On August 7th, 1942 American troops invaded the Island of Guadalcanal. This started the island hopping campaign that eventually led to the invasion of the Philippines and the downfall of the Imperial Japanese Empire. The Battle for Guadalcanal was just one battle in the campaign for the Solomon Islands. Control of the Solomon’s was important for the Japanese because it protected the flank of their operations in New Guinea and also provided an interdiction point for supply coming from America and going to Australia and New Zealand. Conversely the Allies need the islands to protect these important supply lines.

Larry Harris’s newest Axis & Allies board game, Guadalcanal, is our map for this conflict. The board game will be the strategic map and the battles will be decided by you - the fleet and field commander - using miniatures. We will be playing four complete game turns. Victory will be determined using the victory point conditions as set out in the board game. If you played our last Online Campaign you already know how the system works but for those of you just joining and for veterans needing a refresher I’ll run down how the campaign will work.

First of all, you don’t need to sign up for anything. You don’t have to play the entire campaign, although I encourage you to do so. You don’t have to choose a side but it will be more fun if you do, and you can use any house rules you would normally use. What we do want you to do is participate! Play and report. The more players we have the more likely it is we will continue with more campaigns in the future. I’ll tell you now that if this campaign goes well we might be fighting in the Eastern Front next. In the last campaign, High Command made all the strategic decisions but for Guadalcanal we are giving some of the strategic control to you, the players. For each turn we will have a strategic round and then a tactical round. In the strategic round, High Command will give you options on where you can move Japanese and American battleships and carriers. Then Command will complete the moves for cruisers, destroyers and transports and issue new Battle Tickets and Fleet Actions. Since battleships and carriers dictate the point of attack, you the community determine the strategy.

Starting August 5th, 2008, High Command will issue the first orders – giving you the option to choose an overall strategy. Report your decision to AAR@wizards.com by the deadline, 8:00am PST on Thursday, August 7th. High Command will use your collective decisions to make the final moves and issue Fleet and Battle tickets on Friday, August 8th. You will then have an entire week to play the battles and report your results to AAR@wizards.com by the deadline of 8:00am PST, on Monday, August 18th. The following Tuesday, August 19th we will issue a new set of strategic options and the process will start all over again.
We will do this four times and the side with the most victory points at the end will be declared the winner.

Guadalcanal Fleet Actions will be very intense with requirements to the number and types of ships as dictated by pieces on the game board. We’ve also included a new unit, the Shore Battery that was created just for this campaign. The land battles will be small, possibly no more than 50 points per-side and the Americans will not have armor support. It’s all about planes, infantry and artillery. We’ve created a new hex tile for the land battles: an airfield that makes getting and using aircraft crucial to tactical success.

Next week we will look at how to read and report Fleet Actions and Battle Tickets and we will talk about how battles are determined and resolved on the game board. Plus we will preview shore batteries and take a look at airfields. In the mean time take a look at the strategic map, keep in mind that ship can move one space, and try and formulate a plan of attack. High Command is listening. As always the discussion is welcome on the forum.

Man your battle stations! Ready your forces and prepare to take sides. The Online Campaign is heading to the South Pacific and you are going to decide who wins and who loses.