Battle of Midway Campaign Plan

All,

It's 4 June 1942, the dawn of the epic "Battle of Midway," a clash of giants, three US carriers vs four Japanese carriers that proved to be the turning point of the war in the Pacific.  The Japanese brought an invasion force, complete with surface warfare vessels and merchantmen packed with assault troops, to subdue and seize the US outpost at Midway, but the true purpose of the battle for Yamamoto and Fletcher was to lure their enemy's carrier force into battle and destroy it.  The Japanese staged a diversionary invasion of the Aleutian Islands, but US codebreakers had determined the true target was Midway; if that seems to be getting away from the stated objective of destroying the enemy's carrier force, it wasn't: Yamamoto hoped to draw the US carriers north, seize Midway in a lightning quick operation, then use it to base long-range, shore-based search aircraft to located the US carriers coming back south, with his own carriers standing off in ambush positions.  But the US fleet, aware of the Japanese commander's intent, pushed straight at Midway, using Midway as their own maritime search base of operations and setting their own fleet carriers to ambush.

Events were greatly influenced by the Battle of the Coral Sea: while the US lost a fleet carrier, the Japanese lost a light carrier sunk, two of their precious fleet carriers missed the battle: Shokaku was badly damaged and Zuikaku was kept home because she'd lost so many pilots and aircrew that her air group was deemed unable to deploy.  Also, the USS Yorktown was badly damaged, but immediately following the Battle of the Coral Sea, Yorktown was rushed to Pearl Harbor for hasty repairs, after which it immediately set sail to participate in the Battle of Midway, arriving not long after the other US carrier task force, containing the USS Hornet and USS Enterprise.

In this battle we will see both Major Chandler's VMF-343 "Dirt Divers" and Lieutenant Commander Case's VF-63 "Killer Pelicans" in action.  The Dirt Divers left the Dutch East Indies (DEI) to rest and refit in Hawaii, and were moved up to Midway in anticipation of the Japanese offensive.  The Killer Pelicans also served in the defeat in DEI, then served aboard the USS Lexington, which was sunk during the Battle of the Coral Sea, which forced LtCmdr Case's pilots to take refuge aboard the damaged USS Yorktown, which they are now riding back into battle.

Forces (as pertains to my games only, not all inclusive):

Stationed aboard Midway 
VMF-343 Dirt Divers (F4F Wildcats)
VT-8 "Torpedo 8" (utilizing six new Grumman TBF torpedo bombers, detailed ashore from USS Hornet)
VMSB-241 (SBD Dauntlesses, a Marine Scouting Squadron)
69th Bombardment Squadron (B-26s, for which I'll have to use B-25s as I don't have any B-26s, an Army Air Corps Squadron)

Stationed aboard the USS Yorktown
VF-63 Killer Pelicans (F4F Wildcats)
VB-3 "Bombing 3" (SBD Dauntlesses, from damaged USS Saratoga, replaced depleted VS-5)
VB-5 "Bombing 5" (SBD Dauntlesses)

Timeline

3 June 1942
0900 - USN PBY spots Japanese invasion force 500nm west/southwest of Midway
1230 - Nine USA B-17s launch
1530 - B-17s attack the Japanese invasion force but score no hits

4 June 1942
0100 - USN PBY attacks Japanese invasion force, hits merchant Akebono Maru with a torpedo.  This would be the only successful torpedo attack by US forces during the Battle of Midway
0430 - Japanese carrier force launches 36 D3A "Val" dive bombers, 36 B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers, and 36 A6M "Zero" fighters to attack shore installations on Midway
0534 - USN PBY spots Japanese carrier force
0545 - Midway launches aircraft to intercept incoming Japanese strike group attack Japanese carrier force
0620 - Japanese Strike Group bombs and heavily damages shore installations on Midway, though the airbase and shore defenses remain intact.  Japanese air group commander recommends a second strike is necessary to neutralize Midway.  The Japanese lost 1 Zero, 4 Kates, and 2 Vals, while US lost 2 Wildcats and 13 obsolete F2A Buffaloes.
Between 0630 and 0800: American bombers make multiple attacks on the Japanese carrier force, though not a single bomb or torpedo hit is scored, though the US strike group took substantial losses.  One badly damaged B-26 made a suicide run on the Japanese carrier Akagi; though it missed, it was a near-death experience for the carrier group commander, Admiral Nagumo, and may have helped convince him to launch a second strike against Midway, in violation of Admiral Yamamoto's order to keep an air reserve ready to attack when the US carriers showed up.  The Japanese lost 3 Zeros, while US lost 5 TBFs, 2 SB2Us, 8 SBDs, and two B-26s.
0700 - USS Enterprise and Hornet launch their strike groups
0715 - Admiral Nagumo orders his air reserve to rearm with weapons suited to attack land targets (contact-fused bombs, vice delayed-fused bombs and torpedoes).
0740 - Japanese scout plane sights US carrier force
0755 - Admiral Nagumo orders air reserve to be re-armed for ship targets.  He considered immediately launching his air reserve, even with the wrong armament, but commencing flight operations at that time would have meant that the strike group returning from the attack on Midway would have nowhere to land would be forced to ditch in the ocean.
0800 - USS Yorktown launches its strike group
0920 - TBD Devastators from VT-8 from USS Hornet attacks Japanese carriers.  VT-8 lost 15 TBD Devastators, the VB-8 and VS-8 SBD Dauntlesses never found the Japanese carriers and had to turn back, and ten VF-8 F4F Wildcats ran out of gas and had to ditch in the ocean.
0940 - TBD Devastators from VT-6 from USS Enterprise attacks Japanese carriers.  VT-6 lost 10 TBD Devastators, VF-6 F4F Wildcats ran low on fuel and had to turn back
1010 - TBD Devastators from VT-3 from USS Yorktown attacks Japanese carriers.  VT-3 lost 10 TBD Devastators.
1025 - SBD Dauntlesses from the Enterprise's VB-6 and VS-6, and the Yorktown's VB-3 attack the Japanese carrier force with deadly accuracy, made worse by the fact the Japanese carriers were performing refueling and rearming operations on their flight decks.  Kaga received four hits Akagi one, and Soryu three, all of which started vicious fires that forced the Japanese carriers to be abandoned and scuttled!  The fourth Japanese carrier, Hiryu, was attacked but not struck.
1040 - Hiryu launches six A6M Zeros and eighteen D3A Vals, which follow the American strike groups back to their carriers
1200 - Hiryu's first strike group attacks, hitting Yorktown with three bombs.  The Japanese lost three Zeros and thirteen Vals.
1320 - Hiryu launches six A6M Zeros and ten B5N2 Kates
1550 - Enterprise launches 24 SBD Dauntlesses and Yorktown launches 14 more
1425 - Because damage control of USS Yorktown was so quick and efficient, the Hiryu's second strike believed the first strike had sunk a carrier and they were attacking a second, untouched US carrier.  The Japanese pilots pressed home their attack and hit the Yorktown with two torpedoes.  The Japanese lost two Zeros and five Kates, but their morale was seriously boosted by the fact they believed they had sunk two of three US carriers.
1700 - SBD Dauntlesses from Enterprise and Yorktown attack the Hiryu, scoring four or five hits, leaving her ablaze and unable to conduct flight operations, meaning her returning strike groups were forced to ditch in the ocean.

5 June 1942
0500 - Soryu sinks

6 June 1942
1330 -Yorktown attacked by Japanese submarine I-68, which damaged her with two torpedoes and sank the USS Hammann with another

7 June 1942
0700 - Yorktown scuttled

Games

Fight #1, 0620 4 June 1942
6 x Dirt Divers intercept 4 x Zero, 6 x Val
*US: 6 Fresh
*Japanese: 4 Fresh

Fight #2, 0625 4 June 1942

6 x Dirt Divers intercept 4 x Zero, 6 x Kate

*US: 5 Fresh +1 from F1
*Japanese: 3 Fresh +1 from F1

Fight #3, 0630 4 June 1942

4 x Dirt Divers escort 6 x TBF (VT-8 ashore) vs 6 x Zero
*US: 4 Fresh
*Japanese: 6 Fresh

Fight #4, 0715 4 June 1942

4 x Dirt Divers escort 6 x SBD (VMSB-241) vs 6 x Zero

*US: 3 Fresh +1 from F3
*Japanese: 5 Fresh +1 from F3

Fight #5, 0800 4 June 1942

4 x Dirt Divers escort 4 x B-26 (69th Bombardment Squadron) vs 6 x Zero

*US: +4 from F3 and F4
*Japanese: +6 from F3 and F4

Fight #6, 1010 4 June 1942

4 x Killer Pelicans escort 6 x TBD (VT-3) vs 6 x Zero

*US: 4 Fresh
*Japanese: 6 Fresh

Fight #7, 1025 4 June 1942

4 x Killer Pelicans escort 6 x SBD (VB-3) vs 6 x Zero

*US: 3 Fresh +1 from F6
*Japanese: +6 from F3, F4, and F5

Fight #8, 1200 4 June 1942

6 x Killer Pelicans intercept 4 x Zero, 6 x Val

*US: 6 Fresh
*Japanese: 4 Fresh

Fight #9, 1425 4 June 1942

6 x Killer Pelicans intercept 4 x Zero, 6 x Kate

*US: 5 Fresh +1 from F8
*Japanese: 3 Fresh +1 from F8

Fight #10, 1700 4 June 1942

4 x Killer Pelicans escort 6 x SBD (VB-3) vs 6 x Zero

*US: +4 from F6 and F7
*Japanese: +6 from F3, F4, F5, and F7

*I might try a dive bomber game, just for fun, just to see if it works.  I'm very interested in figuring an air-to ground type strike game, just not sure I can figure out a way to make it fun, rather than simply a dice-fest.  If you've got (simple) ideas, I'm all ears.

Breakdown

Dirt Divers: 7 Escorts, 11 CAP

Killer Pelicans: 7 Escorts, 11 CAP

Japanese: 14 Escorts, 11 CAP

EXCEPT F6: Six CAP

Dutch East Indies Campaign Plan

All,

This is a little late (as I've already started), and I've played some of the fights out of order (but I'm renaming the titles so they will listed in chronological order), but I wanted to share with you the outline of the campaign in the Dutch East Indies.  First, understand that I will be playing a series of nine dogfights using 'Lacquered Coffins' (three fights each for a USMC, USN, and USA fighter squadron), five naval fights (using the real ABDA naval forces and my own, homebrew naval rules), and three to five ground fights (Captain Moon's platoon of Marines; not sure if I'll do squad level or platoon level fights, or a mixture of both).

A: Palembang, location of Captain Moon's 1st Platoon (Marine infantry) and VMF-343 "Dirt Divers"
B: Makassar, location of US Army 565th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Chickenhawks"
C: Koepang, location of US Navy VF-63 "Killer Pelicans"
D: Naval battle of Balikpapan
E: Two naval battles of Badung Strait (also known as Lombok Strait)
F: Naval battle of Java Sea
G: Naval battle of Sunda Strait

The red arrows are Japanese offensives, with dates listed.  Batavia on the island of Java is the Dutch capital of the Dutch East Indies, and the major America-British-Dutch-Australia (ABDA) Naval base is at Tjilatjap, also on Java.

I have already played and posted three naval fights: Balikpapan, Badung I, and Badung II.

I have already played all three dogfights for the Marine squadron and one dogfight for the Army squadron, but I haven't written them up and posted yet.  Another problem I need to deal with is the fact the second Army dogfight (which I haven't played) happens chronologically before the third Marine dogfight (which I've already played).  Once I get that straightened out everything should be fine in terms of posting the batreps in order.

So, in total we're looking at a total of seventeen to twenty fights for the Dutch East Indies campaign (of which I've already played seven).  This will be followed by a few dogfights not associated with any ground campaign (the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway, for example), and then on to Guadalcanal.

V/R,
Jack

Another New Blog; The Plan

All,

Yep, another blog.  Been working up to this for awhile.  If you're not familiar, "Uncommon Valor Was a Common Virtue" is a quote by Admiral Chester Nimitz, made about U.S. Marines that fought on Iwo Jima.  And "The Old Breed" is the moniker for 1st Marine Division, with Old Lead Breed being a cheesy takeoff on that.  For quite some time I've been wanting to play a series of games where I follow a unit of Marines throughout the entirety of WWII in the Pacific, 1941 to 1945, and rack up as many possible battles as I possibly can, no matter how unrealistic.

That is, these poor jarheads are gonna see more combat than any other humans in WWII; in order to do this I have to make up a fake unit, as no real unit was constantly in combat.  The Marine Corps started with about a Division's worth of Marines, rapidly got up to two for its first offensive, then quickly expanded to 6 complete infantry Divisions (as well as service support groups and Marine Aviation Wings), and in real life they rotated Divisions in and out of the line, but these boys will see precious little rest, even if it means they have to take part in a landing the day after the last island was declared secure!

So, not sure how I'm going to pull this off following a single platoon.  There's no way they can be a single platoon operating alone all war; at minimum I figure they have to be a part of a battalion (the Marine Corps had what they called 'separate battalions,' battalions not part of any Division or Regiment structure, that were Corps-level assets.  There were quite a few of separate battalions, and different types: Engineer, Pioneer, Reconnaissance, Assault, Beach Defense, Tank Destroyer, the Raider Battalions (initially), Para-Marine Battalions, etc...  So, lots of different types, lots of different reorganizations throughout the war.  At first the platoon is simply part of a Provisional Rifle Company; 4th Marine Regiment (AKA, "4th Marines."  When the Marine Corps uses a number and the "Marines," it's talking about a Regiment) was in China, but right before the outbreak of WWII it was moved to the Philippines.  They knew combat was coming, and so a lot of rear-echelon troops were thrown into makeshift infantry units; that's how the platoon will start.  But it will stay and evolve over the course of the war.

I decided on playing all this out in 15mm, using figures from Eureka and Peter Pig.  I also decided I'm going to play platoon-level games, relying on Joe Legan's "Platoon Forward" as much as I possibly can, which means that typically my entire Marine platoon will be on the table, and the Japanese will be determined by a 'blinds' system that keeps their true strength and positions hidden from me.  Who knows what rules I'll end with, but I intend on starting this war using Ivan Sorensen's "No End In Sight" NEIS) ruleset, albeit a bit modified.  I'm going full-on with the activation system, still working on the combat parts; I'm just so taken with and accustomed to his 5Core concepts I don't know if I can break free of the combat/morale aspects.  So, NEIS continuing rolls to exhaustion for activation, NEIS-style react fire, but some form of 5Core fire, morale, and melee.

Phase 1, "Just Make it Out Alive"
-Start with a platoon of cooks, bakers, and candlestick makers thrown together into a Provisional Rifle Company for the defense of the Philippines in December 1941.  The Marines will be up north, near the Japanese landing sites, and get into the fight early.  In real life almost all Marines were on Corregidor and didn't see any real fighting, and no American forces took part in the early fighting, only the Filipinos did, as the Americans began falling back into the Bataan Peninsula.  My concept is to get the platoon into the early fighting, then they can escape to the east, rather than be forced down into the Peninsula and get wiped out or captured.  I've got to fight the rest of the war!

-The platoon escapes the Philippines aboard a US ship headed for the Dutch East Indies.  They think they've escaped, but they are there when the Japanese invade and end up fighting there as well.  Hopefully I can come up a plausible way for the platoon to be involved on a few different islands, always narrowly making their escape, until ultimately they flee Jakarta on a US or Allied vessel and make their way to Australia.  Where they become attached to 1st Marine Division...

-Also, in the Dutch East Indies I'm considering adding an air component to this; I'd love to play some WWII USMC aviation against Japanese Army and Navy aviation, so this might be it.  A Marine Squadron gets tasked for the defense of the Dutch East Indies (in real life, only US Army fighter/pursuit squadrons were sent, not Marines or Navy), fight there for a bit, make their escape to Australia, then end up, purely by happenstance, following the platoon around for the rest of the war.  I think I'll call them VMF-343, "The Dirt Divers."

Phase 2, "The 'Canal"
-Start 7 Aug 1942 on Tulagi (heavy fighting there unlike Guadalcanal on D-Day).  Screw around there for a bit, secure Florida, then finally move over to The Canal, probably in September.
-Sep-Nov 1942 on Guadalcanal.  I'll play a couple defensive fights, but mostly USMC patrols and offensives.  I even have an M-3 Stuart for this!

Phase 3, "Climbing the Solomons"
-The Russells (21 Feb 1943)
-New Georgia (30 June - 24 August 1943)
-Choiseul (28 October - 3 November 1943)
-Bougainville (1 November - 15 December 1943)
-Cape Gloucester on New Britain (26 December 1943- 4 May 1944; Volupai?),

Phase 4, "Island Hopping"
-I'd like to move over to Tarawa (20-23 Nov 1943), but dates conflict with Bougainville, and wouldn't make sense to go to Tarawa in Central Pacific then back to SW Pacific for New Britain...  Then again, this is a fictional unit in a wargaming campaign, I could just have them leave Bougainville early then head back for New Britain.
-Hit the Marshalls (Roi-Namur 31 January 1944; Engebi 18-19 Feb 1944, Eniwetok 19-21 February 1944, Parry Island 22 February 1944)
-Hit the Marianas (Guam 21 July - 10 August 1944; Saipan 15 June - 9 July 1944; Tinian 24 July - 1 August 1944)

Phase 5, "To the Bloody End"
-Peleliu (15 September - 27 November 1944)
-Okinawa (1 April - 22 June 1945)

Well, that's the plan, and I'm ready to get it rolling.

V/R,
Jack