Battle Report: On the afternoon of October 8th, 1942, fighting continued along the north stretch of the Matanikau River on Guadalcanal. Japanese troops from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions of the 4th Infantry Regiment formed a strong defensive line south along the river from the village with reinforcement, and additional artillery support from the 3rd Battalion in the area west of the river. The 5th regiment of the “Thundering Third” (3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division) headed west along the coastal track and eliminated a Japanese 70mm platoon that was based in the village, while elements of the Edson’s Raiders took fire from the Japanese artillery as they crossed the central swampy area. Directed OBA from the Americans took out a Japanese 70/105 combined fire battery on the ridge a couple of klicks west of the village, but the defenders in the village itself held strong. The Raiders exchanged fire with Japanese units from the 2nd Battalion (2/4) as they moved west 2 km southwest of the village, and that confrontation accelerated quickly to hand-to-hand combat. The Raiders suffered significant casualties and were reinforced by Marine units from the 2nd Regiment (3/1). As night fell, skirmishes were still occurring in the village despite repeated American efforts to control it. The Japanese line followed the west bank of the river to the southwest ending on an open ridge. The Americans had established a few tenuous footholds on the west bank of the river creating breaks in the Japanese line. Sporadic fighting broke out throughout the night, but most of the activity was dedicated to resting and repositioning forces for the next morning’s confrontation. Spirits were dampened somewhat by a brief thunderstorm that occurred at 2245 hours. Early the next morning (0130 hours), the Marine leaders were notified of an ammunition shortage that eliminated any offshore artillery support for the next day. Soon after that, the 3rd Kure and 5th Yokosuka Landing Forces arrived at the front lines from west. By that time, units from the 5th Regiment (2/1 and 3/1), 7th Regiment (3/1) and the Whaling Group of the 1st Division were all engaged in either skirmishes or support along the river line. Another more sustained thunderstorm occurred for an hour beginning at 0415 hours and turned the area to mud. As dawn broke, the lines along the river were still being contested while the Japanese units remaining in the village had been surrounded by various units from the “Thundering Third”. US Marines (7/3/1) attempted to turn the Japanese right on the SW ridge but were repelled after a 90-minute firefight that ended at 0900 hours. Meanwhile, scout platoons from the Whaling Group of the 1st Division moved around the still-contested village west along the coastal track and assaulted the mortar group on the ridge 1 km to the west; with the help of reinforcements from their unit, they occupied the ridge by 0830 hours. More rain fell from 0930-1030 and again from 1145-1230, but the soggy battlefield did not slow the action. At 1115, the Marines finally took control of the village after almost 21 hours of sporadic skirmishing. The US troops that had already moved around the village were now reinforced via the coastal track; they were pressing the Japanese left flank into the jungle south of the coastal track. At 1245 hours, combined forces from the 3rd Marine Battalion again pressed the Japanese right in a pincer move, and the Japanese forces were contained in a half-kilometer area that was being enveloped on all sides except for the eastern swampy region. By 1615, all Japanese troops had been cleared to establish a US-controlled perimeter extending 1 Km west of the river. The Cactus Air Force did an excellent job of screening the Japanese 29th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, from moving east to attack the American line. While the objective of the mission was achieved, the Americans considered it a pyrrhic victory at best due to the loss over 300 men.

Analysis: This is a lengthy scenario comprised of 108 turns. Hex control and step loss are objectives for both sides. This often seems to result in draws, since one side can have the requisite enemy step losses for victory, but still needs to clear the enemy units from the objective hex perimeter specified in the rules. In accomplishing the latter, steps are lost by the attacker giving the other side the requisite step loss that it needs for victory, or a draw in this case. The scenario was played using 4th Edition rules and the village rules from Kokoda Campaign for the village hex at the river mouth. Jungle disorientation was not used since it had not been used in the original scenario, presumably because by this time both the Americans and Japanese had mapped the jungle surrounding the Matanikau. The American player will find it slow-going bringing units onboard from the east due to the entry through jungle and the lack of extending command to adjacent hexes. After ten turns, all American units were on the board, but it took several more turns to get them formed and into play. After 40 turns, the Marines had taken out 33 Japanese units while losing 14, so they were only one step loss away from a draw. Even though the Marines were cautious in the early morning hours, the Japanese rolled “snake eyes” on a direct fire attack and secured the step loss needed for the draw. At that point, the Americans pressed the attack to see if they could match the historical action in which they cleared the west bank and caused significant Japanese casualties. Due to two separate “New Orders” events, the Japanese step loss required for a Marine victory had been increased to 25. This was not an issue, as the Americans had caused 49 step losses, while losing only 20, by the time dawn broke on the 9th. However, an event roll that cost the Americans the use of OBA for the remainder of the scenario compromised their ability to move forward with support on the second day of the battle. Nonetheless, the final analysis when the battle ended on the 104th turn showed 95 step losses for the Japanese (4 step losses were taken by the 29th Infantry Regiment since some of those units were situated on the xx15 hexes ready to move east; the Cactus Air Force kept them in check) compared to 27 for the Americans, and 36 Japanese leaders lost to only 11 for the Americans. This scenario is a very long one with a draw being practically a predetermined outcome due to the overlapping objective areas and the resultant step loss that would most likely occur for either side while clearing the area. Since each side must either have very limited step losses or clear their zone, hitting the step loss minimums is bound to happen for both sides, hence a draw. With that in mind, I have rated this scenario a “3” primarily because of its historical feel rather than its playability. Slogging through the whole day & night, complete with thunderstorms, really gave the sense of the battle. There is one “gamey” feature that gives the Americans an advantage, the limit on the Japanese 29th Infantry; they are not allowed to move east unless the Americans move into the xx17 row, So, it behooves the US player to avoid getting too far West, and thereby leaving those Japanese units sitting on the sidelines for the battle. The only situation that the US player would need to be that far west would be if the US had taken enough VP step losses for a Japanese victory, and the US needed to clear their victory objective perimeter.