Man, has it been a long time. Like, 11 months. My course load this year was punishing, and I didn't get a whole lot of time to play, much less write about it. Perhaps a weak excuse, but it's the truth.
Anyway, I do finally have a post for you, detailing a game I played with my father and another friend a couple of weeks ago about the invasion of Tarawa. I was the invading USMC.
Here are the pictures. Enjoy!
The setup from the side. Note the massive amounts of Japanese defences.
The Marine landing force.
Amtraks make landfall at Red One on the right.
They also make landfall at Red Two on the left and take some punishing fire.
The recess in the center of the board spells death for all Amtraks that enter.
More troops land and are promptly suppressed. I capture a single weapons pit.
Disappointingly few of the defenses have fallen.
More Amtraks are damaged and destroyed in the middle.
We fight up the side of the island on Green Beach.
The first MG bunker is destroyed, but casualties are heavy.
On Red One I slowly but steadily gain ground.
Possession of various emplacements on Red Two continues to change hands frequently.
The battle is still early, but so far casualties are high.
We blow a bunker on Green Beach.
Red Two continues to see mounting casualties.
Marines group up behind the seawall... a tempting target?
Dave removes another stand of casualties from Marine airstrikes.
I steadily work my way up the Bird's Beak.
On Red Two, the battle for the bunker has finally been won and the Marines take the fight to the trees.
The Japanese reinforcements sprint past the airstrip.
Meanwhile, the Marine reinforcements start wading ashore.
Marines can see across the airstrip but it would still be dangerous to cross.
While the beak of the bird is in USMC hands, the head is still Japanese.
As casualties were mounting and logistics wearing thin, we ended the game after roughly historical progress.
Many of the Japanese defenses are destroyed, and the Marines have a foothold on the island.
Red Two has an established beachhead but is still under fire.
I can claim a moral victory, as I ended the game with a Marine unit on the airstrip.
I played this game with my father's homegrown rules and they usually produce a fairly historical result, as they did today. I think I played well, if a bit aggressively and foolhardily, but the battle went well enough for me.
