As this game winds to an end I've been looking at getting back into a proper Japan campaign. I have plenty of ideas for strategies I'd like to try (against the AI to start with) but the dreaded economy management just looks like an insurmountable barrier to me.
This campaign has been an eye opener for me in terms of what the Japanese are capable of. The last six months of '42 and the first few of '43 are an interesting period to play as it is really the end of Japanese inpunity and the beginning of the US build up. In the course of a few months, as I've said before, I've marveled at the growth of George's forces; not necessarily in terms of boots in the mud, or even warships, but in the air. The relative paucity of the Japanese ship building is a force multiplier of sorts for the US as well. In my last full campaign as the Allies losing a few destroyers, cruisers or even carriers was not war ending proposition. For the Japanese it can be.
I think, in order to remain competitive into '44 a Japanese player has to be pretty darn solid in the choices he makes in '42. I think anyone sticking to the historical script will only be bringing defeat onto himself. In a campaign where the Japanese player may only have automatic point victory to aim at in order to win, does throwing valuable resources into the Solomons and New Guinea constitute a sensible or even practical strategy? Is there any point in even taking Moresby?
I'm coming to the conclusion that a Solomons campaign in the full game would only make sense if the end aim is to strangle US supply lines ahead of a full on invasion of Australia. And to do that, taking Noumea, Guadalcanal and Moresby will never really be enough because all you are doing is lengthening those convoy routes. What would you have to take, then? New Zealand? Samoa? Anywhere where netties can operate at distance I think. Create a potent aerial threat and force the Allied player into needing to patrol routes with carriers might be a viable tactic even though, eventually, he'll be using CVEs for convoy support. On the other side of Oz, i think one would have to take Perth in order to halt the transport of supplies from Capetown.
And if the invasion of Australia is not your eventual goal, would all that material not be better off elsewhere? I think Rabaul has to be taken in any event, perhaps even Shortlands (and building the airbases on both to maximum) because they are a valid line of defence for Truk, and Netties can easily atrit shipping heading up the coast to the straights of thingumy..well, maybe not
easily but it can be done.
Just thinking out loud is all. Can you tell I've go nothing to do tonight?
