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DesertWolf101 -> RE: Empire of the Sun (8/29/2020 11:13:30 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Alfred
quote:
ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101
quote:
ORIGINAL: Alfred
That decisive victory at Jessore is the equivalent of Saladin's victory at Hattin. A much more promising exploitation is now open to Japan.
Forget Calcutta. Instead go to capture all of India. Just leave enough force in Calcutta to prevent being ejected.
1. Based on the data disclosed to date, I very much doubt there is much of an Allied field army left in the rest of India.
2. Most Indian bases have no garrison requirements. Those that do usually have a garrison requirement of 40 or less. Other than a very few bases, like Bombay, Madras, Delhi and Karachi, the garrisons will be quite vulnerable to even small Japanese attacks.
3. A couple of Japanese armour units can quickly capture a large number of Indian bases. The impact on the capacity of Indian industry to produce local supply to feed the in theatre forces will be devastated. Commensurately the benefit to Japan will be very significant.
4. Substantial importation of supply will need to be undertaken by the Allies to both feed and reequip the shattered units from Jessore. This importation will be very vulnerable to the MKB and some Netties. Easy VPs to Japan. When combined with the relatively low Allied device production rates, there ain't gonna be a new Allied field army in India soon.
5. Faced with a rampaging and unopposed IJA in the countryside, the Allied commander then has to decide whether a retreat from Calcutta is in order. Consequently going on an India wide conquest operation will probably make the capture of Calcutta much easier as the devastated Allied units move out.
Alfred
Solid and logical advice Alfred. I also very much doubt that the Allies have many forces in the rest of India right now as well. The Australian divisions, the British 18th, and a huge number of Indian forces have already either been sighted or engaged here. Many of these came as reinforcements from the rest of the subcontinent recently when it became apparent to my opponent that my main effort was here. There are also some substantial forces to the east in Assam as well. The biggest question in my mind is when the American divisions/units will be arriving in the wider theater.
I have seven infantry divisions in the Calcutta area right now. In the aftermath of the battle my plan now is to keep three with significant artillery support around Calcutta to bottle up the still very large albeit battered Allied forces there (intel reports 118,000 troops!). One division will head towards Ledo and start clearing Assam. Another will head towards Chittagong and connect with the Japanese forces advancing up from Akyab there (securing my overland communications and potential overland retreat path. And two will follow up the armored drive deeper into India. These can eventually be reinforced as more assets arrive.
My biggest regret, and a mistake linked to my inexperience with the game, is my failure to allocate enough paratrooper units to the Indian adventure. The one unit I did allocate is currently rebuilding at Rangoon from the battering it took with its early commitment at Akyab. This would have greatly facilitated my advance deeper into India, but now I have to mostly advance at the pace of my tank regiments. Any ideas how long I have before the American units start arriving in large numbers?
Approximately 9 weeks from the time your opponent realised that Alpine Dingo was essentially a feint and West Coast units should be sent to India.
The timing is approximate as it depends on several factors but in simplified terms:
3 days to pack into strategic mode
4 days to reach the East Coast
38 days East Coast to Capetown
1 day to load at Capetown
10 days to arrive on map
5 days to cross the Indian Ocean and arrive at an Indian port
1 day to unload
There is your approximate 9 weeks.
Considering that Alpine Dingo appears to have fooled your opponent, he is probably still about 3 weeks out from Capetown. Quite possibly the bulk of the transfers are still 5 weeks from reaching Capetwon.
Of course your opponent could simply have redirected units already en route to, or already arrived, in Australia. Transit from Australia to India will be much quicker, somewhere in the vicinity of about 3 weeks from today but, and it is a very big but, the trip will be extremely dangerous. As a general rule, in AE Allied west - east passage of the Indian Ocean is relatively (emphasis on the word relatively) safe but south - north passage is very dangerous and not to be attempted without forming a very strongly protected convoy. Your opponent does not have the assets to safely transit south to north as his carriers are either sunk or heavily damaged in the eastern Pacific.
When I said there ain't gonna be an Allied field army soon in India, I already had in mind what American forces could be spared/reattached to unrestricted HQs and their transit time to India.
As to your concerns about the KB, they are largely misplaced. It is very rare for any Surface Combat TF, of either side, to deliver any meaningful blows to enemy fleet carriers. On almost every one of those rare occasions where surface and carrier TFs meet, the fleet carriers are usually able to disengage before any shots are fired at all.
Basically, you should encounter no serious resistance in Indian until your reach the Line of Death. At that point you can reassess whether crossing the Line of Death is warranted. Be aware that the Emergency Reinforcements triggered are most beneficial to the Allies, not in the form of the additional LCUs received off map, but in the dumping into the pools of important Allied devices and the early arrival of advanced Spitfires which if handled well, can seriously win control of the airspace to the Allies.
Alfred
Brilliant, thank you Alfred - this is a great estimated timetable for me to work with.
I also doubt much traffic has made it through the north-south route between Australia and India. I have roving raiders in the area and decent search. It's possible, but pretty risky. I even gave notice that the less risky west-east passage is not immune from threat when I intercepted that large supply/fuel convoy a few weeks back.
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