Defeating the Japanese?

following up from @Nanashi’s points

Mess his plans up…..
Cheep forward deploying units to run behind his spearmen – the Banzai rule says towards the closest visable unit (yes that includes the tank that they cant hurt & inexperienced artillery spotters :p) & spearmen have a 360 arc of sight.  So if he wants them to move forward he needs to take the normal order checks.  Which leads to  template weapons, and high PINs…. yes fanatic means they wont break if PINs = Ld, but they wont be able to do anything except go down or Banzai move (see point about running people behind him)

And in seriousness – Ignore that FAQ flamethrower entry!… personally I’d allow fanatics to test as if stuborn against flamethrowers but thats it, as its  game breaking (as you’re finding out :() to allow them to ignore the panic check (but then I have a house rules on flamethrowers regarding their fuel check as well

They don’t have any such rule that I’m aware of, they even have access to AT grenades.

I play Japanese a lot and the thing I fear is the enemy keeping at range, especially artillery/mortars and tanks – suicide bombers can’t do much if the target is far away.  Depends on the scenario, if high terrain or it’s one of those where you both rush in, chances are I am going to come off better, but any relatively open table really makes it hard to play to the Japanese army strengths.

Spotters can’t fire weapons – from the FAQ:

“Can a medic or an artillery/mortar spotter fire the weapons of a
vehicle they are being transported in?
It’s the passengers doing the firing, and therefore medic
units, because they ‘cannot fire any weapons’, cannot fire a
transport’s weaponry.
Spotters similarly cannot fire weapons and cannot spot while
in the transport (extending to them the rules for HQs, which
cannot use their special rules while transported)”

Erm, well… spotters have a specific rule that says they cant “assault or fire against enemy units”

Its that rule that stops them mannaing a transports weapons.

Lets see…  Soviet Shtrafbat squad’s unarmed rule says they cant shoot….so that would transfer to a transport as well… However you normally have some models armed in those squads so they would be man the transports weapons.  So if the squad only contained unarmed models (a lot of exceptionals!) then I’d say they wouldnt be able to use a transports weapons, but so long as 1 model is armed then yes they could. – hope that makes sense.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by Nat.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by Nat.

Was looking at the French rules last night and reallised they are potentially even more nuts than Japanese.
As such you could always give him a dose of his own medicine as it were and build a French force. Take 3x Full 12 man (with the extra 4pt man with a pistol) inexperianced infantry and get another 12 man unit for free. Take a further 2 full 12 man units. Thats a total of 72 infantry plays his 75 spear fighters. If you take those last 2 units as Inexperianced as well you’ve only paid 30 more points for them compared to him but even if you take them regularyour only just over 100pts more and (nearly all) your men have rifles. True you’ll prob want to get some LMG or VB upgrades as well.
You can also have a free Med Howitzer and take an additional Howitzer as well and a mortar. All this can still come in at under 500pt (No upgrades and a Med & light How and Inex Mortar). Thats a lot of men and artillery to hit those spear fighters. However lets assume you want some bigger guns and take some upgrades that can still come in at under 700pt which depending on your battle size gives you enough for Command and a few other bits.

I’m not saying this is perhaps “in the spirit” but it could make a point.

Maybe take Gurkhas?