Background
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the Third Battle of the Solomon Sea (第三次ソロモン海戦 Dai-san-ji Soromon Kaisen), took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles between Allied (primarily American) and Imperial Japanese forces during the months-long Guadalcanal Campaign in the Solomon Islands during World War II. The action consisted of combined air and sea engagements over four days, most near Guadalcanal and all related to a Japanese effort to reinforce land forces on the island. The only two U.S. Navy admirals to be killed in a surface engagement in the war were lost in this battle.
Allied forces landed on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942 and seized an airfield, later called Henderson Field, that was under construction by the Japanese military. There were several subsequent attempts to recapture the airfield by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy using reinforcements delivered to Guadalcanal by ship, efforts which ultimately failed. In early November 1942, the Japanese organized a transport convoy to take 7,000 infantry troops and their equipment to Guadalcanal to attempt once again to retake the airfield. Several Japanese warship forces were assigned to bombard Henderson Field with the goal of destroying Allied aircraft that posed a threat to the convoy. Learning of the Japanese reinforcement effort, U.S. forces launched aircraft and warship attacks to defend Henderson Field and prevent the Japanese ground troops from reaching Guadalcanal.
In the resulting battle, both sides lost numerous warships in two extremely destructive surface engagements at night. Nevertheless, the U.S. succeeded in turning back attempts by the Japanese to bombard Henderson Field with battleships. Allied aircraft also sank most of the Japanese troop transports and prevented the majority of the Japanese troops and equipment from reaching Guadalcanal. Thus, the battle turned back Japan’s last major attempt to dislodge Allied forces from Guadalcanal and nearby Tulagi, resulting in a strategic victory for the U.S. and its allies and deciding the ultimate outcome of the Guadalcanal campaign in their favor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal
The Game
Set Up: The set up and forces were out of the Victory at Sea rules set. We did not have any Atlanta class cruisers in our collections, so we had to do with a few alternatives. Considering the Japanese advantages, we figured an upgrade of the US cruisers would not hurt!
Early Game: The US forces decided to split their forces and try to strike the Japanese forces from both sides. Using their radar, there were able to locate all the Japanese ships quite quickly and start their maneuvers. The Japanese countered by sending a squadron of destroyers to cover their part side and turned the rest of the fleet to take care of the flanking US light forces. The Japanese were able to make short work of these ships and turn their attention to the main US surface vessels.
End Game: The US cruisers attempted to clear off all the Japanese destroyers with massed fire. This was mostly successful, as the Japanese destroyers took heavy losses. However, the game of cat and mouse also brought the cruisers well within Long Lance torpedo range, resulting in the loss of a number of cruisers. With most of their heavy ships lost and the sight of the two Japanese Battle Cruisers closing range, the US forces decided they had enough and left the area. The game resulted in a historic Japanese victory.
– Manteuffel