Battle of Tinian - redux

We replayed the Tinian scenario on the Sunday of Leprecon; the Japanese were thirsting for revenge from their defeat the previous day.

The Marines converge on White Beaches. This "aerial" perspective shows just how much cover the cane fiels would provide the Japanese if they decide to make their stand in the cave complex.



Corsair strafes Japanese infantry in jungle. Despite some early successes the air unit was shot down over the hills and another sortie was never launched.



Marines storm off landing craft to take airstrip. Here the Japanese would be under huge pressure, with their initial counter-attack on the other side of the airstrip being wiped out by a well-timed (and well-aimed) naval salvo.



Japanese counterattack catches Marine armour. The American armour unit made initial inroads, pushing Japanese infantry back into the cane fields, but is then caught and destroyed by a supporting attack. Colonel Ogata leads another unit to prevent a nearby Marine battalion from aiding the beleaguered tankers.



Japanese tanks ready for action as the Marines come ashore in strength. With infantry backing them up through the jungle and with artillery support, the Japanese are confident at this end of the island.



Japanese lurk in jungle to threaten Marine advance on the airstrip. A series of well-timed manoeuvres would see the Americans decimated here and without armour to back them up.



Presence of Marine General bolsters centre. With the Big Guns having come ashore, the Americans are in a position to do real damage to the Japanese in the centre.



Night falls, but the Japanese are not prepared for a night attack. Marines land on Faila San Hila Point, and begin to work their way towards their objectives. The long night actually suits the Americans, as it negates the Japanese advantage in artillery and prevents Japanese units from engaging in long-range firefights from cover.



Firefight rages in airstrip buildings. The depleted lone Japanese infantry battalion at the airstrip holds out but is eventually driven off. The subsequent assault on the artillery on the other side of the airstrip is unsuccesful and the Marines take point-blank artillery fire.



Marines take ground and push towards emplaced artillery. After their initial success here, the Marines begin to feel the effects of close-in assault by the Japanese tanks. Previously kept at arms length by the Marine armour, but now freed up. They range up and down the shore driving unfortunate marines into the night-time surf.



Marines caught in crossfire. A final concerted attack on the marine battalion in the centre ends in its destruction along with the death of General Cates brings the defeat of the Marine task force as dawn breaks.



An emphatic victory for the Japanese 21-6. As the game progressed it never seemed that decisive, and many Japanese units were on their last legs. One vital factor was the emphasis the Japanese placed on taking the Marine armour out of the game, allowing them to play to their advantages in close assault in the open.

Battle of Tinian

At Leprecon just gone, I ran this using Memoir '44

The 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions landed on 24 July 1944, supported by naval bombardment and artillery firing across the strait from Saipan. A successful feint for the major settlement of Tinian Town diverted defenders from the actual landing site on the north of the island.
The Japanese adopted the same stubborn defensive tactics as on Saipan, retreating during the day and attacking at night. The gentler terrain of Tinian allowed the attackers more effective use of tanks and artillery than in the mountains of Saipan, and the island was secured in nine days of fighting.
On July 31, the surviving Japanese launched a suicide charge.

Japanese near airstrip await American landing craft. This position really allows no retreat. Unlike in the centre and left which have cane fields to cover a retreat to the caves.



Corsair bombs emplaced artillery on Faila San Hila Point. The general on this flank made good use of his air sorties, using this aircraft to continuously attack the Japanese artillery and its supporting infantry, and positioning it to avoid the worst of the anti-aircraft fire.



Japanese charge Americans on beach. The initial wave comes in piecemeal, and with an amtrac attached this is too dangerous to allow develop, and too tempting to ignore.



Americans make it ashore with armour support north of airstrip. With more on the way in on the other side of the airstrip, this will be an important attack for control of the northern shore of the island.



LCT gives supporting fire. OK, so this has no game effect, I just leave the empty landing craft off-shore for visual effect.



Japanese in centre pushed back. With heavy losses and tanks ashore, the pressure is too much for the Japanese to bear.



Armour skirts airstrip to find Japanese battalion lurking in jungle. This is just a lure to bring the Japanese out in the open, especially with supporting marines just out of shot.



American armour ambushed in cane fields. The cane fields don't affect the operation of armour half as much as the jungle, but they can still be ambushed to great effect.



Japanese counter-attack leaves American centre looking weak. Back-to-back banzai charges clear one of the beaches of marines.



Japanese artillery on Mount Maga spots second American wave. This represents a vital fall-back positino for the Japanese, which will surely exact a heavy price for any infantry advance across the open ground.



Japanese armour works its way through cane fields. Having been very meagre with this unit, the Japanese have finally worked it into a position to hit weakened marine units are they work their way inland.



Burning cane fields force Japanese retreat. A Japanese infantry unit, being commanded personally by Colonel Kiyochi Ogata, is forced to retreat back out of the cane fields as they catch on fire.



Japanese counter attack from airtrip hangers. With nightfall the Japanese have planned for a fierce attack designed to force the marines back onto their landing craft. It is successful, and day comes to find both sides on their last legs.



American foothold on Tinian secure. A barrage from the cave complex still held by the Japanese should obliterate a marine battalion on the beach, but does not. And with daylight restored a naval salvo destroys the entrenched artillery, an infantry battalion on Mount Maga and kills Colonel Ogata as well.



So victory for the Americans who won 11-17: by a whisker. Their break-point was 18.

Battle of Peleliu - redux

On the Sunday of Warpcon last week I ran the Battle of Peleliu scenario once more. Here is the result:

Day 1

Viewing Orange1 as a place for massive exploitation due to the scarcity of defenders close to the beach, the Marine commander puts major effort in getting the first wave ashore quickly. From there they can assault the bunkers over looking both White beaches.



Over at The Point, the Marines come ashore in great numbers and threaten to overwhelm the Japanese immediately



A Marine battalion sweeps past the emplaced artillery on the hill leaving the final clearout of those positions to the second wave.



The armour company comes ashore to sharp resistance but it should be in a good position to make for open ground to its right.



Despite their overwhelming numbers and their success in knocking out the artillery position on The Point, the casualties amongst the Marines are very high indeed. A sniper unit of the Japanese is causing havoc against incoming landing craft.
Despite the potential of an armoured company inland, it goes after the Japanese snipers in the elephant grasses and palm trees along The Point, taking hours in the hunt, even with air support.



A second line of Japanese infantry awaits in the barracks at the airfield and at the jungle edge adjoining.



Coming ashore at Orange2 armour with attached flame-throwing tanks wreak havoc with the emplaced Japanese positions there, now occupied by infantry. But seeing the advance by the Japanese light tanks decides to engage them, with telling effect against the inadequate armour of the Type 95 Ha-Go.



As the second wave of Marines come ashore on Orange3 a counter-attack by two scratch companies has astounding success, but this is only temporary.



At Orange1 also, Japanese success is turned, as their position is surrounded. One company is wiped out, and another high-tails it at breakneak pace down the airstrip!



Back at Orange3 the Marines heavy artillery comes ashore and with infantry support pushes inland to take control of the village overlooking the mangrove swamp on the other side of the island.



The crafty Japanese have camouflaged their position and the Marines must close with them in order to fix their positions to bring in effective artillery fire.



The Night

Just as the Marines set up position for the assault night falls. Despite the known skill of the Japanese during darkness Colonel "Chesty" Puller personally leads a company (with two in support) in close to smoke them out with bayonets and grenades. They run into a devastating ambush, wiping out the company to a man. Puller escapes but the two companies in support are mauled by the devastating banzai charge which follows up the ambush.



Back at The Point, using cover of darkness the Japanese have had huge success in pushing the Marines back from their position of strength and retaking The Point.



The battle really did swing one way and them another. During the outstanding early manoeuvring and concentrated fire of the early game, the Marines were having good success in taking control of the dominating positions over the beaches. 4 of the first 5 Japanese units wiped out were artillery.
Despite some success in Japanese counter-attacks, the Marines were in a good position to win the game, and were trailing 12-16. But some conservatism in laying low, retreating and regrouping off the beaches allowed the Japanese to strike late in the day, and them assault all-out come nightfall to win 23-12 in the end.

It's a good job the 81st won at Angaur, as following this battle, the Marines were going to need all the help they could get to take Peleliu.

I've just posted this game we played last March of the Battle of Angaur here as well.

Battle of Peleliu

I ran this battle at Warpcon at the weekend twice. Once on the Saturday and again on the Sunday. Both battles panned out differently.
In terms of numbers of combat troops on the battlefield, this would be one of the closest of all landings in the Pacific; and play was to bear out the terrible losses experienced by the Marines back in 1944.

Day 1

Japanese defences are deeper than usual, but there is still a heavy concentration around the hills on the northern and southern corners of the island.
The Fifth Marines in the centre seem to have the easiest of it, with only a few defenders holding the palm-tree line near their beach.




Their compatriots to the south face several emplaced artillery batteries in the side of the hill overlooking Orange3, and these begin their barrage as the amtracs make their way ashore.



The Marines land in the centre and quickly decimate the defenders, with the added protection and firepower of the amtracs coming in very handy. A company of Shermans adds to the carnage.



At White1, things become very bloody for both sides, with wild elephant grass hampering attempts by the Marines to come to grips with their opponents. The battle for the Point looks like it will be a long contest...



Back in the centre, Marines push the Japanese out of their hiding places in the Jungle, and prepare to run them down in the open adjoining the airfield.



It's the same story back in the centre, and despite the difficulties in getting a large mass of Marines ashore at once, the Marines seem to be accounting for the Japanese defenders alright.



The first of many artillery barrages rains death on an unsuspecting American unit, knocking out the vital tank unit in the centre. Divisional HQ suspects these powerful artillery pieces must be located further inland near Umurbrogal Hill.



The Marines get their revenge, as 16" shells pound the Japanese overlooking Orange2 and Orange3. Their strong bunkers prove little respite with good navy FAOs on the ground.



As Marines attempt to push inland, several officers begin to go down from unseen shots. Japanese snipers, carefully camouflaged and selective in their targeting begin to make their presence felt.



With artillery ashore on Orange3, the Marines make headway into the jungle and up the hill, with armour flanking their line of attack to destroy fleeing Japanese units.



Despite reinforcements arriving on White1 the Japanese manage to annihilate the Marines there, with a final banzai charge clearing the beach of the heroic artillerymen in the surf.



All is not lost however, as Marines landing on the relative safety of Orange1 move northwards to sweep the bunkers overlooking White2 of their guns and begin to move towards the barracks at the airfield.



Day 2
Night passes without incident, and seeing heavy American reserves arrive in the centre, the Japanese holding the village at the Mangrove swamp on the far side of the island against a landing there retreat to make their way to the caves for the final defence.



With two reinforced companies now holding the hills on Umurbrogol the Japanese commander is confident that he will take care of any Marines making it that far.



Meanwhile the Japanese defending the barracks inflict heavy casualties on the attackers, but their prospects look bleak as mobile artillery advances on their position to being a new bombardment.



Moving inland off the Point Marines make contact with the Japanese sniper and they push hard through the jungle despite losses to officers.



At mangrove swamp Marines from Orange3 with combat engineers take the village recently abandoned by the Japanese. Nearby the retreating Japanese are hit hard by Corsairs from the Marine Air Group supporting the landing (combat photographers failed to capture the event)



With support from artillery Marines take control of the barracks near the airfield, destroying anti-air guns which were making life difficult for the ground support Corsairs.



Marines begin their assault on the cave complex, but with most combat engineers assets lying on the beaches it is difficult work. Their is success, but at a price.



The leader of the Japanese defence charges out of a cave to pounce on a weakend American unit, but strength in numbers allows the Marines to seal the first cave. The Mariness will have to consolidate and try again, calling in support from the Army Division currently clearing the nearby island of Angaur.



All-in-all about as close as a scenario writer could hope for.
The final score was 21-17 to the Japanese, who had a single break-point remaining, but the Marines had taken two of the four breakthrough objectives and had begun clearing the cave complex.

I'll post photos and report from the second play soon.