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In my games as Guangxi Clique, Persia always falls to the allies almost instantly, and mainland Japan becomes infested with US forces as early as 1942... ...the numbers of British troops that somehow arrive to East Asia and flank me from the south are also staggering.

Feels bad man. Really need to lure them yanks to Spain somehow.

Luckily for me, since the US is already pushing hard to break out via Spain, there are less troops around for me to face than there might be. Just as well since the ones I do find are more than enough (and I mean the ones that aren't just Theatre or Army Group HQs).

So the British arent the only ones still stuck in their ways, Officer Duels

I think the Dutch might have been affected by a bug of some kind that left them more helpless on Sumatra than they might have wanted. Northeast of Oosthaven is a one-province island that looks to have maybe five divisions of Dutch Infantry on it. As this island has no port, I don't know how or why they got there. I am sure they are wondering the same thing!

You crack me up! I loved the Oompa Looma songs. :)

Forward for the Clique!

Thanks! My mind goes off on odd tangents sometimes. I'm a little bummed that I haven't accomplished anything of significance yet, but maybe I will have better luck after I make some moves into Java and can threaten Australia.
 
You're definitely inspiring me to try the country out. I fired them up for a few months of play over the weekend before attempting New Zealand (also interesting and fun but slow developing).
 
[size=+1]1941, second half – Rest & Refit[/size]

Here’s somewhat of an overview of Asia.

Ch07_01_MapAsia.jpg

I’ve abandoned Burma and most of Tibet. I placed objectives in Nepal and Bhutan to try and encourage the Japanese and their puppets to come there and help me out with overcoming the tenacious defense.

”We are Tenacious D” – Jack Black

We had some early successes here but Britain is in a position to turn the tide, and will do so if the Japanese don’t revert to beefing up Burma. Some of the men I pulled out of the area have been sent into invade Sumatra, the rest I am saving for the follow-on invasion of Java. The Japanese have taken the Philippines. It may have been a mistake to let them get it, as the lands I have been getting are very IC-poor, so my conquests haven’t really returned any dividends yet for the blood and treasure I have expended making them.

My conquest of Sumatra looks a bit splotchy since the island has bad enough infrastructure that I cannot simply move from province to province grabbing territory. I do have all the ports, though. In the west, the Persians have taken huge swathes of northern India, but these lands are worthless and Allied troops are knocking at the gates of Tehran. My anticipation is that the British will reclaim all of India and Burma very soon, followed by making Persia a puppet.

”There are no strings on me” - Pinocchio

In the west, the Axis powers have overloaded Spain with more divisions than it can supply, and as a consequence, the vastly inferior numbers of Allied troops keep slowly expanding their ring of operations out from Gibraltar. The Bulgarians have taken northern Greece but are stymied at the gates of the Peloponnese. I can certainly feel their pain on that score.

Ch07_02_SpainMap.jpg

On the home front, I am redirecting a lot of my ICs to upgrades as I am once again way behind in getting new equipment out to my men. As they are now veterans, I think they deserve better. When I am done with this, I will go back to trying to improve my infrastructure from the capital to my main port, since I have severe supply issues the more islands I branch out to. I am also starting to run deficits in resource production- my only good trading partner is the Soviet Union, but despite our high relations, they won’t make any new deals with me. I assume this is because my threat may be too high for them. None of the Axis powers have any surpluses they are willing to trade away (or even any surpluses they are not willing to trade away).

June, July, and August: Nothing much happens except I am foolish enough to attack in Nepal, and I get rebuffed as usual.

12 September: I get attacked in Oosthaven.

Ch07_03_BattleOosthaven.jpg

I can’t figure out where these attacking troops are coming from, but then I discover that Oosthaven and Selat have a land connection! I can’t get from Gibraltar to Africa, so why these areas connect, I don’t know. If I had known this fact six months earlier, I could have been in Jakarta (Batavia on the map) by now. My men there are out of supply since once again I didn’t notice that I had no Convoys assigned to that route.

Ch07_04_SundaStrait.jpg

At least this explains the mystery of where the Dutch retreated to after I took the city to begin with! Now I have to get rid of all these Stoottroepen again. Hmmm, I wonder if the Indonesians know you can just walk from Sumatra to Java!

Dutchlanding1.jpg


Dutchlanding2.jpg

24 October: My second warship comes off the assembly line.

”Two! Ah, ah, ah” – Count von Count

Ch07_05_NewWarship.jpg

My convoys to Vladivostok are taking a lot of hits. I wish I knew where these raiders were based from, as the Japanese own all the nearby islands.

Ch07_06_ConvoysAttacked.jpg

I notice my Interceptor is gone, I had it guarding Lhasa and I assume I forgot to set its stance to ‘Passive’.

8 November: Finland mobilizes. So far they are still unaligned.

24 November: The US invades Taiwan, and I lose the Taiwan Strait bonus.

Ch07_07_USinTaiwan.jpg


MarinesSaipan.jpg

26 November: Colombia joins the Allies.

29 November: My troops that were supposed to be going to Sumatra are now helping the Japanese retake Taiwan. Of course, I say “helping” when I really mean it’s just me doing it.

Ch07_08_RetakeTaiwan.jpg

29 December: After flooding the island with troops, I manage to retake Taiwan, despite some severe losses. Just in the nick of time too, as more US troops were arriving. The first corps I sent in was facing terrible odds just attacking the single US division there, I ended up needing three corps to knock them out.

”Momma said knock you out” – LL Cool J

Ch07_09_TaiwanWon.jpg

31 December: Persia is annexed by the United Kingdom. No big surprise there. I’m losing ground in the Himalayas since the Japanese insist on giving us huge overstacking penalties, allowing Allied counterattacks to rout half a million troops with a single division. They have also finally decided to give me some expeditionary forces.

Ch07_10_NepalFront.jpg

Hopefully, I can use these men to turn the tide, but you’ll have to tune in again to see.

” Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning” – Winston Churchill
 
Your quotes get funnier and funnier with each update. Hopeful with those expeditionary forces, you can spread the troops out a bit to get rid of those stacking penalties. Have the Japanese taken any pacific islands yet, or are they semi-focused on Burma/India?
 
I can't decide if things are grim or if you're barely holding a delicate balance. I think the latter, but with the US now active in your neck of the woods, things could get ugly.

Also, could it be subs raiding your convoys? Is there a US or other Allied island nearby?
 
Your quotes get funnier and funnier with each update.... ...Have the Japanese taken any pacific islands yet, or are they semi-focused on Burma/India?

Thanks! So far, the Philippines represent the main Japanese conquest in the Pacific, with the minor islands like Guam and Iwo Jima trading hands back and forth between them and the US. After they tried to invade Hainan, I haven't seen the British do anything besides hold India.
 
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I can't decide if things are grim or if you're barely holding a delicate balance. I think the latter, but with the US now active in your neck of the woods, things could get ugly.

Also, could it be subs raiding your convoys? Is there a US or other Allied island nearby?

There aren't any near me, but the US has some minor islands near Japan, so I might just be collateral damage from Allied patrols around the Home Islands. I'm considering making the raw materials techs a higher priority in my research so that I can wean myself from needing trade.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that I have no Escorts produced. But even if I did, I doubt they would help. In any game I've made them, Escort casualties have been just as high as Convoy losses with no perceptible drops in the rate I lose Convoys- making them functionally worthless. Especially when they are both twice the cost and twice the build time of the Convoys. Given that circumstance, it feels like it would be more cost-effective to devote all your ICs to Convoys instead of doing a Convoy/Escort split so you can be in a position where you never run out no matter how many you lose.
 
Dang, it's starting to look like the Reconquista in Spain there.
 
Dang, it's starting to look like the Reconquista in Spain there.

Yes. And notice that the UK only needs 9 divisions to spread out this pocket, while in some of the border provinces the Germans and Italians have stacks of divisions.
 
[size=+1]1942, Winter – Java Campaign[/size]

” Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of York” – William Shakespeare

So with winter, 1942 arriving, things are a bit glum for the Clique. The war in the west started with initial promise but quickly reached a stalemate. In the east, I don’t have enough naval power to conquer a lot of islands yet. In both cases, map quirks have proven to be very frustrating.

Up in the Himalayas, Japan finally gave me some expeditionary forces. So many in fact that it would appear they basically abandoned over half their army to my care. I would be thrilled right now if it wasn’t for the fact that all of these men are out of supply. As an added curiosity, most of these units are actually HQs. This will make this the first game I’ve ever received an HQ in this manner. If only the Clique could have had these men back at the start of 1940 when the strategic advantage was on our side…

”With a hundred such men, we could change the world” – Old Anarchist, Slackers

Speaking of HQs, I have a phenomenal amount of manpower (for a minor): 635. I’m almost tempted to start spamming HQs of my own just to get these guys into the field, since I haven’t been able to spare any ICs to make my own troops. I can imagine defending Taiwan or Lhasa with stacks of HQs…

”What is that?”
“My typewriter, sir”
“Leave it behind, you won’t need it” – Captain John Miller & Technician 5th Class Upham

I’m coming to a strategic crossroads… the US have been trading islands with Japan. This has been getting threatening enough to me that I decided I needed to help with retaking Taiwan and not waiting to see if Japan would do it. Now I have to decide if I should dilute my puny forces even further to either help garrison these islands or help Japan recapture more of them. In the short-term, I will likely focus on my fighting in Java and see if I feel ready to move on the Aussies.

The troops I’ve been granted are giving me a new dilemma. I had hoped that the Japanese and their puppets would hold the west line relatively stable so I could focus all my vast mental powers on my attacks on the Pacific islands. Now I will have to greatly slow down my gameplay so I can pay attention to what may or may not be happening in areas very far apart from each other. Life is so much simpler when your active front fits on one screen! With this bit of a rant over, the story continues…

6 January: Troops fresh from Taiwan make landings near Jakarta to begin my conquest of Java and relieve the men in Sumatra. I will leave behind at least one corps in Taiwan to defend the island. The Himalayas are now a mess with all the troops the Japanese have given me, it will take a while to sort that place out.

Ch08_01_JavaInvasion.jpg

I’m again getting confused with how I am supposed to understand the supply picture: I’m green on my supply counter on the top, but I have troops all over the place that are out of supply.

19 January: I’ve taken Jakarta- now to quickly sweep through Java while the Dutch are in disarray. I can’t help but notice the Dutch troops in Oosthaven have suddenly turned British.

Ch08_02_JakartaTaken.jpg

I also happen to notice the Americans have landed in Portuguese Timor with a special guest star.

Ch08_03_Eisenhower.jpg

The Japanese used to hold Guam, now they have not only lost Guam, but Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. I’m starting to get nervous, and I’m wondering if I need to start sending garrisons of my own to beef up the other islands the Japanese hold, but I won’t be able to supply them.

Ch08_04_PacificTheatre.jpg

I finally realize how the Dutch got stuck on that island- there are more strait connections that were non-obvious to me! They must be sitting there since they lost supply from Oosthaven. This is kind of not cool; it would be nice to have markings on the main map that show you these kinds of links so you don’t get surprised.

Ch08_05_DutchIslands.jpg

In my production queue, I see that another round of my Guilin – Haikou infrastructure link is almost done, so I move it up to the top of my queue. Building this up has been weird. Going from 30% to 40% had a reasonable completion time- I forget what it was, but it was 6 months or less. Then, the date to go from 40% to 50% jumped up to over a year to finish! Needless to say, that was pretty discouraging.

I also notice that I have another special guest star in my new ranks…

Ch08_06_TojoPic.jpg

22 January: My supply routes to Java are taking hits. Speaking of which, the Dutch defenders are fleeing before me.

Ch08_07_MovingThroughJava.jpg

”Kneel before Zod!” – General Zod

23 January: Panama joins the Allies. Dutch Spies are trying to lower my national unity, luckily my own are doing a better job of raising it. I’m up to 67%, despite the lost Convoys. Maybe I have a shot at hitting Heavy Industry this year.

30 January: I’m seeing US aircraft flying around all over, I have no idea where they go or where they land afterwards.

Ch08_08_USAir.jpg

6 February: The US drops in Paratroopers to reinforce the British garrison at Oosthaven. This happens here days before I launch my own attack to eliminate them. Now I have to work twice as hard to clean out that pocket. While I’m not too thrilled to see those guys there, I do think it is cool that the AI Roosevelt would do that. It’s also pretty sweet that it happened right in front of me.

Ch08_09_Paradrop.jpg


ParadropPic.jpg

8 February: The Japanese are getting dangerously close to being pushed out of Burma. I am trying to redirect some of the troops I was given back down to that front, but it will take them an age to get there and Rangoon will probably be lost by then.

Ch08_10_Rangoon.jpg

11 February: I totally abandon Singapore and the Malay Peninsula to send those men to retake Oosthaven. I just don’t have the troops to both attack and defend.

Ch08_11_LeavingSingapore.jpg

13 February: I attack Oosthaven, typically, the Allies just happen to send more troops there at the last moment before I can attack.

Ch08_12_AttackOosthaven.jpg

This is an incredible annoyance, since if I had known about that strait earlier I would have avoided all this when I first visited the area.

16 February: I send a warship out on Convoy Raiding duty- maybe I can get these guys out of supply. If I can’t, this attack looks like it won’t go well.

2 March: The US has given over those paratroops as an expeditionary force for the UK. The UK has also sent air reinforcements over here. Typically that means my advances are soon to be over. I have both my warships out looking for supply Convoys, and have only sunk one so far.

5 March: Make that two…

Ch08_13_ConvoyRaids.jpg

7 March: I now own all of Java, and am still trying to wear down Oosthaven. I have to hope that meddling with the resupply of the city has some sort of affect. My raiders might be far more effective if they just camped right outside of Oosthaven instead of sailing laps around Java.

Ch08_14_JavaLaps.jpg

8 March: Lhasa has been at -98% attack for the last three months. If only my men up here could get supply, I could help them out.

Ch08_15_LhasaBattle.jpg

”Bond, James Bond” – James Bond

12 March: I take Oosthaven for the second time. Now to decide if these troops should head for Borneo or Australia. I would love to start hitting the Aussies, but I think I may be better off going for Borneo to push back the Allied naval bases farther away. Now that I don’t need to patrol for enemy Convoys, I gather up all my warships to rejoin the main fleet. I will leave one corps to guard Java and Oosthaven while the rest of my troops in the area head for Borneo. I realize that I have to wait and schedule my invasion for the beginning of April, as I have no spare Convoys whatsoever, so I will not be able to extend supply to a new island. In the islands NE of Sumatra, I send some troops to finally clean out these Dutch soldiers that have been out of supply for months on end… time to eliminate them and avoid any kind of surprise.

”My favorite kind of surprise – mild!” – Ned Flanders

Ch08_16_AttackDutchTroops.jpg


Chinese_artillery_with_guns.jpg

29 March: Another one of my key pipeline provinces gets another level of infrastructure, and it is nine months (nine months!) before another level will be built up there.

Ch08_17_Infrastructure.jpg

30 March: I make some slider adjustments as neither diplomacy nor officer recruitment will be an issue for quite some time.

Ch08_18_Sliders.jpg

1 April: Another round of Convoys completes, so I now have enough to run supply to Borneo. The attack may now commence, but you’ll have to wait to see it.
 
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Yeah at first INF takes alot of time,thats why it is best built in big numbers so you could get alot of practical fast ;)

Hi!

Yes, in the future I would try to get started on building up that route as soon as I can in 1936, even though I would have to pretty much sacrifice building any military units whatsoever to do so. If they contribute to Construction practical, then it seems a better option than trying to start off build up naval bases or airfields.
 
Hi!

Yes, in the future I would try to get started on building up that route as soon as I can in 1936, even though I would have to pretty much sacrifice building any military units whatsoever to do so. If they contribute to Construction practical, then it seems a better option than trying to start off build up naval bases or airfields.

Yeah,well....There is no point in building bases if you cant supply them...Basic knowledge m8,it really is your fault here :D
 
Yeah,well....There is no point in building bases if you cant supply them...Basic knowledge m8,it really is your fault here :D

True, but even unsupplied bases will still help build me get some badly needed Construction practical. But building them is mainly a holdover from my Balkans strategy and doesn't take into account the uniqueness of China. Live (I hope) and learn!
 
Wasn't that typewriter line from "The Longest Day"?