Description

The Battle of Midway was fought between seven carriers. Compare this to the Battle of the Philippine Sea which featured a total of 24 carriers on both sides! It was simply the largest carrier battle of all time which will never be surpassed.

Clash of Carriers, by designer Mark Stille, portrays this epic battle. The historical result saw the Japanese carrier force shattered, never to recover for the rest of the war. While this showdown is almost always treated as a one-sided affair, in this game players will have every opportunity to better the historical outcome or maybe even even reverse history.

The Japanese player can use the superior range of his carrier- and land-based aircraft in coordinated waves to hit the US Navy while his fleet maneuvers out of US aircraft range. Historically, despite poor aircraft coordination, many Japanese aircraft broke through the US fighter screen to attack US carriers. What could better coordination accomplish?

The American player can opt for an offensive strategy with a number of task groups to try and inflict even more massive losses on the Japanese naval force instead of settling for defeating the Japanese air strikes. US submarines inflicted losses and tracked Japanese fleet movements -- can they do so again, or will Japanese counter-measures foil historical results?

Against the Odds #58 (January 2023)