Where do you usually send Japan's 5 starting transports on J1?

[Bardoly]

What do you usually do with Japan’s starting 5 transports on Japan’s first turn?

It seems that one of the most standard openings is as follows:

1. sz61 1 tr 2 inf -> Borneo

2. sz51 Caroline Islands 1 tr with 2 inf -> East Indies

3. sz62 Japan 1 tr with 1 infantry and 1 armor -> Kwangtung

4. sz61 1 tr with 1 infantry and 1 artillery -> Philippine Islands

5. sz51 Caroline Islands 1 tr with 1 inf -> Okinawa 1 inf -> Philippine Islands

This is what I’ve usually been seeing, but it also seems that you could possibly free up 1 of them to allow you to hit Buryatia, Burma, or possibly even Hawaii

What are y’all usually playing and/or seeing?

[DarthMaximus]

I’ve seen (used) similar to that.

I usually go:
1 to EI
1 to Bor
1 to Kwa
2 to Phil

[axis_roll]

Assuming you are playing with NOs.

If you want to skip the phillipines for the first round (you’ll get it round 2)

this option is not on your list.
Then I have seen:
1 to EI
1 to Bor
1 to Kwa
2 to Burma

This really threatens India/australia/persia/ & africa.

The UK units in India can only run to persia (with TransJordan units), and be pressured by the remaining Burma Japanese invasion force (2 inf, art?), and 2 inf from east indies, and 2 ftrs on sz37 a/c.  Russia may need to help.

Taking Philipines presents a chance for the UK DD to block and stop 2 of 4 transports from going after Australia (sz48).  Philipines are a money grab though, and stop USA from getting some money as well.

[Blaarg]

@axis_roll:

Assuming you are playing with NOs.

If you want to skip the phillipines for the first round (you’ll get it round 2)

this option is not on your list.
Then I have seen:
1 to EI
1 to Bor
1 to Kwa
2 to Burma

This really threatens India/australia/persia/ & africa.

The UK units in India can only run to persia (with TransJordan units), and be pressured by the remaining Burma Japanese invasion force (2 inf, art?), and 2 inf from east indies, and 2 ftrs on sz37 a/c.  Russia may need to help.

Taking Philipines presents a chance for the UK DD to block and stop 2 of 4 transports from going after Australia (sz48).  Philipines are a money grab though, and stop USA from getting some money as well.

I think that would be the 3+ Asian mainland option, and I might try it my next game.

[I like Ike]

@axis_roll:

Assuming you are playing with NOs.

If you want to skip the phillipines for the first round (you’ll get it round 2)

this option is not on your list.
Then I have seen:
1 to EI
1 to Bor
1 to Kwa
2 to Burma

This is my standard opening move for Japan.

[dondoolee]

@axis_roll:

Assuming you are playing with NOs.

If you want to skip the phillipines for the first round (you’ll get it round 2)

this option is not on your list.
Then I have seen:
1 to EI
1 to Bor
1 to Kwa
2 to Burma

This really threatens India/australia/persia/ & africa.

The UK units in India can only run to persia (with TransJordan units), and be pressured by the remaining Burma Japanese invasion force (2 inf, art?), and 2 inf from east indies, and 2 ftrs on sz37 a/c.  Russia may need to help.

Taking Philipines presents a chance for the UK DD to block and stop 2 of 4 transports from going after Australia (sz48).  Philipines are a money grab though, and stop USA from getting some money as well.

This is what I tend to favour, for much of the same reasons.  Taking Phil t1 doesn’t seem as strong a move.  Plus if things go badly for the brits in Egy (no armour/fig to re enforce the indian/ jordan troops), and he tries to pull his forces out of India to consolodate with the Jor troops you can still blow them up in Persia.  While this is what I like, usually we have a Russian player who has a 7 inf stack in Bury for exactly 1 turn, which kind of forces a land in MAN.  This means you can still take and hold india with strong force on T2, you just can’t blow up the Brits if they consolodate.

[falconrider]

I agree on this too, you must threaten India to stop the UK player from even thinking about putting an IC there.

[dondoolee]

@falconrider:

I agree on this too, you must threaten India to stop the UK player from even thinking about putting an IC there.

Funny I almost feel the opposite, It is not so much that I worry about the Brits putting a factory in India, it’s that I want a Factory for Japan in India ASAP.

[falconrider]

I agree with this too.

[U-505]

My answer is none of the above. It is closest to the East Indies, Borneo, Philippines, Kwangtung option.

I go with the typical 2 Carolines TP’s to East Indies and Borneo; the inf, 1 art sz61 TP to Philippines with 1 inf, 1 arm from the sz62 TP; and Fukien gets the last one with 2 inf supported by an inf from Kia and the CA. Kwangtung gets the 3 inf from FIC and the fighter from Formosa.

[CalmDragon]

I don’t have a usual plan.  With less than two dozen games played, I’m still experimenting.  Maybe after game 1000 I will start to have a usual plan.

[Dukes 2 Nukes]

Pardon me-  I don’t understand how you can send tp’s to Phillipines without conducting naval battle (USA’s tp and dd)?  My understanding is that you must conduct naval battle before making an amphibious assault- thereby delaying the capture of the Phillipines until J2??  Please explain for my benefit.

[axis_roll]

@Dukes:

Pardon me-  I don’t understand how you can send tp’s to Phillipines without conducting naval battle (USA’s tp and dd)?  My understanding is that you must conduct naval battle before making an amphibious assault- thereby delaying the capture of the Phillipines until J2??  Please explain for my benefit.

You are correct. 
Who listed a J1 move above that did not indicate they would being sinking the US DD (tpt)?

[U-505]

Actually, he is incorrect. The Philippines can be captured on J1 as long as sz50 is cleared of the US DD prior to the landing.

And the reason nobody listed where the other units were going is because the poll only asked where they were sending the TP’s. I think it’s safe to assume that if somebody lists the Philippines as an amphibious assault on J1, that they will be sending naval units or aircraft to clear sz50. I usually send the sz61 BB and the sz51 DD.

[Dukes 2 Nukes]

Indeed!  The nature of my question was this:  Can you conduct combat (clear out the sea zone) and then move in with an amphibious assault.  I suppose you must declare the units involved ahead of time?

[U-505]

@Dukes:

Indeed!  The nature of my question was this:  Can you conduct combat (clear out the sea zone) and then move in with an amphibious assault.  I suppose you must declare the units involved ahead of time?

Yes. You have to declare all combat simultaneously before any dice are rolled.

Typically, a land combat in the forums here looks like this, for example:

Fukien (1 defending inf)
2 inf, 1 fig FIC to Fukien

But, when I am posting my combat moves here and I am doing an amphibious assault I list the combats together like this using a possible J1 attack on the Philippines as an example:

sz50 (1 DD, 1 TP)+Philippines (2 inf)
1 BB, 2 TP w/ 3 inf, 1 art loaded in sz62 to sz50 unload Philippines after naval combat
1 DD sz51 to sz50

This indicates that the Japanese will be attacking the sz50 US DD(destroyer) with the sz62 Japanese BB(battleship)and the sz51 DD with the Philippines amphibious landing to occur after the US DD is sunk.

And you have to roll the sz50 naval combat first because there is a small chance that the US DD will sink both the Japanese BB and DD thus winning the battle and forcing the Japanese transports to retreat and abort the amphibious landing in the Philippines.

[Imperious Leader]

2 transports off FIC (burma)

1 each for Borneo and Dutch indies

last one mostly to Buyutia or if the Soviets pull out, then Phillipines.

[dondoolee]

Can some one explain the advantages of a T1 invasion of the Philipines to me (other than you gat an NO that turn)?  I really fail to see the advantage of it.

[Lucifer]

Its hard to say for sure if Philly J1 is the best option, but not only is this a good way of getting 2 NOs, Japan also denies US one of their NOs at the same time by capturing Philly.

If the US doesn’t contest Japan in the pacific then Japan can be setup for Australia J2, or Japan can land everything up north J2, or land in Fic J2. So if US leaves the pacific Japan can just take everything off their islands and move it towards India and Moscow. It will save a turn. If US wants to challenge Japan then Japan better leave the units on the islands, and start making warships.

[DarthMaximus]

I haven’t played too many games as Japan, but I do the Phil island attack on J1 b/c of the NOs (both getting and denying the US) and also I just prefer to just get it out of the way.  That way I don’t have to worry about back tracking later to get on J2.  I’d rather get the core of Jap/Pac settled early so I can then just concentrate on expanding outward after that.