General George C. Marshall in a letter to General Walter C. Short, 7 February 1941
Strategic Briefing
Night has fallen, and the smoke is still thick over Pearl Harbor. The air and naval forces of the Empire of Japan have launched a sneak attack against the United States of America, and the shock hangs so heavy in the air you could cut it with a knife.
The last Japanese aircraft left Hawaiian airspace over fourteen hours ago, but dark shapes are rising out of the sea just off the western coast of Oahu island. The Japanese submarines I-8, I-15, and 1-29, each heavily modified to carry troops and vehicles, disgorge their specially-built landing craft just past midnight local time on December 8, 1941.
The High Command of the Imperial Japanese Army is interested in gauging firsthand the ability of the United States to resist a Japanese invasion of the Hawaiian islands. To this end, and to further demoralize the enemy, it has planned a lightning raid by elite submarine-borne elements, striking overland at three separate targets on Oahu island. This raid is to be conducted under cover of night, and will last less than four hours. Every man crouched low in an assault boat speeding toward the warm sand of the Hawaiian beach is a battle-hardened veteran, utterly fearless, drilled for months in secret to carry out this mission with absolute dash and precision.
The nervous young American sentries on Oahu already know confusion and tension. In just a few hours, the silence of the Pacific darkness will be shattered... and they will know hell...
Available Forces
This scenario set uses a variation of the traditional Gear Krieg set-up system. Forces are not assigned on a mission-by-mission basis. Rather, each player is given a large pool of forces, and must secretly assign some or all to each of the first three missions (assigning units to the fourth mission is not necessary, as it will involve the survivors of the previous three). Part of the fun lies in guessing which objectives the opposing player will contest most fiercely.
The Japanese player may even go so far as to make a command decision to entirely avoid one of the objectives, concentrating forces for more effective assaults on the other two. This is not recommended, but it is possible. As for the American player, forces must be assigned to defend every objective.
Force assignments should be revealed once both players have finished making their decisions. They cannot be altered once revealed.
24 x Rifle Squad
8 x Heavy Weapon Squad
6 x Machinegun team
4 x M3A1 Stuart Tank
4 x M11A2 General Early Walker
2 x M11A1 General Early Walker
6 x M3A1 37mm AT Gun
6 x Small Scout Car ("Jeep")
Incidental forces may be added to individual missions, as described within each.
All Japanese forces are Elite.
All American forces are Rookie.
Victory Points
Each mission generates a variable number of Victory Points for each side, as they thrust and counter-thrust to destroy or defend the objectives. At the end of the four missions, total the Victory Points each side has collected and compare them.
| Japanese VP compared to American VP | Scenario Outcome |
| + 60 or more | Overwhelming Japanese victory. Unit citations and historical glory for everyone! |
| +45 to +59 | Considerable Japanese victory. The Americans were profoundly unworthy. |
| +25 to +44 | Moderate Japanese victory. Our fallen comrades will never be forgotten. |
| +6 to +24 | Marginal Japanese victory. The raid is a success, but it could have been so much more. |
| +5 to -5 | Stalemate. Both sides take serious losses. and fail to achieve clear superiority. |
| -6 to -24 | Marginal American victory. The raid is repulsed, but damage has been done. |
| -25 to -44 | Moderate American victory. America's faith in the courage of her boys has been reaffirmed. |
| -45 to -59 | Considerable American victory. The Japanese architects of the raid will be lucky not to be executed. |
| - 60 or more | Overwhelming American victory, and a gigantic boost to American morale. Stars and stripes forever. |
I. Skirmish at Schofield, 0100 Hours
The first Japanese objective is the Schofield Barracks armory, where they intend to destroy a stockpile of small arms and light artillery shells, creating a burning pyre for several hundred American servicemen.
II. Catalina Landing, 0130 Hours
The second Japanese objective lies down the coast, in the form of a PBY Catalina refueling station at Kaena Point. If this station and its complement of flying boats are demolished, the submarines waiting to carry the raiding party back to sea will make a much easier escape.
III. Target: General Short, 0200 Hours
Sever the head and the body dies... or so it is said. The final (and most audacious) Japanese objective is to kidnap General Walter C. Short, commander of all the U.S. Army forces on Hawaii, from his hidden emergency command post. The loss of Short will be a final slap in the face the the American sense of security, which has already been dangerously injured by the events of the day before.
IV. Like Shadows Into the Sea, 0300 Hours
The Japanese survivors of the three commando missions now fall back to the beach, where their submarines are waiting to receive them. A vengeful U.S. Army force harasses the Japanese from all sides, trying to delay their withdrawal long enough for air or naval forces to be called in to the scene.