WuWei
Elder Member
Sand and Blood – Assault Period 1
After having played a few scenarios on the campaign map, we finally decided we were ready for the campaign. I suggested to take the American attacker, and my opponent kindly complied. So my Victory Condition is to control ALL of Gavutu and Tanambogo after four Assault Periods.
I made some very bad experiences with the AA guns on Gaomi during the Tanambogo Nightmare (they sunk 5 of my 6 LCs before they even reached the shore), so when planning my assault, those guns were of primary concern.
Off the top of my head, I came up with four possible plans:
Plan A is to grab the tiger by the tail, tackle my greatest fear first and start by conquering Gaomi, hopefully catching the guns for my own use. Also, I could place my own mortars there. My other troops are to proceed to Tanambogo.
Plan B is to take the Southern route, drive beyond normal range of the guns and land on the nice beaches of Gavutu.
Plan C is to sneak in from the Northwestern corner, being mostly out of LOS from the guns.
Plan D is to take Gaomi and land on Gavutu with the rest of my force.
In the end, I decided on plan A, with the support of one battery of 120+mm NOBA and one flight of FBs entering on turn 2.
American Turn 1
The direction of my attack catches the Japanese by surprise. They have to turn their guns to fire at me and roll bad enough that they don't hurt me. One even malfunctions! But I take some losses in CC (against all odds) and can't clear the island. Unfortunately, the Japanese INF gun has a good field of fire and starts sinking my LCs.
Japanese Turn 1
The Japanese INF gun continues to sink my LCs, but now my artillery comes into play. I decide to forego the spotting round and fire for effect, the fire is accurate and lands on the gun position. No effect, but at least they have the +1 hindrance.
In CC, I defeat the last Japanese troops on Gaomi, but they take a few Americans with them.
American Turn 2
My NOBA keeps firing and the crew of the Japanese INF gun stripes. Also, there materializes a pillbox and a few trenches, whose inhabitants laugh at my puny 120mm shots.
I try to use the captured AA gun, but with my first shot, it falls apart. So no guns for me. My mortars fire, but have no effect. Also, my planes appear at the horizon.
Japanese Turn 2
They sink another LC. My planes kill the gun. That's good, so now there's no gun left for the Japanese. The Japanese killstack with 12FP and a 10-2 leader leaves the pillbox (that faces down the road to Gavutu, so in the wrong direction) and can now fire on the LCs
American Turn 3
My first LC reaches Tanambogo and unloads. Yeah, troops on the ground! A few other LCs run aground and are now perfect fodder for the Japanese Mgs.
Here, we stopped playing for the evening.
So far, so good! Part one of my plan worked out. Now the hard part begins!
After having played a few scenarios on the campaign map, we finally decided we were ready for the campaign. I suggested to take the American attacker, and my opponent kindly complied. So my Victory Condition is to control ALL of Gavutu and Tanambogo after four Assault Periods.
I made some very bad experiences with the AA guns on Gaomi during the Tanambogo Nightmare (they sunk 5 of my 6 LCs before they even reached the shore), so when planning my assault, those guns were of primary concern.
Off the top of my head, I came up with four possible plans:
Plan A is to grab the tiger by the tail, tackle my greatest fear first and start by conquering Gaomi, hopefully catching the guns for my own use. Also, I could place my own mortars there. My other troops are to proceed to Tanambogo.
Plan B is to take the Southern route, drive beyond normal range of the guns and land on the nice beaches of Gavutu.
Plan C is to sneak in from the Northwestern corner, being mostly out of LOS from the guns.
Plan D is to take Gaomi and land on Gavutu with the rest of my force.
In the end, I decided on plan A, with the support of one battery of 120+mm NOBA and one flight of FBs entering on turn 2.
American Turn 1
The direction of my attack catches the Japanese by surprise. They have to turn their guns to fire at me and roll bad enough that they don't hurt me. One even malfunctions! But I take some losses in CC (against all odds) and can't clear the island. Unfortunately, the Japanese INF gun has a good field of fire and starts sinking my LCs.
Japanese Turn 1
The Japanese INF gun continues to sink my LCs, but now my artillery comes into play. I decide to forego the spotting round and fire for effect, the fire is accurate and lands on the gun position. No effect, but at least they have the +1 hindrance.
In CC, I defeat the last Japanese troops on Gaomi, but they take a few Americans with them.
American Turn 2
My NOBA keeps firing and the crew of the Japanese INF gun stripes. Also, there materializes a pillbox and a few trenches, whose inhabitants laugh at my puny 120mm shots.
I try to use the captured AA gun, but with my first shot, it falls apart. So no guns for me. My mortars fire, but have no effect. Also, my planes appear at the horizon.
Japanese Turn 2
They sink another LC. My planes kill the gun. That's good, so now there's no gun left for the Japanese. The Japanese killstack with 12FP and a 10-2 leader leaves the pillbox (that faces down the road to Gavutu, so in the wrong direction) and can now fire on the LCs
American Turn 3
My first LC reaches Tanambogo and unloads. Yeah, troops on the ground! A few other LCs run aground and are now perfect fodder for the Japanese Mgs.
Here, we stopped playing for the evening.
So far, so good! Part one of my plan worked out. Now the hard part begins!
