Local Yokel
Posts: 1494
Joined: 2/4/2007 From: Somerset, U.K. Status: offline
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The question of whether/how the Japanese can block overland supply to China via the Burma or Ledo Roads probably has a major bearing on what they do in Burma and what the Allied response should be. However, how the Japanese can accomplish this is no longer clear to me. The AE manual says this: "For the Allies, if a rail/road/trail path free of Japanese units between Tsuyung and Ledo or between Tsuyung and Rangoon can be traced, than each day, 500 supply points per turn are added to Tsuyung." So what's a "trail"? Here's what the manual says: "Railway Trail: Railway lines that do not have co-located roads, are able to be used by ground units by following the railway roadbeds. That is, by walking or driving along the railway roadbeds, rather than using actual trains. In game terms this ability is handled by the presence of the “railway trail” road type along all railways that do not coexist with main or secondary roads. No other trails exist on the map other than along such railway lines. The existence of foot trails is assumed in all hexes on the map that do not have roads defined, and this is accounted for in the off-road movement rates. Therefore there are no actual “trails” defined on the map except for along railway lines as described here." It appears to be a straightforward matter for the Japanese to block the original Burma Road by taking Rangoon. But what about the Ledo/Stilwell Road? There certainly aren't any visible 'railway trails' - or any other road or railway - connecting Ledo with Myitkyina. That implies that supplies can never reach China via the Ledo Road (and in reality the first convoy to traverse the Ledo Road didn't do so until January 1945), in which case the Japanese have no need to go up the Irrawaddy to deny China this source of supply. But if supply can pass over the 'assumed' foot trails in the forest/jungle south of Ledo then 'closure' of the Ledo Road is apparently impossible. I think it has been suggested that the game checks whether this supply route to China is blocked just by examining ownership of bases along the routes of the Burma and Ledo Roads. Is that so? If it is, then the manual is presumably wrong. Whilst on the subject of supply, I can't find anything in the AE manual that corresponds with the original WitP manual's entry on what constitutes the maximum supply path value and how it's calculated. In WitP section 14.3 of the manual gives the formula. In the AE manual the closest corresponding section seems to be 15.3, but no formula is given there. If the formula is set out somewhere else, can someone please tell me where I can find it?
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