I just finished a 1936 scenario as Australia, with Aggressive AI, on the "Hard" difficulty setting. Here is my AAR:
I spent 1936-39 upgrading my industry and researching naval and especially air technologies. Australia has a limited amount of industry at the start of the scenario, so I couldn't invest anything in military production. My grand plan was to exploit any Japanese declaration of war by swiftly seizing ungarrisoned Japanese holdings in the south and southwest Pacific, then to launch a strategic bombing campaign against Japan itself, and then (perhaps with a bit of help from the Yanks) to invade and conquer Japan.
The main action in the first 5 years was in Europe. By 1939 Germany had annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia, and Japan was mired in a seemingly endless war with Nationalist China. On 30 August 1939, Germany declared war on Poland, and on 16 November 1939, Poland fell. The USSR and Germany entered into the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, dividing the former Poland between them. The USSR also gradually seized the Baltics through diplomatic efforts.
Immediately after conquering Poland, Germany turned to the Low Countries, attacking on 22 November 1939 and conquering all of them by early 1940. On 10 January 1940 the USA declared war against Germany; Japan and Italy remained neutral. But Germany's offensive ground to a halt when it reached the French border. Dug in and fortified, the French fought tenaciously, and the war devolved into a replay of World War I. German forces would be hung up here for the next two years. France was aided by expeditionary forces from Britain, and, interestingly, New Zealand. Yes, brave Kiwis fought alongside the French in northeast France!
Franco's Spain attacked France in the south and made some impressive initial gains, advancing well north of the Pyrenees close to Bordeaux. But the French responded swiftly, and by mid-1940 the Spanish had been forced back. By the end of 1940, French armies had crossed the Pyrenees and marched to Barcelona and the outskirts of Madrid. Meanwhile, the USA invaded northern Germany, but the Germans eventually destroyed this invasion force.
In March 1941, France annexed Spain! France also controlled half of Africa and had expanded from Indochina into China, battling the Japanese in massive engagements near Hong Kong. For a time it looked like France would conquer the world, but it remained bogged down against Germany, and Japan mounted a huge counteroffensive, driving the French out of China and then out of Indochina altogether. Japan had by now conquered almost all of Nationalist China, and it began turning its attention to the southwest Pacific, which of course concerned me. In January 1942, Japan (still not allied with Germany) declared war against the UK and Commonwealth (including my Aussies), the Phillipines, and the USA. On the same day, the USSR declared war on Germany.
I had finally begun building military units by this time, having researched basic dive bombers, strategic bombers, various fighters, transports, and most (but not all) the requisites for aircraft carriers. (Australia has a *lot* to research!) I put infantry on Admiralty Island, in New Guinea, and on Yamen (I hope I'm spelling that right). The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was by now disrupting my convoys to New Guinea and Yamen, but a torpedo bomber or two helped deter them, as did the US Navy (USN). Undeterred, Japan quickly conquered the Phillipines and a fair part of the Dutch East Indies. In November 1942, Japan took Guam and Wake Island, where the USA put up little or no resistance. The USN remained active in the Pacific, but I never got any help from US ground or air forces.
Meanwhile, the Soviets pushed slowly into Poland, reaching the German border by early 1943. Belgian and French units liberated Belgium around the same time. Italy, still neutral, had by now conquered Albania, Greece, and most of Yugoslavia. The USA had no ground or air units on the Continent, or even much in the UK.
Of course, my attention was more focused on the war in the Pacific. Japan now held almost all of China and Korea; all of the Phillipines; the westernmost Aleutians; Wake, Guam, and the Marshall Islands; and some of the Dutch East Indies. I expected Japan to finish off the Dutch, but the IJN surprised me, instead attacking New Zealand holdings in the South Pacific. The IJN continued to bypass my lonely base in Yamen, now fortified, garrisoned with infantry and a torpedo bomber. The highlight of the IJN's campaign against New Zealand's holdings was its amphibious assault against NZ's Karajalein Island, just east of Yamen. The Kiwis had established a decent-sized garrison there, and a massive land battle ensued. After a long, bloody struggle, the Rising Sun was hoisted above the island in the spring of 1943.
Well, the time was more than ripe for me to strike, and indeed there were some ungarrisoned Japanese holdings north of New Guinea. But my navy was just too weak to undertake any serious offensive operations. I had hoped my land-based air would be sufficient to support transport ops, but the range of my naval and torpedo bombers was too short, my lone fighter unit was useless, and -- most important -- I still had not finished research on the aircraft carrier. I realized, far too late, that the carrier required me to research a time-consuming Doctrine; as you know, it takes a full year to research such a doctrine! Moreover, I wasted valuable time researching infantry and even armor techs that I didn't need. This was my single biggest mistake: not developing a CV (carrier). I had intended to; I just blew it. My few naval sorties were quickly dashed by the IJN, whose only serious opposition was the USN -- which, unfortunately, wasn't coordinating with me.
So, instead of taking the fight to the enemy, I ended up playing defense. The IJN continued to bypass my stronghold at Yamen, opting instead to cut its supply by taking my holdings in New Guinea. I was impressed with this decision by the AI. I had hoped my fortified infantry in Admiralty Island would hold out for a time, but it was quickly overwhelmed by superior Japanese marines (historically, the Special Naval Landing Forces). Once the IJN had its beachhead, it was only a matter of time before other holdings in New Guinea fell: Lae went quickly. Yamen was still alive, but once Port Moresby fell, Yamen's supply would be cut, and it would be gone too. So I decided to make Port Moresby my last stand. This amused me, since Port Morseby was where the Japanese offensive in the southwest Pacific fell short historically.
I am proud to say that I held Port Moresby. Unfortunately, I can't claim any credit for this feat. Instead, give the credit to Stalin, whose troops took Berlin in early 1943, and who annexed Germany on 20 May 1943. The game ended with a victory for the Comintern on that date.
In sum, I played Australia rather poorly -- and the AI played Japan rather well. I was impressed that Japan took China, the Phillipines, Vietnam, half of the Dutch East Indies, Wake, Guam, Marshall, Kwajadein, and most of New Guinea. That at least resembles the historical outcome. Me, I should've focused my tech more narrowly on precisely what I needed -- naval and air power, perhaps Marines if feasible. The IJN was spread rather thin, so even a passable navy might have been enough to support island-hopping. Of course, my resources limited even my ability to create infantry, so even if I could've given my troops a ride, they might still have lost. (It sure would help if President Roosevelt showed some interest in the Pacific theater.)
I'd be curious to hear whether anyone else has thoughts on how to play Australia. Thanks for reading!
I spent 1936-39 upgrading my industry and researching naval and especially air technologies. Australia has a limited amount of industry at the start of the scenario, so I couldn't invest anything in military production. My grand plan was to exploit any Japanese declaration of war by swiftly seizing ungarrisoned Japanese holdings in the south and southwest Pacific, then to launch a strategic bombing campaign against Japan itself, and then (perhaps with a bit of help from the Yanks) to invade and conquer Japan.
The main action in the first 5 years was in Europe. By 1939 Germany had annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia, and Japan was mired in a seemingly endless war with Nationalist China. On 30 August 1939, Germany declared war on Poland, and on 16 November 1939, Poland fell. The USSR and Germany entered into the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, dividing the former Poland between them. The USSR also gradually seized the Baltics through diplomatic efforts.
Immediately after conquering Poland, Germany turned to the Low Countries, attacking on 22 November 1939 and conquering all of them by early 1940. On 10 January 1940 the USA declared war against Germany; Japan and Italy remained neutral. But Germany's offensive ground to a halt when it reached the French border. Dug in and fortified, the French fought tenaciously, and the war devolved into a replay of World War I. German forces would be hung up here for the next two years. France was aided by expeditionary forces from Britain, and, interestingly, New Zealand. Yes, brave Kiwis fought alongside the French in northeast France!
Franco's Spain attacked France in the south and made some impressive initial gains, advancing well north of the Pyrenees close to Bordeaux. But the French responded swiftly, and by mid-1940 the Spanish had been forced back. By the end of 1940, French armies had crossed the Pyrenees and marched to Barcelona and the outskirts of Madrid. Meanwhile, the USA invaded northern Germany, but the Germans eventually destroyed this invasion force.
In March 1941, France annexed Spain! France also controlled half of Africa and had expanded from Indochina into China, battling the Japanese in massive engagements near Hong Kong. For a time it looked like France would conquer the world, but it remained bogged down against Germany, and Japan mounted a huge counteroffensive, driving the French out of China and then out of Indochina altogether. Japan had by now conquered almost all of Nationalist China, and it began turning its attention to the southwest Pacific, which of course concerned me. In January 1942, Japan (still not allied with Germany) declared war against the UK and Commonwealth (including my Aussies), the Phillipines, and the USA. On the same day, the USSR declared war on Germany.
I had finally begun building military units by this time, having researched basic dive bombers, strategic bombers, various fighters, transports, and most (but not all) the requisites for aircraft carriers. (Australia has a *lot* to research!) I put infantry on Admiralty Island, in New Guinea, and on Yamen (I hope I'm spelling that right). The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was by now disrupting my convoys to New Guinea and Yamen, but a torpedo bomber or two helped deter them, as did the US Navy (USN). Undeterred, Japan quickly conquered the Phillipines and a fair part of the Dutch East Indies. In November 1942, Japan took Guam and Wake Island, where the USA put up little or no resistance. The USN remained active in the Pacific, but I never got any help from US ground or air forces.
Meanwhile, the Soviets pushed slowly into Poland, reaching the German border by early 1943. Belgian and French units liberated Belgium around the same time. Italy, still neutral, had by now conquered Albania, Greece, and most of Yugoslavia. The USA had no ground or air units on the Continent, or even much in the UK.
Of course, my attention was more focused on the war in the Pacific. Japan now held almost all of China and Korea; all of the Phillipines; the westernmost Aleutians; Wake, Guam, and the Marshall Islands; and some of the Dutch East Indies. I expected Japan to finish off the Dutch, but the IJN surprised me, instead attacking New Zealand holdings in the South Pacific. The IJN continued to bypass my lonely base in Yamen, now fortified, garrisoned with infantry and a torpedo bomber. The highlight of the IJN's campaign against New Zealand's holdings was its amphibious assault against NZ's Karajalein Island, just east of Yamen. The Kiwis had established a decent-sized garrison there, and a massive land battle ensued. After a long, bloody struggle, the Rising Sun was hoisted above the island in the spring of 1943.
Well, the time was more than ripe for me to strike, and indeed there were some ungarrisoned Japanese holdings north of New Guinea. But my navy was just too weak to undertake any serious offensive operations. I had hoped my land-based air would be sufficient to support transport ops, but the range of my naval and torpedo bombers was too short, my lone fighter unit was useless, and -- most important -- I still had not finished research on the aircraft carrier. I realized, far too late, that the carrier required me to research a time-consuming Doctrine; as you know, it takes a full year to research such a doctrine! Moreover, I wasted valuable time researching infantry and even armor techs that I didn't need. This was my single biggest mistake: not developing a CV (carrier). I had intended to; I just blew it. My few naval sorties were quickly dashed by the IJN, whose only serious opposition was the USN -- which, unfortunately, wasn't coordinating with me.
So, instead of taking the fight to the enemy, I ended up playing defense. The IJN continued to bypass my stronghold at Yamen, opting instead to cut its supply by taking my holdings in New Guinea. I was impressed with this decision by the AI. I had hoped my fortified infantry in Admiralty Island would hold out for a time, but it was quickly overwhelmed by superior Japanese marines (historically, the Special Naval Landing Forces). Once the IJN had its beachhead, it was only a matter of time before other holdings in New Guinea fell: Lae went quickly. Yamen was still alive, but once Port Moresby fell, Yamen's supply would be cut, and it would be gone too. So I decided to make Port Moresby my last stand. This amused me, since Port Morseby was where the Japanese offensive in the southwest Pacific fell short historically.
I am proud to say that I held Port Moresby. Unfortunately, I can't claim any credit for this feat. Instead, give the credit to Stalin, whose troops took Berlin in early 1943, and who annexed Germany on 20 May 1943. The game ended with a victory for the Comintern on that date.
In sum, I played Australia rather poorly -- and the AI played Japan rather well. I was impressed that Japan took China, the Phillipines, Vietnam, half of the Dutch East Indies, Wake, Guam, Marshall, Kwajadein, and most of New Guinea. That at least resembles the historical outcome. Me, I should've focused my tech more narrowly on precisely what I needed -- naval and air power, perhaps Marines if feasible. The IJN was spread rather thin, so even a passable navy might have been enough to support island-hopping. Of course, my resources limited even my ability to create infantry, so even if I could've given my troops a ride, they might still have lost. (It sure would help if President Roosevelt showed some interest in the Pacific theater.)
I'd be curious to hear whether anyone else has thoughts on how to play Australia. Thanks for reading!