A different route for PTO 1941 - 1943 US Army (not USMC)

[Conquistador]

Double checking my few sources - Parson's Jacket (not called that then) was all that was available besides ponchos (copied from USMC,) greatcoats (not common even in Alaska,) raincoat (no pictures of them,) and the cold weather gear the Kiska/Attu forces wore.  It (Parson's Jacket) was worn in the PTO - it is in more pictures than I expected.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Verderer]

Ok, shall take a few pics of unpainted SHQ GIs then? What about the helmets, are you doing pre 1942?

[workerBee]

Ok, shall take a few pics of unpainted SHQ GIs then? What about the helmets, are you doing pre 1942?

Pictures would be superb!

Grandiose plan follows:
Starting with the Army arriving for the later combat at Guadalcanal or New Guinea then back to the original battle for the Philippines (I will have to find different figures obviously for that part) and will gradually think about going forward to the US Army's defense of the Empress Augusta Bay enclaves.

Historical inspiration for that madness follows:

Assume all the usual caveats about Wikipedia...


http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/pacificwar/timeline.htm

October 13, 1942 - The first U.S. Army troops, the 164th Infantry Regiment, land on Guadalcanal.

http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwarii/a/wwiipacngburmch.htm

Allied Counterattacks on New Guinea

Reinforced by the arrival fresh American and Australian troops, the Allies launched a counteroffensive in the wake of the Japanese retreat. Pushing over the mountains, Allied forces pursued the Japanese to their heavily defended coastal bases at Buna, Gona, and Sanananda. Beginning on November 16, Allied troops assaulted the Japanese positions and in bitter, close-quarters, fighting slowly overcame them. The final Japanese strongpoint at Sanananda fell on January 22, 1943. Conditions in the Japanese base were horrific as their supplies had run out and many had resorted to cannibalism.

<snip> With momentum shifting, MacArthur planned a major offensive against the Japanese bases at Salamaua and Lae. This attack was to be part of Operation Cartwheel, an Allied strategy for isolating Rabaul. Moving forward in April 1943, Allied forces advanced towards Salamaua from Wau and were later supported by landings to the south at Nassau Bay in late June. While fighting continued around Salamaua, a second front was opened around Lae. Named Operation Postern, the attack on Lae began with airborne landings at Nadzab to the west and amphibious operations to the east. With the Allies threatening Lae, the Japanese abandoned Salamaua on September 11. After heavy fighting around the town, Lae fell four days later. While fighting continued on New Guinea for the rest of the war, it became a secondary theater as SWPA shifted its attention to planning the invasion of the Philippines.
The New Guinea campaign holds lots of potential:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Guinea_campaign

http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/new-guinea/ng.htm

from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bougainville_Campaign


On 15 December 1943, the I Marine Amphibious Corps was replaced by the Army's XIV Corps[7] and on 28 December, the 3rd Marine Division by the Americal Division. The XIV Corps defended the beachhead against a major Japanese counterattack from 9–17 March 1944, at Hill 700 and Cannon Hill, which were defended by the Ohio 37th Infantry Division, and Hill 260, which was defended by the Americal Division. The counterattack was defeated with heavy losses for the Japanese army, which then withdrew the majority of its force into the deep interior and to the north and south ends of Bougainville.[22]

On 5 April 1944, the Americal Division's 132nd Infantry Regiment, after establishing patrol sweeps along Empress Augusta Bay, successfully launched an attack to capture the Japanese-held village of Mavavia. Two days later, while continuing a sweep for enemy forces, the Regiment encountered prepared enemy defences, where they destroyed about 20 Japanese pillboxes using pole charges and bazookas. Later, the 132nd, together with elements of the Fiji Defence Force, was tasked with securing the heights west of Saua River. The regiment and its allies captured Hills 155, 165, 500, and 501 in fierce fighting that lasted until 18 April, when the last of the Japanese defenders were killed or driven off.[23]

<snip>The Americans were reinforced by the 93rd Infantry Division,[24] the first African American infantry unit to see action in World War II.<snip>

That pretty much is where I ideally want to go.  Emphasis on Infantry actions, one or more platoons sized fighting.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Conquistador]

Played two more games of Bolt Action (2nd all armor with modified rules) and I sam seriously considering Multiple Squads to Platoon (reinforced) games using these rules.

All the locals us 20 mm for Bolt Action but I should check with people in New Mexico to see what is playing in my future city of record...

Gracias,

Glenn

[Verderer]

Sorry I took my time, but here's a few snaps of the minis I got for comparison:







Wrote the maker under each mini. The first is kinda summarum of the different makes, and the next two have first AB & SHQ USM, and then SHQ GI & Sgt Major.

Sgt Major minis might be a good option*, as they gto US army suitable for PTO, they even got the Brit style helmets there. I have included here a couple of SGT Rangers which also might work? Some of them are without jackets, just shirts and sometimes rolled sleeves etc. They go pretty well with SHQ GIs, I think. You might also consider Sgt Major Japanese, as the SHQ ones somewhat different in proportions, slightly slimmer, like the SHQ Marines. But all of these will mix, if you're not overly fussy about it.

Included some AB GI's too for comparison. I also have some CP/TQD GI's but these are much taller, so I didnt include them here.

*The ones I got are pretty good, but the pics on the Sgt Major site look a bit iffy, I wonder if they do justice to the minis?

[Conquistador]

Scurv,

That kind of stuff doesn't make it into the history books!  

Wasn't there an arc in Doonsbury   about a VC and an American soldier (probably met over some beer stored in a river for cooling) interacting?    Though that was not of the same caliber as what you mentioned.  

There is always a small (hopefully) percentage of those who put their personal advancement ahead of the troops.      

Of course scrounging is an honorable   tradition in the USMC.  I come from a USMC oriented family (Dad USCG in WW2 and I went USAF during Vietnam (never made it out of Sacramento after training) so I guess we were the exceptions.)  

Scrounging is a talent...  Black marketing is a crime...

Gracias,

Glenn

[Conquistador]

Sorry I took my time, but here's a few snaps of the minis I got for comparison:







Wrote the maker under each mini. The first is kinda summarum of the different makes, and the next two have first AB & SHQ USM, and then SHQ GI & Sgt Major.

Sgt Major minis might be a good option*, as they gto US army suitable for PTO, they even got the Brit style helmets there. I have included here a couple of SGT Rangers which also might work? Some of them are without jackets, just shirts and sometimes rolled sleeves etc. They go pretty well with SHQ GIs, I think. You might also consider Sgt Major Japanese, as the SHQ ones somewhat different in proportions, slightly slimmer, like the SHQ Marines. But all of these will mix, if you're not overly fussy about it.

Included some AB GI's too for comparison. I also have some CP/TQD GI's but these are much taller, so I didnt include them here.

*The ones I got are pretty good, but the pics on the Sgt Major site look a bit iffy, I wonder if they do justice to the minis?

Very helpful and much appreciated.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Conquistador]

you are going to need some aussies if you are doing new guinea. <snip>

That is another thing that is not mentioned much in histories.  I am sure it happened that Allied units were both involved in the same firefight but history books make it sound (and maybe it usually was) like there were parallel fights going on in the same battle.  

That may have happened more when one ally was "relieved/supported/reinforced/rescued" by another ally in/during a fire fight?  There have been more than a few "lost battalions" like the one rescued in Italy by Nisei American soldiers.

I doubt I could do justice for the Aussie/other PTO Allied forces initially.  And the faux australian accents by some of my fellow gamers... Of course the Brit turned Canadian turned American in our group has a pretty good sense of dialect/accent.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Conquistador]

Maybe eventually I can have a scenario where Aussies on one edge and US Army on the opposite edge try and eliminate a pocket of Japanese troops...

Gracias,

Glenn

[Conquistador]

Well my two supplements for Bolt Action arrived separately today - dispatched 06 August according to seller.  Rules arrived about a week ago.

IJA/IJN troops look interesting after a quick skim.

USA/USMC book is very ETO focused for USA.  USMC, while popular isn't of high interest personally.  Appears to be a high quality production.  Might order TFL rules coming out this month before buying miniatures.

Maybe get more reading in-depth after visiting Mom-in-law in nursing home tonight.

Gracias,

Glenn