The table was ready, the troops were prepared and it was 'go!' The objective was simple, the combined Australian/US Marine force was to take the two islands. The Japanese just had to survive.
The allies decided to assault only Red Beach ( Red 1, 2 and 3) rather than hit the main island from both sides. This had its pros and cons as it meant that the Japanese who had Green beach covered- several machine guns, mortars and rifle squads- were now facing empty beaches and had to be redeployed. For the allies, they spread themselves across the three beaches, with no critical concentration of force so they found that they did need more troops by mid-game.
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| Marines come ashore on Red 1 |
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| View from the Japanese lines of Red 3 |
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| Awaiting the arrival of the enemy- the Japanese defenders of Red 2 - or if the about faced - Green 2 |
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| Japanese defenders overlooking the length of Green Beach. |
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| The Aussies come ashore at White 1- on 'Little Island'. Japanese Sailors defender the palm tree line. |
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| Aussies continue to advance on White 1 |
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| Japanese defenders of 'Little Island' |
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| Marines come ashore on Red 3 |
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| Japanese armoured counter attack- against Phil's marines on Red 3. |
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| The table- the Aussies ( Red 2) and Marines ( Red 1 and 3) coming ashore and fighting their way inland. |
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| The main Japanese defensive line. |
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| Spyros' Aussies get off the beach and take the fuel depot. |
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| Marines have cleared a bunker and are advancing |
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| The area inland of Red 3- the marines ( Paul) (just visible) are advancing on the dug in defenders ( Geoff) |
By games' end ( turn 6) most of Little Island had been taken by the Aussie commandos ( Chris and later Evan). The main island saw the Marine ( Phil and Paul) casualties high and because they lacked armoured support, found that the going was getting increasingly difficult. The Japanese defenders George, Nick, Ross and Geoff, were holding on grimly- Spyros' Aussies on Red 2 had Matilda support and were making headway.
A gritty and bloody fight that the boys enjoyed - on a 43' Celsius day!!
A wonderful looking game on an awesome terrain...atmospheric and superb!
ReplyDeleteThank you Phil!
DeleteFabulous day john and the vituals that were dropped by air around lunchtime was well recieved !!! I have had an idea re; you setting up as the games master! You can map out the pre-booked bombardment points as if you were the invader. Then, on the day, let the defenders lay out their troops and after all has been arranged you perform a simple 'bag draw' from the combat dice bag & whatever nation you pull out then that is you! No moving your troops before the reign of terror decends upon your head!!
DeleteGreat Game/ Great Location/ Great Mates.
PG
After-observation: On the tag line above, LABELS: you have omitted the 2nd AIF ??
DeleteA prize winning layout ,a great game and a lesson for the Allies
ReplyDeletein not having a superiority in any one location.
A rerun would be great if possible .
A rerun would be fun- on a cooler day!
DeleteAwesome game mate. We even had the stinking hot weather of the Pacific.
ReplyDeleteLol- yes, the heat was way too realistic!
DeleteDon't forget the realistc stench of the filthy enemy to boot !!
DeleteWe aim for realism!!
Delete