[AAR] 1939 Japanese World Conquest

Early game diplomacy is pretty standard, lots of poorly written trash talk and players that are "wayyyy" better than their stats imply because they had accounts before that were level 90 etc. For some reason Xingjiang declares war on every country, few cared.

Coalitions begin to form. Of most immediate interest is the creation of a coalition dubbed "The Better Superpowers", consisting of the Soviet Union, China and the Netherlands. Some people try to recruit me, but notably Germany does not express interest. Manchuko, predictably, sought alliance but I countered with non-aggression. I don't like to be tied down to an ally that may be dead weight, so I attempt to stay unaligned in the early going (and potentially beyond if the solo seems in reach).

Sensing weakness in my childishly named foes, I declared war on China at 1:42 AM. Many early victories were scored:

China barely lifted a finger in their own defense and may not have moved a single unit. Victory after victory was scored until the Chinese capitol fell into Japanese hands at 7:34 on day 1.

Meanwhile I also declared war on their Soviet ally and began attacking Vladivostok. I had no intention of taking over the Soviet Union, I just wanted Vlad and Alexandrovsk. Additionally the Soviet Union is at a tech disadvantage and the Pacific is very far from their production centers, so I know if they are even a threat it will be days before that threat can reach me.

Once I felt things were suitably pacified in China and the navy was in position near Hong Kong I declared war on the UK, France and Portugal. The UK still had 6 ships in the waters near Hong Kong, probably what starts there. I engaged them with three fleets:

Main Battle Fleet - 5 Battleships, 5 Destroyers

Cruiser Fleet - 7 Cruisers, 3 Destroyers

Carrier Fleet - 3 Carriers, 3 Cruisers, 4 Destroyers

The remainder of the navy was Shelling Vlad and available to deter landings in the Sea of Japan. Needless to say the Royal Navy was massacred with little damage to the Japanese navy:

Once the Royal Navy was defeated in the region I also took Macau:

I saw French ships off the coast of Thailand so I declared war to allow me to engage targets of opportunity:

Why are everyone doing Japan HWW playthroughs?

TomtheBuilder wrote:

Why are everyone doing Japan HWW playthroughs?

Following the declaration of war, the UK sent a diplomatic mission instructing the emperor to get bent. Australia briefly declared war but thought better of it and switched to embargo. They began sending envoys seeking alliance, which again I was not interested in. I offered them non-aggression and, like Manchuko, they agreed; probably preferring to build up and strike when the time was right. That suited me just fine, but war would have been fine too.

Meanwhile in Europe, Germany betrayed a non-aggression pact they had negotiated with France. With that the war in Europe was on. France, UK and Poland were united against Germany and Italy. At this time Romania was also a member of the axis but was struggling with Hungary so would not be involved.

Day 2 began with a three way tie for first place and an interesting economic report:

Casualties reported on day 1:

I made an early error leaving my tactical bomber on patrol when scouting and inevitably lost the unit. This could have been a big setback, as I only had two Tactical Bombers, but it ended up not being significant. One infantry was shelled attempting a landing during the naval battle with the Royal Navy.

Overall a pretty successful first day, the empire's attention now turned to the Dutch Indies and British and French holdings in Southeast Asia.

Edited to protect victim's identities -SIR

DAY 2

The army shored up territory in central China and mopped up remaining Chinese forces with artillery on the way to Burma.

Importantly, the emperor elected to avoid pushing into northwest China. Pushing through central China would be difficult, the terrain is mountainous and would slow my advance. Going through the northern hills would require a war with Communist China that I was not prepared to execute. Furthermore, I was at war with Xingjiang and British India appeared to be pushing in that direction. That meant I would be pushing my force into two fighting forces and be dangerously exposed to Mongolia along their southern border.

The main force advanced rapidly into Burma, behind the armored cars. This importantly clears the way for the slower infantry and ordnance forces who are always marching towards the front at full speed. It has the side benefit of disguising my composition from the enemy who could relay that information to others.

The main battle fleet began pushing towards Singapore shelling any forces foolish enough to stand within battleship range of the coast. Many colonial dogs fell, in a glorious rain of destruction, before even catching sight of the imperial army. I began landings in cities across the Indies, now completely unopposed. British and French forces inland were surrounded and shelled into oblivion by Japanese artillery while the armored cars continued claiming territory at a rapid clip.

In Europe, France is withering under the combined German-Italian assault. Paris falls just before midnight. The casualties in Europe and in Asia are too much for the Allies and they will never recover from this early defeat. Though the players stay curiously semi-active throughout, ostensibly to get some gold at the end of the game.

Germany appears ascendant, few other players are making territorial gains. Tibet and India are fighting their small mountain neighbors and claim their capitols. Overall a lot of valuable territory was gained, enemies were killed and no units were lost. For the emperor, that's a perfect day.

Editorial

Taking a moment to reflect on what I've written so far. I realize I don't have enough or the correct screenshots to give a play-by-play of the battles. That leaves me mostly focusing on high level strategy and describing the events of the day as best I can recall them. This game will begin it's tenth day in ninety minutes and will wrap then or in twenty-four hours and I simply did not capture the fighting. I really didn't come up with the idea for this thread until around day 4 and I hadn't given much consideration to the format. The screenshots I did take will tell the story better but I feel the thread could be more informative if I could show how I defeated India, Tibet and Mongolia.

You, dear reader, will have to continue to suffer through my poor descriptions and THC-hazed recollections. I apologize in advance.

Technology

The 1939 scenario starts on technology day 7. Unfortunately I don't recall the exact starting technology levels, but my immediate priorities were upgrading infantry to level 4 (day 6 tech) and artillery to level 4 when it opened on day 2 (day 8 tech). Other early priorities included anti-tank level 3 and light tank to level 3. Pan-Asian have a bonus to regular artillery, infantry, light tank.

Production

The highest priority production (yes, before units) is industry. I aim to have industrial facilities building constantly in the four non-rare cities until they are maxed. I will usually upgrade rare materials (in this case Tokyo) to level 2 by day 3, but it's not a high priority early. The next priority is to get at least five production centers to level 3, I will try to parallel process this with unit production but leveling the structure takes precedence. Once the tech kicks in the production times will be much longer. In this case I went with tank plants in Beijing and Shanghai. I also built an ordnance foundry in Tsingtao and barracks in Sharamuren and Taiyuan. I chose this location in northern China because I would not have to ship units to the frontline, saving 9 hours to the travel time on and off a boat.

The Emperor knew he could achieve victory with Eurasia alone and was positioning himself accordingly. However, this was a bit of a gamble. Manchuko and Mongolia were in close proximity to his production centers. Manchuko, statistically speaking, seemed the greater threat but had agreed to non-aggression. Having played this game a few times, I knew that meant nothing, so I kept a close eye on this critical border. Nevertheless, the Emperor insisted we press forward with the construction projects and I kept a small force in northern China to slow down opportunistic neighbors until more significant forces could arrive. This would prove to be a fateful decision...

Editorial

I was about to launch into describing what happened on day 3 and I really think it is indicative of an issue with random public matches. By the end of this day I would be at war with every major land neighbor, except Manchuko who would fall to inactivity at the start of day 4. In addition, I was at war with the UK and France and I'm staring across the Pacific at a slumbering giant with a big navy. I should not win, period. I think I have a pretty good handle on the mechanics and I play very actively, but the size of forces currently at war with me was easily 4 or 5 to 1.

British India was out of position, they pushed north too far and left nothing behind to defend. That's an easy mistake to make. They tried to do something and I won't fault them for expanding.

However, China and Tibet stood there and got shelled to death. The French offered no resistance and while the UK did move some of her troops, her tactics were quite bumbling leading to many deaths with no damage sustained. Manchuko went inactive, Soviet Union went inactive, USA went inactive, Canada went inactive. The poor average level of play and so many people doing nothing makes the game much less fun.

That said I still enjoy the game in general and had fun playing this round, I just wish there was more incentive for people to stick with a round and play well instead of just moving on to the next round that they will stink up or do nothing in.

Day 3

The third day began with good news for the Emperor. 40 cities had fallen under imperial control and reputable sources were reporting technology equal to the best in the world, Germany.

By this time the imperial army had six L3 artillery in Burma shelling the last remnants of inland colonial resistance and armored forces were nearing the border with India. Rangoon fell, undefended, while Mandalay held out for only a few hours before succumbing to the ferocity of the artillery barrage.

Vladivostok and Alexandrovsk fell to naval shelling and were taken unopposed. Defensive lines were set up north and east of the city. Again the Emperor did not want to get bogged down taking worthless Siberian wastes, two infantry and later a third were all that stood before the red horde. But as it turned out, day three was quiet in the north. Some forces were sighted, and one infantry was killed by naval artillery before the Soviet Union appeared to give up the effort altogether. At this time it appeared the country was active in her defense.

In the south, the mighty imperial navy continued to slaughter any European that showed themselves whack-a-mole style and a few units were used to make unopposed landings claiming tremendously valuable Dutch cities.

Fresh forces, from production centers in China, were marshalling near the border with Communist China. The Central Chinese highlands were still in Chinese control, but with their armies standing idle and with nothing of value to be found there, the Emperor saw no value in wasting precious military resources to claim them; they would come in time. By day's end Lanzhou would belong to the empire. The Emperor insisted that a capitol must be taken each day to pacify rebels in the rapidly expanding empire.

Shocking the world, at 5:26 PM, the Emperor gave the order to invade British India. Armored divisions consisting of L3 light tanks and armored cars began pouring across the border at Dacca, threatening the vital city of Calcutta.

To be continued...

Nice job! I do have to say something. What the heck were you thinking when you attacked everyone at once? That was gutsy. Anyway, you played the game well. You’re also a moderate writer. Keep going!

BrutusTrump wrote:

Nice job! I do have to say something. What the heck were you thinking when you attacked everyone at once? That was gutsy. Anyway, you played the game well. You’re also a moderate writer. Keep going!

Thanks so much for the kudos. I've never written like this, I feel like it's all over the place at this point but I will persevere.

Day 3 - Continued

British India, however, would not just roll over and quit; there was some fight in this slumdog. Storming across the Indian border, the Emperor commanded only 5 armored cars and 5 light tanks, by this time all upgraded to level 3. Meager air support was available from carrier based aircraft anchored off the west coast of Siam. Admiral Shiryatsu, commanding the 3rd Navy, had two L3 fighters, an L2 tactical bomber and an assault bomber at his disposal. However, he had depleted his air power striking inland targets of necessity and defending from air attacks, they would be little help against a fresh air force. At this time all air force production nationwide was performed from a level two air factory in Tokyo. Air forces rolling off production lines in Tokyo were a long way from Calcutta and it would be some time before connecting airbases could be built in Burma and across the Chinese highlands.

The Emperor knew his forces were vulnerable, but gambled that India didn't have significant air forces and that furthermore his main force would be tied up in Xingjiang. He knew that many world leaders believe they must send every available troop to any war. The first sign of trouble was a lone tactical bomber appearing above the lone armored car streaking for Calcutta.

Immediately executing a contingency plan, the Emperor ordered three aircraft factories be produced across China and many airstrips were constructed. The design allowed for current interceptors and tactical bombers to reach the front, but would be unable to deliver assault bombers for some time. This was a significant investment of resources, but was necessary. Unit production priorities shifted to interceptors and anti-air.

On the ground, there was nothing standing before imperial treads, but the Emperor was cautious. He already had many enemies and feared he may have finally pushed his luck too far. The imperial army used this time to consolidate territory they had bypassed earlier. Claiming this rugged, unforgiving land was not what these warriors would have done, but they had been commanded to wait for support from the air force before pressing on. Soon the Japanese armored core, dubbed the "1st Avengers", would shock the world, but for now they lingered near Calcutta, under the protective gaze of Admiral Yamamoto's battleship fleet.

Though air assets were insufficient to stop Calcutta from falling into imperial hands, six more bombers showing up in a forward airbase at Ghazipur set alarm bells ringing at the repurposed feudal castle that now housed Imperial Army headquarters. The Avengers would now be called upon to race to Ghazipur and capture it at any cost. Brave samurai all, not a one refused the order. The engines fired and they set off not yet knowing the next few hours would be some of the of the most consequential of the war.

In Northern China forces crashed through the mountains to claim the four cities of northwest China, primarily shelling with an additional four artillery that had been produced in the north. These forces began moving south, as China was fully absorbed, to a vital province in southern China bordering Tibet. It has a name disgusting to Japanese ears but it allows access to most of central Tibet and, you guessed it, the Emperor wanted to invade there too.

Day 3 - Continued II

Captain Tanaka was asked to lead a single armored car division to Calcutta and continue south down the coast to link up with forces steaming for Hyderabad from the Indies. The division fell under immediate attack from the first Indian bomber squadron, patrolling above. Undeterred, he ordered the men to increase throttle and they raced on for honor and glory. The bombers had a hard time staying above the speedy Tanaka and many attacks failed to find him under their bay doors when the time came to make an attack run. Ultimately he would secure Calcutta, but the march and constant air attacks left his division depleted. Nevertheless, the Emperor ordered them to continue on as they seemed to have the attention of the Indian air force. Perhaps, he thought, they wouldn't see the dire threat now racing toward the air base where six bombers now refueled.

The remaining Avengers, nine divisions strong, set out for Ghazipur; the armored cars racing ahead of the light tanks. As they approached the air strip they could see unidentified Indian army forces heading to reinforce this vital strategic location. When the cars were nearing the strip it was clear they would reach the provincial center before the Indian reinforcement army, consisting of an infantry, a motorized infantry, a militia and a commando. Surprisingly, thirty minutes before the cars would reach the landing strip, the six tactical bomber squadron launched from the strip heading to patrol Captain Tanaka's besieged division.

By this time, Tanaka had reached Berhampur and was testing the limits of range for India's bomber force. Due certainly more to luck than skill, the avengers captured the strip at such a time that the single bomber squadron was able to return to Indore, but the six bomber squadron was just out of range and was forced to return to the waiting guns of four Avenger armored cars. Those guns massacred all six bombers and the reinforcement army that arrived much later due to the inclusion of militia in the division.

When the Emperor received news of this victory, he remarked, "That's it! We are the masters of all Asia". His many gambles had paid off and now his armored forces were unleashed upon India's core.

Editorial

Am I writing a story? Am I writing a tutorial? Am I writing jokes? Honestly should have decided on a theme and stuck with it.

At this point in the game I was feeling pretty good. However significant the loss of those bombers was, I knew India still had an army. I anticipated it would come south to meet my army and reclaim core territory.

In fact, I assumed I would have to fight a delay action in India until the northern army could link up with the armored forces by passing through Tibet and feared I would lose some of those vital armored forces, now depleted. At this point in the game I had lost four units and killed dozens. At this point the numerical advantage of my living foes was declining, particularly at the beginning of day 4 when the Soviets got botted. I find the AI very easy to exploit tactically, but they can still be challenging to deal with sometimes through sheer number and activity level. If that Soviet AI ever got it's act together it could have been a real bee in my bonnet, but of course it didn't.

I started taking better screenshots on day 4, though they're pretty much just an overview, that will give you a better idea of the units I had and what my economy looked like. Also, there's a boss battle at the end so stay tuned for that.

kool

Spite_Is_Right wrote:

Day 3

The third day began with good news for the Emperor. 40 cities had fallen under imperial control and reputable sources were reporting technology equal to the best in the world, Germany.

By this time the imperial army had six L3 artillery in Burma shelling the last remnants of inland colonial resistance and armored forces were nearing the border with India. Rangoon fell, undefended, while Mandalay held out for only a few hours before succumbing to the ferocity of the artillery barrage.

Vladivostok and Alexandrovsk fell to naval shelling and were taken unopposed. Defensive lines were set up north and east of the city. Again the Emperor did not want to get bogged down taking worthless Siberian wastes, two infantry and later a third were all that stood before the red horde. But as it turned out, day three was quiet in the north. Some forces were sighted, and one infantry was killed by naval artillery before the Soviet Union appeared to give up the effort altogether. At this time it appeared the country was active in her defense.

In the south, the mighty imperial navy continued to slaughter any European that showed themselves whack-a-mole style and a few units were used to make unopposed landings claiming tremendously valuable Dutch cities.

Fresh forces, from production centers in China, were marshalling near the border with Communist China. The Central Chinese highlands were still in Chinese control, but with their armies standing idle and with nothing of value to be found there, the Emperor saw no value in wasting precious military resources to claim them; they would come in time. By day's end Lanzhou would belong to the empire. The Emperor insisted that a capitol must be taken each day to pacify rebels in the rapidly expanding empire.

Shocking the world, at 5:26 PM, the Emperor gave the order to invade British India. Armored divisions consisting of L3 light tanks and armored cars began pouring across the border at Dacca, threatening the vital city of Calcutta.

To be continued...

Spite_Is_Right wrote:

TomtheBuilder wrote:

Why are everyone doing Japan HWW playthroughs?

Not really sure what HWW is. I just happened to be playing Japan.

RBoi200 wrote:

Spite_Is_Right wrote:

TomtheBuilder wrote:

Why are everyone doing Japan HWW playthroughs?

Not really sure what HWW is. I just happened to be playing Japan.

HWW is Historic World War.

Day 4

The Emperor rose earlier than usual, eagerly seeking news of the Avenger's progress. He took a moment to peruse the Herald, sipping tea among the blossoms of Kofu Castle.

No country could match the growth of his empire, but his army was still barely larger than his strongest rival, Germany. He also knew this included the weight of his mighty navy, which would be of little use against the Reich. Besides, Germany had a naval ally in Italy and Germany had boasted about the strength of their naval rearmament program early in the war. He also had numerous enemies in his backyard, jealously eying the territory he had so quickly amassed.

He knew caution to be the proper course, patience would surely win ultimate victory. The Emperor had become drunk with success and power. He began to believe, as his people did, that he was a divine; a descendant of gods, placed on earth to bring order to chaos.

Today, the Emperor's hubris would bring his empire to the brink of disaster.

Day 4 - Continued

While flipping through reports from the front, the Emperor received a message from Australia. They lauded the Emperor's military achievements and then said "I want to be Business partners". He was confused, they had already agreed to non-aggression and given each other right-of-way at the start of the war. What more could Australia need from the empire?

The Emperor made clear that he was not interested in forming a coalition with lowly Australia, if that's what they were implying. He was insulted, why would such a petty nation think themselves our peer? A reply came some time later asking only to trade oil. Eventually an agreement was worked out to sell ten thousand goods at seven per unit. The Emperor took this time to make clear to Australia that the Axis stood between him and global unity. He also instructed this lesser nation that he should seek conflict with the United States if he wished to expand his territory further.

He knew there was little hope of maintaining peace in the south Pacific indefinitely, but Germany was the greater threat and had to be eliminated. The Axis, at this time, had crushed France and appeared poised to invade Britain. Should they fall, there would be no one standing between Germany and total domination of Europe.