Andy Mac v PZB This time India will Stand !!!!

[Andy Mac]

OK the attack launched by the reinforced 5th Indian Div was a great success today - 1:2 odds but thats almost irrelevant as I nailed about 70 Japanese vehicles. (mostly motorised support probably not tanks) but Guards Tank only has 400 sup[port squads all moterised so taking out nearly 20% in one attack is a great sucess

Indian Div is in pretty good state but needs some supplies.

So far so good destroying a tank Div out of its element would be great.

PZB needs to get them out of the pocket ASAP

Andy
Guards Tank has

Ground combat at 54,47 (near Ramree Island)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 21504 troops, 410 guns, 892 vehicles, Assault Value = 843

Defending force 8528 troops, 128 guns, 668 vehicles, Assault Value = 406

Allied adjusted assault: 395

Japanese adjusted defense: 705

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
186 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 20 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 31 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Vehicles lost 70 (4 destroyed, 66 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 13 (1 destroyed, 12 disabled)


Assaulting units:
8th KGV Light Cav Regiment
75th IAC Regiment
Gardner's Horse Regiment
268th Motorised Brigade
641st Towed Tank Destroyer Battalion
Guides Cavalry Regiment
5th Indian Division
1st Indian Light AA Regiment
77th Coast AA Regiment
23rd Indian Engineer Battalion

Defending units:
Guards Tank Division

[Andy Mac]

No turn tonight from PZB so been mulling over my strategy.

Not a lot to say its all about diversion at present keep pressure on Burma but dont break my army there

IV Corps has about 2,000 AV on the Akyab/Ramree Front
XV Corps has about 3,000 AV moving (slowly) over the Chindwin
36th Indian Div (attached to XV Corps is advancing down the West side of the Chindwin
NCAC and Burma Corps has about 2,500 AV on the Katha/Schwebo Front

14th Army Reserve has about another 2,500 AV awaiting orders

XXXIII Corps is arriving and will have 2,000 AV when fully assembled from Aden
Lastly III Corps based in Aus has 2,000 AV all armour but I need more shipping to get it back to India

I have plenty of force attacking in many axis supported by air artillery across many of them I will seek to exploit any sucess I make but mostly I am sitting waiting for carriers

[Andy Mac]

I tried to mine rangoon yesterday - 13 Liberators shot down ---- never seen a mining mission be intercepted before - ouch !!!!

Spotted a few Japanese surface TF's today and PZB is starting to fight back

I am therefore committing my elite low level groups

2 Sqns of Beaufighter Torpedo equipped FB's (trained in both Torp and Low Nav for months these are the single most devastating anti ship force I have !!!)
2 Sqns of Marine SBD's
1 Sqn of Wellingtons (spec low level nav attack)
2 Sqns of Hurricane FB's

These are the cream of my low level asault force so I am covering them with fighters from all the coastal bases.

Should be fun I expect to nail a few raiders tomorrow !!!

The Santa Fe TF with 8 DD's will be hovering in react range as well.

With a little luck tomorrow will be very bloody for PZB !!!

[Andy Mac]

5th Indian Div is back up to supply and will try another eroding attack tomorrow all th while 26th Indian Div creeps round theflank of the Tank Div

[Andy Mac]

7th Indian Div is not far behind my combat power is groing in the area PZB will have to commit more force to stop me !!!

Ramree is the key to lower Burma if I get it up and running and built then that will hurt PZB badly

[Andy Mac]

In CENTPAC Pacific Fleet is growing steadily stronger as more CVE and CVL's arrive.

I also am starting to get fleet Carriers back from the yard dogs slowly but surely my ability to fight is increasing

Next time my fleet will be more dispersed massed CVE's will mean its hard to close a lot of flight decks in one strike.

[Andy Mac]

Overall my plan is to put pressure on PZB everywhere while keeping a strategic reserve back to hit him when I am ready (basically the plan I tried to follow in 43 and got horribly wrong)

Operations which units are prepping for.

Line Islands (part III)
Solomons
New Guinea
Timor
Burma
Sumatra

Efforts are underway to get troops, supply, fuel in th eright place ready to commence operatons.

I want to secure the bases in 44 to enable a 45/46 drive on Tokyo.

My poor play with my DEI attack has left me a year behind schedule but I will recover and drive forward - it will take time effort and concentration but the fightback is about to begin.

Andy

[paullus99]

For the future, with lessons learned - try for simultaneous attacks on multiple threat axis, but make sure you don't short-change yourself. You need to apply overwhelming force & firepower, if you can do that in two places at once, you've given yourself a leg-up.

[Andy Mac]

Yup that was the plan last time i didnt execute it - this time i will

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac

I tried to mine rangoon yesterday - 13 Liberators shot down ---- never seen a mining mission be intercepted before - ouch !!!!

There was a bug before, now there isn't!

[Andy Mac]

Hmmm a costly mistake ah well I have enough diversity now to cope with it I have high hope for my elite Fighter Bombers going in low tomorrow those pilots and planes have been hoarded and trained for a long time should be a nasty nasty strike that will push PZB back and release my fleet for the next steps....

I am looking long and hard at how to effectively hit PZB at the Line Islands again its close to Pearl and if KB is over on the Bay of Bengal then I have a window to hit it hard

[Andy Mac]

Hmmmmm not a good day

My fighter bombers went in low and the escorts were non existant and they were buthchered I lost over 100 aircraft today and the RAF is out of the fight for a while

Lots to think about.

The attrition of Guards Tank Div continued but PZB counter invaded Ramree lots to think about

[rroberson]

Long long time follower of your two games with him.


Dont hit him in the line islands...its what he will expect. Instead of one grand operation start with some hit and runs throughout the south pacific.

Heck hit him in the home islands with a hit and run or two....

Make him lose the iniatitive chasing your forces about. He simply cannot defend everywhere...concentrating your forces in one or two places...plays right into the jap fan boy strength.

[Andy Mac]

Agreeed sort of I am wary of CAP stopping bombers now so will not be trying any high risk operations.

I retook Marquesas a couple of weeks ago next step is Midway probably then I will hit Line Islands

In parallel PM and NG are ont he agenda and another drive into the DEI.

Many plans are being prepped and many operations underway it will take time but I will get back on terms.

[Andy Mac]

The main advantage I have on next operations is that my fleet is not quirte as vulnerable

Basically I will have c 30 carriers (moslty CVE/L's soon with no more than 5 CV's) - so probably about 1500 carrier aircraft but my fleet is not as vunlnerable to a single strike as my escort carriers while not as good indivually are a harder target on masse to knock out

[Heeward]

My guess is you have at best slight CV capacity superiority or maybe even inferiority.  His pilots most likely are in the skill range of 75 to 80 - what are yours? What was is aircraft capacity in your last engagement + potential reinforcements?

You can concentrate only one naval push, and ideally under the umbrella of land based air power. Operations past that are out and will end up repeating your last amphibious disaster and riposte. You can purge his outer line of bases - but do it to shorten you line of communications to your intended front of operations or to deny him bases for aerial reconisance.

[Andy Mac]

70 ish last engagement I had a 3:2 superiority in carrier aircraft but my CAP failed to do anything and he got a free hack in that killed me.

[Andy Mac]

At present I have 1100 carrier aircraft on 4 x CV's, 1 x RN CV, 7 x CVL and 13 CVE's

Inside 90 days I get 3 x CV, 3 x CVL and 15 x CVE's total another 810 carrier aircraft

Inside 180 days add another 20 CVE's so another 600 aircraft.

[Andy Mac]

Re my plans Midway, or Line Islands are probably next not going to go deep to risky

[Andy Mac]

Taking another long look around lots of options and ways of driving forward but all of them will take time just need to get my annus horriblis behind me 43 wasa bad year