Thank you for the latest instalment. You provide an excellent explanation of the process and keep the narrative interesting. I generally find China to be a backwater in my WIF games so it is good to see the action front and centre here. Looking forward to the next episode.
China is not the most dynamic of theaters, for a number of reasons. The Chinese Nationalists, with their attack weakness penalty (which is not currently in effect in this game), are rarely a threat to the Japanese if they can maintain a decent garrison. The Pacific hex scale makes movement much slower than on the European maps, especially with the lack of mechanized forces on either side. By the time a standard WiF campaign begins (Sep'39) the Japanese have grabbed most of the easily captured resources and red factories, so there isn't a huge incentive for them to go all out in China at that point. The Limited War limitations on the Japanese also contribute towards making China a bit of a backwater, too. One of the nice things about a combined WiF/DoD game is that China can take a more prominent role. The war usually begins well before any European conflict (often in 1937), which means it gets the spotlight shone on it much more so in WiF stand alone games. There are a number of resources and a couple of red factories that are within relatively easy reach of the Japanese, and those are resources that the Japanese could definitely use. It will be interesting to see if the Japanese can continue driving deeper into China without taking their eye off the bigger picture of a potential war with the Western Democracies. There are many more objective cities to the south and west of China, but to have a reasonable chance of taking and holding them, the Japanese will need a strong navy. But spending BP on ships and CVP's directly undermines their continental efforts in China. It's a real challenge for Japanese players, and makes for a fun and interesting experience.
By the way, did Communists get to use the Chinese Land impulse limits, or should they have been restricted by the Russian/Soviet Combined impulse? (And in that case even more so when the Communists pass and don't get any impulse at all?)
Why not flip the 1-5 unit as Japan? Also, do you have to chose which stack to move, cant you move one unit per stack, taking into account the stacking limit?
Couple of reasons. 1. Potential loss for follow-up attacks this turn. 2. Don't want to flip advancing units if possible to give the Chinese a bonus on a counter-attack, even though unlikely in this situation. You can pick and choose advancing units from all units involved in the attack, I suspect in this case he wanted to clear Port Arthur for future reinforcements.
@@kentnilsson465 Stacking considerations too. You can't have 3 corps in a single hex, but a division can stack with 2 corps. Then in a hypothetical counterattack that wipes out the defenders, you save 1 corp because the most casualties in the combat table is 2 units.
Pretty much what Roc has said. I do want to emphasize that advance after combat does NOT have to be by stack. You can pick and choose which units from the various attacking hexes you want to advance into the defender's hex, respecting stacking limits. The only time stacking matters when advancing after combat is when you want a MOT to advance a second hex on a "B" result from the Blitz CRT. In that case, the MOT must be stacked with an ARM or MECH in order to gain the extra hex advancement capability. Other than that, you are free to mix and match when advancing after combat.
@@thetabletopsedge You flipped 4 units + the HQ (for support) right? But HQ support just means that you flip the HQ face down after advance-after-combat regardless of result. So it could have been one of the units flipped face down as a result of the combat result. Leaving 4 units face up.
Wouldn't it be a simpler houserule for oil to always pay by unit, but let it max out at the "pay for all" level? (So Japan pays say 0.1 oil per moved unit that uses oil, but once 0.7 has been paid, any further moves are free?) (And by simpler I mean 'less need to preplot all your moves once before deciding whether to pay per unit or not, and then perform said moves"
I don't see any problem with doing that, but I don't see the current rule as being too burdensome. Generally, the first thing I will consider when looking at what I want to do with a MP in the current impulse is figure out whether I will be moving more than 1 oil dependent unit. This is usually a pretty quick determination. If I'm not going to move more than 1 unit, then I won't pay any oil. The next consideration is if I'm going to move enough oil dependent units to make paying the impulse cost more cost-effective than paying on a unit by unit basis. This takes a little more time to determine, but frequently I have a good idea whether or not this will be the case. For example, if I know I am planning on moving a large naval TF (or several naval TF's), then the decision is made without any thought. I don't think it is a bad thing to think through your intended moves at the start of your impulse. It helps keep your actions focused and coherent. A little planning can go a long way in WiF. It's also why I am a big proponent of build schedules. These can take a lot of thought to put together, and are always subject to revision based on what actually happens on map, but they can be critical for making sure you have what you need when you need it. And I like the planning aspect of larger games like WiF, so that's a bonus.
How can Japan have 6? That makes no sense? I have them at 1 and I believe your calculations should have them at 2 or 0 = one more or one less than me, I cant remember which.
Technically I think a foreign power could also support a civil war party by using build points to advance build one of their units? (Not that I think that would be particularly economic even if possible?)
I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would prohibit doing so. It's an alternative I haven't fully considered. If I find something that does prohibit it in the rules, I'll let you know. Otherwise, I think it is primarily the economic argument that would prevent most MP's from doing so.
I hope to have the May/Jun '38 episode uploaded later this evening. I'm currently in the process of editing it. I really want to get it finished tonight, because I will be unable to work on anything for the next week and I don't want to go another week without getting an episode uploaded. Stay tuned!
The Nationalists will get stronger if they wait, but wasn't it also that they would become less likely to actually join anyone if they wait. (I think you implied that a long civil war would end up with the nation back in the middle of the neutral zone?) That means waiting would make them less useful for the Italians - and it's the Italians who actually control their actions, not Franco?
You are correct. The Nationalists' self interest of waiting in order to get stronger before launching an offensive is in direct contradiction to the Italians' desire to see the civil war end ASAP. While Mussolini constantly urges Franco to launch attacks, Franco's reply is that while he desires a quick end to the war, he wants to make sure the correct side wins it.
Nothing strikes fear in the Chinese more than Japanese ground strikers.;-) Also I think that Marine that moved to that mountain hex NW of Formosa should have flipped. Normally 4 movement pts Pacific map and +1 for all lake/sea hexside movement.
Things are getting heated now! It's very exciting :) It's a little tragic (and perhaps odd) that Italy's successful diplomacy with Austria can just be undone with Germany playing that Anschluss option. It seems to me in the historical context that an Austria oriented towards Italy should prevent such a thing from being that easy. But that's just an opinion, of course. Incidentally I think in the Japanese offensive on Tientsin (Tianjin) you forgot to give them the +1 to the roll from the HQ support, so they should have gotten 10, not 9. Not sure if that made any different to the outcome, if I'm right.
I think you are correct about the +1 to the Japanese attack. I don't think it would have made any difference, however, given how low the odds were. But good catch!
Once again thanks for making and posting this video. Great explanation and first class production. Looking forward to the next installment.
awesome as usual!
Thank you for the latest instalment. You provide an excellent explanation of the process and keep the narrative interesting. I generally find China to be a backwater in my WIF games so it is good to see the action front and centre here. Looking forward to the next episode.
China is not the most dynamic of theaters, for a number of reasons. The Chinese Nationalists, with their attack weakness penalty (which is not currently in effect in this game), are rarely a threat to the Japanese if they can maintain a decent garrison. The Pacific hex scale makes movement much slower than on the European maps, especially with the lack of mechanized forces on either side. By the time a standard WiF campaign begins (Sep'39) the Japanese have grabbed most of the easily captured resources and red factories, so there isn't a huge incentive for them to go all out in China at that point. The Limited War limitations on the Japanese also contribute towards making China a bit of a backwater, too.
One of the nice things about a combined WiF/DoD game is that China can take a more prominent role. The war usually begins well before any European conflict (often in 1937), which means it gets the spotlight shone on it much more so in WiF stand alone games. There are a number of resources and a couple of red factories that are within relatively easy reach of the Japanese, and those are resources that the Japanese could definitely use.
It will be interesting to see if the Japanese can continue driving deeper into China without taking their eye off the bigger picture of a potential war with the Western Democracies. There are many more objective cities to the south and west of China, but to have a reasonable chance of taking and holding them, the Japanese will need a strong navy. But spending BP on ships and CVP's directly undermines their continental efforts in China. It's a real challenge for Japanese players, and makes for a fun and interesting experience.
It's all kicking off!! Fantastic content.
When the Boss says it's gonna happen this turn, it's gonna happen this turn. Or else.
Nice video and I hope that next will be released sooner than later :)
That will depend on my work schedule over the next week.
By the way, did Communists get to use the Chinese Land impulse limits, or should they have been restricted by the Russian/Soviet Combined impulse? (And in that case even more so when the Communists pass and don't get any impulse at all?)
I have to ask. Have you added HQ offensive support to Japanese attack?
I did commit Umezu to offensive HQ support, but I believe I forgot to add the +1.
@@thetabletopsedge Yup you definitly did. Would it change anything?
Why not flip the 1-5 unit as Japan? Also, do you have to chose which stack to move, cant you move one unit per stack, taking into account the stacking limit?
Couple of reasons. 1. Potential loss for follow-up attacks this turn. 2. Don't want to flip advancing units if possible to give the Chinese a bonus on a counter-attack, even though unlikely in this situation. You can pick and choose advancing units from all units involved in the attack, I suspect in this case he wanted to clear Port Arthur for future reinforcements.
@@rocingersol1875 I understand No1, however it risks lowering the odds
@@kentnilsson465 Stacking considerations too. You can't have 3 corps in a single hex, but a division can stack with 2 corps. Then in a hypothetical counterattack that wipes out the defenders, you save 1 corp because the most casualties in the combat table is 2 units.
Pretty much what Roc has said. I do want to emphasize that advance after combat does NOT have to be by stack. You can pick and choose which units from the various attacking hexes you want to advance into the defender's hex, respecting stacking limits. The only time stacking matters when advancing after combat is when you want a MOT to advance a second hex on a "B" result from the Blitz CRT. In that case, the MOT must be stacked with an ARM or MECH in order to gain the extra hex advancement capability. Other than that, you are free to mix and match when advancing after combat.
@@thetabletopsedge You flipped 4 units + the HQ (for support) right?
But HQ support just means that you flip the HQ face down after advance-after-combat regardless of result. So it could have been one of the units flipped face down as a result of the combat result. Leaving 4 units face up.
Wouldn't it be a simpler houserule for oil to always pay by unit, but let it max out at the "pay for all" level? (So Japan pays say 0.1 oil per moved unit that uses oil, but once 0.7 has been paid, any further moves are free?)
(And by simpler I mean 'less need to preplot all your moves once before deciding whether to pay per unit or not, and then perform said moves"
I don't see any problem with doing that, but I don't see the current rule as being too burdensome. Generally, the first thing I will consider when looking at what I want to do with a MP in the current impulse is figure out whether I will be moving more than 1 oil dependent unit. This is usually a pretty quick determination. If I'm not going to move more than 1 unit, then I won't pay any oil. The next consideration is if I'm going to move enough oil dependent units to make paying the impulse cost more cost-effective than paying on a unit by unit basis. This takes a little more time to determine, but frequently I have a good idea whether or not this will be the case. For example, if I know I am planning on moving a large naval TF (or several naval TF's), then the decision is made without any thought.
I don't think it is a bad thing to think through your intended moves at the start of your impulse. It helps keep your actions focused and coherent. A little planning can go a long way in WiF. It's also why I am a big proponent of build schedules. These can take a lot of thought to put together, and are always subject to revision based on what actually happens on map, but they can be critical for making sure you have what you need when you need it. And I like the planning aspect of larger games like WiF, so that's a bonus.
How can Japan have 6? That makes no sense? I have them at 1 and I believe your calculations should have them at 2 or 0 = one more or one less than me, I cant remember which.
When will we be honoured with a new episode maestro ?
I am hoping to get something uploaded this coming weekend.
@@thetabletopsedge we are waiting then
Technically I think a foreign power could also support a civil war party by using build points to advance build one of their units? (Not that I think that would be particularly economic even if possible?)
I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would prohibit doing so. It's an alternative I haven't fully considered. If I find something that does prohibit it in the rules, I'll let you know. Otherwise, I think it is primarily the economic argument that would prevent most MP's from doing so.
Will you add a new video this week? It's been three weeks already
I hope to have the May/Jun '38 episode uploaded later this evening. I'm currently in the process of editing it. I really want to get it finished tonight, because I will be unable to work on anything for the next week and I don't want to go another week without getting an episode uploaded. Stay tuned!
@@thetabletopsedge then I wish you luck and motivation
The Nationalists will get stronger if they wait, but wasn't it also that they would become less likely to actually join anyone if they wait. (I think you implied that a long civil war would end up with the nation back in the middle of the neutral zone?) That means waiting would make them less useful for the Italians - and it's the Italians who actually control their actions, not Franco?
You are correct. The Nationalists' self interest of waiting in order to get stronger before launching an offensive is in direct contradiction to the Italians' desire to see the civil war end ASAP. While Mussolini constantly urges Franco to launch attacks, Franco's reply is that while he desires a quick end to the war, he wants to make sure the correct side wins it.
Nothing strikes fear in the Chinese more than Japanese ground strikers.;-) Also I think that Marine that moved to that mountain hex NW of Formosa should have flipped. Normally 4 movement pts Pacific map and +1 for all lake/sea hexside movement.
Good catch. +1 MP for crossing the straits will flip him.
Things are getting heated now! It's very exciting :) It's a little tragic (and perhaps odd) that Italy's successful diplomacy with Austria can just be undone with Germany playing that Anschluss option. It seems to me in the historical context that an Austria oriented towards Italy should prevent such a thing from being that easy. But that's just an opinion, of course.
Incidentally I think in the Japanese offensive on Tientsin (Tianjin) you forgot to give them the +1 to the roll from the HQ support, so they should have gotten 10, not 9. Not sure if that made any different to the outcome, if I'm right.
I think you are correct about the +1 to the Japanese attack. I don't think it would have made any difference, however, given how low the odds were. But good catch!