Midway: 1942

What if . . . This has always been the fascination of Wargamers. What if . . . The 6th Army had been given more freedom in the fight for Stalingrad and the fight for their own survival? What if . . . Zhukov had convinced Stalin to abandon Kharkov before the great encirclement? What if . . . Operation Typhoon had been successful?

Now, I present to you a lesser known What if. What if the Japanese had defeated the US Navy during the Battle of Midway? In reality a smashing victory for the USN, but anyone that knows the story also knows that victory turned on the razor's edge that day. What if the Japanese had won . . .

Due to his foreknowledge of the invasion, Admiral Nimitz had drastically strengthened the 6th Marine Defense Battalion, adding two companies of Marine Raiders, large numbers of AA guns, and even a platoon of tanks. The garrison was already living in underground shelters when news of the invasion arrived and frantic efforts to improve the defensive situation on both islands commenced.

Against this atoll, the Japanese planned to send nearly 5000 troops, both SNLF and an elite army detachment named after its commander, the Ichiki Detachment. Colonel Ichiki's men were slated to take Eastern Island, the smaller of the two main islands that made up the atoll. Would they have fared better than they did later that year near the mouth of the Tenaru?

Here are four scenarios detailing what I think might have happened. I encourage anyone with the historical interest to design their own ideas using this map.
