Thanks man.
Using Alaska to reinforce Russia
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Ichabod,
We’ll definitely get together after Christmas for another game! Who knows, I may get brave and try this strategy out.
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However, the naval base can be a real boon. It causes SZ6 to be threatened.
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The problem with this is that any Japan player worth a salt would eliminate any US navy that close to Japan. Also, as Japan, an Alaska IC is a jewel worth stealing. In the past I’ve very easily-in one move -captured Alaska AND W. Canada for the counter attack block. Of course all this would be a major distraction from other theatres of operation, but if the US is going to try this plan, Japan must eliminate it. At least that’s been my experience. I’ve never seen this particular plan work well at all for the US or Russia.
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You also need to hit the Aleutians and block a couple of SZs as the Japanese, so that the US cant land planes there during the counterattack.
You don’t need either the bases or the MiC and this concept doesn’t need to have anything to do with Alaska.
Russia provides the landing area and the protective troops in Russia. As soon as the USA is in the war, they can cross (with almost everything) from the Western US and land in Russia, but the timing of this is dependent upon when Japan brings the USA into the war, which the USA cannot determine. If the USA buys strategic bombers and places them on the Western US, they can fly either to London or attack Japan and land in the USSR.
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Taamvan wrote, "You don’t need either the bases or the MiC and this concept doesn’t need to have anything to do with Alaska. "
Perhaps, but I do see the point that this strategy does have to do with Alaska. Assuming the US player initially built enough war ships to easily control the sea zone in the northern region…then besides troops marching up from W. US to Alaska, 3 units per turn could be built on a MIC at Alaska and shucked every turn between Sea Zone 3 - Sea Zone 2 (pick up units from Alaska), and then drop them off in Soviet Far East (SZ3). Those troops would continue marching towards Manchuria and Korea…fast units could catch up.
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The troops and fleet can be moved directly from the WUS to the Soviet Union, and putting anything near or on Alaska puts it in range of a difficult to screen 3 SZ move from SZ 6, so it is vulnerable to being pre-emptively attacked.
The factory in Alaska is not needed to deploy them, since during war you have 30 capacity already. When you’re not at war, you would otherwise be limited to 3 troops WUS not 6, but I don’t think its worth the 12 to go that direction. Japan may attack Alaska just to grab the factory away.
Buy another bomber. When you have 6 or more bombers that can fly across the turn after war/they are built, japan has to be more careful about what it leaves in SZ 6 since unless its x2 Grand Fleets, the US will have more power overall and can wipe you out. Where America uses primarily subs and bombers, kamikaze is useless.
The best unit to build would be fighters because those are the only ones that cant reach Russia from the US but can from Alaska the turn after they are built.
all of these strategies hinge on how and when Japan moves away from SZ 6. If they have 3 transports in SZ 6 with some protection, they can attack your US/USSR stack on the coasts with a devastating combined sea/air attack.
During a J1, you can attack/stack Iwo Jima instead because Japan moves out of position during his opener
During a J2 or J3, you’ll have to build up with the US and wait to see what happens. Your opening will come after Japan moves south to hit the money/india but before it is getting that money placed on the board.
During a J4, you’ll get pretty bored building your KJF up while Germany rages your other board.As long as Japan has a good number of planes and 1 Grand Fleet w/ transports up there, you cant put the Russians on the coast and so the US fleet/fighters/infantry cant join. On the other hand, if he leaves just 1 carrier and a destroyer with scramble fighters, you can kick his butt as long as you can find a safe place to land.
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Interesting points. Wouldn’t ijn remaining in sz6 be a victory for the allies because they aren’t going after the money islands.
I don’t know why ussr can’t sit on the coast after round one. The only thing that makes it dangerous r1 is the 12 ground troops adjacent to amur at the start. 8 of these normally move south j1 removing the threat. If they don’t, China’s given a break.
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If you buy 3TTs, you can only afford 1art. You only have 3inf left on Japan after J1, 1 each on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. You must do something very different with your starting TTs J1.
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The Russians start spread out and they all need to be in the same coastal square to have much of a chance of dissuading a Japanese attack. That’s the dance…the Americans can provide all of the planes but they have to coordinate a landing with the stack despite the fact that Japan may or may not still threaten that area.
Japan always seems to have at least 3-5 air pairs plus the 2 strat bombers, any time I can eliminate these Russian Troops I do, and any time I can block the coastal, non-Mongolian adjacent, landing squares before America enters the war, I do.
Then, the Russians build an Air Base, which permits the American Fleet to squat against the SZ 6 build. Its not really necessary though.
Since both of your forces are unbalanced (one is all infantry, the other all planes and ships) your offensive capability is limited.
However, you then strat bomb Japan into submission after you fly past with as many bombers as you can build and destroy their fleet. Since Japan doesn’t have gads of money, it cant even replace the fleet since it is too weak to withstand all the planes coming back over on subsequent turns. Some bombers can kill ships while others smash the factory. If they cant put a fleet in the water, subs show up and eat the rest of their money, at least that’s the plan.
When this has been done TO me rather than BY me, I ended up building 10 fighters on japan to counteract the bomber swarms and of course, still lost all my $$.
As Mr. Simon states, if you can keep Japan near SZ 6, you’ve already sort of won the game by paralyzing them. It won’t be very likely you can invade anything; Korea, Manchuria etc…going after these targets is just a distraction which will spread you out and the transports loading in hostile SZ rule and the kamikaze rule, with some turtling and planes makes Japan pretty much impossible to invade and conquer.
If you force Japan to turn around and return home from their southern targets, this is also a pretty big victory though again, the US may have a problem defeating them in detail. The rub for Japan is that once your Allied landing stack/base forms up, they have at most one shot at defeating it.
Allies; Don’t lose those Russian Infantry early or lightly they are the entire eastern Allied game plan. Up to 5 USA bombers can fly straight into pretty much any sea battle where Japan is light. Because of the geometry of the northern pacific, a direct naval attack before US6 will only be successful if Japan doesn’t stack/screen.
Axis; If and when you turn your back on the allies, make sure their LZ is threatened and you still have plenty of planes to counterattack with.
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Yep, air is the real variable.
Is it really a good use of your air to use it to threaten amur?
I might be persuaded because only a portion is used in a j1 attack on China only.
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My opinion: It doesn’t work with this map.
I love this strategy, in theory, and have used it successfully in other versions of Axis & Allies many times. But the G40 map just doesn’t allow it. Maybe for the better, since it is so historically inaccurate and unlikely.
The US Navy needs to sit in SZ 3 to protect its transports, which is not a threat to SZ 6, which gives Japan an extra round of builds to counter when they see the US move into attack position. We all know Russia can’t afford to buy a naval base. Most Allied strategies are designed to help Russia, not cost it 5 infantry in its fight against Germany. Even if you thought Russia will lose to Germany no matter what, and decide to give the US the SFE naval base, the allies have too many territories to defend: The Russian coast, Alaska, Aleutians, Western Canada(have you noticed this before?), and Hawaii. Hawaii is out of range of US recovery, and Western US, SZ 10, is only in range if the Soviets give you that naval base. It’s a logistical, geographical, economic nightmare.
But it IS fun, if you don’t mind losing! :lol:
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But if Japans sees a build-up in the far east, they can easely defeat that with their fleet and airforce. How many ships can the US send in let say US3 or US4 or US5? Japan has a whole lot more and can use fighters to attack the far east from Japan. The only disadvantage is that those fighters cannot be used in China or the DEI. But Japan can always use its whole airforce to defeat China first (J4/J5) and then swing around. And since the US is not building up in the south (Australia), Japan can take and keep the DEI without trouble… Who is going to drive them from the DEI???
If Japan has China and the DEI it will be difficult to beat them…
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The goal is to wreck Japan’s economy with SBR. Taking those islands back with the allies requires a sea superiority you’re not going to have until Japan’s forces have been exhausted by attrition. The americans can move through Queensland and make a java base but Japan can build a hong kong factory which already has a sea base and they can drop battleships down there that can join the attack to drive the US away.
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But how are you going to wreck Japans economy by landing in the Soviet Far East???
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But how are you going to wreck Japans economy by landing in the Soviet Far East???
He’s theorising that by doing SBR from SFE that Japan will be weakened. Or at least tie down a lot of their fighters.
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What does ‘SBR’ mean mean? :roll:
And why should the Japanese airforce be tight down? The US fleet with help from ANZAC and UK cannot stand against the Japanese… how can they stand against it alone, and next to the Japanese capital where it is easier for Japan to buy ships?
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strategic bombing raid.
That’s what I’m saying in all these posts…you don’t need to move the US fleet over there because the concept is that you make a land square so hard that japan cant take it or has to turn around and take it. No fleet element is required, but if you build an air base with the Russians, one might be able to go over there after you hit them with a giant stack of bombers/and/or bomb Tokyo.
I’ve had the US do this to me and even though we both wiped out each other’s fleets, japan couldn’t put a fresh one in the water with so many US planes nearby (on Iwo in that case).
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The Japanese fighters might be tied down if they have to remain on Japan as potential interceptors for the strategic bombing raid.
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Okay its about the bomber raid than…
But how is the US going to drive the Japanese fleet from the DEI if they buy three bombers? And shouldn’t those bombers be protected by US planes? And… what if Japan attacks Soviet Far East (thats what I would do the moment I see a Russian airbase there)?
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I don’t see the need for an airbase.
Otherwise I agree that such a strategy would hardly be optimal.
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