Scenario 2.c

 

Coral Sea – The Campaign

 

Time: 0600, 4 May to 1800, 8 May (109 turns)

Weather: Cloud Front

 

Allied Order of Battle

            CV Lexington

            CV Yorktown

            CA Astoria

CA Australia

CA Chester

            CA Chicago

            CA Minneapolis

CA New Orleans

            CA Portland

            CL Hobart

            14DD, 2AO, 5SS

            Sea Based Planes: 25 Dauntless, 8 Devastator, 14 Wildcat

            Land Based Planes at New Caledonia: 4 Catalina

Land Based Planes at Australia and/or Port Moresby: 5 B-17, 5 B-25, 12 B-26, 3 Dauntless, 1 Catalina, 2 Hudson, 12 P-39, 2 P-40.

 

Allied Ships’ Starting Positions

  1. CV Yorktown must begin in Sector VII, not over 16 hexes from the South edge of the map.
  2. CV Lexington and 2 AO must begin in Sector VII, not over 5 hexes from the South edge of the map.
  3. All other ships must being with either CV.

 

Japanese Order of Battle

            CV Shokaku

            CV Zuikaku

            CVL Shoho

            AV Kamikawa

            CA Aoba

CA Furutaka

CA Haguro

            CA Kako

CA Kinugasa

CA Myoko

CL Tatsuta

CL Tenryu

CL Yubari

15DD, 4AO, 8PG, 13AP, 7SS

Sea Based Planes: 3 Dave, 17 Kate, 4 Pete, 14 Val, 16 Zero

Land Based Planes at any or all of Kavieng, Lae, Rabaul, Shortland, Truk and Tulagi: 12 Betty, 5 Mavis, 16 Nell, 1 Rufe, 21 Zero

 

Japanese Ship’s Starting Positions

  1. 2 AO, 12 AP and 4 PG must being at Rabaul, all anchored.
  2. 1 AP, 4 PG, and 2 DD must begin at Tulagi, all anchored.
  3. CVL Shoho and 1 AO must begin within 5 hexes of Bougainvill Island.
  4. CVs Shokaku and Zuikaku, and 1 AO must begin within 8 hexes of Rabaul.
  5. All other ships must begin with any of the foregoing groups.
  6. AV Kamikawa may being the game at Deboyne Island with a temporary seaplane base already established. It may also have one or two PGs with it.

 

Special Rules - Allied Only

  1. Allied CVs and bases have radar.
  2. Wildcat units have a BHT of 7 for Air-to-Air Combat.
  3. The optional fueling rules are not used for this scenario.

 

Special Rules – Japanese Only

  1. Ships at Rabaul may not up anchor until 1800, 5 May.
  2. Ships at Tulagi may not up anchor until an Allied ship is observed or an attack is made against them.
  3. The Japanese APs may unload only in the Port Moresby hex.
  4. The Pete float planes on the Kamikawa may be used only if the AV Kamikawa has established a temporary seaplane base.
  5. Shokaku and Zuikaku have only 5 Damage Factors.
  6. Ignore the Japanese Coastwatcher symbols on the following islands; Choiseul, Santa Isabel, Vella Lavella, New Georgia, and Guadalcanal.

 

Optional – Ships Fueling

  1. CVs Lexington, Shokaku, and Zuikaku, and CVL Shoho, and accompanying ships are fuelling when the scenario begins.
  2. CV Yorktown and accompanying ships must begin fueling by 0100, 5 May.

 

Optional Extra Planes

  1. Allied: 5 B-17, 6 P-39 and 5 Wildcat if any Japanese TF is observed in Sector V or VIII. May take off armed from Espiritu Santo or Australia on the turn after observing the TF.
  2. Japanese: 5 Betty and 10 Zero if any Allied TF is observed in Sector I or II. May take off armed from Truk on the turn after observing the TF.

 

Special Victory Conditions

  1. Automatic Victory Level: 100 points.
  2. The Allied player receives 50 points if the Japanese player cannot unload 50 points in the Port Moresby hex.
  3. If the Japanese player unloads 150 points in the Port Moresby hex, the game ends immediately and he wins.

 

Historical Background & Optional (Historical) Scenario Rules

The Battle of the Coral Sea was a tactical victory for the Japanese but a strategic defeat. The strategic goal of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff was to invade Port Moresby for the purpose of anchoring the southern perimeter of Japanese control on the southern shores of Papua New Guinea before striking towards Fiji. Control of Port Moresby would force Allied strategic bombers to fly an additional 500 miles from Australia against Japanese targets. Japanese strategic bombers on the other hand, would now be in reach of targets in Australia and could interdict any Allied supply convoys north of Australia.

 

  1. Ca Australia, CA Chicago, CL Hobart and 3DD must deploy within 4 hexes of hex V33 on board VI. This TF was under the command of Australian Rear Admiral Crace and were assigned to cover the Jomard passage. They must deploy and operate as an independent Task Force until such time as any Japanese ship is spotted more than 5 hexes from Rabaul and Tulagi by Allied naval or air units. This task force ignores the optional fueling rule.
  2. The Allied B-17s must be deployed in Australia and cannot transfer to any other base for the duration of the game. MacArthur and the Australian General Staff took very little interest in Port Moresby. They garrisoned it with only a small contingent of their lowest quality militia.