Clearing Zigzag Pass - The Matrix Games version of Rising Sun

Zigzag Pass, 6km W of Olongapo, Luzon, Philippines: [Best played as Allied] The liberation of Manila in late February 1945 would provide the Allies important military and political advantages in the struggle for the Philippine island of Luzon. To assure the security of Manila Bay for Allied shipping it would be necessary to clear the enemy from Bataan Peninsula. However, from the very beginning of the campaign it was recognized that major Japanese formations would have to be kept from withdrawing into the peninsula and turning it into a fortress, preventing the use of the bay for months. In late January the US 38th Infantry Division conducted amphibious landings on Luzon's western coast near San Antonio with plans to drive west along Route 7 and seal off access to Bataan. During the first days of February, the 152nd RCT pushed into the rugged Cabusilan Mountains from Olongapo to clear Zigzag Pass and complete the isolation of the peninsula. Despite warnings from guerrillas, the GIs were expecting only light opposition; instead they found elements of the Japanese 39th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel Nagayoshi, entrenched in the dense jungle. Now the American battalions would need to fight through a hornet's nest of well-camouflaged log and dirt bunkers to complete their mission. Design Note: Map scale has been adjusted for clarity and playability.