“Kashmir”, Game Turn 4
Game Turn 4 in this scenario is an “Initiative” turn for the Indians. At this point both sides are quickly running out of units, with the Pakistan/China side having a bit of an advantage since they started with a larger force. The Next War combat results table has high attrition for both attackers and defenders, so units tend to get chewed up pretty fast if they are on the front lines for a long time.
At the start of GT4, the Indians still hold 4 out of 5 VP hexes. Each is worth 5VP at game end. The Indians are also still ahead on casualty VPs by 6VP. Mitch (India) opens up his turn with some repositioning of his few remaining units. Since he is ahead, he is being conservative and trying to make my attacks as risky as possible. But, the Indian lines are thin, with just 2 steps of units holding Bandipora (4610) and a lone one-step reduced brigade in the 4511 mountain VP hex. Here is the situation at the end of exploitation movement during GT4 (red stars / green stars added to show VP hexes):
Knowing they are behind, the Pakistan/China side throws in everything they have left. Three attacks are launched during reaction combat phase (the first combat phase for the non-initiative player in an Initiative turn). The dice finally come around for the Pakistanis, and they are able to do some serious damage to the remaining Indian forces along the line northeast of Srinagar.
In the three bloody attacks, the Paks eliminate two Indian brigades (+2vp), but lose 2 of their own reduced divisions and a pair of brigades in the process (-8vp). The final Airmobile mission of the game is a bust with a Chinese Airborne brigade getting aborted back to Islamabad after trying to land in the mountain-road hex of 4612. But, the Indian line is getting thin and the Paks and Chinese still have some units left for a final push.
In the last movement/combat phase of the game (2nd player, basic movement/combat), the Pakistanis and Chinese throw everything left into the line to try to take two VP hexes. Both attacks are successful thanks to continued good dice and the thin Indian lines.
Here is the situation at game end, showing where the last couple of attacks happened. The Pakistan/China side holds 3 VP hexes (Baramulla, Bandipora, and 4511) with the Indian side holding 2 VP hexes (Srinagar and Anantnag).
But, taking those final few hexes has been costly for the Pakistanis and Chinese. Even though they net 5VP from holding more VP hexes, the casualty VP difference couldn’t be made up. The final score 32-27 in favor of the Indian side.
Pakistan/China Player GT4 Thoughts –
Great game, and congrats to Mitch for the win. It was great fun making the final push! However, I left myself too much to do on the last turn to pull it out. Even with good dice, I lost a lot of units taking those two VP hexes, so I wasn’t able to make up the difference on casualty VPs.
If I could have gotten over the minor river in GT2 (vs. GT3) and taken Bandipora in GT2 or GT3 (vs. GT4 at the end) I could have made a serious push on Srinagar for the win. But… Mitch positioned his forces well and made quick work of my Chinese paratroopers that I managed to get in the south end of the valley. The Air Defense rolls were brutal though, so a little more luck on those and I could have bottled up his two reinforcing divisions for at least another full turn. So, I think my overall plan was a good one. An alternative would have been to use the Chinese units in the line of battle with the Pakistanis instead of trying to “go deep” with them. But hey, how much fun is that? 🙂
India Player GT4 Thoughts –
Since I’m in a pretty good position from a VP hex standpoint and the attrition VP are in my favor, I think I’ll just move some guys around and set the best defense I can. With the attritional nature of the CRT, any counterattacks at this point will be counterproductive as I’ll almost certainly take losses as well. So, let’s set up for defense and see how it plays out.
Well, Doug got in some good licks at the end, but he did so at great cost. That leaves the Indians beaten up pretty good but “winning” the scenario. The Indian paratroopers holding out in Bandipoora did great work keeping the Pakistan/China advance at a halt as did the defense along the river line in 4410. Overall, a good little scenario which showcases most of the rules, and, moreover is fun to play.
Doug and I both hope y’all enjoyed this Series Replay. I am very much looking forward to seeing this one in print. Thanks!
Author: Doug Bush
I have been a gamer since the mid-1980s, when I started with Squad Leader, which of course led to a long obsession with Advanced Squad Leader. In college I was also a Harpoon fanatic, including gaming basically every naval combat from the Tom Clancy book Red Storm Rising. However, my true gaming passion has always been modern ground combat games such as the GDW Assault and Third World War series, and detailed modern air simulations like GMT's Downtown and Elusive Victory. As a former US Army armor officer, I love games that model operational level maneuver and logistics.
As an additional comment, it was refreshing to return to the roots of the system and concentrate solely on the ground war. I’m very excited about playing a larger scenario. You have relatively open terrain in the south which is ideal for sweeping armored attacks as well as the knife fight in the mountains which y’all just witnessed. I can’t wait to see this one in print!
Is Chinese participation considered likely in an Indo-Pak War? Do they really have an interest in this conflict?
We think Chinese intervention is possible in the near-future timeframe of the game (2015-2020). Pakistan and China have a growing military and diplomatic relationship. However, intervention is not automatic in the advanced scenarios, so if you wanted to play without the PRC forces that is possible. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Doug
As a follow-up to Doug’s reply, China is actively pursuing a policy of creating naval bases in and around the Indian Ocean, the so-called ‘String of Pearls.’ China has accused India’s efforts to oppose this as an ‘Iron Curtain.’ So, the rhetoric of conflict is certainly present. China and India have been at war before over the border (in 1962), and, more recently, both sides have been escalating the disputes. While they may not have an interest in an Indo-Pakistani conflict, it’s likely that they’d take advantage of such a conflict to press their own claims.
Nice replay! Thanks for sharing it–I’m looking forward to the game.