Blast from the Past: "Tanks on the Matanikau" at Historicon 2015

"Tanks on the Matanikau" at Historicon 2015
The only Japanese armored assault on Guadalcanal.

I thought posting photos from some of the convention battles club members have run in the past would be a good way to keep the gaming spark alive as the pandemic keeps in person gaming to a minimum.  And I thought I would start with a game from Historicon, 2015.  

From 2012 to 2017 Historicon was held in Fredericksburg, Virginia, home town of the Spotsylvania Area Gamers.  For all of those years, as a military historian, I presented lectures as part of the Historicon War College. For most of those years, I teamed up with fellow club member Wayne. I presented a War College lecture on a specific battle in the morning, and that afternoon Wayne presented a large miniature wargame reenactment of that battle, using Battlefront's Flames of War 3rd edition rules for convention goers.  

I still love these lecture/game combinations, though we haven't been able to do them since Historicon moved back north to Pennsylvania.  I thought they were a wonderful combination of education and fun. The games were always gorgeous because Wayne is such a skilled painter and terrain builder.  

In 2015, I lectured on the Guadalcanal Campaign, and then Wayne presented a wargame depicting Nakaguma's attack on the Matanikau on 24 October, modified slightly to give the Japanese a bit more of a chance. 

The lecture room was a but small in Fredericksburg, but 
that meant it always looked full! I usually had 20 or so attendees. 

We paired the lecture with a game run by Wayne and Allen.
I wrote up the scenario and the lists. 

Players and onlookers gather...

Wayne admires the gorgeous board he made.

The Japanese armored commander was young but experienced.

Soon the game was in full swing.

Japanese tanks were shelled on the sandbar.

Japanese infantry reached the river.

Marines dug in.

Marine 37mm anti-tank gun positions.

Marine 75mm self-propelled guns back up the 37mm guns.

Full Japanese assault!

Banzai!

Most of the Japanese tanks burn...
but not all and the American anti-tank guns are all destroyed...

Japanese vicory... casualties for the Japanese were 75%+

The empty field...

Our wargame proceeded nothing like the historical action, but that was fine, the players had fun and they learned about the Guadalcanal campaign. For those interested in learning more about the Guadalcanal campaign themselves, The Marine Corps' History Division has produced several history that can be downloaded as free pdfs.  These include Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal: History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, vol. 1, First Offensive: The Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal, and The Guadalcanal Campaign.  The best single volume history of the Guadalcanal campaign, in my opinion, is Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle by Richard B. Frank. It makes solid use of both American and Japanese sources. 

Of course, today the Matanikau outlet looks very unlike 
the jungle river of 1942.

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.