The District Commissioner's Bungalow

[Hertsblue]

After their battering in the Au Valley, Captain Suzuki's much reduced company was amalgamated with another unit of the 101st Regiment. The strengthened unit was allocated a a platoon of Type 97 tanks and despatched into the Indian border province of Assam to cut the 14th Army's communications by taking and holding the supply depot at Krishnapur. In addition to the tanks, Suzuki had been given a welcome anti-tank capability with the addition of a pair of Type 01 47mm anti-tank guns, together with a 20mm automatic anti-tank rifle for each of the infantry platoons.

The garrison at Krishnapur consisted of a weak company of the 103rd Punjabis, supported by a troop of Lee tanks from the Chittagong Horse and a troop of 25 pounders of the 95th Field Regiment RA.  The Punjabis also had the battalion carrier section under command. Hurriedly arriving at Government Hill, where stood the bungalow of the District Commissioner, their commander posted his 1st platoon in the plantation to the south-east of the bungalow. Beyond this, where the trees gave way to open ground, the carrier section was stationed, forming his right wing. Over on his left, he deployed his 2nd platoon, occupying the tree-line above the right branch of the stream. His support platoon formed in front of the bungalow itself, covering the open ground, whilst his 3rd platoon was held in reserve on the reverse slope of the hill. His tanks and guns, arriving up the road from the town, were ordered to deploy and await orders.

The British right. The DC's bungalow is top centre.


The position, seen from the British left. Japanese tanks and guns are just visible grouped around the tennis court.


Suzuki intended to mass the bulk of his troops on his left, whilst infiltrating one platoon across the two streams on his right in order to keep the the British left occupied. He made the unfortunate mistake, however, of moving his infantry across the tennis court and exposing them to a storm of 25pr shells and mortar bombs, forcing them back into cover. Meanwhile, his left flank infantry, together with the machine-guns and his own mortars, had reached the east bank of the stream and managed to get a few men across.


His own howitzers quickly silenced the British mortars in their exposed position, but he could do little about the field guns firing from behind the hill. His first rush against the plantation was thrown back with losses, compounded by the intervention of the British carriers, but his men had the satisfaction of knocking out two machines with their fast-firing AT rifle.
Thereafter, he resorted to laying smoke across the main frontage of the British position in the hope of getting his infantry close enough to put in a telling attack on the plantation. Which he subsequently did - clearing the feature at bayonet point.


Over on his right his infiltration had not fared so well. Faced by the Punjabi's 2nd platoon and the tanks of the Chittagong Horse, they fell back and assumed the defensive.


The Japanese had shot their bolt, however. Their tanks, climbing the hill towards the DC's bungalow, were about to be ambushed by the Horse and their attack on the plantation, while successful, had lost so many men that the counter-attack by the Punjabi's reserve platoon would almost certainly sweep them back to their starting positions.


This was a much closer game than the Au Valley and the terrain was much more broken. Even so, to attack a prepared position means losing a lot of troops very quickly - as the Japanese found out in 1944. The action is based loosely on Kohima where the famous tennis court still exists to this day - albeit as a war memorial. My model of the bungalow is based on a photograph of the Assistant Commissioner's residence at that place.

Rules used were FOW, amended to reflect our own prejudices, and the game took roughly two and a bit hours to play.  

 

[Matt J]

nice report, love the tennis court model 

[Steve J]

The tennis court is great and a nice little table .

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Lovely terrain, great report! 

[Albie Bach]

Sounds fun. Nice terrain. 

[sunjester]

Well done, excellent report. Sounds like a fun battle. 

[nikharwood]

Nicely done Ray - great battle on some lovely terrain  

Any chance of some more pics of the bungalow?

[Hertsblue]

Any chance of some more pics of the bungalow?

No problem. Here's the bungalow (machine-guns are optional).







And here's the tennis court. Keen tennis-players will spot my gaffe with the markings!

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

SACK the grounds man! The base lines are.... 

[Hertsblue]

I think the groundsman's cowering in the basement. He was the one man who wanted the Japanese attack to succeed.