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IMO Panama is important... if you can hold it (we cannot). With the Canal secured, the US Navy would be restricted to the East Coast, which means that we could roam free in the Pacific and we would know with 100% certainty that the US Navy could only come to the Pacific through the southern part of South America. We could establish a blockade and it would take a long time for the US AI to regain momentum, if they would be able to achieve this at all.

Out of interest, how would this be (in game) different to just putting a fleet outside of Panama?
 
Subs could still roam free and the enemy's travelling route would be much shorter. They would need just one victory in order to break the blockade and they would have a much easier time recovering from defeats and returning damaged ships to ports. If the enemy is beaten and Panama is controlled by us, then there is simply no safe place to hide. Moreover, unless he conquers the Canal, moving assets between the West and East Coasts will still be difficult.
 
Would it be possible to reach the Channel from other ports? Christmas Island or the such? How much more range do our ships need? Is there any way for us to capture the Channel besides attacking Mexico or feigning an invasion of the US (which would hopefully give us a port within range even if we should have to retreat from US soil shortly afterwards)?
 
Nope. The distance from the Christmas Island to Panama is more than 4000 km in-game and the only country that can be reached from there is Mexico. BTW the game is very generous - RL distance is 8517 km.
 
FYI, since it isn't possible to reach the Canal from the US Pacific bases in reality, one thing that you could consider is the picture below from my abandoned "Germany invades the US AAR", which could be possible in the game. The image came from the article starting on page 15 of the March 2, 1942 issue of LIFE magazine: [url]http://books.google.com/books?id=K04EAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false[/URL]. Note that the images in the original source contain swastikas. The entire magazine is pretty interesting, especially when you realize that it was written only 4 months after the US entered the war.

plan3.jpg
 
btw, there was a Japanese plan to attack and block the Panama Channel at some point. It was rather 'ambitious' (look for I-400 subs) and never attempted but the USA did take efforts to protect the Channel.

While we are talking about morale effects as well, the US can't hit Japan with nukes or with a Doolittle-style raid either. They lack the means to threaten the Japanese home isles and that won't change very soon. If they keep sending their fleets piecemeal, it won't change ever.
 
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We can't reach Galapagos, either ;). RL distance between Galapagos and Honolulu is ~7771 km, so it isn't really that close :). I have to check whether it would be possible to attack Galapagos from one of the British or French controlled islands.

EDIT: Nope. It is not possible to reach Galapagos with TPs from any of the Pacific islands besides the small Portuguese one which cannot be reached from other islands, either. Anyway, I'm quite happy with it, because this is the best way to represent logistical impossibility of the potential invasion in HOI3.

IRL the Japanese didn't really have the capability to invade any country in the Americas and make long-term gains. Even if they could pull it off, they would lack the logistical capability to maintain large formations there. Hell, there are many reasons why even an invasion of the Hawaiian Islands could be outside of their capabilities. Raids with submarines and aircraft are a different story, since they are much easier to conduct logistically-wise. They are also possible in-game, especially if the player invests in Underway Replenishment.

BTW wasn't this map drawn by the same person who created a "plan" for the German invasion of the USA? <rotfl>
 
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Is there any chance at all to reach the Panama Channel? Eg by island hopping? I would want to avoid invading Mexico, but on the other hand, I feel we need something to convince the US AI (and the narrator) that they're beaten.,
 
Not even to Galapagos Islands? Jeez, one might start to wonder how the people discovered the world back then... Next thing you know is the navy ordering sail powered aircraft carriers! :p
 
Not even Galapagos AFAIK... but seriously, don't you think that we have bigger problems than deliberating whether an invasion of Panama will become feasible in the distant future? We don't even know how our situation will look like in a year or so. Too many unknowns.
 
Baltasar - I find it rather pragmatic. WH40K universe is very deep, even if books are often shallow.

Cybvep - I see little reason in further delays, so I say yes.
 
Right now would be fine with me. Seriously, I think we've done everything so far... Yamamoto and myself agree on the naval plans and stuff...
 
It's much more complicated than that. It's pointless to hope for something that's unachievable, which can lead only to disappointment and lower the morale. It's better not to hope and act instead as hope is... well, hope - something that we wish to happen, not a hard fact we can relay on while making decisions determining our future. You can't just lose hope and stop fighting, although some individuals might do so, when you're surrounded with enemies who wish your demise. There is no reason to not fight back, even if this might be pointless. Perfect example are Germany, who fought literally to the very end.