But how does Pearl going boom on J2 set you up for victory? It’s only worth 1 IPC. True, it is a victory city, but you just gave America the boosted economy without having offset it in any way. Don’t the Allies now have a lot more income and you’re not very well set up to either counter their production or take enough victory cities for the win.
Is it because (if America moves its fleet to Hawaii) America is no longer a threat and you’re free to do what you want until they rebuild?
To turn my question around, perhaps I would better understand the attractiveness of waiting for Japan to attack if you shared how you go about setting up a J2, J3, or J4 attack.
What do you focus on?
How do you go handle those Allies that you haven’t focused on? If you clear out China, how do you keep America at bay? Do you build a navy to stay ahead of them, or put it all into ground forces?
If the UK player takes all of the Dutch East Indies, has that caused much of a problem to your strategy, or does it not make much of a difference due to Japan’s overwhelming airforce?
What do you do if America reinforces Australia with planes? Do you shift your focus to Hawaii?
I haven’t really seen a good example of waiting to attack; I only see vague metaphors about ‘taking care of business’ or ‘ducks in a row’.
But that’s the point of my strategy is to not have too many balls in the air. Essentially you try and hold off America by threatening with a larger fleet. By the time they have a fleet capable of takling the starting Japanese navy, India (and China) is out of the picture and Japan has more income than America.
Of course no good plan survives contact with the enemy. I think the land-locking the UK and ANZAC player is key, and taking all of the Dutch Indies for the bonus income by the end of Turn 2. If America gets too frisky with its navy, there may be a chance to snatch Hawaii. If the Australia player and UK player have no transports, you have effectively removed those balls juggled in the air, as it limits their options.
But you can already pound China with the fighters/bombers that start on the mainland. The real limiting factor for Japan vs. China is the number of land units. Plus, from Turn 1, I have a secure eastern border due to the fact that my sizeable fleet is vastly superior to America’s. They won’t get the added +40IPCs to spend until Turn 2, which means those units won’t be in position until at least Turn 3.
Does it really matter if all of the Allies play at once, when 2/3rds of them are land-locked? The airforce in China can be positioned to attack any new UK transports, and a small bit of the Caroline fleet can break off to deal with any new ANZAC navy.
How exactly do you get your ducks in a row, so to speak? What kind of naval positioning do you do? Wouldn’t the Allies be better positioned against you because they know you’re going to attack?
Ruminations on Strategy – The Slow Play
QUESTION: What strategic advantages does NOT attacking until turn 3 confer to Japan? Why would they want to play it slow? Why not attack on Turn 1?
As with most Axis & Allies games, the crux of Pacific 1940 revolves around the superior and better positioned Axis forces fighting against the Allies with their greater production values. Thus, the Axis must once again leverage their superior forces for industrial production gains before Allied production can overwhelm them.
So why would the Japanese player choose to NOT attack on turn 1? Even in the peacetime economy, Japan is down 27 to 55 IPCs in production. The longer they wait, the stronger the Allies become. The IPC gain for taking China is a mere 12. If left alone, the UK can take the Dutch East Indies worth 11 IPCs. This nearly negates Japan’s gains and they’ve only be able to eliminate infantry and one fighter, all the while slowly losing ground to the Allies’ superior production.
The Present and the Future
I see two aspects to the game. The pieces on the board (the present) and what can be bought through production (the future). If you want to get technical, you can represent what is on the board by the total unit value, adding up all of the IPCs it would have taken to buy what currently exists.
To weaken your opponent(s) you can do one of two things (usually both), destroy pieces on the board, weakening their current forces, and/or take territory with production value, lowering their income.
Supposition: If Japan does not attack on Turn 1, they are missing many opportunities and bolstering the Allied forces. I’ll write up an example of my first turn Japanese move and then spell out all of the advantages.
MY FIRST TURN MOVE
o 1 Fighter from Formosa, 1 Bomber from Manchuria, and 1 Bomber from Japan wipe out the British Battleship and 2 Transports in SZ 37 around Malay. The Fighter must land in Siam, while the 3 Bombers have enough movement to land in Kwangsi. If you are uncomfortable with the odds, the Bomber in Kiangsu may also participate.
o The fleet around Okinawa, 1 Sub, 1 Destroyer, 1 Cruiser, move to destroy the Destroyer and Transport around the Philippines, as does the Carrier from the Caroline Islands.
o The 2 Transports from Japan move 2 Infantry, 1 Tank, and 1 Artillery into the Philippines. The Fighter and Tactical Bomber from SZ 35 also move in for the island attack.
o 1 Bomber from Japan destroys the Hawaiian transport, and with the assistance of the Japan airbase, can land on the Marshall Islands. As America can counterattack with their bomber (landing on Wake Island), I move 3 Fighters from Japan to the Marshall Islands in noncombat movement.
o 1 Battleship and 1 Destroyer from the Caroline Islands moves to Sydney and destroys the Australian Destroyer and Transport.
o 1 Infantry from Siam takes French Indo China.
o The 1 Transport left around the Caroline Islands move 1 (or 2 if you strip Paulau) Infantry to Celebes.
o 3 Infantry and 1 Artillery from Kwangsi move into Yunnan. 1 Fighter, 1 Tactical Bomber, and 1 Bomber (if not used against the British Battleship) fly to Yunnan, to land in Kwangsi after the fight.
o 2 Infantry from Kiangsi attack Kwangtung. Then several Fighters and Tacs fly in from Manchuria and Japan to help.
o 1 Artillery and 1 Infantry move into Hunan, supported by what is left unused of the Manchurian airforce, to land in Kwangsi.
o Move land units into unoccupied Anhwe and Chahar.
o There should be several fighters left on Japan. They move to the Caroline Islands, as does the entire navy (excluding the transports) that start around Japan.
This move also sets up Japan for taking the remaining three islands necessary for their Bonus Income. If the Philippine attack went bad, the transports can pick up land units from Siam or Kwangtung to take the islands.
For purchasing I buy an airforce base for Kwangsi. Thus, a Fighter or Tac can attack India and land in Yunnan, while still being just 1 turn away from reinforcing Japan or the Caroline Islands should the need arise.
The Advantages of Attacking
Loss of lift capability
In a game of island hopping, transports are critical. On turn 1, I have destroyed every Allied transport excluding the one at San Francisco. The Allies are land-locked and pose little threat. They cannot take back any islands I will go on to conquer.
Inability to replace what is lost
It will take Australia 3 Turns to recover what Japan blew away on the first turn. Should they get frisky and attack the Battleship and Destroyer with their 4 Fighters, even longer assuming a decent defensive roll. The UK player can’t buy a Battleship until Turn 2, and if they do, that’s 20 IPCs not spent helping China or defending India, a win for Japan. Any naval units purchased by the UK (say a replacement transport) is in danger from the massive Japanese airforce.
Denial of Income
Without transports, the UK player cannot gain new IPCs, save for Siam and cannot collect any Bonus Income from controlling the Dutch East Indies. America losses the Philippines, while only 2 production, it is necessary for their Bonus Income and difficult for them to take back. Australia, without a transport, is likewise denied any Dutch Indies income, and it too cannot complete it’s Bonus Income without reaching Dutch New Guinea. I have effectively blocked all bonus income while preventing them from taking territory.
Targets of Opportunity
On the first turn, many units are undefended or lightly defended, something that is rarely the case after turn 1. It is much easier to kill the British Battleship alone then supported by a Cruiser and Destroyer. America losses a Bomber and Transport located in the heart of Japanese waters.
Added Income
Instead of a 5 IPC gain by going after only China, Japan gains 14 Production. And with the addition of the remaining Dutch East Indies on the following turn, it is up to +31 Production, assuming no extra gains in China and counting the Bonus Income. That’s three fourths of the added wartime economy offset by the end of Turn 2!
The Disadvantages
I can only see one disadvantage of attacking on Turn 1; America turns to its wartime economy. Yes, their wartime economy adds 40 IPCs to their income and that is a sizeable amount, but is that worth throwing away the above Turn 1 advantages?
Let me put that 40 IPCs into perspective. The total unit value for the Japanese forces is 596 IPCs. The Allies combined start out with 488, a 108 IPC difference in Japan’s favor.
With the proposed first turn Japanese moves as outlined above, the Allies lose units with a total unit value of 117 IPCs. This means that added 40 IPC income won’t recover those losses for 3 Turns! And that’s only America recovering the losses, not Australia and the UK.
So, having said all that, I ask again:
QUESTION: What strategic advantages does NOT attacking until turn 3 confer to Japan? Why would they want to play it slow? Why not attack on Turn 1?