Conquer China as Japan: Hearts of Iron IV Tutorial

Hey guys, in today's video I will show you how to conquer china as japan in hoi4/hearts of iron iv. This is a guide for the by blood alone update and it allows you to conquer china before 1939 making it a great opening strategy as japan to then go on to conquer Asia. I believe that this guide should work for pretty much anyone from pro players to relatively new players. I tried to make it as simple but effective as I could so if this video helps you why not leave me a like and a subscription as a show of your support!
#hoi4 #heartsofiron4
Music
Eu4 Forest Shade
Hoi4 Empire of The Sun

[@bastykino5357]

Instructions unclear, i am in a tribunal for having committed war crimes

[@Dexalium]

Literally capped China near the end of 1937 before anschluss even happened, great guide!

[@kensuketaylor]

You can also just keep your troops at the Beijing border and the quingdao peninsula for some time and level the adaptive terrain trait for a field marshal. Also in the current patch, if you declare war on other Asian powers, I.e., Tibet, Iran, etc., they will join the Chinese United Front and you can get all them at once when capitulate China!

[@DthScythe01]

I did this with Siam. I think this is the winning strategy. Getting Iran would be big for oil.

[@drenibss1549]

when you take iran and/or siam you have enough oil to exercise ur entire military for months at a time. w/ the focuses that give doctrine cost reductions you can make out base strike naval doctrine insanely fast

[@kyzerBC]

honestly love your videos. straightforward and easy to comprehend. i remember back thinking getting 'the people have stood up' achievement would be hard, watched your vids and it only took my second game lol

[@theycallmeraf626]

just got the game and your videos are helping alot, thank you for your efforts

[@jaysmolak1634]

i struggled to play the ussr ana japan but now that i've seen ur videos it helped a lot short and straight to the point.

[@dhanushsuryaa5608]

I love the way you make videos. Loads of support ❤❤

[@MrLolMatheusLol]

I'm always struggle to capitulate China fast as possible, i'll try your method, thanks :)

[@Noto]

Hope it works! This has worked for me every time I've done it so I think it's a pretty good strategy

[@alexsilent5603]

Don't attack China. Just wait for China to stage a provocation. It will give you a free war goal. In the meantime you can capture Indonesia and Netherlands. Or send volunteers to Republican Spain to steal their gold.

[@miguelgameiro8063]

You should change templates as you get army experience

[@miguelgameiro8063]

@@mrquiz3454 say create 20 withs and so forth like decent marine units

[@miguelgameiro8063]

@@mrquiz3454 say the original infantry template is inefficient no arty and to big so you should use army xp to turn it to say a 7-2 or a 25 widt with artillery for mountain fighting

[@ExtradaemonYT]

Best video on the topic I've seen, cheers!

[@thegameport1]

It definitely worked i capped China in January 38. I couldn't capture Qingdao but a quick Beijing breakthrough made up for it

[@LittlemanNLL]

Love the video, I wouldn't mind if it was more 20min length and more explanation along the way on what research to pick etc

[@yukilin3386]

Thank you very much and I find it helpful.

[@parkerpeter8068]

For if you wish to attack countries that actually have airforce after beating China, if you have By Blood Alone, at the start of the game you can research Survivability Studies and make a plane with 2 1x cannon 1s, 1x Engine II, armor plate, and (optionally if you have a lack of rubber) 1 self-sealing fuel tank, this design will act as cannon fodder and quickly chew through any allied airforce assuming you have enough (have been making them since the start of the game)

[@satch5471]

Silly question, why not go with 2x HMG when you have them researched? a little less Aattack but no cons to agility?

[@novitrix9671]

@@satch5471 well thats simple...... because ur right and parkers wrong about weapons, however. L + Ratio = doesnt matter its ai u could put balloons as weapons will still wreck em.

[@ElUnaVex]

Thanks a lot!! Love this guide, helps me a lot!!

[@ElUnaVex]

I just finished a world conquest with the German R in multiplayer in 1942!! Great tutorial!

[@Noto]

Glad to know it works well in multiplayer!

[@prodbyazusa]

Wow this strat is pretty effective. Just tested in a mp game. Thanks!❤

[@Noto]

makes me wanna use it in mp lol

[@sandercohen5543]

I tried japan for the first time yesterday. I did quite well at first, but soon found myself unable to advance past yangtze river in the north, and the mountain range on the southern coast, as i got further away from my ports. This is where i took most of my casualties. In the end i was able to capitulate china, but i was very stretched on manpower, and i never really felt in control, so i came here looking for a frame of reference. Now i think i know why... i had no idea that you could reduce the 50% attack penalty vs china by pressing a silly button, but in hindsight, im pretty proud of what i acheived. I realized they have very few factories, and an enormous army, so i just bombed their industry into smitherines using a cas/bomber hybrid plane i designed, initially with mainly long-range cas in mind.

[@ram5ramen582]

Which silly button decreases attack penalty by 50%

[@phoenixwright7802]

​@@ram5ramen582escalate the war in china and finally Ichi go

[@stevepirie8130]

Don’t press Ichi Go until very close to capitulating China. You get a big penalty if you fail.

[@monkeyslav4210]

I have watched 30 min videos that failed while your 9 min video worked even though I took some "liberties" when it came to your strategy. Thank you

[@hide7750]

very good and useful video, on my third attempt I mastered china, I repeated a lot of times again and I always managed to master

[@maxmakiewicz8835]

Great video 👍

[@shqiptare-nigeriagaminghd8696]

Thx for the tutorial tried your strategies in an online game and by the end of 1940 i had all the resources i needed and 90 mils

[@cemkesici2020]

wow it really worked. Thanks =)

[@carbonado2432]

i liked seeing how you do it, i've done it 100 times but much differently

[@theexecutiveassociated]

Great video

[@juliusceaser7242]

I always ever lose to China, but after watching your video, it seems stupidly easy, so I will try it out now!

[@Soykan4103]

Did you win?

[@juliusceaser7242]

@@Soykan4103 Yea, I think I still have the save file.

[@fornitore]

Thx!

[@buruianastefan7648]

thanks for the tutorial

[@Noto]

No problem!

[@thederpyhenchmen2946]

used this to get my first cap on china ever, thanks. also i forgot to escalate the war for a long time so i got ichi go in late 37. but i still beat you by five days L

[@morphy.1]

nice video

[@DR_YOUT]

Start agency as soon as you can. Me who dont have dlc: STAGE COUP

[@Noto]

If you don't have the DLC everything else should work just fine it will just take longer to defeat China. Staging a coup would probably only mean you wouldn't be able to get everything in the peace deal.

[@DR_YOUT]

@@Noto Thank you

[@filipringnell4083]

TY!

[@emreigrek2132]

you should promote your generals infantry traits as you have pp. it will really make your inf. stronger

[@mirdav3648]

I always rush the research and 30 army xp Ur method does the same but faster and better

[@HaminationclipsTheOriginal]

I’m looking at this to see if I wanna play the game it just looks harder and more complicated now

[@Noto]

It is when you start but after a while it's a lot easier to understand

[@HaminationclipsTheOriginal]

@@Noto I’ll keep that in mind

[@BYSIUUU]

imo its not good to rush china too fast, its always good to get some free grind like double adaptable and some invader for taking islands( pro tip, try to naval invade qingtao with cavalry units so you get mech buff early which is good for tank build)

[@Noto]

I think grinding is important for multiplayer but in singleplayer rushing china lets you do an easy world conquest

[@BYSIUUU]

@@Noto yeah maybe bc i play only mutliplayer rn, its so hard to come back to singleplayer after over 200 hours of straight multi, factory count and all things terrify my tbh

[@johnuthus]

on my most recent game on normal i was head bashing into china with 7 2s and so much cas and air that i was so confused why the war lasted from 36 to 44 with full collab and i couldn't push pass the xian river front (i had to use super marines)

[@krevin543]

I got a bit stuck because I actually declared war on the Dutch East Indies and capitulated them before focusing on the Marco Polo Bridge incident and starting the war with China. Then when my forces were committed in China WW2 broke out and my East Indies are being attacked and my offensive in China is stalling out. Fuel is running low now too.

[@hide7750]

I just bought the Dlc La resistance, do you have a video that explains it well? I have 400 hours of gameplay and I know little lol

[@Noto]

Don't have one about that but that's a good video idea tbh

[@drjakett]

finally did it ( 3 years later)

[@uhh...1651]

Giving the entire China to Manchukuo and wait until they'll do the focus to core it could also work?

[@Adar7400]

What did you use the basics template

[@Ashakku]

Would you say spies are an essential part of this tutorial? I’m struggling to effectively naval invade China but don’t have the spy dlc.

[@Noto]

Spies shouldn't be essential but it will make it much easier to capitulate them since it will make their surrender limit lower.

[@91Caesar]

Skip the 5 agency upgrades and just hire an illusive gentleman. The civ favtory production save is worth more then the political power and you arent short on slots for the illusive gentleman either. This gets your 2 agents for collabs with minimal civ factory input. The third spy isnt really necessary. You'll comfortably get 3 collab governments in either way if you keep on top of resetting your spy network when each one is done

[@NotRiger]

Hey Noto, Im very new to HoI4 and I can't do naval invasions like you do at 0:35 because it says "This is not a valid province for an invasion". I can't declare war either?

[@Noto]

Hey, so I wouldn't recommend starting with my videos if you're that new but I will clarify how to do the things you asked. To set up naval invasions you have to start the invasion from a port which should show up as an anchor on the map. To declare war you need a war goal and for Japan this happens through its focus tree

[@ThePixelated_kris]

I wish there was a way to integrate manchukuo

[@jozopako]

Never take Ichi Go, Americans will get massive bonus.

[@timhofs5380]

my naval invasian never works out and my divs die... i have like no chance against china and i tried it now like 10 times....

[@bastianuribe2283]

I cannot disembark in the port of Qingdao only in the surrounding area and they end up eliminating all the landing divisions

[@Noto]

Is the naval invasion possibly not prepared yet? The one in Qingdao should take about a week longer than the other two since it has 4 divisions instead of 3.

[@cedricernhake8821]

maybe im just dumb but the offensive in the north didnt work out for me and i got pushed back to korea but the qingtao front line was just encircling left and right

[@Noto]

I did use this strategy for a fun campaign recently and it seems that China puts a little bit more in Beijing than they used to so I had to focus a lot more on defending in the north than I used to. I could definitely see how you could lose there but the qingdao frontline is still really good in my experience.

[@cedricernhake8821]

i redid it and put more divs on the qingdao front and easily broke through there after getting ichi go but the northern front was lagging behind a little so i just put the qindao front to a battle plan and linked up@@Noto

[@manjangal1460]

It all was going smoothly until the rough terrain, china didn't want to surrender and it ended up in a stalemate 😕

[@chaos_fisch3319]

What if I dont have dlc with spies

[@Therealnapoleonbonaparte_]

I always push them to wuhan then can’t get any further they just stack so many and I have no inf equipment by then any tips?

[@Noto]

Have you built a collaboration government? It might be worth doing a bit more micro management to make sure your divisions aren't taking as many losing battles as well.

[@Therealnapoleonbonaparte_]

@@Noto yup built the collab max sometimes it’s got higher cap rate than other times tho

[@Noto]

@@Therealnapoleonbonaparte_ I would suggest stopping the offensive once you start taking massive casualties around wuhan and maybe trying to get airports around there to help bring close air support to the area. Also, try to make sure your supply lines are connected because the railroads in China aren't that great

[@Frank-ed7hj]

I managed to do it once, but I think it took me until 1942, or maybe 43. I did it recently after only idk... 50 tries? maybe more. :(

[@unitor699industries]

Do you have other guides

[@Noto]

Yes

[@joeyshaver9658]

I don’t have the spy dlc 😭😭😭

[@gtvenm2595]

Im a little confused, I started the game with only 24 Divisions. this tutorial is only 2months old so id assume i must be missing something (I have By Blood alone)

[@Noto]

Maybe you have a mod on? I just launched the game and I start with 60 divisions as Japan without mods.

[@gtvenm2595]

@@Noto It was and I fixed it thanks. I did my first attempt and mostly got it right, In my current save I did beat them however it seems i didnt do it quick enough and my supply and manpower depleted. with a little help from germany they eventaully capitulated

[@gtvenm2595]

@@Noto I wasnt sure how you got the 3rd spy. 1 from Illusive gentleman and not sure where the other came from

[@Noto]

@@gtvenm2595 agency upgrades. If you get around 5 separate upgrades you get an extra spy

[@toggywomp5677]

Would this work without DLCs?

[@Noto]

It should but you won't be able to do a collaborationist government since that requires la resistance. It'll take more time to capitulate china because of that.

[@emperorgiese]

How did you select all armies at once?

[@Noto]

Field marshal. You can assign up to 120 divisions divided into 24 divisions per general to a field marshal that you can use to set up field marshal orders or just use so you can select a large section of your army.

[@yemapun7634]

I can do that without the la résistance dlc?

[@Noto]

Yeah it will just take longer to capitulate China without the collaboration government

[@yemapun7634]

@@Noto Ok, thank you very much for the information

[@KBandKFB458]

I can’t land my troops quick enough

[@kokaxq3275]

I only have 24 division in total, how do you have than amount?

[@Noto]

You should start with 60 divisions as Japan

[@kokaxq3275]

​@@Noto it was a mod sorry

[@kokaxq3275]

​@@Noto the moment i sent the naval forces to Qingdao they sent 10 divisions and fucked my ass 😂

[@kokaxq3275]

Doesn't matter though. I took China after

[@rylensimons8751]

I can’t use spies what do I do

[@Noto]

If you don't have the la resistance dlc that would be why. You should still be able to defeat Japan but I'm not sure how much longer it would take without spies.

[@Noto]

mean to say defeat china not japan

[@mcfunny8887]

I did it, now what should I do?

[@Noto]

If you're not going to do anything crazy like joining the Axis to invade Britain, you could probably occupy most of if not all of the resource rich areas in Asia as long as you build up a strong enough navy

[@liamlol7340]

Idk I think this is patched as of 2024, i cant get the qingdao naval invasion despite having 4 marines and 3 inf on each side supporting. China's cycling is utter bullshit and shouldn't be a thing they can do

[@Noto]

I haven't really played Japan recently but it wouldn't surprise me if some parts of this strategy have to be modified. It would probably work in multiplayer against a more casual China player but in updated singleplayer some things may have to be changed around a lot.

[@averagegigachad7795]

It sucks they removed the cia agency :(

[@Imperator1888]

China has so many divisions, it dont work. :(

[@bertvsrob]

I am bad at this game.

[@alimox9446]

This guide might be good for singelplayer but for sure not for mulitiplayer

[@Noto]

yeah in multiplayer it probably will only work against people that don't play china a whole lot.

[@alimox9446]

@@Noto Aswell as you help the us by giving them war support with ichi go

[@jordanedwards3114]

Took me till 1944 to capitulate china...I feel like I suk lol

[@Murmanskkk]

try to invade china early before 1938. because the longer you wait, the more powerful china gets

[@raf.nogueira]

I do this all the fucking time and never works, the landing invasion always fails.. Even atacking before Dec 1936... This game is completely broken for Axis nations...

[@carbonado2432]

personally i dont see how his invaders with no shovels suceed, or how he takes beijing so fast. im a pro at conquering china without so much collaboration government too

[@dhanushsuryaa5608]

You can take quindao with shore bombardment and tac bombers in cas. Try to take each and every advantage possible over AI. If that is what you've been doing, make 2 naval invasions - one to quindao and another down to south towards some mountain tiles. When there are multiple fronts open, AI gets mad and shuffles all the fronts so they loose entrenchments. Take Beijing then pretty much everything is your game🎉

[@fristicuffs9847]

Bro you prolly lost like 750k people and 200k guns wtf is that battle planning

[@Noto]

I didn't lose anywhere near that

[@MrWepps]

This mission sucks. It doesn't help if the individual units will not follow orders. Or the fact that taking Beijing was easy, but now the Japanese army is being destroyed in the surrounding area. In fact, taking Beijing is the ONLY successful thing to have happened. I think that my problem has always been that I imagine my performance to be equal at least to historical efforts, when in fact the game is far removed from that reality.

[@MrWepps]

For example - I'm still constructing my first factory after building the airbase. It started at 156 days to completion and is now at 'never'. And I have no effing idea WHY! I didn't change anything. My trade is normal with no shortages. Or the naval invasion - where I ordered it as you suggested, but the divisions on either side of Qingdao never left Japan. I had to send them again. And then again. When they arrived it was too god danged late, and I STILL have 2 divisions sitting in port. The fleet will not bombard the invasion zone, in fact I don't even know where the f******* button is at. The air arm is sitting on the carriers and just beep at me when I give them an order to help out. This entire game is just NOT INTUITIVE. And it pisses me off every time I start a campaign.

[@brunette_hunter98]

Dude narrated like a pro player