This is a replay of the first of the solo games of the Pacific War Campaign Scenario #1 that I played to check whether our house rules made sense before we first used them in a Strategic Scenario. Since it was the first test game, I kept notes and when I found them I thought they might be interesting.

All operations throughout the game were 14-day operations with the Japanese as operations player (surprise).

December 3: The Japanese have landed at Kota Bharu and taken it, destroying 6 battalions of the 9th Indian division (which broke twice). The 11 Indian Div. is moved to a blocking position north of Singapore. Force Z sorties from Singapore.

December 5: A dusk airstrike fails to score any hits on Force Z, with 15 planes lost in the night landing. In the gathering darkness, Force Z makes contact with the Japanese covering force (two Mogami cruisers and 12 DD's). The battle sees one Japanese DD sunk against one hit on Repulse and 2 on Prince of Wales. On the third round, the British choose to withdraw and in the Disadvantage Movement phase move on with the goal of bombarding the Japanese at Kota Bharu.

December 7 (Night): The Japanese 5 and 18 divisions have started moving out of the bridgehead, with the 5th Division eliminating the remains of the 9th Indian division. The Japanese task force closes in on the British and in a brutal night battle, Prince of Wales and Repulse are sunk together with 3 escorting destroyers against one of the Mogami cruisers and 1 DD. The second cruiser is hit once.

December 9: The 28th Indian Brigade undergoes a massive air attack unscathed, but is attacked by the Japanese Guard division and eliminated.

The end of the operation sees the Japanese in central Malaya (hexes 4109, 4208, 4207). Given the excellent combat results, an advance to the gates of Singapore would have been possible if points for Penalty Time had been available.

Operations start again on January 3. The 18th division takes Kuantan, but the 5th division fails to dislodge the broken 11th Indian division in Central Malaya. While one pincer of the Japanese advance is thus stopped, the 18th division reaches Singapore on January 9 and is repulsed in a costly assault with a loss ratio of 4:2.

The Guard reaches Singapore on January 11, weakening the defenders with an attack that produces a 2:4 result. Meanwhile the 11th Indian division finds its end further north, sealing Singapore off. The garrison is now reduced to the 8th Australian division which has 2 steps remaining and is the only unbroken unit. The 17th Indian division, 28th Indian (reinstated at Singapore after its annihilation the previous month) and Singapore Brigade were all broken by air attacks. The British air cover is gone.

In February, the writing is on the wall. The Japanese start with a two-week operation involving the 5th and 18th divisions. The first week's assault results in losses of 4:3 [DR 7]. The second week produces 3:3 losses [DR 4], eliminating the 8th Australian division, but the remaining forces stand.

On February 14, With the tired 5th and 18th division recuperating for the rest of the month, the Japanese start another 2-week operation, the last of the campaign. The Guard attacks first, but with a result of 3:3 is bloodily repulsed [DR 8], although the freshly reinstated 28th Indian Brigade bears the brunt of the assault and is eliminated.

On February 16, the Japanese attempt to pierce the defense with the freshly arrived 143 Infantry regiment. The regiment causes high losses to the defenders but gets stuck in the mangrove swamps and is too weak to exploit the losses [1:3 losses caused by a DR 8!]. The defenders are now down to an effective strength of 2 battalions, one of the 17th Indian division, one from the Singapore Brigade. The only chance is to shock the Japanese yet again with high losses.

But the Japanese are unimpressed, and still have points in reserve for another 14-day operation.

For February 21, a new, full assault is scheduled, and their numerical and qualitative superiority over the broken British remainders is decisive. Despite tactical blunders [DR 8, the third time in a row!], the British defenders are eliminated [DR reduced to 6 due to 4:1 advantage, causing 0:3 step losses]. Singapore falls, giving them the victory at the last possible moment (since a third attack would not have been possible given the two-week operation).

(The sheet also contained the record of a game played using the rules as written, with faster movement and ground attacks every turn instead of every week. In this case, the Japanese stood before Singapore on December 14, the day the first Operation ended. Singapore fell to the Japanese assault on January 3.)