The Thailand-Burma Railway

[Ludi1867]

New Decision Event Suggestion for SC2PT Operation Z

One of the key problems that any Japanese advance into India encounters is the lack of a rail connection from Thailand to Burma. This reflects the situation at the outbreak of war in the Pacific. Japanese plans to overcome this shortfall were prepared well before the outbreak of war. At great effort, and with the expenditure of the lives of approximately 60,000 slave labourers and 16,000 Allied prisoners of war, the Japanese completed a rail line from Thailand to Burma in 14 months.

A useful addition to this scenario would be a decision event reflecting this possibility. The effort to build this rail line was significant, not only in lives lost. Bridge structures from the Dutch East Indies were dismantled and then used on this line (some 600 bridges were needed, including the notorious ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’). The Decision Event could have parameters such as “Yes, Build the Thailand-Burma rail line, but lose 10 MPP a turn while building and 5 MPP from the Dutch East Indies forever” (rail line complete in, perhaps, ten or twenty Japanese turns?)” or “No, do not build the railroad (no loss of MPP).

[Nupremal]

interesting idea but there is no mechanism for rail to be added in the game engine. Might be a good idea to let engineers run rail? But anyway - for now they can't - what I did to simulate burma road is use cities that can activate - because if a city runs through a rail with <5 it cuts the rail - so you can have the rail and have the event activate a resource. That would work.

[Happycat]

New Decision Event Suggestion for SC2PT Operation Z

One of the key problems that any Japanese advance into India encounters is the lack of a rail connection from Thailand to Burma. This reflects the situation at the outbreak of war in the Pacific. Japanese plans to overcome this shortfall were prepared well before the outbreak of war. At great effort, and with the expenditure of the lives of approximately 60,000 slave labourers and 16,000 Allied prisoners of war, the Japanese completed a rail line from Thailand to Burma in 14 months.

A useful addition to this scenario would be a decision event reflecting this possibility. The effort to build this rail line was significant, not only in lives lost. Bridge structures from the Dutch East Indies were dismantled and then used on this line (some 600 bridges were needed, including the notorious ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’). The Decision Event could have parameters such as “Yes, Build the Thailand-Burma rail line, but lose 10 MPP a turn while building and 5 MPP from the Dutch East Indies forever” (rail line complete in, perhaps, ten or twenty Japanese turns?)” or “No, do not build the railroad (no loss of MPP).

That would be fun, and a great addition to the game. But as Nupremal points out, there is no mechanism for this. But, perhaps his suggestion of engineeers building rail could be considered for a patch. Japanese engineers don't have much else to do in 1942 and 1943 anyway.