I didn't expect much from this scenario given the overwhelming Japanese advantage in numbers, leadership, and morale. The Japanese set up with a wide sweep through the jungle, preparing to walk across the board. The Aussies could either take an aggressive stand on the trail, or try running around the jungle. Given the lack of leaders and the wide Japanese sweep, the Aussies opted for the aggressive trail stand.

The initial clash (first six turns) were close to equal, with the Aussies losing five steps to two Japanese. But losing one leader was critical, and the Japanese could afford the steps much more so than the Japanese. The Japanese were pushing the flanks against a weakening force.

The mid game (middle six turns) saw Aussies losses continuing at about a step a turn average, but the loss of two more leaders made any hope of the remaining units running around the jungle pretty much impossible. The Japanese only suffered one additional step loss, but all losses so far were SNLF. The Aussies were backed up to the village, and the Japanese were knocking at the doors. During this time Fog of War became Japan's biggest enemy, and the north flank was not keeping up. Still, the Aussies were in trouble, and those northern units were becoming superfluous.

The last third saw the Aussies run out of space. The casualties continued to climb at about a step per turn, while the Service troops finally lost one step (and the last step loss for the Japanese). Finally pinning one step in the village and one step on the last trail hex, turn 17 saw both those steps wiped out. The final Aussie Lt was the only survivor. Japanese victory in 17 out of 18 turns.

For what appeared to be an overwhelming force, the Fog of War and jungle really slowed the Japanese down. More tension than I expected. While I still think it favors the Japanese slightly, I was pleasantly surprised with how close the Aussies came to a win. Better than I expected!