Great Pacific War Replay
1939 Campaign Scenario
Part 13: Spring 1944
By Doug McNair
February 2008

Britain and the Soviet Union go on the attack in Asia while Japan and the U.S. continue to duke it out at sea in today’s episode of my Great Pacific War replay. As 1943 came to a close, Japan conquered the capital of Dutch Borneo but suffered massive losses from an American carrier raid on Yokohama. With her coastal defense forces thus depleted, she’ll need to pull naval units back to defend her home islands while rushing land units north to Manchukuo to deal with the invading Red Army. And the U.S. needs to open a new front against Japan now that the IJN is off-balance after Yokohama.

The war continues . . .

Turn 19: Spring 1944

Production Segment: Britain, the Soviet Union and the U.S. receive force pool additions. The Netherlands has lost Borneo and receives spring production of just 10 BRPs. Nationalist China receives 11 BRPs and Communist China gets 14 BRPs. The Soviet Union has conquered Heilungchang Province in Manchukuo and gets 22 BRPs. Britain does not make her required minimum deployments in India, Malaya or Burma and so receives 59 BRPs like last spring. The U.S. got no economic growth last year and her stockpile ended at -2, so she receives 153 BRPs.

Japan conquered Dutch Borneo but lost Heilungchang Province, does not make her required minimum deployment in Chosen (she had to send the forces north) and receives no BRPs from Kweichow Province in China because there are more Chinese than Japanese units there. So after her 1 BRP of economic growth from last year she gets 165 BRPs.

The Soviet Union rolls a 6 on the Mud Table, so any ARM unit that starts the turn inside the borders of the Soviet Union (meaning any ARM unit that gets built this turn) will have its movement allowance reduced by two.

Holland rebuilds her 1-4 TAC unit in the Britain box for 3 BRPs. Nationalist China rebuilds a 2-2 and a 1-2 INF unit at Chunking for 5 BRPs. Communist China rebuilds 2 x 2-2 INF at Sian for 6 BRPs. The Soviet Union builds a 3-3 INF and a 2-4 Guards CAV for 6 BRPs. Britain builds a 3-4 TAC in the Britain box, a 2-3 Indian INF at Madras and 1 LC at Broome for 15 BRPs. The U.S. builds a 3-4 INF, a 4-4 MAR, a 4-4 TAC, a 5-12 LSAC and 5 SUB in the U.S. West Coast box plus 2 LC and an airfield at Marcus Island and 1 LC at Truk for 69 BRPs. Finally Japan adds 4 SURF and 4 CV factors to reduced units at Japanese shipyards and builds a 1-4 TAC, 4 SUB, 4 x 1-3 INF, 3 x 1-3 INF divisions, a 1-5 ARM division and a 1-3 PARA division for 63 BRPs.

The Divine Wind political chit goes in the cup, and the chit drawn is NATIONALIST TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT. The U.S. spends 6 BRPs and two Kuomintang 1-2 INF unit flip to their 3-2 sides (this activates them for the turn).

The Chinas buy one impulse chit each, the Soviet Union buys two, and Britain, the U.S. and Japan buy one each.

Sea Zone Box Placement Segment: The U.S. spends 5 BRPs to put units in the Bering Sea 2, Hawaiian Islands, Wake Island, Marcus Island, Marianas Island and Sulu Sea control boxes, and Japan spends 5 BRPs to ring Japan with sea control (except for the Sea of Japan where she has no units in adjacent ports) and also put units in the Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea and Gulf of Siam zones. Then the Netherlands spends 2 BRPs to put 2 SUB in the East China Sea raiding box, Britain spends 3 BRPs to put 3 SUB in the Yellow Sea raiding box, and the U.S. puts 2 SUB from Guam in the Sea of Japan raiding box. All Japanese subs are on coastal defense duty.

Sea Control and Raiding Segment: The only contested sea zone is the Sulu Sea, where the American 2-4 TAC out of British Sandakar and 9 SURF out of Leyte take on Japanese 2-4 TAC, 3 SURF and 4 CV.

On the first round the Japanese score one hit to none in air battle, and Japanese TAC and CV units score 2 hits in naval battle to sink 2 U.S. SURF while American SURF scores just one hit to sink a Japanese SURF. On the second round the Japanese destroy the last American TAC factor, and then the TAC and CVs score an incredible five hits on six dice to destroy 5 U.S. SURF while the Americans score just one hit to kill a Japanese SURF. The surviving U.S. 2 SURF retreats to Leyte, leaving the Japanese in sole control of the Sulu Sea. That’s crucial because it means the LCs at Manila and Davao can SR units in from Japan to garrison the cities.

Then in raiding, in the East China Sea Japanese carriers sink a Dutch SUB factor and the surviving SUB doesn’t score a hit. In the Yellow Sea, Japanese SURF sink a British SUB, and the surviving British SUBs also score no hits. But in the Sea of Japan, both American SUB factors score hits (it’s easier with no hunter-killers) and kill 2 Japanese BRPs.

Strategic Redeployment Segment: The Kuomintang SR a 2-2 INF from Chunking down to the line, but Mao leaves his units in place. Britain spends 2 SRs to move a 3-4 TAC from the Britain box to Madras, and then sends 2 x 2-3 INF from India to the Siamese border. The LC at Truk SRs an American 4-4 TAC there from Wake, and then the 9 SURF at Wake brings in a 4-4 TAC and a 3-4 INF from the U.S. West Coast box. Then the 9 SURF in the U.S. West Coast Box SRs a 5-12 LSAC to Saipan, and an LC brings a 5-8 SAC from Pearl Harbor to the new airfield at Marcus Island. Then Japan SRs one 1-3 INF unit each from Kyushu to Manila and Davao (the LCs return to the port of Kagoshima on Kyushu), and then SRs four units northward to extend the line down to Kirin.

Operations Segment: The first chit drawn is . . .

U.S. NAVAL: 5 SURF from Hawaii steam west to Marcus Island and rendezvous with a 1 LC, and the force lands a reduced INF unit on the west coast of Mindanao.

The next chit drawn is . . .

SOVIET UNION ATTRITION: Red Army INF and CAV advance from Vladivostok and attack the line just north of Kirin, but they score no hits while the Japanese score a hit on defense to kill a Soviet BRP.

The next chit drawn is . . .

COMMUNIST CHINA ATTRITION: Now that Stalin is having his own fun with the Japanese, Mao knows that he won’t get any BRPs from the Soviets anytime soon and is at risk of running out of BRPs well before the year is over. He’ll need to wait for Joe to smash the Japanese in Manchukuo and force a general Japanese retreat in China, after which the Chinese can advance to pick up the pieces. Mao pulls units back from the bulge and consolidates his defensive lines.

The next chit drawn is . . .

NATIONALIST CHINA ATTRITION: The Kuomintang advance and attack in hopes of breaking the weak Japanese left flank, but the 5-die-to-1 attack scores no hits while taking one from the Japanese defenders that eliminates a 1-2 INF.

The next chit drawn is . . .

SOVIET 1-FEF HQ OFFENSIVE: The Red Army charges south and smashes into Japanese lines, making a 19-die-to-6 line attack with blitzkrieg bonuses.

The assault is devastating, scoring six hits to wipe out 3 x 2-3 INF and blow a three-hex hole in the center of the Japanese line. The Japanese score two hits on defense to kill a Soviet 1-4 CAV and 1-3 INF unit, but the remaining Soviets advance into the breach. Then the 3-5 ARM unit cuts right and hits the next Japanese INF unit to the west, but scores no hits while the Japanese score one hit on defense to kill a Soviet BRP.

The next chit drawn is . . .

JAPANESE GENERAL OFFENSIVE: Armies advance in Borneo, Siam and China while pulling back to form a new line in Manchukuo. Then the Japanese 5-8 SAC makes a strategic bombing attack on Blagoveschensk.

The brave bombardiers do superbly, scoring four hits on five dice to destroy 4 Soviet BRPs. Unless Stalin gets a BRP infusion his offensive is all but done for the year. The bombers return to Kirin.

Then eight CV leave Japan to perform naval strikes, with 4 CV hitting the American beachhead on the east coast of Mindanao, two CV hitting Truk and two CV hitting Broome.

The strike on Mindanao is very successful, scoring three hits on four dice to sink an LC and 2 SURF, but the strikes on Truk and Broome score no hits.

Then the Japanese attack the British 14th HQ and a 3-4 INF southeast of Rangoon. The 12-die-to-3 attack (with air support) gets blitzkrieg bonuses and scores three hits to one, reducing the 3-4 INF which retreats one hex north along with its HQ and gains the protection of the powerful 4-5 ARM unit there. The Japanese take a hit and lose a BRP, and they advance to keep-up the pressure on Rangoon but the ARM unit doesn’t attack in exploitation combat because the powerful British defensive lines would likely do more hits than they’d take.

Finally the Japanese hit Mao’s lines at several points, killing a 2-2 INF, a 1-2 INF, a 1-4 TAC and a Communist Chinese BRP while losing a TAC factor and 2 BRPs themselves.

The last chit drawn is . . .

BRITISH 14TH HQ OFFENSIVE: The British send their 4-5 ARM unit southeast and attack the Japanese KWAN HQ and the 3-3 INF unit with it. The seven-die-to-three attack scores three hits and reduces the INF, which retreats southwest along with its HQ.

The British 4-5 ARM advances and then attacks in exploitation combat, scoring another two hits to wipe out the reduced 1-3 INF and the KWAN HQ. The ARM does not advance after combat, as the ZOC from the Japanese 3-5 ARM behind it would cut its three-hex supply line through the jungle to its own HQ.

Then Siam takes a free Attrition impulse and moves its 1-3 INF one hex northeast to protect the supply line of the 3-5 ARM and 3-3 INF to the north.

Supply and End Segments: All units are in supply, and the U.S. spends 2 BRPs to repair her reduced INF units on Truk and Mindanao, Japan spends 2 BRPs to repair her reduced INF unit guarding the Borneo capital of Balipapkan and Britain spends 2 BRPs to repair her reduced Indian INF southeast of Rangoon. The U.S. is out of beachhead and airbase counters, so she voluntarily eliminates the beachhead and 1-4 INF division on Johnston Island. Units return to base from sea zone boxes and turn then ends.

So the Imperial Japanese Navy has scored a great victory over the U.S. Navy in the Sulu Sea and hammered the landing force on Mindanao, but the Japanese Army has suffered stinging defeats in Siam and Manchukuo. Japan needs to finish off the Indian and Australian armies on Borneo quickly so she can redeploy her combat forces there to the aforementioned crisis zones.

Britain is flush with BRPs and will have no trouble sending Stalin more of them to continue his offensive, and while America will need to rebuild her navy she’ll still have plenty of BRPs left to keep Britain going for the rest of the year. America herself may want to concentrate on prosecuting the imminent bombing campaign against Japan, stepping up sub raids and retaking Mindanao while Britain and the Soviet Union do the dirty work of pushing Japan’s armies out of Siam and Manchukuo. The net effect will hopefully be to “starve the beast” enough for another landing on Japanese soil this year, without the tragic consequences of Otamari.

Can the Allies pull it off? Tune in next time and find out!

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