There is only War... Castor Troy vs Mundy - DBB Scen 28

[Mundy]

Probably nothing.

He does have pretty much nothing on the west coast.

My one weak blind spot in the game is running the ground war and I don't want to bungle a big land campaign. I was hoping I could grab something vital quickly via an ampphib type operation.

You've got me thinking now, Alfred. I could grab one of the western ports, and without actually attacking, actually take it. He would gain zero intel on what I've brought over.

I have bunches of paras and transports at Jaffna that I could use to thwart any countermove. I also have plenty of regular troops on Ceylon and lots of transports to make a secondary landing somewhere.

I wish I knew how heavily Karachi is occupied... or Bombay. Actually, I can recon Bombay.

I'll think on this a bit. Plenty of time, as it will take a while for my ships to assemble. I've got about 8 days until two battleships at Pearl are ready to go. That will probably mark the time needed to start this.

[Mundy]

An update:

I currently have 7 divisions and 8 regiments currently at Cape Town. Another 3 divisions are inbound on ships. A USMC raider and para battalion are also there. Probably some tanks inbound also.

I'm bringing it.

[Evoken]

Hoping for allied comeback in this game , good luck!

[Mundy]

Thanks Evoken. Encouragement helps.

I'm thinking of moving the USMC paras to Ceylon with the rest. Have to mull.

I've got recon on Bombay. If it's undefended, it'll probably be the spot.

[Mundy]

02 October 1943

Reconning Bombay shows around 40,000 troops there. I'm guessing a similar amount at Karachi.

Checking elsewhere, Ahmedabad has about 3,000 troops there. Surat and Bhaunagar seem to be unoccupied. Both ports have some light industry present. Could be a promising starting point.

I don't know guys. Should I head north or land somewhere quiet down south?

Most of my ground forces are at Cape Town, with mainly support troops and aircraft in transit there.

Bombay and Karachi would gain me the best airfields, though it would be a fight to take either one of them. Lot of smaller areas I can take while giving him zero intel.

I'll need time to prep for whatever I settle with.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Mundy

02 October 1943

Reconning Bombay shows around 40,000 troops there. I'm guessing a similar amount at Karachi.

Checking elsewhere, Ahmedabad has about 3,000 troops there. Surat and Bhaunagar seem to be unoccupied. Both ports have some light industry present. Could be a promising starting point.

I don't know guys. Should I head north or land somewhere quiet down south?

Most of my ground forces are at Cape Town, with mainly support troops and aircraft in transit there.

Bombay and Karachi would gain me the best airfields, though it would be a fight to take either one of them. Lot of smaller areas I can take while giving him zero intel.

I'll need time to prep for whatever I settle with.

Which side has Diego Garcia? If he has it, you should probably take it at the same time you land in India. You need a clear path for your logistics train from CT to the invasion troops.

[Mundy]

I've got all the islands. Just Japanese subs lurking.

[BBfanboy]

You could consider a bogus invasion of the Surat area since it will take him some time to get troops there and when he does, land your main force at one of the bases on the southwest coast of India and race to Madras. That would give you lots of bases that could be developed for air support and he would have limited lines of approach from the area north of Hyderabad. I am assuming you could keep sea control and air superiority once you get established.

[Mundy]

He's got nothing on the SW bases. I could probably take them with my paras. If he were to empty Madras, I would probably land all my Ceylon troops there.

Hyderabad is heavily occupied with a bunch of fighters there. Not much west of there except Bombay.

No turn til Friday. I'll post a map shot then.

[Bif1961]

I still think landings on the SW coast of Sumatra with the goal of taking Palembang and denying him the use of his best oil field and landings on the NW coast of Java to take Batavia and eventually take all of Java and threaten his oilfields at Balikpapan and Tarakan. His Achilles heel is his oil and this move thrusts a dagger right into his life's blood, oil and fuel. Your long range bombers can destroy the oilfields of Balikpapan and Tarakan while you control Palembang. You are behind the historic time line by a large degree and by taking several airfields in Sumatra and Java you can release your carriers to be used elsewhere as he shifts his forces to take back his most vital assets, fuel and oil facilities, as he burns fuel and oil to try and secure and safeguard them. That will give you a free hand to take bases elsewhere without a massive carrier threat. It is a gamble but so is anything else you try and it gets you to cause more damage to him now and in the future, unlike landing in NW India or Aleutians would. Time for nibbling at the edges has past, be bold.

[Mundy]

As daring as Sumatra/Java is, I'm not sure I could pull it off. KB could sweep in and wreck everything fairly quickly. I'll only have two CVs and three CVLs to cover this.

I think I will test this route. I'll send a small cruiser force SW of Sumatra/Java and see if naval searches find them or not. If not, I'll know he's being "loose" with his air searches and may try it.

One problem with Sumatra is that I don't think that island produces much in the way of supply. I'd hate to have to always need to ship more in.

If this doesn't pan out, I'm favoring Bombay at this point, with further landings, depending on how his troops react. I've plenty of troops on Ceylon with transports I can dump somewhere, along with about 4 para units, complete with transports.

[Mundy]

Maps:

[Mundy]

The Other:

[Mundy]

As it is. I'm looking at 13 divisions, at or enroute to Cape Town, along with another 9 regiments. Add to that some armor and combat engineers.

I can definitely take something.

[RangerJoe]

With the Allies swimming in supply and fuel, why not bring in a lot to begin with? Why does the area have to support itself?

[Anachro]

With proper planning: a lightning strike on Diego Garcia, Ceylon, and towards Calcutta, ignoring the north.

[Mundy]

Well, I hold Diego and Ceylon, so that's not an issue

09 October 1943

Email from Christian: "what’s that task force doing off Sumatra?"

Answer: "Oh, just checking something out. Nothing much."

So much for that. If I can't whip in there quickly and unseen, I don't think I'll go that route. It's only a few days away from Truk for KB, and I can't fight them just yet.

I think I'm settling on Bombay. I've more than enough troops to crunch what's there, and it has a level 9 airfield. More than enough support forces will be in after the landings to make use of it. I also have tons of airpower on Ceylon, so planes shouldn't be an issue on this mission. If I push west, I can probably take all the rail hubs and cut anyone off to the west (Karachi). I've some troops near Delhi, so they could also help cut some rail off.

I don't want to spend the entire rest of the war in some slugfest in India, but just maybe I can pull something off. If, by some chance I secure the country, I can look at Singapore, then Sumatra and Java. Proabably bypass Burma. I figure 1945 before I push onwards from there, and I'll have better carrier support by then anyways.

[Anachro]

What does his force disposition look like? Have you been stockpiling fuel and supplies on Ceylon? Personally, I don't see a reason to take Bombay when you can go deeper south and threaten to cut off anything he might have in the north. Taking Bombay would probably be easy enough, but its also not much of a existential threat to occupying IJA forces, can potentially be contained and certainly the IJA should have ample time to reposition and regroup, and is a slow launching point from pushing further in. A deeper push south would be far more dangerous to the IJA and you already have a close-by launching point with Ceylon in your hands.

Then again, I have no idea as to the actual disposition of his forces: if he has only a smattering of forces holding the north, I guess you can quickly take it. If he has re-concentrated his main defenses back towards the Burmese border,a landing in the south might not be as devastating. Other potential easy and nearby landing points that might not be as provocative as, say, Calcutta, could be Madras.

Just voicing my initial thoughts. I should go back and read the rest of your AAR to get a better view of the Indian situation. Even if you decide on Bombay, staging your forces in Ceylon and making a show of it for the IJN/IJA could make your opponent think you plan to conduct a landing from there into the bay of Bengal, potentially having him reinforce the south at the expense of the north.

EDIT

Ah, it's the worry of KB, which is a good one. I still think a Calcutta operation is viable if you know it's at Truk. Nonetheless, your safest bet is Madras and Bombay as you say. I think Madras has the benefit of being very close to Ceylon and your airbases there.

[Mundy]

Well the cruisers got away. CT seems to have a bomber shortage in the area.

After much mulling, I'm going to settle with Calcutta as the target. I can probably drop 9 divisions there plus extras on it and then 3 divisions plus extras on Diamond Harbor. DH seemed lightly held when last checked. I'll keep recon running in NW India to get him thinking that ways. Calcutta also has a level 9 airfield, which will help.

Everyone on Ceylon is prepping for Madras. I can drop megatonnage worth of bombs there as well. Paras will fly off and take scattered bases.

One repairing battleship has departed Pearl for Cape Town. The other will leave in about 3 days. Another CV and CVL will also probably make it into the game before I kick this off. I think my CV/CVL count will be around 3/5, with 4 BBs along.

I've had a massive amount of subs covering the way in to Calcutta for quite some time. Haven't encountered much of anything coming in. Don't know if there's supply issues there, or if he's just producing enough to get by. Elsewhere, my subs have been sinking ships... mainly in the Borneo region. I'm keeping them in deep water, if possible.

[Mundy]

13 October 1943

Some movement in India.

A small force took Bellary in India. Probably trying to grab some free VPs.