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KG Erwin -> Launching An Amphibious Assault (4/1/2015 10:58:42 PM)
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This is one of the most difficult of all missions one can be required to do in SPWaW. I've found in my USMC campaigns that the Japanese tend to defend at the water's edge, which increases the difficulty of establishing a beachhead. The thing to do is use all available naval bombardment and air assets to hit a four to six hex range of the water's edge. Arrange your landing troops far enough away to allow for a two-stage bombardment. Have the infantry land in the first wave, followed by tanks and then your mortars and MGs. By late 1944-early 1945, there will be caves and fortified emplacements in depth. I don't recommend bypassing them, as they will fire at your second-wave troops. Use smoke liberally to blind them while you bring up assault engineers and tanks (including FT tanks) to blast & burn them out. This is what was called the "corkscrew & blowtorch" tactics. ALWAYS keep infantry stacked with your AFVs, as many emplacements have AT guns. The USMC-Japanese battles are the ultimate in concentrated violence, as there are no flanks to get around.
To get a good example of this, try out Bill Wilder's Iwo Jima scenario as a training mission before you attempt a USMC long campaign. This was the scenario that made me a USMC history fan.
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