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nashvillen -> RE: Chungking Falls! (12/16/2011 7:21:16 PM)
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OK, I have asked rjopel to not read any further, as I am going to give the group some information that might impact ongoing operations in China/Burma.
Buying the units from Kwantung was key, but also key in this was beating back his counterattacks and keeping up the supply flow into the region.
Everything started to come together about three months ago, game time, when I was finally able to convert all my 1E aircraft to 2E Helen IIs. The Chinese started dropping like flies. I have over 300 Helens supported by 50 or so Oscar IIs.
I kept the 16th Army in China and drove up from HK into Tuyun in mid 1942 where the Chinese stopped me. I just setup house keeping and forts until the right time. At the same time I massed units of the 11th, 13th, and 23rd armies in the Changsha area, laying siege to this location.
Also, the 1st and 12th armies heavily supported with new units drove on the Sian and over the mountains towards Kienko, stopped by the Chinese just one hex short of Kienko. While they were stopped and drawing all the reinforcements the Mongol Garrison Army with some units form the 1st and 12th armies took Lanchow and all of Eastern China, all the way to the Russian border. Evidently, rjopel moved all his units to defend Lanchow and when I was able to separate it from Chunking, they eventually fell. Those units except the Mongol Garrison Army, which stayed to garrison this large territory, moved onto join their brethren in the drive to Kienko. I had over 1000 guns here and just bombarded every turn, chewing up 2-400 casualties a day according to my reports. They, with some massed air support, eventually broke through into Kienko and into the Chungking plain. Part of these forces split off and are on the outskirts of Chengtu and I expect it to fall shortly.
Back to the 11th, 13th, and 23rd armies around Changsha area. They took Changsha with massed air support before Kienko fell and quickly mopped up this area. Driving the Chinese units in the forests going towards Cluihking (Can’t read the map very well at work, it is hex 79,50). As he reached the forests, I dropped the 3rd and 4th raiding regiments with nearly 100 prep for hex 79,50 and took it quickly, cutting off his supply to these already decimated units. My air decimated his forces as they retreated towards the forests with my armor quickly on his heals leapfrogging with shock attack and reserves. Once into the forests my infantry with artillery quickly continued the pressure, driving them up the road to the east and north into Chungking. I sealed off large numbers of units into Changteh, Kukong, and in the forests west of Ichang.
At the same time my units of the 16th and Southern Armies in Tuyun, which, for a almost a year, had been licking their wounds and prepping for Kweiyang attacked north, quickly overwhelming the defenders and taking Kweiyang in a couple of weeks. They are now using the armor leapfrog and are half way to Kunming with units of the defending Chinese in the forests just south of this road. I am pursing them with my infantry with intents to destroy them.
I was able to have units of the 1st, 12th, 11th, 13th, and 23rd Armies arrive at Chungking within a couple of weeks of each other. The shock attacks across the river were brutal. But I had enough artillery units to keep the Chinese at bay while rebuilding my losses. I sent units around Chungking to enter it and surround it. With my massed air support it was just a matter of time before I reduced it and took it.
Air support consisted of suppression of his air and keeping up on the suppression of his airfields along with ground attacks. These missions were flown out of Sian, Hankow, Wuchang, and Nanning with a balance of Helen’s, Oscars, and recon aircraft to see what was going on out there.
Supply for all this was initially brought into Shanghai from two TFs with ~30k lift each on a rotating basis. What I think helped keep my supply up in the later stages of the campaign was shifting from two TFs to three TFs and having them deliver to Hankow instead and then stopping off on the return leg in Shanghai to pick up resources for the Home Islands. I kept one TF doing a CS from Nagasaki to Shanghai with supply going to China and resources coming back. The other three kept up the Nagasaki-Hankow-Shanghai route. This kept 200k supply a month flowing into the region. It is, after all, all about the rice and bullets!
My situation in Burma is grim. I have been pressed back to the river that runs from Mandalay to Ragoon and don’t know how long the 15th Army can keep the barbarians out. I feel like I have air superiority over my lines as I give as good as I get usually and have more aircraft in the battles than the allies, usually. I have Tony’s, Tojos, some Zeros at Ragoon and just coming online some Georges (which seem like are the only thing that can shoot down those damned Liberators). I am taking more losses from the 4Es than the 1Es overall. Mandalay airfield is a wreck and I have pulled my fighters back to Magwe and Ragoon. I have more AF support at Moulmein with a size 5 AF there that will soon be a size 6.
The Chinese have taken Lashio and are down to Mandalay, but not in it yet. They also have a unit that took Taung Gyi, but I have cut it off with a cav unit just to the east from its supply source, so I don’t think it is going anywhere soon.
I hope to be able to drive on Kunming within two weeks and cut them off just as I am attacking with an airdrop by my 3rd and 4th raiding regiments which have been prepping for Tsiyung for a month, won’t quit be a 100 percent attack, but my recons of this city show no troops. I will be stepping up my air attacks on Kunming just like was done at Changteh and Chungking. Hopefully I will be able to get enough troops over the “hump” and into Burma in time to save it and keep it in my hands for most of the rest of the war.
As for the rest of my now free units, I will move them to Shanghai and Hong Kong for conversion to free HQs and distribution throughout the empire as needed. I only read elsewhere on these board s that I should have converted the units I brought from Manchuko and Kuantang to a free HQ so I wouldn’t have to pay twice. My primary objectives here are lots of troops around the distance it takes for B-29s to bomb the Home Islands. May him pay for every place he wants to go. I know I can’t keep him from them, but make it very costly in both men and materials and delay as long as possible.
Whew… I didn’t mean to make this into such a large post. But, there it is. Please do with it as you wish.
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