we doubled the range of the cannon and got tech which, for the time being, allows us superior performance from any artillery piece. I think the cannon was great.
Also, what are you proposing for the focus action? we can't attack a city directly. amphibious attack on a settlement with just one ship worth of soldiers is, quite frankly, suicide. We need to attack somewhere in the countryside.
I don't believe that a victory will give more or less land if we land on the peninsula or between the river. The argument should, rather, focus on which one gives a better chance of victory. And victory will get us roughly 1/4 of the territory.
Now, the direction of the advance might be more relevant. If we land in the peninsula, we might want to advance south against montgomery. It would bring it within our range next turn. If we land between the rivers, perhaps we should instead seize the whole strip of land as suggested by happerry suggested, and next turn approach a city.
either way, don't expect anything spectacular until we gain a foothold on the island or have a good landing fleet. the first square mile of land is going to be the most important, by far.
edit: wait. did you mean make a more daring design, rather than advance on the ground? In that case, while true, we are voting a safer alternative because we want to try to land this turn. A botched design means less chances to gain a foothold and possibly wasting one more turn. While it won't get us huge advantages over the enemy in the rifle field, it evens chances out a bit. Disadvantage in small arms is one of the reasons I want to land in the peninsula, to leverage our fleet. Also, keep in mind that so far we have an artillery advantage, especially if we revise the howitzer to use our casting. That should greatly help.