Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 11

This is the last post for "Battle of Bataan".

It is deliberately just a stub to facilitate navigation on the "Last Post" list.

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Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 10

Debriefing

Figure 1 is the customary unit performance report.

Figure 1 - Unit performance

I really don't have anything to point out here so I'll just leave for (my) future reference that I really should add a column for current (total) experience, my Infantry units (other than the Engineers) are now in the 6-7'000 XP bracket.

I didn't add a combined Core + Auxiliary total because the table was becoming too tall (data is recorded on MS Access, table is prepared on MS Excel and printed as a PDF file that is then converted in Gimp to jpg) and I didn't remember that I could change the sheet size (from A4 to A3). Another note for (my) future reference.

In any case aggregate information starts to lose meaning. Consider the Core Damage to Casualties ratio of 267 to 65 (approx. 4 to 1). It includes the AA/AT 45 to 2 but by definition AA/AT doesn't take return fire (you can fire your AT Guns which should be the exception, not the rule). The ratio thus becomes 222 to 63 (approx. 3.5 to 1). There's also the numbers for the Auxiliary Bunkers who don't last very long once they are engaged but also don't take return fire when it's their turn to attack.

Figure 2 is the cashflow report. Seeing the total amount spent on repairs is shocking albeit not unexpected. The frightening thing about it is that it wasn't a few well remembered large and expensive instances but rather an unrelenting trickle of one or two points at single-digit cost. And it was necessary: if in contact with the enemy or after moving you can't repair more than two points of health; if you don't repair that single damage now you might have to withdraw from the line (assuming you can) leaving a gap that you probably don't have a reserve unit to cover.

Figure 2 - Cashflow

Figure 3 is a look behind the curtains. The Fog of War is lifted during the deployment phase to show the Big Bad Wolf. There's twenty-one Infantry, eight Tank and six Artillery units, each and every one over-strength at thirteen health. There will be at least six Infantry, four Tank and two Artillery as reinforcements on Turn 12 and the four Marines on Turns 7 and 15 (two each). We are able to field nine (ten) Infantry, one Tank and three AA/AT units plus the four (five) Philippino Recruits. The Japanese start with one fighter and one tactical bomber and are reinforced with one strategic bomber where we are deprived of any aircraft. We do have two PT Boats.

Figure 3 - JP units at deployment phase

Figure 4 is another look behind the curtains. Replicating Figure 3 at Turn 24 would be too big and heavy (and there's a lot of empty space) so this is an edited and annotated Strategic Map. The biggest improvement over the original is the strength of the unit (units at 13-strength don't get a plate). You might catch on but I'll state it clearly: Heavy Infantry has a black vertical stripe on the right of the icon, Infantry '42 has a red square on the top left, the surviving Engineer gets a label and plain Infantry '41 is just plain.

Figure 4 - JP units at end of Turn 24

Figure 5 is a summary of Figures 3 and 4 in number format, with the little extra information on the JP reinforcements and a comparison with our reported damage/kills inflicted.

Figure 5 - JP units summary

After introducing the latter three figures I can now present an evaluation of the AI's performance on this scenario.

My biggest worry is always the JP artillery because I don't have a counter for it. I can't afford artillery of my own and even if I could I don't out-range theirs. I can't break through the infantry and tanks to attack it from the ground. I don't have the airpower to damage it, let alone destroy it.

I don't know if it is by design or if the AI can't handle destroyed bridges or even if I retreated too far too fast but the JP artillery moved almost timidly. Notice that the ones on the West side of the map don't even leave what was originally JP-held territory.

The JP infantry and tanks don't all become active at the start. IIRC on each front only five infantry and one or two tanks participate on the initial attacks. Most do eventually start to move with the notable exceptions of the two Chi-Ha tanks by the airfields and the '42 infantry by the 100mm artillery. I think that some of the infantries from the initial deployment are tasked with garrison duty and the ones that arrive on Turn 12 have too much ground to cover to actually be relevant.

I don't mean to imply that this mission is a cakewalk, the JP infantry and tanks are quite aggressive at times while at others they seem to hesitate. There's also the possibility that I'm not giving enough credit to my choice of defensive terrain or to the experience levels that my units have attained. Here's two examples that come to mind of things going in unexpected ways: East Sector, Abucay line, 1/B Coy takes the spot of the destroyed bunker, is reduced to 2-strength by three JP Infantries and retreats with negligible efficiency; West Sector, Bagac line, PH/B Coy resists all attacks for virtually 10 turns for minimal casualties (14 engagements, 10 casualties total, 10 damages inflicted in return fire because it never initiated combat) and only falls on the 25th turn when it is isolated (and it really doesn't matter anymore). The difference isn't in any intrinsic quality of the units but rather on circumstance: 1/B Coy is on open terrain with no entrenchment and is attacked by units at at least full strength and good efficiency; PH/B Coy is fully entrenched in a jungle and is attacked usually once a turn usually by damaged units usually with lowered efficiency from either previous combat or crossing jungle tiles.

The end result doesn't substantiate it but this scenario was a harrowing experience where I kept expecting all h*ll to break loose. Some scenarios are a delight to replay again and again. This one definitely isn't.

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Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 9

Wrapping up

The scenario ended abruptly after the JP AI's actions on Turn 25 i.e. I didn't get to play *my* Turn 25. Not that it really mattered but it still came as a surprise and I don't get to have the final XP/Casualties/Damage/Kills data for the auxiliary units.

The report on the previous post is thus the final word on the West Sector... or not quite: the JP destroyed both the AA/AT gun and PH/B Coy. I won't bother with images of the JP AI's turn other than the ones already included on the PT Boat's report.

Figure 1 is from Turn 22 and documents artillery fire I have alluded to. The artillery piece on the left spent some time firing on Bagac/East bunker while the one on the right busied itself on the Fortress Bty.

Figure 1 - Late stage artillery

Figure 2 is from Turn 23 and I didn't have the heart to fix it. First what is right: the artillery pieces insert; the ground attacks on the Fortress Bty; the JP Infantry's attack on 1/B Coy at Orion; and the Fortress Bty's assistance on the defense of the West Sector. Thus what's wrong? The background image is from the start of my turn, the unit labels are from the end of the turn. The Limay bridge was blown in this turn so Eng/C Coy's label should be at Limay proper.

Figure 2 - Limay, Turn 23

Figures 3 and 4 are the "Outcome Event: Victory" and "Turn Overview" pop-ups.

Figure 3 - Victory

Figure 4 - Final Turn Overview

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Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 8

West Sector, Bagac, January 30th-February 1st, 1942 (turns 22-24)

Picking up where we left off, the damaged JP Marine is left at 1-strength by the combined efforts of Paysawan bunker and Eng/B Coy. X/B Coy is limping across the river. The PH units that were part of the reception committee are now deploying to the river banks to delay the Japanese. If I can extricate my core units beyond Paysawan they won't stop before Mariveles (Figure 1).

Figure 1 - 2nd wave JP Marines ashore at Paysawan

Slightly North of the JP Marines, another JP Infantry left its over-strength on the outskirts of Bagac courtesy of 1/A Coy. The Heavy Infantry moved onto the jungle road to attack PH/B Coy who resists both that attack and the assault from a Regular to its North. Counter-attacking any of these units is not worth the inevitable casualties but the PH Recruits in this favorable terrain and fully entrenched have proven remarkably resilient. It is true that so far the JP that attacked them were understrength and somewhat disorganized.

The Ha-Go tank decided that attacking Bagac/East bunker might be a better option but still took minor damage. It was destroyed when my turn activated but I don't remember if it was Bagac/East or the AA/AT Bty.

If I'm reading the inserts correctly both JP aircraft decided to bombard the retreating X/B Coy, either before or after the damaged JP Marine tried and failed to move them from their position (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Bagac, Turn 22

Turn 23 and 1/A Coy is attacked at Bagac by the same Regular and again inflicts 3 casualties. The Heavy Infantry also attacks PH/B Coy and this tame takes one casualty. The Infantry that had attacked PH/B Coy the previous turn combines with an Heavy Infantry from the East Sector and the Hamaki strategic bomber to destroy Bagac/East bunker. The 1-strength JP Marines move North to clear the path for their comrades to, in conjunction with the B5N2 tactical, attack X/B Coy who retreats along the river (they will move onto the river's source on the mountain).

When it was my turn Paysawan bunker fired on the full-strength JP Marine for two casualties and USMC/B Coy put the last survivors of the other JP Marine unit out of their misery and moved into their location (Figure 3).

Figure 3 - Bagac, Turn 23

Turn 24 and again 1/A Coy is attacked at Bagac, this time by an Engineer that removes most (if not all) the entrenchment it still had. The Regular had moved into the jungle that USMC/B Coy had vacated and proceeded to attack the AA/AT Gun in conjunction with another Regular and the Hamaki strategic bomber. The Heavy Infantry continues its attack on PH/B Coy who is starting to buckle. USMC/B Coy attacks the surviving JP Marine unit and inflicts 3 casualties. On the Bagac-Paysawan road Eng/B Coy moves into the bridge clearing the path for X/D (Heavy) Coy to move into a covering position. This in turn leaves Paysawan clear for 1/A Coy's withdrawal. This kind of juggling is what I imagine drives logistics officers to an early grave (Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Retreating to Paysawan

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Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 7

West Sector, Bagac, January 23-29, 1942 (turns 15-21)

After reporting on the activities of the PT Boat force, it is now time to shed light on what was happening on land.

On Turn 15 the Bagac/West bunker fell after keeping the JP busy for at least four turns (insert). This has given time to the US/PH force to form a line between Bagac (a "town") and Bagac/East bunker and achieve a modicum of entrenchment on jungle or hilly terrain. A 9-strength JP Infantry stopped on the road in front of 1/A and USMC/B Coy and attacked either one taking 4 casualties. It was then attacked by 1/A Coy suffering 3 more casualties and retreating into the FoW. This was the first engagement on the Bagac defensive line and is representative of what will happen until the end of the mission. The JP are impaired by traffic jams along the road forcing some units to advance along the jungle or the hilly terrain beyond it (Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Bagac, Turn 15

Moving forward to Turn 20 a 10-strength JP Infantry attacks 1/A Coy and takes losses, is then attacked by 1/A Coy for more losses and retreats into the jungle. A very damaged and disorganized JP Infantry attacks PH/B Coy (which had been or will be bombed by the JP B5N2 tactical) and loses one of its remaining 2-strength.  A JP Ha-Go attacks X/B Coy (which had been or will be bombed by the JP Hamaki strategic bomber) unaware of X/A AA/AT Bty in support and takes 5 casualties. It will be attacked by Bagac/East (who has been under artillery fire from the East) for no discernible damage. The first JP unit from the 2nd wave to land is an hapless Type 94 37mm Anti-Tank gun which gets destroyed by the combined efforts of Paysawan bunker, X/D (Heavy) Coy and Eng/B Coy. With the arrival of a strategic bomber for which I have no counter the JP start to inflict meaningful damage to the Bagac line (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Bagac, Turn 20

On the next turn the JP Heavy Infantry attacking 1/A Coy at Bagac isn't quite as pre-damaged or disorganized and counter-attacking it isn't worthwhile. The B5N2 tactical moved its sights to Bagac/East but the Hamaki strategic keeps hammering X/B Coy. The JP Ha-Go is still unaware of the anti-tank support and takes 5 more casualties. A JP Marine is the second unit to land and it is quickly reduced to half-strength, not as painlessly as the AT gun before it (Figure 3).

Figure 3 - Bagac, Turn 21

The JP second wave of landings is more troubling than the first. For one they declined to take advantage of the nice beach where they had a welcoming party to greet them. Instead they chose a location where they impede the orderly withdrawal of the Bagac line which is increasingly looking necessary. That makes their destruction a priority that is likely to cause me casualties that I'm loathe to take and hardly able to afford. The US$50 awarded from holding all Primary VPs for 20 turns was very timely but it will only stretch so far.

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Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 6

West Sector, JP Marines and US PT Boats, January 15-30, 1942 (turns 7-22)

After reporting on the events at the East Sector up to essentially the end of the scenario, it is now time to return to the East Sector at a much earlier stage. It is January 15th, 1942 (Turn 7), the Morong line is being evacuated, troops are moving down the road to take positions on the Bagac area and the PT Boats patrolling the coast spot a small convoy of two Troop Transports carrying JP Marines plus one Supply Ship (Figure 1).

Figure 1 - JP transports, 1st wave

The JP ships deployed on the western map edge and advanced three tiles. The PT Boats move to intercept, take positions in front of the Supply Ship and launch torpedoes inflicting five points of damage (green-border inserts).

PT Boats are armed with torpedoes but these have a protracted reload (the torpedo counter is shown on the top left corner of Figure 1) during which they can only use small caliber weapons (machine-guns). The blue-border insert is the combat prediction for torpedoes against the Supply Ship on Turn 7. There's also a greyed-out prediction for torpedoes against one of the Transports and greyed-out predictions for small caliber fire against both the Supply Ship and a Transport. The machine-gun predictions are somewhat misleading as each attack will do damage on the 100-scale, just not enough to register on the displayed 10-scale strength plate. When both PT Boats attack the same target the second attack will usually show as a 1-strength casualty.

The JP ship's AI appears to have blinders and only knows one action: move straight forward. This works nicely when there aren't obstructions as in the case of the southernmost transport which reaches the shore in two turns. Rather than going around, the other transport pushes forward and is delayed by the auxiliary PT Boat's ZoC (truth be told, it would only reach the shore in the same three turns but would have more flexibility on the third). Both of the transports' paths are represented by the black arrows.

On Turn 8 the Supply Ship also pushes through into the auxiliary PT Boat's ZoC (its path is marked by red arrows). This leaves the auxiliary PT Boat with no favorable interception path so it stays in place while the core PT Boat moves into gun range (golden arrows). Both PT Boats fire their guns and inflict a combined single point of damage. They will do so every turn until the Supply Ship is sunk.

On Turn 9 the Supply Ship becomes aware that it does have a rudder and manages to bypass the PT Boat's ZoC. That will be the last time as both PT Boats will skillfully maneuver and place themselves once more in front of the Supply Ship by Turn 11. From then on the Supply Ship gives up and stays in the same place until it is sunk on Turn 15.

The PT Boats' radio sets must have been malfunctioning because HQ only sends a warning of the JP convoy when the first Troop Transport reaches the shore (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - HQ warning

As this is not a blind playthrough I was already quite prepared (Figure 3, Turn 13). PH/E Coy (reinforcement from Turn 6) has been entrenching at Agloloma to deny it as a supply source. PH/C Coy has moved all the way from the Abucay line (it was the one on the left flank) through Bagac. PH/A and X/A Coy retreated from the Morong line. X/D Coy has also moved up from Mariveles. These dispositions weren't just for the benefit of these pesky JP Marines, they are also part of the Paysawan defensive line.

Figure 3 - Reception committee

The JP Marines in Figure 3 have been ashore for 3 and 4 turns (I don't know which is which and I don't care to go check). They have been without supplies for the entire time and have been probing my defenses for minimal casualties on either side but they have been squandering what little efficiency they possess. I have been able to make good on whatever repairs were needed while they couldn't and have been playing a waiting game because I can.

Turn 14 (Figure 4) and the waiting game is over. The JP Marine in the jungle/river takes one casualty while attacking PH/A Coy and inflicting two casualties which will be immediately replenished. When my turn comes X/D Coy hits the Marine on the beach and inflicts 4 casualties. X/A Coy attacks the Marine on the jungle/river for 2 casualties and PH/C Coy follows suit for another 2 casualties. The first wave of JP Marines has exhausted their efficiency and lost half of their strength. Mopping-up will be easy and painless.

Figure 4 - Party starts

There is a second wave of JP Marines (two Marines and one Anti-Tank Gun) that  enter the map on Turn 15 and while expected I was slightly surprised. After my core PT Boat delivers the final blow on the (1st) Supply Ship I was exploring alternatives for the auxiliary PT Boat. As the map scrolled I spotted four radar blips on the left side of the screen. The auxiliary PT Boat was moved from the greyed-out location close to where the 1st Supply Ship blows up to the one with the Turn 16 plate and revealed the four ships along the map's edge (Figure 5).

Figure 5 - JP transports, 2nd wave

I tried to keep the image as uncluttered as I could. There's the 1st Supply Ship destruction towards the center-right. There's the torpedo damage on Turn 16 center-left and the final fireball on Turn 22. It helps that the 2nd Supply Ship stayed in the same place throughout. The Troop Transports locations are color-coded, the date plates serve as a legend and are placed where the ship closest to the shore was at the time. If you're curious the first unit to land is the Anti-Tank gun and its path isn't difficult to deduce.

I took the opportunity to add the JP aircraft attacks on the PT Boats onto this image. I feel they are self-explanatory other than that both PT Boats were providing anti-air support to each other in all but the Turn 25 attacks.

I trust this post isn't already too long that I will tax your patience with my reasoning for the choice of target.

Having played this scenario before I'm well aware that there will be two waves of JP ships. I'm also well aware of the long reload time of the PT Boat's torpedoes. It is not a difficult estimation that I can only destroy two ships (or equivalent damage over more ships) in the turns remaining. It is also quite clear that I can't block the path of all (or even most) ships. Thus some ships will eventually reach the shore. If the units that land are able to draw supply they will be able to repair any damage they took while aboard their transport i.e. my attacks would be wasted. If I destroy the Supply Ships and keep the Marines away from a supply source they will eventually run out of efficiency and become easy kills.

This being said and in hindsight it might well pay off to torpedo both of the second wave Marines and nibble away at the second Supply Ship while blocking its path to the shore.

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Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 5

East Sector, Pilar and Orion, January 23-29, 1942 (turns 15-21)

Withdrawing from the Pilar line towards the Orion line proves to be more protracted than anticipated. Figure 1 depicts the situation at the end of Turn 15 and once again needs some clarification.

Figure 1 - Pilar, Turn 15

Again left to right: Cav/C Sqdn destroys an Ha-Go on a river tile; Pilar bunker softens up an Infantry unit that 1/C Coy will send scurrying into the FoW; the Fortress Bty bombards another Infantry unit that took the Secondary VP and which in turn will become the first target for the captured Ha-Go who forces it to retreat across the river. Cav/C Sqdn and 1/C Coy take one point of damage each.

As there's too many units trying to cross the river at the Orion bridge and not enough room on the other side 1/D Coy will ford the river by the Fortress Bty. It spent Turn 14 in the position now occupied by 1/C Coy where it took some damage which is being repaired on the road.

The JP attacks in Turn 16 target both of the light tanks. Cav/C Sqdn is bombarded by artillery and hit by an Ha-Go tank. Our Ha-Go tank barely survives after being attacked by two Infantry units, one Engineer and the returning B5N2 tactical bomber (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Pilar, Turn 16

On turn 18 the Fortress Bty scores its tenth damage point and Commander Pete Simpson joins our roster. As he seems to be wearing a Marine uniform he will take command of USMC/B Coy (Figure 3).

Figure 3 - Pete Simpson

Turn 21 is upon us and the Fortress Bty is now in range of JP artillery (Figure 4). The situation depicted is towards the start of the JP turn. The Heavy Infantry on the river will attack the Fortress as will an heavily damaged Infantry unit coming out of the FoW (the insert with a 2-strength unit after suffering one damage).

Figure 4 - Orion, JP Turn 21

No discernible damage is apparent on either the Fortress or the Heavy Infantry. The Type 97 Chi-Ha tank and the Engineer attempting to ford the river however pay dearly for their boldness. Their misery will be further compounded in the player's turn (Figure 5). The Fortress Bty doesn't bother with the enemy units assaulting it preferring to bolster the odds for friendly units. Those friendly units have decided that the Orion line is now untenable and are in the process of retreating to the Limay line. Limay is a Primary Victory Point and the JP are still two river crossings away.

Figure 5 - US/PH Turn 21

Holding all Primary VPs for 20 turns grants the player PH$20 and US$50 as per the "Buying Time" event (Figure 6). This is much welcomed by the US branch as it was down to US$45.

Figure 6 - Secondary objective reward

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Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 4

East Sector, Pilar, January 17-22, 1942 (turns 9-14)

Turning our focus back to the East sector, the US/PH forces crossed the river in good order and took their positions on a new defensive line.

As they start to settle the vanguard of the JP forces in the form of two 9-strength Infantries attempt to ford the river and attack 1/D and 1/C Coy at Pilar itself. They suffer 5 and 4 damage respectively (inserts with green borders) and each will take a further 3 damage from the vigorous US counterattack and retreat into the FoW.

In the process 1/C Coy took 3 damage and I realize that for whatever reason the Pilar bunker did not engage the closest Infantry prior to 1/C Coy's attack, that might have spared some casualties to our unit.

The Fortress Battery fires on a (heavily damaged) Infantry occupying the airfield without discernible damage other than a 20/100 drop in efficiency.

The B5N2 tactical bomber returned after repairs and set its sights on 1/C Coy. Defensive fire from both AA Bty is slight but not negligible and will be further compounded when both units really tune in their aim. The JP bomber is once again in need of major repairs (Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Pilar, Turn 9

Three turns later and the defense again merits a pictorial report. Figure 2 is rather busy so I'll attempt to unpack it.

Figure 2 - Pilar, Turn 12

From left to right the Fortress Battery targets a JP Infantry at 7-strength that ended its turn on the river North of Cav/C Sqdn and inflicts 2 damage. Cav/C Sqdn follows suit expecting to destroy the pesky JP but they retreat into the FoW with 1-strength remaining.

Pilar bunker targets the 6-strength Heavy Infantry to its North and inflicts the predicted single casualty. 1/C Coy follows suit inflicting the predicted 3-damage and prompting the Heavy Infantry to retreat onto the airfield.

At Pilar VP proper 1/D Coy targets the 5-strength JP Type 95 Ha-Go to its North and inflicts 2 damage and 3/10 efficiency loss causing it to retreat. Our unit takes one point of damage in return.

The vignettes on the right refer to the JP turn preceding the situation in Figure 2. From top to bottom: the Type 95 Ha-Go attacked 1/D Coy that had 14th "Punaluu" in support, not a wise course of action; the Engineer also attacked 1/D Coy and lost 4 out of its 5-strength; the Heavy Infantry attacked 1/C Coy and takes 2 damage; two Infantries attack PH/D Coy and take 2 damage each (at this point PH/D Coy and Cav/C Sqdn's positions were reversed and both were deeply entrenched). The last vignette is deceptive: the JP Infantry attacked at 2-strength and took 2 damage i.e. it was destroyed; the screenshot must have been taken before the death animation triggered.

One and a half turns later (because Figure 3 depicts the situation at the start of the US/PH turn) and a pictorial report is indeed in order.

Figure 3 - Pilar, Turn 14

On the left flank the defenders have mostly disengaged. Cav/C Sqdn is providing cover for the withdrawal as it has plenty of movement and will dispatch the 1-strength Infantry to its North.

On the right flank the US units are showing the strain of combat and the JP units across the river are fresh and fully over-strength (these are units that haven't been engaged yet as the JP doesn't appear to be able to repair above 10-strength).

1/B Coy replaced 1/D Coy at Pilar proper in the previous turn and as there were two JP tanks in position to attack 5th "Hickam" and 14th "Punaluu" took supporting positions in Anti-Tank mode. Both JP tanks did attack to spectacular outcomes as both disappeared in fiery balls of fuel and debris. The full-strength Infantry that followed lost its over-strength but 1/C Coy was left at little more than half-strength.

On the 14th turn I decided to take a look at the blown bridges and check if the AI was set to build pontoon bridges. It's more complicated than that because I had to juggle 2-D and 3-D and FoW-enabled and FoW disabled save files so I had to defer the doing to Turn 15. So Turn 15 starts normally in 2-D, I exit to Menu, change the display options to 3-D and load the "auto-save"... and after closing the Turn Overview the "Captured Equipment" event is triggered. I don't know if my copy of OOB or of the US Pacific campaign is somehow corrupted but I had been worrying about the delay in this event as in Mr. Abernethy's playthrough it happened as early as Turn 10 (Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Recycling

As the Aircraft and Armament Evaluation Establishment is located half a planet away, has a substantially different technical expertise and belongs to a different nation, the understrength Type 95 Ha-Go light tank is assigned to the Foreign Equipment and Ammunition Evaluation Establishment (Figure 5). It will come in handy albeit rather briefly but that will have to wait until the next post as this one's image weight budget is nearly exhausted.

Figure 5 - FEAEE report

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Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 3

West Sector, Morong, January 9-14, 1942 (turns 1-6)

Meanwhile at the Morong line the pace was not as hectic. Only one JP Infantry was in position to attack in the first turn and they chose to target USMC/B Coy. That took care of their over-strength (Figure 1, main) and in the player's turn Mabayo bunker (the village across the river, I hadn't yet visited Google Maps and wasn't going to succumb to my inner 12-year-old) softened them before the Marine's attack (Figure 1, inserts). The auxiliary A Bty was already deployed in Anti-Tank mode and will move further West to support 1/A and X/B Coy against the JP Ha-Go on the far bank.

Figure 1 - Morong line, Turn 1

On Turn 2 the JP make a stronger attack but are held at the river. Other than the Ha-Go taking damages worth over a third of its strength (attacking infantry on a jungle that is supported by an Anti-Tank gun) casualties are slight all around. USMC/B Coy's single casualty is replaced and Eng/B Coy is still trying to assist 1/A Coy and the Marines to entrench (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Morong line, Turn 2

The JP kept pushing and prodding and taking more losses than they could inflict until Turn 6 when their artillery came into range. PH/A Coy had been left unmolested throughout and started slowly retreating the turn before. 1/A Coy and the Marines' casualties are slight and (mostly) replenish-able in one turn but it is time to leave. Morong has held for the mandatory five turns (Figure 3).

Figure 3 - Morong line, Turn 6

In Turn 2 the reward for the San Fernando defense became available in the form of US$50 and 3 Land CPs (Figure 4). At this time I had no gap that needed plugging so I didn't deploy any unit: the likely candidate would be USMC/A Coy, I wasn't comfortable deploying any of the artillery batteries where JP aircraft could attack them and I feel I have all the AA/AT units I will ever need during the campaign.

Figure 4 - San Fernando defense reward

In Turn 6 it was time for the Secondary VPs reward (Figure 5): US$20, one PH Recruits (PH/E Coy) and one US Heavy Infantry (X/D Coy, with organic Studebaker truck transport), both deployed at Mariveles (Figure 6).

Figure 5 - Secondary objective reward

Figure 6 - Reinforcements arrive at Mariveles

I'll take this opportunity to introduce two unit types that become available as I still have the image weight "budget" in this post. These are upgrades for the US Infantry and the P40 Warhawk and I will take advantage of the former to bolster my units (Figure 7).

Figure 7 - New unit types available

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Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 2

East Sector, Abucay, January 9-13, 1942 (turns 1-5)

I deployed almost all of my units on the Abucay line as it is the widest and has the worst terrain. Both 5th "Hickam" and 14th "Punaluu" were deployed in Anti-Tank configuration and it paid off as the tanks attacking bunker Abucay/East took a combined nine points of damage. It didn't save the bunker, though and its loss triggers the "Defense in depth" event (Figure 3) marking the first US/PH casualty.

At the West(left) flank of the line the Japanese attacks were not as focused so damage was lighter and more spread out, including an ineffective mortar barrage on 1/B Coy.

Figure 1 also includes part of the Allied actions in Turn 1: bunker Abucay/West inflicts two points of damage on one of the JP infantries; the combat predictions for both PH Recruits clearly indicate that these units do not belong on this defensive line and they will retreat.

Figure 1 - Abucay, JP Turn 1

The bulk of the Allied actions in Turn 1 are depicted in Figure 2. 1/B Coy moves to plug the gap left by the loss of the bunker but has no favorable attacks, 1/D Coy replaces PH/D Coy on the river bank and forces the JP Ha-Go to retreat after taking heavy losses and Cav/C Sqdn punishes the JP Infantry on the river.

Figure 2 - Abucay, US/PH Turn 1

PH/C Coy can still be seen retreating at the bottom edge, No. 1 IC and Eng/C Coy have taken positions on the bridges to conduct demolition duty.

Figure 3 - HQ advice

The Japanese continued their attack in Turns 2 and 3. 1/B Coy was forced to retreat with very heavy losses. 5th "Hickam" and 14th "Punaluu" Bty reverted to AA mode (the JP tanks retreated far enough that they couldn't attack) in time to greet a JP B5N2 tactical bomber who decided to target 14th "Punaluu". Cav/C Sqdn and 1/D Coy keep hitting JP units on the river for good effect (Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Abucay, US/PH Turn 3

In Turn 4 the JP artillery makes an entrance and signals that the river bank is no longer a valid defensive position. Cav/C Sqdn also takes losses from a combined JP infantries attack. A JP fighter (Ki-43 Hayabusa) replaces the bomber and strafes 14th "Punaluu" for no discernible damage (Figure 5).

Figure 5 - Abucay, JP Turn 4

Abucay has held for the mandatory five turns and it is time to retreat to the Pilar line. With only one bridge and road (which is of the "dirt" variety; in the previous mission we were spoiled by an abundance of "hard" roads) this is not a trivial exercise for the amount of slower moving units. Eng/C Coy has laid a minefield to guard the flank of the unit that will protect them when they reoccupy the bridge for demolition (Figure 6).

Figure 6 - Abucay, Turn 6

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Order of Battle: World War II, U.S. Pacific, Mission 3: Battle of Bataan, Part 1

Greetings.

Welcome to my AAR of "Battle of Bataan", the third scenario/mission of the U.S. Pacific campaign.

As discussed previously I purchased the "Magnetron Radar" and "Block Construction" specialisations. You may recall that I stated they would be irrelevant for this scenario as it is a land battle. That is mostly true but I had forgotten that the designers gift the U.S. forces two PT Boats (one core, one auxiliary). The radar range isn't critical but it will help a bit (Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Campaign screen, briefing

The teaser and briefing messages don't stress enough how difficult a situation the U.S. and Philippino forces found themselves in 1942. When played carefully the scenario won't become a train wreck because that would discourage the player but there's definitely the potential for a catastrophe.

We as the player are tasked to hold at least one of four Primary Victory Points for the whole 25 turns of the scenario.

If we can hold all four for the first 20 turns additional resources will become available (US$50 and PH$20).

Likewise if we can hold on to all Secondary VPs for 5 turns we'll be granted US$20, one U.S. Heavy Infantry (motorised) and one PH Recruit, both deployed at Mariveles.

Finally if we can inflict ten points of damage with the Fortress Battery a (land) Commander will join our roster.

In order to accomplish these objectives we are assigned four PH Recruits, two U.S. Infantry, one AA/AT gun, two PT Boats, nine Bunkers and 30 Land Command Points (US core only). Moneywise the PH branch starts with PH$50 and the US branch starts with US$453 but neither will have a turn income.

What all this means is that I deployed exactly the same core units as participated in the previous scenario: all of the 1st Btn (three regular and one heavy infantry), USMC/B Coy, Cav/C Sqdn, Eng/B and C Coy, No. 1 IC and 5th "Hickam" and 14th "Punaluu" AA/AT Bty. At least 1/B and 1/D Coy had to take minor repairs but those were the only deployment expenditures. This is going to be a very parsimonious scenario.

Time to look at the (strategic) map (Figure 2). It depicts Bataan peninsula with Manila Bay to the East and the South China Sea to the West. There's two imposing blobs of mountain terrain that as stated in the briefing will restrict movement and the whole western half of the peninsula is a contiguous mass of hill terrain with two large strips of jungle close to the shore. The eastern shore is mostly open terrain. As in the previous scenario there's a network of rivers that couldn't be more propitious for a defensive battle if it had been designed that way.  Most of the rivers are highlighted by my planned consecutive defensive lines and all bridges will be blown as my forces retreat behind the river lines (some bridges are already destroyed as per the red crosses on the map).

Figure 2 - Strategic Map

The four Primary VPs (Mariveles, Cabcaben, Lamao and Limay) can be found on the southeast and holding all of them for 20 turns (even 25) won't be particularly taxing.

Holding all Secondary VPs (all other named places, highlighted in white; also the underscored nameplates indicate "town" terrain, those not underscored are "villages") is a more tenuous proposition: Abucay in the East and Moron/Eman Point in the West are very much vulnerable (side note, Google Maps states that the location is called Morong; either someone's inner 12-yr-old at the Artistocrats got the better of him/herself or the inhabitants got tired of being made fun of and arranged a baptism).

I don't place much faith on the first defensive line as my units haven't had the time to entrench and the Abucay line is placed in atrocious terrain for defense.

The Eman Point line is also a "maybe" line: as the Abucay line falls quickly it becomes easily cut off.

I didn't place much trust in the Bagac (half)line as it lacks a river, it will prove surprisingly resilient. The Pilar (half)line has problems: Pilar itself is vulnerable to unavoidable flanking attacks and quickly becomes untenable.

The Fortress Battery is located about halfway in the Bagac-Orion line (the black dot). Its range (five tiles) is depicted by a thin black line.

The PT Boats are pre-deployed at Paysawan and Mariveles. Their presence in this scenario is a clear message from the designers to the players that some naval action will take place. We handled a couple OPFOR PT Boats and Gunboats in the "Fleet Command" tutorial scenario and they aren't "serious" fleet weapon platforms. As we can trust the designers not to hand us lambs for an inevitable slaughter (we can, can't we?!) our PT Boats won't meet an unsurmountable opposition. For that reason I assigned Admiral P. Clark to my core PT Boat for added Anti-Air capabilities.

I've had an interest in military history for some fifty years now and I've known about the plight of the Bataan and Corregidor defenders for most of those fifty years. Alas it was a shallow acquaintance and mostly name recognition.

I must admit that it was only about a month ago (September 2024) that I had the curiosity to go look at a real life map of the Bataan peninsula (courtesy of Google Maps) and read the article on the Battle  of Bataan on Wikipedia.

I remember oh so many years ago reading that the mark of a good wargame is to motivate the player(s) to go look at the actual history. In my case OOB has become a good wargame: it troubled me that being given two PT Boats they should both go towards the western edge of the map.

Spoilers: in the actual battle the Japanese conducted some landings on the western shore of the peninsula and the PT Boats are the designer's way to help the player deal with that. In any case I am now aware that if the Japanese had been able to conduct landings on the eastern shore of the peninsula the U.S./Philippino forces would have bigger issues beyond just handling said landings as it would mean that the Japanese had somehow neutralized Corregidor and could roam freely inside Manila Bay.

Prime landing locations (beaches) are indicated by a yellow line along the shore. Beaches are also important because they are more costly to traverse and thus impact the relocation of my units from one defensive line to the next.

Beaches and their impact on movement provide a convenient segway to Figure 3. It depicts the movement alternatives for the AA/AT unit during the first turn. Instinctively it shouldn't be able to move so nimbly, is has no organic transport and its "chassis" is of the "towed" persuasion. Somehow the designers grant "towed" units with the ability to move into/through any terrain (other than mountains) at one movement point per tile... and then granted two movement points to the majority of towed units. So far no infantry unit we have come across in this playthrough has the ability to traverse two (roadless) jungle tiles in the same turn.

Figure 3 - "Tow" chassis movement

The table in Figure 4 contains movement costs from the "standard" chassis.csv file (as opposed to "wet", "arid" and "winter") for some terrains and chassis. Our M3 Stuart and the JP Type 95 Ha-Go share the "track light", the JP Type 97 Chi-Ha is of the "track" variety.

Figure 4 - Movement costs

Just in case it is a deal breaker for whether this AAR is worth your time, I'll state it here and now. I am documenting the AI side of things by lifting the FoW at the end of each of my turns i.e. after finishing my moves and combats. That means that I "quick save", console command "#orbitalcommand", take as many screenshots I deem necessary and reload the "quick save" to restore the Fog-of-War. That inevitably has an impact on my situational awareness but I don't think I took any action during the playthrough of this scenario that I wouldn't take anyway.

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