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Southeast Asia

Here you can see Japan's set up to fight (or not) in southeast Asia.

The Siamese militia force is set up in the hinterlands. If the Allies cross the mountains to bypass it, it will rail down to Bangkok to hold the city (for however long such a weak unit can do so).

The Japanese expedition to Burma has been deemed a success, for as long as it lasted, and it is no longer a defensible position, given the shortage of land units to form and hold a line, and the shortage of convoys to keep a supply line open.

As such, the Burma force is now poised to cross back over into Siam, to be shipped by sea to defend other overseas objectives...

South China Sea

... such as Singapore, Saigon, or Batavia, currently all bereft of defence.

Due to the Allies' own dearth of sealift, Japan suspects that the Commonwealth forces in India will be landlocked until after the invasion of France.

That being the case, Japan has some time before an invasion threat appears from that direction.

More pressing is the possibility of an American invasion.

For that reason, Japan has covered the minor ports that the US could use to bring naval forces in strength to the South China Sea.

Reinforcing the objective hexes here is a top priority.

The Bismarck Sea

Due to the crippling lack of convoy points and sea lift, Japan has reluctantly concluded that it cannot afford to fight to maintain a supply chain to Rabaul and Truk.

All Japan is prepared to do in this region is attempt, if opportunity allows, to reinforce both hexes in order to slow down the Allied advance (although not so strongly so as to convince the Americans to completely bypass them, as they did historically - Japan would rather watch Truk fall to invasion than, say, Manila).

Japan will remain open to opportunistic attempts to ravage the US Navy if it sails into the Bismarck Sea.

The Philippines

Japan has strongly defended the Philippines. Japan aims to deter for as long as possible an American invasion. If the US secures Manila, it would surely sever Japan's connection with its oil resources and allow the Allies unconstrained access into the core of the Empire.

Japan is also set up, should the opportunity arise and the sealift be available, to make a counter-invasion somewhere the Allies invade.

I have included a flyout in this screen capture, showing some of the units in Manila.

The West Pacific

Japan has some long-range aircraft deployed here. They are in place to fly out to the Marianas sea area in order to provide air cover for the Japanese fleet if it sails out to do battle with the Americans.

China Sea & East Japan

The heart of Japanese power is its naval control of the China Sea.

Japan's fleet is set up in port for the most part; however the typical convoy defence is presently set up, minus the unit which will be deployed in the 4 box as soon as Japan can move some fleet out.

Defence of Japan

As for Japan itself, the Japanese defence is incomplete, to say the least.

Fortunately, the US forces are still remote enough that a full-scale invasion is unlikely, and the distraction of the invasion of France and its reinforcement will surely delay Allied action against Japan proper.

Unfortunately, Japanese land units are sorely needed elsewhere as well, and Japanese production is not what it could be - if Japan is able to get any production at all!

It's a real pity that Japan's 1 inf designated for Burma is its single biggest guy. A white print but otherwise unremarkable inf can hold on in the mountains and cut off the Burma road for quite some time.


Oh well, I guess you'll be seeing a big lift to China. Hope you can hold.

Given the bad weather, even a low-factor regular-quality infantry corps could have probably just sat on the oil hex for the whole summer...

But yes, the best infantry unit Japan has is too good to spend in a peripheral theatre like Burma. It needs to be sitting on an objective hex or doing something more useful, somewhere.

Imperial Japanese Navy Dispositions

The table-top game WiF has an option called "Task Forces" where you can store ships in off-map "task force" boxes; this was introduced with the "Ships in Flames" kit in order to save space on the map from all the counters. Instead of a whole pile of naval unit counters in port: a task force marker.

MWiF doesn't have that problem, so it doesn't have task force markers.

The only downside is that instead of having evocative and historical names for fleets to use as a shorthand, to show fleet dispositions I just have to go from port to port to port.

Tokyo

Tokyo contains the "fast response" fleet. This force is meant to respond to any sighting of the US Navy where there is an opportunity to engage in combat at odds favouring the Japanese. Because the US fleet carriers and CVP are bigger and better, the US Navy sailing somewhere at full strength with lots of supporting land-based air is not such an opportunity.

Of course, eventually the USN will be showing up in sea zones where the Japanese fleet must give battle, favourable circumstances or no, or else perish in a hail of port attacks or languish in port for lack of oil. That's when kamikaze-style air attacks become contemplated...

Canton

The fleet in Canton is meant to respond to light raiding by the Allied navies into the Japanese core regions, or respond to submarine incursions.

As you can see, it is also home to some convoys held in reserve. These convoys, and their counterparts elsewhere, must be deployed to sea in order to ship resources from overseas back to Japan.

Fukuoka

Fukuoka is the home of half of Japan's convoy reserve and the light carriers that have yet to be supplied with planes.

Fukuoka is planned to become the final redoubt of the Japanese Navy by the final stages of the game.

Manila

The Manila squadron (with several light cruisers not shown) is the "picket" squadron, meant to slow down the Allied naval advance.

Its job is to support Japanese land-based air pickets in forward positions to destroy light Allied presence, denying the Allies presence in a sea area, and hopefully forcing the US to commit its carrier force in strength.

This force is not meant to give battle unless the Japanese main carrier force joins up with it; its main purpose is to run out, smack down a cruiser or two, then run away. Until the oil runs out, that is.

ORIGINAL: composer99

Manila

The Manila squadron (with several light cruisers not shown) is the "picket" squadron, meant to slow down the Allied naval advance.

Its job is to support Japanese land-based air pickets in forward positions to destroy light Allied presence, denying the Allies presence in a sea area, and hopefully forcing the US to commit its carrier force in strength.

This force is not meant to give battle unless the Japanese main carrier force joins up with it; its main purpose is to run out, smack down a cruiser or two, then run away. Until the oil runs out, that is.

If your monitor has more room available vertically, this is one of the rare forms where resizing the form vertically, will also expand the list of units shown vertically. It can be expanded as much vertically as you have room available, so doubling the number of visible units in a column is quite possible on a 1920 by 1024 monitor.

I am lusting after a 30" monitor that's 2560 by 1600. A couple of those puppies are on my shopping list once I get the game released - talk about motivation!

Japanese Production, Force Pools, & Production Strategy

Here is Japan's production for July-August 1945.

Some carriers set to arrive on the map, pilots, and other planes. Also, two precious convoys.

All well and good, but nowhere near enough.

Japanese production in September-October 1944.

Japanese production in November-December 1944.

This turn is the last turn Japan has any reinforcements scheduled from the start of the game. Any more reinforcements come from Japan's own production.

Japan's Construction Pool

If Japan spent the build points on the CVL, it would arrive in May-June 1945, just in time to be so much target practice for the US Navy, or to be another light carrier to be short a plane if the USN hasn't achieved supremacy by then.

Better to spend the build points on land-based air, in my estimation.

As for the submarine, it could be useful to ambush sealift, so Japan might spare the build point to finish it. That will largely depend on the availability of build points.

Japan's Repair Pool

Japan has two short range cruisers and a long-range cruiser here. It will cost Japan 1 build point per cruiser to repair them and two turns of time for them to arrive on the map.

The cruisers might be worth the investment if the Allies still haven't breached the core by the time they arrive: the slow ones can defend the convoys from submarines, or picket distant sea areas, while the fast cruiser can join a fleet.

Of course, repairing these ships will probably be low on the priority list while there are still land and air units (and convoys!) to build.

Japan's Reserve Pool

The land units shown are city-based volunteers, which would become available if Japan conquers Calcutta (very unlikely at this point) or Vladivostok (still a possibility, if a remote one).

The naval units shown are naval replacement units. There are special rules regarding these which due to time limits (time limits for me personally) I won't get into.

The air units are available as long as Japan has spare pilots, which you can see in the lower right panel is not the case. Japan needs to build pilots (or use the ones coming as reinforcements) to put these air units on the map.