mogami
Posts: 12789
Joined: 8/23/2000
From: You can't get here from there
Status: offline
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Greetings, First my campaign score is unreliable. I was given a draw and gained 3 points where the DV's lose a point. I captured every objective this mission but the score was only USMC 1398 Japan 848. I destroyed everything I found except one command post (I was working on it on turn 15) also my squads experience went backwards. I just installed the 7.1 beta patch on turn 10 of this battle (Japs retreat now if they get hit too hard in a turn)
Sorry 5threcon poor 2nd Lt Hodgman had a 150mm land on him not long after the quoted conversation. (hope he was not related)
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It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Matched with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel; I will drink
Life to the lees. All times I have enjoyed
Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea. I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known--cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honored of them all,--
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough
Gleams that untraveled world whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!
As though to breathe were life! Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains; but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the scepter and the isle,
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill
This labor, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and through soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centered in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail;
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toiled, and wrought, and thought with me,
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads--you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honor and his toil.
Death closes all; but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks;
The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield
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Tasmiboko Raid
"Where the hell am I? Smoke rising from the ground? Wait it's not smoke it's some kind of fog or mist. I hear music sounds like Goodman. Guess I'll feel my way in that direction....Looks like somekind of hunting lodge, geez it's huge. There's a Marine Corps Globe and Anchor over the door, wonder if I should knock?
Door opens and a bright light pours out, the music is very loud now and it sounds like a massive party is taking place inside.
"Well hello Captain we certainly were not expecting to see you here, at least not yet"
"Why your Mizerak 2nd Lt Mizerak my engineer platoon commander, well you used to be anyway. I thought you were dead. That smart college boy Nelson you remember Sgt. Nelson? He has your platoon now"
"Hehe I'll let Colonel Collins explain it to you, come on in old man you look terrible, have something to eat you'll feel better"
The Captain stepped in, the hall was enormous and packed with Marines, many were guys he had known for years, only ... only they were all dead, at least he had thought they were dead. Then he saw Jerkins holding a large beer mug and engaged in heated conversation with some Marine wearing a Raider patch. Captain Neer grabbed Jerkins by the shoulder and turned him around. Jerkins face registered first suprise and then smiled "Well how do Captain what are you doing here?"
"No Jerkins what are you doing here? I put what was left of you into an ammo crate and buried it not a week ago"
"Oh boy Captain you better have a seat, you look like your going to pass out. Here let me help you"
Jerkins helped Captain Neer over to a chair at a long table. The table had steaming plates of every kind of food you could think of. Bottles of every kind of 'who hit Joe' crowded another table. There were great troughs full of ice and bottles of beer. And the women WOW! every Marine had at least one dame hanging all over him.
A juke box the size of a Sherman blared 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' louder then a battleships broad side.
"I do feel kind of dizzy" Captain Neer said as Jerkins helped him sit down.
"It's all right Captain" Jerkins grabbed a Budwiser from a trough and held the cold bottle to the Captains temple
"You'll feel better in a minute"
"Neer my boy what are you doing here?" a loud voice coming from across the table. Captain Neer looked up and there sat his old boss Colonel Collins, He shook his head trying to clear the cobwebs.
Colonel Collins studied him for a minute "I understand Captain, your confused"
"It's malaria, you don't belong here, your welcome of course but you really can't stay for long, you've work still to do. This place is for the R&R of Marines who have done their duty "
Captain Neer felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up, into the smiling face of Jack Silva, one time Sgt. in third platoon and after a Jap 150mm had done in Hodgman he was promoted to platoon leader, but, he tried to remember....Tasmiboko yes that was it. No one had seen hide nor hair of Silva after the Tasmiboko Raid!
"Hello Captain remember me?" Silva asked as he ruffed up the Captains hair "You old jarhead I think your lost"
"The Captain has malaria" Colonel Collins told Silva
"Oh I see, well get better soon your needed" he started to walk off but Captain Neer held on to his arm
"Where did you go?" the Captain asked
"Ah, still worried about me? Don't everything is sweet, but if you must know I'll tell you'"
SIlva sat down in the chair besides the Captains.
"The mission started out with 3rd platoon in the rear of the column as we advanced down the trail towards the village, you were up front with the Raiders. We heard the shooting start as you guys hit the Japs. I was hustling my platoon down the trail when we took fire from the jungle edge on the South side of the trail. I figured it was a jap patrol so I deployed 3rd platoon in the trees on the North side and engaged. About this time all those flyboys came over on their bombing runs up in the village. We killed a couple of jap squads but more just kept coming. A gap had appeared between 3rd platoon and the rest of the Marines as the front of the column kept going west. Before I realized it 3rd platoon was cut off and what I had taken for a Jap patrol turned out to be a Jap Battalion. By the way sorry about the old man chewing you guys out. Up here we thought you did a great job. Anyway I decided to try to get out of the pickle by heading for the coast and moving up that way, perhaps one of those DD/transports could come down and pick us up or at least lend those 4" in support. We hightailed it, I told the squad leaders it was every man for themselves and we would rally on the coast or on the high hill the mortars were set up on. I tried to get the aircorps and Navy to fly some support to pin down the Japs so I could disengage and retreat but it took along time to get them to understand.
Finally the platoon got a hundred or so yards from the Japs and I thought we might have a chance but Jap mortars started pounding the jungle and we couldn't move for a few minutes. Long enough it turned out for the Japs to get behind us. It was pretty bad after that, we'd run as fast as we could bump into Japs take fire lose men, return fire kill a few of them and then run some more. I got about half way before they got me. I was alone by now and Floyd and the other mortars were doing a great job but there was simply too many Japs. I was pretty sore when I got here but the OLE man calmed me down said not to worry, you and the boys will set it to right. Well, I've got a couple of hot ones waiting, see you later Captain. Oh give these to Easter" he gave the Captain a set of golden 2nd Lt bars.
Captain Neer closed his eyes and tried to get his head to clear, the bright light, he opened his eyes. He was laying flat on his back looking up into a blue sky. He felt like he had the all time hangover. A shadow fell on him he looked up at the silhouette standing over him
"Captain I just left HQ, the Japs are going to try for the airfield, we've been ordered up in support" it was Lt Guitierez "Come on quit loafing"
Captain Neer stood up, wobbled a bit and then felt a bit better "OK lets go do it"
He looked at the butterbars he clutched in his hand and then looked around and shook his head again.
"Sgt. Easter these are yours now, Silva said so"
OB going into 'The Big Push' Henderson Field
A0 1st Lt Guitierez 1/96
B0 Capt Neer 28/104
C0 2nd Lt Flyod 0/86
C1 Sgt Emerson 0/86
D0 2nd Lt Avery 11/93
D1 Sgt Nettles 9/94
D2 Sgt Puller 11/96
D3 Sgt Patton 12/95
D4 Sgt Ahrens 5/92
D5 Sgt Collins 3/104
E0 2nd Lt Wilder 8/93
E1 Sgt Easter 10/91
E2 Sgt Russell 9/93
E3 Sgt Hunter 13/96
E4 Sgt Henderson 0/92
E5 Sgt Ishim 10/101
F0 2nd Lt Easter 19/95
F1 Sgt Case 6/96
F2 Sgt Williams 0/96
F3 Sgt Jennings 0/95
F4 Sgt Baker 2/93
F5 Sgt Moffett 4/96
G0 2nd Lt Nelson 8/102
G1 Sgt Donovan 8/94
G2 Sgt Mayer 18/102
G3 Sgt Edwards 1/96
H0 Capt Thomas 2/90
[ February 15, 2002: Message edited by: Mogami ]
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 I'm not retreating, I'm attacking in a different direction!
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WatchTower AAR - 
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Bruce
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. The material is fun to read also. For those wanting to go much further, try "Guadalcanal, The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle" by Richard B. Frank.
Good core force for this campaign in both size and composition. The enemy is interesting and varied so far, with bamboo spears, armed civilians, labor battalions, knee mortar squads, the always surprising HQ squads. Lot's of fun there.
Now some of my lessons learned.
Use recon only where there is visibility. If the visibility is only 1 hex like in jungle or the coconut plantation, move them out to the flanks to warn against counterattacks or take long walks with them by roundabout paths to watch distant VH's. Their high cost and low survivability don't warrant combat. Even so, several of mine do have kills.
Don't advance down the obvious routes. Trails are for walking alongside, not on. Another good use for recon is to patrol your rear, so those trails and roads can be used safely to rush reinforcements up front.
Advance on a 3 fresh squad front with recon and MG to the flanks and leaders directly behind. Move 2 spaces max when contact is expected. 
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Regarding fires, never set one intentionally for a tactical purpose, but I had much of the east end of Gavutu on fire at the end. Several squads got caught in the flames and retreated to the rear. Made me think of trying it sometime, tactically.
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