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Im in Jan 42, Stock, grand campaign as soon as i capture my outer perimeter islands and even palambang and rangoon do i start the fort building for the eventual onslaught of the Allies or is there a 'start now recommended' date, or even a make sure its done by date?

thanks for any help

Have the outer perimiter ready by December 42 and the inner by June 43.

AI or PBEM?

Depends on how many engineers you have at those bases. I'd build no more than fort 3 to start with (making a bigger speedbump should the allies launch an attack) then get your port/airfield built to where you want them. Lastly finish the fort building.
Dates as previously mentioned.

The sooner the better, if you finish the outer perimiter early you can reassign your engineers to the rear and build stuff there..

I would start right away unless you are really short of supplies. Build the forts now.

A more important question maybe is how many of those outer bases do you build the airstrip on or occupy. There are several schools of thought on that subject, and no correct answer. Do you make Tarawa a super fort and ignore the rest of the chain, or build all the nearby airfields and have a small garrison on each? There are pros/cons to both approaches. I'd love to know what the "right" answer is.

You have to make decisions like that in the Solomons, NG, Carolines, Marshalls, Gilberts....basically all over the place.

I forgot to mention, never build an AF larger than a 4. Your Betties only need a 4 and there is no need to make the base B-17/24 ready for the Allies as soon as they take it from you.

ORIGINAL: RUPD3658

I forgot to mention, never build an AF larger than a 4. Your Betties only need a 4 and there is no need to make the base B-17/24 ready for the Allies as soon as they take it from you.

ONly depends on whether a stacking limit for a/c exists though .....

No, it doesn't. The Allied heavies need the larger airfields just to get a good commitment. Never build an AF above 4 as Japs.

ORIGINAL: Mynok


No, it doesn't. The Allied heavies need the larger airfields just to get a good commitment. Never build an AF above 4 as Japs.

You'll need it larger if you want proper amounts of aircraft flying tho.

Some players have House Rules about max # of aircraft at a base, size x 50. In that case, you may want to build it up. That would be the only reason though.

It doesn't take long anyway for the Allies to build a base in 1944 if they really want to, so I don't think it makes a big difference.

PS, and back to my original point, I think a more important question is how many bases you build.

The Napoleonic maxim, "He who defends everything defends nothing", doesn't exactly apply to defending the Empire. If you stack 2 divisions on Tarawa, and nothing on the rest of the chain, guess what I would do:

1. Bomb Tarawa with 4Es until the airstrip is closed
2. Move in my CV's
3. Land unopposed with many engineers at all neighboring islands
4. Build those islands up
5. Bomb Tarawa from those new bases (also trains my pilots)
6. Move on to the next chain

I hate spreading forces out, but I find myself doing that as Japan, if only to make the Allies land and fight for the next base. Only when you get to the inner perimeter, where defending everything is a must anyway, do the choices get easier.

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

The Napoleonic maxim, "He who defends everything defends nothing"...

That would be Frederick the Great, not Napoleon.

Even with a 50x stacking, you don't want to put more than 200 planes at most bases anyways as Allied heavies will trash them. Better to be spread out over several bases that have engineers in each. If the Allies send small raids to each, your fighter can deal with them. If they hammer one base at a time, your engineers can usually get the first one open before the focused attack cycles back to it.

I don't build many bases over 4, but there are a couple.

ORIGINAL: String

ORIGINAL: Mynok


No, it doesn't. The Allied heavies need the larger airfields just to get a good commitment. Never build an AF above 4 as Japs.

You'll need it larger if you want proper amounts of aircraft flying tho.

thanks for all replies - as usual top advice