Jerry Lannigan, the commander of the Imperial Japanese:
"We can only land on two islands. We want to swarm across and take out as many automatic weapons as possible. In the second wave, we'll have greater support and can take the other islands."
He thinks he will win the battle if the first wave captures the airfield at Wake, and makes enough progress at Wilkes so that the second wave of Japanese can get total control of that island. Even if tougher-than-expected resistance develops, control of those areas should be enough to insure at least a minor victory, with a chance for a major victory if the Americans crack.
The problem, he feels, is trying to take too much too soon, especially since losses will be high in the first turn, and the Japanese can not fight back. "We don't want to expose ourselves to the mother of all crossfires," he said.
Bill Ferranda, commander of the U.S. forces on Wake Island:
His general strategy is to hold the airfield as long as possible, with hope of eventual air support. Meanwhile, his troops will hold a delaying action on the other islands, falling back to the airfield and its buildings and hardened defensive positions as the battle goes on.
"The terrain is fairly even, except for the bunkers we've dug and the sandbags for our heavy guns. We've made machine gun pits, and there's a high ratio of automatic weapons, one for every four men. We also have a large ammo dump available, so we won't run out of ammunition."
He knows of no restrictions on where the Japanese can land, and is concerned about having the invaders split his forces. So, his initial deployment puts about two-thirds of his forces on Wake and splits the other troops on Wilkes and Peale. The bulk of the main force on Wake is well-protected in bunkers and prepared positions, many on the central part of the island where only a few Japanese transports can land. They are just north of the airfield, and can concentrate fire on it. Each of the big, sandbagged coastal defense guns is protected by a half squad armed with sub-machine guns, and machine guns and anti-aircraft guns are set up to provide additional support for them.
A handful of workers armed with rifles are set up in the brush at the edge of all three islands to slow the initial advance, while two ambulance trucks are placed on Peale Island - the only one with a land bridge to Wake - so that the defenders can shift position quickly if they are needed.
The only mobile machine gun, mounted on a jeep, is put behind a building on Peale where it can easily be moved to counter the most immediate threat from the Japanese, and still have some protection from the initial landing force.
Wake Island The Game
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© Copyright 1996 by Mike Vogell and Phoenix Military Simulations.
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