Looking over this scenario and the setup on the map, it seems really hard for the US to win as the enemy can set up on the victory hexes they need to win. In order for the US to win therefore they need to oust the Japanese from these same 2 hexes, keep control of a 3rd hex the US setup on and moved away from, plus not lose 4 steps. [To clarify, the Japanese victory conditions were to control the 2 hexes mentioned OR eliminate 4 US steps. An American victory needs to keep control of their departure hex AND take the 2 victory hexes where the Japanese set up]

This is a very small scenario with only a handful of units and the action will take place on a very small part of the map in 9 turns. The Japanese have a few more units than the Americans while the only US advantage is an off board arty of 18.

Before the US even made first contact with the Japanese, disaster struck. The scenario utilizes the fog of war random events and the US got the off board artillery has run out of ammo event! Before it had even begun it seemed like it was over.

But the Marines don't simply give up and this mission continued. There was a lot of swearing, a lot of fighting and in the end Marines had assaulted into the 2 previous mentioned victory hexes and only lost 3 steps. The marines lost 3 steps and a SGT while the Emperor's soldiers only lost one step.