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

[Andy Mac]

Driving south with all despatch XV Corps has 4 Divs under command even leaving a bde or 2 as LOC will allow me to concetrate 3 Divs on the road from Prome in between Prome and Rangoon

[Andy Mac]

If I can get a full Corps in behind PZB's Prome garrison he is in deep do do

This is now a race between lead elements of XV Corps and the Japanese forces at Prome.

Today will be a quiet turn

Tomorrow the Paras will hit Bassein and IV Corps will attack Prome

XXXIII Corps will then attack north of Toungoo

Time to exploit and drive fast....

[Andy Mac]

Another Japanese Div shredded XV Corps routed 3rd Tank Div a few days ago and has now retreated 37th Inf Div

17th Indian Div is leading the advance covering the ground it passed when it had to retreat


Ground combat at 56,50 (near Toungoo)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 40931 troops, 746 guns, 558 vehicles, Assault Value = 1636

Defending force 9575 troops, 140 guns, 31 vehicles, Assault Value = 323

Allied adjusted assault: 1034

Japanese adjusted defense: 193

Allied assault odds: 5 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), disruption(-), experience(-)
supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
4142 casualties reported
Squads: 47 destroyed, 95 disabled
Non Combat: 134 destroyed, 102 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 15 (9 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (5 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Units retreated 3


Allied ground losses:
346 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 40 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 28 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled


Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
29th British Brigade
72nd British Brigade
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
9th Indian Division
14th Indian Division
17th Indian Division
XV Indian Corps
3rd (Special Force) Division

Defending units:
37th Division
18th Mountain Gun Regiment
102nd Machine Canno AA Battalion

[Andy Mac]

XXXIII Indian Corps will try to force the Japanese 2nd Tank Div back in a few days the more Jap Divs I can wreck piecemeal the better

Ground combat at 57,49 (near Toungoo)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 36852 troops, 735 guns, 311 vehicles, Assault Value = 1579

Defending force 13553 troops, 211 guns, 836 vehicles, Assault Value = 578

Japanese ground losses:
51 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
34 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Assaulting units:
18th British Division
23rd Indian Division
XV Corps Engineer Battalion
5th Chinese Corps
134th Field Artillery Battalion
17th Indian Light AA Regiment
23rd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
23rd AA Bde
20th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
6th Heavy AA Regiment
XXXIII Indian Corps
29th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
2nd Indian Heavy AA Regiment
21st Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
14th Indian Light AA Regiment
24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
6th Medium Regiment
35th Light AA Regiment
97th Field Artillery Battalion
56th Heavy AA Regiment
15th Indian Heavy AA Regiment
26th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
XV Corps RIASC Base Force

Defending units:
42nd Infantry Regiment
22nd Recon Regiment
2nd Tank Division
Botanko Hvy Gun Regiment
39th Road Const Co
101st Machine Canno AA Battalion

[Andy Mac]

Supply net is starting to creak only one of my 3 Corps can attack on any day and I probably have to many Divs on tjhe inland stretch.

The great bluff I am running is I have had to ground IV Corps it simply cannot attack at Prome - not enough supplies getting through so actually the XV Corps flanking move is vital

[witpqs]

Andy,

It's wonderful that you give us this sort of information. There are various discussions that take place regarding 'too easy' movement of supply all over, and I often point people to this AAR for a look at what really can be supported after building up frontier bases.

[khyberbill]

What version of the game are you playing Andy? I could not support this effort with my Beta game.

[Andy Mac]

Don't fporget that PZB gave me some HUGE advantages in this game

1. He never took Akyab or Cox Bazaar
2. He never took Myktiana
3. He didnt even attempt to keep my Burmese/Assam bases suppressed.

Even with all these advantages I transferred 20+ Seebee units to India to help build bases and about 2/3 of my total on map air lift capacity.

With all of that I am currently sustaining.

IV Corps mostly from Akyab and Ramree on the coast so supplied by Sea with 8 Divisions
XV Corps mostly up to now from Assam and North Burma but starting to pull supply from Akyab as it gets closer to IV Corps with 4 Divisions
XXXIII Corps Assam and North Burma with 4 Divs

As I have started to pull forward support units, garrison units and air sqns into Burma and as I advance further south my supply status tgets more and more precarious

IV Corps at prome has about 8k supply on hand but needs 13k to be in the white
XV Corps needs 10k and has 10k but has 600 C47's on round the clock air drops
XXXIII Corps has 10k and needs 10k but if I attack I know that will spike.

If PZB could shut down Akyab and Ramree I am not sure even one Corps would be able to advance.

I am seriously on the admin margins now and am watching supply levels like a hawk.

[Andy Mac]

If I can take Prome and get it operational as an advanced air hub (or Bassein) then that would be a big help - but I cannot afford a long siege - my supply status will simply not take a lengthy slogging match.

I am pretty close to turning all my B24 Sqns to supply haulers and I am really debating whether an early air drop on Bassein is worth the risk of intorducing 3 more Bdes into the theatre.

I have 3 more Divs sitting in India but dare not commit them as I have to much in theatre right now.

If PZB decides to stand and fight at prome and can get a 2+ Div blocking force in front of XV Corps this could all fall apart.

This is far from a victory yet.

PZB has left a large force at Taung Gyi if they were in southern Burma digging in to stop XV Corps I suspect the offensive would peter out

[Andy Mac]

version is one of the beta versions but not the latest one.

[Fishbed]

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac

Don't fporget that PZB gave me some HUGE advantages in this game

Sorry Andy, couldn't resist, but taken really out of the Burman theater context, just sounded a tad funny to read [:D] [;)]
Keep up the hard work, I think that is really turning into a Verdun over the Irrawady, both of you are going to suffer a lot, a lot...

[Andy Mac]

[:D][:D]

He did make it easy for me - yes if he had taken Akyab I would have had a trainiong ground but by not taking it he accelerated my timetable a year.

Having said that yes I am aware of a couplke of the stinkers I have made as well.........

Not sure about Verdun I have not as yet had to commit to a real attritional knuckleduster fight.

Closest was when 5th Indian Div was crumbling the Jap Armoured Div but even there my casualties were low - I am watching supply and casualties like a hawk I know I cannot afford to write off Divs the way PZB has been - my Corps normally act as Corps to stop them being picked off.

I think I hqave a real chance at Rangoon before the monsoon which would allow me to put pressure on Moulmien/Tavoy

I cannot enter the Malacca strait as i dont have the naval airpower so Burma to some extent is a dead end unless I commit the US Fleet but its tying up a lot of Japanese resources at a time when I cannot tie them up any other way

[Andy Mac]

p.s. remember every unit I tie up in Burma - every aircraft I shoot down is one less I will face when my real attack goes in

[Andy Mac]

Taking a long look at PM again with KB in the Bay of Bengal a smash and grab may be possible would need a lot of aircover but it is doable....

Would love to open up another front to keep up the attrition

Andy

[Andy Mac]

XXXIII Corps attacked last night more in the nature of a probe attack and achieved 1:1 not to shabby going to try another attack with more support tomorrow

[Andy Mac]

XV Corps flanking move at Prome is actually going to take 10 days its slow going cutting the bend.

XXXIII Corps attack north of Toungoo was expensive in supply - it sucked most of the spare supply out of Mandalay/Mage and Schwebo Depots and past experience says that after tomorrows atack it will take 3 -5 days to build up enough stockplie for a single days attack. So tomorrow needs to be decisive or at least decisive enough that I can afford a few supply -ve rolls if I go for a third day attack.

If PZB was to put up serious resistance both my XV and XXXIII Corps offensives would grind to a halt.

But so far its been penny packets not sure why PZB hasnt put a solid 3 -4 Div front in place to stop me he has the units I had identified at least 12 Divs in Burma not sure what he is up to.

Ordered some extensive recon of Taung Ghyi the lack of dug in Divs to my front has me slighty concerned that there is a sucker punch out there somewhere.

IV Corps at Prome is still sitting at c 50% of white supply its a great white elephant sitting there if I attack PZB will know that I am out of gas - by sitting still and threatening to flank him I am hoping he will pull back out of Prome.

9th Aus Div will try to clear my LOC but I am not hopefull as the Japanese are well dug in in the mountains

[Andy Mac]

Ordered an armoured Regt from XV Corps to cross into Prome and join up with IV Corps by turning that hexside green I open up another supply line to IV Corps - its a double edge sword because it may mean that all 3 Corps are drawing supply from the tenuous SLOC all the way back to Assam when 2 Corps are already struggling.

The Japanese units sitting across the direct LOC to Ramree are a real PITA at moment

[Andy Mac]

Made a hard decision today all air units deployed into Central and Northern Burma other than a couple of fighter and recon sqns are being withdrawn to India and all movement of support units to the Burmese plains is being halted.

1/3 of all B24's in theatre effective tomorrow are becoming trash haulers.

I must keep up the momentum of my attacks and if that means crowding Akyab and Ramree with mytactial and fighter bombers so be it - if PZB gets a bombardment through it will hurt but supply is so critical at present that I need to keep my Army moving

Fortunately XV Corps is moving for the next 10 days and is not in combat

XXXIII Corps after tomorrows attack will likely have to go defensive leaving all efforts focussed on getting IV Corps to the white for an attack in 4 - 6 days on Prome.

I 'may' try an Airborne landing in force to take an advanced airhead - I am balancing Admin risk at present I just hope PZB doesnt pick up on the fact that I am a bit of a paper tiger at present.

Now the only question is how stromng is his supply net

I were able to see the other side of the hill how much supply can he have.

Rangoo is closed now and my subs have infested the area south of Rangoon - with round the clock raids on all japanese bases he cannot have much supply stockpiled - this may come down to who bluffs best....

[Andy Mac]

been thinking overnight I have decided to ground XXXIII Corps and XV Corps and put all effort into getting IV Corps up to white for the next attack

After tomorrows attack on the Toungoo line by XXXIII Corps the pressure will switch to Prome for the next assault so all my aircraft will go onto CAS or trash hauling over Prome

[Andy Mac]

Supply is precarious I estimate at least 2 days to get IV Corps up to the white in supply terms so from tomorrow a round the clock CAS bombardment will begin over Prome.