Part 18: India: April 14, 1942

As the spring rains continue to fall, we're trying to clear the eastern coast of India with our core forces. Calcutta simply needs to hold the line. Meanwhile, the next phase of the operation -- the invasion of Ceylon -- is just about to begin.

Axis Turn 11: April 14, 1942
Rain (Mud)


The tanks blocking the road have moved away, but we can't get past the infantry in our way any more easily.


Our fleet advances cautiously. Poor weather makes for bad hunting.


Allied Turn 11: April 14, 1942
Rain (Mud)


The Kawaii tanks withstand all assaults on them.


Axis Turn 12: April 14, 1942
Cloudy (Mud)


These planes are definitely being supported by a carrier somewhere, but the Sea Hurricanes are not too hard to take down.


Shortly thereafter, we spot the carriers Hermes and Indomitable. The cruisers open fire.


Our light tanks finish off one unit of infantry, but at this rate, it'll still be days before we can get anywhere.


The French pull back to await more support from our forces before they press the attack on Madras.


Allied Turn 12: April 14, 1942
Cloudy (Mud)


Our core light cruiser gets the better of the Edinburgh cruiser.


Some of these naval fighters seem to have higher quality pilots.


Strike craft from the British carriers do manage to finally hit something -- the Takao.


The Mosquito proves to be quite dangerous to ships as well.


Axis Turn 13: April 14, 1942
Rain (Mud)


Our cruisers send one carrier to the bottom of the sea.


With the southern battle at an impasse, we see if the auxiliary troops in the north can make any progress.


Allied Turn 13: April 14, 1942
Rain (Mud)


Fighting continues near Jamshadpur. There are few actual casualties.


The British tanks chip away at our light tanks.


Axis Turn 14: April 14, 1942
Cloudy (Mud)


Skirmishing continues to the north of Calcutta, still to no effect.


The break in the weather allows us to send out the Vals and attack the ground forces.


That lets us push forward a fair distance down the road.


The torpedo bombers nearly take down the light cruiser before it gets to port.


The base in the Andamans allows all our fighters to get in on the naval action.


Allied Turn 14: April 14, 1942
Cloudy(Mud)


Some of the newer Spitfire models are in the theater now, and they can battle with the Zero rather successfully.


Axis Turn 15: April 14, 1942
Rain (Mud)


Jamshedpur is prepared to hold off our tanks. We'll need more troops to take it, assuming we really want to take it, that is.


We chase down the tanks along the shoreline, while on the road we knock out some of the infantry. Progress is definitely being made.


Most of the British capital ships appear to be gone now; all that is left for our battleships to engage are the smaller craft.


Allied Turn 15: April 14, 1942
Rain (Mud)


A counterattack at Jamshedpur is less than successful for the Indian forces.


The French still can't get anywhere in range of Madras before the artillery guns scare them off.


Axis Turn 16: April 15, 1942
Rain (Mud)


Prestige has finally built back up. We gain another squadron of Zeros.


The Indian troops appear to be trying to retreat. We're still inflicting casualties and taking more ground, but it's slow going in this muck.


We left Raipur undefended, and now the Indian forces are ready to reclaim it.


Things do improve in the north, as we capture Jamshedpur.


Allied Turn 16: April 15, 1942
Rain (Mud)


Even with Jamshedpur captured, the enemy finds our weaker forces and hits them hard.


Our rear guard is attacked by the forces that fled into the hills. We may need to divert forces to secure the supply road from Calcutta.

Axis Turn 17: April 15, 1942
Rain (Mud)



There are still a lot of troops all along the road behind us -- it's been too hard to really clear them out between the weather and the unforgiving terrain.


Another small stretch of road is secured to the south; it seems as though we're finally gaining the upper hand.


We continue to search the seas, but we haven't found any more sign of enemy ships.


Allied Turn 17: April 15, 1942
Rain (Mud)


After more intense fighting, Jamshedpur is retaken by the enemy.


Fresh troops replace the ones that we've been beating up on down along the coast, but they don't achieve any success in battle.


Axis Turn 18: April 15, 1942
Cloudy (Mud)


The road is kept clear, but at a heavy cost.


The units that retook the Raipur airfield are about to move on Cuttack.


At long last, the tanks that bedeviled us on the southern road are eliminated.


Support from the ships offshore is assisting our advance, since the weather is too unpredictable to count on air support.


Allied Turn 18: April 15, 1942
Cloudy (Mud)


The Allies are using their own fighters to strafe our units.


Our artillery is going to be the key to taking Jamshedpur.


While we haven't made much more progress, we have won the naval battle. We also have a secure position in the country and are now ready to take decisive control with our next steps.




Unit Spotlight

Two capital ships today, since we haven't had a chance to see much naval action until this battle.

Akagi-class Carrier (1 built)
PG Name: Akagi Type:Carrier
Effective Date: 3/39
Value:32 Cost:576 Spot:4 Move:6 MM:Deep Naval Fuel: 64 Capacity: 3
Init:3 Range:0 SA:3 HA:6 AA:[9] NA:9 DA:0 GD:16 AD:8 TD:12 Ammo:40

In accordance with the 'conversion' allotment of the Washington Naval Treaty, the Akagi was built on a battlecruiser hull. Originally constructed in 1927, for a brief time it was the largest carrier in the world. It was extensively redesigned in 1938 to match more modern designs (switching to a single flight deck on top, and putting the island on the port side) which is presumably the in-game model. It served throughout the war with China and then was part of the Kido Butai, before being scuttled due to damage taken during the Battle of Midway.

In-game analysis: This is slightly better than the Kaga for roughly the same price. It would be kind of nice to get a capacity of 4, just to make the decision that much easier. Still, this is in all respects a pretty decent middle-of-the-road carrier with no real deficits.

Nagato-class Battleship (2 built)
PG Name: Nagato Type:Battleship
Effective Date: 7/36
Value:18 Cost:324 Spot:2 Move:5 MM:Deep Naval Fuel: 90
Init:5 Range:6 SA:7 HA:10 AA:[4] NA:18 DA:0 GD:18 AD:9 TD:10 Ammo:40
Special: Night Optics

The two ships of this class were built in 1920 and 1921, just before the Washington Naval Treaty. They were the first battleships entirely of Japanese design, and the first ships to use 16" guns. They remained as the fleet flagships all the way until the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

In-game analysis: This ship is no slouch -- it's nearly the equal of the Fuso. The problem is that it's only nearly the equal of the Fuso. For a rather small amount of prestige more you can get a significant boost to naval attack and defense, and that relegates this to a second-place choice. Given the price of a battleship, it's not worth it to skimp.