Pacific Armor, scenario #18: Escape from Munoz

First let me state the printed version has a time or first turn is errata, as the starting time is 0100 hours not 0900. Half hexes are in play.

The Japanese really don’t have much faith in causing more casualties then they lose and keep their eye on exiting seven or more good order steps and at least achieving once objective and a minor victory. In my game the Japanese rolled for night and a 2 hex LOS was rolled. The Japanese exited 9 steps when I called the game, as the Americans had a large lead in casualties. Maybe one of the weaker scenarios but this might be the fact that the map configuration was change, as all three maps had the numbers at the top or north, originally as submitted and would have made exiting a lot harder.

Side notes:

Not realizing the main escape path from Munoz to San Jose was already in American hands, the Ida Detachment was destroyed along Route 5 by the blocking forces of the American 63rd Infantry. After daylight the 20th Infantry moved into Munoz almost unopposed. The 2nd Tank Division lost 52 tanks, 41 trucks, 16 47mm guns, 4 105mm guns, a number of other types of equipment, and vehicles and 1,500 men killed. The American 6th Division and attached units lost 97 men killed and 303 wounded in the battle for Munoz.

Captain Michael Kane described how wild the action was on the 5th of February, while grouped with his men, not but 75 yards in front of them one of our Sherman tanks came to a storage shed not 10 yards away and blasted it, destroying a Japanese tank, not but a second later the Sherman tank was hit by a mutually supporting Japanese tank and burst into flames but the crew was able to escape.

Also in this same Battle for Munoz, Technical Sergeant Donald E. Rudolph, acting as platoon leader became a one man army, tossing grenades into 8 different pillboxes and later hoped on to a Japanese tank putting a phosphorous grenade down its hatch. For his bravery he was given the Medal of Honor and promoted to second lieutenant.