Game Report: The Battle of Mihara Valley, Okinawa, July 9th 1908

0945 July 9th South of the Mihara Valley

Brigadier General Charles Spelthorne was beginning to regret putting himself at the tail of the column as they marched to their objectives. The recent rains had turned the road into quagmire, which the passage of his forces had churned into something more approaching a river. Ahead of his marching men lay a valley that the Expeditionary Force Okinawa was planning to advance up in the next few days, once the logistical mess that had taken hold since the landings were cleared up. 

Intelligence had indicated that the valley was mostly unoccupied, a few patrols or scouts had been sighted, but there was an enemy supply cache in the village and a munitions factory. Destroying these would weaken the enemy island-wide, and critically weaken their ability to supply any forces sent to oppose the eventual advance. His orders were simple, advance, find the targets, destroy them, and get out. 

Wargaming over Video

This game was, to put it mildly, an experiment. To help create a proper fog of war situation, the commanding players were in different rooms to the game table, with a camera on the table where their general's base was, giving them a view over his immediate surroundings. Otherwise they were armed with a map of the area (neither map was accurate, although the Japanese had a better one), an overview of their forces and the personalities of the commanding officers, and any reports they received as the game progressed. 

US Army HQ

Imperial Japanese Army HQ

Fortunately, our office is equipped with some very fancy video phones, which made this somewhat easier than using a laptop screen or similar would have. On the table itself, USB webcams were used (attached to separate laptops), dialed into video conferences, which allowed for people at home to join in or observe the chaos unfolding.

US Army Brigade HQ, apparently oblivious to the giant camera behind them

The models used for this game were based up for Too Fat Lardies' If The Lord Spares Us, which uses signal bases for relaying orders and expanding command radii, which in this setup were used as official messenger bases. Units could also detach bases to carry orders or reports. When these orders and reports arrived at their destinations, the orders would be received by the unit (and an obedience test would be taken to see if they were followed), or a report would be relayed to the players over an Instant Messaging tool. 

In terms of gameplay, at the start of a turn I as the umpire would announce to both teams what the time was (in game), and then take the cameras off table. With the cameras not then being able to see the "Hand of God" moving the armies around, I would carry out all moves. Once this was completed, the cameras would be replaced, any messages or new orders would then be relayed to the players. I would then carry out any combats, actions or tests for behaviour from the various units. This gave the players time to assess the situation and make decisions. Once I was finished, the process would repeat, so the players never knew how much time they would have to get things in order before time advanced again, which nicely added to the pressure and tension. 

Overall, the formula worked, even if it was surprisingly exhausting to run, and everyone enjoyed the ensuing confusion. I'd expect us to have more games like this going forward. I also got the teams to keep track of what they thought was going on live, which I used as the basis for write-ups from the  Japanese and the US perspectives. This write-up will be what was actually happening on the board.

The Forces

US Army, 2nd Brigade, 4th Division

1st and 2nd Battalions (Infantry), each of 4 companies of 3 bases

2nd Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, 3 squadrons of 3 bases

3rd Cavalry Regiment, 3 squadrons of 3 bases

2nd Field Gun Battery, 2 bases

Imperial Japanese Army, 6th Division

2nd and 4th Battalions, 23rd Infantry Regiment, each of 3 companies of 5 bases

13th Cavalry Regiment, 3 squadrons of 3 bases

2nd Battery, 6th Field Gun Regiment, 3 bases

Machine Gun Company, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3 bases

The Game

The Valley of Mihara. The Americans enter from the south (left) and the Japanese from the north (right)

The game opened up with both sides advancing along their respective entry roads towards their objectives. The US commanders set quite ambitious opening orders, aiming to push their infantry up the road to Mihara, while the 2nd Volunteer Cavalry was sent to the east to investigate tracks that had been reported by scouts drawing up their map. Unfortunately for the Americans, the commander of the 2nd Volunteer Cavalry decided his orders were too timid, and instead set off to destroy the factory, which was not far from the reported tracks.

The 2nd Volunteer cavalry depart from the main column, their commander not entirely satisfied with his orders.

Meanwhile, the Japanese forces preferred a much more cautious approach. They aimed to deploy around the village of Kihoran in the far north of the valley, establishing themselves before progressing.

Japanese forces march onto the field

It took several turns for either force to make it fully onto the field, with the American forces generally making better progress up the board, while the Japanese remained more cohesive with their slow approach. It was at this point where the first fog of war incidents started to occur. 

The 1st Battalion for the US arrived at a fork in the road which wasn't on their map, and their Colonel, being the adventurous sort decided to head off down one of the forks while reporting this to Brigade HQ. I rolled for it, and he decided to head down the eastern path. Meanwhile the 2nd Battalion, while encountering the same fork, decided instead to fan out into defensive positions and await instructions. 

1st Battalion's curiosity however, seemed to be rewarded as they spotted a village (the US map only had one on it), and proceeded into the town and started to destroy it in line with their orders. Meanwhile, the US 3rd Cavalry reached the river as ordered and sat awaiting further instructions, while the 2nd Cavalry on the far east of the table began to cross towards the factory. 

US forces advance in a broad front

Meanwhile, the Japanese forces had established themselves in Kihoran, deploying their artillery to cover their advance. They sent their cavalry forward to Mihara to check on the state of the ammunition cache. Their calm work was interrupted by the sounds of rifle fire as 1st Battalion stormed into the village of Nishigama, which led to a sudden leap into forward movement. 

The 13th Cavalry was sent to Nishigama, with the 2nd Battalion ordered to follow on behind them, while the 4th Battalion was ordered to advance south down the road using cover, while the machine guns went to the supply dump to stock up on ammunition. 

The Japanese advance, their cavalry just sighting the burning village of Nishigama

Over the next few turns, the Japanese cavalry crested the rise outside Nishigama, sighting the US 1st Battalion burning the town, and decided to attack. The US 2nd Volunteer Cavalry sighted the factory to the east of Nishigama village and set off to attack it. Meanwhile an officer sent to find 1st Battalion ended up going down the northwards fork of the road. Unfortunately for the officer, he ran into the advancing Japanese infantry and was shot before he could escape. 

Nishigama burns

The US 2nd Battalion and Japanese 4th Battalion ran into each other on the road and began a brisk firefight, initially favouring the Japanese forces. This firefight soon attracted attention from both sides' artillery batteries. 

A firefight breaks out at the fork in the road

Meanwhile, the 13th Cavalry regiment managed to catch the US 1st Battalion in the flank as they went about burning Nishigama, inflicting heavy losses and driving the Battalion up the large hill to the south. 

The Japanese cavalry smash into the disorganised 1st Battalion

From their new position on the hill, the 1st Battalion opened fire on the advancing Japanese 2nd Battalion and the 13th Cavalry, getting the better of both firefights. 

Off to the east, the US 2nd Volunteer Cavalry managed to destroy the factory in very short order. Upon completing this task they sighted the Japanese 13th Cavalry and proceeded to attack, hitting the Japanese very hard and rapidly pushing them back through the burning village.

A confused fight fills Nishigama, with the 2nd Volunteer Cavalry battering apart their Japanese equivalents

Their success, however, was short lived by and large as two squadrons got caught up in close fighting with the infantry of the Japanese 2nd Battalion, which shattered the squadrons. Their remaining squadron, with their Colonel in tow, would batter the Japanese cavalry and push them right back to the fork in the road before the final Japanese squadron shattered. 

The firefight at the fork had continued, with the Americans taking heavy losses and generally getting the worst of things before their artillery began to hammer the Japanese 4th Battalion.

Artillery fire descends upon the 4th Battalion

This made the fight increasingly close, even with the Japanese machine guns firing into the 2nd Battalion, even though the 2nd Battalion was eventually, and very reluctantly on the part of their Colonel, forced to withdraw with two companies effectively shattered. 

To support 2nd Battalion, the US 3rd Cavalry was ordered to redeploy, which they did, moving to positions behind the riverbank and dismounting. The 2nd Battalion fell back through them. 

3rd Cavalry deploys to protect the retreating 2nd Battalion

Once the cavalry fight had moved off to the west, the Japanese 2nd and US 1st Battalions had settled into a firefight. The US forces had taken more of a mauling in the fighting thus far, so decided to withdraw south, having as they saw it, completed their objective. On the western flank, the last remaining 2nd Volunteer Cavalry squadron attempted to charge the Japanese Machine Gun Company, came under heavy fire and swiftly re-thought their strategy, withdrawing south and out of harm's way.

US 1st Battalion withdraws out of sight of the Japanese 2nd Battalion

After receiving a report from the 1st Battalion that they had destroyed Mihara village, and having previously received a report confirming the destruction of the factory, the US forces chose to withdraw. As no Japanese forces were in position to interfere at that moment, we called the game there. 

Results

As things stood at the end of the game, the Americans had destroyed the factory they were sent to destroy (although the identification as a munitions plant was incorrect, it was in fact a textiles factory) and a village that did not contain a supply cache, while the Japanese had their supplies and had held the field so could dig in to face the expected advance. 

In terms of losses, the US 2nd Volunteer Cavalry had taken a severe mauling, with two squadrons shattered and forced to withdraw and a third having taken pretty heavy losses in sustained fighting with the Japanese cavalry and from coming under machine-gun fire. Most of the men who had fled could probably be rounded up, but their morale would likely be shaky. The 1st Battalion had taken light losses, but was otherwise combat effective. 2nd Battalion, however, was entirely spent, having taken over 50% losses by base count. 

On the Japanese side, the 4th Battalion was in a bad state, at least 40% losses, and the 13th Cavalry Regiment was essentially destroyed. Some survivors could probably be rounded up, but probably no more than two under-strength squadrons' worth. The 2nd Battalion had taken some losses too, but not enough to put it out of action. 

While both sides had suffered roughly comparable losses, the Japanese had achieved their objectives, so were declared the victors.

Afterthoughts

It was interesting seeing the different approaches taken in this game by both sides. The Japanese kept their forces very tight during the entire game, only losing contact with and control over the cavalry and 2nd Battalion when they sent them to seize Nishigama. This had the advantage of them having a better handle on their force's location and activities, but at the price of leaving their left flank basically unguarded all game. At one point it looked like the US 2nd Volunteer Cavalry might sweep right around their positions and hit their artillery and command stand. As it was, the 2nd Volunteer Cavalry did end up launching an attack into their flank which nearly cost the Japanese the game.

Meanwhile, the US made full use of the table, giving their forces much more aggressive orders. This nearly paid off with the aforementioned attack of the 2nd Volunteer Cavalry, but did mean that for a high proportion of the game, the US commanders had an at best sketchy view of where their troops were or what they were doing. 

Overall, the experiment went very well, and I can see this becoming an occasional special event in our wargaming calendar. After all, the US forces are expecting to advance through a valley protected, at worst, by some unsupplied troops in the not too distant future...

The rules used for the game were a heavily cut down version of the Too Fat Lardies If the Lord Spares Us, and the miniatures were a mixture of Russo-Japanese War, Boer War and World War One miniatures from Pendraken Miniatures.

Report for the Action of 9th July, 1908

To: General Trent, CinC US Forces Okinawa
From: Brigadier General Spelthorne, 2nd Brigade 4th Division US Army

Sir,

I submit for your review my report on the actions of my forces in the Hira Falls Valley on the 9th of July, 1908. Our orders were to advance into the valley and destroy an identified enemy munitions cache in the village of Mihara and an enemy armaments factory. Our advance to the valley began at 0800 from the landing grounds, taking two hours for our forces to begin arriving. 

2nd Volunteer Cavalry Regiment were the first unit to deploy, entering the valley at 1000, ordered to move east of the road into the valley to investigate tracks reported by scouts. 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 2nd Brigade (Infantry) continued their advance up the road, followed by the 2nd Field Gun Battery and 3rd Cavalry Regiment ordered to provide flank protection. 

By 1015, our infantry units were approximately halfway between the entrance of the valley and the dried up riverbed, approximately 750 yards from the riverbed. 2nd Vol. Cavalry should have reached the tracks on the far side of the riverbed. In expectation of soon being able to sight Mihara village, I ordered the 2nd Field Gun Battery to move west of the road until line of sight could be established. To ensure the security of 2nd Field Gun Battery, orders were send to the 2nd Battalion to establish defensive positions to protect the guns. 

At 1030, a runner from 1st Battalion reached the Brigade HQ, reporting encountering an expected fork in the road to Mihara and requesting instructions. A runner from 2nd Battalion also arrived shortly after, reporting the same fork. Orders were sent for 1st Battalion to advance along the left fork in the road, and to 3rd Cavalry to advance along the right fork. 

At 1040 an order was sent to 2nd Cavalry to send a Squadron with Colonel Jackson III to investigate the reported tracks, while sending the other two Squadrons in the Regiment to advance on the factory. 

At 1050, a runner from 1st Battalion reported they had engaged the enemy. In response to this, I ordered 2nd Battalion to advance north in a defensive triangle formation to support 1st Battalion. Shortly after receiving those orders, 2nd Battalion reported coming under effective fire from the enemy. It was clear at this point that 1st Battalion was not in the position expected. Lieutenant Werner, who had been sent with orders for 1st Battalion along the left fork, did not return to our lines, and has not been seen since the engagement, and is presumed captured or killed. 

The firefight between 2nd Battalion and the enemy continued for approximately 15 minutes. With losses mounting, and 2nd Field Gun Battery being unable to sight the village of Mihara, I directed them to provide supporting fire on the enemy engaging 2nd Battalion. They ranged in good time and were soon firing for effect. Fire onto 2nd Battalion slackened noticeably after the artillery began firing. Enemy artillery ranging shots started to land around 2nd Battalion. 

The lack of contact with 1st Battalion and 3rd Cavalry Regiment was of significant concern at this point. A further order was sent to 3rd Cavalry at 1120 to move west to support 2nd Battalion. At 1125, an officer was dispatched to locate and get a report from 2nd Volunteer Cavalry in an attempt to gain a greater understanding of the current situation. 

At 1130, we sighted forces on the large hill east of 2nd Battalion, which were presumed to be 3rd Cavalry. The enemy's artillery ceased firing around this time, having ranged in on 2nd Battalion but managed to being a barrage. It was surmised that either 2nd Volunteer Cavalry or 1st Battalion had threatened or silenced the guns.

At 1135, 3rd Cavalry deployed south of the riverbed, dismounted and took up a defensive posture. A runner from 2nd Battalion also arrived, conveying their unwillingness and inability to withdraw despite the enemy presence and coming under machine gun fire. 3rd Cavalry was ordered to advance, locate the machine guns and silence them. A report was received from 2nd Volunteer Cavalry, reporting the destruction of the factory and that they were preparing to engage enemy forces and would be unable to detach squadrons to investigate the tracks. 

At 1140, an officer was sent to identify the forces on the large hill east of 2nd Battalion who appeared to be moving south in a defensive manner, maintaining a watch to the north. 2nd Battalion, despite their early refusal to do so, now was forced to withdraw, with heavy losses, across the riverbed and behind 3rd Cavalry. 

At 1150, a group of cavalry, at the time believed to be 3rd Cavalry, but later identified as 2nd Volunteer Cavalry, were sighted at the fork in the road, engaged in combat with Japanese cavalry, whom they soon put to flight. The cavalry attempted to follow up, but were engaged by machine guns and forced to withdraw. 

At 1155, 1st Battalion managed to get a runner to headquarters, reporting they had destroyed the village of Mihara. With no enemy forces engaging ours at the time, and having taken significant losses, with our objectives achieved, I ordered a general withdrawal, which was completed without further loss.

In summary, our forces destroyed the village of Mihara, and any supplies contained within, and the munitions factory, destroying one enemy cavalry regiment and inflicting heavy losses on at least two infantry battalions. It is also possible that the enemy artillery was caught in the barrage fired and was either destroyed or forced to withdraw. Enemy losses are unknown, but assumed to be heavy. No prisoners were taken. 

Our losses amounted to approximately 950 men killed, wounded or missing, plus approximately 200 horses. No heavy equipment was lost. Our forces returned to friendly lines and are reorganizing. I anticipate all units will be combat ready within 12 hours, although 2nd Volunteer Cavalry has taken heavy losses in both men and horses and will be unable to field more than 2 Squadrons. 2nd Battalion has been reduced to an effective strength of three companies, all slightly under-strength. 

I trust you find the results of our operation and this report meets your standards.

Brig. Gen. Spelthorne

After Action Report and Force Assessment, 6th Division for the Actions of 1908-07-09

General Kuroki,

It is my solemn duty and honour to submit to you here the report of the actions of His Imperial Majesty's 6th Division for our actions against the invaders in Mihara Valley on 1908-07-09. At your wise direction, our forces were to advance into the valley, eliminate any invaders encountered and establish a defensive position along the line of the Tedori-gawa.

Our forces arrived in the valley from the North at approximately 1000, our intention being to establish a secure position in Kihoran, deploying the 2nd Battery 6th Field Artillery Regiment there to cover our advance to the river.

Once our position had been established and organised, the 13th Cavalry Regiment was ordered to move to Mihara and report on the status of the ammunition and supply dump, while the infantry remained in defensive positions around Kihoran. At 1035, rifle fire was heard in the distance, our first confirmation that the invaders were operating in the area.

In response to the fire, I sent order to 13th Cavalry Regiment to move to secure Nishigama (East of Mihara) and ordered 4th Battalion to advance along the road to the south while remaining in cover with orders to engage any enemy who fired upon them.

At 1045, a report was received from the 13th Cavalry that they had located the munitions cache, so I ordered the machine gun company to advance to resupply and sent orders to the 2nd Battalion to follow and support 13th Cavalry. Shortly thereafter, at approximately 1050, 13th Cavalry reported sighting fires ahead of their advance. 4th Battalion also reported that they had killed an enemy scout advancing up the road to Mihara.

At 1100, 4th Battalion reported contact with enemy forces, and that they were inflicting significant losses, around the fork in the road just north of the Tedori-gawa. While this firefight continued, smoke was sighted to the South East beyond the Tedori-gawa, presumed the result of some enemy action. I ordered the 2nd Battery to fire on the approximate location of the smoke.

As 4th Battalion reported increasing casualties, I sent orders for 2nd Battalion to move west to support them and pressure the enemy flank, and for the Machine Gun Company to move South and provide fire support.

During this time, there had been no response from 13th Cavalry to repeated requests for status reports, but at 1125 a message was finally received reporting they had driven enemy infantry out of Nishigama and had sighted enemy cavalry, which they were planning to engage. Enemy artillery began firing on 4th Battalion, whose losses continued to mount, but were unable to pull back.

At 1130, I ordered the 2nd Battery to advance to Mihara to restock their ammunition supply. The firefight between 4th Battalion continued. 13th Cavalry reported being forced back by enemy cavalry and requested support. I sent orders for them to fall back behind the machine gun company who were now in position and engaging the enemy.

4th Battalion reported at 1135 that they were driving in the enemy position ahead of them, but still taking effective artillery fire, which forced them to withdraw at 1145 with heavy losses. At 1155, 2nd Battalion reported driving off enemy cavalry forces, while 4th Battalion arrived in Mihara and reported that they were combat ineffective. By the time 2nd Battalion were able to move to the identified enemy positions, they had retreated leaving the field to us. We were subsequently able to dig in along the Tedori-gawa and surrounding hills.

Before withdrawing, the invaders destroyed the village of Nishigama, which has been completely burned. The nearby textile factory has also been destroyed. The reasoning behind these acts of barbarism is unclear.

The status of our units at the end of the actions were as follows:

2nd Battalion 23rd Infantry Regiment - Light losses, in position in trenches along the Tedori-gawa
4th Battalion 23rd Infantry Regiment - Heavy losses, unit combat ineffective. Resting in Mihara.
Requires rotating off the line and a replacement unit as reserves for 2nd Battalion to make the position effective.
Machine Gun Company 23rd Infantry Regiment - One weapon disabled, requires maintenance crew to bring back into action. Deployed in defensive positions along the Tedori-gawa.
13th Cavalry Regiment - Regiment scattered, heavy losses in both men and horses. Cannot be considered a viable combat unit.
2nd Battery 6th Field Artillery Regiment - Resupplied and ready for action, full strength.

Our losses amounted to approximately 600 killed, wounded and missing, while we believe enemy losses amounted to at at least 1100. We took approximately 150 prisoners, two thirds of whom are wounded.

I trust this report from your humble servant meets your expectations, and ask only to continue to serve the Empire.

General Kotohito, commanding 6th Division