Ok, like all the rest of you I've dominated the ai as the US and Germany and SU. I decided I needed a challenge, so naturally I chose Nationalist China.
Well, frankly, I got my ass whooped against the Japanese ai. It shot me back into the world of HOI reality.
It used steamroll tactics and one small amphib landing against me. I did make a mistake and tried to play the ai straight up by developing technologies, building infantry and cavalry, and defending Shanghai and Nanking. I also suffered heavily from the retreat bug where my retreating militia units were beaten to the point by the Infantry ai and simply disappeared because of low org.
Consequently, I realised that the historical mass militia strategy is the only way to go with the Chinese. I suspect this would stuff the Japanese cold if you could get around 100 by July 1937 (I only had about 67 assorted divisions).
Historically the Chinese theatre of war was a very complex one based on logistics. It was a case of too much rugged territory and not enough Japanese troops to occupy it. Not only that, but a complex interweaving of Kuamintang (Nationalist), Communist and Japanese forces took place. It was not unlike the Vietnam war. Japanese forces administered the village, communists and Nationaists retreated to the jungles and mountains.
After occupying the important areas, the Japanese gave up on the idea of occupying the whole country. The mountains and Chinese population were too vast. In fact, they actually started up an in-depth trade relationship with the corrupt Kuamintang.
What's more interesting is I started up a second game using the mass produce militia strategy. I was all ready to duke it out - outnumbered the Japanese 100 divisions to 70 in July 1937 - and the damn Japanese never declared war on me. What gives? I think the ai is getting eerily smarter. Not only that, but the same game ai-Germany has decided not to accept the Anschluss event. It is all making for some eerie, unexpected dove-like experience where I'm powerless to do anything anything with a massive pile-of-doe militia army...bah!
Well, frankly, I got my ass whooped against the Japanese ai. It shot me back into the world of HOI reality.
It used steamroll tactics and one small amphib landing against me. I did make a mistake and tried to play the ai straight up by developing technologies, building infantry and cavalry, and defending Shanghai and Nanking. I also suffered heavily from the retreat bug where my retreating militia units were beaten to the point by the Infantry ai and simply disappeared because of low org.
Consequently, I realised that the historical mass militia strategy is the only way to go with the Chinese. I suspect this would stuff the Japanese cold if you could get around 100 by July 1937 (I only had about 67 assorted divisions).
Historically the Chinese theatre of war was a very complex one based on logistics. It was a case of too much rugged territory and not enough Japanese troops to occupy it. Not only that, but a complex interweaving of Kuamintang (Nationalist), Communist and Japanese forces took place. It was not unlike the Vietnam war. Japanese forces administered the village, communists and Nationaists retreated to the jungles and mountains.
After occupying the important areas, the Japanese gave up on the idea of occupying the whole country. The mountains and Chinese population were too vast. In fact, they actually started up an in-depth trade relationship with the corrupt Kuamintang.
What's more interesting is I started up a second game using the mass produce militia strategy. I was all ready to duke it out - outnumbered the Japanese 100 divisions to 70 in July 1937 - and the damn Japanese never declared war on me. What gives? I think the ai is getting eerily smarter. Not only that, but the same game ai-Germany has decided not to accept the Anschluss event. It is all making for some eerie, unexpected dove-like experience where I'm powerless to do anything anything with a massive pile-of-doe militia army...bah!
