This scenario has Australian troops holding just 2 areas on map 34, and the obvious way to set them up is as many on the trail ready to run as possible in the 'within 2 hexes of' restrictions. I set up walls of infantry with HMGs and good leaders as the force to slow down the enemy and allow the majority to make it down the road and hopefully off the board. Japanese start out within 2 hexes of 3 towns or anywhere north of row xx04, and there is no number of counters needed to fulfill that, so they started out as far down the trail on both north and south branches as allowed and ready to strike the forward elements with enough left to attempt to bypass them. Japanese won the initiative all but a couple of times, but it seems their luck wasn't as good as others have had, or the Australians just had better luck. As Japanese troops stopped adjacent to Australians, a turn of Australian firepower disrupted or demoralized several key stacks, including those with the highest and best leaders, delaying the Japanese assaults. After that initial series of shots, the luck went back and forth, with 20 steps of Australians successfully getting past the choke point where north and south trails meet before going to board 35 while the delaying forces stopped the Japanese in assaults. It wasn't bloodless for either side, as both sides lost steps and morale each turn in assaults that bogged the Japanese down, but finally Japanese troops spread out and bypassed the Australians and started their own column down the trail. The Japanese that didn't brake contact were stuck there pretty much to the end of the game, and Australians managed turn after turn to be disrupted and then return to good order, as both sides slowly bled the other in a series of assaults. Finally in turn 16, the Australian delaying force declared 'every man for themselves' and tried to break contact and head east. Some were successful, some not so much, but in the end, none of either side made it off the board in time beyond the initial Australian force and the Japanese bypass force. Australians ended with 27 steps off the board and 11 steps of Japanese troops eliminated. Japanese ended with 20 steps off the board and 16 steps of Australians eliminated. The 2-point difference left it as a draw. For this game, it seemed to be a lot more exciting turn by turn than I have seen in other AARs. Luck of the dice, or just a different playing style? Who knows. Really need to play these again some day in face-to-face play.