I have another instance when the US can go Pacific.
The first, I mentioned a game where Germany failed to take Egy on G1. In that game my opponent went all out Pac with US and was very successful.
I made mistakes but the failed attempt of Egy left UK/US with options it wouldn’t normally have.
The second, I think if US gets 3 hits at Pearl on J1, it is possible. This happened in my game with with Switch. I didn’t go Pac though. But I think it is possible looking back.
I did counter Pearl since he only had 1 bb, 1 ac, 2 ftrs leftover. I won with my bb left (which seems standard). But I think you could probably go Pac in this case and be successful. One, you can bring over the DD (sz 20) and you already have a BB and DD, While Japan has 1 bb, 1 ac, probably 3 trns left. Now if you know you are doing a Pearl counter, with a buy of 1 ac with 1 ftr and 1 trn, you can have: 1 bb, 1 dd, 1 ac, 2 ftrs, 1 trn all in the Pac by the end of US 1. I think this is a comparable force to Japan’s, at least defensively. Now if you have the UK sub/trn nearby they could be added for fodder on a US 2 move in the South Pacific. I think with the right purchases and moves you could be very successful against Japan.
Now could Russia and UK slow down Germany??? That’d be the million dollar question and would depend on how rd 1 and 2 played out.
But as it is, I can think of 2 scenerios where I’d consider a US Pacific strat:Â
1)Â Germany had a bad run in Afr on G1 or
2)Â You got 3 hits at Pearl on J1, giving you a possible Pearl counter with pretty good numbers.