AI for MWiF - Japan

[peskpesk]

The Inner Ring
A) Manila, Canton, Legaspi
B) Singapore, Batavia, Menado, Makassar
C) Bonin Islands,

[peskpesk]

The Outer Ring

C) Saipan
D) Truk, Rabaul, Port Moreseby, Sorong

[peskpesk]

The Outpost

E) Kwajalein,Eniwetok

[AlbertN]

I personally value a CV more than Lift in general at least as long as Japan has good shots at naval fights.
Without control of the seas your lift just sits in the docks or risks suicidal missions unless Jap has a serious LBA advantage over the SZ where the Lift has to go. And Lift rarely is endangered initially in the surprise impulse and immediate subsequent turns due to Jap CVPs superiority vs the USA ones (at least if Japan comes prepared).

And your CVs can also stop / stall the enemy advance through SZs.
Last but not least, CVs take way longer to replace.

[peskpesk]

Japan has an impossible task of garrisons the whole of the Pacific when they end up in war with US and CW. They do not have enough Japanese units available since China and the USSR demand most of the army and the spearhead offensive units are reseved as an force for continued expasion and/or neutrlizing allied threats - basically the units that are left over are those that could make up the garrison. Where should they be placed? By breaking down the task into areas, the most important area, followed by the less important area and so on, we have the direction.
And by determining the threat to the area, we will know where to put Garrision in the area.
- Prio 1: Key garrisons. Mandatory hexes to garrisons, anti invasion thrat: Capitals, Victory objectives, critical ports.
- Prio 2: Anti Partisan Garrisons: Defends key resourse \ oil sources from partisan and invasion threats.
- Prio 3: Parameter Garrisons: Defends strategic ports and hexes in the sea area from allied invasions threats. Once the parameter is breached the value of defending thease location are reduced.

The areas in the pacific, from Japans garnison point of view, are basically broken down into
- The Inner ring: South China Sea and the China sea. Through this area most RP & Oil are located and tranported. It needs to be in Japanease hands or the empire will die.
- The Outer ring: The Bismark Sea, located just outside the important Inner ring and blocking the powerfull US navy from reaching it.
- The Outpost: Located next to all of Marianas, Solomons, Marshall Sea zone the vulnerable forward base is the steping stone to Japanease westward operations and US eastward operations.

Very simplified: Each area could have a priority, min and max number of units. Then the AIO could give x number of units to the garrision area and distribute them one at the time, starting with the most prioritesed area and continuing to the next in prio order. Once area has enough units it skiped. This could be used for senario setups and for help checking where to place units in LR, AOs.

Out of scope for the defense are:
- The Kill zone: The China sea, Japapanese Coast, from where allied planes and sea lift are able to threathen main land japan and the main resource tranport sea zone.
- The Frontier: The Coral sea and the Solomons. Historicaly the Japanease expansion died here. The gateway to Truk and Rabaul for the US and to New Zealand and Polynesia for Japan.
- The Crown: Bay of Bengal, east entrence to the Jewal of the Crown for the British empire and the bigest threat from the start, for the Japanese Inner ring. Trincomalle and Calcutta, Singapore dominate the sea area.
- The Pearl: Pearl habor needs no introduction. If this crtical majort port is lost the US are in trouble. Marshall, Hawaii Island and Christmas Island sea zones.

The reaction force. At least two MAR and div. It needs to be place in central location that is good for both offensive threats and that can knock out failed US\CW attacks.
A Major port is a good location.

[peskpesk]

A The Inner ring

[peskpesk]

B The Inner ring

[peskpesk]

C The Outer Ring

[peskpesk]

D The Outer Ring

[peskpesk]

E The Outpost

[brian brian]

The Japanese can't really afford to garrison the Bonin Islands, at first. The USA will advance under cover of Land-Based Air - if they don't have an airbase on the Marianas zone, they probably won't be attempting to land on the Bonins. If they do early on, that is a job for Japan's reserves (the Combined Fleet, all available air assets, and their Marine counter-attack force) to congregate, cut US supply, and re-take the Bonins.

Once US LBA can fly in to the Marianas, then the Bonins must be held.

Japan should also take Wake Island and put it in their defense perimeter at the same priority as the Marshal Island hexes that border the Marianas zone. The easiest way for the USA to beat the Japanese is to simply advance straight east from Pearl Harbor, exploiting the game system and sea zone lay-out. The historical 2 prongs of Nimitz in the central Pacific and MacArthur in the SE Pacific is a waste of time in WiF.

However the Japanese can't rule out the possibility that the USA might try an advance from the Coral Sea &/or various other springboards in the CW empire to the west. These could be just diversions or raids or could become a main axis of advance by the Allies.

So a big part of what the AI has to do is divine where the main USA drive is going to be, and respond to that with priority resources. If an HQ and 2 Engineers appear on an American held Wake Island, there is little need to reinforce the Netherlands East Indies. If a couple American AMPHs Return-to-Base in Australia or India, then the AI needs to think about adjustments.

[Centuur]

I agree on that account. The Japanese need some garrison in NEI because of partisans and land units at Truk, Singapore, Manilla and Rabaul are also needed. Apart from that, it's LBA and more LBA. The marines and one HQ are, together with the TRS/AMPH and the fleet the necessary assets to react on US advances (which might or might not come early). The larger unified map is something which isn't very good for the Japanese too. To many places where the US can invade with their Marines if you compare that to the map in the boardgame...

[AlbertN]

And the double or more of airbases hexes too for USA LBA which will gradually become an overwhelming presence.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Bump.