Gaming OCS Luzon

The beginning of the final turn in OCS Luzon.  Even though they are close to victory, the Japanese still have a lot to do to win the game.  They must breach the US/Filipino Victory Line (which will force a draw) and get at least one supplied combat unit across the Japanese Victory Line (partially shown at the bottom of this screen shot).  Though they are physically close, it is not as easy as it may seem.

I have played the Operational Combat Series (OCS) since 1992, though not much since I started this blog. It remains one of my favorite gaming systems and offers the most realistic and insightful take on warfare on this scale (predominantly World War II) available in the world of wargaming. Because of its sophistication and detail it is not every gamer's cup of tea. The series is complex and typically takes a loooooong time to play. But if you stick with it, you will be rewarded with the best simulation of how operations worked in 20^th century air-land combat (with some abstract naval stuff thrown in for specific games, depending on the situation depicted).

To encourage new gamers to give the system a try, MMPGamers has published a variety of smaller games for the series. They also publish Operational Matters, a journal devoted to the nuances of the system. The second issue of that publication came out earlier this year and I've only recently had the time to dive into it. It features several articles on the basic considerations of the system as well as tips on what to remember as well as common mistakes that newcomers can make. Even though I've played OCS since its the first game, Guderian's Blitzkrieg, came out, I still make a lot of errors in my play. Not because the system is convoluted or anything, but because I simply haven't devoted enough time in recent years to recall key rules and establish proper habits of play.

Operational Matters – Volume 2 is a terrific way to learn or get reacquainted with the system. It comes with a perfect small-scale game to apply the principles of the system. OCS Luzon addresses the late-1941 Japanese invasion of the main island in the Philippines, their subsequent capture of Manila and the resulting entrapment of American and Filipino forces there, the prelude to the more extended Bataan Campaign which eventually resulted in a major American defeat. The game only lasts 5 turns, which makes it on par with some the shorter scenarios in the larger games like OCS Crimea which I recently reviewed. This post will look at the endgame situation of my recent playings of OCS Luzon.

First, something about the magazine. Like Volume 1 (which featured the OCS game Sicily II), there are several excellent articles featuring tips and insights into this marvelous gaming system. Whereas much of that material was simply a reprint of previous articles that appeared decades ago in a separate publication, Volume 2 contains only fresh material, reflecting the tweaks made to the system over the years. There is a great “top ten tips” article on playing the games. Another article covers “common beginner mistakes” that really helps newbies as well as someone like myself who needs to re-polish their knowledge of the system. A third article covers the most overlooked rules in the series, which is also beneficial. There are several other articles which make this magazine worth having even if you don't play its included game.

The game itself is basic and fast-paced. OCS Luzon has few units and little air power, so the various phases of a game turn play very quickly. Even inexperienced players can complete the game in a few hours. For veterans of the system, Luzon offers a “beer and pretzels” type situation that can be played just for fun with a friend in a given evening. Lite fare compared with “monster” games in the series that can take many days or weeks to complete. (I don't have the patience for such extended play anymore though I love to tinker with the larger ganes in VASSAL.)

Still, there is plenty of meat to this brief game. The Japanese have a very good force, some of which is elite. Most of their forces have Action Ratings of “4” or “5”. They must accomplish a lot in order to win the game, making it harder for them than a simple comparison of forces reveals. The Filipino army is among the worst in the all of OCS. Most units have an Action Rating of “0”, which gives the Japanese frequent, heavy advantages in combat. The Americans have few units, which are mediocre at best with Action Ratings of “2” or “3”.

As I said, there are few air squadrons present, which minimizes the use of air rules during play. The Americans only have one reduced mixed fighter squadron (air combat rating of “1”), which can be used to create a “patrol zone.” The Japanese have a fighter squadron (rating of “2”) which can usually abort the Americans in air combat. Baring extremely bad die rolls, the Japanese should be able to eliminate the pesky American flyers by the end of the game. Additionally, the Japanese have three mediocre bombing squadrons that aren't worth much other than to place “interdiction” markers to slow down the US/Filipino (USF) force's ability to move.

Beyond that, in the magazine there is a detailed example of play through the entire first turn. Most of the rules of the system (supplies, unit modes, leg or mechanized movement, combat, exploitation, etc.) are involved during this turn so it is an excellent way to see how the system is intended to be played, and its remarkable simulation of operational art of war during this era. For my play, I always started with the turn one actions and results, just to give myself a review of the game mechanics and to speed play along.

The middle turns of the game are an interesting puzzle to figure out. The USF forces have very little to work with in terms of supply. This pretty much eliminates their ability to counterattack, as they simply don't have enough supply points (SPs) to go on the offensive. Their units are inferior to the Japanese as well, so SPs spent on attacking are likely going to be wasted by the negative impact of their inferior strength and Action Ratings. They must save their available supplies for defense and to keep their lone air squadron flying as long as possible.

By contrast, the Japanese enjoy apparently plentiful supply, with 15 SPs arriving on Turn Two. Again, this ends up proving to be just enough to keep their offensive going but not enough to do everything they might want to do through the rest of the game. In fact, depending on the style of play, they have to be careful not to run low on supply (and, hence, low on opportunities) in the game's final turns. The Filipino's may not be effective for combat but they serve an important consideration in this system. They can be used as “speed bumps” to force the Japanese to attack instead of moving speedily toward their objectives. If the Japanese can enter and control the capital city Manila by the end of Turn Three they automatically win the game. In my play, however, the judicious spacing of Filipino forces can slow down the advance, sometimes even to a crawl, depending on combat results.

For these reasons, an automatic victory is unlikely, though the Japanese should approach the possibility with gusto to make as much progress as possible. They must capture and occupy Manila before the end of the game anyway as part of their victory instructions. In the final two turns of the game, the focus will invariably shift to the “victory lines” on the Bataan peninsula across Manila Bay. The “outward” line designates where the USF forces must control in order to defeat the Japanese in game terms. There is an “inward” line that reflects where the Japanese must cross with at least one supplied combat unit by the end of the game to win (in addition to controlling Manila). Anything else is considered a draw, which is actually the most likely outcome of the game. In this way, the simulation is “balanced” with each side possessing a chance for winning in spite of the disparity of forces and supply.

In my play, the USF forces spend most of the game fighting a careful withdraw toward the outward line but attempt of hold ground beyond the line as a cushion against possible Japanese breakthroughs. To guard against this, they will ideally want to form two lines, if possible, one behind the other to limit any Japanese exploitation. The Japanese must not only attack Manila, they must garrison it afterwards, which happened every time. So, in the best sense of OCS, it all comes down to the final turn and the ability of the Japanese to breakthrough to their victory line. The Filipinos will be mostly sacrificed to slow down the inevitable Japanese advance, leaving only a few of their units by the last turn. Since there are few Americans present, they will avoid contact, other than their lone air squadron (as long as it lasts), in order to make their last stand in game terms.

On the other hand, repeat playings revealed that the best Japanese strategy is to try to prevent the USF forces from doubling up on their defense depth. The best way to do that is to attack and eliminate as many Filipino units as possible in the first three turns of the game in addition to using their meager air force to interdict (slow down) USF movement. The temptation of committing a lot of forces toward Manila should be avoided (unless, of course, the Filipinos are recklessly placed) in favor of simply blocking their ability to move into position for defending in-depth during the endgame. This is not as easy as it sounds. But it is doable.

The Japanese drive on Manila forces precious Filipino units away from the various victory lines to ensure the game plays to the end. What's more, Manila is considered an “open city” so the defenders are actually penalized for defending inside the city. They must try to slow down the advance outside of the capital, making them fairly easy targets for the advancing Japanese. It reflects a nice balancing act between the aggressive Imperial forces and the defensive-minded Filipinos.

Here's an interesting and, in OCS, a vital note about Luzon. The Japanese have only one wagon transport unit. The USF side has nothing. There are railroads but they can only be used for trace supply not for actually moving SPs around. This means the US cannot move SPs at all while the Japanese are rather restricted with their limited assets. This is as it should be, reflecting the difficulty of fighting campaigns on various Pacific islands at this very early stage of the war. Operations are conducted on a “shoestring” budget with tenuous supplies to fuel the fight.

No transportation means that several of the American supply dumps likely will have to be destroyed in order to avoid capture by the Japanese. Because blowing the dumps is not 100% certain, some residual SPs (or SP tokens) will likely be captured. Meanwhile, the Japanese must plan carefully their transport of SPs southward from their main port. Failure to give this matter enough thought will result in the Japanese being unable to supply their final attacks to attempt to win the game.

Another interesting note is that all the air bases in the game have been bombed ahead of time by the Japanese, which downgrades them to air strips, restricting how many air units they can accommodate in at any given time. But, as I said, there are few air squadrons anyway, so this isn't a hindrance so much as a bit of nice historical “chrome” for the game.

The Japanese have managed to accomplish what they needed to in order to win the game.  But the US/Filipino forces get the last say in this particular playing.

So the stage is set for the final attack. Can the Japanese drive through the remaining, rag-tag USF force? Or will they be stopped short. An American victory is still possible but a win by either side sits upon a razor's edge, as it is with any finely developed OCS game.

For the final turn the USF player wins the initiative roll. They could use this opportunity to consolidate their units and prepare for Japan's final attack but, instead, I opt to pass the initiative to the Japanese. That way the Americans will have the final move of the game to attempt to undo whatever damage may be wrought upon them.

Though the Japanese have superior forces much of them are required to garrison Manila as specified by the game rules. Japan's government wanted to ensure control of the capital for future exploitation of the island nation. The minimum numbers are station there, which robs the final attack of 10 combat points by good quality troops, but that is the way of operational warfare. Sometimes your forces are required to fill other obligations, in this case political control.

Nevertheless, the Japanese have all their artillery present and most of the their best troops. The small air force is at their command as well. In prior turns, the lone wagon transport unit has brought down sufficient supply for this attack, as it will take place beyond both the reach of their port and their headquarters's ability to draw and throw the necessary supply forward. They have 4 SPs positioned for the attack as well as 3 tokens that they have captured from the Americans by overrunning a supply dump that was not completely destroyed when the US/Filipino army retreated.

To win the game the Japanese must have at least one supplied combat unit south of their victory line at the end of this turn. They begin by conducting an overrun attack against an outlying Filipino unit. They roll for surprise and obtain it. They then roll a “2” on one die, which allows a two-column shift on the odds. This ensures the elimination of the Filipino regiment. The attacking group advances across the US-Filipino victory line (thereby ensuring at least a draw in the game) and prepares to attack the next Filipino regiment in line. Another stack of Japanese units move into the hex just vacated by the overrunning units in order to cover their rear for the upcoming supply check at the end of the turn. It is not enough for the Japanese to win these battles, they must end up within trace supply in order to end the game. OCS forces the player to think ahead in all sorts of ways of which this is but one example.

The US units have intentionally been held back in Reserve mode for just this reason. During the Reserve Phase of the Turn Sequence they can release some US reinforcements to make that final hex much more difficult for the Japanese to capture. This will reduce the combat odds in the US/Filipino favor. Perhaps more importantly, the Reserve stack also contains an artillery unit, which can now fire at the Japanese. This is how artillery is used defensively in OCS – you must attack with it during your Reserve Phase. It costs the USF side 3T to make this barrage, which is very costly considering how few SPs they have left (though 1SP arrived by port this turn, which helps immensely). But desperate times require desperate measures. Unfortunately, the dice roll is a “5” which turns out to have no effect (it was a bad roll).

Now comes the regular Combat Phase. The Japanese stack which can use its artillery to barrage the hex before attacking. This costs 3T (4T or "tokens" make up 1SP, which is drawn from the captured supply depot in this case) and results in a disorganization of the defensive units which halves the defenders from a strength of “5” to a total of “2.5”. In OCS .5 or greater is rounded UP to a “3”. The Japanese have an attacking strength of “14”, making for 4.67 to 1 odds which is rounded up to 5 to 1.

The attacker's use their “5” Action Rated (AR) unit to roll for surprise against the US “2” unit which adds 3 to the surprise roll. The Japanese attain it and roll a “4” for the shift. 5 to 1 become 13 to 1 on the combat table. A roll of “7” (the most likely die roll) is further adjusted to a “10” because of the Japanese AR. This eliminates both units and, more importantly, sets up an Exploitation result for the Japanese.

The Exploitation result is crucial because it allows the stack to continuing moving and attacking during the upcoming Exploitation Phase (when no one else can move or attack). In this case, they will attack the remaining reserve units (whose strengths are halved for defense because they are in Reserve). Most likely, this outcome would seal the deal on a Japanese victory. So long as the US is not able to effectively counterattack with some of their units already disorganized.

By choosing to go second in the beginning of the turn, the Americans will have the final say. There is an excellent Filipino cavalry regiment (AR of 4) and two US tank battalions whose attack strength will be doubled against the Japanese as the defenders have no anti-tank capabilities. The high-end odds are not as achievable for the Americans, but they can still strike to their advantage. Without Exploitation, which is unlikely because you need high-end odds for that, they will not be able to attack the second stack of enemy units and that's all the Japanese need to do to win the game (having controlled Manila as required).

In this playing, the US/Filipino forces will likely force one of the Japanese stacks to retreat, but they don't have the strength to "exploit" that victory into driving the other stack back.  This means the Japanese will win.  But it could have easily gone the other way if the die rolls had been more favorable. OCS Luzon is a finely balanced game.  Even though the Japanese clearly have the superior force, either side can "win" in game terms.

But let's go back to the bad die roll for the USF artillery barrage out of Reserve mode above. That barrage could have very easily resulted in a DG on the exploiting Japanese. In that case, they would lose their Exploitation marker and not able to attack further. That would have resulted in the full weight of the American Reserve mode units being marshaled in their part of the turn. Under those circumstances, the likelihood of that lone Japanese hex being held is greatly diminished. While the odds in such a US attack would not have been astronomical, they might not have to be. That cavalry unit is the best unit the USF side has to offer. It negates the Japanese AR advantage. So, the odds are slightly in the favor of the US being able to force the Japanese to retreat. In that case the game would end in a draw.

In a nutshell, playing Luzon is a fun little game. You can get wildly varying outcomes (depending upon decisions and die rolls) the more you play it. I have enjoyed wargaming all my life and have mentioned on several occasions that it provides great insight into these simulated military situations. Plus, it offered me a nice break for all the reading and writing I've been doing lately. OCS is a great way I can reboot or refresh my mind for more of that other kind of stuff.

I really enjoyed becoming reacquainted with the system in Crimea and Luzon. I bought the monster game The Third Winter when it was published back in 2021. It offers an outstanding look at East Front operations in Ukraine in late 1943 into 1944 (perhaps my favorite period of the war). The game is a huge achievement that I haven't even tried to blog about yet since I have done nothing more than read through the game-specific rules and look at the various scenario setups in VASSAL.

But it is a cool game to own nevertheless. Not very minimalist of me, but there it is. I am a bit of hoarder when it comes to wargames, music, movies and books. OCS is a great pastime and I need to get back to playing it more often. Along with the Battalion Combat Series and the Line of Battle Series, OCS is another brilliant design by the late Dean Essig. The man had an extraordinary knack for creating innovative gaming systems that are highly insightful, realistic and even cerebral yet, though cumbersome for some, they are surprisingly playable and enjoyable. 

 

(Written without AI assistance.)