Battlestations: Pacific/Aleutians

The following requires the Carrier Map Battles Pack, from either Games for Windows Live Marketplace (PC) or the Xbox 360 Marketplace (Xbox). Aleutians is a large island or chain of islands, depending on map size. It is rather bright for a map and units appear to look slightly different on this map. Despite this there are no changes whatsoever.

Escort
"Japanese battleships are carrying out a bombardment of a group of American island bases. The US must destroy the enemy battleships whilst the Japanese players have to protect the battleships and allow them to carry out their objective."

- Map description

This rather unique escort mission is more like a hybrid between an Escort and a Siege mission. It is also a test to see how accurate players are with their torpedoes. The Allies have three shipyards attached to a large island. A large Japanese force, consisting of the battleships Fusō and Yamashiro (both Fusō-class battleships) proceed from one shipyard to the next, neutralizing each in turn. They are escorted by a Japanese Kaga-class carrier, which spawns Vals and Kates to defend the battleships with. While it is entirely possible for the Allies to sink the carrier, it simply isn't worth the trouble. The Americans, meanwhile, have three island bases, with the third being on the opposite side of the peninsula which makes up the map. The final headquarters is guarded vigilantly by the battleships Iowa and South Dakota. They also have a Yorktown-class carrier nearby, which harasses Japanese ships with Dauntlesses and Avengers.

The goal for the map is for the Japanese to destroy all three shipyards, or for the Americans to sink the two battleships.

The Japanese always spawn with the battleships, and have their choice of light cruisers - either the Kuma-class, Agano-class, or the Fubuki-class destroyer. The Allies, meanwhile, have only one spawn - the shipyard that is being targeted by the Japanese battleships. The first Allied base spawns only Fletcher-class destroyers. The second base will become accessible once the first is destroyed, and spawns Cleveland-class light cruisers in addition to Fletchers. The final base spawns York-classes as well as Clevelands and Fletchers. In the (rather likely) event the Japanese begin attacking the final base, the Allies' twin battleships also join the fray. The Allies' strategy is rather simple, given the short supply of units at hand. Fletcher guns are useless against pretty much anything the Japanese have, so the goal for the Fletchers will be to simply, at the beginning, unload as many torpedoes as possible at the Japanese battleships and pray a few of them hit. The Japanese, meanwhile, should try to assist the battleships by closing in on the Fletchers and sinking them before they can torpedo the battleships. They can also speed up the destruction of the Fletcher base by shelling it themselves.

When Clevelands are added to the battle, the Allies must make the choice to continue with Fletchers or switch to Clevelands. The Cleveland lacks torpedoes, and it takes a lot of cannonade to put a Fusō-class under. That said the Cleveland sports a lot of guns, and can cause considerable damage to the Japanese Kuma and Agano-classes. The best tactic is usually for Clevelands to draw fire for the Fletchers. If the Allies manage to sink one battleship by their second base, they're in good shape.

The third base adds York-class cruisers. These CAs are the only of their kind to sport torpedoes (for the Allies anyway), but at only six torpedoes per ship (three each port and starboard) these heavy cruisers will have extreme difficulty in sinking the battleships alone. Fletchers, therefore, are still needed to sink the last battleship. If the final Japanese battleship will sink, however, it will be due to the combined firepower of the Iowa and the South Dakota - sink both quickly with torpedoes if you want that final Allied base gone.

Generally the map devolves into a massive every-ship-for-itself melee at this point. If the Japanese manage to sink the Allied battleships, the last shipyard is a no-brainer for them and the battle will be easily won.

Siege
"The Americans' next target for their amphibious attacks is an island with great industrial capacity. The Japanese are able to deploy cruisers while they have the Supply Depot and the Oil Refinery. If the US destroys the Defence Control Centre the landings will begin. Allied players have to disable the enemy Headquarters, whilst the Japanese players must thwart this attempt."

- Map description

This is perhaps the most complicated Siege battle in the game. Aside from various land defences, there are three miscellaneous buildings noted as well - a Defence Control Centre, which is located at the back of the Japanese base on top of a hill; a supply cache, located near the shore; and an oil refinery located to the east of the Allied attack force. The landings will start once the Defence Control Centre is destroyed. The Allies will also need to eliminate the oil refinery and the supply cache, which dictate which kind of units the Japanese can deploy. The Allies are capable of deploying De Ruyter-class cruisers and Fletchers. The Japanese are capable of deploying, cruisers and Fubukis. What kind of cruiser the Japanese can deploy varies upon whether the oil refinery and the supply cache is operational. If both are operational, the Japanese can deploy Takao-class cruisers; more than a match for the Allied De Ruyters. If the Allies destroy one of the aforementioned facilities, however, the Japanese will be able to deploy Agano-class light cruisers instead. If both facilities are destroyed, the Japanese will be unable to deploy any cruisers at all.

Also of note are two carriers - one each for the Japanese and the Allies. The Allies' carrier will launch TBM Avengers with Tiny Tims in an attempt to neutralize the Defence Control Centre. The Control Centre is located on the top of a really large hill, making it extremely difficult to shoot at from the sea. If the Control Centre is destroyed, all the Japanese fortresses will be rendered inoperative, and the Allies will begin to deploy landing forces consisting of LSTs.

The Japanese carrier, meanwhile, will simply launch kamikazes against the Allied forces. A single squad of kamikazes is usually enough to sink a De Ruyter or a Fletcher - ignore the carrier and instead focus on the island.

The Japanese's only hope is to simply sink the attacking enemies, and the Allies to neutralize the enemy ships and the specified land bases.

Competitive
"A Japanese carrier and enemy cargo ships are heading through an area controlled by US planes. Your task is to stop those cargos and their carriers escort."

- Map description

Like with most competitive matches, this one involves aircraft. While Competitive Clash tests your dogfighting skills, Competitive Aleutians tests your anti-shipping work. A single Shōhō-class carrier, armed with a single squad of Zeroes, is escorting (or rather, attempting to escort) an endless convoy of Japanese cargo ships. It in turn is escorted by Fubuki-class destroyers and both types of Japanese light cruisers.

Taking command of a squad of three F4U Corsairs with rockets, you must sink as many enemy ships as possible. This mission is unique, however, in providing awards for sinking cargo ships. Every time you sink five cargo ships, you obtain the Evasive Manoeuvre naval supply. The cargoes are quite valuable in points and this is one of the few missions where it is possible to win without sinking a single designated target.

However, the cargoes are rather heavily armoured, and have just about as much health as the train in Air Raid against Indochina. Rockets, therefore, are an absolute must when attacking the enemy fleet. Be sure to make strafing runs around the enemy convoy as well.

There is only one Shōhō-class, and unlike all other ships it will not respawn when sunk.

Island Capture - Small
Map Description: Small is a cruiser and destroyer map supplemented by air combat. Players have access only to heavy cruisers and destroyers; even LSTs aren't available on this map. The centre base enables the player controlling it to get submarines. Since cruisers have no defences underwater, subs can cause serious damage to a cruiser force before it gets anywhere near your bases.

Unlock Data: Air unlocks are always an option on this map, as unless the carrier is sunk you'll have access to planes anywhere you go. That said, the P-80 isn't the best choice since this will usually be a sea-centric map. Cruiser unlocks are a good choice here, as the Alaska-class can bring on a lot of pain and the Tone-class can defend the Japanese carrier from subs.

Balancing Notes: This map plays identically for both sides.

Click on a Headquarters to see what units it can spawn.

HQ 3 (Japanese)
🇨🇴

CV(1) - Yorktown-class
Allied planes 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * F4F Wildcat
 * SBD Dauntless
 * TBF Avenger
 * P-80 Shooting Star

CV(2) - Sōryū-class
Japanese planes 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * A6M Zero
 * D3A Val
 * B5N Kate
 * J9Y Kikka

Island Capture - Medium
Map Description: This map adds submarines and battleships instead of heavy cruisers into the fray. Otherwise it is remarkably similar to Small.

Unlock Data: The centre bases now spawn LSTs, but otherwise remain the same as before - they can only spawn heavy cruisers and destroyers. This means that players should consider a heavy cruiser unlock versus a battleship one; battleships take a long time to get into the fight, while cruisers can get back in as soon as they're destroyed. Subs are also a threat on this map, so a sub unlock can cause considerable damage to cruisers, battleships, and carriers.

Balancing Notes: The Allies have a slight advantage in that their TBM Avenger spawn can be moved around. This aside, the map plays identically for both sides.

Click on a headquarters to see what units it can spawn.

HQ 5 (Japanese)
🇨🇴

CV(1) - Yorktown-class
Allied planes 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * F4F Wildcat
 * SBD Dauntless
 * TBF Avenger
 * P-51 Mustang
 * P-80 Shooting Star
 * TBM Avenger

CV(2) - Sōryū-class
Japanese planes 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * A6M Zero
 * D3A Val
 * B5N Kate
 * J7W Shinden
 * J9Y Kikka

Island Capture - Large
Map Description: Large adds a second carrier and even more ships. The centre bases still spawn heavy cruisers, but the outer bases spawn the heavier firepower. It is highly recommended players keep anti-submarine units nearby to protect their carriers against sub attacks.

Unlock Data: This map is one of the few times where you'll be able to fly B-29s and G3Ms. The map plays almost identically to Medium, except air interception at the beginning is more important, and can stall an enemy considerably. A jet unlock, therefore, can seriously hamper enemy expansion efforts. Submarine and cruiser unlocks are also possibilities here, depending on your playstyle.

Balancing Notes: The Allies have a slight advantage in that their TBM Avenger spawn can be moved around. This aside, the map plays identically for both sides.

Click on a Headquarters to see which units it can spawn.

HQ 9 (Japanese)
🇨🇴

CV(1) - Yorktown-class
Allied planes 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * F4F Wildcat
 * SBD Dauntless
 * TBF Avenger
 * P-80 Shooting Star
 * P-51 Mustang
 * TBM Avenger

CV(3) - Sōryū-class
Japanese planes 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * A6M Zero
 * D3A Val
 * B5N Kate
 * J9Y Kikka
 * J7W Shinden

🇨🇴

CV(2) - Yorktown-class
Allied planes 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * F4F Wildcat
 * SBD Dauntless
 * TBF Avenger
 * P-80 Shooting Star
 * P-51 Mustang
 * TBM Avenger

CV(4) - Sōryū-class
Japanese planes 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * A6M Zero
 * D3A Val
 * B5N Kate
 * J9Y Kikka
 * J7W Shinden