Combat Commander BP #9: Island Hopping

Status:  Made the Cut

The Island Hopping Battle Pack is NOT a stand-alone game and will require ownership of the Combat Commander: Pacific boxed game in order to be played.

Lack of supplies, disease, and skirmishes at night were common in the Pacific. Combating the tropical setting as well as an enemy determined to battle to the last man, fighting on the islands was completely different than in Europe. The thousand-yard stare was a common trait among the fighting troops in the Pacific due to the strain of these conditions. This Battle Pack represents the hardships facing the men on both sides of the fluctuating front line.

Focusing on situations where the US Army and Marines commonly battled the entrenched Japanese Imperial forces, this Battle Pack highlights engagements on Attu Island (where the first Banzai charge took place), Tarawa, and Guam (where the famous incident of Gen. Smith relieving Gen. Smith took place), among others. The Japanese were experts at night actions, so a number of them are included in this set to illustrate their deadly proficiency.

Four new maps are included which give us another airfield and a new invasion beach, as well as beaches on Tarawa and Wake Island. Ten to twelve new scenarios will include terrain new to the Pacific game (coral, sea wall, and trenches) and a new weapon (AMTRAK).

M15 – “Enemy on Island – Issue Still in Doubt” Following their defeat a few weeks prior, Japanese forces invade Wake Island with superior forces and off-shore support, determined to retake the island; 27 December 1941.

M16 – “Blood Like Wine” Set on Attu Island, this engagement was the first use of what became known as the Banzai Charge when the unsupplied, unreinforced Japanese garrison conducted a last-ditch attack against American forces on the island; 29 May 1943.

M17 – “Bloody Tarawa” The most fortified atoll the American forces would face, this first American offensive was part of Operation Galvanic; 20 November 1943.

M18 – “Long Night Into Dawn” Set on Saipan Island, having secured the beachhead, US Marines dig in to withstand the overnight Japanese counterattacks; 16 June 1944.

M19 – “Mount Tapotchau” Set on Saipan Island, in attempting to clear the mountain, the difference between Army and Marine tactics came to a head, resulting in the famous incident when Gen. Smith relieved Gen. Smith; 23 June 1944.

M20 – “Seven Lives to Repay Our Country” Set on Saipan Island, this is one of the largest Banzai Charges of the war; 7 July 1944.

M21 – “Army Landing – Guam” Set on Agat Beach, Guam; 21 July 1944.

M22 – “Long Night into Day” Set on Guam following the beach landing, the Marines prepared defenses for the night as Japanese forces were preparing to infiltrate the American lines looking to find a weakness; 25 July 1944.

M23 – “Island is Declared Secure?” Set on Tinian Island, the US Marines had declared the island secure the previous day and then faced a last-ditch attack by the remaining Japanese forces; 2 August 1944.

M24 – “Tanks??” Set on Peleliu Island, in one of the few tank attacks in the Pacific, US Marines are caught off guard as the Japanese counterattack across the airfield; 15 September 1944.

Two additional scenarios are being considered which feature engagements on Okinawa.

Components:

• Two 17” x 22” double-sided  maps (four new maps)
• Six 8.5” x 11” two-sided Scenario Cards
• One 8.5” x 11” Updated Terrain Effects Chart
• One 8.5” x 11” Player Aid with new special rules
• One Folder
• One 9” x 12” Ziplock

Battle Pack Designer: Mark Yoshikawa

Battle Pack Developer: Kai Jensen