@Spendo02:
I counted the spaces from the AC’s staged in the Carolines to Sydney and I think its 5 spaces. 4 gets you to Sydney, but there is no where to land. You’d have to stage the AC’s in at least SZ46 off New Guinea on J2.
You hit sz35 J1, and sz54 J2. If he’s been foolish enough to leave men in Queensland, you wipe them out. You also dd screen the US; they can break the screen, but they won’t be able to NC into sz54 or 62 to give you any problems.
I almost always see Anzac1 take DNG for the NO because the 10 IPC’s a round from NO’s is much more valuable than the Trn you may lose. Anzac1 ending the turn with 20 IPC’s provides for an Anzac2 of a BB or AC for those fighters you may or may not want to rusty away on the capital.
You have to think short term here. Anzac is facing a J3 invasion, that gives her 2 turns to prepare. The transport is better used grabbing the NZ infantry rather than leaving him and losing another infantry to get +5 in production that will come in to play for one turn before being looted by Japan.
If you declare war on the US on round 1 you lose the 10 IPC NO for Japan for the sake of 2 IPC from the Philippines and expose yourself to the Hawaii fleets nipping at the J2 move of heavily laden trans to Carolines. Better to take the 20 IPCs for J1 and J2, declare war J3 (net 16 IPC) and not have to worry about the US taking shots at your fleet in the Carolines early. Also keeps the US industry at a minimum.
You gain 2 for PHI, 2 for FIC, 3 for Kwangtung, 4 for Borneo (potentially), and you take 7 from the US that they won’t get back anytime soon. Plus, most importantly, you gain a VC. All in all, better than a basic 10 IPCs that take nothing away from opponents. Short term thinking!
Even if you do a J3 sea battle off Sydney and a J4 invasion, you still have J2, J3, J4 to purchase units off Japan to deal with a US counter (which you can use destroyers as a blocker to extend it to J4 before US hits Japan at the earliest). Realistically if US3 makes its purchases, it cannot even stage those purchases on Hawaii until J4. If Japan is sitting pretty with 34ish IPC’s on those three rounds you can field at least another carrier and 2 BB in Japan or fly in some fighters from the mainland onto 2 AC and have 3 more to scramble from the AB.
If J4 takes Sydney, J5 puts the main fleet in the Carolines and the US has to choose between the big fleet or Japan. Both defensive battles and more advantageous for the Japansese navy than the normal attack on Hawaii where your AC don’t get to take hits. US goes after Japan, you take Hawaii and cut it off from re-supply and 3 space movements. It takes heavy casualties just trying to take SZ6 and still has to deal with 6 Inf on Japan (not to mention you have up to 6 Kamikaze’s you can target the US AC’s with). Sunk AC’s = crashed fighters even if the US prevails over 2 AC, a couple destroyers and a BB with 7 fighters flying cover. Then J6 Japan Carolines mops up whats remaining of the fleet with no AC or fighters in SZ6 with the big fleet and holds Sydney and Hawaii. Thats if US goes after Japan which imo is a misplay.
US’s could take the Carolines instead of Japan as early as J3, but then you have 5 AC (3 from Sydney, 2 from Japan) with the entire fleet converging on the US fleet. Its not pretty but the US does get to play defensive Navy which is an advantage.
**Some interesting thoughts here. Part of the advantage of a J3 Sydney invasion is that it forces the US into the war before it is really ready (for reasons you articulate; all the IPCs in the world don’t help when your new units are several turns away from the action).
You should have an online game with one of the vets around here. Once you’re finished, win or lose you’ll be ready to eviscerate your friends next Friday night!**
@knp7765:
I think this is all silliness. Japan shouldn’t be messing with ANZAC until later in the game, AFTER taking the DEI and Calcutta. By taking the DEI, Philippines and Kwangtung, they double their income with the DEI NO and capture 2 more VCs. Once Japan takes Calcutta, that’s another VC, plus a capital to plunder and another NO. Calcutta will not be easily liberated; The Brits in Egypt will be busy with the Italians, the Russians will probably have their hands full with Germany, ANZAC is just too weak and the US is not likely to get clear over to India, at least not for several rounds.
Also, with Calcutta comes a shiny new IC to start sending troops and tanks into China to properly deal with them. And Japan should be making enough money to compete with USA in warships. Then you can work your way over to take Sydney and start pushing the US Navy back toward their own west coast.
Just make sure you leave your capital well defended. In a recent game, our Japan player failed to do that and lost Tokyo in ROUND 2!
**The old J3 India Crush is still very viable, and a little more friendly to Japan’s economy than the Sydney strike. Either strategy ‘nips the Allies in the bud,’ so to speak; beat them before they have a chance to get going.
The economic advantages for Japan of waiting until J3/J4 to attack are dwarfed by the advantages you offer the Allies in such a scenario. With the J3 crush, even if India doesn’t fall immediately, they are reduced to 5 IPCs per turn and no navy (if things are handled properly).
No offense to your friends, but losing Japan in the early rounds is flat-out incompetent. It’s hard to imagine you learning anything from that. I urge you as well to start playing on the forums (or at least check them out), to see some of the strategies being discussed here in play. **
@Young:
Also, it seems that we can stop declaring strategies that attack the US early, as smart or viable.
**If you are talking about Hawaii, you are understandably wrong, as ignoring Hawaii is common Japanese strategy (although not necessarily optimal).
If you are talking about the Phillipines, you are criminally wrong and I beg you to download battlemap and start a game with one of the vets around here.**