The journey into the Combat Commander Pacific world continues! It was already our 5th scenario, but if you count also Europe version, we have like 17 battles covered! Each of them different, with various set-up, victory and gameplay conditions. This is I think very vivid in Pacific – the late Chad Jensen imagination really created marvels of design here! Let us move to the report and see what he prepared for us this time!

Combat Commander Europe campaign:
#1 Fat Lipki
#2 Hedgroves and Hand Grenades
#3 Bonfire of the NKVD
#4 Closed for Renovation
#5 Cold Front
#6 Paralyzed from the West Down
#7 Bessarabian Nights
#8 Breakout dance
#9 Rush to contact
#10 Commando Schools
#11 Hold the Line
#12 Misty Mountain
Combat Commander Pacific campaign:
#A Grassy Knoll
#B Ambush at Mogaung
#C Ichiki Attacks
#D Operation Cherry Blossom

#E West Tank Barrier is a very intriguing attacker vs defender scenario. We are on Gilbert Islands in November 1943. 27th Infantry Division (Michal, US, attacker posture) is tasked with attacking well-entrenched and well-camouflaged opponents (Dave, Japan, defender posture) who have a sniper!

While my attacker set-up was pretty straightforward, Dave had a lot of options, with multiple sighting markers and half of his forces in Infiltration boxes! On top of this bunker, wire, sniper and Heavy MG. That would not be an easy nut to crack!

You can click on every image and enlarge it for better visibility.

Set-up of our Scenario #E – I am starting to the left, Japanese units occupy Tank Barrier plus 3 infiltration boxes. That would be interesting approach!
The first 4 turns were very eventful! I approached in the North, brining my freshly acquired artillery on myself! Dave infiltrated there, opened fire and killed one of my units. In the south I was advancing under constant MG fire. Things looked grim
The next four turns brought complete change of situation. Dave got radio, but just after it I broken his MG – that had a long-lasting repercussions. In north I occupied the hills and managed to obliterate the whole IJA stack. The tide turned in favor of US.
I was very afraid of this move – but decided to dash toward enemy line, with at least some smoke cover. How well it played – no mines, no hidden wire, no fire from broken MG! And my Rifle Marines destroyed bunker, battalion gun plus its crew!
While we were exchanging fire with main Japanese group, some IJA units infiltrated at my rear!
In the end I killed sniper in melee and the whole MG stack. On top of this, my large group in the north exited the map. At this moment in time we concluded the game as there was nothing Dave could anymore do.
Causalities on both sides – lot of defenders but also quite a few attackers.

Summary

That was again a hell of scenario, with a roller-coaster – daunting start, very bad initial approach by US troops, lucky breaking of Japanese MG, corageous (but could have ended as stupid) dash for enemy lines and then final elimination of opponents in close quarters. Again, I have a feeling that Pacific scenarios can be pretty decisive once you get advantage – I found Europe scenarios less volatile even at the end of the game.

More reports to come!