Sino-Japanese War

[Vanman]

Greetings all. Wondering what others thoughts are regarding the Chinese theatre. A few questions/observations.

Do you tend to play with the Chinese Attack Weakness and/or Extra Chinese cities?

As the Japanese player, do you buy Armor early in the game?

The Communist/Nationalist situation at the start in quite a dilemma. The former have higher quality units, but they are few. The latter have more numerous yet weaker units, and are defending the factory lines which embodies the Chinese economy. If that falls too promptly China is toast. I tend to throw two units in Chengchow and put the Cavalry in a position to threaten the Japanese rear and cut off supply. I also tend to fight for Changsha, but not at the expense of a relatively orderly retreat into the mountains. Obviously doing what I can to support China with Allied aid is also imperative, as is making sure Kunming does not fail via a quick move by the Japanese from Hanoi.

I have never played China late into the game, furthest I have ever been is 1943. Do the Chinese ever get rolling?

The British defense of the Indian Ocean area is really difficult, since the Med and Atlantic must take priority. Its bad enough without China falling. Despite that, I remember reading some posts that its somewhat irrelevant to the Pacific Theatre whether China falls or not. Is that the case? Thanks.

[Angeldust2]

Do you tend to play with the Chinese Attack Weakness and/or Extra Chinese cities?
Yes, both. The unified hex scale of MWIF is a huge improvement over WIFFE. The Chines extra cities are needed to make it work. Likewise Chinese Attack Weakness is needed for a balanced game.

As the Japanese player, do you buy Armor early in the game?
Depends on situation, but even a MECH division can be useful.

I have never played China late into the game, furthest I have ever been is 1943. Do the Chinese ever get rolling?
If they are not crushed by the Japanese by 1942, they will overwhelm them in the end game. And enveloping/infiltrating Japanese occupied territory is the bigger threat than massive assaults.

Despite that, I remember reading some posts that its somewhat irrelevant to the Pacific Theatre whether China falls or not. Is that the case?
Yes, I would agree. China is only a side show for Japan, but consumes a high proportion of assets.

[Courtenay]

I use extra cities, but not attack weakness. I very rarely make Chinese attacks until late in the game; when I do, it usually ends badly.

As Japan, I always build a MECH XX on the first turn of the game. The ability to make blitz attacks in open terrain is very handy. If one does make a blitz attack, make sure you have a MOT XX available to take the loss. You can split an INF to get the MOT XX.

One thing I have found is that when I concentrate on the Nationalists as the Japanese the Chinese usually wind up holding pretty well. The Communists have a much harder time defending against an early attack. For quite a while I thought that a Nationalist defense of Chengchow was enough to give the Communists enough time, but I eventually realized that the Japanese can attack down the Taiyuan railway. The Communists can hold, but they have to work at it, and some bad die rolls by the Japanese really help.