The first thing you notice about the Japanese is that it is virtually impossible to kill a step with a double demoralization. They are generally amply supplied with leaders and many of those leaders provide bonuses and then there is that ridiculous 9/8 morale. The only way to acheive the American goals is to destroy the Japanese in their emplacements.

This scenario like scenario #16 calls for the Americans to root out an entrenched and dug in band of Japanese infantry without taking substantial casualties. Helping in this version is the ability to have a very strong DF attack using HMGs. There is still a lot of artillery but it will come down to assault combat which due to the Japanese infantry modifier in assault combat is always an iffy thing for the Americans.

Unlike the previous scenario where the Americans tried to tiptoe up to the Japanese in order to avoid casualties in this one I pitched right in. I was able to take the entrenchment and one of the dug in hexes before I lost the third American step. Total losses for the Japanese were six steps. Reading through the three connected scenarios and watching my progress I was able to see that my performance was pretty much historical.

This one was particularly fun as the Americans can get some traction in their assaults and there is tension as to the ultimate result from the beginning of play. I give it a "4" and it is the best of the three. Given the discussion in the scenario descriptions, however, I was surprised that there were no SSRs about thirst. Apparently the Japanese had no source of water and were having a tough time of it as a result. Yet this has no impact on play.