[Iwo Jima] Hell on the beach - February 19, 1945 - February 23, 1945

Operation Detachment - Operation Detachment.
Pacific Theater By: jdrommel - Last update: 06/06/2010
Axis Player: Allied Player:
x8 x15 x10 x15
    first You play first


Historical Background:
On the 19th of February 1945, after a strong naval bombardment, the first assault wave, composed of units of 4th and 5th US Marine Divisions, landed on the large beach of Iwo Jima island. When the beach was full of US marines, Japanese opened fire suddenly from numerous hidden positions. Mount Suribachi which overlook the beach, was literally full of caves and bunkers joined by tunnels with machine-guns or antitank guns. US marines captured this old volcano after four days of fierce fighting .On the 23rd of February, the Star Spangled Banner flew on the top of Mount Suribachi, as immortalized by a famous picture. But the battle of Iwo Jima was only beginning...
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.

Briefing:
Allied player [USMC] : 10 command cards, you move first.
Axis player [Japan] : 8 command cards.

Conditions of Victory:
15 medals. Each hex with a medal token is a temporary medal objective for the Allied player.

Special Rules:
- Use "Japanese Imperial Army" rules (Nation 3).
- Use "US Marine Corps" rules (Nation 4).
- Use "Sniper" rules (Troop 10) for the two Axis single figure infantry units.
- Use "Mountains" rules for the Axis artillery on Mount Suribachi (Terrain 30).
- Japanese tanks are unable to move.
- Use "Combat Engineer" rules for US engineers (Troop 4).
- Use "Flame Thrower" rules for tanks units with badge (Troop 13).
- Use "Mobile Artillery" rules for Allied artillery units with badge (Troop 14).
- Use "Camouflage" rules for the units in caves or in the bunkers near the airfield (Action 16).
- Use "Caves on Hills" and "Caves on Mountains" rules (Terrain 52 & 53).
- Use "Cliffs and Sea Bluffs" for Mount Suribachi (Terrain 11).
- Use Air rules. Each player begins the game with one "Air Sortie" card. Axis player has two aircrafts on the airfield and the Allied player has three aircrafts on "Saratoga" carrier.

Scenario Bibliography:
- Atlas de la seconde guerre mondiale.
- Historia Magazine n°86 (1974) - Iwo Jima.
- Magazine Troupes d'élite - Iwo Jima, l'ile sanglante.
- Wikipedia - battle of Iwo Jima.
- Image satellite - Google Earth.

Warning:
Please note that this scenario was not approved by Richard Borg or Days of Wonder, so you have to check yourself about playability, potential gaming issues, etc.

Set-up Order
1
2
4
4
6
10
16
1
1
14
2
1
2
4
5
12
2
1
1
9
13