AW1Steve
Posts: 14507
Joined: 3/10/2007
From: Mordor Illlinois
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ORIGINAL: Chickenboy
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ORIGINAL: AW1Steve
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ORIGINAL: 1EyedJacks
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ORIGINAL: undercovergeek
is it still valid for AE?
starting my first ever, ever Allied game on PBEM
Oh my! I think your best bet is to pull a Sir Robin across the board for the first 6 months... 
Ttfn,
Mike
P.S. - Sorry - I just couldn't resist. 
Actually, you are half right. Do Sir Robin for up to six months.You only do it as long as you need to. My theory is that the combined allied forces on day one could almost stop the Japanese. (In fact it's with the ships existing on Dec 7th that you'll use to stop and then turn the Japanese--new stuff doesn't show till mid 1943.).The problem is that the disposition of allied forces could not be worse if the allied forces planned to place their forces in the worst possible locations.
The purpose of Sir Robin is to save and consolidate as much of your forces as possible. All of your forces are scattered for optimum Colonial use. Sir Robin is to consolidate them for War time use. The strategy is classic, trading land and lesser value units for time and to allow valuable units to escape,assemble,refit and train. You really are redeploying, rather than "running away" , it just doesn't seem so (to you or your opponents).
If you do Sir Robin well, you could concievably begin a limited counter offensive as early as Feb. 1942. Please note the emphasis on "limited".Raids,traps and minor advances into weak spots are the key here. Probing for weaknesses and exploiting underdefended territories are the key missions here. While the Japanese are appearing to be a vast tsunami of forces, they are generally quite thinly spread. If you can intelligently and covertly concentrate your forces, you can drive right through his weak spots. He can't be strong every where. If you can exploit break throughs in vulnerable areas, he's forced to rob forces from planned missions and reinforce where you threaten him. That slows up his overall advance, smashes his timetable and in general annoys him. And gives you, not him the "initiative". In other words , the ability to choose where and how to fight.
Sir Robin is not a strategy. It's a means to a strategy. And used properly, it's a very effective tool in the allied tool box.
I mostly agree. I'm sure Steve will share his recent gambits with you by PM too. These may be of use.
If the Allies concentrate their forces in February 1942 for a local counteroffensive, this may be effective, provided that they catch their opponents at a disadvantage. If the IJ identify an early Allied counteroffensive and properly respond, the result could be a catastrophic loss for the Allies in February 1942. It's all in how the IJ respond to a recognized buildup.
It's risky as hell, but with a nice payoff if you are successful as Allies.
If, as IJ, you choose to respond to these countermeasures, it is likely to throw off your timetable, assuming that you have one. A wise Japanese player will keep a strategic reserve available for responding to such Allied gambits...if he's not spread too thin.
He's always spread too thin. Japan lacks the cruiser strength, and even more important the destroyer strength to hold a third of what is grabbed , even by the most conservative players. The problem with a reserve, or even the KB , is that it has to be somplace.It can't magically appear everywhere at once, in suffcient force to meet every threat. By enacting Sir Robin, you are in fact saying "I can't defend this empire....NOW IT's YOUR problem". So the Japanese are forced to defend and be offensive at the same time.And they just can't do it.Unless they get lucky, and you get stupid,you can avoid fighting on his terms and force him to fight on yours. And the allies shorten their defensive and supply lines while they build ,refit, re-train and grow stronger.
The more real estate Japan grabs, the weaker he becomes. And in his mind, the more real estate he grabs,the longer he can hold out. But then again, he's short on resources. He can't dig in and fortify everywhere.So the better he does early in the war , the faster he'll fold later.
The trick as the allies is to stay out of their way,always probe for weak spots,patrol and Recon the heck out of them, then strike.And be far away before the smoke clears and the KB comes screaming in like a P.O.'ed avenging angel. If he catches you, he WILL hurt you, badly.Don't let him catch you. Ever.
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WitP's 'what to do as the Allies in the first 6 months' - 
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