Toneturbo
11-21-2005, 07:51 PM
Title: The Battle for San Manuel (Philippines 1945)
Synopsis: On January 9, 1945 American General MacArthur oversaw a massive US Army amphibious landing of the 6th Army on the beaches of Lingayen Gulf in northern Luzon of the Philippines.
After several failed but costly Japanese counter attacks by armored and mobile infantry divisions of General Yamashita’s Shobu Group, the American forces fought their way to the hills south of San Manuel on January 23, 1945. The American forces consisted of the US Army 25th Division and the 161st Infantry Regiment, supported by tanks of the 716th Tank Battalion.
The city of San Manuel was occupied by units of the “Shigemi Detachment” of over 1000 men, mortars, machine guns and 33 tanks. Japanese Brigadier General Shigemi gave orders to his forces to fight to the death. This included the 7th Tank Regiment. His forces dug in along a fan-shaped defensive line, converting many of their tanks into fortified bunkers (pillboxes) by digging them into the ground with just the turrets above ground. Infantry and machine guns also dug-in on the outskirts of town. A few tanks were kept as mobile reserves to speed to where they may be needed later.
The main attack on the town began January 24th, by the 1st Battalion supported by six Shermans. It was halted by a drainage ditch and 47mm anti-tank fire. All six American tanks were destroyed, disabled or immobilized. 8 American soldiers were killed and 63 wounded. On the same day, the 2nd Battalion attacked from farther south towards town. That is where this scenario begins.
Mission: The Americans are trying to take control of San Manuel. The Japanese are trying to delay the American advance.
Victory Condition: The “standard” victory condition to control the objective point by turn 7.
Allied Army Build: up to 130 total points.
1st Wave (67 points):
Red Devil Captain x 1
Mortar M2 x 1
M1 Garand Rifle x 2
BAR Gunner x 1
Bazooka x 1
M4A1 Sherman x 2
2nd Wave (63 points):
M4A1 Sherman x 3
Axis Army Build: up to 100 points.
Type 95 Ha-go x 2
Type 97 Chi-Ha x 2
Type 1 Ho-Ni x 1
Imperial Sergeant x 1
Arisaka Rifle x 2
47mm Type 1 Anti-tank gun x 1
Type 92 Machine-Gun Team x 2
Type 89 Mortar x 1
Map Configuration: Charlie-1 parallel above Baker-2 (Resulting in both city hexes on the left side). The large city in baker-2 is San Manuel. The center hex of San Manuel is the objective point.
Army setup:
Allied: 1st Wave starts 1 hex into Charlie-1 and Baker-2 on the right hand side at setup. The 2nd Wave starts 1 hex into Charlie-1 and Baker-2 on turn 3.
Axis: All Axis units start in San Manuel and up to two hexes outside the city. All infantry are considered dug-in until moved. The two Chi-Ha's and the Ho-Ni are pillboxed and cannot be moved. The two Ha-gos operate normally.
Special Rules: Dug-in infantry get a +1 bonus on cover rolls until the unit moves. The Pillboxed Tanks get +1 on defense and a +1 bonus on cover rolls.
Aftermath: The second wave attack gained a foothold in the town. The next day, the 1st and 3rd Battalions joined in the house-to-house fighting. On January 26th, over a dozen Shermans fired on Japanese positions from range destroying most. By January 27th the remaining Japanese tanks were pushed back to the hills. On the January 28th, the remaining 13 tanks of the Japanese 7th Regiment carried out a banzai attack. Ten were destroyed before being able to break the American lines. The last 3 ran for the hills again.
In the end, the Japanese lost all their tanks, heavy weapons and had soldiers 750 killed. Commander Shigemi and 7th Tank Regiment Commander Colonel Maeda were both killed. A few more tank battles occurred in other cities following San Manuel. By the end of March, Luzon was basically controlled by the Allies. Overall, the Allied casualties during the Philippine and Manila campaign where very high. Amazingly, it remains a little known fact that the battle of San Manuel was one of the biggest tank battles in the Pacific.
Designer Notes: I still have not playtested this scenario. Please let me know how it plays out. With the inclusion of Set II, it is now a little more historical as far has unit types involved. It is still dramatically scaled back from the real battle. The Japanese had 45 tanks in this engagement, 30 of which were pillboxed.
Enjoy!!
Synopsis: On January 9, 1945 American General MacArthur oversaw a massive US Army amphibious landing of the 6th Army on the beaches of Lingayen Gulf in northern Luzon of the Philippines.
After several failed but costly Japanese counter attacks by armored and mobile infantry divisions of General Yamashita’s Shobu Group, the American forces fought their way to the hills south of San Manuel on January 23, 1945. The American forces consisted of the US Army 25th Division and the 161st Infantry Regiment, supported by tanks of the 716th Tank Battalion.
The city of San Manuel was occupied by units of the “Shigemi Detachment” of over 1000 men, mortars, machine guns and 33 tanks. Japanese Brigadier General Shigemi gave orders to his forces to fight to the death. This included the 7th Tank Regiment. His forces dug in along a fan-shaped defensive line, converting many of their tanks into fortified bunkers (pillboxes) by digging them into the ground with just the turrets above ground. Infantry and machine guns also dug-in on the outskirts of town. A few tanks were kept as mobile reserves to speed to where they may be needed later.
The main attack on the town began January 24th, by the 1st Battalion supported by six Shermans. It was halted by a drainage ditch and 47mm anti-tank fire. All six American tanks were destroyed, disabled or immobilized. 8 American soldiers were killed and 63 wounded. On the same day, the 2nd Battalion attacked from farther south towards town. That is where this scenario begins.
Mission: The Americans are trying to take control of San Manuel. The Japanese are trying to delay the American advance.
Victory Condition: The “standard” victory condition to control the objective point by turn 7.
Allied Army Build: up to 130 total points.
1st Wave (67 points):
Red Devil Captain x 1
Mortar M2 x 1
M1 Garand Rifle x 2
BAR Gunner x 1
Bazooka x 1
M4A1 Sherman x 2
2nd Wave (63 points):
M4A1 Sherman x 3
Axis Army Build: up to 100 points.
Type 95 Ha-go x 2
Type 97 Chi-Ha x 2
Type 1 Ho-Ni x 1
Imperial Sergeant x 1
Arisaka Rifle x 2
47mm Type 1 Anti-tank gun x 1
Type 92 Machine-Gun Team x 2
Type 89 Mortar x 1
Map Configuration: Charlie-1 parallel above Baker-2 (Resulting in both city hexes on the left side). The large city in baker-2 is San Manuel. The center hex of San Manuel is the objective point.
Army setup:
Allied: 1st Wave starts 1 hex into Charlie-1 and Baker-2 on the right hand side at setup. The 2nd Wave starts 1 hex into Charlie-1 and Baker-2 on turn 3.
Axis: All Axis units start in San Manuel and up to two hexes outside the city. All infantry are considered dug-in until moved. The two Chi-Ha's and the Ho-Ni are pillboxed and cannot be moved. The two Ha-gos operate normally.
Special Rules: Dug-in infantry get a +1 bonus on cover rolls until the unit moves. The Pillboxed Tanks get +1 on defense and a +1 bonus on cover rolls.
Aftermath: The second wave attack gained a foothold in the town. The next day, the 1st and 3rd Battalions joined in the house-to-house fighting. On January 26th, over a dozen Shermans fired on Japanese positions from range destroying most. By January 27th the remaining Japanese tanks were pushed back to the hills. On the January 28th, the remaining 13 tanks of the Japanese 7th Regiment carried out a banzai attack. Ten were destroyed before being able to break the American lines. The last 3 ran for the hills again.
In the end, the Japanese lost all their tanks, heavy weapons and had soldiers 750 killed. Commander Shigemi and 7th Tank Regiment Commander Colonel Maeda were both killed. A few more tank battles occurred in other cities following San Manuel. By the end of March, Luzon was basically controlled by the Allies. Overall, the Allied casualties during the Philippine and Manila campaign where very high. Amazingly, it remains a little known fact that the battle of San Manuel was one of the biggest tank battles in the Pacific.
Designer Notes: I still have not playtested this scenario. Please let me know how it plays out. With the inclusion of Set II, it is now a little more historical as far has unit types involved. It is still dramatically scaled back from the real battle. The Japanese had 45 tanks in this engagement, 30 of which were pillboxed.
Enjoy!!