Historiker (J) vs. USS America (A) - no USS America

[Historiker]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

as soon as you have decided how far you want to go (my primary target would be Northern Australia - Merauke - Port Moresby) I would start to dig in waiting for the enemy. If he attacks somewhere you can use LBA and KB attack, if he attacks somewhere where you can only use KB, I would do just nothing. On the defense much depends on what your enemy does of course, I am not really a fan of too much raiding or splitting off any carrier (not even a CVE) from KB. If you strike, throw in the kitchen sink which is pretty much the same philosophie I have playing the Allied when I am usually using the hammer. Until late 43 you should be able to pretty much sink at least halve of every Allied carrier fleet using KB and LBA together. How much damage KB will take of course depends a lot on luck (weather, range, etc) but hundreds of KB based torp bombers, Betties and a couple of hundred fighters are a threat even in late 44 so your chances to strike hard in 43 are quite good.

Merauke is already Japanese, here.
What do you think about my considerations about northern Australia? If I invade here, he will likely respond by massing troops there and when his counter-offensive comes, DEI is in danger. If I don't attack it, it is not unlikely that he will leave me alone there.

Mike seems to be an aggressive Allied player who doesn't care about risks and losses at all. This means I have to expect offensive moves quite early with the Carolines being a likely target. Should he be forced to look at northern Australia, he defenitly won't stop there.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Historiker

R&D:
I will research the following planes with 3 R&D size 30 factories:

Army:
- Ki-44IIa
- Ki-84a
- Ki-94II
- Ki-67Ia (T)

Navy:
- P1Y1
- Which fighter(s)? George or Jack?
- D4Y1
- B6N1
propably B7A2

I don't think that my carriers are usefull from mid 43 on. He will be so strong and have such good planes that I can only hope the landbased ships weaken him enough for the KB. THe KB itself will most likely avoid any CV-battle from 43 on.
Thus I don't see a need to advance the A7M2. It will be available in 9/45 in this mod. Even if I am able to advance it for let's say 3 months, it won't make any difference, I guess.

If there won't be a patch changing Cap then it doesn't matter if you send an A7M2 or a A6M2 or a Claude (all flown by untrained rookie pilots) as long as you send a couple of hundred fighters with your bombers late war. The fighters will be shot up to some extend and 95% of your bombers will get through. I can only hope there will be a change until my PBEM reaches late 44 or I have to completely abandon the wish to operate carriers within 10 hexes of enemy bases. I think it isn't really necessary to think about mid 45 aircraft yet. [;)]

[Historiker]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Historiker

R&D:
I will research the following planes with 3 R&D size 30 factories:

Army:
- Ki-44IIa
- Ki-84a
- Ki-94II
- Ki-67Ia (T)

Navy:
- P1Y1
- Which fighter(s)? George or Jack?
- D4Y1
- B6N1
propably B7A2

I don't think that my carriers are usefull from mid 43 on. He will be so strong and have such good planes that I can only hope the landbased ships weaken him enough for the KB. THe KB itself will most likely avoid any CV-battle from 43 on.
Thus I don't see a need to advance the A7M2. It will be available in 9/45 in this mod. Even if I am able to advance it for let's say 3 months, it won't make any difference, I guess.

If there won't be a patch changing Cap then it doesn't matter if you send an A7M2 or a A6M2 or a Claude (all flown by untrained rookie pilots) as long as you send a couple of hundred fighters with your bombers late war. The fighters will be shot up to some extend and 95% of your bombers will get through. I can only hope there will be a change until my PBEM reaches late 44 or I have to completely abandon the wish to operate carriers within 10 hexes of enemy bases.

So would you research Jap Carrier fighters as well?

Did I get it right that "No upgrade" at a R&D factory will keep it a R&D factory?

[Historiker]

I am not really a fan of too much raiding or splitting off any carrier (not even a CVE) from KB.

I think about sending a PA group to Cocos Island to find ships going from India to Australia. If I find some, I think about using the most expendable CV - the Hosho to raid that ships. Hosho is small enough that loosing her doesn't hurt too much, while she is fast enough to get out of the way if necessary.

If I anticipate his moves correctly, he will response to that soon. After about two Hosho-Raids, he will likely send the British Carriers, maybe even reinforced by a US CV to intercept Hosho. That would be a nice thing for the KB.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Historiker

ORIGINAL: castor troy

as soon as you have decided how far you want to go (my primary target would be Northern Australia - Merauke - Port Moresby) I would start to dig in waiting for the enemy. If he attacks somewhere you can use LBA and KB attack, if he attacks somewhere where you can only use KB, I would do just nothing. On the defense much depends on what your enemy does of course, I am not really a fan of too much raiding or splitting off any carrier (not even a CVE) from KB. If you strike, throw in the kitchen sink which is pretty much the same philosophie I have playing the Allied when I am usually using the hammer. Until late 43 you should be able to pretty much sink at least halve of every Allied carrier fleet using KB and LBA together. How much damage KB will take of course depends a lot on luck (weather, range, etc) but hundreds of KB based torp bombers, Betties and a couple of hundred fighters are a threat even in late 44 so your chances to strike hard in 43 are quite good.

Merauke is already Japanese, here.
What do you think about my considerations about northern Australia? If I invade here, he will likely respond by massing troops there and when his counter-offensive comes, DEI is in danger. If I don't attack it, it is not unlikely that he will leave me alone there.

Mike seems to be an aggressive Allied player who doesn't care about risks and losses at all. This means I have to expect offensive moves quite early with the Carolines being a likely target. Should he be forced to look at northern Australia, he defenitly won't stop there.

well, this is up to you to decide if he would leave you alone. I wouldn't so if you wouldn't take Northern Australia against me, you would see me building it up and at some point driving into the SRA. If you take it, you will delay me by roughly 6 months, as has happened in my game against Rainer79. I would trade EVERY island chain in the Pacific for Northern Australia or Timor. Let him attack in the Pacific, he can only use his carriers there, you can use a couple of hundred LBA and KB, you should usually win. Let him attack from Northern Australia, he can use hundreds of land based bombers and his carriers. Unlikely you will win...

There is one major factor that favours you, you've got more LCU than your enemy. So if the main axis of advance would be coming out of Northern Australia, if he has to take Darwin back for example and you have 3000av there, guess how bloody this will be for him. With Timor built up and Betties coming out of every corner and KB in strike range, let him try. And Darwin is an excellent place for an evacuation so your worn down divs can be moved out with new ones brought in. The enemy can mainly intervene with his carriers and there you have the advantage of having KB and LBA while he only has his carriers. Timor, Darwin and the bases in the area can house a couple of thousand IJ aircraft if there would be that many. Do you think I would care as the Japanese if I would lose Kwajalein, Wake or a comparable base? Not really. I would really care about losing Darwin or a base on Timor, losing Timor in 43 is about the worse as it could get IMO.

[Historiker]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Historiker

ORIGINAL: castor troy

as soon as you have decided how far you want to go (my primary target would be Northern Australia - Merauke - Port Moresby) I would start to dig in waiting for the enemy. If he attacks somewhere you can use LBA and KB attack, if he attacks somewhere where you can only use KB, I would do just nothing. On the defense much depends on what your enemy does of course, I am not really a fan of too much raiding or splitting off any carrier (not even a CVE) from KB. If you strike, throw in the kitchen sink which is pretty much the same philosophie I have playing the Allied when I am usually using the hammer. Until late 43 you should be able to pretty much sink at least halve of every Allied carrier fleet using KB and LBA together. How much damage KB will take of course depends a lot on luck (weather, range, etc) but hundreds of KB based torp bombers, Betties and a couple of hundred fighters are a threat even in late 44 so your chances to strike hard in 43 are quite good.

Merauke is already Japanese, here.
What do you think about my considerations about northern Australia? If I invade here, he will likely respond by massing troops there and when his counter-offensive comes, DEI is in danger. If I don't attack it, it is not unlikely that he will leave me alone there.

Mike seems to be an aggressive Allied player who doesn't care about risks and losses at all. This means I have to expect offensive moves quite early with the Carolines being a likely target. Should he be forced to look at northern Australia, he defenitly won't stop there.

well, this is up to you to decide if he would leave you alone. I wouldn't so if you wouldn't take Northern Australia against me, you would see me building it up and at some point driving into the SRA. If you take it, you will delay me by roughly 6 months, as has happened in my game against Rainer79. I would trade EVERY island chain in the Pacific for Northern Australia or Timor. Let him attack in the Pacific, he can only use his carriers there, you can use a couple of hundred LBA and KB, you should usually win. Let him attack from Northern Australia, he can use hundreds of land based bombers and his carriers. Unlikely you will win...

There is one major factor that favours you, you've got more LCU than your enemy. So if the main axis of advance would be coming out of Northern Australia, if he has to take Darwin back for example and you have 3000av there, guess how bloody this will be for him. With Timor built up and Betties coming out of every corner and KB in strike range, let him try. And Darwin is an excellent place for an evacuation so your worn down divs can be moved out with new ones brought in. The enemy can mainly intervene with his carriers and there you have the advantage of having KB and LBA while he only has his carriers. Timor, Darwin and the bases in the area can house a couple of thousand IJ aircraft if there would be that many. Do you think I would care as the Japanese if I would lose Kwajalein, Wake or a comparable base? Not really. I would really care about losing Darwin or a base on Timor, losing Timor in 43 is about the worse as it could get IMO.

good points. Very good points!

How much can be achieved in China with the forces there and some units from Manchuria, considering that I don't count myself a good player when it comes to land combat?
I guess its every JFB wet dream to conquer China...

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Historiker

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Historiker

R&D:
I will research the following planes with 3 R&D size 30 factories:

Army:
- Ki-44IIa
- Ki-84a
- Ki-94II
- Ki-67Ia (T)

Navy:
- P1Y1
- Which fighter(s)? George or Jack?
- D4Y1
- B6N1
propably B7A2

I don't think that my carriers are usefull from mid 43 on. He will be so strong and have such good planes that I can only hope the landbased ships weaken him enough for the KB. THe KB itself will most likely avoid any CV-battle from 43 on.
Thus I don't see a need to advance the A7M2. It will be available in 9/45 in this mod. Even if I am able to advance it for let's say 3 months, it won't make any difference, I guess.

If there won't be a patch changing Cap then it doesn't matter if you send an A7M2 or a A6M2 or a Claude (all flown by untrained rookie pilots) as long as you send a couple of hundred fighters with your bombers late war. The fighters will be shot up to some extend and 95% of your bombers will get through. I can only hope there will be a change until my PBEM reaches late 44 or I have to completely abandon the wish to operate carriers within 10 hexes of enemy bases.

So would you research Jap Carrier fighters as well?

Did I get it right that "No upgrade" at a R&D factory will keep it a R&D factory?

don't know about the R&D settings as the Japanese, sorry. If I'm not mistaken you will be flying the A6M5 for most of the years so producing that fighter is a must, the land based IJNAF units should all be flying Jacks or Georges IMO, as the Allied, those cause me far more headache than A6M5. I know ppl like fighters with a little range but this again depends on where you are fighting. In the Pacific? A little more range may be nice. In the SRA? There are so many bases around that can be built up into overlapping strike areas that 5 or 6 hexes range is sufficient to see several bases launch against the same target and the main target should always be SHIPS!

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Historiker

I am not really a fan of too much raiding or splitting off any carrier (not even a CVE) from KB.

I think about sending a PA group to Cocos Island to find ships going from India to Australia. If I find some, I think about using the most expendable CV - the Hosho to raid that ships. Hosho is small enough that loosing her doesn't hurt too much, while she is fast enough to get out of the way if necessary.

If I anticipate his moves correctly, he will response to that soon. After about two Hosho-Raids, he will likely send the British Carriers, maybe even reinforced by a US CV to intercept Hosho. That would be a nice thing for the KB.

It would be a nice target and he would do what I wouldn't, split his carriers. [:D]

[Historiker]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Historiker

I am not really a fan of too much raiding or splitting off any carrier (not even a CVE) from KB.

I think about sending a PA group to Cocos Island to find ships going from India to Australia. If I find some, I think about using the most expendable CV - the Hosho to raid that ships. Hosho is small enough that loosing her doesn't hurt too much, while she is fast enough to get out of the way if necessary.

If I anticipate his moves correctly, he will response to that soon. After about two Hosho-Raids, he will likely send the British Carriers, maybe even reinforced by a US CV to intercept Hosho. That would be a nice thing for the KB.

It would be a nice target and he would do what I wouldn't, split his carriers. [:D]

I didn't get that [;)]

Do you think that's a good plan and that he might fall for that trap?
Do you combine the Brit Carriers with the US CVs?

[Historiker]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Historiker

ORIGINAL: castor troy





If there won't be a patch changing Cap then it doesn't matter if you send an A7M2 or a A6M2 or a Claude (all flown by untrained rookie pilots) as long as you send a couple of hundred fighters with your bombers late war. The fighters will be shot up to some extend and 95% of your bombers will get through. I can only hope there will be a change until my PBEM reaches late 44 or I have to completely abandon the wish to operate carriers within 10 hexes of enemy bases.

So would you research Jap Carrier fighters as well?

Did I get it right that "No upgrade" at a R&D factory will keep it a R&D factory?

don't know about the R&D settings as the Japanese, sorry. If I'm not mistaken you will be flying the A6M5 for most of the years so producing that fighter is a must, the land based IJNAF units should all be flying Jacks or Georges IMO, as the Allied, those cause me far more headache than A6M5. I know ppl like fighters with a little range but this again depends on where you are fighting. In the Pacific? A little more range may be nice. In the SRA? There are so many bases around that can be built up into overlapping strike areas that 5 or 6 hexes range is sufficient to see several bases launch against the same target and the main target should always be SHIPS!

So which one to research? Jack or George? Which one is to be prefered?

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Historiker

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Historiker




Merauke is already Japanese, here.
What do you think about my considerations about northern Australia? If I invade here, he will likely respond by massing troops there and when his counter-offensive comes, DEI is in danger. If I don't attack it, it is not unlikely that he will leave me alone there.

Mike seems to be an aggressive Allied player who doesn't care about risks and losses at all. This means I have to expect offensive moves quite early with the Carolines being a likely target. Should he be forced to look at northern Australia, he defenitly won't stop there.

well, this is up to you to decide if he would leave you alone. I wouldn't so if you wouldn't take Northern Australia against me, you would see me building it up and at some point driving into the SRA. If you take it, you will delay me by roughly 6 months, as has happened in my game against Rainer79. I would trade EVERY island chain in the Pacific for Northern Australia or Timor. Let him attack in the Pacific, he can only use his carriers there, you can use a couple of hundred LBA and KB, you should usually win. Let him attack from Northern Australia, he can use hundreds of land based bombers and his carriers. Unlikely you will win...

There is one major factor that favours you, you've got more LCU than your enemy. So if the main axis of advance would be coming out of Northern Australia, if he has to take Darwin back for example and you have 3000av there, guess how bloody this will be for him. With Timor built up and Betties coming out of every corner and KB in strike range, let him try. And Darwin is an excellent place for an evacuation so your worn down divs can be moved out with new ones brought in. The enemy can mainly intervene with his carriers and there you have the advantage of having KB and LBA while he only has his carriers. Timor, Darwin and the bases in the area can house a couple of thousand IJ aircraft if there would be that many. Do you think I would care as the Japanese if I would lose Kwajalein, Wake or a comparable base? Not really. I would really care about losing Darwin or a base on Timor, losing Timor in 43 is about the worse as it could get IMO.

good points. Very good points!

How much can be achieved in China with the forces there and some units from Manchuria, considering that I don't count myself a good player when it comes to land combat?
I guess its every JFB wet dream to conquer China...

I don't know to be honest. I have seen the threads on the forum with ppl asking for advice after losing China (or China nearly lost), while in my games it was rather quiet in China with one game the Japanese trying some offensives at horrible cost so I thought it would be rather easy to hold China as the Allied. I may be wrong but I also have been able to defend it in WITP while at the same time take it as the Japanese in WITP. Again, I think it just depends on your opponent. And it depends on the Allied supply there. No supply, no defense. Being this a May 42 start, no idea how much supply the Chinese have. If they've got 250.000 with a couple of forts built already then they should be able to build up forts to 6 and just wait for you. I have seen 4500 Japanese av attack 4000 Chinese av in a clear hex with 6 forts and it was nothing the Japanese ever tried to repeat. [:D] But if you get rolling in China then it seems to be pretty much like Domino.

I seem to be spamming your AAR btw.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Historiker

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Historiker


I think about sending a PA group to Cocos Island to find ships going from India to Australia. If I find some, I think about using the most expendable CV - the Hosho to raid that ships. Hosho is small enough that loosing her doesn't hurt too much, while she is fast enough to get out of the way if necessary.

If I anticipate his moves correctly, he will response to that soon. After about two Hosho-Raids, he will likely send the British Carriers, maybe even reinforced by a US CV to intercept Hosho. That would be a nice thing for the KB.

It would be a nice target and he would do what I wouldn't, split his carriers. [:D]

I didn't get that [;)]

Do you think that's a good plan and that he might fall for that trap?
Do you combine the Brit Carriers with the US CVs?

Same as if I would play as the Japanese, I try to keep my carriers together. Ok, CVE Long Island or CVL Hermes isn't really what I take to the fight but the rest is fine. Not using the CVE in the same TF as my fleet carriers but operating together in separate TFs.

I don't know if your opponent would all to the trap as I don't know him at all and haven't read any AAR from him. I can only speak of what I would do and if you have a CV force somewhere in range that I consider being a cakewalk for my massed carriers then I would send them in and trash your carriers. I would not send in two or three carriers alone, too much risk for me. If I know KB is operating around Kwajalein and I spot CVE Hosho with one or two other CVE/CVL in the Indian Ocean and I would have my carriers around Perth for example, you could be sure I would send them in, all of them. But who wouldn't? [:)] Of course I would also take the chance if I would have two USN fleet carriers in transit and CVE Hosho or so pops up 15 hexes away but then I would have to decide if it's a trap or not, where was KB spotted, which carriers, etc.

[Historiker]

I seem to be spamming your AAR btw.

not at all [:)]

I value your postings and you might already have convinced me about invading Australia.
How far to the east and southeast of Australia have you advanced at your games? How far would you go?

Taking Kalgoorlie seems to be nice goal, while it should me more than difficult to achieve that. Also, he can easily respond with an amphibic invasion behind my lines at Pearth or one of the bases in that area.

[castor troy]

Jack or George, don't know, I don't like both as the Allied, to an equal extend. Depends on your engine output I guess but here again, I'm not an expert for Japanese production as I have yet refused to play Transport Tycoon in the Pacific so unfortunately I pretty much switched from a Japanese player of WITP into an Allied player of AE. The time will come though...

One more thing about Jack or George. I don't like them but that doesn't mean they are real killers. The Tojo is a killer in mid 42 vs Allied fighters but Jack or George are inferior to Allied fighters in 43, they are just better than the Zeke.

[Historiker]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

Jack or George, don't know, I don't like both as the Allied, to an equal extend. Depends on your engine output I guess but here again, I'm not an expert for Japanese production as I have yet refused to play Transport Tycoon in the Pacific so unfortunately I pretty much switched from a Japanese player of WITP into an Allied player of AE. The time will come though...

[:D]
Maybe we'll get our game going then, finally [;)]

[Historiker]

I've read that a pool of mre than 500 engines help the developement of a R&D aircraft. I will consequently increase the engine production significantly, especially those engines than can be used in good 45 fighters. So engines will most likely not be the issue.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Historiker

I seem to be spamming your AAR btw.

not at all [:)]

I value your postings and you might already have convinced me about invading Australia.
How far to the east and southeast of Australia have you advanced at your games? How far would you go?

Taking Kalgoorlie seems to be nice goal, while it should me more than difficult to achieve that. Also, he can easily respond with an amphibic invasion behind my lines at Pearth or one of the bases in that area.

Broome, Derby, Wyndham, Darwin on the North Coast with Katherine South of Darwin. Why Katherine? Because it can easily built up to a usable airfield and it is save from Naval bombardment. So if Darwin is about to suffer a naval bombardment (which is the one of the usual things when a major operation goes in IMO), then you can fly out a good amount of aircraft to Katherine. Merauke in the East to have an airbase against the enemy carriers if they advance North through Torres Strait. Port Hedland (?), the little base West of Broome as an early warning base with floatplanes.

I know that the Perth area is a nice target for the Japanese most often, I'm not sure about that. And if so, then I would only do that as a raid to destroy Allied ground units, nothing more. I definitely would not base troops there, a thousand av based more at Broome or Darwin would help more. What you have to keep in mind is that the Allied just don't have thousands of av to be thrown somewhere and if you have to do an amphib invasion then you have to prep the troops for three months. So no prepped troops, no reinforcements. I wouldn't go for Perth, only if you also go for New Zealand to cut off the Aussies but also here, not sure if this is worth it, especially with the Allied trading the crap units on New Zealand with crack divs as emergency reinforcements.

Every area you hold where the enemy has a base further away than 5 hexes is what you want to have. Of course there is the massed 4E hammer but also those aren't unlimited. Of course there is also the P-38, but in very limited numbers until 44. And until 44 IIRC the Corsair and Co also don't have drop tanks that brings their range to a real distance, so in the end it would mean an amphib operation covered only by Allied carriers when you can bring LBA and KB. The longer I think about it, the more I see Northern Australia as the area that can be built up together with Timor to really cause the enemy a bad hair day if he decideds to attack there. The downside of it, it seems my opponent bluebook is going for Northern Australia too as the Japanese... [:(]

[Historiker]

Thanks for the advice. I will think about it.

I've made a nice observation:
Paoshan (Chinese base at the end of Burma Road) only has two Chinese units with roughly 20AV each in them. XP is at 50 and 30. I guess I have to do some test runs whether it is possible to take that base with Paras. If it is, there might be indeed a chance for another axis of attack into china. An axis that prevents airsupply for China unless he uses his 4e bombers for that purpose. If he does, I'm fine with it! [:)]

[Uncivil Engineer]

Your achievable objectives are two: China or Australia.

I don't think you'll get far in India due to supply issues getting there. An amphibious assault on Calcutta, if successful, would remedy the supply problem, but is not likely to be successful.

If you go too far south in the Solomons or Gilberts you invite an Allied attack behind you - Wake, Marcus, Saipan - much earlier than 44. But, I like your idea of building up the Tabiteuea area! The historical reason for the Japanese building the airfield at Guadalcanal was to threathen the sealanes to Sydney, as you probably know. In the game, Australia is largely self-sufficent (except for fuel), and you don't need fuel for a ground war (in the game). But, if you take the northern and western Australia ports - Darwin to Port Hedland to Perth - his supply situation would worsen. If you don't take Northern Australia, the best Allied axis of advance is from Darwin north through the SRA. The New Guinea island hopping campaign was purely political, so MacArthur could get back to the Philippines. The axis Timor - Celebes - Borneo would have been better (IMO); you don't need subs to sink tankers if you recapture the oil fields and refineries!

I think conquering China is easier in the game than it was historically. I think the garrison requirements in the game are too small; if they were 2 or 3 times larger FOR THE JAPANESE, it would be considerably more difficult to advance. Why are there garrison requirements for the Chinese, anyway? Your objectives in China are as you stated: Sian, Changsha, and add Chungking. If you don't need to pay PP to move units out of Manchukuo, one or two armies there can move into China to reinforce the drives on Sian and Changsha. I see no reason to drive into western China, what's there? Once Sian is taken any resources out west are cut off from Chungking and are useless to the Chinese. The supply situation is terrible for the Chinese, and will become much worse once you start taking their resource centers. You can pump plenty of supply in by sea at Hankow, Canton, and Wuchang, to feed the southern advance; the northern route has rail lines part way to help.

That's my 2 cents. This should be an interesting AAR to follow.

[AW1Steve]

At the risk of telling tales out of school , let me warn you Thorsen, Mike is VERY good at land warfare.

My feeling as Japan (and obviously I'm not as expericed as a lot of others who've played Japan) is seize only land that you need. Cause once you have it , you need to supply,garrison ,patrol and hold it. Keep your interior lines of communications as short as possible, then fortify the heck out of them. Just think of all the forces you'll spend in Oz that could have been used in "fortress Marianas". Grabbing land to deny it to your enemy is wastefull and expensive.

You want him to waste HIS resources garrisoning places that he thinks you are going to try and take. So instead of taking Oz,India or expanding the China war , why not RAID , and let him think that you are coming? He has the resources and forces to waste (but not early on) and you DON'T. [:)]