Attack London with G1?

@tincanofthesea idk. I am going to try it in the Pacific map and see how it goes. Going to do a allied bid game (our first official one lol) because last game, allies didn’t really stand a chance. I wonder if there are “Blockade” markers at HBG, well if the shipping wasn’t so expensive I could buy those-

This will be my last 40 game before I will use the new stuff I got from HBG 🙂 maybe try to learn the G40 Balanced Mod (TheCaptain’s) + some extra stuff

@Aaron_the_Warmonger I don’t know exactly the long term goal in Italian hands. The only conclusion I can come up with is to give Italy more of a northern Can Opening attack as well as give Italy more money for longer term play. Again, I find this foolish since it serves great use for Germany anyways. It’s been talked about, as said before, I’ve never seen it done and I have no plans to do it if I am ever Axis. I can see Bulgaria going Italian but not Finland.

From many games of trying both J1 and J2, I have found that the former is more advantageous if you have average luck.  The latter is a better choice if you are worried about getting diced by a stubborn UK battleship that never misses while your blind Japanese pilots circle around hopelessly.  J3 just plain stinks and is usually a sign of a novice Axis player.

I’ve noticed one response to a common variation of a J2. Situation:

Strategy:
USA DD to SZ43 (Off Borneo)
UK DD to SZ37
UK land on Sumatra
Anzac land on Java

Result:
Allies are secure on Sumatra and Java through turn 2. Some possibility of convoying off income but unlikely to get it all and some of the fleet might be exposed if they try to convoy both. Every bit as important: Japan doesn’t get the money on turn 2 which slows them down a fair bit.

Just tried this against one player and he avoided the DOW J2.

Downside: Losing two DDs. Doesn’t seem like a big problem. The UK one can be replaced turn 3 with the one starting off South Africa.

@cyanight:

That might be the reason Harris designed it so the Flying Tigers stay in the mainland of China. If Hainan was labeled a Chinese territory then the whole rule on transports could become an issue as well as the Flying Tiger being able to attack units in seazones. The way the game is setup the plane is penned inside of China with the exception of Burma and Kwangtung.And if the Chinese could load onto transports it would be easy to use them with USA since their turns are back to back.

Good theory – that may very well be the explanation.  I’d always wondered why Hainan was incorrectly represented on the game map (from the point of view of which territories were Chinese when Japan started conquering them in 1931).  Formosa and Korea I could understand, since China ceded Formosa to Japan under the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki and recognized Korean independence (which proved to be short-lived, since the Russians and the Japanese both had territorial ambitions there) under the same treaty.

My USA purchase is always 1 Carrier for New York, and 1 Carrier, 1 Battleship for San Fran. The only exception is if there is a U-Boat threat in the Atlantic right away, (destroyers and scramble fighters) or if Japan goes pearl harbour (subs and scramble fighters).

Sounds like a good weekend war game for ya Gargantua

@Jeff28:

How is your IPC income during this strategy Spendo?

Do you have another partial fleet running round the money islands?

Are you building factories on the mainland?

Note this is NOT a J1 attack, but a J4 attack

J1 (26 IPC starting)
Buy Naval Base (15) - Placed on Hainan and not Formosa (like I think I said earlier)
Buy 1 Artillery (4)
Buy 1 Trn (7)
IPC Remaining (0)

Load Trn in SZ19 with 1 Inf, 1 Art from Manchuria. Drop off at Kwangsi
Load Trn in SZ6 with 1 Inf, 1 Art from Japan.  Drop off at Kwangsi
Move Trn in SZ20 to SZ6
Move entire fleet into SZ36
Move Manchuria Units into Jehol (5 Inf, 1 Mech)
Move 4 Inf from Korea into Manchuria
Leave Caroline Islands Fleet alone

Take Chahar (1) Anhwe (1) Hunan (1) Yunnan (1) = +4 IPC
Stay Neutral = +10 IPC
J1 Collect (26 + 10 + 4) + IPC Remaining (0) = 40 IPC

J2 (40 IPC to Spend)
Buy 3 Inf (9)
Buy 2 Art (8)
Buy 2 Trn (14)
IPC Remaining (9)

Load 1 Trn in SZ6 with 1 Inf, 1 Tank from Japan.  Drop off at Kwangsi
Load 1 Trn in SZ6 with 1 Inf, 1 Art from Japan.  Drop off at Kwangsi
Move 1 Trn from SZ36 to SZ6.  Pick up the Inf in Okinawa
Move 1 Trn from SZ36 to SZ19.  Pick up 2 Inf from Manchuria
Move 5 Inf from Jehol to Anhwe
Move 2 Inf from Manchuria into Jehol
(Moved the Mech Inf from Jehol to Suiyuyan’s attack)
Keep both fleets in position

If I did my math right, after unit placement Japan is holding 3 purchased Inf, 3 purchased Art.  Its +1 from the pickup at Okinawa and has moved 3 of its original Inf to have 3 of its original remaining.  Thats a total of 4 Inf + 3 Purchased + 3 Art.  It has 2 Trn just purchased and placed, plus 1 that moved in from SZ36 for a total of 3 Trn in SZ6 ending J2.

Take Suiyuyan (1) Hopei (1) Kweichow (1) = +3 IPC
Retake Yunnan (0) Because already counted from J1
Neutral NO = +10 IPC
IPC not lost from J1 = +4 IPC
J2 Collect (26 + 10 + 4 + 3) IPC + Remaining IPC (9) = 52 IPC

J3 (52 IPC to Spend)
Buy 1 AC (16)
Buy 1 TacB (11)
Buy 1 Ftr (10)
Buy 2 Subs (12)
Buy 1 Inf
Remaining IPC (0)

Move 1 Trn from SZ19 to SZ20.  Drop off 2 Inf at Kiangsi
Move 1 Trn from SZ36 to SZ6
Move 1 Trn from SZ6 to SZ19, pick up 2 Inf.  Drop off at Kiangsi
Move 5 Inf from Anhwe to Kweichow
Move 1 Inf from Shensi to Tsinghai
Move entire Fleet in SZ36 to SZ33
Fly 2 StratB from Mainland to Caroline Islands

Take Kansu (1) Shensi (1) = +2 IPC (need one more turn for units to get down from Manchuria/Korea into Kweichow to take Szechwan and China’s Fighter.
Retake Yunnan (0) But may not have to depending on how China fares on its J2 attack
Neutral NO = +10 PIC
IPC not lost from J1 = +4 IPC
IPC not lost from J2 = +3 IPC
J3 Collect (26 + 10 + 4 + 3 + 2) + Remaining IPC (1) = 46 IPC

J4 (46 IPC to spend)
Buy 4 Destroyers (32)
Buy 2 Inf (6)
Buy 2 Art (8)
Remaining IPC (0)

Take FIC (2) Kwangtung (3) Sikang (1) Szechwan (1) = +7 IPC
IPC not lost from J1-J3 = +9 IPC
NO: Hold Honolulu = +5 IPC
J4 Collect (26 + 9 + 7 + 5) + Remaining IPC (0) = 47 IPC

Move 2 Trn from SZ20 to SZ6
Move all remaining units towards Yuunan.  The English are coming!

Send the entire kitchen sink from Caroline / Japan against Hawaii.

Just for clarity, Japan brings against Hawaii:
4 Subs
4 Destroyers
2 Cruisers
2 Battleships
4 Fighters
4 TacB’s
2 StratB’s

USA fields:
1 Sub
2 Destroyers
2 Cruisers
1(3) Battleship
1(3) AC
1(2) Fighter (AC)
1 TacB (AC)
2(3) Fighters (Scramble from Hawaii)

Add in 2 Battleships (U1/U2), 2 AC(U1/U2), 1 Fighter from W.USA, 1 Fighter flown in from the Philippines.  USA2 could also opt to purchase a fighter instead of a second AC (likely) with their remaining 16 IPC.  Placement of that Fighter is essential as is the decision where that fighter in Eastern US ends up.  Both those fighters show up in Hawaii, you’re in for a fight to the death in Hawaii.

USA3 Purchases will never make it to Hawaii in time, but can counter so take note of that.  If USA has more than 6 fighters on/around Hawaii, this attack is a 50-50 shot.  With 6 or less, your looking at 85% odds of winning.  USA starts with 3 fighters already there.  Western US is the 4th, the Philippines is the 5th, USA2 Purchase is the 6th.  However, if Italy/Germany stage at SZ91 and put the threat on Eastern US at the end of G3 - USA cannot ignore it and you’ll ensure fighters/ships are finding their way headed to Eastern USA and not the Pacific on a USA3 purchase / non-combat moves.

Amphibious Assault constitutes 4 Trn loaded with 5 Inf and 3 Art from SZ6.  Unless the US is buying transports and/or moving units from Eastern US into Western to ferry across the most ground units on Hawaii are 4 Inf, 1 Mech, 1 Art.  You have a 83% chance of winning this battle, losing probably 4 Inf.

Drawbacks:

You leave yourself bare in the pacific for Anzac to have fun with your islands.  
You never touched India-UK’s fleet.
You WILL lose ships in the Hawaii attack.  Chances are you walk away with 2 damaged Battleships, maybe 2 fighters and you moved in 4 AC.  I had one very good roll where I survived with 3 fighters and 1 TacB plus the aforementioned ships but I absolutely killed USA on the second round of rolls.

You have 4 Destroyers, 2 Trn in SZ6 off Japan ending J4.  Just enough to go straight after the Philippines if you so choose.  Those 4 Destroyers can also move their way straight to Hawaii to protect against a US sub purchase after J4 to protect whatever ships survived the Hawaii assault.  They also bring with them 2 Inf, 2 Art on Transports to reinforce Hawaii (or stage for a move into Western US on J6).

All the money islands are free for the Allies to take.
You’re going to lose a TON of IPC value off the board by trying to take Burma with a limited ground force and no reinforcements in sight.
The British ARE coming.

Projecting beyond this point is hazardous for my health, so I will just leave suggestions:

I think the best strategy at this point is retreating to Caroline.  Leave any surviving fighters/infantry you have there to force the US to fully commit to taking Hawaii back.  Move all Trn to Japan.  It gives you the ability to project against Anzac, or to take out whatever India-UK tries to move up the coast.  You’ll be in range of purchased fighters from Japan this way as well so you can quickly land 2 fighters, 2 TacB on your AC in any zone that the Allies go after (SZ36, SZ33, or back into Hawaii at SZ26).  With 4 Destroyers, 2 TP loaded with 2 Inf, 2 Art, and 2 repaired Battleships you’ll be able to roll 6 die for 4’s against any of the tiny fleets that are kicking up dirt in the Pacific as well as to start taking the IPC islands.  Just realize that China is a lost cause and you are just playing turtle between Burma and Yunnan.  I’d probably project myself against the Philippines as soon as possible to deny the US another 5 IPC and then start ferrying more units down into south east Asia from Japan.  Something along the lines of 2 inf, 2 Art (14), 1 Fighter/1 TacB (21) for the next few turns.