The Pacific, 1942 - 1943 Spotlight American Forces with Wayne Turner The Pacific expands the Flames Of War Mid-war period into an entirely new theatre. It covers the forces and battles that take part in the first half of the war in Asia and the Pacific from Japanese surprise attacks in December 1941 to the island and jungle campaigns of 1942 and 1943. Battles are fought far and wide across the theatre, from the plantations and fields of Malaya, the cities of Singapore and Rangoon, through the mountains and jungles of New Guinea, Burma, and the Island of Guadalcanal and the rest of the Solomon Islands to the isolated islands of the Marshall and Gilbert groups. Order the book on the Battlefront Group webstore...

To cover these extensive campaigns The Pacific features Forces, Formations, and Units of the Imperial Japanese Forces, US Marine Corps and US Army Forces, British and Indian Forces, and Australian Forces. The Pacific also contains rules and guides for Pacific and Asian terrains, Missions and rules for amphibious assaults, jungle fighting, and island fortifications.

Includes Free Forces Code As a bonus for purchasing The Pacific, 1942 - 1943 you will also find in the back of the book a FREE code to redeem all the forces and command cards contained within the book for use in Forces Of War. Forces Of War is the online force builder for Flames Of War and is an invaluable tool for building and storing army lists, as well as printing out Unit and Command Cards ready for battle. Includes Free PDF Download In addition to being able to access Forces with this code, you can also use it on the Battlefront Digital website to unlock a free PDF download of the book to you computer or tablet! Includes Free Catalogue With each copy of The Pacific, 1942 - 1943 you will find a copy of the full catalogue, detailing all the Flames Of War miniatures and accessories found in the Pacific book. Use this as a point of reference to get to know your opponent's potential army composition or to help plan the next additions to your own army.

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The Pacific allows you to field Forces from both the US Marine Corps as well as US Army forces. The US Marine have a number of special rule unique to them, Gung-ho conveys the Marines’ willingness to tackle any task and their commitment to the Corps giving Marine Units a better Tactics rating. Semper fidelis (often shortened to Semper fi) is the motto of the United States Marine Corps. It is a Latin phrase that means ‘always faithful’ or ‘always loyal’. Semper Fi gives Marine Units a better Counterattack rating. They also use many of the US Special Rules players of US forces in Flames Of War will be familiar with such as Observer, and Time on Target (for artillery). US Marine Units are usually rated Fearless 3+, Trained 4+, Careful Is Hit On 4+, but they also gain all the rating benefits from the Gung-Ho and Semer Fi special rules. The Pacific lets you field three US Marine formations. The first of these it the Marine Rifle Company. The Marine Rifle Company contains a HQ, two to three Marine Rifle Platoons, a Marine M1917 Machine-gun Platoon, a Marine 81mm Mortar Platoon, a Marine 37mm Anti-tank Platoon, a Marine Scout Platoon, and a Marine 75mm SPM Self-propelled Gun Platoon.

The Marine Rifle Platoons are equipped with rifles and Browning automatic rifles, with seven to ten teams in each Unit. To this they can M1919 LMG teams and M1917 HMG teams for increase firepower. Indirect fire is provided by an optional 60mm mortar. For anti-tank work they also have an optional Bazooka, and for clearing trenches and bunkers they also have a flame-thrower available. More sustained indirect fire can be provided by the Marine 81mm Mortar Platoon which can have up to four 81mm mortar teams and the ability to provide a Smoke Bombardment. If the machine-guns in the rifle platoon are not enough, further high rate-of-fire weapons are available in the M1917 Machine-gun Platoon. Against Japanese tanks, the 37mm anti-tank guns of the Marine 37mm Anti-tank Platoon is more than enough to cope with most enemy armour. The Marine 75mm SPM Self-propelled Gun Platoon’s initial role was to seek out the enemy’s flanks and then set up in ambush positions to engage their tanks. Although the 75mm gun mounted on an M3 half-track was excellent for destroying Japanese tanks, these tactics were unsuited for jungle fighting in the Pacific. The self-propelled gun platoon was more often used to destroy enemy bunkers and fortifications and to provide extra firepower.

The Marine Scout Platoon provides vital patrolling and reconnaissance in the jungles and tropical forests of the Pacific islands.  The second Marine formation is the Marine M3 Stuart Tank Company. Organised simply with an HQ and two to three M3 Stuart Tank Platoon, they were often found directly supporting rifle companies against Japanese positions. Each M3 Stuart Marine Tank Platoon has three to five M3 Stuarts. For the early battles it was the M3 Stuart which bore the brunt of the fighting, making use of its multiple machine-guns and 37mm main gun firing canister shot to break up Japanese counter-attacks. Due to the suicidal attacks made by Japanese infantry utilising improvised anti-tank weapons, the light tanks would operate in pairs with one spraying the other with machine-gun fire to keep the infantry away. Unlike the Army Stuarts, these early models did not have a stabiliser, but they did utilise the 37mm Canister round (Range 8”/20cm, ROF 6/6, AT 1, FP 6, +1 To Hit for Moving ROF). US Marine M3 Stuart are Aggressive Is Hit On 3+. Our final Marine formation is the Marine M4 Sherman Tank Company. The M4 Shermans were organised like the M3 Stuarts. Fighting on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands proved that the M3 Stuart tank’s gun lacked punch against entrenched troops, even with the canister round. The Marine Corps wanted something heavier, and in October 1942 they received twenty-two M4 Sherman tanks for evaluation. Its 75mm gun proved to be the answer and the M4 Sherman medium tank was rushed into service in 1943. Marine Support Units provide further capabilities to a US Marine Force. Support Units include the reconnaissance, assault engineer, Naval engineers, anti-aircraft, and artillery.

The US Army The US Army was also heavily engaged in the Pacific Theatre. A US Force can field two formations from the US Army. US Army Formations and Units follow the standard US Special Rules, such as Observer, Stabiliser (for Tanks), and Time on Target (for artillery). They also have the Determined special rule. Determined troops have a better Rally rating. US Army troops are usually rated Confident 4+, Green 5+, Aggressive Is Hit On 3+, but they also gain all the rating benefits from the Determined special rules. The first of these formations is the US Army Rifle Company. This formation shares much of the organisation as their comrades in North Africa. The formation has compulsory units of an HQ and two or three Rifle Platoons. Added to this is one or two M1917 Machine-gun Platoons, one or two 37mm Anti-tank Platoons, one or two 81mm Mortar Platoons, and a T30 75mm Assault Gun Platoon. The Rifle Platoons have seven to ten M1 Garand rifle teams and a M1 Bazooka team. Further to this can be added a M1919 LMG team for some added firepower. Further machine-gun fire comes from the M1917 Machine-gun Platoons, while plenty of indirect artillery fire is available in the 81mm Mortar Platoons. Anti-tank defence in not a problem either with the 37mm Anti-tank Platoons available in that role. The 37mm anti-tank guns has more than enough punch (AT 7, FP 4+) to see off most Japanese tanks. Finally, the T30 75mm Assault Gun Platoon with its T30 75mm HMC half-track mounted mountain howitzers provide the company with its own self-propelled artillery.

The second US Army formation is the M3 Stuart Tank Company. This tank formations a little heavier than the Marine version with a HQ, two to three M3 Stuart Tank Platoons, a M4 81mm Armored Mortar Platoon, a T30 75mm Assault Gun Platoon, and a M3A1 Cavalry Recon Patrol. The Army Stuarts saw action during the Army’s first battles in the Pacific during the defence of the Philippines. They also saw action on Makin atoll. The US Army M3 Stuarts Reckless Is Hit On 2+. The Army M3 Stuarts are fitted with Stabilisers (37mm has ROF 2/2, but +1 To Hit with Moving ROF) and like the Marine M3 Stuart can fire Canister (Range 8”/20cm, ROF 6/6, AT 1, FP 6, +1 To Hit for Moving ROF). They are in units of three to five tanks. The M4 81mm Armored Mortar Platoon has its 81mm mortar mounted in half-tracks, giving the mobility to keep pace with the tanks while they prove them with indirect fire again anti-tank guns and infantry and a smoke screen when needed. The T30 75mm Assault Gun Platoon adds more indirect artillery support. The M3A1 Cavalry Recon Patrol is lightly equipped and stealthy. Recon Patrols locate enemy ambushes and identify weakly defended routes suitable for tank and infantry attacks, letting the fighting units advance further before making contact with the enemy.

US Wildcard and Support The US section also include one Wildcard Unit. The T55 Interceptor wheeled tank destroyer is light and fast. Its high road speed makes it an ideal fit to tank destroyer doctrine as large numbers can quickly race to the site of any Japanese armoured breakthrough. The Interceptor’s 3-inch gun is the most powerful anti-tank weapon in the American arsenal. The T55 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage could have been shipped to the Pacific theatre in 1943 for combat testing, with the priority given to the M10 tank destroyers for service in the Mediterranean theatre. The US Army also has a number of Support Units available to support any of the Formation in a US Force (including Marine Formations). This includes mounted and dismounted reconnaissance, artillery, and aircraft. The release of The Pacific will also see the release of all the appropriate models for the above US Marine and Army forces. The book come bundled with a separate comprehensive catalogue showing all the models and what to buy.