Zone
            1 armour and 1 infantry moved from Italy to 14 Sea Zone
            1 armour, 1 infantry and 1 transport moved from 14 Sea Zone to 15 Sea Zone
            1 armour and 1 infantry moved from 15 Sea Zone to Trans-Jordan
            1 infantry moved from Egypt to Trans-Jordan

        Combat - Italians
            Battle in Trans-Jordan
                Italians attack with 1 armour and 2 infantry
                British defend with 2 armour
                    Italians roll dice for 1 battleship and 1 cruiser in Trans-Jordan, round 1 :  2/2 hits
                    British roll dice for 2 armour in Trans-Jordan, round 1 :  2/2 hits
                    2 armour owned by the British and 2 infantry owned by the Italians lost in Trans-Jordan
                Italians win, taking Trans-Jordan from British with 1 armour remaining. Battle score for attacker is 4
                Casualties for British: 2 armour
                Casualties for Italians: 2 infantry

        Non Combat Move - Italians
            1 fighter moved from France to Italy
            1 armour moved from Poland to Karelia S.S.R.

        Place Units - Italians
            1 fighter and 5 infantry placed in Italy

        Turn Complete - Italians
            Italians collect 13 PUs; end with 14 PUs total
            Objective 1: Italians met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 19 PUs


Territory Summary for Italians :

    Egypt : 1 flag
    France : 1 flag, 1 aaGun
    Italy : 1 flag, 1 aaGun, 1 armour, 1 factory, 2 fighters and 8 infantry
    Karelia S.S.R. : 1 flag, 1 armour
    Trans-Jordan : 1 flag, 1 armour
    15 Sea Zone : 1 flag, 1 battleship, 2 cruisers and 1 transport


Production/PUs Summary :

    Germans : 30 / 50
    Russians : 22 / 29
    Japanese : 35 / 47
    British : 37 / 38
    Italians : 13 / 19
    Chinese : 3 / 0
    Americans : 38 / 49

Results

ukr - taken with 1 inf, 1 ftr

Non-Combat Move

1 ftr to epl
1 inf to alg from lib
2 arm to pol from fra
1 inf, 1 rt to gar from fra
2 inf, 1 rt, 1 aa to fra from ita
1 ca to sz 16 from sz 14

Placement

3 inf, 1 aa on Ita

Collect 12

[Rolls:]

Ukr

2 inf, 1 ftr, 1 ca, 1 bb

Rolls: 2@1 2@3 1@4; Total Hits: 2

2@1: (1, 4)2@3: (4, 4)1@4: (2)

1 inf, 1 rt

Rolls: 2@2; Total Hits: 1

2@2: (2, 4)

Italy Round 2

Buy 3 inf, 1 aa

Combat Move

1)  Ukr - 1 inf, 1 rt vs. 2 inf (lib via trn), 1 ftr (ita), 1 ca, 1 bb

Bid ranges for some of the games are:

Classic (mid 80's version) - 18-23 ipcs for the Axis.  Usually spent in Afr or a combo of Afr and Europe.

Revised - 8-12 ipc for the Axis.  Again usually spent on Afr, maybe an inf for Ukr as well.

Anniversary '41 edition - 9-12 ipcs for the Allies (possibly still going up).  Allies usually add some units to Egy and then maybe Russia or something to go against Japan.

I'm not sure what the Anniversary '42 bids are or the G40 bids.

Wouldn't then tanks be the ultimate choice vs. infantry, because of their range?

Tanks are important, but as the others have said you need plenty of infantry to absorb any losses.

What an IPM approach allows you to do is take territories without a battle.  You leverage your shear numbers (both attack threat potential and defensive numbers) and force your opponent back.  You only need enough offense to prevent your opponent from doing the same to you and in the case of Germany after round 1 you'll have 4-5 ftrs, 1 bom, and a half dozen tanks or so.  You don't need any more offense.  You need fodder!
So with IPM you want to start getting as many units on the board as possible and start shifting the deadzones out (moving them closer to Russia).
First you stack EE, then you look to move that stack to Bel.  From here Russia has a choice, defend Kar or flee to Wrus.  They will likely eventually move back to Wrus since that is far more important and the Bel stack can threaten Wrus directly as well.  So now you've gained Kar and have successfully deadzoned it since any units that land there can be hit by your EE or Bel stacks.  Wrus is usually a tough nut to crack so your next target is either the shift of your EE stack to Kar or the movement of the Bel stack to Ukr, EE stack to Bel, Ger stack to EE.  Here you threaten Cauc and Wrus.  Again Russia must choose which to defend and thus you'll gain another deadzone and find you next target (either Cauc or Wrus).

B/c of your tanks movement you can station them in France (for defense) with the least amount of infantry possible to deter attack.  Then as you move your infantry from Ger to EE to Bel to Ukr in 3 turns you can get your armor there in two.  1 turn to EE, 1 turn to ukr (or wrus).  Although you may need to keep them in EE for protection and to help deter an assault on Fra.  As you move your armor out of Fra, you may need to shift more ftrs there for defense.  But their movement still allows trading on the Eastern front.  Typically 2 ftrs in fra, 2 in EE would allow swapping of postions during each attack phase depending on where you need your strong defenders.

On the flip side Russia will be trying to push its way to Bel which will hold Germany progress at EE and then you just wait for the UK/US numbers to add up and push to EE.  The Russian stacks will then go from Cauc/Mos to Wrus to Bel.  So your armor should be stationed in Wrus.  Not only to threaten Germany from advancing but can also reach the backside of Russia to protect against Japan.

The bottom line is it is cheaper to defend, 3 ipcs get you a defensive roll of 2.  In order to "kill" that unit the other side must spend more than 3 ipcs.  Larger scale battles put the ratio at 3:4 or 5 in terms of what the attacker needs to spend.  So it is just cheaper and easier to move defensive stacks forcing your opponent to spend more to try and kill you.  The simple way to look at it is to kill an inf you'd need at least 1 rt to attack.  Even 2 inf plus planes costs 6 ipc.   

I think you can do it, but the problem is, if you can justify building the Aus IC then you probably don't need it.

In recent months I've seen more and more US all Pacific (or 90% Pac) strats and with strong US play in the Pacific you don't really need the Aus IC.  It would help, but the US can protect Aus and take EI.  Bor is a little harder, but once those islands are taken there really isn't much need for UK support.  It'd be nice to have a little more UK support but its not necessary and certainly not at the expense of letting Russia get crushed by Germany.

I'd consider it under a few circumstances but never in rd 1.  I'd wait until UK can get at least one of its NOs.  And in this case probably the Pac NO.  With the initial UK trn and Aus troops, if you time your taking of Car Is correctly then the US can reinforce with Naval protection.  At this point if you are guaranteed to be able to count on that NO for 2-3 turns.  You might be able to afford the investment.  This would replace the potential IC in Norway.  UK can usually afford an IC in rd 3 or so.  Most cases it probably gets put in Nor, but with a strong Pacific game you can substitute it in for Aus instead.
But again if it looks that good to potentially place in Aus, you might be able to do an Indian IC instead, which is probably better.  And finally if the US was able to take EI, you might be able to place it there.  It really depends on how patient you are and what the overall board looks like as well as your overall strategy.

Oops, I didn't realize you moved.  Should have Ita up tonight or tomorrow.

TripleA Turn Summary for game: World War II v3 1941, version: 1.4

Game History

    Round :3

        Purchase Units - Japanese
            Turning on Edit Mode
            EDIT: Removing units owned by Russians from Russia: 1 infantry
            EDIT: Adding units owned by Russians to Archangel: 1 infantry
            EDIT: Removing units owned by Russians from Caucasus: 1 infantry
            EDIT: Adding units owned by Russians to Russia: 1 infantry
            EDIT: Turning off Edit Mode
            Japanese buy 1 factory, 2 infantry and 4 submarines; Remaining resources: 0 PUs;

        Combat Move - Japanese
            2 destroyers and 2 submarines moved from 62 Sea Zone to 51 Sea Zone
            2 infantry moved from Japan to 62 Sea Zone
            2 infantry moved from Japan to 62 Sea Zone
            1 artillery moved from Buryatia S.S.R. to 62 Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from Japan to 62 Sea Zone
            1 artillery, 5 infantry and 3 transports moved from 62 Sea Zone to 51 Sea Zone
            1 artillery and 5 infantry moved from 51 Sea Zone to Caroline Islands
            2 fighters moved from 62 Sea Zone to Caroline Islands
            2 fighters moved from 62 Sea Zone to 48 Sea Zone
            2 fighters moved from 38 Sea Zone to 48 Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from Kiangsu to Hupeh
            1 infantry moved from Fukien to Hupeh
            1 infantry moved from Yunnan to Hupeh
            1 fighter moved from French Indo-China Thailand to Hupeh
            1 armour moved from Buryatia S.S.R. to Soviet Far East
                  Japanese take Soviet Far East from Russians
            1 armour moved from Soviet Far East to Stanovoj Chrebet
                  Japanese take Stanovoj Chrebet from Russians
            3 infantry moved from Buryatia S.S.R. to Stanovoj Chrebet

        Combat - Japanese
            Battle in 51 Sea Zone
                Japanese attack with 2 destroyers, 2 submarines and 3 transports
                British defend with 1 transport
                    1 transport owned by the British lost in 51 Sea Zone
                    Japanese roll dice for 2 submarines in 51 Sea Zone, round 1 :  0/2 hits
                Japanese win with 2 destroyers, 2 submarines and 3 transports remaining. Battle score for attacker is 7
                Casualties for British: 1 transport
            Battle in Caroline Islands
                Japanese attack with 1 artillery, 2 fighters and 5 infantry
                British defend with 1 artillery and 1 infantry
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 artillery, 2 fighters and 5 infantry in Caroline Islands, round 1 :  3/8 hits
                    British roll dice for 1 artillery and 1 infantry in Caroline Islands, round 1 :  1/2 hits
                    1 infantry owned by the British , 1 infantry owned by the Japanese and 1 artillery owned by the British lost in Caroline Islands
                Japanese win, taking Caroline Islands from British with 1 artillery, 2 fighters and 4 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 4
                Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry
                Casualties for British: 1 artillery and 1 infantry
            Battle in 48 Sea Zone
                Japanese attack with 4 fighters
                British defend with 1 destroyer
                    Japanese roll dice for 4 fighters in 48 Sea Zone, round 1 :  2/4 hits
                    British roll dice for 1 destroyer in 48 Sea Zone, round 1 :  1/1 hits
                    1 fighter owned by the Japanese and 1 destroyer owned by the British lost in 48 Sea Zone
                Japanese win with 3 fighters remaining. Battle score for attacker is -2
                Casualties for Japanese: 1 fighter
                Casualties for British: 1 destroyer
            Battle in Hupeh
                Japanese attack with 1 fighter and 3 infantry
                Chinese defend with 2 infantry
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 fighter and 3 infantry in Hupeh, round 1 :  1/4 hits
                    Chinese roll dice for 2 infantry in Hupeh, round 1 :  1/2 hits
                    1 infantry owned by the Japanese and 1 infantry owned by the Chinese lost in Hupeh
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 fighter and 2 infantry in Hupeh, round 2 :  0/3 hits
                    Chinese roll dice for 1 infantry in Hupeh, round 2 :  0/1 hits
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 fighter and 2 infantry in Hupeh, round 3 :  0/3 hits
                    Chinese roll dice for 1 infantry in Hupeh, round 3 :  0/1 hits
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 fighter and 2 infantry in Hupeh, round 4 :  2/3 hits
                    Chinese roll dice for 1 infantry in Hupeh, round 4 :  0/1 hits
                    1 infantry owned by the Chinese lost in Hupeh
                Japanese win, taking Hupeh from Chinese with 1 fighter and 2 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3
                Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry
                Casualties for Chinese: 2 infantry

        Non Combat Move - Japanese
            2 carriers moved from 62 Sea Zone to 51 Sea Zone
            3 infantry moved from East Indies to 38 Sea Zone
            1 battleship, 1 carrier, 1 cruiser, 3 infantry and 2 transports moved from 38 Sea Zone to 51 Sea Zone
            3 infantry moved from 51 Sea Zone to Caroline Islands
            3 fighters moved from 48 Sea Zone to 51 Sea Zone
            2 fighters moved from Caroline Islands to 51 Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from French Indo-China Thailand to Fukien
            1 fighter moved from Hupeh to Manchuria
            2 infantry moved from Manchuria to Suiyuan
            1 artillery and 1 infantry moved from Buryatia S.S.R. to Manchuria
            1 transport moved from 62 Sea Zone to 51 Sea Zone

        Place Units - Japanese
            1 factory placed in Manchuria
            4 submarines placed in 62 Sea Zone
            2 infantry placed in Japan

        Turn Complete - Japanese
            Japanese collect 37 PUs; end with 37 PUs total
            Objective 2: Japanese met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 42 PUs
            Objective 1: Japanese met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 47 PUs


Territory Summary for Japanese :

    Borneo : 1 flag
    Burma : 1 flag, 1 infantry
    Buryatia S.S.R. : 1 flag
    Caroline Islands : 1 flag, 1 artillery and 7 infantry
    East Indies : 1 flag
    Fukien : 1 flag, 1 infantry
    Hupeh : 1 flag, 2 infantry
    Japan : 1 flag, 1 aaGun, 1 factory and 2 infantry
    Kwangtung : 1 flag
    Manchuria : 1 flag, 1 artillery, 1 factory, 1 fighter and 1 infantry
    Philippine Islands : 1 flag
    Soviet Far East : 1 flag
    Stanovoj Chrebet : 1 flag, 1 armour and 3 infantry
    Suiyuan : 1 flag, 2 infantry
    Yunnan : 1 flag
    51 Sea Zone : 1 flag, 1 battleship, 3 carriers, 1 cruiser, 2 destroyers, 5 fighters, 2 submarines and 6 transports
    62 Sea Zone : 1 flag, 4 submarines


Production/PUs Summary :

    Germans : 33 / 50
    Russians : 22 / 29
    Japanese : 37 / 47
    British : 31 / 38
    Italians : 14 / 26
    Chinese : 3 / 0
    Americans : 38 / 49