EXAMPLE OF PLAY FOR THE GUADALCANAL SCENARIO

This example of play is not an illustration of the

best tactics, but rather an examination of play to
illustrate some of the mechanics of the Hitlers
Global War rules. The Guadalcanal Scenario is
only a turn and a half long and is designed to
illustrate some of the naval rules rather than being
a true scenario. Some discussions of various rules
are introduced, even though those considerations
may not directly affect this scenario.
For the Guadalcanal scenario, only the
Guadalcanal hex 3863 is important for victory
point purposes. Activity in Papua New Guinea is
specifically limited.
The only incentive for
capturing additional territory is to improve a
players combat situation. Japan already controls
most of the territory around Guadalcanal, as
indicated by the Japanese garrison markers.
Though there are no units in the garrisons, the
Japanese player can simply move units to these
locations without having to amphibiously invade,
which would otherwise require using amphibious
strength points. The Japanese player can move
three strength points through the Pacific Ocean, as
indicated in Strength Point Movement Across
Seas. The scenario indicates that the Japanese
player has an additional four shipping points
located in hex 3180 (Truk) for seven total shipping
points. There are only six Japanese land strength
points in the scenario.
The garrisons supply routes can be attacked,
leaving the Japanese player vulnerable to
production point losses if he cannot protect those
supply routes. However, this scenario gives no
victory points for production point losses, so there
is no incentive to indirectly attack these garrisons
other than to deny them to the Japanese player.
Though Australia and Papua New Guinea are
Allied friendly areas, the three Allied garrisons are
listed to indicate that they are being supplied. The
hex at 3679 (Port Moresby) obviously needs a sea
route to be supplied. The two Australian hexes
need supply because Australia can only supply
hexes by land up to hex 4380 (Brisbane)
(SUPPLY, Line of Supply). They may be worth

defending for use as bases for spotting purposes or

for deploying coastal air strength points since the
three hexes contain airbase symbols.
There being no strategic warfare units in this
scenario, play begins with the Allied Movement
Phase since the Axis player turn is skipped, as
specified in the scenario rules. Sub-phases i. and
ii. (removing Expended markers and patrol fleets
returning to base) would be applicable to naval
units having performed actions or having
remained in patrol hexes from a previous turn.
Since there was no previous turn, the game starts
with iii., the Allied naval change of base subphase.
The Japanese force at hex 3580 in Rabaul, with
four capital ships and three carriers initially
outnumbers the American fleet having one capital
ship and three carriers stationed with the Marine
Army at 4185 (Noumea). The Allies must
combine their surface naval forces that start at
various locations into one fleet at Noumea by
changing bases.
The one capital ship at hex 4580 (Sydney) and the
one carrier and A.S.W. at hex 4778 (Melbourne)
change bases to hex 4185 (Noumea). This move
is taken freely, given that the Japanese player
could not intercept the two fleets converging on
Noumea because they could not be spotted, as
described in Search. In examining the Spotting
Table, the longest spotting distance 5 hexes is
from a hex that contains an army. The closest that
the two Allied fleets will come to a Japanese hex
is a garrison at hex 3683 (Guadalcanal), which is
four hexes from Noumea. At that range, the To
Spot roll is a -2. It is possible to obtain a -1
modifier for a coastal/island hex, if searching in
the destination hex, and another -1 for friendly
coastal/island hex for a total die roll modifier of
-2, which would not be enough of a modifier to
allow a successful spotting. If a spotting were
theoretically possible, the Japanese closest
intercept fleet is at Rabaul, a distance of eight
hexes. Referring to the Fleet Intercept Ranges

Table, an interception roll of 3 or less would be

required for a successful interception.
However, there is no army in the Japanese
garrison hex at Guadalcanal, so no army based air
could search. The hex also does not contain a port
or airbase symbol, so coastal air could not be used,
though its search range of 2 would not have the
required range. Also, since the Japanese tech level
for coastal air is four, their coastal air range is
only 1. Thus, the two Allied fleets successfully
change bases to Noumea and there is no Japanese
activity in the vi., Naval Interceptions and Combat
sub-phase.
In the following Declare Amphibious Invasion
route sub-phase, the Allied Marine Army at
Noumea can invade Guadalcanal, a distance of
five hexes, which is within the six-hex invasion
range. Supporting the invasion is the Allied
Fleet 1. It can go on patrol in the Guadalcanal hex
in the v. sub-phase before the amphibious invasion
phase. However, if it is defeated by a Japanese
interception, it could be forced to return to base
and end its activities for the turn, leaving it unable
to support the invasion in the following sub-phase.
A surviving Japanese fleet could easily decimate
the invasion with a second interception. If the
Allied fleet accompanies the invasion, it must be
completely defeated before losses can be taken
from the invading armies. But then, after the
invasion, the fleet would return to base, leaving
Guadalcanal vulnerable since the fleet could
perform no more activities in that player turn.
However, there are no naval sub-phases after the
amphibious invasion in which the Japanese player
can take any offensive action. So the Allied
player decides to have his fleet accompany the
invasion.
The Japanese player would like to intercept the
amphibious invasion. The army in Rabaul is three
hexes from Guadalcanal. An army based search at
a range of three hexes requires a To Spot roll of 0.
As per the previous discussion, an initial modifier
of -2 can be obtained from the combined
coastal/island
and
friendly
coastal/island
modifiers. Another -1 can be obtained from 5 or
more Strength Points in Target Fleet for a total of 3. A spotting die roll of 2 by the Japanese player
results in a successful search, and the Japanese
Fleet 1 attempts an intercept of the amphibious

invasion. A three hex intercept range requires an

intercept roll of 5, which is made by the Japanese
player, resulting in a successful intercept.
The Japanese Fleet 1 consisting of 4 capital ships,
3 carriers, and 2 ASW strength points intercepts
the amphibious invasion in the invasion hex. The
three carriers attack at triple strength against the
Allied fleet. The four Allied carrier strength
points that fire defensively at a triple strength of
12 on the Firepower Table against the nine
attacking carrier attack points (3 carriers x 3) roll a
6 on the 10 column eliminating 2 attacking
strength points and roll a 5 on the 2 column,
resulting in no additional hits. Next the attacking
carrier air points undergo the Allied defensive
fleet AA fire of 8 one for each strength point.
The Allies roll a 1, resulting in an additional loss
of 3 points for a total loss of 5 points against the
attacking carrier air strength points.
The
remaining 7 carrier strength points roll a 2,
resulting in a loss of 2 points to the allied fleet.
While eliminating two Allied carriers would
produce more victory points, the Japanese player
chooses to eliminate the two defending Allied
capital ships, thus eliminating almost all of the
defending surface attack strength from the Allied
fleet in the subsequent following surface naval
battle.
Before the naval battle is carried out, the Allied
player carries out its simultaneous attack on the
Japanese fleet. The defending 9 Japanese carriers
eliminate 4 attacking air strength points with a roll
of 1 on the Firepower Table and the defending
fleet AA strength of 9 eliminates another 3 points
with a roll of 4, resulting in a remaining attack
strength of 5 (12 7). A roll of 6 on the
Firepower Table eliminates no Japanese strength
points.
This leaves the Japanese player with a surface
attack strength of 9 (4 capital ships, doubled + 2
ASW, halved), and an Allied fleet with a surface
attack strength of 1 (2 ASW halved). The
Japanese eliminate 3 points with a roll of two on
the nine table and the Allies eliminate no Japanese
points with a roll of 4 on the 1 table. The Allied
player eliminates his two ASW points and one
carrier, leaving three carriers in the fleet.

The escorting Allied Fleet 1, sustaining heavy

losses, but the surface factors not having been
eliminated, the fleet naval fire is completed. The
invasion arrives at the designated target hex and
the invasion proceeds to Step 3. As discussed
previously, there is no coastal air in the hex, and
thus no coastal air strikes. Supporting fleet naval
fire can now fire into the hex. The three
remaining carriers supply three tac air points,
which could not be combined with the capital
ships supporting fire, if the Allied player had any
capital ships left. The three tac air points roll a 6,
resulting to no loss to the Japanese garrison.
Garrisons cannot defensively fire, so there is no
fire in Step 5. The invasion army chooses to
assault the invasion hex using only its allowed
amphibious strength points. The five marine
amphibious strength points roll a 3 on the 5
table, thus eliminating the defending garrison with
a result of 1. This allows the assaulting army to
attempt to advance into the hex with 0 defensive
strength points. All land strength points can be
used in the advance, though they are all
amphibious strength points in this case. With a
Marine strength of five and a defenders strength
of zero, a required roll of 1-7 assures a successful
advance.
The invading army could continue on with an
amphibious advance attempt against the adjacent
New Georgia hex. This one hex distance is within
the now-reduced five hex amphibious advance
limit for the second advance attempt. With no
garrison in the target hex, a reduced advance die
roll of 1-6 (reduced from an initial required roll of
1-7) would still allow success. However, given
the results of the prior Japanese interception
combat, the Allied player chooses to have the
remaining invasion support fleet return to base.
The Allied player could have chosen not to invade
in his first turn and use the reinforcements of the
second turn to increase the strength of the invasion
fleet. However, the Japanese player also gets
reinforcements in Tokyo that would still provide
an advantage in surface combat strength against
the Allied fleet.
The Allied player might
nonetheless count on better die rolls with the 5
carrier points having a better chance to eliminate
the Japanese capital ship points. With the Allied
coastal air tech level of 6, they might move their

coastal air reinforcements to Port Moresby to

attempt to intercept the Japanese fleet leaving
Rabaul at a two hex range. The coastal air To
Spot die roll at a range of two is better than a
army based air search, so the Allies would not
even have to move an army to Port Moresby. If
the Allies had been able to have the coastal air
reinforcements earlier, they could have the Port
Moresby-based coastal air intercept the Japanese
reinforcement fleet entering the Rabaul hex. The
reinforcement fleet is smaller, and thus more
vulnerable to a coastal air attack.