Our inaugural Game Day West at the relocated Miniature Market Rock Hill got off to a historically great start as we remembered Pearl Harbor with three WWII Pacific War Scenarios.
Starting off our Pacific tour was Steve Lowry’s Pearl Harbor survivors scenario. This hypothetical action assumed that some of the units made it out to engage the IJN screening forces as the fleet retired after the 12/7 attack.
Setting up.
The IJN Battleline
The US Forces moving out to engage.
Keith (IJN) and Jon (USN) both found it to be a hard fought action with a few interesting twists as the USS St. Louis got a lucky shot on a Japanese battlewagon and sent it to the bottom.
Next up was Dave Schaffner’s Bolt Action Burma Game with the Chindits attempting to defend a resupply area from an assault by the Imperial Japanese Army.
Ben, Bob & Chris operating the Chindits faced off against Steve & Dave with the Japanese.
Early on in the game this unit came under machine gun fire and decided the ground looked pretty good.
The Chindits move up in the center of the board successfully taking a tree line and holding back the Japanese forces.
Early successes unraveled for the British players as luck swung towards the Imperial Forces and a well timed assault by this combined section with machine gun support was able to wrestle away the left flank dashing any hope of an allied victory.
Our last game of the day was The Battle of the Java Sea as a combined Allied force of Cruisers and Destroyers pressed hard to breakthrough a screen of IJN ships to attack the landing zone of the Imperial forces.
Steve T (Allies) took on Bob A (IJN) as we did a walk through game to explain the rules system.
Some Allied Destroyers.
Overhead view of the ABDA force.
The forces closed and once in range exchanged “pleasantries” in the forms of broadsides and torpedoes. In the first turn of gunfire the Exeter was sunk as well as an IJN DD.
As time was running short we called this game early, but it certainly looked like it would be a marginal Allied victory as they would get a ship off the board edge and be able to close with the troop ships.
Thanks to the GMs and the players who joined us and of course a Big Thank You to the fine staff at Miniature Market Rock Hill for their support.
