Battleship Divisions One, Two and Four (less Colorado) of the Pacific Fleet in 1941.
These are repaints of the models from the ‘Tribute to Valor Pearl Harbor Series’ Battleship Row set. They are approximately 1/2650 scale and say ‘Legacy of Valor’ on the bottom.
Saturday the local HMGS-South group played a game of Check Your Six using 1/300 scale aircraft.
Summer 1940: Six Ju87s escorted by four Me109s attack a British convoy in the English Channel. They are opposed by four Hurricanes and ship-borne AA on the three merchants and one destroyer.
Three Ju87s and one Hurricane are destroyed by the time all the bombing attacks are resolved. The convoy escapes without damage.
Hurricanes dive to reach the altitude of the Ju87s.
A confused melee over the convoy as the Ju87s make dive-bomb attacks.
This weekend the local HMGS-South group played a Second World War naval game using the Seekrieg 5 rules. The scenario was fictional, but included ships present near Leyte Gulf on 25 October 1944.
US:
Battleships West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Pennsylvania
Cruisers Louisville, Portland, Minneapolis, Indianapolis
Transport ships of the Leyte invasion fleet were present nearby and provided a potential target for the Japanese.
The models are 1/2400 scale GHQ and CinC. Seven players participated.
The US ships start at 5 knots, with the cruiser line on the engaged side.
The Japanese are in three columns, and will take some effort to deploy.
Color-coded play aids help explain the ship data.
The US cruisers turn to close the reported enemy, but the battleships are not allowed to react immediately.
Careful maneuvering avoids collisions as the Japanese deploy.
The Tone has blown up.
US cruisers reverse course to avoid land, but damage limits the turning ability of Minneapolis.
We played seven turns in about 4 hours. Of the US battleships, only Pennsylvania was hit and took one tier of damage. Portland took two tiers of damage. Minneapolis took one tier and lost a primary turret. The two Japanese battleships took little or no damage. Kongo took two tiers of damage and lost a primary turret. Haruna three tiers, an engine room, a boiler room, a primary gun and all primary fire control. Chikuma had significant damage and fires. Tone blew up.
This weekend the local HMGS-South group played a Bolt Action game set during the Battle of Saipan. The scenario was based on the Japanese counterattack on Aslito airfield on the night of 16-17 June 1944 and pitted the 23rd Marine Regiment against the Japanese 118th Infantry Regiment.
Marines ready for the Japanese attack
The Japanese had three tanks.
The final Japanese charge was repulsed.
After about four hours of play, the Japanese failed to achieve the required victory conditions. As a result, the airfield was held by the Marines.
Baker Company of the 8th RCT, 4th Infantry Division is pushing inland to the town of St-Marie-du-Mont. However, the route to the town is blocked by the Germans of the 2nd Company, 919th Infantry Regiment. The Germans have placed a PAK 40 ATG to cover the road and dug in around a cluster of farm buildings. The PAK has already knocked out the leading M4 Sherman of Baker Company’s armor support. The scenario begins with Baker Company deployed for a full assault against the German positions.
This used the Attack/Defense scenario. The American point total was around 500, the German around 250 points.
No photos were taken due to the poor memory of the photographer.
We played 7 turns of the 8 turn scenario in about four hours. The Americans had not reached the objective bridge and had lost their light vehicles and some infantry. The Germans had lost about half their units and the outer defense line was gone.
