In the early morning hours of June 9, 1942, Japanese forces from the 3rd Maizuru SNLF landed on the westernmost point of land in North America to establish a beachhead there. As they moved south in heavy fog toward the Attu village, they encountered elements of the 297th Infantry Regiment of the Alaska National Guard. The Japanese Commander and his units followed a track through the muskeg, while the other units attempted to head directly south and encountered resistance north of the village at 0930 hours. By 1100, the northern Japanese group was within ½ mile of the village, but the western group was being slowed by an Alaska Scouts platoon. Noon found all the allies pushed back to the outskirts of the village. Commander Koketsu led his western group in a banzai charge while the northern units provided covering fire. At 1315 hours, the western group assaulted the village directly, and the Alaska Scout platoon was eliminated while fleeing the village at 1345 hours.

This scenario plays out over the muskeg terrain of the Aleutians, making movement a key variable due to miring and giving a slight advantage to the Alaska Scout platoon. Capture of the town is the primary objective with eliminated units also providing VP’s. In looking at this scenario, it seemed as though it would rate an average rating at best; however, after playing it that rating was increased due to the excellent balance seen in this playthrough. Although it ended up a minor victory for the Japanese with 11 VP’s (village plus 6 US steps eliminated) versus 7 for the Americans (7 Japanese steps eliminated), it could have gone either way on the last turn. The Japanese assault ended up demoralizing the Scout platoon holding the town; when they were forced to flee without cover, they were eliminated by exit fire. Had they rolled a lower number on their morale attempt and recovered, they would have remained in town at game end and given the Americans a 7-6 minor victory. The Japanese benefit from OBA and initiative advantage, while the US Scout platoon and overall US firepower are an advantage for them.