Author	treadasaurusrex (Japan)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Draw
Participants	Sonora
Play Date	2023-11-09
Language	English
Scenario	Leyt025

This 28-turn scenario was played, on-and-off, over 6-sessions with the redoubtable Sonora leading advancing elements of the US 24th Infantry Division, in this NO ARMOR slugfest. I played the semi-defending elements of the 1st Japanese Infantry Div. in this overlong battle that was one of those darn "all or nothing" scenarios, where a draw is not typically achievable. As it turns out, we proved that this was not the case and this "close run thing" ended in a very costly draw, with the Americans only achieving a single victory condition (4 entrenchment or caves taken) which normally would have given the Japanese side a minor victory, except for the fact that nearly all Japanese combat units (22 steps) were eliminated in our play-through, leaving only 3 leaders and a pair of reduced infantry platoons that still held hexes on the, heavily-fought-over, north-south road. The Americans lost an amazing 25 steps and 6 leaders during this bloody, weather-dominated, low-visibility, fight.

As others have reported, this was a bloody and ferociously-fought, infantry battle in which both sides happened to drew sub-par leaders and 11 of the 28 game turns played were shortened by the FOW optional rule. Both sides alternated having either really lousy combat & morale recovery die throws, OR remarkably good die rolls leading to many steps being killed outright in close assaults, or adjacent-hex fire fights. Oddly the Japanese were able to inflict more step losses, thank primarily to their initial setup and the difficulty that the Americans side had in sequencing attacks, finding & fixing hidden Japanese units, and dealing with a pair of surprisingly-well-placed & covered, number 3 minefields! Overall, the Japanese side benefited from better combat results thanks to slightly better luck with the doggone dice.

This one is a decent, infantry-only fight in SHARED mode, but it should probably be played in SOLO mode first by both sides to help the players adjust to the crucial terrain, weather & movement issues. We give this one a rating of 3, mostly due to the fact that one can achieve a draw in this "all or nothing" battle, if the PG Fates so decree.