Peleliu: Island Without Mercy, September-November 1944

Peleliu: Island Without Mercy, September-November 1944 is Volume IV in Michael Taylor's Island War Series. Peleliu is a simulation of the US invasion of the islands of Peleliu and Angaur, in the Palaus (east of The Philippines) in the Fall of 1944. Peleliu is one of the many battles in the Pacific that is often overlooked. The battle, however, rivalled Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa in its ferocity and savagery.

The game has three Scenarios: Peleliu (15 September to 27 November 1944, 27 Turns), Angaur (17 September to 22 October 1944, 14 turns), and the Peleliu Campaign including both islands (15 September to 27 November 1944, 27 Turns). Because of its small size and shorter length, the Angaur Scenario is a good introductory scenario for those who are new to the Island War system.

Peleliu is mainly a 2-3 player game, where one player controls the Japanese ground forces (both army and navy), and where 1-2 players control the US forces (USMC and US Army). Because the Japanese units are initially face down, and because there are some Japanese Dummy units, there is some hidden information in the game which means that 2-3 players are best. However, the game can be played solitaire.

Game scale: About XX miles per hex (YY meters/hex); 2 to 3 days/turn; the game is 14-27 game turns long; units are battalions and companies.

Provisional Contents of Peleliu: One 11” x 17” color paper map of Peleliu; one 8.5” x 11” color paper map of Angaur; 140 counters (0.6” counters); 15 pages of rules; 2 player aids.