Postcard Myitkyina, Burma 1944

Description

Myitkyina was a prolonged torturous affair, but vital to the re-opening of the Ledo/Burma Road to supply the beleaguered Chinese allies. After an end-around to the north over/through a high mountain ridge, Chinese divisions and US Merrill's Marauders - 5307th Infantry Regiment - descended on the town and its airfield from the north to the surprise - shock - of the Japanese troops on site. The Marauders were exhausted and disease-ridden - unlike the wise Chinese they didn't boil drinking water, apparently trusting in water purification tablets. Mite-infected typhus killed one of battalion commanders in 1 day! They finally grabbed the airfield after a fight and flew in supplies and reinforcements, but under-estimating the Japanese troops. Some of the Japanese were 18th Division which played its part in The Rape of Nanking and was an extremely tough/resilient outfit, as the rules reflect. (Its "1*" units cannot be Disrupted at all, unlike all others.) They defended very aggressively and even had us worried at one point that they might come out of the town and re-take the airfield. The US Army green book about this is titled Stilwell's Command Problems, and he may have created the worst, despite his brilliant generalship up until this battle. It appears the British were ready to send in a fresh division - the 36th Indian Division - I'm having it in the game as an option at the cost of the Allied player getting no better than a draw - but Vinegar Joe was uninterested. Did he not want to share a victory with the British? Note the rail line and roads going down the hex-EDGE - there is a reason. Anybody want to guess what it is? ? Stacking is 3 battalions, with a regiment (or brigade) counting as 2, and rigid. 11 weekly turns. 8 Japanese units plus a couple decoys. 15 US, Chinese, and British units. —description from the designer

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