Carriers: Battle of Midway

The year is 1942 and the Japanese navy is on the offensive. With American naval units heavily depleted after Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Coral Sea, the Imperial Japanese Navy is seeking to strike a decisive blow and consolidate their hold on the Pacific, a prelude to further expansion for the Empire of Japan.

“Battle of Midway” is a turn based game of fleet strategy and close Carrier tactics, pitting the naval fleets of the United States Navy Pacific Fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy against one another.

Based loosely on the actual events of the 4-7th June 1942 Battle of Midway, players take the role of either;

i) Supreme Commander Pacific Fleet of the US Navy in command of three Carrier Groups & one Battleship Group

or

ii) Combined Fleet Commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy in command of three Carrier Groups & one Battleship Group

The following Carriers & Battleships form the core of the Carrier Groups in this game;

United States Navy Pacific Fleet 1.) USS Enterprise 2.) USS Hornet 3.) USS Yorktown 4.) USS South Dakota

Imperial Japanese Navy 1.) IJN Akagi 2.) IJN Kaga 3.) IJN Hiryu 4.) IJN Yamato

Play is done on individual war charts which only show friendly fleet deployments with ship movements, attack phases and search phases plotted in real time. You have already been informed by Naval intelligence that the enemy fleet is no longer in port. Where is the enemy fleet? How are his ships arrayed? What is their target objective? Should you seek the enemy fleet before he strikes? Should you push ahead with plans to land marines and take the strategic Pacific islands? Or should you take the war to the enemy and attempt to sneak in a lightning strike on his now undefended home ports?

These are questions you need to answer as your battlegroup streams out to engage the enemy. Visibility is only limited to the immediate area around your bases and ships. You will need to send out spotter planes or submarines to screen your fleet as you race to the be first to find and engage the enemy before he finds you. Enemy fleets must be found and destroyed, and the Commander with the best intelligence and planning will prevail!

You are now in command of one of the most powerful fleets in history.

As Admiral, you will be required to plan and submit a Battle Plan to HQ for the forth-coming battle at Midway. Included in this report, would be your choices for Group Unit Mix, Flag Carrier to bear you into battle, and suitable Battle group deployments for each one of your battle groups. A good commander knows that this initial planning may hold the key to victory and will ensure that a comprehensive strategy and matching Battle group deployments are well set out into a workable plan on paper, well before any ship even begins to leave the harbor.

Having done the initial planning, you are now ready to set sail with your battle groups and put your strategic battle plan into action. Moving your fleets out into the open ocean, you plot the moves of your Fleet Deployments onto your War Chart, watching as events unfold. These first few moves will be crucial in determining the overall battle positions of your fleets as you head towards enemy waters. Do you move your fleets in a broad front, or concentrate them into a narrow wedge, aimed straight for the enemy’s heart? How would the enemy be deployed? What is his plan? These are questions you must ask yourself as Admiral. Decide well, and surprise is on your side. Decide poorly, and risk losing the initiative to a craftier enemy.

With your fleets in position, you now steam steadily towards the enemy. The War Chart now shows the radial tracks from your scouts. But where is the enemy? As the gap between friend and foe narrow, a race develops to see who will be the first to spot the other. Will luck be on your side, or will you fail to send out your scouts in a well-planned search pattern and allow enemy bombers to slip through to your vulnerable Carriers? These are questions only you can answer as you sit and wait for the search reports to trickle in.

Suddenly, the enemy is upon you and your picket ships are hit. As you stare out onto the flight deck from your bridge, what do you do? Do you circle your wagons and search frantically for the enemy, throwing fighter wings into the air in the hope of slugging it out with the enemy bombers which are sure to follow, or try and scatter your ships to disappear back into the vast empty ocean to regroup?

Should you launch bombers from afar, for that long-range strike into the enemy rear, or go in close for a classic surface naval engagement with your Battleship, Cruisers and Destroyers?

Game Objectives

A win is achieved with any one of the following objectives fulfilled;

1.) Destroy all ground defenders and occupy both Midway Atoll and Wake Island with your Marines

2.) Destroy all ground defenders and occupy all three enemy home ports with your Marines

3.) Sink the enemy Flagship (Carrier or Battleship)

The game ends in a draw if no more Troop transports are still afloat from either team or when the loss of too many units on both sides make it impossible to complete the stated objectives.