TERRAIN The terrain features around Clark Field are depicted on the two scenario maps. Areas of vegetation are treated as Woods. "Top of the World" is the name of the large ridge just west of Fort Stotsenburg. There are two rivers on the map. Both rivers are impassable, unless engineers spend at least an hour preparing a crossing site. Streams are fordable to infantry and tracked vehicles, but not to wheeled vehicles. Fort Stotsenburg is the large built-up area in the center of the battle area. All buildings are wooden. Japanese emplacements, bunkers and pillboxes were extremely well camouflaged and are considered to be under cover for spotting purposes, regardless of their actual position. VICTORY CONDITIONS The victory conditions are based on how far the US player advances. If the Americans can occupy Fort Stotsenburg and clear the Top of the World so that no Japanese stands have a line oh sight to the eastern edge of the table, they win. If the Americans fail to occupy Fort Stotsenburg and Top of the World, they lose. (This represents the players-acting as the local commanding officers­being relieved of command by the division or higher commander.) Any other result is a draw. HISTORICAL NOTE On the 29th, the American combat team overran the right flank of the outpost line of defense and advanced on Fort Stotsenburg, only to be repulsed by a counterattack by the Japanese Yanagimoto force. During the night of the 29th, the Japanese withdrew to their main line of resistance positions. January 30th saw a cautious advance that occupied the ruins of Ft. Stotsenburg and renewed contact with the Japanese defensive line. American attacks on the 31 st and February 1st culminated in the capture of the Top of the World ridge located west of the fort. SOURCES Harries, Meirion and Harries, Susan, Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army, pp., Random House, New York, 1991. Smith, Robert R., Triumph in the Philippines, United States Army Operations in World War II, Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, Washington D.C. 1963. Stanton, Shelby L., Order of Battle, U.S. Army, World War II. Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 1984. United States War Department, Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, Lionel Leventhal, London, 1991. Liberation of Clark Field: Luzon, Philippines CDII Scenario: January 29-31, 1945 Introduction US Briefing Japanese Briefing Terrain, Victory, Historical Notes, and Sources Map (slow: 136K) Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Quarterly # 8 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com