Ichang

[turkey]

Stock 1.8.0.6. playing as the allies. 3rd May 1942
Having read the forums on this, I am about to withdraw from Ichang (4 corps vs an assault force of 170K Japanese. At Yenen, Wuchow, Sian and Changsha, the situation is precarious, but I hope and suspect my oponent is bogged down or stood off at each location. He's reinforced his assaults in the south with many of the major LCUs from SAA after successful campaigns in Malaya and Philippines / DEI.
My question is should I be concerned about his army at Ichang marching north and cutting the Sian - Chungking highway??
All the advice seems to be not to worry, but I am concerned that he will cut my east - west communications and deal with me piecemeal. I have a reserve army of 100k in Chungking, nearly all damaged units rebuilding, so I have the option to march out and meet him just north of Ichang, which will keep the highway open, but terrain is clear, no rivers etc and against 170K I'm not sure the reserve army (100k) will stand.
What advice does the forum have?
Does loosing Ichang like this matter?

[Quixote]

If it's May 42 and you still hold Yenan, Wuchow, Sian, and Changsha in stock, then I wouldn't worry too much about anything right now - you are a far better practitioner of land warfare in WitP than your opponent. The Japanese in stock, played well, should have such an easy time in China that you'll see many of the veterans here resigned to just holding Chungking, and stalling for as long as possible at Changsha and in the south. Ichang by itself isn't terribly important, and I'm guessing that even if your opponent takes it and then pushes to cut the road that you'll manage to flank him and cut his supply off anyway. I know it's not incredibly deep and weighty advice, but I wouldn't be all that concerned were I in your shoes. I'm sure you'll get other opinions, but hey, that's what makes the game so much fun.

[Shark7]

I've come to the conclusion that Ichang is basicaslly indefensible for either side. I usually play as Japan, and usually just abondaon Ichang to concentrate on other objectives. But keep in mind I play CHS not stock.