.

You have a cruiser shot at French Indochina too for the UK1 attack.  But I would almost never hit French Indochina with UK.

If Germany has 2+ units at Anglo-Egypt, I would hit with India infantry plus India fighter, at least.  So the French Indochina attack is out.

Let’s say Germany has 1 unit at Anglo-Egypt.  You could hit with 1 inf 1 bomber freeing up your India units for something else.  But where do you land your bomber?  The UK bomber has to land in Trans-Jordan or Belgian Congo (Jap fighters have range to Italian East Africa), but Belgian Congo is often not an option due to German air at Libya.  So you’re limited to Trans-Jordan, but that leaves 1 inf 1 bomber on Trans-Jordan, which Germany can easily whack out with its Mediterranean forces.  So you’re back to using the India fighter for Africa in most cases.

Maybe Germany has no air at Libya.  Or maybe you’re willing to commit Russian forces to helping hold Trans-Jordan (which is what you would have to do since you can’t control the German player turn).  But I would still not hit French Indochina with UK.  I would hit Borneo.

I say spread that fleet out!  At the end of UK1 I like having: A sub off the Solos, one transport off New Guinea, the other along with the cruiser of Borneo, and the carrier in Manila Bay (some times with the fighter).  None of this risks a single ship.  If the JP sub lives (two out three times it does) it will almost always submerge.  New Guinea may not get you an IPC, but hit it any way.  The possibility that you’ll use the ship to pick up the infantry you landed on Borneo all but forces the Japan player commit forces to mopping up. Ditto the logic behind the carrier: the Philippines are within fighter range of Hawaii and China.  No Japanese player wants a limey carrier tooling around the central Pacific with a few yankee fighters on it.  A good (even mediocre) player will sink every one of your ships on round one (maybe not the sub);  But he’ll be sinking them at the expense of doing other things… like making good and sure he takes India, and China, or assuming a dominant position in Hawaii.

@Nomarclegs:

If the JP sub lives (two out three times it does) it will almost always submerge.

Submarines can submerge before any combat if there are no enemy destroyers present. And the Jap sub should do it since there’s no point in defending with a 1 against an enemy submarine attacking at 2.

@Hobbes:

@Nomarclegs:

If the JP sub lives (two out three times it does) it will almost always submerge.

Submarines can submerge before any combat if there are no enemy destroyers present. And the Jap sub should do it since there’s no point in defending with a 1 against an enemy submarine attacking at 2.

Yup. This was unclear in the original rulebook, so many players were left in the dark. But it is clear that subs can always submerge before any combat, unless there is an enemy DD present. So the Jap sub will always live if it chooses so.