WA can attack Japan before winter 43?

[RTDouglas]

Forgive me if this is covered in another post.

In a PBEM game (v 1.4) I am playing it is Spring 42 and the Soviets are bravely fighting off the armies of Germany and Japan. I had taken both Afganistan and Perisa as WA. When the Japs bordered these countires I noticed I was able to attack Japanese held Russian territory. He had 1 inf I think in the territory east of the Caspian and I had a militia in N. Persia. I moved to attack the Japs thinking it wouldn't let me but it did. Just to be sure I tried the attack and it went through no problem. He destroyed my militia and I missed his inf.

Is this a bug of some kind?

[a511]

sth similar is going to happen btw Russia and IJN in one of my pbems where IJN has occupied eastern India and the Russia has occupied Afganistan with the rest of India occupied by the Germans. Since the Germans have all left to defend their mother country, its a matter of time for the russians to meet the IJN in India and i dont think the current system will say no to such attack ...

assuming the Germans still hold the W or E Germany, my question is will such an attack, start by either side, unfrozen the troops in eastern russia??

AN

[Joel Billings]

If Japan ever gets to a place where Russian units can reach them and attack them (even by air or sea), then an attack by either side will result in a declaration of war and an unfreezing of Eastern Russia. This is intended. This represents Japan getting to aggressive and entering areas that Russia would take exception to. This allows Russia to then attack Japan in these areas, and once at war, there is no frozen East.

[RTDouglas]

I was actually asking about Western Allies units.

I had a Western Allies (British) Militia in Persia and it was able to attack Japanese held Russian territory without unfreezing anything. The US and all other frozen areas in Asia were and remained frozen.

Are perhaps the British "technically" at war with Japan once they (Japan) attacks the USSR but the politically frozen areas of Asia remain in effect? This would change a great deal the ability of Japan and Germany to double team the USSR while keeping the US neutral. If Bristish units can intervene with troops from Persia or Afganistan.

Thank you for your response Mr. Billings and my apologies if I wasn't clear enough in my post.

[Joel Billings]

If a WA unit attacked a Japanese area I would have expected war to be declared and the areas would unfreeze. I just looked into the frozen data file and it appears that it says that if the UK or US is at war with Japan, then the areas unfreeze. I guess it might be possible for another WA nationality unit to attack Japan and end up without the areas unfreezing. For example, a Commonwealth unit attacks and war is declared between Commonwealth and Japan, but not others. Did you look on the political status screen to see who was at war with Japan after the battle? I thought there is something in the code that made the WA go to war together if one of them is at war with Japan, but I could be wrong about this. You may very well have found something that keeps the US frozen when we really expected them to be unfrozen if any WA units were involved in combat with Japan.

[JanSorensen]

I can verify this oddity - your guess appears to be correct Joel - and its entirely reproduceable.

1) Play all 5 sides
2) Have Japan carve its way to the border of Persia/Afghanistan.
3) Have the WA conquer Persia/Afghanistan.
4) Have the WA (CW) unit attack into Japanese controlled Russia.

Now the CW is at war with Japan - but nothing has unfrozen and neither the UK nor the US are at war with Japan.

Mind, if Japan returns the favor and attacks into WA controlled Persia/Afghanistan it will unfreeze the WA. The same applies if the CW unit takes control of a formerly Russian province and the Japanese attack that province.

Finally, and worst, if a UK rather than a CW unit attack the Japanese - say from Afghanistan to Eastern Khazakhstan then the UK is at war with Japan - and all of the WA frozen territories unfreeze. Neither the US nor the CW will be at war with Japan but being unfrozen thats not terribly importent as war is effectively in place.

Thus Japan can take neither Khazakhstan without risking the US being unfrozen from UK attacks. Slightly odd - but probably not bad for the game overall. It should be documented better though. (hint, an updated manual would be most welcome - mind getting the index right this time).


If you need I can mail you some save files - its reproduceable within 15 mins easily though.

[Joel Billings]

The only thing I would want to change is that if any of the WA nationalities are able to attack a Japanese unit, all areas should unfreeze. Basically, if Japan has conquered so much to get to where they can be attacked by the WA, the US should enter the war.