Those old gambits......still worth using?

[darken92]

Hi

Currently looking at upgrading the PC and will pull AE out to play. I was wondering what peoples opinion on how do able are some of the old gambits?

Landing at Mersing to cut of most of Malaya? How dangerous is this ploy now? Is it a high cost option for the Japanese but with high reward?

Capture of Northern Australia? These seems to mentioned a few times so seems to be a very do able option. I assume it is geared to building a buffer zone?

Bypassing the PI. Going more for Java / Malaya first and moping up the PI later?

Are there any other gambits people have found work or do not work? My own choice is to stay away from invasions of India and Hawaii as they sort of feel wrong.

[EUBanana]

ORIGINAL: darken92
Landing at Mersing to cut of most of Malaya? How dangerous is this ploy now? Is it a high cost option for the Japanese but with high reward?

Well, it worked on me [:'(]

Capture of Northern Australia? These seems to mentioned a few times so seems to be a very do able option. I assume it is geared to building a buffer zone?

Seems ripe for the picking. Also seems fairly useless though, an Allied attack up through here is not happening until the Darwin-Cairns sea route is open, which means control of Papua New Guinea.

[herwin]

ORIGINAL: darken92

Hi

Currently looking at upgrading the PC and will pull AE out to play. I was wondering what peoples opinion on how do able are some of the old gambits?

Landing at Mersing to cut of most of Malaya? How dangerous is this ploy now? Is it a high cost option for the Japanese but with high reward?

Capture of Northern Australia? These seems to mentioned a few times so seems to be a very do able option. I assume it is geared to building a buffer zone?

Bypassing the PI. Going more for Java / Malaya first and moping up the PI later?

Are there any other gambits people have found work or do not work? My own choice is to stay away from invasions of India and Hawaii as they sort of feel wrong.

HISTORY:

The Mersing Gambit takes advantage of the inability of the Allied player to react prior to the beginning of the game. Historically, forces headed in that direction would have resulted in LCUs redeploying to the area and surface and air assets at Singapore showing up to meet the invasion convoys. Enemy air superiority grows as you approach their air bases.

What value is Northern Australia to Japan? There were four or five motorised army corps in Australia including three armoured divisions in various states of undress. Japan didn't have the motorised assets to keep her forces in supply. There were no railways in the north--Japanese divisions would have been limited to operating within a hundred miles or so of small to middling ports. A landing at Perth was possible, but would have functioned more to establish a large self-sustaining prison camp than anything else.

Attacking the PI was a no-brainer given that the USN was planning to relieve it via the Central Pacific route and that air assets based in Luzon would have made all convoy routings to the southern resource area more than a little iffy.

[koontz]

ORIGINAL: herwin

What value is Northern Australia to Japan?

That base is a pontential "jap killer" Read Qball vs cuttlefish aars and u get
the point.

[herwin]

ORIGINAL: koontz

ORIGINAL: herwin

What value is Northern Australia to Japan?

That base is a pontential "jap killer" Read Qball vs cuttlefish aars and u get
the point.

Yes, it's malarial, and has to be supplied via a long sloc.

[crsutton]

All are pretty much standard fare by now. It is nice to see some players trying out other options as of late.

[topeverest]

Mersing obviously can be quite successful against an unprepared allied opponent, be it initiated on turn 2 or turn 20. A seasoned allied opponent probably can extract enough incremental losses and slow the Empire down enough that you gain little in terms of time at a large incremental cost. That said, outcomes seem to vary wildly. If POW and Repulse are still lurking, it gets very interesting against an allied oponent willing to expense those and other naval assets. Allied players can hide their air forces in surrounding bases until needed, especially if the gambit is expected.

Anhyway, high potential reward with high potential loss.

[herwin]

ORIGINAL: topeverest

Mersing obviously can be quite successful against an unprepared allied opponent, be it initiated on turn 2 or turn 20. A seasoned allied opponent probably can extract enough incremental losses and slow the Empire down enough that you gain little in terms of time at a large incremental cost. That said, outcomes seem to vary wildly. If POW and Repulse are still lurking, it gets very interesting against an allied oponent willing to expense those and other naval assets. Allied players can hide their air forces in surrounding bases until needed, especially if the gambit is expected.

Anhyway, high potential reward with high potential loss.

Historically, you would have to eliminate British surprise. It's very probable the surface and air forces at Singapore would have intervened during the first day under air cover.