Deciding which battle in the Pacific War is the bloodiest all depends
on what numbers are being counted. Convincing arguments can be made for
Tarawa, Iwo, Okinawa, and Peleliu, and possibly others.
One island's name is not on the list.
But it could have been.
The Japanese fortress of
Rabaul had 60,000 soldiers, over 350 miles of tunnels, many airfields,
and heavy defenses of all kinds. It was the largest case of
the bypass and let them wither on the vine strategy the Allies
pursued in the Pacific. And in fact, MacArthur considered it too large
to bypass...too important to leave behind. He was overruled.
Operation Cartwheel was a miniaturized
version of Allied Grand Strategy in the Pacific a multi-pronged advance
aimed to make it difficult for the Japanese to focus their responses...
a jumping from air base to potential-next-airbase. (MacArthur called
it, Advancing the bomber line.) And, most of all, the novel
concept that not every Japanese stronghold needed to be attacked at all.
Some 13 different invasions or
operations were included, with flexibility for adjusting both timing
and target as the situation demanded. In fact, the original goal of
Cartwheel (called
“Elkton†when first
proposed) was the capture of Rabaul. After much discussion in the
highest levels (including the Combined Chiefs of Staff, Roosevelt, and
Churchill), and overruling MacCarther's own objections, Cartwheel's
final objectives shifted to the Admiralty Islands, bypassing Rabaul and
setting the stage for the invasion of the Philippines.
Operation Cartwheel eventually included
the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, the death of Yamamoto, Bougainville,
multiple parachute drops, a Japanese counter-invasion, and the
leap-frogging strategy up New Guinea. It involved the top commanders on
both sides, sometimes working in close harmony and sometimes at ends.
(The Japanese army and navy had conflicting concepts of how to defend
the area and each pursued their own ideas!)
Now, you can take charge of difficult
decisions. The Allied commander must juggle resources at the end of a
long, thin supply line. He must take risks to succeed. The Japanese
commander must counter Allied strikes...fighting to delay, while always
seeking the chance to strike back and make Allied risks more costly
than they can afford.
With 288 5/8" counters and a 22 x 34
inch map (each hex representing about 100 miles) Operation Cartwheel
integrates separate ground, naval, and air games. Logistics is key, as
it was at the time, but not a burden in game mechanics.
MacArthur also said, In war,
there is no substitute for victory. In Operation Cartwheel, there is no
substitute for carefully chosen plans, executed with precision and a
dose of good fortune. But then, MacArthur also said, The best
luck of all is the luck you make for yourself.
Make yourself a lucky owner of this
challenging look at one of the core campaigns of the Pacific theater in
WWII.
As always, the Annual features
a double-length magazine, with an in-depth look at the
history behind the game, plus other articles, and an assortment of
replacement/improvement counters from that
year’s games.
This Annual also features a bonus game
on Gazala 1942, using the Stand at Mortain game system, with a full
color (and larger than post card!) map and 64 die-cut 5/8" counters.
Like all Annuals, the biggest challenge is getting everything back into
the box! Sign up for yours today, or with your next subscription.
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