• It seems like even with a German AC build, Germany’s fleet lasts only to round 3 maybe 4 if lucky.  In our last game we were able to to keep it alive to round 6!  Whether due to bad allied play or just luck, I don’t know… but first turn I do pearl harbor, and attack the Brits Indian fleet Germany builds an AC round 1.  Round 2 Germany links his navy off of france and Japan moves Indian fleet to med and I move pearl fleet to panama canal.  Third round Germany moves fleet unexpectedly down to gibraltar, and Japan moves med fleet to gibraltar, pearl fleet moves close to there.  Fourth round German and Japanese fleet links and kicks butt.  We were playing with NA’s and I had Japanese Battleships with 5/5.

    I think this helps because most of the time Japans fleet sits around and does nothing after round 1, besides the occasional shore bombardment.  U.S.A. usually ignores Japan and moves everything to Atlantic.  Japan is 99% of the time in no position to invade U.S.A. even if U.S.A. builds no navy in Pacific or army on west coast.  Even if U.S.A. does concentrate on Japan thats fine because as I have learned from previous threads, U.S. in Pacific = not in Atlantic = good for Germany.

    Even if Germany does not build AC on G1 or links med fleet and atl. fleet, Japan can do some good in the med/atl.

    Input welcomed as long as not too harsh, I know there is probably an error in there somewhere, or a way to counter it just like everything else.


  • How do you take control of both Egypt and T-J to allow a J1 or J2 transit of the Panama Canal?  Japan SHOULD not have a TRN within range before J-2 for a landing, which means a J3 transit at the earliest.

    Also, Japan is sending their Japan TRN along to Pearl so that they can take Panama in J3, and allow for transit through the canal in J4?

    Remember, you have to HOLD Panama at the BEGINING of your turn to use it.  And you (or your side) has to hold BOTH T-J and Egypt at the start of their turn to use the Suez.


  • Good call… I missed that whole canal thing.  Well I guess if you bring a tran loaded with inf. and art. You could take Hawaii on J1 and then on J2 bring one more tran to Hawaii and move first tran up 1 and on J3 you could invade mexico and panama and on noncombat you could go through panama canal.  I also forgot to mention that we play with an 8 IPC starting build thing for germany (kind of like in AAE) so he put down a tran in med on G0.  He took egypt, and then the mideast on the next turn so we weren’t breaking any rules with the suez canal.

    The pearl navy getting into the Atlantic might be a long shot but I usually seem to get the Japanese navy into the med.


  • If you are getting the Jap fleet into the Med in J2, then the UK player is not playing well.  At the EARLIEST, Japan should be able to get into the Med on J3.

    After UK1, UK holds both Egypt and T-J (retaking Egypt)
    After G21, Germany hold Egypt, UK T-J
    After G3, Germany MIGHT hold Egypt and T-J, Japan can now sail through.

    Of course, this is contingent on the survival of the German Med Fleet… far from a forgone conclussion.
    It also is contingent upon enough to the Japan fleet to survive their encounters with the UK Indian/Australian fleets to make a move into the Med worthwhile… also not a forgone conclussion.


  • So it seems like Japan and Germany linking their navys up is a rare occasion.  But I can say that in almost all of my games I usually can get Japan into the med./atl. one way or another.  Even though the german navy is dead by now it can still be a nuisance and throw a wrench in the Allied shipping supply lines.  In a more recent game (playing with correct canal rules this time), Japan got into the medditerranean by J4 and sort of acted like a substitute for the German navy although it was gone by J5-J6 it still did something I guess.

    Also, are the allies playing poorly or is it just a style of play, because in most games Germany’s med. fleet is intact even at the end of the game.  G1 germany builds 1 AC and 1 transport, at first I thought it was a dumb buy but I realized an AF in the med. can be just as flexible as one in the North Seas.


  • Actually, it isn’t.

    In the Med, you are basically just shuttling 2 units to Africa a round, and the BB is protection for the tranny (plus a support shot).  With all of the German territory around the med, an AC is not needed for FIG mobility.  And the extra defense strength of an AC without FIGs… just build a DST and save $4.

    If you are going to put FIGs on it, sure… but that is a lot of strength to pull out of Europe AND into a position where it is no threat to Allied shipping.

    The value of a German AC on G1 is NOT for it’s offensive power, or even its defensive power.  It is the cost in both IPCs and TIME to counter it… Time that Germany can use to run roughshod over Russia.


  • japan in the atlantic can be problematic if usa can’t figure things out.  our last game (5 player) japan sailed around argentina and landed in brazil, threatening d.c. with 3 trannies.  shut off the flow of gi’s to africa/europe and almost let germany out of the squeeze.  japan’s mistake was then taking algeria instead of sub-sahara and he got his trannies sunk  by usa.  his 2 bb full ac fleet continued to shut off the eastern usa shuttle but without trannies he was no real threat to usa or london.  with all his power in the atlantic, usa sunk him in the pacific and then we pushed him off the mainland, fun game.


  • Sounds like what happened to Maddog in a Classic game a week or 2 ago on these boards…

    Japan fleet near London, and US sent a few TRN’s with 1 or 2 capital ships and took Tokyo because his fleet was 5 turns out of position.


  • no excuse for losing his capital with only a couple of trannies.  this guy’s big mistake was banking on the usa’s unwillingness to trade at less than favorable odds to get rid of those three transports. as soon as that happened japan was nothing but a shiny toll booth


  • BUT… had his fleet remained anywhere nearby (even in the Indian Ocean somewhere taking IPCs from Africa) it could still have started home when the US built it’s trannies, and even had the capital ships not made it in time, the FIGs could have flown home form the AC’s.

    Japan’s power base is naval, and needs to establish control of the Central Pacific to the Cape of Good Hope.  Outside of that area, they are at risk… both for direct loss, and for being out of position where needed (either with a quick amphib in Persia, a block of Allied ships at Madagascar, or a US strike at Tokyo, SFE, or Island Hoping…)


  • i agree totally, so did his partner.  we both thought that after brazil he should have turned south and gobbled some african cash and then kept going through the indian ocean and back to the pacific.  it would still have been far too out position to save his other fleet and with his land unit requirements he couldn’t build his minor fleet up to a level that would make the usa blink.  once the trannies going into asia were gone, so was the game.

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