Golden Journal No. 36:
Atlantic Marines
Scenario Preview, Part Two
by Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
April 2021

I’m still not sure we made the right choice, putting Atlantic Marines in the Golden Journal. It had long been on my list of expansion books we might make someday. And as it’s larger than the typical Golden Journal, and has way more pieces (165 rather than the typical 24), it certainly fits the format. I decided that the topic was a little too far out there, but now that it’s finished, I’m not so sure. It’s based on two operations that were actually planned (the American Operation Bungalow to invade Martinique, and the German Fall Ikarus to invade Iceland), so I didn’t just make it up out of whole cloth. The research was actually much tougher than that for an actual battle, since I was looking for plans that never were used. Maybe we should have sent this out as a general release and not a Gold Club exclusive.

But the decision’s made and can’t be undone, so let’s have a look at the second chapter.

Chapter Two
Operation Bungalow 1943
The Vichy French regime collapsed in November 1942, leaving Martinique’s military governor Admiral Georges Robert without a government to which he could pledge his allegiance. That didn’t bring Martinique into the Allied camp; Robert refused to align with the Free French movement, either.

Tired of the intransigence, in May 1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the long-planned invasion of Martinique, code-named Operation Bungalow, to proceed. The invasion force numbered just one independent regiment and two independent battalions, but it was considered sufficient to overcome Robert’s demoralized garrison.

Note: Roosevelt didn’t order this invasion, either; the Vichy regime on Martinique collapsed soon afterwards under public pressure. Once again, we’ve given the French garrison the maximum strength estimated by the Americans to give them a better chance of resisting the landings.

Scenario Five
Get Off Your Ass
May 1943
By the spring of 1943, American planners still had not realized that Martinique had no airfield, despite the presence of American negotiators in Fort-de-France who had had to travel there by boat. The independent 551st “GOYA” (“Get Off Your Ass”) Parachute Infantry Battalion had been formed specifically for a drop on Martinique, and so when the directive came to invade the Vichy French island, the battalion dropped on Martinique.

Conclusion
The GOYA Battalion encountered heavy opposition in its first and only combat drop, but Lt. Col. Wood Joerg got his men off their asses and secured all objectives within a few hours. The French garrison had little interest in fighting for the already-fallen Vichy regime, but would defend itself if attacked.

Notes Panzer Grenadier has surprisingly few airborne landing scenarios (outside of Parachutes Over Crete, which is filled with them). I decided that we needed some more, and it gave me a chance to highlight the GOYA Battalion again, whose tragic last battle appeared in Elsenborn Ridge.

Scenario Six
Cover Your Ass
May 1943
The American airborne landing had been intended to take place at the same time as the 33rd Infantry Regiment arrived by sea, but the amphibious operation encountered delays and the French had an opportunity to crush the paratroopers before help arrived. Whether the garrison was capable of crushing anyone was another question.

Conclusion
The French pressed the American paratroopers from both sides, but both attacks quickly broke up in the face of resolute American resistance. The Americans were far more determined to hold their ground than the French were to take it, and even their much greater numbers did not allow them to succeed. Martinique would not remain Vichy for long.

Notes
Mobs of angry Frenchmen come to wipe out the GOYA landing zone, but the paratroopers are much tougher than they. The French do have tanks, a full company of FT17 ancient light tanks, but unlike the 1941 scenarios the Americans now have bazookas.

Scenario Seven
To Have and Have Not
May 1943
The sleepy fishing port of Le Robert had no facilities to off-load vitally needed supplies and heavy equipment, but neither did it have a garrison according to the expatriate Americans who had made a home there. This information turned out to be incorrect when the American 33rd Infantry Regiment stormed ashore there.

Conclusion
The French put up notable resistance, fighting hard for the seaside town before the American warships in the small bay methodically demolished their strongpoints. The Americans secured Le Robert and began to land more troops, with heavy equipment coming ashore by lighter.

Notes
I once lived with a lingerie model who loved the Bogie/Bacall flick with the same title. All I remember is that it takes place on Martinique, and there are Vichy sailors and an American fisherman named Harry. Harry’s info hasn’t been all that reliable, because Harry drank a lot, and so when the Americans come ashore the French are waiting for them. They shouldn’t have listened to Harry. Or maybe he was just misinformed.

Aftermath
The Americans deployed only minimal force, but the troops had been trained well and had far better cohesion and leadership than the French garrison. Demoralized after nearly three years of boredom and blockade, the French gave only symbolic resistance in many places as few of them wished to die for the vainglory of Georges Robert. Within days Martinique was firmly in Allied hands, and its people firmly behind the Allied cause.

Notes
The 1943 version of Operation Bungalow didn’t include any Marines, so before some game version of Comic Book Guy writes in, yes, we know that. All of the scenarios involve U.S. Army troops against the French garrison, which is even less willing to fight than it was in 1941. But the U.S. invasion force isn’t very large, so the French can win this battle game.

The Golden Journal is only available to the Gold Club (that’s why we call it the Golden Journal). It’s free when we first offer it, but then it’s $9.99 afterwards ($19.99 for the oversized Atlantic Marines). We print enough of them to handle initial demand and a few extras, but once they’re gone we won’t reprint them – there’s just no profit in a company as small as Avalanche Press keeping a $19.99 item perpetually in stock. If you want your Atlantic Marines, the time to grab it is now.

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Mike Bennighof is president of Avalanche Press and holds a doctorate in history from Emory University. A Fulbright Scholar and NASA Journalist in Space finalist, he has published zillions of books, games and articles on historical subjects. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, three children, and his dog Leopold, who is a good dog.

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