Creative Carrier Tactics:
How to Use Carriers to Make Progress of War
Editor's Note: Most of the tactics in this article are no longer allowed in v2.0 of the EOTS rules. Specifically, naval units are not able to block supply by their mere presence in a hex. The tactics presented in this article appear to be the primary reason why the supply rules were streamlined in v2.0. While these tactics are no longer viable, the principles discussed in this article still apply in a strategic sense and readers may get a better appreciation for why the rules changed from the out of the box rule set (v1.0) to v2.0.
In Empire of the Sun, units activated for an Offensive are in supply for its duration. By contrast, to react or project Air ZOIs, Reaction units must be in supply at the time they are activated or their AZOIs assessed. Understanding these limitations on reacting units can be important for the Japanese player in the opening turns, when the maximum gain must be gotten out of each card, and for the Allies in the mid-game, when making Progress of War sometimes must be made yet Allied assets appear inadequate for the task. Although Empire of the Sum is largely a game of attrition, sometimes a particular objective must be taken (and, depending on the situation, sometimes without the possibility of taking crippling losses from successful reaction). In such situations, it can be critical to neutralize reacting units by placing them out of supply.
One important way the Offensive player can minimize reaction opportunities by placing opposing units out of supply, and thereby maximize the chances of taking key objectives at critical junctures in the game, is to take advantage of two key rules that concern how units trace supply. First, units cannot trace supply through “enemy occupied” hexes, which Mark Herman has clarified means a hex that contains an enemy unit and no friendly units. Second, units cannot trace supply through hexes in unneutralized enemy Air ZOIs.
The combined effect of these rules is to make aircraft carrier units extremely powerful tools for placing enemy units out of supply, thereby preventing their participation in reaction or projection of Air ZOIs over critical locations. What follows are some examples of the employment of carriers to paralyze reacting units and seize key objectives.
Basic Examples
Situation: It is Turn 4 and the Allies need two more hexes to make progress of war. Japan controls the NEI and Phillipines. The Allied player observes that, in the Philippines, Japan has air units in 2911 and Davao, and the reduced 14th Army in Manila with Kongo 2. Leyte is vacant and inviting (see Picture 1).
Step 1: Retaking an Underguarded Leyte
The Allied problem: How to take Leyte without triggering special reaction from Manila? The Allies have but a 2 OC card and 1 ASP to spare for the operation.
The solution: Enter CVL Hermes, which is stacked in Darwin with the US Marine 8-8 M brigade (see Picture 2). The Allied player notices that if the AZOI of the 3d Air in Davao can be eliminated (not negated by an Allied AZOI, but removed entirely), the a landing in Leyte can proceed without triggering special reaction.
Hermes is weak (mere 2 attack factors), but the Allied player notes that placing Hermes in 3016 blocks the only supply route into Davao -- by sea -- which will place Japan’s 3d Air out of supply, eliminate the AZOI 3d Air otherwise exerts over Davao, and permit the Marines to land in the next activation.
The key insight is that Japan cannot trace supply through a hex that is solely enemy-occupied, and Hermes in 3016 blocks any supply trace into Davao, which -- except 3016 -- is surrounded by land hexesides that (i) do not lead to a port or (ii) contain unplayable ocean, over which supply cannot be traced.
Note that the Allied player can perform this maneuver without throwing away Hermes. The CVL can legally be placed in 3016 without attacking Davao, because it is in range of an amphibious invasion (the landing at Leyte). In PBM, the Allies could park Hermes in Leyte to keep the Marine Brigade in supply or send her back to the safety of Darwin.
Step 2: The Makassar Maneuver
The Allied player elects to send Hermes back to Darwin because she has another mission, one that will take the second hex needed to make Progress of War. Japan has an air unit in Makassar, designed to trigger special reaction to possible Allied landings in Kendari and/or Keopang. The Allies intend to take Kendari using the same tactics employed to retake Leyte. The key here is that, with the Japanese HQs in their starting positions, Makassar is at the far end of the Japanese supply tether; indeed, Makassar can only be supplied via Balikpapan and then only through a path that is exactly 10 hexes back to South HQ (see Picture 3).
The Allied plan is to take advantage of this strained supply line. Back in Darwin, the Allies ready another Offensive with a 2 OC Card, Hermes and the 3d NZ XX. The plan is to use the first activation to sail Hermes to 2519 (see Picture 4). Because, as demonstrated in the retaking of Leyte, supply cannot be traced through a hex that is solely enemy occupied, Hermes’ presence in 2519 blocks supply to Makassar (the supply line is too long going around Hermes, even though Japanese AZOIs cover the path). With the Japanese 25th Air’s AZOI eliminated, the 3d NZ XX can use the Allies’ second activation to take Kendari without triggering possible special reaction. Once again, Hermes can attack or not attack as the Allies see fit.
