Scenario 7

 

Wake Island

By Don Gilman

 

Time: 0100, 21 December to 2400, 23 December (76 turns)

Weather: Scattered Clouds

 

Allied Order of Battle

CV Enterprise

CV Lexington

CV Saratoga

CA Astoria

CA Chicago

CA Indianapolis

CA Minneapolis

CA Portland

CA New Orleans

CA Northampton

CA Salt Lake City

CA San Francisco

25DD, 1APD, 2AO, 6SS

Sea Based Planes: 6 Buffalo, 12 Dauntless, 4 Devastator, 11 Wildcat

Land Based Planes at Wake Island: 1 Wildcat

Land Based Planes at Hawaii and/or Midway: 2 B-17, 2 Catalina

 

Allied Ships’ Starting Positions

  1. CV Saratoga, CA Astoria, CA Minneapolis, CA San Francisco, 8DD, 1APD and 1AO must begin in any of hexes YY10-YY20.
  2. CV Lexington, CA Chicago, CA Indianapolis, CA Portland, 8DD and 1AO enter on any turn from 05:00 to 12:00 on 21 December in any of hexes YY25-YY35.
  3. CV Enterprise, CA New Orleans, CA Northampton, CA Salt Lake City and 9DD enter on any turn from 18:00 to 24:00 on 21 December in any of hexes YY10-YY20.

 

Japanese Order of Battle

CV Hiryu

CV Soryu

CAV Chikuma

CAV Tone

CA Aoba

CA Furutaka

CA Kako

CA Kinugasa

CL Tatsuta

CL Tenryu

CL Yura

14DD, 2APD, 3AP, 2SS

Sea Based Planes: 2 Jake, 12 Kate, 12 Val, 12 Zero

Land Based Planes at Kwajalein: 17 Nell, 5 Mavis

 

Japanese Ships’ Starting Positions

  1. CV Hiryu, CV Soryu, CAV Chikuma, CAV Tone and 2DD enter on any turn from 01:00 to 05:00 on 21 December in any of hexes A1-J1.
  2. All other ships enter on any turn from 03:00 to 09:00 on 22 December in any of hexes A35-N35.

 

Special Rules – Allied Only

  1. Allied CVs have radar.
  2. Allied APs may unload only in the Wake Island hex.
  3. Wildcats have a BHT of 7 for Air-to-Air Combat.
  4. The 6 Buffalo must start the game on the Saratoga. Once launched they may not land on any CV and must instead land at Wake. Once there, they may Ready and Launch normally but may not return to any CV.
  5. CV Saratoga and accompanying ships must begin fuelling by 09:00 23 December. CV Lexington and accompanying ships must begin fuelling by 12:00 23 December.

 

Special Rules – Japanese Only

  1. Japanese APs may unload only in the Wake Island hex.
  2. Japanese CVs do not have radar.
  3. CVs Hiryu and Soryu must be within 10 hexes of the west edge of the map by 24:00 23 December. If the game ends earlier due to automatic victory, this condition is ignored.

 

Special Victory Conditions

  1. Automatic Victory Level: 200.
  2. Unless automatic victory has occurred, the American player wins if the Japanese player is unable to unload 50 more points on Wake than the Americans unload by game’s end.
  3. Unless automatic victory has occurred, the Japanese player wins if he is able to unload 50 more points on Wake than the Americans unload by game’s end.
  4. The American player receives 50 Victory Points for each surviving Japanese CV that is not within 10 hexes of the west edge of the map by 24:00 23 December. This calculation is made before determining who has landed the most troop points at Wake and may result in an American automatic victory.

 

Historical Background

The Japanese assault against Wake started with successive days of bombardment by low-flying Nells. These were subsequently followed by bombardment from Japanese destroyers. To the consternation of the Japanese, although the bombardments did much material damage, they inflicted few casualties on the defenders nor did they undermine the resolve of the defenders to hold Wake.

 

The Americans considered relieving the pressure on Wake with CVs Saratoga, Lexington and Enterprise. However, in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbour fiasco the USN’s remaining assets were stretched thin to defend U.S. interests. Admiral Pye who replaced Kimmel after Pearl Harbour was hesitant to risk his carriers and the timing of the change of command interfered with the USN’s ability to respond to the situation at Wake efficiently.

 

This scenario assumes that there was no change in command at Pearl and that Kimmel was not reluctant to sortie with his carriers.