Battle Report: In the early morning hours of August 7, 1942 (“Dog Day” for Operation Watchtower), units from the US 1st Raider Battalion began landing at “Beach Blue” on the southwestern shores of Tulagi Island in the Sealark Channel. An unfortunate friendly fire incident during disembarkation and marshalling decimated an entire platoon. Rebounding from that, they split forces to search the western third of the island and to move east toward the central ridge. They encountered elements of the Japanese 3rd Kure SNLF at 0900 hours in the south-central highlands, where they were hiding in both elevated jungle and caves. SBD Dauntless squadrons of VF16 from the USS Wasp took out a 37mm AA platoon above the beach at 0930 and subsequently managed to disrupt operations at the seaplane base on the southeastern end. By 1130 hours, all marine landings were completed, and the west end of the island had been secured. At 1215, an unexpected squall brought thunderstorms that drenched the island for the next 45 minutes. Primary battles raged at both the north seaplane base and in the central hills, with marine units beginning to clear Japanese units in the caves on the southeastern ridge. By 1345, both seaplane bases were under US control, but cave assaults continued with vigorous hand-to-hand fighting that resulted in serious casualties to both sides. By 1430 hours, the east end of the island was secured, with elimination of the final SNLF platoon from the caves at 1345. Historians consider the battle a draw due to the high price paid in troops lost to secure the island.

Analysis: This classic invasion scenario was played using 4th edition rules including the updated cave rules. A friendly fire event on the second turn cost the US a quick 2-step loss, which is difficult to recover when only eight steps are needed for Japanese victory. It is hard to see how the Japanese can do anything more than get a draw in this scenario, given the long length (137 turns) and high morale of the US invaders. By organizing US troops with officers with morale bonuses, practically every US unit has a maximum morale value of 10. A US strategy of forming a 6-hex wide phalanx across the island from north to south that moves slowly east will pick up all the hidden Japanese units, and there are enough extra Marine units in later landings to make sure there are no “sleepers” on the western third of the island. The Japanese gain their best advantage by eventually ending in the caves whether they begin there or not, since the forced assault with a negative 2-column shift provides a fighting chance of getting the eight steps needed for a draw. After that, this just becomes a battle of attrition that strongly favors the US. In this playthrough, a draw resulted primarily because of the friendly fire event that went against the US on the third turn. Since the US ended up with a total loss of 8 steps, which is the minimum number needed for a Japanese draw, it is easy to see how this could have been a clear victory. The game only lasted 32 turns, far short of the 137 available, and it is hard to see how the game could go the full length with the US strategy used here of a phalanx sweep across the island. Since the US has no choice but to eliminate Japanese units in caves through assault, it boils down to the die rolls for both sides once final assaults are underway. Step losses were US (8) versus Japanese (27).