Part 23: Guadalcanal: October 18, 1942

We've definitely gained a good amount of control over this island, but it's been many days of fighting and we're only making slow progress pushing the Japanese back.!

Allied Turn 6 (USA): October 18, 1942
Fair, Dry


With our line in danger of being broken again by those tanks, we press the attack. But the Japanese HQ withstands our assault.


The enemy has retreated deep into the jungle, and the Fijians lead the way to attack them.


The western advance halts at the Mataniko River. The Japanese are very dug in on the other side.


The Naval battle is raging on. The Northampton has a damaged power plant and having trouble keeping its speed. Most of the enemy ships are destroyers, with a few light cruisers that are a bit harder to tangle with. The torpedo bombers have finally arrived from the Yorktown to even things out.


Axis Turn 6 (Japan): October 18, 1942
Fair, Dry


The Japanese ships retreat rather than risk being sunk by carrier attacks.


Some infantry come down the jungle path and try to dislodge our tanks. They are unsuccessful.


Allied Turn 7 (USA): November 1, 1942
Rain, Dry NIGHT


The Japanese used the cover of darkness and rain to pull back and defend closer to the shore.


We are not content to merely occupy their headquarters; we instead chase them down before their forces can regroup.


With the Fijians guiding them, the Seabees sneak up on the enemy and knock out the artillery guns.


Axis Turn 7 (Japan): November 1, 1942
Rain, Dry NIGHT


There are still a lot of soldiers in the jungle; we have some scouts holding the line, but if this force is larger, our flank is in trouble.


It turns out there are more forces, but luckily they are farther from the road than we feared. It's still going to be a pain to clear this jungle.


Our push eastward has put us at risk, as the lines here are rather confused.


Allied Turn 8 (USA): November 15, 1942
Cloudy, Dry


The light enemy tanks are able to slip away from us through the bamboo forests.


Paramarines drop right near Mount Austen. The defenses look formidable.


In the roadless hilly area, our tanks have a bit of trouble moving southward.


Carrier-based planes win the naval battle as they sink a Katori-class cruiser.


Axis Turn 8 (Japan): November 15, 1942
Cloudy, Dry


Although our Engineers are tired out from combat, they are able to withstand an attack on them.


With the battle at sea going against them, the Japanese ships attempt to sink at least one ship, and concentrate their fire on the New Orleans.


Allied Turn 9 (USA): November 29, 1942
Cloudy, Dry


We're pushing the enemy back to the shoreline on the eastern side.


One of our tanks has crossed the Mataniko River, but we need the Bridging Engineers to arrive soon.


The Paramarines drive off the enemy pack artillery. They'll need the forces in the jungle to help them in order to really take the objectives.


At sea, the battle's not quite over, but even our fighters are scoring hits now.


Axis Turn 9 (Japan): November 29, 1942
Cloudy, Dry


The Japanese planes continue to harass our forces.


Their ground troops are a lot stronger, but we're able to hold them off.


The jungles are just as bloody as ever.

It looks like this won't be over by Christmas. The battle to take this island might not even be over by then. It's gonna be a long time before we get home.




M3A1 Medium Tank 'Lee'
PG Name: M3a1 Lee Type: Tank
Effective Date: 5/42
Value:20 Cost:240 Spot:4 Move:7 MM:Track Trans:Naval Fuel: 35
Init:7 SA:11 HA:11 AA:0 NA:1 GD:11 AD:3 CD:2 TT:Hard Ammo:7

Unlike the Stuart, the Medium Tank M3 was a completely new design rushed into production when Europe went to war. While its quirky offset gun mount and unusually high profile were somewhat obvious flaws, the British nevertheless were desperate for any armored vehicle they could get their hands on, and many were delivered via the Lend-Lease agreement. The M3A1 was little changed from the original model, and not that many of the update were produced. Very few of these tanks were used in combat in the Pacific.

In-game analysis: While hampered by a low fuel capacity, this model is a big jump from the M3 Stuart, and it carries the price tag to show it. It's still the only really good tank in the lineup for (almost all of) 1942. It's merely adequate once newer models start to come into production.


Northampton-class Cruiser (6 built)
PG Name: Northampton Type:Heavy Cruiser
Effective Date: 1/36
Value:8 Cost:144 Spot:2 Move:6 MM:Deep Naval Fuel: 78
Init:4 Range:3 SA:5 HA:8 AA:[8] NA:17 DA:0 GD:17 AD:8 TD:10 TT:N/A Ammo:40

These cruisers were made at the end of the 1920s, and thus were built according to the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty; they came in about 1000 tons below the limit, and so were a bit lighter than they had to be. They improved on a previous design (the Pensacola-class) by adding more armor but reducing the number of guns by 1. Near the start of the war their anti-aircraft armament was improved to make them more effective at protecting the bigger ships against air attacks. Four of them were sunk in the course of the war, and the other two were decommissioned once the war was over.

In-game Analysis: The American Heavy Cruisers are on the whole not the best. They tend to be decently powerful in combat but with a short range and only average speed for a cruiser. That makes them basically very strong escorts, although only against surface ships (or aircraft). This is simply the cheapest one, and possibly the best choice if you really need to fill that role?