Stupid Paratrooper Tricks

[Dolmon]

Anyone else tried to see what the Japanese paratroopers can be used for?

In one turn you can drop them on Andaman Island. This is only a minor annoyance.

In two turns you can drop them in India at Jamshedpur & Asansol.
While you cannot hold, just taking the city will halve its HI and damage the HI and resources.

While early in a game before a player can actually prevent it, it would be a cheesy tactic, at some point if there is an abandon city it is going to be fair game.

What have you tried & what is your opinion?

[Xargun]

I have used the japanese paratroopers a couple of times and got smashed each time.. My intell told me they were dropping into an unoccupied base... but they weren't... They are nice as in very portable, but not very good at fighting - well, at least not at the odds I keep sending them into..

Xargun

[strawbuk]

Chaps

1. Air assualt on awake defended targets always fail. Nealry all landings in ww2 are in (they hoped) empty drop zones then move/fight on to target eg Chindits, Arnhem. Crete - a success but ripped guts out of German airbourne forces, and seaboorne invasion actually decided

2. Support support support. Paras good for blocking routes etc but even if 1 above is done and they march on to target, they tend not be packing a lot of arty or tanks, and this makes for unhappy paras if not relieved/reinforced ie Arnhem, or Myitkina where US Army misused Chindits as assault troops not as distractors/raiders.

S

[Onime No Kyo]

Well, I'll argue that you can drop them ON targets. The concept was not to drop them free and clear, but just clear enough to be able to concentrate. If I recall Ridgeway's memoirs correctly, the Paras were deemed capable of operating up to a week completely surrounded. The key to the concept was being able to releive them, as you have mentioned.

What this Sons of Nippon Airborne Corps is good for I have yet to find out. I have a plan of trying of the landing in India ploy from another thread. So the idea is to take a city and use it as a staging area for a para drop in the vicinity of Karachi (if they'll make it that far). If anyone is interested I'll make sure to mention how that went.

[Culiacan Mexico]

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

Well, I'll argue that you can drop them ON targets. The concept was not to drop them free and clear, but just clear enough to be able to concentrate. If I recall Ridgeway's memoirs correctly, the Paras were deemed capable of operating up to a week completely surrounded. The key to the concept was being able to releive them, as you have mentioned.

What this Sons of Nippon Airborne Corps is good for I have yet to find out. I have a plan of trying of the landing in India ploy from another thread. So the idea is to take a city and use it as a staging area for a para drop in the vicinity of Karachi (if they'll make it that far). If anyone is interested I'll make sure to mention how that went.

I am interested.

[Cap Mandrake]

Historically, they siezed the Palembang oilfields with a small river-landing force. Of course, the defence was pretty inept.

[Dolmon]

I agree that once into the game its a free for all and if the Allies leave a base open it should be fair game and up to the player to determine if it is empty. The real question is during the first few turns of the game when your intelligence is rock solid(because you know where the units start), how long do you reasonably have to give them to make up for their starting position blunders?

Human players are adept at seeing it as a game and not fearing an invasion of the west coast. Therefore when the political points allow they will strip it of all the units that are allowed. I am sure the same is true to some degree for southern Australia. In most areas there are at least a base force to contend with, in India there are several cities with HI and resources that start the game empty.

[UncleBuck]

I know it does not really help you much but have you thought of using them to capture the Un-occupied islands that you want to make a small base on? It will give them big increases to experience but not cost you casualties. This may let them be more of a force later. Also they get the same preparation bonus as do other troops so maybe that would help as well. As for re-supply, if you Para drop them into a place can you re-supply them via airdrop as well? This was the tactic the Allies used all over the place, most notably the Marathon march the Marauders made in Burma, they were fully supplied by airdrop and enemy capture.

UB

[kaleun]

Not to mention Wingate's raid with the Chindits