This interesting small scenario was just the thing for a quiet afternoon at the office. Japanese get 5 infantry, 2 HMGs, 1 81mm mortar, 2 25mm AA guns and 2 75/88 guns to hold 4 entrenchments and the hill around hex 0505 on board 83 for 12 turns. In hindsight, I probably set up too close and without considering that the Marines setup allowed them to come from just about anywhere, not just from the south. I set up entrenchments in 0402, 0403, 0503 and 0602, offering mutual support with the guns and HMGs, placing a 25mm AA gun and HMG in the 0402 and 0403 hexes, with the 75/88s in each of the other two with the mortar in the northwest hex. I placed two stacks, two units each with a leader, infantry to the south but north of the 40m ridge so that they could assault or defend in assault anything coming up over the hill, with the 5th infantry with a sergeant in a position to react to attacks in the heavy jungle to the northwest of the entrenchments. The Marines used the standard 10-3 infantry units for this game, and I started out a force around the Major, a Cpt and a good (11-1-1) LT, with the LT getting an infantry, the flame unit and the pioneer as an entrenchment assault force and keeping him behind the Major and Captain, who each had an infantry and a weapon unit. The M-4 was set up in the heavy jungle road hex two hexes east of the hill where he could move north and engage Japanese infantry if the initiative went right, and the last 3 leaders centered on the last Captain and 2 LTs were set up in the jungle southeast of the hill, the Cpt with one infantry and the 60mm mortars, the 2 LTs each with 2 Infantry. Initiative and fire dice favored the Marines from the start. The US Major and Captain fired into the eastern-most entrenchment and killed one step, demoralizing the rest, leaving the door open for the assault unit, and the M-4 and infantry moved forward one hex and absorbed an exchange of Japanese adjacent hex fire without damage before shooting back and killing one step and demoralizing the rest of the stack of Japanese infantry, finishing them off in the next turn. The Marine assault force took the first entrenchment hex in it's stride, and took a turn of ineffectual fire from the adjacent entrenchment hexes, while the Major and Captain brought their troops up to support in an arc closing from the north. The Major was able to fire into the next entrenchment hex and weaken it for the next assault while the Captain assaulted the hex with the mortar and 75/88, taking that hex in 2 turns while the Marine assault element took the next entrenchment hex, killing the Japanese Captain for a decapitation that had no effect on surviving Japanese leaders. The Japanese force to the southwest moved back trying to prevent the taking of the northwest entrenchment but were a turn too late in getting there, and took adjacent hex fire from the Marines, killing one step and demoralizing the other platoon. Marine firepower was good with killing Japanese leaders, and most died or were captured as the troops they lead died. In the end, the 4 entrenchments were in Marine hands, the single step of Japanese infantry that hadn't fled was killed along with it's leader, and the last full Japanese infantry platoon managed to rally on the edge of the board, where without a leader, it had no chance of reentering combat. All this in 6 turns. On the 7th turn, the Marines rested. Really one-sided results but I think it was more my setup and the luck of the dice than the scenario. I look forward to playing this face-to-face sometime.