WesWorld

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if you set up enough machine guns you should be able to hit something

I believe the USN's explanation of that concept in the Pacific was

"Throw enough lead in a given direction, and SOMETHING is bound to fly into it"

Maybe, but I would thing those guns would be heading for the front lines rather than ringing the palace.

Most likely some of both: after all, the Indians are known to own an aircraft carrier, whether or not they have based any combat aircraft in Asir.

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Originally posted by 1Big Rich
I believe the USN's explanation of that concept in the Pacific was

"Throw enough lead in a given direction, and SOMETHING is bound to fly into it"

Yeah, that was generally true. But, warships also tend to have enough ordinance to defend a city as well. Put enough of them together and you couldn't slip a pinky into the defenses without getting it shot off.

Indian air units in Asir would be about a squadron each of fighters, light attack/bombing, and utility/observation types. These types lack the range to hit Riyadh, as do Urumi's airgroup while she remains in the Red Sea.

I think it's most likely that the Saudi HMGs are primarily in use with the offensive land forces, rather than being employed defensively. Though with monarchy, one can never be sure.

Do the Saud's have an idea of the range of Indian planes though?

Not really, but I think that they can make guesses by looking how far the Indian aircraft will fly into Saudi Arabia. Not very acurate but it will give them some idea.

1 February

In Asir, the border town of Hisn al Quhayb has fallen to a surprise attack by Saudi forces from the surrounding highlands. There were no Indian forces stationed in the small town.

The capture puts additional pressure on the Indian troops around Raghdan, who now face Saudi advances on the town from two directions.

2 February

The Saudi government has reacted with anger to the widespread condemnation heaped upon it and the Yemeni government by other nations in the past week.

“We have already said that this was a pre-emptive defensive action. Obviously, this will look like an invasion to the untrained eye”, explained Prince Yusuf Ali ibn Saud. “The reality is that the Indian invasion of Jiddah can only be prevented in one of two ways - removal of the port facilities they would stage from, or destruction of their war fleet. We have chosen the former option while we develop the means with which to defend our holy shores.”

When asked about the very recent offer by Britain to allow India some use of Aden, the Prince was momentarily taken aback, as if he had not heard this news. He was, however, quick to reply, “The British decision to assist India in fulfilling its warmongering ways disappoints but does not surprise this government. One courts danger and betrayal in trusting infidels, as has now been demonstrated. It only remains to be seen what backlash the British shall encounter from the good people of Aden.”

3 February

The Indian and Asirite troops defending Raghdan have come under artillery fire for the first time in the campaign. A source within the Indian Army told AWNR, “We didn’t think the Saudis had artillery.”

4 February

The situation in the Bengalese city of Rajshahi is reported as dire today as Indian, Red Cross, and Red Crescent personnel find themselves overwhelmed with casualties from El Derretir.

“It’s bad. We’re losing hundreds of patients each day”, reported a haggard-sounding Dr. Hrishikesh Shetty from the city’s main hospital. “Our staff are working sixteen hours shifts. They’re exhausted and making mistakes, and some of them are now infected as a result of it.”

The city and immediate area have been cordoned off by an estimated three divisions of infantry with orders to shoot anybody caught leaving the area. “We have to stop this here”, stated General Akshaye Morea. “I sympathize for the folks inside, I really do - but we can ‘t have this spreading to Kolkata or Dhaka or anywhere else. When you do your news report, tell people in Rajshahi to stay in their homes. It’s too dangerous to be anywhere else.”

A handful of new cases have indeed been reported in Dhaka in the past two days, but civic officials described the situation as “contained” following the re-introduction of strict curfew and quarantine measures there. Nonetheless, most of the city has come to a standstill, with people remaining at home as much as possible.

5 February

Samraja Brashkar has commented on the British offer to open Aden to some Indian use during the current conflict in Asir. “It is a generous and somewhat unexpected offer. My staff are examining whether and how to make use of Aden’s facilities at this time.”

In Asir, the town of Raghdan has fallen following an Indian retreat towards Baljurshi. The Indian and Asirite forces are reportedly in good order but are on the wrong end of a numbers game with the much larger Saudi offensive.

6 February

Casting calls are already out for Chakhra Production’s upcoming movie about the pirate Harlock.
“We are looking at this time to fill the roles of Captain Harlock himself, as well as his loyal executive officer and his love interest”, noted director Punamchad Meena from Mumbai.

As survivors from the sunken pirate ship Arcadia were found to be a multinational group, and no description of the pirate has ever been confirmed, the casting call be international in scope. “So long as they can learn their lines in Hindi, foreign actors are welcome to apply for the role.”

The early casting call has puzzled some Mollywood insiders as being premature, but Meena explained, “If the actors in question do prove to need some training in Hindi, we need time to do that. Similarly, we will shoot a few scenes early to help develop the look and feel of the rest of the production.”

8 February

With the most recent case of El Derretir now a week old, there is cautious hope that Mumbai’s outbreak may have finally been curtailed. The Navy is considering re-opening the Mumbai naval yard in a week’s time if the situation continues to hold.

“We’re still optimistic that we’ll be able to lay down Talwar at the beginning of March”, Admiral Kashiram Paswan said. “In the absence of ship construction, we’ve made good progress on extending the Class Zero slipway and anticipate it being completed by mid-March.”

9 February

Fighting has reached the southern outskirts of Sa’dah as up to three regiments of Yemeni troops continue their drive north. Light artillery fire has been falling sporadically on the city for the past day, causing little damage to Indian defences but some casualties amongst the populace.

Indian aircraft sent out to locate and destroy the artillery have met with mixed success. Four pieces were damaged or destroyed yesterday, but a bomber crashed inside Indian lines after encountering heavy ground fire during its strike. It’s the third aircraft lost to ground-fire since the conflict began two weeks ago, with several others being damaged.

Most Indian Army Air Force aircraft have been sent inland, as Saudi and Yemeni operations along the coast have stalled in the face of naval gunfire and the presence of the aircraft carrier Urumi. A boost to Indian airpower is expected with the pending arrival of the training carrier Lathi, which departed Trincomalee on 29 January with a deck load of about forty aircraft, their pilots, and their ground personnel.

10 February

While the quarantine in Dhaka continues amidst a slow trickle of El Derretir, not everybody is spending the time at home. Students at the physics lab at the University of Dhaka telephoned AWNR today; we spoke with Kallu Rauf, one of the graduate students in question.

AWNR: So the first question that comes to mind: why would any student be at school when he or she is not required to be?

KR: To be honest, we initially just had a bet with the grad students in the civil engineering department as to who’d hold out longer in their respective buildings. But those losers packed it in yesterday, so we win.

AWNR: Okay...so does this mean you and your colleagues will be going home now?

KR: What’re we going to do all day in a dorm? Nah, We’re going to hang around for a while yet. As long as the guys in green keep delivering those tasty rations, anyway.

AWNR: Why?

KR: Well, we sit through all the lectures and teach all these labs for the undergrad snotties, but we never really have time to just sit back and fool around with stuff. “Expand our horizons” and all that. Isn’t that what university’s supposed to be all about?

AWNR: And...are you learning anything new?

KR: Yeah, I guess. We were playing around with radio waves for a while. Mission accomplished there - subject to ground-truthing, as those geo-weenies say, we think we know exactly how far it is from here to the women’s undergrad dorm. But since we can’t go out and walk over there to prove it, we’ve moved on and are messing around with polarized light today.

AWNR: Sounds like fun...are your professors going to be okay with this?

KR: Professor Bose said as long as we didn’t destroy anything, and documented our “findings” for later, he’d be fine [Loud noise and cheering]. Oh, man, I thought we weren’t doing elastic collisions until tomorrow. I gotta go.

AWNR: Okay...thank you for your time.

12 February

In what would be considered the first naval skirmish of the conflict in Asir, an Indian destroyer sank a small motorboat after coming under machine gun fire.

“The Saudis had rigged up a pintle mount for a machine gun on the boat and engaged one of our destroyers. Our destroyer responded with thirty-five millimeter fire that made short work of the boat. There were no casualties on the destroyer, and no survivors from the motor boat”, commented Admiral Kashiram Paswan.

13 February

Indian armor has played a role in slowing the Yemeni drive on Sa’dah. Two companies of jagganatha [tanks] and one company of armored cars had embarked on the trek to the city some days ago, with about half arriving yesterday. The remainder are expected to arrive over the next few days as they are repaired; the heat and dust typical of Yemeni roads has caused considerable trouble for the vehicles.

Their appearance apparently caused sufficient confusion amongst Yemeni forces that a regiment-sized operation against the west side of the city pulled back shortly after making contact with the Indian defenders. One armored car was reportedly put out of action by anti-tank rifle fire but several dozen Yemeni troops were killed or wounded.

I assume the tankers will soon be assuming the title of "Desert Rats"... ;-)

Technically several nations could lay claim to that title, Italian tanks in Libya or Atlantean tanks in Western Sahara for example...

Interesting news that makes me wonder just how are the Turks going to respond to continued conflicts in the region.

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I assume the tankers will soon be assuming the title of "Desert Rats"... ;-)

Or perhaps "Those poor bastards in the mobile kilns".

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I assume the tankers will soon be assuming the title of "Desert Rats"... ;-)

Since they're Indian, it's more likely going to be "Desert Tigers".

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Technically several nations could lay claim to that title, Italian tanks in Libya or Atlantean tanks in Western Sahara for example...

Well as long as you do not make that claim, your unit will never be known as that.

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Originally posted by The Rock Doctor


KR: Yeah, I guess. We were playing around with radio waves for a while. Mission accomplished there - subject to ground-truthing, as those geo-weenies say, we think we know exactly how far it is from here to the women’s undergrad dorm. But since we can’t go out and walk over there to prove it, we’ve moved on and are messing around with polarized light today.

So India will be developing it's own RADAR then!

Kinda sloppy on behalf of your research security types to be letting some student brag about this on the air!!

Radar? What's that?

I think the odds of scientifically knowledgeable, Hindi-literate foreign personnel hearing this interview are reasonably slim. Question will be whether any scientifically knowledgable, Hindi-literate domestic personnel happen to catch it...

15 February

The first division to depart mainland India for Asir is now on its way. The Chakravaat* Division boarded requisitioned passenger liners as the divisional band played “They Shall Reap the Whirlwind”, the unit’s battle hymn.

The division, raised in 1743 to resist Persian incursions in western India, is expected to arrive in Asir within two weeks. It has already spent two plus weeks in quarantine, and army medical personnel pronounced the unit fit for deployment yesterday. The Red Crescent had been invited to inspect the troops’ health but declined, citing the possibility that such a commitment would be contrary to its status as a neutral organization.

*Whirlwind (go figure)

16 February

Saudi troops have struck into northeastern Asir with an offensive directed at Qal’at Bishah. An Indian battalion and an Asirite battalion are making a stand but are estimating that they face at least four thousand attackers.

Saudi cavalry are reportedly roaming the road to Al Mi’qas at this time, disrupting Indian efforts to transport supplies to the city. One shipment of ammunition and medical equipment has made it in the past day - carried under the wings of a Toofani bomber from the aircraft carrier Urumi. The bomber made a successful landing on the main street of Qal’at Bishah this morning, and took off in the same fashion just minutes later, having been quickly unloaded.

17 February

In Hyderabad, Samraja Brashkar has issued a decree putting the entire nation on a war footing. “The dual perils of El Derretir and the Saudi/Yemeni alliance can not be met by an economy behaving as if it were normal times. I am hereby directing that facilities producing materials important to either struggle go to continuous operations. Further, the government is now operating under wartime acquisition rules, during which the usual tender/bid system is not required in order to acquire equipment. Collectively, these measures should improve our response to the threats we face, and hasten our eventual victory.”

When asked whether India would invoke Article 1(VIII) of the Cleito Treaty, the Samraja replied, “I do not believe this will be necessary, but I will not rule it out.”

[This means India is implementing the War Economy rules, which will take effect for Q3].

18 February

El Derretir continues its slow march across eastern India, having now been reported as far as Jamshedpur, Patna, and Chittagong.

“Our people are doing a hell of a job, but there are just so many people we can’t contain them all”, noted acting army commander General MK Goswami. “Leakers are getting through, and they’re spreading the disease.”

Thus far, no new, catastrophic outbreaks have been encountered since that at Rajshahi, but with four hundred million people in the nation, “Even a low infection and mortality rate is going to produce a great number of deaths”, as one Red Crescent doctor put it.

20 February

Indian motor torpedo boats have sunk three small boats off Al Qunfudhah. The boats appear to have been intent on raiding the town’s port.

“It seems that the Saudis are acquiring small racing boats and are adding machine guns to them as a way of producing improvised MAS craft”, commented Admiral Kasahiram Paswan. “Crew men were observed throwing grenades, but the battle range and boat speeds have not been conducive that sort of attack.”

22 February

Qal’at Bishah has fallen to Saudi troops after three days of severe dust storms that prevented aerial re-supply of the Indian and Asirite troops there. Saudi government spokesman Prince Yusuf Ali ibn Saud called it, “A great victory for Arabs everywhere. The Indian imperialists are not invincible; they can be beaten, and they are being beaten.”

The Prince confirmed that a number of prisoners had been taken, but declined to specify a number. “Their force has been routed”, he said.

23 February

Meanwhile, a rare Saudi-staged media event took place in occupied Al Tawilah as journalists from the BBC were invited to observe the demolition of a girl’s school. Built seven years ago by Indian pioneers, the modest brick structure was described by a Saudi officer as, “An affront to the values and culture of our land”. It was subsequently destroyed by dynamiting of its main structural members.

While Indian officials and the Samraja expressed their dismay at the news, it was the Samraji who appeared before reporters in a visibly irate state. “This is nothing more than the enslavement of Al Tawilah’s female population. It is a return to the old ways of repressing and restraining one half of the human race in the mistaken notion that the other half is superior to it. It is intolerable and I am personally deeply insulted by it.

“With knowledge and education, the women of Asir were contributing to the political evolution and economic growth of the land - without threatening the spiritual integrity or well-being of their husbands, fathers, and sons. They grew to realize that no community can reach its potential when half of its population is kept ignorant and marginalized. And while the Saudis may wish a return to their backwards ways, I will come to Al Tawilah to lay the corner stone of a new school. That is a promise the Wahabbists may rely upon.”

24 February

The Green Dervishes are on their way to Asir. The division boarded their transports in Surat and departed under the watchful eye of a destroyer, a sloop, and the seaplane carrier Palk Bay.

Elsewhere, the aircraft carrier Urumi has arrived in Goa to embark a load of Army aircraft, equipment and personnel. The carrier’s own air group were offloaded at Al Qunfudhah to aid in fighting in northern Asir prior to the carrier’s high speed return home.

25 February

The Red Crescent has offered to arrange for third-party transport of Indian pilgrims out of Saudi Arabia. A representative of the organization told AWNR, “We’ve been able to confirm that a trio of Dutch liners, currently idle because of El Derretir, could be made available for transport of the pilgrims to a safe location either in India or elsewhere. Our challenge at this time is get the parties to agree to such an evacuation.”

The Saudi government remains adamant that any movement of the pilgrims risks the Saudi population. “El Derretir runs rampant through [the pilgrims]”, noted Prince Yusuf Ali ibn Saud. “Dozens have died already from its miseries. Many more are sick. Is it not wiser to quarantine them where they are, as India itself does in its own cities? No, the Red Crescent offer is noble but unwise under present circumstances.”

“There is still no documented evidence of El Derretir at all”, protested Indian Foreign Minister Jal Kadharni. “No non-Saudi personnel have been admitted to the camp; we don’t even know where it is. India still considers all evidence as suggesting an outbreak of cholera - consistent with a lack of sanitation in a refugee camp. The Saudis are merely perpetuating a falsehood in order to hold these innocents for their own purposes.”

26 February

An Indian motor torpedo boat has been sunk off As Salif. The vessel was investigating reports of a derelict and had come alongside a damaged sailing vessel when the boat exploded. Four of the MTB’s fifteen crew survived the attack and were rescued by another MTB soon afterward.

28 February

Sa’dah is divided today as Yemeni troops have successfully seized the southern extents of the city. Intense urban combat and considerable civilian casualties have been reported.

While India has committed its limited jagganatha and armored car forces to the battle, most of them are now out of action, disabled by the elements, anti-tank rifles, or bombs thrown from buildings and alleyways as the two sides contest each street and structure. One jagganatha, its left track damaged by an explosion, was the focus of intense combat yesterday afternoon as its crew stubbornly remained inside, manning their weapons against the Yemenis until finally being rescued by Asirite infantry after nightfall.

Much of the city’s population has fled the fighting, setting up camps to the north of the city in the hopes that the Indians and Asirites will prevail - or, failing this, that the camps will not be contested if the city should fall.

Saudi/Yemeni progress as of 29 February 1932, as understood by India.

1 March 1932

With no fanfare whatsoever, the aircraft carrier Talwar was laid down today in Mumbai. The ship will be India's second purpose-built aircraft carrier when completed in about two years.

The ship will carry sixty aircraft, with capacity for a few unassembled extras. Her armament is minimal and configured for anti-aircraft work, while her armor scheme is primarily intended to protect her against the torpedoes and bombs another aircraft carrier's planes might subject her to.

The Bharatiya Nau Sena has expressed contradictory statements about whether a sister ship will follow on Talwar's heels, but current reports from within the navy suggest that a second unit is indeed to be laid down in 1933.

3 March

While fighting continues in the southern city of Sa'dah, the northern Asirite town of Baljurshi has fallen without a shot fired by the Indian and Asirite troops there. The two battalions evacuated the town during the night.

"Our troops in the north are preparing to make a stand around Al Mi'qas", said General MK Goswami. "We wish to concentrate there and prepare for Saudi strikes from either the north or east."

4 March

The Chakravaat Division has begun landing in Asir, although the army has declined to identify the port of disembarkment. The Green Dervishes are en route to Asir, and a third division - believed to be the Sind Kraits - is currently loading up at Goa. The Sind Krait's historical rivals, the Naja Naja Division, is also believed to be scheduled for deployment to Asir.

[More to come in a few hours, me thinks...]

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The Chakravaat Division has begun landing in Asir, although the army has declined to identify the port of disembarkment. The Green Dervishes are en route to Asir, and a third division - believed to be the Sind Kraits - is currently loading up at Goa. The Sind Krait's historical rivals, the Naja Naja Division, is also believed to be scheduled for deployment to Asir.

It might be time to fire up deslination plant on ship or shore or requisition a couple civilian water carriers to keep all those troops hydrated.... They'll of course need more water if they're in combat...

Any word of civilian refugees from the fighting in Sa'dah (28 Feb) or any of the other fighting?

Great story line, Rocky. Keep up the good work...

You are underestimating the Arab penchant for randomly discharging firearms in the air. If they had 500 machine guns they probably don't have any ammo by now.

Cheers,

Greece: Hindus killing Muslims - we aint gonna stop that.

That depends, in the post WW2 period they didn't do much winning, so when they do get a victory you can bet they will celibrate!

Hell I though Greece would like the fact that the Muslims are even killing themselves, never mind the Hindus..

Looks like India's going to make a strategic withdrawal before kicking the those re-enforcements into the fray.

At Gallipoli there were Arab units that the Ottomans regarded as unreliable - cause they'd shoot in the f..king air and give away their position!

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Hell I though Greece would like the fact that the Muslims are even killing themselves, never mind the Hindus..

Yes, the early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese... Rocky you may fire when ready.

Cheers,