Panzer Campaigns Philippines ’44 Released!

Hello everyone,

Wargame Design Studio is proud to release Panzer Campaigns - Philippines ’44. This is the twenty-seventh game released in the Panzer Campaigns franchise and will not be the last.

We are excited to release the third title based in the Pacific theatre and the first modelled on an actual operation. The first two Pacific titles were Japan ’45 and Japan ’46, Operation Olympic & Operation Coronet respectively. Though based off the planned operations, the invasion of Japan never occurred, rendering these battles hypothetical.

Philippines ’44 is a fascinating title, focused on a rarely covered campaign. There is both a range of operations as well as diverse forces for both sides. Actions ranged from amphibious landings, airdrops (for both sides!) to a range of land actions. The environment and terrain are much more of a hinderance to action than is the case in Europe and the juncture of weather, jungle and other challenges impacts the speed of movement and play.

The Allied landings were primarily a US Army operation, as would be expected for any force under the command of General MacArthur. The US Marine Corps was busy in the Central Pacific and unavailable for the Philippines operation. Beyond the Allied Filipino forces, the US Army carried the lions share of the operation.

Below is the information that will be up on the WDS web page.

Overview

President Franklin D. Roosevelt told the Filipinos on December 28, 1941,

“In this great struggle of the Pacific, the loyal Americans of the Philippine Islands are called upon to play a crucial role. The people of the United States will never forget what the people of the Philippine Islands are doing this day and in the days to come. I give to the people of the Philippines my solemn pledge that their freedom will be redeemed. The entire resources in men and material of the United States stand behind that pledge."

On October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur delivered his famous “I Have Returned” speech upon landing on Leyte Island. It is one of the most iconic phrases of the war, coupled with some of the most famous photographs, that captured the moment as he waded ashore.

With the return to the Philippines in 1944, both Roosevelt and McArthur’s pledges were honored, but this was to be a titanic struggle to liberate the islands for the next eight months.

In Philippines ’44, as MacArthur you will command units from both the US Sixth and Eighth Armies as well as US Army Air Force and Naval air groups. The Japanese forces, led by General Yamashita, had at his disposal, three major commands, the Shobu, Shimbu and Kembu Groups. Yamashita’s command outnumbered the Allied forces but had to defend a vast territory with limited knowledge of where the Allied forces may land. All that is lacking is for you to kick off one of the largest land campaigns of the Pacific War.

Scenarios

Panzer Campaigns: Philippines ‘44 covers the major actions on both Leyte and Luzon islands, from October 1944 through to July 1945. The campaign scenarios included are:

The liberation of Leyte: Oct 20, 1944 - Dec 23, 1944

The liberation of Luzon: Jan 9, 1945 - Jun 22, 1945

The liberation of Manila: Mar 3, 1945

The Northern Luzon Campaign: Mar 6, 1945 - Apr 26, 1945

There are 76 scenarios in total including the above-mentioned campaigns. The longest campaign scenario is over 630 turns or approximately two months in elapsed time. Smaller scenarios ranging in length from 6 to 138 turns, will provide players with plenty of challenges and battles of variable length and size.

Features

Game features include:

Game scale is 1 hex = 1 km, 1 turn = 2 hour, with battalion and company size units.

76 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including specialized versions for both head-to-head play and vs. the computer AI.

The master maps for Leyte (24,570 hexes) and Luzon (184,800 hexes) cover the main landing beaches and subsequent advances to liberate cities such as Manila.

The Order of Battle files cover the US Army forces and opposing elements of Japanese of the 14^th Area Army during the period October 1944 to July 1945.

Order-of-Battle and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.

Sub-map feature allows the main map to be "chopped" up into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.

Extensive Designer notes providing historic background to the scenarios and explanation of design decisions.

Philippines ‘44 provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play, and two player hot seat.

Panzer Campaigns: Philippines ‘44 is also the first title released in the series updated to our latest 4.03 standard.

Below are some images from the game. All can be clicked for full-size.