vv brady i know the ground oob and the russian air army oob im lookin fer ijaaf
The russian broke through using their t34s but the avenues of attack are narrow
John Erickson states,
"....the Soviet Manchurian campaign in 1945 most
closely approaches in style and scope what the Soviet
command presently envisages in the way of high-speed
ground operations--the speed of the advance, high speed
movement along several axes without undue attention
being paid to open flanks, the logistics problems of
maintaining strong armoured columns and the employment
of airborne forces in the full 'depth' of the
theatre....As an example of the Soviet
blitzkreig....the Far Eastern campaign is a much more
realistic 'model' than the majority of the operations
in the European theatre during the period 1941-45."
This is what caught my attention. At the beginning of the operation even the Soviets didn't envision how well it actually went.
there were 11 combined-arms armies, one tank army and three air armies on the soviet side
Russian Army fielded 1,577,725 men, 26,137 guns and mortars, and 5,556 tanks and self-propelled artillery pieces. The Air Force possessed 3,800 aircraft while the Soviet Navy (Pacific Fleet and Amur River flotilla) had distinct superiority on the seas (600 fighting ships as touted by Gorelov) and an additional 1500 A/C. This vast array of men and arms gave the Russians a 2.2:1 ratio advantage in men, 4.8:1 in artillery and tanks and a 2:1 advantage in aircraft.
In early July 1945, the Kwangtung Army was expanded from 11 infantry divisions to more than 24 divisions. Unfortunately for the Kwangtung Army, more than one-fourth of its entire combat force was mobilized only ten days prior to the Soviet offensive (8 of 24 divisions and 7 of 9 brigades).
By August 1945, the Kwantury Army had pieced together a combat force of 1,155 tanks (largest 37mm), 5,360 guns (largets 57 mm) and 1,800 aircraft. Most of it was junk.
The japaneese had planned to fight delaying actions not to enter into a pitched battle. But they didn't realize the Russians had already been building up its force and had under estimated its size. They also had not completed fortifications.
However the routes of attack by the russians on all 3 fronts were small and predicted. Also the russians never worried about being flanked they simply drove through. The japaneese offered little resistance.
The Trans-Baikal Front represented 41.4% of the total forces fielded by the Soviets: 654,040 men formed one tank army,
four combined-arms armies, one Soviet-Mongolian Cavalry-Mechanized Group, and an air army.
The Soviet's thrust in western Manchuria would be significantly hindered if the Japanese defenders occupied the key passes in the Grand Khinghan Mountains or if the long supply train failed to keep pace with the rapid pace of the tank and mechanized columns
At the start it wasn't as clear cut as it turned out. The japaneese made numerous strategic and tactical errors. The outcome would have been a Russian victory theres no doudt.
My point is a terrain map with mountains and mountain passes, plains, desert and coastal areas that is somewhat real would be fun to play on.
As for a scenario the circumstances the ija is in here is no worse or better then it was for germany near the end of '45.
The russians had a 2.2/1 advantage in aircraft but like the lw during big week the ijaaf would not engage the entire force but in the frame work of "delaying actions" would seek out areas of local air superiority in which to attack/defend. Victory conditions would be set just like any other. We dont have the variety of aircraft in ah to do anything like this but as a terrain it would be fun.
The Russians pulled off some amazing stuff and had some luck as well. There weren't that many js3's chargin through the trans-baikl then through the mongolin desert then through the Grand Khinghan Mountains.
Heres a brief but good write-up
Manchuria 1945
