Empires in Flames. Sample file. The Pacific and Far East OSPREY PUBLISHING. Written by: Andy Chambers

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1 Empires in Flames The Pacific and Far East Written by: Andy Chambers Edited by: Alessio Cavatore, Rick Priestley and Paul Sawyer Cover artwork: Peter Dennis Interior artwork: Peter Dennis, Steve Noon, Richard Chasemore, Stephen Walsh and Stephen Andrew. Photography: Bruno Allanson, Warwick Kinrade, Mark Owen, Paul Sawyer, and Gabrio Tolentino Miniatures painted by: Andres Amian Fernandez, Gary Martin, Bruce Murray, Darek Wyrozebski, and Claudia Zuminich Thanks to: Paul Beccarelli for help with the Chinese army lists, Bruno Allanson for images of his collection of militaria and John Stallard for his love of Gurkhas. OSPREY PUBLISHING ospreypublishing.com warlordgames.com

2 What Is This Book? 6 The Pacific and Far East 7 The Second Sino-Japanese War 9 Prelude Marco Polo Bridge 12 The Battle of Shanghai 12 The Rape of Nanking Battle of Tai erzhuang The Nomonhan Incident World War II in China 15 Operation August Storm: The Soviet Invasion of Manchuria 16 Aftermath 18 Fighting the Campaign Using Bolt Action 18 Scenarios 18 General Scenarios 18 Terrain 19 Scenario 1: The Marco Polo Bridge 19 Scenario 2: Trench Warfare in Shanghai 21 Theatre Selectors 22 Battle of Shanghai Battle of Tai'erzhuang th Route Army X and Y Force, Burma Tank War: Nationalist Chinese Armour 24 IJA Kwantung Army, IJA Kwantung Army, Soviet Army, Manchuria Additional Units 26 Generic Unit Options 26 Horse-Drawn Limber 26 Mule Team 26 Imperial Japanese Units 27 IJA Cavalry Command 27 Legends of Imperial Japan: Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi 28 Japanese / Manchukuoan Cavalry Squad 28 IJN or SNLF Scout Team 28 Type mm Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun Team 29 Type 88 75mm Dual Purpose AA Gun 29 Soko Sagyo SS-KI Armoured Work Vehicle 30 IJN Type 92 Hokoku-Go Armoured Car 30 Soviet Units 30 Mongolian Cavalry Troop 30 Contents Armies of China 31 Army Special Rules 32 Flag 32 Levy 32 Sparrow Tactics (Communists only) 32 Bodyguard (Nationalists and Warlords only) 32 Legends of China: General Sun Li-Jen 32 Headquarters Units 34 Nationalist Officer 34 Warlord 34 Communist Officer 34 Political Officer 35 Medic 35 Forward Observer 35 Infantry Squads and Teams 35 German-Trained Nationalist Squad 35 Infantry Squad 35 Conscript Squad 36 X and Y Force Squad (Burma) 36 Big Sword Squad 36 Guerrilla Cell 38 Cavalry Troop 38 Scout Team 38 MG-34 Machine Gun Team (Early War) 38 Machine Gun Team 39 Boys Anti-Tank Rifle Team 39 Sniper Team 39 Legends of China: Sergeant Tung Chi-Yuan 39 Suicide Anti-Tank Team 39 Flamethrower Team 39 Light Mortar Team 40 Medium Mortar Team 40 Heavy Trench Mortar 40 Field Artillery cm IeFK16 Field Gun 40 Type 41 75mm Mountain Gun 40 75mm M1A1 Pack Howitzer mm M2A1 Medium Howitzer 41 Anti-Tank Guns 41 37mm PAK mm M3A1 Anti-Tank Gun 41 ZIS-2 Anti-Tank Gun 41 Anti-Aircraft Guns 42 20mm Flak Bofors 40mm L/60 42 Tanks 42 FT-17/18 42 Sutton Skunk Holt Armoured Tractor 42 Carden-Loyd MK VI Tankette 43 L3/33 Tankette 43 3

3 EMPIRES IN FLAMES Captured Type 95 Ha-Go 43 Captured Type 97 Chi-Ha 43 Vickers Carden-Loyd M1931 Amphibious Tank 43 Panzer I 43 T-26 Model Vickers 6-Ton Mark E Type B 44 M3A3 Stuart V 44 M4 Sherman 75mm 44 Armoured Cars 44 SdKfz 221 & BA BA-20M 45 Citroen Kegresse b2 Armoured Half-Track Car 45 Captured Type 92 Hokoku-Go 45 Transports and Tows 45 Morris 15cwt Truck 45 Buessing-NAG Truck 45 Universal Carrier 46 Jeep 46 M2 Half-Track 46 M3 White Scout Car 46 The Red Sun Rises 47 Prelude 48 The Campaigns 49 Opening Moves 49 The Philippines 49 Attack on the Dutch East Indies 51 Malaya 51 The Fall of Singapore 53 Aftermath 55 Fighting the Campaign Using Bolt Action 56 Scenarios 56 General Scenarios 56 Terrain 56 Scenario 3: Battle of the Points 57 Scenario 4: Airfield Defence 59 Theatre Selectors 60 The Battling Bastards of Bataan, December 1941 May Additional Units 61 Philippine Units 61 Philippine Scouts 61 Legends of the Philippines: PFC Narcisco Ortilano 61 Burma And India 62 Prelude 63 The Campaigns 64 The Advance on Rangoon 64 Pegu and Taukkyan 64 Retreat to India 65 Madagascar Operation Ironclad 66 General Slim and the Forgotten Army 66 Legends of the Commonwealth: Brigadier Mike Calvert 68 Kohima Imphal Return to Burma 70 Aftermath 72 Fighting the Campaign Using Bolt Action 73 Scenarios 73 General Scenarios 73 Terrain 73 Scenario 5: Ambush on the Burma Road 74 Scenario 6: HQ Raid 77 Legends of the Commonwealth: Orde Wingate 79 Additional Units 79 Generic Unit Options 79 Native Irregulars 79 Imperial Japanese Units 80 The Indian National Army 80 Chinese/US Units 80 Merrill s Marauders 80 Commonwealth Units 81 Australian Commandos 81 Gurkha Paratroops 81 Legends of the Commonwealth: Bhanbhagta Gurung 82 Island Hopping 83 Prelude 84 The Campaigns 86 New Guinea and the Kokoda Trail 86 Guadalcanal 87 Legends of the United States: John Basilone 90 Advance into the Central Pacific 91 Legends of the Commonwealth: Sergeant Tom Derrick 92 Return to the Philippines 93 Iwo Jima and Okinawa 94 Legends of Imperial Japan: Tadamichi Kuribayashi 96 Aftermath 97 4

4 Fighting the Campaign Using Bolt Action 98 Scenarios 98 General Scenarios 98 Terrain 98 Scenario 7: Alligator Creek 99 Scenario 8: Bloody Tarawa 101 Additional Units 104 US Units 104 USMC Raiders 104 USMC War Dog Team 104 M29 Weasel 105 Legends of the United States: Lewis Chesty Puller 105 New Scenario Rules 106 Tropical Hazards 107 Exhaustion 107 Mud 108 Monsoon Season 108 Night Fighting 110 Different Types of Night Fighting Games 110 Dawn Assault 110 Longest Day 110 Flare! 110 Night Fighting Rules 110 Limited Visibility 110 Muzzle Flashes 111 Fires 111 Japanese Infiltrators 111 Reacting to an Assault 111 Indirect Fire 111 Forward Air and Artillery Observers 111 Dug In: Foxholes, Trenches and Gun Pits 112 Dug In Rules 112 Dug In Vehicles 112 Dug In with Hidden Set-Up 112 Japanese Spider Hole Networks 113 Dug In vs Preparatory Bombardment 113 Dug In vs Tank Assault 113 Digging In During a Game 114 Minefields 115 Minefield Rules 115 Minefield Sections 115 Effect of minefields 115 Clearing Minefields 117 Manual mine clearance by infantry 117 Blowing it up! 117 Amphibious Assaults 118 Movement in Water 118 Deep Water 118 Shallow Water 118 Lagoons, Reefs and Coral Atolls 118 Landing Craft 120 Boats 120 Landing Craft, Assault 120 Landing Craft, Personnel 120 Landing Craft, Mechanized 121 City Fighting 122 The City as a Battlefield 122 Rubble 122 Movement in Rubble 122 Shooting in Rubble 122 Buildings 123 Roads and Open Ground 123 Sewer Movement 123 Command and Control in a City Fight 124 5

5 EMPIRES IN FLAMES What is this Book? Tank clash around San Manuel, by Richard Chasemore Osprey Publishing. Taken from Duel 43: M4 Sherman vs Type 97 Chi-Ha. 6

6 The Pacific and Far East This book is a supplement to the tabletop wargame Bolt Action. It focuses on the Far East and Pacific theatres during World War II, from the Japanese invasion of China two years before the official start of the war in Europe through to the Allied plans to invade the Japanese home islands in 1945, and the end of the war. This supplement provides a context for your games set in the Pacific Theatre, addressing common historical questions asked by players such as: How did the relatively small, lightly equipped Japanese Army conquer the territories of the colonial powers so quickly? How were they eventually stopped and what kind of battles were fought? What was the terrain like and what What is this Book? factor did this play tactically? By answering these and other questions, we hope that you will enjoy a more rewarding game and perhaps gain a glimpse of what the brave men of many nations endured in the Pacific Theatre. This book is not intended to be a definitive account of all the campaigns fought in the Far East, such a subject would (and does) occupy many volumes of equivalent size. Instead we aim to present a primer for this area of the conflict that points out items of interest as we go. Should anything pique your curiosity you will be able to find many resources to dig deeper into it: World War II is undoubtedly the most written about war in history. The Allies beware the Burmese jungle teems with camouflaged Japanese soldiers 7