Shumshu is the northernmost of the Kuril Islands in the Western Pacific near Kamchatka. In mid-August 1945, just after the Japanese surrender, the Russians set out to seize the island. The instructions that had been given to the surrendering Japanese forces left room for self-defense. The local commanders felt that the defense of the island constituted such self-defense and decided to continue the war on their own. Under their command was a powerful force with six battalions of infantry, naval and field artillery and a tank regiment.
Attacker: Japanese (138th Rifle Regiment, 101st Rifle Division)
Defender: Russian (73rd Infantry Brigade; 11th Tank Regiment)
5.5 turns
Players: 2 OBA: None Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:6.0 D:14.0
AFVs: A:6
Type 97B CHI-HA x 2 Type 97A CHI-HA x 2 Type 95 HA-GO Type 2 KA-MI
AFVs: D:0
Guns: A:2
Type 96 15cm Howitzer Year-38 Type Field Gun (Improved)
My second time playing this scenario, and I don't think I'd like to play it again, as best play for both sides seems pretty well set. The Russians have to hide from the big Japanese guns by setting up immediately behind the low hills, and then dig more foxholes to supplement the ones they start with. This lets the Japanese advance unopposed on their first turn, but leaves them a very difficult task once they reach Russian lines. The Japanese tanks may be numerous but their small guns have little effect, trying to overrun a foxhole with them is useless, and they are vulnerable to Russian guns, ATRs and ATMMs.
Japanese should presumably try to concentrate on one victory area and prevent Russian reinforcements moving to support it. This I did, although I made an unwise banzai charge which lost me a couple of precious Japanese squads - these are few in number and shouldn't be squandered. My opponent's defence was very competent, with plenty of smoke to protect his units and obstruct mine, and I conceded on turn 5, having not got particularly close to my victory objectives.
2023-01-12
(D) Simon Staniforth
vs
Andy Bagley
Russian win
I see my opponent has already posted a write up of our game. I took note of earlier comments from Andy’s first playing of this scenario and set everything up out of LOS of those Guns on the hill at Level 3. Kept Concealment as much / long as possible and as the attack developed pushed the ATG out of its initial Gully hex to try and support the other flank. Mainly though the 76* Gun kept me in the game with no Smoke depletion so I was able to cover both his advancing tanks / infantry and my defending squads as necessary. He also had little luck with the HtH CCs, the Russians holding firm and taking out a number of IJA Units. Once you are set as the Russians though it’s a pretty static defence, dig some more foxholes and hunker down
2022-08-26
(D) Rich Weiley
vs
Neil MacPherson
Russian win
2021-09-28
(D) Andy Bagley
vs
Tony Gibson
Russian win
An interesting and unusual scenario, and not just because it's Russians vs Japanese on an island you've never heard of, and takes place three days AFTER the formal Japanese surrender!. Key features are the lack of cover - no woods and almost no buildings, so routing is problematic - and the massive Japanese artillery on the hill. This means that the Russian defenders have almost nowhere to hide other than behind hills and IN gullies, neither of which help against overruns by the Japanese tanks. So the defence has to be based on foxholes, and I made the mistake of placing mine in forward defensive positions (with a screen of ATRs), whereas they should all have been behind hills in the VC areas. (I tried digging more foxholes on turn 1 but was largely unsuccessful.) My opponent then countered with a mistake of his own, misreading the victory conditions: the Japanese only need to clear the Russians from one VC area, not both, to win.
Even so the Japanese came very close to winning, just falling short on their final turn. The luck swung both ways, first with the Japanese eliminating some of my best units in two 1-4 HtH CCs, then with my just-repaired MMG going on a tear and taking out a tank and a couple of squads. My ATRs couldn't hit a thing, nor could I pass a PAATC let alone use those ATMMs, but the Japanese' consistent failure to pass any PTCs probably decided it in the end, as it prevented them advancing into the last locations I held in each VC area.
We both enjoyed the scenario "for a change", but wouldn't want to play this sort of thing often.
2021-06-05
(D) nathan wegener
vs
Jim Burris
Japanese win
Challenging situation for Japs to use force effectively but they can definitely get it done. I broke my 45ATG on the first shot which didn’t help.
