The Chinese have a couple of options for setting up their defense depending on your playing style but you have the numbers just not the morale and depending on the draw, enough quality officers, still the Japanese will have their work cut out for them.

The Japanese advance found some softness in the Chinese defense on one of the flanks and maneuvered to exploit it but one stubborn Chinese entrenchment held out for most of the game tying up valuable Japanese resources. As the Japanese bypassed this lone holdout they came across the Chinese second line of defense, two out of the three hexes held out longer than expected in close combat while Chinese mortars picked this time to be effective disrupting and demoralizing several Japanese units, but two companies of Japanese infantry did make it to the outskirts of Changsha, capturing one hex but they lacked the support to go any further into the town.

Surprisingly the Chinese fought well, maybe not every hex but enough hexes with good Chinese leaders held up the Japanese advance and inflicting far more casualties than they took.

Author	PANISTA (Japan)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	China
Participants	treadasaurusrex
Play Date	2023-08-30
Language	Català
Scenario	ChOp004

In a surprise, the Japanese actually won this battle by a nose! Only in the last 4 turns did my Chinese troops run out of luck, and the Japanese side barely came away with a VERY minor victory. Both sides drew poor sets of leaders in this 30-turn bloodletting with me leading the stout-hearted Chinese defenders of Changsha. The cunning Treadasurus in his samurai outfit ended up with the required 7 town hexes in Japanese control, but only by the barest of margins, and thanks to repeated morale disasters and very heavy Chinese casualties (9 leaders lost) in the last 10or so game turns. In general, Chinese mortar fire was effective the entire game, while Japanese close assaults started out very strongly against the entrenched garrison, and slowly lost their energy and effectiveness in the town hexes as they lost all but 2 of their 8 Lieutenants. Overall Chinese losses left the defenders with little to fight with. There were 9 FOW-shortened game turn in this play through that was of great help to the Chinese garrison.

I give this one a 4, and thank the Chinese demi-gods that my opponent had no armor to play with. Another turn or two and some more bloody, Chinese counter attacks might have won the day for Madame Chang.

Not much to do but to try to break through the wooded ridge on board 114.... then try to have enough left to attempt to take the city. Given that there were little in the way of "inspired" leadership on either side of the battle it was one of those somewhat boring "plug along" battles that tend to get everyone yawning before it is over. It was only a "3" by virtue of being a test of fortitude (and patience).