Planning for DANG 2013

With a busy November coming to an end, I am starting to prepare for my yearly naval game: DANG (Dave's Annual Naval Game). We ran through the voting in October and this year's voting ended in a tie (for those of you keeping track, this is the third year in a row that the voting ended in a tie) and the winner was decided with a coin toss.

This year’s game is “Operation Landcrab – The American Invasion of Attu” and here is an overview of the game situation:

It has only been a month since Admiral Koga took over the Combined Fleet due to Admiral Yamamoto's untimely death and now word has come that the Americans are invading Attu. With (unhistorical) decisiveness, Admiral Koga activates Operation K-Go saying “The Navy will take action to apprehend and destroy the enemy’s surface forces.”

Japanese battleships preparing to get underway

Japanese troops occupy Attu and Kiska, but US air strikes over the past several months have battered installations and eliminated the few Japanese planes stationed there. Reinforcements and relief must come from naval forces and airbases at Paramushiro, 700 miles west of Attu.

The U.S. Navy's Task Force 51 ready to support the Attu landing

The US has built up a substantial invasion force and there are US air bases at Adak, Amchitka, and Umnak, but the variable Alaskan weather will limit the effect of airpower and it will be up to the U.S. Navy to protect and support the invasion of Attu.

The game will use the General Quarters 3 scenario (with a few twists) and cover operations from 15 May 1943, just after the U.S. Invasion of Attu, until around 20 May 1943. Both sides will have a number of older battleships, along with cruisers, destroyers and transports to complete their missions. Aircraft will also be available (each side has land-based air and a light carrier) to help with searches and attacks, but you can expect the weather will have a major impact on air operations.

We will be using the General Quarters 3 rules (with the latest updates) and 1/6000 scale ships. The game will happen on December 30 and, as always, it should be a lot of fun. I have a few new ships to paint up (I hope to post pictures) and the various forms and background information to create. I also have to go in for shoulder surgery, which will take me out of action for a little while, but (hopefully) won't impact DANG.

This is DANG’s twelfth year and here are links to recaps of games from before 2010, the Lepanto game from 2010, and the American Civil War river game from 2011, and last year's 1812 Lake Ontario game.