Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Manila
Number 246
1945
U.S. $23.99
With Complete
Historical Game
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1st unit Adt’l units Type of Service
$8 $2 UPS Ground/USPS Priority Mail
17 2 Canada
21 4 Europe, South America
22 5 Asia, Australia
2 #246
Land Without
End
Land Without End: The Barbarossa Campaign, 1941 is a
two-player, low-to-intermediate complexity, strategic-level
simulation of the German attempt to conquer the Soviet Union
in 1941. The German player is on the offensive, attempting to
win the game by rapidly seizing key cities. The Soviet player
is primarily on the defensive, but the situation also requires he
prosecute counterattacks throughout much of the game.
Game play encompasses the period that began with the
Germans launching their attack on 22 June 1941, and ends on 7
December of the same year. By that time it had become clear the
invaders had shot their bolt without achieving their objectives.
The game may end sooner than the historic termination time if
the German player is able to advance so quickly he causes the
overall political, socio-economic and military collapse of the
Soviet Union.
Each hexagon on the map represents approximately 20 miles
(32 km) from side to opposite side. The units of maneuver for
both sides are primarily divisions, along with Axis-satellite and Luftwaffe
Soviet corps (and one army) of various types. The effects of the
Luftwaffe is an update of the classic Avalon Hill game covering the US
general air superiority enjoyed by the Germans throughout the
strategic bombing campaign over Europe in World War II. As US com-
campaign are built into the movement and combat rules. Each
mander, your mission is to eliminate German industrial complexes. You
game turn represents one week.
select the targets, direct the bombers, and plan a strategy intended to defeat
Players familiar with other strategic-level east front designs
the Luftwaffe. As the German commander, the entire arsenal of Nazi aircraft
will note the unique aspects of LWE lie in its rules governing the
is at your disposal. Turns represent three months each, with German rein-
treatment of supply, the capture of Moscow, and the Stalin line.
forcements keyed to that player’s production choices. Units are wings and
Contents: 1 22x34" map, 700 die-cut counters, rules 2
squadrons, and they’re rated by type, sub-type, firepower, maneuverability
book. $50.00
XXX
CSIR
and endurance. There are rules for radar, electronic warfare, variable pro-
6-6 duction strategies, aces, target complexes, critical industries and diversion
of forces to support the ground war. The orders of battle are much the same
* XXX as in the original game, though the German player now has to plan ahead if
he wants to get jets.
HF
5-8 There are also other new targets on the map, such as the German electric
power grid. In the original game the US player had to bomb all the targets
on the map to win. Given the way the victory point system now works, the
XX
T
Americans need bomb about four out of the five major target systems to
5-10 win, thereby duplicating the historic result.
2 XXXX Contents: 1 22x34" map, 280 die-cut counters, rules and PACs. $50.00
ICA
6-
Name
XX
Address
3
6-10
City, State Zip
Phone email
VIII
VISA/Mc (ONLY)#
Expiration Date
Signature
Number 246
October/November 2007
F E AT U R E S
Campaign:
Falling Waters 37 The long tradition
Union cavalry clashes with General
Lee‚s rearguard in the aftermath of the
American Civil War‚s greatest battle. 38 Works in Progress
by George Franks
Rules
R1 Manila 45
On the cover: "The 37th Infantry Division in Manila"
by Joseph Miranda by artist James Dietz. Used with permission; American
Art & Antiques, Inc.
brutalized and killed innocent Filipino civilians and The 82nd Field Artillery pounded the five-story hotel
committed acts of arson across the city. for three days with 105mm guns. Armor support was
But the cavalry was coming to the rescue. The also sent in with self-propelled guns to reduce enemy
troopers of the 1st Cavalry fought their way into the positions to rubble. Cavalrymen attacked the building,
Pasay City District then battled through La Salle Uni- clearing it room by room over the next two days. As
versity and the Japanese club. After several failed at- the troopers neared MacArthur’s old penthouse, the
tempts to clear Rizal Stadium, 5th Cavalry called in Japanese became suicidal. Finally, MacArthur entered
tank support. The Shermans rolled up and blasted the his old home with a squad of cavalrymen, only to find
Japanese bunkers. By dusk of the 16th, the cavalry- it littered with the bodies of dead Japanese sailors.
men had cleared the baseball field. By now, 5th and City of Death
12th Cavalry Regiments had destroyed most of the 2nd
The New Police Station was one of the toughest
Naval Defense Battalion, but not without suffering
obstacles the 129th Regiment encountered during the
heavy losses of their own. Every building was becom-
entire war. It had to clear the police station before the
ing a Japanese fortress. The cavalrymen continued to
148th Infantry Regiment could advance with its flanks
overrun Japanese positions as they captured the High
unexposed. Artillery and point blank tank fire had
Commissioner’s house and the Elk’s Club.
little effect on the building. The riflemen of the 129th
The infantrymen drew the toughest assignments attacked and were thrown back for three days until fi-
and suffered the highest casualty rates fighting street nally relieved by the 145th.
to street, house to house, and room by room. Com-
On 19 February, Gen. Griswold ordered his big
mon practice was for units to get on the roof of enemy
guns to train their barrels on the New Police Station.
occupied buildings. The infantry would work their
They didn’t cease firing until the station’s walls started
way down, clearing buildings floor by floor, driv-
collapsing. That afternoon the 145th Infantry Regiment
ing the defenders out into the street. Grenades, flame
went in. They wiped out a couple machinegun nests
throwers and demolitions were the best weapons for
in San Pablo Church, but they were driven out of the
this kind of fighting. The American soldiers had enor-
police station once again. On the eighth day the New
mous amounts of heavy support available. Needless to
Police Station fell; all that was left was debris.
say, civilians also suffered incredible casualties in the
fighting. The fights to secure City Hall and the General Post
Office were similar to the New Police Station battle.
By this time, the Americans were free to move
Both buildings took three days of infantry attacks and
along Manila Bay and Dewey Boulevard toward the
heavy shelling before they fell. Like the New Police
Intramuros walled city. Overlooking Manila Bay was
Station, City Hall and the Post Office were piles of
the Manila Hotel, and the fight for it had symbolic
pulverized rubble in the end.
importance for both sides. The Hotel had been Mac-
Arthur’s former residence in Manila. The Japanese
defended their positions there to the death, while the
Americans fought relentlessly to seize the place.
14 #246
37
INTRAMUR OS
SOUTH CITY HALL
PO RT 1
AREA 148
SAN TA
TERESIT A
COLLEGE
CUS TO MS
HOUS E
2
5 MANILLA CLUB
FINANCE
BUILDIN G
NEW POLIC E
STAT ION
AG RICUL TURE
Manila Ba y BUILDIN G
XX
MANILA .
St
HO TE L Luis .
San al S
t
Pe r UNIVERSITY OF
Capture of Manila 12
THE PHILIPPINES
III
0 2 00 400 600 ya rd s ARMY -N AV Y F au
r
re
CLUB P ad ni a
f or
Cali
Allied occupied terr itor y Fe b. 23 Japanese stronghold area Allied attac ks Fe b. 23 - 25
Allied occupied terr itor y Fe b. 23 - 25 Intramuros wa ll Allied attac ks Fe b. 26 - Ma r. 3
Allied occupied terr itor y Fe b. 26 - Ma r. 3 I mpor tant bu ildin g
As the American Army began to close on the city of Ma- Group and 8th Infantry Division. Yokoyama ordered Maj.
nila in late January 1945, Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, com- Gen. Kobayashi to link up with his forces in the mountains
mander of the Japanese 14th Area Army, had no intention of to the east of Manila. Yokoyama had Kobayashi leave two
engaging in a fight to hold the Philippine capital. He had sev- units in the city to help with the evacuation of Japanese forc-
eral reasons for that decision. One was because Manila was es and to destroy the Pasig River bridges.
on flat terrain without major geographic obstacles to impair One of the units was a reinforced battalion under the
the attackers’ maneuvers. (Apparently he underestimated the command of Capt. Saburo Abe of the Navy. That unit was
value of the city’s buildings as defensive positions.) He also positioned to the south of the city in fortified positions called
thought it would be impossible to feed and supply Manila’s the Genko Line. The Abe Battalion was to block any move-
1 million residents. Lastly, he considered most of Manila a ment along the Hagonoy Isthmus. The second force was po-
fire hazard due to the many flammable buildings in it. The sitioned in the northern part of Manila. That unit was called
city could become a deathtrap for its defenders. the Noguchi Detachment and was commanded by Col. Kat-
Yamashita therefore ordered the withdrawal of all troops suzo Noguchi. The Noguchi Detachment consisted of two
and supplies from the city in order to make a stand else- provisional infantry battalions and supporting units. All of
where in more defensible terrain. The only force he planned them were Army units, and their orders from Yokoyama were
to leave behind was a small detachment from the Army. That to withdraw east after blowing the Pasig River bridges.
detachment would maintain order within Manila, keep sup- During January, as the Army’s units were leaving, the
ply routes open, and in the end would blow all the bridges Navy was moving into Manila. Vice Adm. Denshichi
spanning the Pasig and Marikina Rivers to slow the Ameri- Okochi, commander of the Southwestern Area Fleet and the
can advance. While Yamashita did not plan to declare Ma- highest-ranking naval officer in the Philippines, had decided
nila an “open city,” neither did he plan to fight a true battle to reinforce Manila with a force of his own. Okochi sent a
there. new organization to defend Manila called the Manila Naval
But Yamashita saw his plans frustrated. He had both Defense Force, not to be confused with Kobayashi’s Manila
Army and Navy echelons under his command. The Army Defense force. The Manila Naval Defense Force consisted
and Navy had been rivals prior to the war for resources and of 4,000 men and was commanded by Adm. Sanji Iwabu-
budgets, and during the war itself often did not cooperate on chi.
strategic matters. So while Yamashita did not want to fight Okochi was going to send the rest of his men to defend
for Manila, the Navy decided to do so anyway, and that deci- the Kembu area, but many of those naval troops got stuck in
sion hurt the 14th Area Army’s plans for the general defense or around Manila due to supply and transportation problems.
of Luzon. The whole problem came about from a lack of By mid-January, Iwabuchi had nearly 16,000 naval troops in
communication between the Navy and Army leaders in the Manila and the surrounding areas. Okochi gave Iwabuchi an
Manila area. extensive list of missions to accomplish before the Ameri-
Manila had been occupied by the equivalent of two Japa- cans took the city. His forces had to hold Nichols Field and
nese regimental combat teams under the command of Maj. the Cavite Naval Base area, mine Manila Bay, conduct sui-
Gen. Takashi Kobayashi. He was commander of the Manila cide boat attacks against American shipping, evacuate the
Defense Force until 27 December 1944, when he was or- 31st Naval Special Base Forces ships, and destroy all Japa-
dered by Yamashita to join the Shimbu Group to the east. nese naval installations and supplies in the Manila and Cav-
Kobayashi’s Manila Defense Force was then placed under ite areas of operation.
the command of Gen. Yokoyama, commander of the Shimbu After Okochi departed for Baguio, he placed the Manila
Naval Defense Force under the operational command of
Gen. Yokoyama, commander of the Shimbu Group. Opera-
tional practices in the Japanese armed forces differed greatly
from those in the US military. The principal of unity of com-
mand took on different meanings for the Japanese Army
and Navy. Okochi’s transfer of authority to Iwabuchi ended
all lines of communication between the admiral and Gen.
Yokoyama. Iwabuchi felt his orders stated the Manila Na-
val Defense Force only fell under control of the Army when
they were operating in an area that was strictly under the
Army’s control. Before Iwabuchi would allow his command
to fall under the control of the Army, all missions Okochi as-
signed him would have to be completed. Iwabuchi believed
the directive Okochi had given him took precedence over
any directive Gen. Yokoyama might issue.
Yokoyama was unaware his control over the Manila Na-
val Defense Force would be limited such that he could not
interfere with Iwabuchi’s missions. He was also informed,
to his surprise, that Iwabuchi had 16,000 naval troops in and
around Manila, when he had been under the assumption the
number of naval troops there was only 4,000. Yokoyama
Japanese officers study a map.
16 #246
Northern Sector
Col. Noguchi HQ HQ HQ
Eastern Sector HQ 2
5 3
General Headquarters
GHQ Southwest Pacific Area
General Douglas MacArthur
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
82 82 456 674
105mm 4.2î 155mm 75mm
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
18 #246
HQ
HHB OR
MP
US Infantry Division 1944ñ45
Parachute
Typical attachments maintenance
HHC
HHC HHB
105mm 155mm
MP
CIC
HQ
Maybe Yamashita was wrong after all. If he had
placed Gen. Yokoyama in command of Manila’s de- HHB
fense, and deployed a tank regiment and an infantry 105mm
division there with the Manila Naval Defense Force MP
instead of in the mountains, the city might have been
a tougher nut to crack. The US would have had to de- CIC
ploy at least six divisions against Manila, and it might
have taken many months and many more men before
the Allies seized the city.
The Americans paid a heavy price for Manila. Total
casualties were 6,575; of those 1,010 were killed in ac- Sources
tion and 5,565 were wounded. William B. Breur. Geronimo!, St. Martin’s Press, 1989.
The Americans worked well with their Filipino Rafael Steinburg. Return to the Philippines, World War II Time-Life Books,
1985.
allies. The Filipinos fought against the Japanese for Samuel Eliot Morison. History of the United States Naval Operations.
their homeland and assisted the liberating Americans Vol XIII The Liberation of the Philippines: Luzon, Mindanao, Visayas
on numerous occasions. The Filipinos also suffered 1944-1945, 1975.
the worst. They lost an estimated 100,000 civilians. Beth Day. Manila Hotel: The Heart and Memory of a City, National Media
Production Center, 1978.
Their capital lay in ruin, and it would take years and Pierre Comtois. Manila’s Bloody Liberation, World War II Magazine, Jan.
cost millions of dollars to rebuild the city. The effects 1996.
of the Battle of Manila would be felt long after the end Robert Ross Smith, U.S. Army in World War II: Triumph in the Philippines,
of the War in the Pacific. The War in the Pacific Center of Military History United States Army,
1991.
United States Army’s Center of Military History. U.S. Army in World War II
Atlas “The War in the Pacific”
I
n the winter of 334 BC, Alexander, King of Macedon and head of the Corinthian League, faced a strategic di-
lemma. He had defeated the Persian Empire’s armies at Granicus (May, 334 BC) and seized all of Ionia, as well
as most of Phrygia and the Cilician Coast. Asia Minor was all but his, though the bulk of the vast Persian Empire,
with its huge armies still was intact, lay to the east. Alexander’s hold on Greece was dependent on his continued
success. While later generations would give him the sobriquet of “The Great,” his Greek contemporaries saw him as
an uncultured barbarian who had subjugated their once proud city-states. He held the city-states’ loyalty only through
a combination of Macedonian garrisons, local loyalists, and the threat of severe retribution if a revolt broke out. Sparta,
the most militaristic of Greek cities, lay unconquered, seeking an opportunity to strike out and remove Macedon from
the picture. And Sparta’s King Agis was negotiating with Persia for subsidies to hire mercenaries to augment his own
armies in order to challenge Alexander’s Macedonians.
22 #246
Naval Tactics
Deikplous Periplous Kuklos
28 #246
t s
e/Naval Infan try e launch the incursion with the full fleet. The rest
k e k of the fleet was scattered across the Aegean.
c
c
t s P i The much smaller Macedonian navy was able
to defeat them in detail.
Meanwhile, King Agis continued his efforts to sub-
to deliver a more powerful shock when ramming and to better
withstand damage in a fleet engagement. orn key leaders in each of mainland Greece’s occupied
cities. In December 333 BC, he took a single trireme to
Greek marines were more heavily equipped than their Phoe-
nician counterparts. Phoenician marines wore no armor, and the island of Siphnos to discuss the coming campaign
carried a javelin or bow and a short dagger. Their Greek coun- into Alexander’s empire. Adm. Pharnabazus came, re-
terparts wore quilted armor, a helmet and sandals. They carried portedly bringing a sufficient amount of gold to sup-
either a stabbing spear, javelin or bow, a heavy sword and a port Agis’s plans; however, while they were meeting
wooden shield. Greek triremes occasionally carried hoplites for a messenger delivered the news of Darius’s defeat
heavy fighting. at Issus. Suddenly Pharnabazus was more concerned
As with the ships’ designs, the marines’ equipment was with retaining the loyalty of the Phoenicians that sup-
dictated by different missions. Greek naval infantry might find plied his ships and crews than he was with inciting a
themselves fighting a heavily armed opponent ashore or at sea, rebellion in Greece, since Phoenicia was now exposed
while the Phoenicians mostly fought pirates who wore little if
to Alexander’s army. He departed after giving Agis a
any armor. Marines had to fight in a unique fashion. Because of
squadron of only 10 ships plus 30 talents of silver.
the trireme’s relatively narrow beam and limited displacement,
movements along the deck shifted the ship’s motion and affected That wasn’t enough, but didn’t deter King Agis. He
the rowing. As a result, the marines remained in fixed positions returned to Sparta and continued his efforts. Muster-
until boarding was required and generally threw their javelins or ing a handful of allies, including the surviving Greek
fired arrows from a kneeling or sitting position. mercenaries in Persian service who had escaped from
The Phoenicians preferred to fight in open waters where their Issus, he invaded Alexander’s empire in the spring of
superior speed, stability, maneuverability, and generally great- 332 BC with an 8,000 man army. He died before the
er numbers could be employed to advantage. Given a choice, wall of Megalopolis when he engaged Antipater’s re-
the Phoenicians preferred to conduct a flanking maneuver the
lief force of 16,000 men.
Greeks called the periplous. It consisted of a ship or squadron
of ships pulling out of the back of the fleet and rowing around to King Agis was an almost tragic figure. He knew
attack the enemy from his flank (see diagram). the majority of Greek leaders and citizens resented
Athens and the mainland Greek states, including Macedonia Macedonian rule; however, the Sparta he led was but
and Sparta, preferred to fight in constricted waterways where a shadow of its former self. He lacked the military and
they couldn’t be outflanked or outmaneuvered. The mainland
Greeks’ heavier construction gave their triremes an advantage in
head-on engagements. Their highly disciplined crews mastered
a maneuver called the deikplous, in which a ship rowed directly
at an opponent and then veered away slightly and conducted a
tight turn to ram its quarter (see diagram). Also, boarding actions
generally favored the Greeks because their marines had heavier
weapons and armor.
the Euphrates River between Baghdad will consist of about 900 men and 36 The SURC is a newer riverine
and the Syrian border and along the boats. That force will conduct arms craft, intended as the replacement
Tigris from Baghdad to Mosul. To and terrorist interdiction, armed escort, for the Marines’ older Rigid Raiding
thwart that move, Marine units were commando raids, security patrols, Craft. The SURC is a 40-knot, 39-foot
deployed to cut escape routes. Since show-of-force, troop transport, non- aluminum-hulled craft powered by
then, insurgents have been using combatant evacuation, reconnaissance two 440 horsepower diesel engines,
shallow inland waterways to infiltrate and surveillance operations, as well as which can operate in water as shal-
arms and men from Syria, and the training Iraqi riverine forces. low as 24 inches. Each has a crew of
US has been increasingly relying on “It’s not any different if you take a three and can carry a squad of 13-15
riverine forces for interdiction. Due look at what we do in the littoral. combat-equipped troops. They have
to budgetary restraints, however, the We’re just extending those normal, fore and aft gun tubs for 7.62 mm or
Marines recently began planning to long-time naval capabilities from the 50 caliber machineguns or automatic
disband their riverine force. littoral and into the inland waterway,” grenade launchers, as well as a side
The Navy’s new brown water said Rear Adm. Donald K. Bullard, gun mount. Their acceleration rate of
force was officially established in Oc- commander of NECC. zero to 25 knots in 15 seconds, and
tober 2005 as the Naval Expedition- The Navy is currently using two their top speed of 40 knots, allows
ary Combat Command (NECC). The types of boats for its riverine squad- them to move quickly in and out of
NECC’s mission is to manage coastal rons, the Riverine Assault Craft (RAC) kill-zones. So, even though the RACs
and riverine warfare, harbor security, and the Small Unit Riverine Craft carry more weapons, the SURCs’
shipboard security, expeditionary (SURC). The RAC is a 38-knot, 35- speed and maneuverability give them
logistics and construction operations. foot aluminum-hulled craft powered better survivability.
The command, when fully “stood up,” by two 300 horsepower Cummins To man the new command the
will have between 40,000 and 50,000 turbo-diesel engines first built for Navy has created a “naval infantry”
sailors and a fleet of small boats. the Marines in the 1980s. The boats’ force, which is currently being trained
The Navy high command considers shallow draft allows them to operate by the Marines they’re replacing.
the NECC a linchpin in its quest for in water as shallow as 30 inches. Each While that approach isn’t new—the
relevance in the War on Terror. can carry a combat-equipped squad of Navy created the SEALs to carry out
One of the forces the NECC 10-15 troops and has a crew of four. sea-borne special operations in the
will command is the riverine fleet. The boats are also equipped with vari- 1960s—the Marine high command
RIVRON will consist of three squad- ous combinations of 7.62 mm medium has expressed mixed feelings about
rons, each of 221 sailors equipped machineguns, M2 50-caliber heavy the development. In times past the
with 12 boats. The total force, with machineguns, and Mk19 automatic Marine Corps served as the Navy’s
headquarters and support personnel, grenade launchers. infantry. Though still organization-
ally part of the Navy Department, the
Marines have recently become more
of a separate branch of service, over
which some in the Navy high com-
mand feel they have too little control.
While many in the Marines like to
think they’ve always been a separate
service, it just isn’t so. Marine were
originally trained and equipped as
infantry to fight aboard sailing ships
in the 18th century. During the age of
sail, hostile combatant ships often
attempted to board one another.
Thus the Marines were part of the
ship’s crew and served as snipers and
boarding parties as well as infantry
for shore parties. They also performed
police duties and onboard security.
That changed with the develop-
ment of iron ships and rifled guns
in the latter part of the 19th century.
32 #246
With no further need for on-board when in port or close to shore. This 1973 the Navy’s Vietnam-era riverine
infantry, there was talk of disbanding time, though, the Navy hasn’t turned patrol boats were quickly decommis-
the Corps. At about that same time, to the Marines. Instead, its begun sioned or reassigned to the reserves.
though, the United States became creating new units of “Masters at The suicide attack on the USS
more involved in Latin American Arms,” which previously had been Cole changed that thinking, as it
affairs. The Marine Corps therefore a job classification but not a type of exposed the vulnerability of ocean-
came to take on the role of being the security force. going ships to unconventional attack.
State Department’s troops, provid- The Navy has also begun return- The Navy command has since come
ing landing parties and security for ing to another old tradition: giving its to understand the best defense against
US interests throughout the early 20th sailors infantry training. (The Navy attacks by little boats was one con-
century. They also became involved had provided infantry training for its ducted by other little boats. While the
in running counterinsurgencies in sailors for shore party duties, up until largest part of the Navy’s budget will
various Caribbean and Central Ameri- the 1930s, and it maintained infantry still go to preparing against rival blue-
can countries. field manuals up until the 1960s.) The water fleets, the new riverine force
With the approach of the Second new naval infantry force will consist will give the US another capability in
World War, the Marines changed of sailors trained to fight on both land fighting in protracted unconventional
roles again. They developed amphibi- and water, in both coastal and riverine conflicts around the world.
ous assault operations to a science. environments. In addition, the new The development of RIVRON
During World War II the Marine units will have some individuals therefore represents an important
Corps also created its first divisions, competent in foreign languages in departure from the Navy’s traditional
which the Navy used to invade enemy order to better be able to train sailors emphasis on ocean-going blue water
held islands in the Pacific. By war’s from allied navies in the same types ships that prepare for trans-oceanic
end there were six Marine divisions, of operations. wars waged by aircraft carriers, cruis-
though the postwar drawdown result- After Vietnam, US strategists ers and submarines. The NECC will
ed in the Marines eventually having emphasized the threat from the Soviet specialize in fighting with boats in
only three active duty divisions. Union and de-emphasized the threat waters where ships can’t go: coastal
With today’s threat of terrorism, of small wars. Few in the Pentagon areas, harbors and inland waters—all
the Navy is seeing a renewed need for thought major brown water forces areas sailors call “brown water.”
security aboard its ships, especially would ever be needed. Thus, after Stephen A. Elliott
The continuing insurgency in Iraq, carrier strike groups in the gulf, we’re All oil supplied by ship from the
the rise of Iran’s nuclear program, and sending clear messages to friends and Middle East must be carried through
the threat of “jihadist” movements adversaries alike: we’ll keep the sea three choke points: the Straits of
across the Middle East have creat- lanes open.” Hormuz, Malacca and Singapore.
ed new concerns over the safe transit But how vulnerable are the sea Elsewhere such shipping has open
of oil from the Persian Gulf. The lanes used by oil tankers? Surpris- transit across the seas. Each choke
US gets 95 percent of its imported ingly, the answer appears to be point has been cited as a particular
oil (currently about 60 percent of its they’re safe. At least that’s the answer concern by those who fear terrorist
total consumption) via ocean-going according to a former US head of the acts or regional wars could lead to
tanker ships. Japan gets 100 percent Pacific Command (CINCPAC), Adm. mining, surface actions, submarine or
of its total consumption, India 68 Dennis Blair, who wrote on the topic land-based attacks.
percent, and China 46 percent also with Kenneth Liberthal, former Se- Iran certainly can attack ship-
by tanker. Those figures are expected nior Director for Asia on the National ping in the Strait of Hormuz using its
to rise in the next decades, so any Security Counsel, in the May/June land-based missiles, surface craft and
disruption in maritime oil transport is 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs. In their aircraft. But such an attack would not
a threat to the industrialized powers. article, they noted both geography fully block the strait, which is over
On 12 May 2007, US Vice President and technology, as well as the lack of 35 miles across at its narrowest point.
Richard Cheney underscored that fear any real challenger to the US Navy, Any such attack would prompt the
in a speech delivered from the deck will keep the oil moving across the kind of economic and collective secu-
of USS John C Stennis: “With two globe. rity response that occurred during the
strategy & tactics 33
In August 1962, Maj. Gen. lery was a hard fighting unit that Islanders were forced to reduce their
Leonard M. Holland, commanding served with the Army of the Potomac case shot fuses to one second, and
the Rhode Island National Guard, from Bull Run to Appomattox. At eventually to firing double-shot canis-
received startling information that one Gettysburg its A and B Batteries were ter pointblank. Still the Confederates
of his state’s proudest treasures was part of the artillery element of Gen. advanced, and the artillerists were
in danger of exploding. Conclusive Hancock’s II Corps. They saw hot ac- forced back to the main Federal line,
evidence showed a cannon sitting in tion on 2 July and in the massive artil- leaving behind two cannon until a
honor in the lobby of the state capitol lery duel that accompanied Pickett’s counterattack by Pennsylvania infan-
was, in fact, loaded with a round of Charge on 3 July. try retook them. The fighting of 2 July
12 lb. solid shot and a full charge of Under command of Lt. T. Fred left three men dead, one captured, and
volatile black powder. Brown, Battery B moved into position Lt. Brown and 17 enlisted wounded.
The gun, a brass smoothbore on Cemetery Ridge mid-morning On 3 July, 1st Lt. Walter S. Perrin
Napoleon, with a cannon ball pictur- on 2 July, on the extreme left of the replaced Brown in command of the
esquely jammed in its muzzle, had II Corps line at its juncture with III battery that, reduced to four guns,
been disabled at the Battle of Get- Corps. When Union Gen. Sickles resumed its position on the front line
tysburg and placed athwart the main made his famous, unauthorized and at Cemetery Ridge. Opposite them,
entrance of the capitol in 1904. Every ill-advised advance to the Peach 1,400 yards away on Seminary Ridge,
workday for 48 years, hundreds of Orchard, Battery B was left exposed the divisions of Pickett and Pettigrew,
legislators, state workers, tourists and on its flank, unsupported by infantry. totaling nearly 13,000 infantry, were
school children had passed in front of Despite its vulnerable position the massed for an assault on the Union
the gun, never suspecting the weapon unit advanced forward and to its right, center. If Lee’s desperate push was
could explode. To understand how a to a new position in front of Gen. to succeed, the Union artillery had
loaded cannon could sit for decades in Gibbons’ division. There it was nearly to be suppressed. So Lee ordered a
a crowded public building, we must overrun by Confederate infantry who concentrated battery of 138 cannon to
go back to Pennsylvania in the bloody punched through the Peach Orchard pound the Union line. The positions
summer of 1863. and drove toward Cemetery Ridge. on Cemetery Ridge were the objec-
The 1st Rhode Island Light Artil- As the Rebels came on, the Rhode tive of the Rebel push, and batteries
34 #246
Several American women French Army field hospital. Fearful Soon after word of the peace
disguised themselves as men and her sex would be discovered, she accord reached West Point, Sampson
bore arms in the Continental Army tended her own wounds using a pair was assigned to a force of 1,500 sent
during the Revolutionary War. One in of tweezers to agonizingly pull the to Philadelphia to quell a mutiny there
particular was notable. Shedding her ball from her leg. Three days later she by some Continentals who’d become
waist-length blonde hair and feminine stole away, hobbled several miles to incensed at not having been paid for
attire, she put on men’s clothing and the river and boarded a boat to West months. The insurrection was ended
toted a musket into combat. Her name Point. before her column reached Philadel-
was Deborah Sampson. Born in 1760, Soon after her return, she was as- phia, but during her stay in the city
she was 15-years-old when the Revo- signed to a contingent sent to contest she contracted a fever. While she
lution erupted not far from her home the British for a town called Colle- was in the hospital a stunned doctor
in Middleborough, Massachusetts. barak. There her unit surrounded and named Barnabus Binney discovered
At that time she supported herself captured a 20-man troop of Tory cav- her true sex. He had her taken to his
by teaching school and sewing for alry in a mansion they were using as home, where he could treat her as-
local families. At age 22 she heard of headquarters. Still weak from loss of sisted by a nurse he swore to secrecy.
Gen. George Washington’s 1782 call blood, she nonetheless led the charge Unable to find her in the hospital,
for 20,000 more volunteers for the and later helped march the prisoners those in her unit assumed she’d died.
Continental Army; so she forsook her to West Point. They returned to West Point without
spinning wheel for a musket. While on a scouting mission on her.
She cut her hair to shoulder- 1 December, she and her patrol were Binney arranged for Sampson
length, bound her breasts to give trapped between a numerically supe- to be part of an armed guard who
herself a masculine appearance, and rior cavalry force and the fast-flowing would accompany Col. Benjamin
donned men’s clothes. Her naturally Croton River outside Peekskill Tupper on a geological survey into
deep voice would arouse no suspi- Hollow, New York. The Continentals the still unsettled and unmapped
cions; so it was with confidence she managed to ford the cold river and parts of western Virginia. Tupper had
set out on foot toward Boston to then found an open general store for prudently asked for an escort squad
enlist. She made it as far as Worces- shelter. in case of encounters with hostile
ter, where she signed up using the Several days later she was part of tribesmen. Sampson did shoot dead
name “Robert Shurtliff,” the first and a 1,000-man (and one woman) puni- one murderous warrior, but otherwise
middle names of an older brother tive mission against the Iroquois Con- the expedition was almost idyllic. The
who’d died before she was born. She federation. Loyal to the British crown, explorers visited and mapped numer-
penned that alias to the articles of en- the Mohawk tribe was engaged in a ous areas of virginal wilderness and
listment on 20 May 1782. As part of a campaign of raiding against the fron- made friends with many tribes.
group of new recruits, she marched to tier in northwest New York state. For While staying at a village called
the fort at West Point where she was the next several weeks the expedition Medikar, she suffered a relapse of her
issued soldier’s gear and drilled in its ignored freezing weather to decimate fever (apparently malaria), and had
use. Her superiors noted her agility several war parties and capture nu- to be left there to convalesce. Upon
and marksmanship, and assigned her merous Mohawk raiders, before being recovering she set out to rejoin her
to the crack Light Infantry Division. ordered to report to New Windsor late comrades, but soon became lost. After
That division was ordered on an in January 1783. With more than 500 wandering aimlessly for two days, she
armed reconnaissance toward British- warriors dead or captured, the frontier stumbled across a hunting party of
controlled Harlem. En route they had become a much safer place. warriors from the Detroit tribe, who
were attacked by a loyalist regiment Spending the next several weeks set her on the correct route home.
called DeLancy’s Raiders, who were at West Point gave Sampson time to Sampson even managed to barter the
notorious for taking no prisoners. heal and recover her strength. On 18 release of a young white girl who
Bolstered by the timely arrival of a April, eight years after the opening was with those Detroits as a slave.
second patriot unit, the light troops battles of Lexington and Concord, the She made it back to Philadelphia and,
repulsed the attack. Pvt. Shurtliff had West Point garrison received word of after spending a final night at Dr.
received her baptism of fire. the preliminary articles of peace be- Binney’s, she set out via stagecoach
In a subsequent engagement with tween England and the United States. for West Point. On her arrival she
the loyalists, Sampson came away The Revolutionary War was over, and learned the Treaty of Paris had gone
with a saber-slashed forehead and Sampson had proven (albeit secretly) into effect, ending the war. She was
a musket ball in her left thigh. Her a woman’s place was not always in officially part of a peacetime army.
comrades carried her to a nearby the home. Dr. Binney had given her a letter
36 #246
for her commander, Gen. John Paterson. Fearing it would 100 Issues Ago, S&T 146:
betray her secret and she would be court-martialed, Sicily. John Schettler’s opening game in his Italian
Sampson delayed delivering it until November. The letter Campaign series with Patton and Montgomery
did indeed reveal she was a woman, but also commended racing for Messina. Joseph Miranda marched on
her bravery and recommended she be treated as a hero- with the strategy and stratagems in the Roman
ine. The general proved of the same mind as Binney, and era, a follow-up to Trajan. Al Nofi edited FYI,
not only assured her there would be no charges against which included a piece on Pugachev’s rebellion
her, but made immediate arrangements for her honorable in 18th century Russia, a topic we would cover
discharge and return to her family. in more detail in the later Catherine the Great
The news “Robert Shurtliff” was a woman spread
issue (#232).
faster than the fever that had almost killed her. Her
comrades-in-arms mostly seemed delighted with the situ-
ation, giving her a boisterous send-off as she prepared to 150 Issues Ago, S&T 96:
depart on a packet boat. She returned to Middleborough
and was reunited with her mother and community. A Singapore. Charles Kamps, Jon Pickens and John
young man named Benjamin Gannett, Jr. who, like her, Prados took on the 1941-42 Malay-Singapore
counted Mayflower arrivals among his ancestors, eagerly campaign. That operation saw the end of the Brit-
married her. The couple raised a son named Earl, who ish Empire in the Far East and is still considered
followed in his mother’s boot prints by fighting the Brit- a masterpiece of maneuver. Charles also did a
ish as an army captain in the War of 1812. They also had variant for his Nordkapp game, World War III
two daughters, Mary and Patience. When the remarkable in the Far North. Dave Cook polished bayonets
Deborah Sampson Gannett passed away at age 68, on 29 with a strategy article on TSR’s new Civil War
April 1827, she was matriarch of a flock of 12 grandchil- game, while Richard Berg helmed the Review
dren. of Games, and also did a commentary about the
wargame design process. Among other things,
Kelly Bell
Richard assured us he actually plays the games
he reviews.
First Blood: Second Marne, 15 July 1918 (FBSM), is a An unusual feature of the game is that the reverse sides
two-player wargame of low-complexity that simulates the of the units show “carnage.” That is, they present a depic-
final day on World War I’s western front during which it was tion of the human wreckage remaining when units of these
the Germans who held the strategic initiative. After that day small sizes are defeated in combat. Whenever a unit suffers
the German high command, though they didn’t yet under- that fate, players simply turn it over in place, so its carnage
stand they were soon to be fully and finally defeated, knew side shows. When flipped to their carnage sides, units per-
an offensive solution to the war was no longer available manently cease to be “units” for all game purposes, thereaf-
to them. The German player is generally on the offensive, ter serving only as reminders of the horror that took place
trying to cross the Marne River, defeat the defending US in that location. If your tastes don’t run to an appreciation
3rd Infantry Division, and exit units southward off the map of carnage, you may choose to ignore the reverse sides and
through the Surmelin River valley. Such an advance would simply remove each unit to a traditional off-map “dead pile”
serve as the preliminary to follow-on efforts aimed at Paris as they suffer elimination.
and Rheims. Another unusual feature of the game comes from the fact
The first turn represents roughly the first two hours of players don’t track the number of game turns. Play simply
operations after the Germans began crossing the Marne, continues, turn after turn, until one player admits defeat,
which were conducted in the slowing conditions of early a process that usually takes about two hours. The turn se-
morning darkness. Every game turn after the first represents quence is as follows.
from about 15 to 45 minutes, depending on the intensity of
tactical action that takes place within each turn as the day- I. Random Events Phase
light battle unfolds. Each hexagon on the map represents 100
yards from side to opposite side. II. German Reinforcement Phase
On the US side the units of maneuver are infantry pla- III. German First Bombardment Phase
toons, along with static heavy weapons emplacements. The IV. US First Bombardment Phase
latter represent one or two dug-in and pre-sited heavy ma- V. German Movement Phase
chineguns or 37 mm guns (“one pounders”). VI. US First Fire Phase
German units are organized so as to reflect the chaos cre- VII. German First Fire Phase
ated among them by the intense US aerial and artillery bom- VIII. US Movement Phase
bardment that was conducted against their north bank mar-
shalling areas and bridges. That is, German units represent IX. German Second Fire Phase
ad hoc, mixed tactical formations (primarily storm trooper X. US Second Fire Phase
infantry), ranging in size from sections and squads up to al- XI. German Second Bombardment Phase
most full companies, which the Germans self-organized as XII. US Second Bombardment Phase
they left the complete chaos of the riverbank and moved into
the semi-chaos of the actual battlefield.
In the spring of 1967 the Federal Republic of Nige- the British often administering the colony through them.
ria was the largest and most populous country of Black But there were many differences between the autocratic
Africa. Equivalent in area to France, Italy, Belgium and city-states of the north, the primarily agricultural areas of
Holland combined, it had 50-56 million inhabitants. They the Yoruba southwest, and the industrious dynamic Ibos
included some 200 tribes, of which the three largest (and of the forested eastern region. Those differences deepened
with about half of the total population) were the Hausa- as demands for independence spread across Africa in the
Fulani (predominantly Moslem, in the northern half of wake of World War II.
the country), the Yoruba (mainly Christian, in the south- After independence, Nigeria was to have a federal
west), and Ibo (in the east). Alas, the divisions among system with a parliament. But the rival political parties
them were too much for the new nation. This powder-keg involved in the fight for Nigerian independence mirrored
of unrest would explode into one of the most horrendous the religious, ethnic and cultural divisions of the region.
civil wars of the 20th century—the Biafran War. The Nigerian Federation formed on the eve of indepen-
dence consisted of four states: the predominantly Muslim
Countdown to Conflict
Northern Region, the Western Region, mainly Yoruba;
Nigeria owed its identity as a nation to its British co-
the Eastern Region, dominated by its Ibo heartland with
lonial rulers. The British occupied Lagos in 1861 and
a fringe of minor tribes on its eastern and southern edges;
then extended their territory northward. By the outbreak
and, lying uneasily between the Western and Eastern Re-
of World War I, the numerous tribal subdivisions of the
gions, the Mid-West with a mixed population of Ibos and
colony known as Nigeria were loosely united under Brit-
smaller tribes.
ish control. Local rulers retained considerable autonomy,
40 #246
48 #246
The Mercenaries
Both sides in the Biafran War were reluctant to employ mercenaries.
The recent experience of the Congo showed mercenary forces could get
out of hand and they tended to turn the country into a Cold War battle-
ground. But the technical expertise of the professional soldiers for hire
was needed in creating “modern” armed forces in Africa. On the Federal
side mercenaries were only employed in a combat role as pilots. The Bia-
frans used them both as pilots and in ground combat.
After initially employing mercenaries as pilots, Ojukwu was per-
suaded by the French to engage a number for the ground war. About 50
professional soldiers arrived late in 1967 to fight around Calabar. Several Bibliography
were killed, and most of the remainder found the realities of war in Biafra Cervenka, Zdenek, The Nigerian War 1967-70, 1971, Bernard and Graefe
not to their taste. For the remainder of the war only a handful of foreign Verlag fur Wehrwesen.
mercenaries were employed in Biafra, the most important of them being De St Jorre, John, The Nigerian Civil War, 1972, Hodder and Stoughton
Rolf Steiner and a Welsh-born South African, Maj. “Taffy” Williams, who (Published in USA as The Brothers’ War, 1972, Houghton Mifflin).
seems to have developed a genuine commitment to the Biafran cause. Forsyth, Frederick, The Biafra Story, 1969, Penguin.
Most of the mercenaries served with the 4th Commando Division, but Madiebo, Alexander A., The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War,
failed on the whole to make any great impact. They were blamed for the 1980, Fourth Dimension Publishers.
heavy losses suffered in 1968 in “Operation Hiroshima,” one of a number Niven, Sir Rex, The War of Nigerian Unity, 1971, Rowman and Littl-
of failed attempts to retake Onitsha. By the end of 1969, the last of them eford.
apart from some pilots, had gone home. Omoigui, Nowa, Federal Army Blunders of the Nigerian Civil War, www.
Dawodu.com (in progress).
One of the pilots was Count Carl Gustav von Rosen, a Swede. Rosen
had fought against the Italians in Ethiopia prior to World War II, and with Oyewole, Fola, Reluctant Rebel, 1975, Rex Collings.
the Finns in the Winter War of 1939-40 against the Red Army. He was Stafford, Major Michael R. USA, Quick Kill in Slow Motion: The Ni-
gerian Civil War, 1984, Marine Corps Command and Staff College
moved by the plight of the Biafran civilian populace to assist in the re-
(available at www.globalsecurity.org).
building of the rebel Air Force in 1969. His efforts proved successful, for
Steiner, Rolf, The Last Adventurer, 1978, Little, Brown and Company.
a while, at least. Rosen was no stranger to Africa, having been a pilot for
the UN General Secretary Dag Hammarskjöld during the Congo crisis. The Nigerian Civil War: Causes, Strategies and Lessons (www.globalse-
curity.org).
He later flew relief missions for refugees during the Ogaden War between
Ethiopia and Somalia, where he was killed by guerrillas. www.brushfirewars.org (for information on aircraft and AFVs)
Thanks to Maj. Robert A. Lynn, USMCR, for help in tracing sources.
50 #246
France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, the Soviet Union and
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With virtually all of their officers trained in Britain, both troops generally fired off all the ammunition they had been
the Nigerian Federal and Biafran armies were organized, at issued. Often the Biafrans would have pulled back before
least theoretically, along British lines. Both sides tended to contact was made, so Nigerian infantry were slow in gaining
stick rigidly to British doctrines in command and tactics, of- combat experience. Discipline among an army consisting
ten without regard to their suitability for the particular situa- largely of new recruits always remained a problem.
tion facing them.
Biafran Army
The opposing sides faced similar challenges in creating Figures of the total strength of the Biafran Army again
and expanding their armed forces, and neither fully solved vary considerably at between 40,000 to 90,000. The latter
the resulting problems during the course of the war. Short- figure probably includes the large numbers of ill-equipped
ages of trained officers and NCOs remained a problem, with militia raised at the start of the war, most of whom were even-
battalions on both sides often having no more than half a tually disbanded or absorbed into the army. It also includes
dozen professionals among their commands and staff. As the Biafran Organization of Freedom Fighters (BOFF), the
a result leadership and initiative were often lacking, with a guerrilla force raised in the later stages of the war which
tendency, emphasised by British doctrine, to stick to original operated with limited success in the Mid-West and behind
orders regardless of new developments. Federal lines. Volunteers were initially plentiful, though in
Nigerian Federal Army the later stages of the war conscription was introduced.
As with most statistics relating to the war, there is consid- The Biafran Army operated under tight overall control
erable variation in the figures given for the total strength of by the Biafran head of state, Gen. Ojukwu. Divisional com-
the Nigerian Federal Army. Estimates for its establishment manders had much less freedom of action than their Federal
by the end of the war vary between 80,000 and 200,000. counterparts. Throughout the war, units were frequently dis-
The smaller figure is probably closer to the number actu- banded, expanded and re-titled, incorporated into others, or
ally on active service. The Federals, mainly because of the had their designations arbitrarily changed, so constructing a
high rates of pay offered in comparison to civilian life, never complete Biafran Order of Battle is difficult. Ojukwu also
had problems in obtaining recruits, and did not consider con- had a fondness for creating special forces and task groups
scription until the closing stages of the fighting. under his own control, such as the “S” Brigade (which later
The command structure remained loose. Though Gowan expanded into a division) and the 4th Commando Battal-
and the army high command were in nominal overall con- ion (later a brigade, then division). Those units were given
trol, in practice most of the decisions regarding the day to priority in equipment and recruits over the “regular” Bia-
day conduct of operations were left to the divisional com- fran army, and their autonomy and favoured treatment was
manders who enjoyed considerable freedom of action. Lik- a source of friction between their officers and senior army
ened to medieval robber barons, a good deal of their energy commanders.
was expended in vying with each other for men and supplies, In 1969 the Biafran Army consisted of the 11th, 12th, 14th,
often shanghaiing recruits and hijacking materials intended 15th, Special Strike Force, 4th Commando and “S” Divisions,
for rival divisions. which, in a typically cosmetic move, Ojukwu was in the
The Federal Army was organized into three over-sized process of reorganising into the North and South Divisions
divisions: 1st and 2nd Divisions and 3rd Marine Commando. when the war ended. A Biafran regular division normally
By the end of the war each averaged about 20,000 men (large included two or three brigades, each of about 1,000 men,
for divisions). They normally totalled between six and nine effectively making them reinforced and re-designated bat-
brigades, each brigade with a varying number of battalions, talions. Special divisions were generally larger.
plus support troops and artillery. A battalion would have 600 A Biafran battalion might have 600 men; however such
to1,000 men, including riflemen and supporting machinegun was the shortage of equipment for much of the war only half
and mortar sections. Attached to battalion or brigade would the men might be armed. The usual infantry weapon was
be at least one armored squadron of three or more armored the British .303 Lee-Enfeld bolt-action rifle, but as the war
fighting vehicles, usually the British Saladin armored car developed a variety of weapons were used, leading to prob-
(76mm gun, co-axial. 30 cal. mg., 3 crew, maximum speed lems in supply. It was often only when action was expected
45 mph), the Ferret scout car (.30 cal. Browning mg, 2 crew, that troops were issued with an average of five rounds of
maximum speed 60 mph), and the Saracen APC (.30 mg, ammunition per man. If fortunate, a battalion might have a
maximum speed approx 55 mph). Artillery consisted of So- handful of automatic rifles of varying origin, and three or
viet supplied 105 and 122mm guns. four machineguns, often German World War II vintage MG-
With ammunition usually plentiful, Nigerian tactics 34s.
increasingly relied on a preliminary saturation artillery Artillery and mortars were scarce, consisting of a hand-
bombardment of enemy positions, ideally with air support. ful of antiquated or captured pieces. Biafra never established
Infantry would then sometimes follow up, led by armored a significant armored force. At the beginning of the war a
vehicles, and again employing heavy saturation fire. Federal few pre-World War II Bren gun carriers, possibly of French
52 #246
Confederate units are in italics. Union units are in plain rear guard stretched from the C&O Canal, by the Potomac
text. River, to the left of the rise and off to the right of Falling Wa-
ters Road. His line extended across fields for nearly a mile.
The Gettysburg campaign did not end with the battle The emplacements on the ridge were slightly to the front and
fought in the environs of that town on 1-3 July 1863. The left of a two story brick farm house. The farm house itself
final fight between Lee and Meade was at Falling Waters, was surrounded by a plank fence. The remnants of an old
Maryland, on 14 July 1863. Though not the climactic battle barn stood to the left-rear of a two story brick farm house
of the war anticipated by Abraham Lincoln, it is a story of —the Daniel Donnelly house (sometimes mistakenly identi-
miscalculation, bravery and tragedy. fied as the Downey house). Brig. Gen. James Henry Lane’s
division (Pender’s) found themselves between Heth’s men
Morning of 14 July: and the pontoon crossing. On the morning of 14 July they
waited to cross into Virginia.
Disposition of Lee’s Rear Guard After struggling through the mud-choked country roads
Following the defeat of the Confederates at Gettysburg, to their positions on both sides of Falling Waters Road,
Gen. Robert E. Lee ordered his Army of Northern Virginia Heth’s wet, tired and hungry men collapsed. The officers
to fall back to Virginia. Union Army of the Potomac com- believed the horsemen of Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart’s cavalry
mander George Meade carefully pursued the Confederates. division was screening them from pursuing Union forces.
Lee ordered Maj. Gen. Henry Heth’s division to act as Heth and his staff officers waited on the rise at the rear of
rear guard. (Confederate divisions were usually known by the Donnelly house for orders to withdraw and cross the Po-
their commander’s name.) Lee’s men crossed the Potomac tomac over the pontoon bridge and return to Virginia. In his
River on their way back to Virginia by way of a pontoon report, Heth noted:
bridge at Falling Waters. During the night and early morn- On reaching an elevated and commanding ridge of hills
ing of 13 July, Heth’s soldiers struggled through the mud, one mile and a half (possibly a little less) from Falling Wa-
moving slowly down Falling Waters Road toward the river ters, I was ordered by Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill to put my division
crossing. Approximately two miles from the pontoon bridge, in line of battle on either side of the road, and, extending
members of Heth’s command positioned themselves perpen- along the crest of this hill, facing toward Hagerstown. On
the left of the road and on the crest of this hill our engineers
dicular to the road, with the center of their line on a rise
had thrown up some half dozen epaulements for artillery,
where they could defend against pursuing Union troops. the spaces between the epaulements being open. In our
Army of Northern Virginia engineers constructed six earthen front was an open space, with the view unobstructed for
gun emplacements to further strengthen the position. Heth’s half to three-quarters of a mile; then came a heavy piece of
54 #246
Pontoon
Br idge POTOMAC RIVER
X
XX
Lane (P ender ) Pe ttigr ew
X
XX Archer W eber
Heth X
Broc kenbrough
X XX
Ch
esa Da vi s Kilpat rick
pe
ak
e
&
Oh
ioC
ana
l
0 1 mile
Op
timber some three-fourths
eq
uo
of a mile in width. I was directed, towards the town of Williamsport. There they discovered
at the same time thatn C I received the order to place my divi- some stragglers. They also found the rearguard of Early’s
sion in line of battle ras
. described, to put Pender’s division
command fording the Potomac River just above the C&O
in the rear of my own, in column of brigades. At this point
Canal aqueduct over Conococheague Creek. Having missed
we halted, to allow the wagons and artillery to get over the
river. We remained in this position awaiting their crossing
the opportunity to cut off the Confederate crossing at Wil-
for several hours. liamsport, the cavalrymen spurred their mounts again, this
time towards the Falling Waters crossing. Brig. Gen. John
Morning of 14 July: Buford, in command of the 1st Division of the Army of the
Potomac’s Cavalry Corps, approached from the east. Kilpat-
Disposition of Army of the Potomac rick’s command pushed on through the mud toward Falling
Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George G. Waters from the town of Williamsport to the north.
Meade ordered a reconnaissance in force of Lee’s positions Kilpatrick’s troopers galloped down Falling Waters Road
to begin at 7:00 A.M. on 14 July. Word reached the Federals toward the river crossing. There they encountered numer-
Lee’s army had vacated their positions overnight and were ous Confederate stragglers along with discarded rebel arms,
crossing the Potomac. Before daylight on 14 July, much of equipment and wagons. Much of the gear had been aban-
the Army of Northern Virginia was already across the river. doned when it became stuck in the thick mud. Kilpatrick’s
Lt. Gen. Richard Stoddert Ewell’s 2nd Army Corps forded at command formed up near a tree line with a field to their
Williamsport. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet 1st Army Corps and front. On a rise to his front right Kilpatrick could see the
Lt. Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill’s 3rd Corps plus the artillery, Donnelly house with trees to the side and rear of it. The
crossed the pontoon bridge at Falling Waters. Lee ordered Federal horsemen also noted that to the right and behind the
Stuart’s cavalry to occupy the entrenchments that surround- house were six artillery lunettes. Confederate officers and
ed Williamsport, as well as the crossings from north of Hag- men were visible along the length of the rise. No artillery
erstown to near Sharpsburg, while the infantry and artillery pieces or caissons were visible. The opportunity to strike the
withdrew to the two Potomac River crossings. rebels before they escaped across the Potomac appeared to
Meade, meanwhile, was ordering the Army of the Po- be Kilpatrick’s good fortune, even though Buford’s troopers
tomac to pursue. When Brig. Gen. Hugh Judson “Kill- had yet to arrive. Buford had taken the route along the C&O
Cavalry” Kilpatrick, commander of the 3rd Division of the Canal along the river and to the right in hopes of cutting
Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps, learned of Lee’s off the remaining Confederates in a pincer-like movement.
withdrawal, he ordered his horsemen to leave their encamp- Kilpatrick decided there was no time to waste. His horsemen
ment and dash toward the Confederate positions. His troop- must attack immediately. Kilpatrick stated in his official re-
ers found the area vacated. The Union troopers next galloped port:
Maj. Gen.
Alfred Pleasonton
1st 3rd
Brig. Gen. Brig. Gen.
John Buford Hugh Kilpatrick
Subsequent Attacks
Kilpatrick directed arriving elements of the 3rd Cavalry Division Sources
against Heth’s line. Custer himself mounted and led another attack, sa- The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of
ber drawn while another element of Kilpatrick’s command advanced the Union and Confederate Armies.
on foot as skirmishers. Buford finally arrived, wheeling the troopers of Garry L. Bush, The Sixth Michigan Cavalry at Falling Waters:
The End of the Gettysburg Campaign, Gettysburg, Historical
his division into position. His division followed along the C&O Canal
Articles of Lasting Interest, July 1993, Issue #9, Morningside
by the Potomac River in preparation for an attack on Heth’s flank, but House, Dayton, OH.
Kilpatrick’s and Buford’s attacks were again repulsed. Edwin B. Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign, A Study in Com-
Increasingly concerned about his ability to hold his position, Heth mand, Touchstone, New York, NY, 1997.
requested the artillery across the Potomac River in Virginia be recalled. Clifford Dowdey & Louis H. Manarin, Editors, The Wartime Papers
Lane, his command still not across the pontoon bridge, was ordered to of R. E. Lee, Bramhall House, New York, NY, 1961.
Bradley M. Gottfried, To Fail Twice: Brockenbrough’s Brigade at
support Heth’s Division. Col. John Mercer Brockenbrough’s Brigade,
Gettysburg, Gettysburg Campaign, Gettysburg, Historical Ar-
which included the 22nd, 40th, 47th and 55th Virginia Infantry, advanced ticles of Lasting Interest, 2000, Issue #23, Morningside House,
with their colors in the lead from their position to the right of Falling Dayton, OH.
Waters Road only to find their effort unsupported. Many of Brocken- Earl J. Hess, Lee’s Tar Heels, The Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae Bri-
brough’s officers and men, including Col. William Steptoe Christian of gade, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC,
the 55th Virginia were captured along with their colors and arms. 2002.
Karla Jean Husby (Compiler) & Eric J. Wittenberg (Editor), Under
Rather than risk the loss of additional men and materiel, Hill ordered
Custer’s Command, The Civil War Journal of James Henry Av-
Heth to withdraw across the Potomac into Virginia. Heth’s regiments ery, Brassey’s, Washington, DC, 2002.
fixed bayonets and formed successive lines of battle behind those of S. Roger Keller, Crossroads of War, Washington, County, Maryland
Lane’s Division. Lane’s men then reformed behind Heth’s Division un- in the Civil War, Burd Street Press, Shippensburg, PA, 1997.
til they reached the ramp over the C&O Canal and finally the pontoon Edward G. Longacre, Custer and His Wolverines, The Michigan
bridge. During the movement to the crossing, Kilpatrick and Buford’s Brigade, 1861-1865, De Capo Press, Cambridge, MA, 1997.
horsemen continued to attack the front and flanks of the withdrawing Edward G. Longacre, The Cavalry at Gettysburg, A Tactical Study of
Confederates. Some Confederate stragglers and wounded were cap- Mounted Operations during the Civil War’s Pivotal Campaign,
9 June–14 July 1863, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln,
tured, but the majority of the troops withdrew without much loss. Pet-
NE, 1986.
tigrew’s men carried their wounded commander on a litter down the Harry W. Pfanz, The Gettysburg Campaign After Pickett’s Charge,
road and across the bridge. Gettysburg, Historical Articles of Lasting Interest, July 1989,
Falling Waters, Maryland, was the last battle for the well-regarded Issue #1, Morningside House, Dayton, OH.
general. He died from his wound the morning of 17 July in Bunker Walter H. Taylor, General Lee, His Campaigns in Virginia, 1861-
Hill, Virginia. The last men to cross the pontoon bridge were from the 1865, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 1994.
Gregory J. W. Urwin, Custer Victorious, The Civil War Battle of
26th North Carolina of Pettigrew’s Brigade around noon of 14 July. The
General George Armstrong Custer, The Blue & Grey Press,
bridge was cut free from the Maryland shore. Federal horsemen stood Edison, NJ, 1983.
by the river, under sniper and artillery fire from the Virginia shore, Peter C. Vermilyea, Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick and the Pursuit of
overcome by exhaustion and frustration mixed with relief. For the of- Lee’s Army After Gettysburg, Gettysburg, Historical Articles of
ficers and men in wet, muddy uniforms on both sides of the Potomac, Lasting Interest, 2000, Issue # 22, Morningside House, Dayton,
the pontoon bridge swinging in the rushing brown current symbolized OH.
the end of the Gettysburg Campaign. Jeffrey D. Wert, Custer, The Controversial Life of George Armstrong
Custer, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 1996.
Eric J. Wittenberg, John Buford and the Gettysburg Campaign, Get-
tysburg, Historical Articles of Lasting Interest, July 1994, Issue
# 11, Morningside House, Dayton, OH.
58 #246
D-Day
June 6, 1944, the day that decided the fate of World War II in Europe.
Now you command the Allied and Axis armies as each struggles
to control the five key beaches along the Normandy coastline. If
the Allied troops seize the beaches, Germany is doomed. But if the assault fails,
Germany will have the time it needs to build its ultimate weapons. You get to
make vital command decisions that send troops into battle, assault enemy posi-
tions, and create heroic sacrifices so others can advance to victory!
Midway
From June 4th to June 6th of 1942, a massive battle raged around the tiny
Pacific island of Midway that changed the course of World War II. The
victorious Imperial Japanese Navy was poised to capture the airfield on
the island of Midway and thus threaten Hawaii and the United States. The only obstacle in their
path was an outnumbered US fleet itching for payback for Pearl Harbor. You get to command
the US and Japanese fleets and their squadrons of fighter planes, torpedo bombers and dive
bombers in this epic battle!
Covering the great battles of Erwin Rommel from 1941 to 1943, as he fought his way back and
FORCE
forth across the deserts of North Africa. LNA uses cards to represent the military units, supply
convoys and objectives of the historic campaign. To win, you must consider your units’ combat power
and maneuver options as well as their supply situation. The game features: the Afrika Korps, Tobruk, the
009
Starts Game in
Desert Rats, Malta, anti-tank guns, resupply from Europe, minefields and more. LNA is based around WESTERN DESERT
a new combat system that makes maneuver and planning as important as brute force. That approach MOTORIZED ADVANCE
is faithful to the historic events, in which smaller forces were often able to defeat and rout larger MOTORIZED
ones by using better tactics and planning. In LNA, battles can be won not only by overwhelming the
enemy with firepower, but also by out-thinking and bluffing him. The dynamic game system puts
you in charge of one of the most famous theaters of WWII.
037
All games include 110 full color playing successful. Inflict one extra
loss for each motorized force
Lightning North Africa $19.99 cards and one sheet of rules. you had committed to the
battle.
Storm of Steel
Storm of Steel (SoS) is a simulation of World War I. Its three
34x22” maps cover Europe from the Pyrenees to the Urals
plus the Mid-East. The maps can be combined for one grand
game of the Great War, or they may be used separately for
campaigns of the eastern, western and Mid-East. The rules use
an approach that allows players to play using the level of com-
plexity they desire. Turns represent three months. There are
scenarios for each year and each front of the war, as well as a
“what if” scenario for 1919.
Units represent land, naval and air forces. Ground forces are at
corps-level. Corps include infantry, shock, mountain infantry
and cavalry. There are also specialized armored car and tank
brigades, as well as tank corps for 1919, plus the planned-for
American airborne division. Each country has its own unique
order of battle. Land combat uses three different combat re-
sults tables to model different tactics.
Naval units are at the squadron level for capital ships, and flo-
tillas for cruisers and destroyers. There’s also a complete sub-
marine warfare module. Air warfare is represented by strategic
and tactical wings. Players can improve their aerial warfare ca-
pabilities by increasing their air doctrine level. As air doctrine
improves, players can employ interception, aerial supply and
aircraft carrier operations. On the political side, players can
utilize agents to conduct propaganda and sabotage operations.
An industrial production module gives players the capability
to produce different types of forces. Production is tied to mo-
rale, and winning great battles will enhance your side’s out-
put, while a disastrous defeat may lead to strikes on the home
front.
SoS uses cards to recreate major operations by granting ad-
ditional move-fight impulses, combat bonuses and extra rein-
forcements. Players choose which campaigns they will imple-
ment because some cards will provide for more maneuver,
while others will enhance combat.
Contents: 3 22x34" maps, world display, 1400 die-cut counters,
14 asstd displays/charts, 32 page Rules, 22 Scenarios. Ships as
4 units. Order form on page 2. $140.00
1 2 Q 1 2 14 Res 2
XXX X XXX XXX
A 4 3 4
g X X
e 1
n
t 1-3-4 1-3-1 1-3-2
USMC 2 23 2 BMB
XXX XXX
PO Box 21598
Bakersfield CA 93390 14-4-2 8-3-2 1-3-10
661/587-9633 • fax 661/587-5031 • www.decisiongames.com
60 #246
Components: 7 full size strategic maps in full color, new tactical maps with
nearly 340 individual islands for new ground units to fight over, 32 die-cut
counter sheets, nearly 9,000 counters showing all types of units from the
Pacific Theater, rule books and assorted displays and player aid charts. Ships
as 10 units.
$420.00
Name
PO Box 21598
Address Bakersfield CA 93390
661/587-9633 • fax 661/587-5031 • www.decisiongames.com
City, State Zip
Shipping Charges
Phone email
1st unit Adt’l units Type of Service
VISA/Mc (ONLY)# $8 $2 UPS Ground/USPS Priority Mail
17 2 Canada
Expiration Date
21 4 Europe, South America
Signature 22 5 Asia, Australia
counters, (2) 22" x 34" mapsheets, 2 player aid cards, 16-page rule book. and battles (Gordon, Kitchener, Wolseley, 1 F - 6 4 M -6 1 F -10
Rebels & Redcoats, Vol. III and the Mahdi are included). Battles are ANSAR USMC CETSHWAYO
resolved through a multi-phase system with F L
1
Battles from the New York Campaign: Brooklyn, Harlem Heights and White units (regiment/battalion/battery) rated for 10 S - 6 3R-6 2 8
Plains; from the New Jersey campaign: Trenton, Princeton plus two bonus strength, type of weapon and elan. Leader
scenarios, Stony Point and King's Mountain. Components: 560 counters, counters will influence tactical and strategic situations. There V are rules
NGWEKWE
(2) 22" x 34" mapsheets, player aid cards, 16-page rule book. $80. for relief forces being dispatched, riverine gunboats and 5 S the- 8 building
00
of railroads.
Components: 620 counters, (2) 22" x 34" mapsheets, 16-page rule
book, and player aid cards. $40.00
The Alamo
This two-player tactical game simulates the assault made at
dawn, 6 March 1836, by 2,200 Mexican soldiers against a garrison
of 183 frontiersmen inside the Alamo mission in what is now San
Antonio, Texas. Each Fire Strength Point of a Texas unit represents
one man, and each Mexican battalion represents between 45 and 55
men. A hexagon represents 10 yards from hexside to hexside, and
each game turn represents five minutes. In the game, the players
QTY Title Price Total take turn moving their forces and conducting attacks. The game
ends when the Texas player has eliminated a decisive number of
Mexican troops or when the Mexicans have eliminated the entire
Texan force. Components: 100 counters, 22" x 34" mapsheet,
8-page rule book. $15.00
SUB Total
Shipping Charges Magazines count as 2 for 1 for shipping. TAX (CA. RES.)
$
1st unit Adt’l units Type of Service
S&H
$8 $2 UPS Ground/US Mail Domestic Priority
$
15(20) 4 UPS 2nd Day Air (Metro AK & HI)
TOTAL ORDER
14(10) 2(7) Canada, Mexico (Express)
$ PO Box 21598, Bakersfield CA 93390-1598
17(25) 7(10) Europe (Express)
(661) 587-9633 •fax 661/587-5031
20(25) 9(10) Asia, Africa, Australia (Express)
www.decisiongames.com
62 #246
II 2 (6) 7
20
An Evening of Fun! 1
USAAF
Napoleon’s First Battles tactics becomes critical. The system showsXX the evolution
of tactical doctrine in both the Japanese HQ
and21Allied armies
Includes Austerlitz and Jena-Auerstadt, in which the French Emperor,
with Banzai charges, superior U.S. fire2coordination,
(2) 6 naval SPA I I
Napoleon Bonaparte, won smashing victories against the armies of the
bombardment, airpower, amphibious landings, and engineer B
old regime of Europe. Emperor’s First Battles game system is based on
operations. Games in this volume include: The Fall of Sin- 37 (4) 12
the Decision Games’ release Napo-
gapore, Struggle for Bataan and Guadalcanal.
leon’s First Battles which is now
0411 0611 0811 1011 1211 1411
Lambert
6
Les Mesnu 6
Fraser
2-7
1-7
2-6
d'Aubrme 1st
X
X
1-7
X
X
Halkett
X
4-6
B Arntschlt NC
1-7
NC C
3-4
Vincke
NC
X
X
N3 du Platt C
2-4
X
2
Braine-l'Alleud Ponsonby
X
Somerset Best
Papelotte
5-4
C 5
X
4-6
5-6
4-4
X
Buttler Pack
X
Heisse
4-4
X
Kempt
Specht B 5
X
3-4
Dornberg
X
5
2-4
2-7
Kruse B
X
X
Bijlandt
Adye Kielmmsg 3
Fichermont
3-4
0316 Adam
0516 C 0716 0916 1116 1316
X
X
4-4
5-4
6 Omptede
X
X
X
Gold N2
2 Grant
X
2-4
3
X
2-7
XX
Jacquinot
X
2 3
I
4/I Pegot
4/I
X
Mitchell
Byng
1 X 4-4
4-4
X
1017 X
1217 1417
Brue
Nogues
4-4
Quiot
6-4
3/I
1/I
1 4-4 4-4
X
2/I Desales
I
1/I
X
La Belle Alliance 4-4 6-4
Schmitz
X
2/I
X
Aulard
X
XX 5-4
Husson
4-4
4/I
Domon
St Alph
IVC
3-4
Suberviw III
1-7
XX 4-4
XX
Campi
X0519
5/II
1-7
0719 0919
19/VI
IVC
Baudin
3-4
6/II
XX
7-4
X X 4-4 4-6
Gauthier
9/II
II
X X X
4-7 0419 0619 4-4 5-4 0819 1019 1219 1419
19/VI
Duchet
IVC
Jamin
6/II
6-4 X
X 4-4 3-6
Noury
X
Pelletier
VI
0720
4-4
1120 1320
L'Hertier
II
Bony
IIIC
6-4
IIIC
Chas/Gd Chas/Gd
Marcillac
0420 0620 X
0820 1020 1220 1420
20/VI
Morand
Gren/Gd Gren/Gd
IIIC
Guyot
Placenoit
Gd
Roguet
Yng/Gd
Duchand
Friant
Young
5-4
Gd
0922
0322
Neuve 0522 0722 1122 1322
Court 6-4
Advanced rules include Command, Friction, and Fog of War. march modes, blown bridges, improved positions,
Components EFB: 480 counters, 16-page rule book, 1 player aid card, air power and supply. Their movement, positioning and engagement for
(2) 22" x 34" mapsheets. battle are regulated by a superimposed hexagonal grid. These four games
Components NFB: 400 counters, (2) 22" x 34" mapsheets, player aid (St. Vith, Clervaux, Celles and Sedan 1940) can be played individually or
as two campaign games (1940 Blitzkrieg to the Meuse and 1944 Battle of
card, 16-page rule book. $40.00 the Bulge).Components: 600 counters, (4) 17" x 22" mapsheets, player aid
card, 32-page rule book. $38.00
Name
Drive on Stalingrad
This two-player strategic-level simula-
Address tion of Fall Blau (Operation Blue), the
German attempt to conquer Stalingrad
City, State Zip and the Caucasus area of the southwest
Soviet Union in 1942. Each hex repre-
Phone email sents approximately 16 miles and units
are primarily division along with Soviet
VISA/Mc (ONLY)# tank and mechanized corps. Each game
turn represents one week.
Expiration Date Components: 420 counters, (2) 22" x 34" mapsheets, rule book, die and