May 11, 1943 – Americans land on Attu. Under the heavy fog they march forward only to be ambushed by the Japanese awaiting on the hills.

The Battle

(visibility = 8 hexes due to heavy fog)

1800 American forces land and enter in the southeast. Their objective is the hill to the west. No Japanese are in sight. The Americans start their hard slog through the muskeg.

It isn’t until almost 2000 that the first Japanese are encountered in the south. Meanwhile in the centre the combination of Japanese mortars and muskeg are disrupting the formations.

As night begins to fall the Americans find a hole in the Japanese line and exploit it, gaining the hill.

In the centre the first American casualty is sustained in the muskeg.

At the 3 hour mark the cold weather sets in, as the first of the American platoons reaches the 40m heights.

Feeling the cold and time pressure the Americans try to push through the centre but are intercepted by the Japanese.

The cry of “Banzai!” can be heard as the Japanese assault the Americans in the dark of night. The Americans suffer severe casualties.

More Japanese troops move southward to block the Americans.

The US obtains their first skirmish victory as their troops on the hill silence the Japanese mortars.

With only 75 minutes to go the Americans begin to rush up the hill as quickly as possible. Some stragglers hear the “Banzai!” call and are also eliminated.

Finally, the remaining portion of the American battalion gains the heights, but a lucky long range attack by Japanese HMGs cuts down half a platoon.

The two sides exchange fire as the clock strikes 2300.

Aftermath

American VPs:

1 casualty inflicted

4 full and 2 half platoons at 50m

11 VPs

Japanese VPs:

2 full platoons and 3 half platoons eliminated

4 American steps still in the muskeg.

11 VPs

Americans needed two thirds of their force at 40m to obtain victory (twice as many VPs). They only managed half.

JAPANESE VICTORY!!!

This was a fun battle and used as an introduction to teach My Butterfly the PG system. She thought it was a lot of fun both with the hidden units and then firing (and eliminating!) my American forces.

A decent quick scenario. The muskeg rules make for some excessive dice rolling, but besides that there is very little to fault. Victory conditions seem fairly balanced, but possible a bit hard on the Americans who are really under severe time constraints.

Scenario Rating 3/5 – Good little scenario with hidden units. Worth playing.