@General_D.Fox:
In my tourney game against the classy TCNance, he put an IC in Sink and used that to hold Japan for pretty much the entire game. He pulled all his Russian forces back from the coast and left Bury and SFE empty. Any nearby forces from Novo and Kazakh he sent into SInk to reinforce the US IC he plopped down. After that he sent in more and more nearby infantry that were being pulled back. For pretty much the entire game he held that damn thing with the majority of his Russian armour and infantry with, of course, some of his American friends. Even with 3 ICs of my own on the mainland, I was unable to counter or get at or get passed that linch pin of his defences. Japan couldn’t do much for Germany, although Germany held her own fairly well right up until the very end, when my 17th Army was annhiliated in the Caucasus Mountains.
So my question is, how would you counter this IC in Sink strat? Apparently TC has never lost using this tactic, which is quite something and believable and remarkable. Do you just put up a screening army in China and go around? Do you attempt to smash it head on with a whole lotta tanks? Do you pray to God that TC will continue drinking and in a fit of lunacy pull out all his Russian men and leave what little US men there are to be vanquished by the fanatical Japanese Army and air force?Â
Just so you people know, at the end of the game, Japan had 13 inf, 11 art, 5 arm and 4 fighters parked in China, facing off against roughly 7 Russian armour, 17 Russian infantry, 3 ftrs, 6 US Inf, 2 art, and 4 armour. I thought about trying a strafe against his stack, but could never pull the trigger. The only trigger I ended up pulling was on ending the game.
…and I thought I was harsh… yeesh :)
1. One IC in Ssinkiang is not enough to hold Ssinkiang. Russia must EITHER drain its other resources (which it did, according to your post), OR Japan must not be attacking Ssinkiang with all it’s got.
2. If Ssinkiang had a stack of Russian infantry and tanks on it, A) the Germans should have been making serious progress, and should have taken Caucasus early, B) Japan should have redirected its attacks towards Yakut and India (once India falls, then Persia, the Allies have to pull back from Ssinkiang, because of the invasion routes to Moscow through Caucasus and Kazakh; once Yakut falls, the Allies have to pull back from Ssinkiang because of the invasion route to Moscow via Evenki and Novosibirsk.). C) there is no way in h*** that Japan should have bought 3 ICs in a stall game. I REALLY debate getting even ONE IC until after US1 when you know which way the Pacific battle will go. Even after a KGF strat, I will probably only go with building ONE IC. 2 ICs are totally useless on attack and defense; 6 tanks would serve your purpose far better. It is very simple; you produce 4 inf 4 tanks at your mainland IC and 3 tanks at your built IC (preferably in India or Frindochina), for 47 IPC. You do NOT NEED to build THREE BLOODY ICs.
“Even with 3 ICs of my own on the mainland”
No, ESPECIALLY with 3 ICs of your own on the mainland. HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT TO WIN A BATTLE WITHOUT TROOPS!
“Japan couldn’t do much for Germany, although Germany held her own fairly well right up until the very end”
With the majority of the Russians in Ssinkiang, Germany should not be “holding her own”. Germany should be kicking a** all over the godddamn map. Caucasus’s a** should be toast, and India not far behind.
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How do I “counter” a Ssinkiang IC? I don’t. I just do whatever I normally do in a game. If the Allies when KGF, I build a hell of a lot of Japanese tanks, stick a few infantry in front, and start moving those tanks around. Fodder infantry at front + mass tanks + air support = unsupportable Allied defense. If the Allies went KJF, I build fighters and infantry. Always build Japanese transports. And NEVER EVER BUILD ICs UNTIL AFTER THE FIRST US TURN, unless you want the red Star Trek shirt and the “Shoot Me” sign in neon letters fifty foot high hanging around your neck.
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“Just so you people know, at the end of the game, Japan had 13 inf, 11 art, 5 arm and 4 fighters parked in China, facing off against roughly 7 Russian armour, 17 Russian infantry, 3 ftrs, 6 US Inf, 2 art, and 4 armour.”
Let me make this clear. Artillery are frickin great. But NOT FOR JAPAN. FOR JAPAN THEY SUCK BALLS. It’s like you’re trying to hit someone with a locomotive, all they have to do is step off the tracks. Imagine, you have a few infantry in China, a few infantry in French Indochina, and a lot of tanks at French Indochina. Now your opponent either has to abandon Ssinkiang or India, because there is NO WAY THAT THE ALLIES CAN DEFEND BOTH TERRITORIES IN FORCE. Same thing for tanks at Manchuria threatening Yakut (the linchpin of the Soviet east) and Ssinkiang.
Next time, remember these four simple rules.
1. Build transports and either artillery or tanks on J1. Maximize your transports. Only break this rule if you know PRECISELY what you are doing.
2. If the Allies go KGF (i.e. you see big Atlantic fleet US build), you can MAYBE build an IC in Asia. You only build an IC on J2 if:
A) the Allies have NOT built an IC in Asia. (If they have, you can probably take it from them with Japanese tanks plus fighters plus infantry)
B) it looks like India is not going to fall by J3. (If it looks like you can snag India by J3, you save your IC bucks for India. A Japanese IC at India messes with the Allies quite a bit.)
C) the Allies have NOT built a Pacific fleet. I know this is just about exactly what I said when I said the Allies go KGF, but to clear, if the Allies maintain a decent Pacific fleet, you should BUILD NO ICS FOR JAPAN AT ALL, make infantry, tanks, transports, and fighters.
D) MOST IMPORTANT - if the Allies look like they’re running the hell away. If the Allies are trying to push up on the Japanese coast, congratulations! The Allies are retarded, and you can kill them with transported units from Japan. If the Allies are running away like cowardly dogs, you’ll need units to pursue them, hence the industrial complex.
3. Germany is not retard. Fight, Germany, fight.
4. USSR depends on heavy infantry, light to medium tanks, light fighters, and artillery when the Axis are on the doorstep. Germany uses infantry, artillery as convenient, possibly S. Europe or Baltic transport if they survive, to supplement infantry/artillery and mass tanks from G3-G4ish on. Japan uses transports to move infantry off the isolated islands, and loads of tanks to switch targets. Germany and Japan have to switch fighters in to defend their seas as necessary against the Allies. UK and US both try to run transports in to Europe and/or Africa while USSR staves off Japan, OR US/USSR press on Japan while UK fights Germany’s navy solo.