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
- CV Saratoga, CA Astoria, CA Minneapolis, CA San Francisco, 8DD, 1APD and 1AO must begin in any of hexes YY10-YY20.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- Allied CVs have radar.
- Allied APs may unload only in the Wake
Island hex.
- Wildcats have a BHT of 7 for Air-to-Air
Combat.
- 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.
- 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
- Japanese APs may unload only in the Wake
Island hex.
- Japanese CVs do not have radar.
- 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
- Automatic Victory Level: 200.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.