Hyderabad - a project out of the blue

 A recent article in Bob Cordery's blog is the inspiration for this posting - something to which 24 hours ago I had given hardly any thought. The particular topic that caught my eye was 'Operation Polo' - the annexation by the newly independent India of the State of Hyderabad. There were probably good reasons for such aggression: that Hyderabad was entirely bounded by India itself; the State was landlocked (despite some effort in obtaining a seaport, even under lease); and the ruling Prince was having a deal of trouble curbing the insurrectionary elements within his borders.

Was this a possible topic for one of my 'Map Games'? First of all, the map:

'Map games' for 'Operation Polo' 

 Yep: that's to go on my table. I've arranged the map to include the Portuguese territory of Goa, which city, it was hoped, might serve as landlocked Hyderabad's entrepot. If Hyderabad can not come to some arrangement with Goa authorities and Portugal, perhaps more persuasive methods might be examined...

If this proves impractical, an alternate set-up suggests itself. Hyderabad is conveniently divided up into twelve what we might call provinces.  The following map shows that they are grouped into four 'Divisions', but I don't really imagine that for our purposes, the Divisions have much importance. The idea here is that the provinces can be the the determinants of 'area movement'. Battles might be resolved as was done in my 'Blacklands War' of three years back, or the map might be drawn on a reasonably sized card surface, and the campaign played out like my 'Marnon War'  .

'Area Movement' Map of Hyderabad

Operation Polo - the 'police action' - carried out by India involved limited numbers of troops - according to Wikipedia, some 35,000 Indian, against 22,000 Hyderabad State Forces, and anything up to 200,000 Razakar irregulars. Considering that Bob Cordery mentions 1500 of these Razakar, one is somewhat disinclined to accept that 200,000 were ever deployed for action.

Considering the size of the State - some 300 miles (say, 480km) square - the limited forces available to both sides indicates (to me at any rate) a considerable strategic scope. That India completely surrounds Hyderabad does permit them to attack from anywhere, against which the Prince could probably mount only a problematical defence.

Now, for a tentative TO&E for both sides, based on Bob's posting.  So:

Hyderabad forces:

2 horsed cavalry regiments @ 3 stands 
2 light armoured regiments @ 2 x Humber, 1 x Daimler (I have no Staghounds)
2 infantry regiments @ 4 stands (3 rifle, 1MMG)
1 artillery battery (1x 25pr gun/howitzer)
4 Razakar irregular infantry units @ 4 stands (4 rifle)

11 units.  These forces will presumably have wire and land mines available, and to be capable of creating dug-in positions, and demolitions if deemed appropriate.

Indian (Sangrian) forces:

10 infantry regiments @ 4 stands (3 rifle, 1MMG)
1 motor regiment @ 3 stands (2 rifle, 1MMG) , 1 medium or 2 light trucks
1 light armoured regiment @ 3 x M3 Stuart
1 medium armoured regiment @ 3 x M4 Sherman
1 cavalry regiment @ 3 stands
1 artillery regiment @ 3-4 x 25pr gun, howitzer
1 field engineer company with 1 stand, 1 bren carrier 
2 ground attack squadrons @ 1 a/craft (probably a Spitfire, as I have no other aircraft)

16 units + 2 air squadrons.

Now, though I have listed multi-stand units, such a TO&E might not be practical for a single table top game of this operation. Rather, each unit might have to be represented by a single stand or vehicle. The one exception there might well be the Indian artillery, split up into 3 or 4 batteries, one with each column.

However, if playing the thing out as the invading columns progress province by province, then the forces for each Indian column may be drawn from 'expanded' TO&E. The Hyderabad forces would have to be divided such as to offer some kind of resistance to each of the four invading columns, yet retaining enough force capable of concentrating upon and defeating at least one of them.

The invading columns each attack one of the four 'Divisions': at Aurangabad, Adilabad, Nalgonda and Gulbarga. The first actions will take place in each of those provinces, depending upon what forces have been allocated to the respective columns, and, from the Hyderabad point of view, which of the four 'fronts'.

Well, that is as far as I have got with this project, but I think I have the beginnings of two very different games depicting the same operation.

To be examined further...