Bunker Busting on Nunshigum Ridge

With the release of the Far East Handbook for Chain of Command much of my historical reading has returned to the Burma campaign. The new rules covering Japanese bunkers and other fortifications offered a new level of experience for platoon actions in this theatre. Those rules and my reading led to the development of a short campaign for Chain of Command that will be played out in the AARs here on the blog. This post provides background to the action itself and how I developed the campaign.

As part of my reading I returned to a book I first read more than twenty years ago - Tank Tracks to Rangoon by Bryan Perrett. I'd forgotten what a good book it is. It's a very good account of British armour in Burma in the context of the whole campaign. As I'd also been reading a lot about the battles at Imphal in 1944 I took particular interest in accounts of the actions to recapture Nunshigum Ridge from the Japanese and in particular the action of the 3rd Carabiniers supporting the Dogra Regiment.

The tanks played a key role in dislodging the Japanese from bunkers and other positions and I thought the action offered a perfect setting for a campaign that allowed us to play out how that could all work on the tabletop.

Nunshigum ridge dominated the northern end of the Imphal Plain and offered an ideal observation platform to watch all the movements below including the town, important road junctions and the principal IV Corps airstrip. It was this hill that Major General Yamaguchi commander of the Japanese 15th Division wanted his 51 Regiment to secure.

III Battalion under Major Morikawa attacked on 6th April and drove off the two platoons of the 3/9 Jats that were sent to defend it. The Jats commander sent up another company after the Japanese positions had been softened up by a Hurribomber air strike. They held the hill briefly before being driven off once again. By 11th April the ridge was back firmly in Japanese hands. This threw the defence of Imphal into jeopardy with the potential to undermine the entire British position.

It was now clear to Lieutenant-General Briggs the commander of 5th Indian Division that a much more concerted effort would be needed if the Japanese were to be driven from the ridge. This time they planned an assault of considerable ferocity.

Two squadrons of Vengeance dive-bomber and one of Hurribombers would precede the attack and this would be followed by a bombardment by the massed artillery of 5 Division. The Jats were exhausted and so the infantry role would now be played by the 1st Battalion of the Dogras. Their attack would have the support of the M3 Lee tanks of B Squadron 3rd Carabiniers.

The attack would not take place until 13th April and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that in the intervening three days the Japanese would use their customary skill to construct bunkers on the crest. This gives me the chance to use the bunkers that I made especially in anticipation of the Far East Handbook - you can see more about how I made them in this post.

The Lees would have to climb the ridge and suppress them on the summit itself. The tanks faced a difficult task and doubt was cast on their ability to climb the steep slope to the top, however Ralph Younger the commander of the Carabiniers was convinced they could, as was Brigadier Scoones of 254 Indian Tank Brigade.

The Japanese had not been expecting to meet British tanks at Imphal and the presence of the Lees was an unwelcome surprise. Nonetheless they were of the firm conviction that tanks could only operate on flat ground and they would be unable to climb the hill. For those reasons they had not brought anti-tank guns up onto the ridge. They were to be in for an unpleasant surprise.

The Dogras and Carabiniers approached the ridge along two different spurs taking an hour to complete the climb. No5 Troop supporting A Company of the Dogras led up the south-western spur approaching a high point on the ridge known as The Pyramid. While on the south-eastern spur 'B' Company were accompanied by No.4 Troop and they approached a feature known as the Twin Bumps. Here the Japanese had not prepared such strong defences and the tanks and infantry cleared these after a short but vicious fight.

They then converged to face a feature known as the Northern Bump. This could only be approached by the tanks across a narrow spine and they had to move very slowly. To avoid tumbling down the sides they advanced in single file with the commanders' heads out so that they could properly control their drivers' movements.

The attack was preceded by another artillery bombardment but the moment it lifted the Japanese counter-attacked immediately making a special effort to kill the tank commanders, who used pistols, tommy guns and grenades to defend themselves. It was not long before every tank commander was either killed or mortally wounded and other members of the crew scrambled into the cupola, some in turn suffering the same fate as the commander. Command of the remaining functioning tanks devolved to SSM Craddock and Sgt Hannam.

To make matters worse the Dogras were faring no better, losing both company commanders. They were now commanded by their VCOs Subadar Ranbir Singh and Subadar Tiru Ram. However, Col Younger ordered Craddock to continue the attack. He conferred with Ranbir Singh, the senior of the two VCOs and they agreed that the tanks should stifle the bunkers while the Dogras went in with the bayonet.

Despite progress the attack stalled within yards of the bunkers. It appeared as though it might fail completely. Craddock conferred with Ranbir Singh again and they agreed to try once more. This time Sgt Hannam’s tank attempted a steep climb and reached the summit of the Northern Bump. Here he destroyed more bunkers while Craddock subdued bunkers to the right. The Dogras closed in to finish the job and left not a man of the enemy alive. Despite an attempt to recapture the ridge the Japanese were not to hold the position again and it would be firmly in British hands for the remainder of the battle.

For their actions that day Craddock would receive the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Ranbir Singh the Indian Order of Merit. On the anniversary of the battle, the Carabiniers' 'B' Squadron paraded without officers as a tribute to Craddock and his NCOs. That tradition is maintained to this day by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, formed from the amalgamation of the Carabiniers with the Royal Scots Greys.

This all inspired a short campaign to try the rules for bunkers and bunker busting that I've called, perhaps unsurprisingly, Bunker Busting on Nunshigum Ridge.

The campaign features three maps. The first is the initial assault on the first position. The second is the attempt by the Carabiniers to get their tanks across the spine of the ridge and the desperate Japanese attempt to stop them. The third is the final assault on the Northern Bump. 

A note on the terrain. While the area of the ridge is wooded, it is not jungle and so none of the new jungle rules from the Far East Handbook will be in effect. The high points on the ridge are covered with grass and brush offering no real cover. The slopes are wooded but this is not thick woodland and will be treated in this game as if they were orchards.

Talking of terrain I needed to create the hills and ridges that are a major feature of the campaign. Several years ago I bought a thick fleece type mat from Cigar Box Battle. When it arrived I didn't really like it - I thought the colours too dark and the glossy fleece reflected too much light. For those reasons I've never used it. However I did think it might work for this campaign, although to be honest, I remain to be convinced. 

One thing I've found with Cigar Box Battle mats is that they appear much lighter in photographs than they do to the naked eye. This mat is no different. I have used it for the games in this campaign but the photographs have required a bit of manipulation to deal with the contrast created by the reflection. 

In these pictures it appears much lighter than it does to the naked eye but it does convey some of the reflective issues with the fabric.

Much depends on the angle of the photograph relative to a light source. As you can see below the surface is very reflective when caught at certain angles and it creates images with very high contrast that are not easy on the eye.

On the plus side it does do a good job of creating the topography the maps require. 

In some ways the play through of the campaign will also serve as a playtest and will no doubt lead to a few tweaks and changes. Nonetheless I think regardless of those changes the campaign should, I hope, give a good feel for how the bunker rules play out.

You can find the AAR for the first game in this post.