Announcement

**McMonkey** · February 25, 2007, 19:16

Just a quick attempt at a map. Its a bit blured and wonky but I can sort out a full size scan if you PM me your e-mail address. There are a few others as well.

I take it "Meiktila, 1945" is the Osprey title? If not I would recommend their offering, it is almost worth the $ for the illustrations and maps alone. The layout of Osprey books are also ideal for games designers!

I don't have any books specifically on Burma, most of the info is spread about a bit but I can post some interesting stuff when I know what sort of thing you are looking for

Excellent choice of project matter Boco

Attached Files

**Boco** · February 25, 2007, 23:13

Thanks! Yeah, a good 1/3 of the books I used for EA were Osprey titles. I still think Fairline's gotta be a ghost artist for their books. It's the only way he could afford so many of them!

Agricola (and RL) are keeping me busy at the moment, so I'll be in the reading and pencil & paper stage for a bit. Besides, that Allen book is long! Anyone have any good references about Indian political history before and during this period?

I'm toying with making Chindits into helicopters. They might have para flags themselves and/or work with a para-CV 'transport'. Now, if I can just figure out how to keep them off the ocean.

Also want to test a whiz-bang (I hope!) partisan idea.

Anyone got any good ideas for river crossings?

**fairline** · February 26, 2007, 02:28

Originally posted by Boco
Thanks! Yeah, a good 1/3 of the books I used for EA were Osprey titles. I still think Fairline's gotta be a ghost artist for their books. It's the only way he could afford so many of them!

You've chosen the one period for which I don't have any Ospreys

Are you sure you don't want to make a scenario about Renaissance Poland (my latest acquisition; you gotta love those winged hussars).

Didn't Case say he had Slim's (auto-?) biography? He's probably your best bet here.

...... Also want to test a whiz-bang (I hope!) partisan idea.

I fear EA has had a permanent effect on your vocabulary. There's a whole new bunch of English upper-class-twit phrases you'll need for the 1940's.

**curtsibling** · February 26, 2007, 03:22

I love the insane drivel for that era!

"This bally CIV2 malarky is whoppo of a wheeze, what?"

**Exile** · February 26, 2007, 03:26

Just asking . . . .

Are you guys gonna start shooting staked-out rabbits?

**curtsibling** · February 26, 2007, 05:12

What, what! I say we shoot some of those frightful peasants...!

Or failing that, some pheasants.

**Case** · February 26, 2007, 05:38

A whole lotta books

Originally posted by Boco
Let's start with books. Like many of us, I use scenarios as an excuse to go out and build a library. Right now, the shelves are bare on this one. On the campaign itself, I have "Burma" by Allen, "Meiktila, 1945" by Young, and an S&T article somewhere. What are your recommendations?

I strongly recomend 'Defeat into Victory' by Field Marshal Slim. It's a great read and one of the best sources on the Burma Theatre. As a bonus, it was written right here in Canberra when Slim was our Governor General. If you can't find a second hand copy it's $16.75 + postage on Amazon. Ronald Lewin's book 'Slim. The Standard Bearer' is well regarded, but I'm yet to read it.

If you can get your hands on them, the British official histories of the theatre are excellent and have heaps of OOB data, detailed maps and everything else you might want (they're an obsessive's dream come true). If you can't find them my old university library has copies and I still have borrowing rights and can help (though I'm not a student anymore so I can't be as much help as I was with EA).

All of the US Army's useful campaign brochures on the CBI theatre are available at: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/CBI/index.html and should adequetely cover off the US part of the scenario. I don't think that the relevant volumes of the US Army official history 'Green Books' are online yet, but I'm sure that you can hunt down copies if you want the full details of what Stilwell got up to from the American perspective. Barbara Tuchman's 'Stilwell and the American Experience in China' is very well regarded, but I haven't read it and don't know how much coverage there is of Burma.

If you're interested in the politics and economics of this part of the world before and during the war and the experiances of the native population under Japanese occupation then Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper's excellent book 'Forgotten Armies' will be useful (and it's a great read). While its coverage of the fighting is very limited the book is invaluable for explaining why there was relatively little native resistance to the Japanese and their relationship with the puppet regime they set up to run Burma (and which turned out to be a pretty effective national liberation movement which more or less ended up replacing the Brits after the war).

The relevant volumes of the Australian Official histories at: http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/volume.asp?conflict=2 have some coverage of the theatre, but this is limited to a chapter in the Navy and RAAF histories as relatively few Australians fought in the CBI theatre (a few warships and a large number of RAAF pilots and ground grew were seconded to RAF squadrons). The only reason I mention them are that they're freely available online and might be good summaries.

Originally posted by fairline
Didn't Case say he had Slim's (auto-?) biography? He's probably your best bet here.

I have a first edition which seems to have been originally a gift from one Australian senator to another (I paid $10 for it second hand

)

**Boco** · February 26, 2007, 06:23

Really boffo Case, thanks (

at the rabbit hunters). I only have Tuchman's (unread) book from your list. Actually you remind me. Bergerund's "Fire" books give good background for this era.

**fairline** · February 26, 2007, 12:45

Re: Just asking . . . .

Originally posted by Exile
Are you guys gonna start shooting staked-out rabbits?

I prefer beggar-kicking myself

**Case** · February 27, 2007, 02:03

Originally posted by Boco
Actually you remind me. Bergerund's "Fire" books give good background for this era.

I thought that they only covered the South West Pacific? Anyway, the Australian troops had pretty much the same equipment and training as the British and Indian troops in the period the books cover.

**Boco** · February 27, 2007, 08:06

His books also cover the hardware and tactics in considerable detail, which I find useful when working out unit stats.

Did Force Z ever operate north of Singapore?

**Case** · February 28, 2007, 02:34

Originally posted by Boco
Did Force Z ever operate north of Singapore?

Yep: it operated off the north-west coast of Malaya until HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk on 10 December 1941: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking...es_and_Repulse (photo of ship's bell by yours truely)

**Boco** · February 28, 2007, 07:04

Sorry, one of my books carelessly called Z Special Unit, Force Z. Did Z Special Unit operate in CBI? I've seen info about ops in Singapore and Borneo.

That's quite a Wiki photo gallery! Must've been a fun trip to UK.

**Case** · March 1, 2007, 02:30

Originally posted by Boco
Sorry, one of my books carelessly called Z Special Unit, Force Z. Did Z Special Unit operate in CBI? I've seen info about ops in Singapore and Borneo.

I don't think that Z Special Unit operated in Malaya proper and it definetly didn't play any part of the war in Burma (though individual Australians were attached to SOE). Z Special Unit was part of the Allied Intelligence Bureau and ultimately fell under MacArthur's command.

Announcement

A Slim Victory

A Slim Victory

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment