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WARGAMESOSD The Damned Die Hard - Philippines '41 |
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wargames.wilkey.org.uk
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| The battle for Luzon (Turn 3) |
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Luzon is an introductory scenario designed to familiarize players with the core ground and air rules. No naval units or naval rules are used and the scenario is only 4 turns long. Play begins with the main Japanese invasion force already ashore on Luzon Island. The Philippines were considered to be of great strategic importance because their capture by Japan would pose a significant threat to the U.S. As a result, 135,000 troops and 227 aircraft were stationed in the Philippines by October 1941. However, Luzon—the largest island in the Philippines—was captured by Imperial Japanese forces in 1942. General Douglas MacArthur—who was in charge of the defense of the Philippines at the time—was ordered to Australia, and the remaining U.S. forces retreated to the Bataan Peninsula |
| The island of Luzon |
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| The Damned Die Hard, the second game in The Glory Series, is a detailed, operational-level game depicting the conflict between Japanese and Allied forces in and around the Philippine Islands from December 1941 to May 1942. |
| The Cordillera Central highlands |
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| The Cordillera Central or Cordillera Range is a massive 320 km (198 miles) long mountain range situated in the northern central part of the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. The mountain range encompasses all provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region (Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province), as well as portions of eastern Ilocos Norte, eastern Ilocos Sur, eastern La Union, northeastern Pangasinan, western Nueva Vizcaya, and western Cagayan. |
| Manila and the southern part of the island |
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| During
the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, American soldiers were ordered
to withdraw from Manila, and all military installations were removed on
December 24, 1941. General Douglas MacArthur declared Manila an open city
to prevent further death and destruction, but Japanese warplanes continued
to bomb it. Manila was occupied by Japanese forces on January 2, 1942.
Manila city is marked by the corps marker 'FE'. Note that the 'no entry' looking markers are airfields in this series! |
| The Damned Die Hard Notes |
| Luzon
Scenario
According to the Rules Booklet (p48) the Luzon scenario takes place on Luzon Island only, map sections G7:NW and G7:SW. However, in the Allied Order of Battle for the North & South Luzon Forces and the Reserve Force suggests they should be placed in hexes on G8 map sections, obviously this should read G7. Markers There are no Turn or Weather markers provided by the game so use 'Hit' markers instead. Weather Zones The Weather Table is not clear on which zone is which, so I have used the following guidelines: Zone 11: North West Airfields & Aircraft Only the Japanese are allocated aircraft/airfields in this scenario and the Order of Battle states that the aircraft allocation (5th Air Division) for the scenario can be placed on any friendly airfield, but note that the airfields are marked with a 'no entry' sign (see Rule 3B (The Glory Master Terrain Key amendments p.4) Noting also that aircraft have a 'transfer range' of three times their movement rating of the printed range (19A). Effectively, this means that no offensive air missions can be carried out until an airbase is occupied by the Japanese on Luzon. Also the 11th Air Fleet is allocated to the Formosa Holding Box, it cannot perform any offensive missions from this box. |
| Game
Mechanics Time Scale: 6 days per turn (January to May 1942) Map Scale: 16 miles per hex (1 week turns) Unit Scale: battalion to brigades Players: Two - Medium complexity Solitaire Suitability: Medium complexity Playing Time: 40+ hours (campaigns only) |
Scenarios |
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840
Die-Cut Counters |
Game
Strategy Published GRD, the publishers of the Europa Series, rules similar but vary slightly |