US Retakes Guam

Battle of Guam 1944 AKA the rough-start pacific campaign. From Joni Nuutinen: by a wargamer for the wargamers since 2011. The latest update on April 2026.

July 1944: You are in command of the American III Amphibious Corps, tasked with taking back control of Guam from the Imperial Japanese Army, which captured the island in December 1941.

Reefs around Guam limited the available landing sites, supplies were already strained by unexpectedly long campaigns elsewhere, and the Japanese defenders fully expected the invasion. Even so, U.S. forces landed on two separate beaches around a peninsula. While Guam is the largest of the Mariana Islands, its small size (a mere 32 miles) meant that the Japanese Army quickly mobilized their forces for a series of counterattacks to push the Marines back into the ocean. What followed was a tough opening week, as the small beachheads fought desperately to survive and link up under heavy fire.

Your challenge is to make the landings, hold the beachheads against the early counterattacks, and then attempt to steamroll across the island as quickly as possible so that it can be turned into a U.S. base for the coming operations. If you grew up with classic cardboard-and-counters wargames, this will feel right at home.

Before the landing, both sides put out positive messaging:

As evening of 20 July closed in, Admiral Conolly looked forward with high optimism to the success of their enterprise. Reports indicated that all known major defensive installations in position to interfere with the transports approach and the landing have been destroyed and the assault beaches cleared of obstructions and searched for mines with negative results.

Ashore, the Japanese command was not to be outmatched in confidence. To the men of the 48th Independent Mixed Brigade, General Shigematsu announced: "The enemy, overconfident because of his successful landing on Saipan, is planning a reckless landing on Guam. We have an excellent opportunity to stop him upon the beaches. We are dedicated to the task of destroying this enemy, and are confident that we shall comply with the Imperial wish."
-- Campaign In the Marianas. U.S. Army Center of Military History


FEATURES:

+ No in-app purchases: Your skill and wits determine your position on the Hall of Fame!

+ Historical accuracy: Campaign mirrors the real Order of Battle.

+ Multi-layered AI: Instead of just attacking on direct line towards the target, the opponent balances between strategic goals and smaller tactical tasks like encircling nearby units or going after support units.

+ Settings: Various options are available to alter the look of the gaming experience: Change difficulty level, hexagon size, Animation speed, choose icon set for units (NATO or REAL) decide what is drawn on the map, and much more.


Medal of Honor citation of Leonard Foster Mason: "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as an automatic rifleman serving with the 2d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on the Asan-Adelup Beachhead, Guam, on 22 July 1944. Suddenly taken under fire by 2 enemy machineguns not more than 15 yards away while clearing out hostile positions holding up the advance of his platoon through a narrow gully, Pfc. Mason, alone and on his own initiative, climbed out of the gully and moved parallel to it toward the rear of the enemy position. Although fired upon by hostile riflemen from a higher position and wounded repeatedly in the arm and shoulder, Pfc. Mason pressed forward and had just reached his objective when hit again by a burst of enemy machinegun fire. With valiant disregard for his own peril, he persevered, clearing out the hostile position and then rejoining his platoon to report the results of his action before consenting to be evacuated. His exceptionally heroic act in the face of almost certain death enabled his platoon to accomplish its mission."