Turnaround? Lowpe (J) vs Tiemanj (A) Stock

[Lowpe]

Burma strategy evolving:

My latest round count of Allied units in Burma is 130 from Chittagong and south. At Chittagong, there are 72K troops, 670 guns, 750 vehicles, and 26 units. Some are moving south east down the road to Akyab.

I am also almost done my first withdraw in Burma. Other than at Magwe, all bases in northern Burma are left with one aviation support unit, one AA, and the garrison is in railroad mode ready to move to Moulmein/Pegu at a moments notice. Construction engineers will race around to repair damaged airfields, and will also be in the jungle helping the troops dig in. Paratroopers stand ready to reinforce any need, and rear area bases are becoming paratrooper proof.

The Magwe push troops are making solid progress in returning to Magwe, and this is 3 infantry divisons plus support units. This force is going to leave Burma and head for second lines and reserves.

Prome will be abandoned: the new line will run Rangoon and to the north east along the river in nice jungle terrain.

My goal is changing to creating an attritional jungle defense in depth while avoiding an amphibious invasion at Tavoy and south as I slowly, slowly, retreat. It needs to be a slow retreat since I want to keep oil flowing from the SRA until June 1944. Tough goal.

I want the Allies to bleed and over commit here without pulling off a scary amphibious landing that threatens the whole Burma Army. I like defending in jungle terrain, or jungle ridge, with indestructible forts and almost immune to aerial bombardments. I am hard pressed to come up with a better place to fight than here...except for the lousy threat of a landing that is. And paratroopers.

[topeverest]

I don't know what you mean by over commit in Burma. relative to what standard, and how is it good for the empire?

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: topeverest

I don't know what you mean by over commit in Burma. relative to what standard, and how is it good for the empire?

If the Allies are sending large numbers of combat units to Burma, it's less units that can be preparing for amphibious landings behind his lines.

[topeverest]

But the allies have ground units to burn at this point in the war. How do we know the enemy has overcommitted in Burma versus just doing a better job of keeping combat units at the front?

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: topeverest

But the allies have ground units to burn at this point in the war. How do we know the enemy has overcommitted in Burma versus just doing a better job of keeping combat units at the front?

They may have ground units to burn, but they're burning them in the most inefficent manner possible.

There's no need for a commitment to Burma as large as we're seeing here. Tiemanj is trying to kick the front door in with all the strength he can gather, when he really should have someone knocking on the door while everyone else climbs in a window.

[Lowpe]

If I were to attack Burma, and have Rangoon, and Port Blair, I would go about it all differently than a head on attack across rivers into jungle after jungle after jungle.

1.I would take Ramree Island. Yes, it kind of is a prison camp, but it has been very useful for scouting, in the past fighters, and as a port to hide in. No reason to do it amphibiously, just march across and take the shock attack. Valuable as another base for the Allies, supply dump, etc.
2.Build up the airfields, done.
3.Pin Japanese army units down across the front – try to sucker a lot of Japanese there.
4.Distract KB into the Central Pacific somehow. Probably some kind of sacrifice, 2nd action.
5.Hit Tavoy or south with as big an amphibious invasion as I could. Use paratroopers to cut Singer/Bangkok/Chiang Mai railways. March on Ayuthia and aim for Hanoi primarily and Singers secondarily.

There is more to it than that, but it is the crux...

Personally, I don't really like a huge active Burma front, especially in 1943. I just don't think that is what the game is about...but it can be a devastating strategy. Ask Crackeraces - read his AAR.

[Lowpe]

May 26, 1943

Some half hearted night bombing by the Allies. The weather in Burma is generally atrocious and the heavy rains, severe thunderstorms probably do a really good job in limiting the night bombing.

Near Wake Island

Wake Island is getting a unit of AA, the small task force is shepherded by 2 destroyers and there are several reactions during night and early morning, when a splinter of Oscar IIas find the Allied surface ships and strafe them.

Although not trained in low naval, but decent stats in strafe, the pilots riddle the Bagley with 12.7mg hits and plant a 250 gp bomb amidships. This cost us 3 Oscars.

Then, performing brilliantly, the two escorting destroyers closes with the Americans and get a solid lick in or two before retiring all the while the small amphibious unit avoid the Americans.

A good encounter.

[Lowpe]

The Allies get a Lightning sweep in, but I return the favor by intercepting a lightly escorted bomber run near Prome shooting down 20 Airacobras and a half dozen bombers. For the day I lose 10 less planes than the Allies.

Burma, the troops are out of Prome...now only to get the Magwe push troops back to the lines and safety and I am good to go in this theater I think.

My bombardment of Rangoon is pretty weak, and a second group only moved one hex from Moulmein instead of bombing. Luckily no attacks, but I did have have CAP in the area.

[Lowpe]

Task Force Nagato was in the area yesterday, actually for a few days, they were supporting a CA force that was running into Nauru each night hoping to catch the Allied cruiser bombardment force or his minesweepers.

Unfortunately, they were spotted in their holding position west of Nauru and now they are long gone, but the Allies respond the following day with this nice group of 3 task forces looking for an aerial ambush.

My poor sub tries but fails miserably. A good sub too, not how I want to lose them.

Sometimes I think you need to show the flag, so to speak, just to worry the Americans a little. I am flying the forces out of Ocean and Nauru just too hard to supply and impossible to really hold with Allied 4Es.

I snaked a torpedo or two in the old Colorado back up in the Kurile campaign....darn Yankee shipyards.

Anyhow, learning the patterns of the Americans will help set up a favorable attack I think.

[Lowpe]

Of general interest American subs seem less active lately...knock on wood.

The J1N1-s Irving NF advances a month. I should have her July 1 I think to go with George. Can't tell you how much enjoyment I get out of getting a new plane. Oscar IV in June...I am hoping those dual center cannons will really rip up the British in Burma when I decide to use them. Maybe the front will go quiet by then....who knows.

[Lowpe]

Turn is away...

Fighters hiding in Burma, back off the front lines...

Out of Prome, we will see if the Allies continue to cross the river south of Prome...Rangoon has a corp HQ, an army HQ and a command HQ. Moulmein has a corp HQ and a command HQ. I may start pummeling Rangoon and north with artillery again, I have so much of it in the area...making the artillery stack of doom he might find hard to counter -- especially if he moves across the river and I can use the roads to move the ART up and back and really pound him. Allies lacking a road would never be able to react in time, and I should really cause a lot of attrition. That is given that he crosses the river line and it holds.[:)]

My ships were active for a couple of days but now they are all going dark again...Tone has a long way to go to return home empty handed from Karachi, but there is one more destroyer division out and about looking to catch the Allies in their supply line. Don't have fuel to stay long, but they are supported by three glen equipped subs searching...

Converted a factory from production to r&d of the Randy 102b FB.

Should cross 3 million supply in the HI shortly...

A large cleanup attack in the Changsha pocket should net another town and I think it has 20 or so light industry.

Curious to see what the Allies do with their fleet off Ocean Island...

[Lowpe]

Ok, below is the projected main road movement for the IJA ART stack of Death! It is almost all the big, big guns that did such terrible damage on Java. The Heavy stuff, and the not so heavy stuff. I think I can concentrated 25 units of ART.

If, and it is a big if, the Allies cross the river I hope to hold the jungle line, then use my infantry and eng to hold the line concentrate the ART and bombard until the Allies run away.

It will be brutal I think for the Allies.

Each hex will have plenty of AA btw.

[PaxMondo]

Just remember that big for the IJ isn't that big. The allies get AA units that the IJ would have to use 5 - 6 of their best units to match up. Ditto for arty. Not saying this isn't the right approach, just pointing out that what the allies can bring in terms of guns is far larger than anything the IJ has. Allied ID's have a lot more integral arty as well.

Still your biggest concern is a landing in force south of you. +4 ID's south of you with armor would be bad.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

Just remember that big for the IJ isn't that big. The allies get AA units that the IJ would have to use 5 - 6 of their best units to match up. Ditto for arty. Not saying this isn't the right approach, just pointing out that what the allies can bring in terms of guns is far larger than anything the IJ has. Allied ID's have a lot more integral arty as well.

Still your biggest concern is a landing in force south of you. +4 ID's south of you with armor would be bad.

Thanks for the dose of reality, but the stack was doing well at Prome, except for the one terrible register mistake, but now the Allies should be spread out or at the very least they are light in Rangoon currently. I should be able to get in a solid week of bombardments before the Allies can get more artillery themselves.

I think.

I think of the landing every day...and prepare for it every day. I am so gone at the first sign of it....

[PaxMondo]

I hope you will win the race. Landing at Tavoy, you will have to delay 5 - 7 days or he will beat you to Udon Thani. That's a lotta days.

Happened again in another AAR ... Herb's forces are trapped in SE Asia and he can't hold the China lines any more ... the worst nightmare for the IJ ... I don't recall exactly how Cantona did it, but the result is just terrible now ... [:(]

[Lowpe]

I don't recall how Cantona did it either but I am still going by my strategy -- I have started to pull back and within two weeks will have the Magwe Push divisions out and back...I think I will be okay. That will give me 4 infantry divisions plus support units in reserve...we will see!

[topeverest]

Understand and respect your point of view. I haven't yet reached the same conclusion that this is an unwise allied overconcentration. I must confess that I dont read opponent AAR's for fairness reasons.

If we are using the yardstick of speed to allied victory, then I would suggest we can view allied concentrations in Burma as misguided. That said, I don't believe that speed
to allied victory is the only fair measure, just the one we tend to use the most.
[:D][;)]

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

ORIGINAL: topeverest

But the allies have ground units to burn at this point in the war. How do we know the enemy has overcommitted in Burma versus just doing a better job of keeping combat units at the front?

They may have ground units to burn, but they're burning them in the most inefficent manner possible.

There's no need for a commitment to Burma as large as we're seeing here. Tiemanj is trying to kick the front door in with all the strength he can gather, when he really should have someone knocking on the door while everyone else climbs in a window.

[Lowpe]

May 27, 1943

Night bombing of Moulmein. No losses for Japan.

Daytime heavy sweeps and and bombing of Moulemin's air field. Allies lose 4 bombers to flak including several 4es.

In China, as expected another good attack...one more town to take to free up the rail line and then on to other projects.

[Lowpe]

Burma:

As expected the Allies stop their advance across the River...now I will move almost all the artillery to Rangoon and start pounding the British 2nd Division there.

[Lowpe]

With the Allied concentration on Moulmein, I missed an opportunity to strike at Chittagong and Akyab which was left unprotected...I could have hit the big fleet from Rangoon one more time. Shucks, but just not worth the risk of flying into super heavy CAP.

My raiding units are spotted off Perth, and will head for home...

All quiet elsewhere, moving on to another Month and I fear looking at what new Allied toys they will be getting in June of 43.