Hi, I’m relatively new to A&A Pacific, and I have a strategy planned for the next time I play my dad (who is also somewhat new to Pacific), and I would like to know what you A&A veterans think about it. I plan on taking the usual 1st turn gains and attacks, but I plan on attacking the fleet next to the USA, taking midway (it’s possible to reach midway 1st turn, right?), turn 2 shifting around 6-10 transports to midway, taking hawaii turn 3, turn 4 shifting the transports back towards the central pacific, and kill any naval units the us tries to build, while still putting pressure on UK. How good of a strategy is this, do you think this is possible to succeed and are there any changes I should make to this plan?
Any Industrial Complex captured by Japan can be used as an SBR target by the US. If you do as you suggest, the US can bomb Japan back to the stone age. It may result in a longer game but Japan will almost certainly lose.
Don’t capture Hawaii.
SS
Yeah, I guess that’s true. But what if I keep a large fleet parked at midway to kill any ships he builds? would that be diverting to much from the central and southern pacific or is that an okay strategy?
For one thing, I don’t know how large your fleet could possibly be after J1 considering you are doing an air only attack against sz5 and presumably attacking sz9 as well.
If you do an air only attack on sz5, any suriving fighters have to land on the ACs moving to sea zone 4, 6 or 7. They cannot be supported by other naval units in those sea zones and the US likely takes a big chunk out of them on US1 with surviving air force, naval units and subs.
On J2, the only naval units that will be able to reach sz5 are 3 ACs (if they survive). Sea Zone 20 is 3 moves away. The US can reinforce sz5 with the units from sz11 and sz3 and the sub in sz5 will survive. Any builds the US adds would be in addition to that. If I was the US, I would build 9 subs on US 1 and put them in sz5. Japan can’t touch them with anything except the 3 ACs. On US 2, I attack your fleet with 9 subs and all remaining air and likely wipe it out. Meanwhile, I’ve built another 9 subs or 5 bombers as well.
You can try your strategy, but I don’t think it would work.
@EEB:
Yeah, I guess that’s true. But what if I keep a large fleet parked at midway to kill any ships he builds? would that be diverting to much from the central and southern pacific or is that an okay strategy?
A large fleet parked at Midway can’t reach sz5. Any units in sz5 can move to sz14 on NCM, so the naval units you were going to kill will simply sail away or live to be reinforced and then kill the IJN next turn.
SS
Also, if you do not capture the Philippines in the first turn or two, the US can start staging bombers in through Guam and Wake, assuming that is not taken, and give you massive headaches very fast.
If you don’t take the Philippines on turn one, the game is over. If you don’t take it, the US can build an IC there, at which point Japan is toast. Japan can’t afford to take it, because of the nearly immediate exposure to Allied bombing. Japan can’t afford to not take it, because it’s a 3-point IC in its backyard. Game over.
If the US builds an IC in Phillipines during US1, Japan can still take it in Jap2, right? I still think the Japs need to use Jap1 to the maximum extent possible. Capturing the Phillipines in turn 1 seems a must move.
Regarding the strategy you outlined, I think you have to remember that after turn 1, Japans losses are going to rise alarmingly high. The US can replace their losses very quickly. Japan can not. Assuming the US and Brits are going to seek battle whenever they can keep the losses close for each side, you can’t help them as Japan by doing the same when it is your turn to attack. I believe you need to seek opportunities to attack the US and UK where you are going to eliminate them in the first round of dice by picking targets carefully and adding enough air power to make it a one round show. The US and to a lesser extent the Brits can afford to trade you down. The only problem for the Americans is they have to cross half the ocean before they are eating your income.
If the US builds an IC in Phillipines during US1, Japan can still take it in Jap2, right?
Yes, but the IPC and VP drain from the Allied bombings of it will make the game unwinnable for Japan.
As Japan what nation should you go after first?
LT
@LT04:
As Japan what nation should you go after first?
LT
India is the easiest target.
SS,
As Japan do you try any stall America First tactic? (Japan’s first turn excluded.)
LT
With the corrected setup, the stall America strategy is more difficult because you aren’t able to move a sub to block the US move to sz14.
Generally, my Japanese tactic to delay the Allied advance into the Central Pacific is to commit a large force to sz28 and then to have large numbers of subs to slow down the advance later in the game. Finally, committing the entire IJN to sz38 with CAP fighters from the Philippines late in the game usually allows Japan to hold on for the VP victory.
SS
SS,
Thank you for all the insight +1 for ya.
I have one other question. What nation do you prefer to play in AAP?
LT
I think I prefer to play Allies and if I have to choose among the Allies, I would prefer to play the US.
SS
I’ve been playing pacific for about 3 years,a my first stratagies were too take India for the Japs to win and and to take Hawaii for a good offensive base for my attacks on the Dutch East Indies and Austrailia.It was a great stratagy till my friends and I figured out SBR’s and after that you Bombed pearl then ran away from there as soon as possible.
