WesWorld

Quoted

Originally posted by Commodore Green
Nicely done Sir, I particularly like the sniper piece!!

Thank you!

Hmm. Delaram.

This is not going to be a cake walk. Hopefully the League garrison can hold their positions long enough for a relief force to be put together.

It sounds as if this is shaping up like the Battle of Alam Halfa. I look forward to seeing more.

Thanks! Glancing over at the summary of Alam el Halfa does convey quite a passing similarity in the set-up of forces - like Alam el Halfa in miniature, in some ways.

Very nice piece. Sherzai is turning out to be quite a charismatic individual. I hope he survives the campaign - his bravery and coolness deserve recognition.

Parwiz and MacDonald seem to be matching up well with each other. I think this is going to be a very good read.

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
Parwiz and MacDonald seem to be matching up well with each other. I think this is going to be a very good read.

Thanks.

My theory is... Parwiz has a lot of first-hand experience from the Persian Civil War, though he's normally commanded armies from a much higher strategic level. On the flip side, MacDonald has much less first-hand experience (most of his personal battle experience is drawn from his British service during WWI, and then the Irish Civil War), but he has a very substantial informational edge from studying Parwiz's campaigns during the Persian Civil War. In the long run, MacDonald knows his enemy just a bit better than vice-versa.

I hope it's apparent that MacDonald and Parwiz are almost sparring with each other right now. The fighting is serious, but neither of them are fully-exerting themselves. Parwiz has more men in the field (he outnumbers MacDonald three to one) but his men are irreplaceable, and he doesn't want to throw them away. He knows that, if he corners MacDonald too closely, the Irish, with twice as much artillery and automatic weapons, can seriously maul his forces before being defeated. Parwiz is sparring to bully MacDonald into making a mistake which negates most of the Irish advantages - and then he's going to pounce. MacDonald, by contrast, doesn't want to fight Parwiz's whole army; outnumbered three to one, he's too cautious to get into a fistfight with the battle-hardened Persian Nationalists. MacDonald is sparring to pull Parwiz's forces apart so they're no longer mutually supporting - and then he's going to pounce.

Rough breakdown of forces:
- The Irish have about 4,400 infantry, plus eighteen tanks, twenty-odd armoured cars, twenty-four artillery pieces, and forty-odd mortars; they have enough trucks and ACW-IPs to move 2-3 of their 5 battalions.
- The Persians/Afghan warlords have about 13,000 men (~6-7,000 being tribal fighters), plus thirty tanks, twelve armoured cars, and six artillery pieces; they have no motorized troops, and their trucks do not even fully cover their supply train, which is mostly draft animals.

You are quite correct - while he might be able to raise more tribal fighters, Parwiz's Persian regulars cannot be replaced, and neither can their equipment. Hopefully the situation at Delaram will stabilize and allow LONAFF's air superiority to exert itself.

The Irish Air Corps rules the day, but the Pandurs rule the night.

An excellent read. Unfortunately, prisoners in an unconventional situation can all too easily spark a confrontation - it doesn't take many to force the guardians to make a hard choice.

From a plot perspective, it is also good to keep the Persian Nationalist air contingent in play - I'm looking for their attempt to take revenge on the Irish.

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
The Irish Air Corps rules the day, but the Pandurs rule the night.

An excellent read. Unfortunately, prisoners in an unconventional situation can all too easily spark a confrontation - it doesn't take many to force the guardians to make a hard choice.

Yes, I agree. I must admit that I didn't really *like* writing that part - but I think it's unfortunately realistic, and ignoring the likelihood of such things happening would be detrimental to the flavor of the story. And despite the different sensibilities of that era, an accusation of mass executions or massacres by troops under the LON banner would, well, provoke some bad headlines which would require a bit of investigation.

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
From a plot perspective, it is also good to keep the Persian Nationalist air contingent in play - I'm looking for their attempt to take revenge on the Irish.

All in good time!

It seems to be turning into the Plain of the Dead in many differing shades.

Nicely written Brock; can't wait for more.

Again, two excellent posts, from varying points of view. Entertaining, informative and really moving the story line along.

Keep it up!

Unfortunately a downer post now.

*Salute*

Odd how random circumstances would bring this post to the fore this day of all days.

A sad reminder that victory is not without cost, no matter where the battlefield lies.

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
Odd how random circumstances would bring this post to the fore this day of all days.

Indeed. I've had that post sitting in my mind for months and didn't have any particular intent on when to post it; but as I've concluded the large battle, now seems the time. It's another one of those things that... I... just don't want to post, because every line encompasses its own private devastating tragedy.

But I think it needed to be posted.

Think what you will, but I have to admit to getting all misty eyed reading the last post.

Quoted

Originally posted by Sachmle
Think what you will, but I have to admit to getting all misty eyed reading the last post.

Not alone in that...

...and I seem to be suffering from the same affliction as snip and Sachmle.

Yes, I had a bit of the same problem when I was writing it. It was at once a very easy and impossibly hard post to write.

Quoted

Originally posted by Brockpaine
Yes, I had a bit of the same problem when I was writing it. It was at once a very easy and impossibly hard post to write.

And beautifully done, but I hope you never have to do it in the real world.........