Dutch East Indies #9

All,

It's 1502 on 21 February 1942, and Captain Moon's platoon is fighting for its life.  This is game two of a four fight operation played out in 15mm using Eureka Minis (plus a Peter Pig Japanese MG team) and Ivan's "Five Men at Kursk" rules.  The games were all solo fights, and the action all happens within a 20 minute timespan as the Marines fight for their lives against superior numbers of enemy forces.

Overview of the entire battlefield, north is up.  This is a 4' x 4' table, but each of the four fights will be fought out separately on a little piece of the above table.  Here's the lowdown: at left center is Sgt Carlson, the porters, and the wounded, sitting tight, while Cpl White and the base of fire team is at center top, looking to lay down fire on the Japanese MG position (just right of the river and above the trail, at top right), while Captain Moon and the assault element (center bottom) has moved up and is ready to cross the river.  But the first fight happens as they cross; they didn't have time for a proper reconnaissance, so they moved up to the river unaware a Japanese squad was patrolling on the other side of the nearby knoll (far right), and Cpl White's base of fire element didn't know the Japanese MG position contains more than just the MG team, there's another five Japanese riflemen behind them, just waiting to make life more difficult.  And once the fighting breaks out, the noise draws Japanese from the north out of the woodwork, and they begin moving up the trail (top left), closing in on Sgt Carlson, the porters, and the wounded.

In the first fight, Captain Moon signaled Cpl White's team, then assaulted across the river and took the knoll, losing one man (Pvt McNair) to a wound in the groin.  They are now forming up on the hill at bottom right to assault the Japanese machine gun position.  As soon as Captain Moon signaled, Cpl White and his men opened fire on the Japanese MG position to keep it pinned down, or at least distracted, so Captain Moon and his boys could cross the river and flank it.

Cpl White's base of fire team is at bottom center/bottom left, the Japanese MG position at top right, with five riflemen behind it that the Marines don't even know are there.  The Marines are, from left to right: Pvt Jennings (Springfield), Pvt Cover (BAR), Cpl White (Thompson SMG), Pvt Allen (BAR), and Pvt Irving (Springfield).  The Marines have crawled into position and are baking in the sun while the Japanese work on their tans, waiting for Captain Moon's signal.

And then it came, two shots from a .45-pistol.  "Fire!" screamed Cpl White, and the Marines cut loose with everything they had on the Japanese MG position...

Suppressing the assistant gunner and pinning the team leader, but not affecting the gunner in the slightest...

The Japanese machine gunner (left) makes a quick adjustment on his traverse and begins returning fire as two Japanese riflemen sprint to their right flank (top right, from bottom center, where their three squad-mates are waiting).

The Japanese Nambu, or Type 92, machine gun (soon to be nicknamed "the woodpecker" because of the pap-pap-pap sound made by its characteristically slow rate of fire) hammers away at the Marines (top center and top right) while the assistant gunner rallies, but the team leader stays pinned (yellow bead).

And with the gun laying down fire and their two companions having safely made it across the gap, the remaining three Japanese riflemen sprint right (center right, from bottom center)…

But Pvt Jennings (bottom left), Pvt Cofer (with BAR at bottom center left), and Cpl White (bottom center) spot them (top center) and shift fire...

One enemy soldier goes down, while another is pinned.

Cofer (bottom left) continues hammering away with his BAR as Jennings darts left (far left), into the jungle, looking to head off the Japanese flanking maneuver.

Another enemy soldier, one of the first two to cross the gap, goes down (far right) under Cofer's (top left) withering fire, and his buddy is pinned (yellow bead), but the remaining unpinned enemy rifleman in the gap (bottom center) halts, raises his rifle, and returns fire...

Cofer (far left, with Cpl White at bottom right) goes down, hit bad in both legs!*

*Though I'm playing 5MAK, I'm using Buck Surdu's cards for hit location and severity, so in these games you may actually see someone get hit, but keep fighting because it was only a light wound.

On the Marine right, Pvt Allen's BAR keeps hammering at the Japanese MG position...

Suppressing the enemy gunner and assistant, and keeping the team leader pinned!

Cpl White (far left) calls for Irving (bottom center) to cover him; the stocky Marine rifleman shifts body position, lines up, and begins firing on the Japanese trying to flank them (top center left)…

While Cpl White sprints left (top left)…

And gets Cofer's BAR back into action.

In the enemy MG position, only the gunner is able to rally himself back into the fight!

While a pinned enemy rifleman of the flanking element lines up on Cpl White (top left, with Jennings just visible in the trees at center top) and fires his Arisaka…

Suppressing him!

Then the Japanese (bottom center) that shot Cofer sights in on Jennings and fires...

Rounds snap past his head (bottom left), but Jennings calmly raises his Springfield and returns fire...

Dropping the bastard!  Meanwhile, the other Japanese soldier in the open (bottom left)…

Dashes to cover.

But Irvin (bottom left, next to the other BAR gunner, Allen, with Jennings at top left) spots him (top center) and fires.

Irvin misses his target, but suppresses the other guy!

But then the Japanese MG gets back in the fight.  The team leader still can't unpin himself!

Allen is suppressed, while Irvin returns fire, but a bolt action rifle dueling with a machine gun is not a recipe for success...

On the Japanese far right, only two men are still in the fight, but they're pinned and suppressed.  The pinned guy rallies the suppressed guy...

Then they both go charging into the river.

Pvt Jennings, still livid about his buddy Cofer getting shot, haphazardly snaps a shot off, missing everything but the jungle, but surprising the enemy soldiers enough to pin the guy that just rallied.

But then Jennings lets out a yell and charges into the river, taking on the two enemy soldiers all by himself!

The young Marine clubs and bayonets one Japanese rifleman...

But then goes down in turn.

Irvin (bottom center, with Allen suppressed above him and Cpl White suppressed at far left), who fancies himself a crack shot, sights in on the remaining Japanese soldier (top right) and fires his '03...

Irvin's (top left) round snaps by harmlessly, and the enemy soldier dashes out of the river and into the nearby jungle (far right, from bottom center).

Both Cpl White (top left) and Allen (center) are able to get their marbles back (self rally).

But that Japanese MG team reloads and opens fire again.  Their team leader finally unpinned!

And Allen immediately suppressed again...

On the Japanese far right, the rifleman that crossed the river (bottom right) sets up a shot on Cpl White (top center, with Allen and Irving at top left) and fires...

The fire is high, but the Japanese dashes forward anyway (top center, from bottom right, with Cpl White at top left).

Cpl White drops the BAR and grabs his Tommy Gun...

And darts into the undergrowth, closing with the enemy!

And filling him full of .45-caliber holes!  Cpl White has ended the threat to the Marine position, and, seeing as how they've done a pretty good job of occupying the enemy machine gun's time, it looks like they've accomplished their mission.

Cpl White drags Cofer back over to Allen and Irving, and bandages him up.  He rallies Allen, and tells them to keep up fire on the enemy position, but back off from the rapid rate to the sustained rate, just enough to keep them busy while (hopefully) Captain Moon and the assault team flank them.  Cofer is out of the fight, definitely useless until he can get to a hospital and then recover from his wounds...

Unfortunately, Pvt Jennings is dead, having been bayoneted in the back and chest, and then drowning when he passed out from loss of blood...  He was put in for a Bronze Star with 'V', posthumously.

The Japanese machine gun keeps hammering away at Cpl White's boys.  Cpl White wonders aloud, "where is the Skipper?"  And the Japanese MG team is starting to wonder what the heck is going on; clearly these guys aren't strong enough to force a crossing of the river, and the shooting on the left flank has died off.

Captain Moon and the assault team were quickly bandaging wounds, redistributing ammo, and preparing to close assault the machine gun position.  Coming right up!

V/R,
Jack