Battle Report: Late on the night of September 13, 1942, Mjr. Mizuno’s “Zuma” Battalion moved toward Lunga Ridge to join the surge on Henderson Field. Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment were using the jungle on the west side of a swamp for cover. Japanese units moving west across the swamp were greeted by HMG platoons as they neared the jungle around midnight. Their first assault was on the US right and they were repulsed around 0100 hours, being forced back into the swamp with heavy losses. Nonetheless, they maintained pressure on this flank while initiating an assault on the US left. A little after 0200 hours, a single Japanese platoon broke through US lines on the left and fled west into the swamp on that side of the jungle strip. The remainder of the US line held, and the Japanese stood down less than an hour later.

Analysis: This is a nighttime 14-turn scenario with a limited number of units. As with the other Edson’s Ridge night action, Japanese units suffer disorientation. Victory is based step losses and, in the case of the US, control of an area around a key hex that anchors the Marine perimeter. The key for the Japanese is to step up as far west as possible and hope that they can get to the swamp, so that disorientation is no longer a factor until they reach the jungle on the west side of it. The US strategy is to establish a line that can withhold the Japanese onslaught. The Japanese were able to combine units and create some strong assault groups that were capable of tying up the limited number of American troops. Since the Japanese had lost more steps than needed for US victory, the focus became one of clearing the US line. They were able to do this with a single unit to get the draw, despite losing 11 steps to the American single step loss. The scenario is a good introductory one as it plays quickly and is well balanced.

Played this one at my folks house against my old high school buddy. He was the defending Japanese and I was the advancing US Marines. He set up his visible units in a line, using the stream for frontal defense. My Marines set up fanned out in an effort to stop his hidden units from getting past me and finding their way to the objective hex. As my Marines trudged forward through the jungle my right flank encountered the first of the hidden units. There was a short, intense firefight, but we were able to eventually eliminate him. We then approached the Japanese line and attacked. Accurate Japanese small arms fire stopped us in our tracks and kept many American forces pinned down. In these night, low visibility jungle conditions The American OBA proved to be more harmful to my own troops than that of the enemy. The game eventually centered on the firefight along the line of four or five hexes that kept all the units on both sides firing or rallying. As the game drew to a close the Marines had lost six steps while the Japanese had lost only three, meaning the Japnese took the victory. On a sidenote, the remaining Japanese hidden units had no luck getting to the objective hex and actually had quite a time of it just trying to find their way in the jungle. At games end they were actually farther away from the objective than when the scenario started.

All in all a fun, close little contest. As the game progressed I saw a number of things I could/should have done differently that might have changed the outcome, so on that basis alone I give it a good rating because it offers both sides a few options to be explored.

Played this one at my folks house against my old high school buddy. He was the defending Japanese and I was the advancing US Marines. He set up his visible units in a line, using the stream for frontal defense. My Marines set up fanned out in an effort to stop his hidden units from getting past me and finding their way to the objective hex. As my Marines trudged forward through the jungle my right flank encountered the first of the hidden units. There was a short, intense firefight, but we were able to eventually eliminate him. We then approached the Japanese line and attacked. Accurate Japanese small arms fire stopped us in our tracks and kept many American forces pinned down. In these night, low visibility jungle conditions The American OBA proved to be more harmful to my own troops than that of the enemy. The game eventually centered on the firefight along the line of four or five hexes that kept all the units on both sides firing or rallying. As the game drew to a close the Marines had lost six steps while the Japanese had lost only three, meaning the Japnese took the victory. On a sidenote, the remaining Japanese hidden units had no luck getting to the objective hex and actually had quite a time of it just trying to find their way in the jungle. At games end they were actually farther away from the objective than when the scenario started.

All in all a fun, close little contest. As the game progressed I saw a number of things I could/should have done differently that might have changed the outcome, so on that basis alone I give it a good rating because it offers both sides a few options to be explored.

The Japanese situation didn't look that well to begin with in this battle as there wasn't too much time with 14 turns to break through the marine lines and reach the objective area. The original plan was to send a few units forward to distract or confuse the Americans while the bulk of the battalion would attempt to wiggle around the left flank of the enemy lines. However I overlooked the "other" section of the scenario instructions and didn't realize that movement through the 11xx hexes was prohibited and that Wayne had that area covered quite well. Immediately the first INF platoon I sent forward got vaporized from a 2X opportunity fire result on the first turn and a few other units had fallen into disarray through failed morale checks. However I did manage to get two stacks of units ready for assaults early on. There was no time to try to weaken the Americans with DF so two assaults were begun immediately against the marine lines defending at full strength, in hopes that at least one of them would be successful. I got lucky with one of my hidden INF platoons making it adjacent to the American lines without being detected which helped on the right flank. But it was the assault on the American left flank that got the needed results. I was able to whittle down the defenders, step by step and after being reinforced. Wayne however, very quickly managed his step loss VCs but I managed to infiltrate into the objective area and maintain a permanent presence there, preventing an American victory. With about 4 turns left to go I managed to extract the necessary amount of American step losses to take the win.

Superior morale along with the Japanese INF assault bonus really made assaults horrific for the marines and three American leaders with morale modifiers were also eliminated before the battle was finished. Japanese and American losses were about equal. Perhaps there is a slight edge favoring the Japanese in this one as once one assault went well a domino effect was created. Disorientation wasn't a problem in reaching the objective area as most American units remained adjacent to Japanese ones most the duration. By turn 12 there was really no chance of driving the invaders back and the Americans even had to call in artillery fire on their own units out of desperation. I had to give this one a "4" rating, not just because I "won" it but that it looked really hopeless for the Japanese from the start though persistence paid off in the end. If the defenders had better rolls with the first fire bonus then the outcome may have been a little different as many times Wayne was rolling on the 18 column. At first I was sure I would lose after that one whole platoon was eliminated on the first activation; mid-game I thought a draw was more probable and only then with only 4 turns left did I feel certain of a win. Wayne stated that he probably would done better to have deployed the Americans a hex back, forcing the Japanese to risk becoming disorientated before making contact, so that only a minimal amount of attacking units would get through. Another possibility would of been for the Americans to push forward and engage the enemy first. Whatever the case and regardless of play balance I really enjoyed this one and glad I got to play it FTF first rather than solo. Also was the first time using the Jungle hidden rules with an opponent instead of trying to trick myself in a solo match.

This one was F-t-F the day after Christmas, in Buffalo Grove, IL. I was the Japanese.

My setup was mostly along the creek that fronts the Japanese set-up area. I designated three units and two leaders as hidden: one INF and a leader at the left edge of my line, and two INF and a leader recessed on my right. Both would try to slip past the approaching Marines and get within the required distance of the objective hex from the SSR - as a hedge in case the Americans eliminated their required number of steps to win.

On the left, my hidden unit snuck out into the kunai grass, where it encountered a Marine stack that foiled its secret mission. However, it was able to launch a surprise Assault and slow up that wing of the Marine attack. The rest of the line saw the enemy close to point-blank range (this is at night, so visibility is 1 hex anyway.) A spirited firefight commenced. My Japanese did some fancy (i.e. lucky) shooting early on, and Marine casualties mounted. I took a few hits as well, and spent some time with a stack of three combat units - risky since the US had the only artillery, but it also gave me enough firepower to do more damage.

Most of the game developed into a brawl along the creek. On my right the Americans eventually crossed the creek and started a prolonged assault. But as the game wound down, the 6th Marine step was lost, ensuring me victory if I could hold my own with no more losses. Some good fortune in the last couple of Marine attacks resulted in no step losses on my part, leaving me one loss shy of the American requirement. As a result, it was a narrow win for the Emperor and his minions.

But what of my other flanking force? The only units it flanked were insects, plants, snakes and perhaps an occasional crocodile. Disorientation sent it back through its setup hex twice after it initally moved out, and it wound up still in the same jungle it started in - still several hexes from the more open terrain needed to make a move towards the objective. I think Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind" would have had fun diagramming the force's moves. Luckily, I didn't need them to turn a US victory into a draw. I suppose once morning came, they found their way back to the rest of the command...

Played in 3 hours against Brett, this is a fun scenario which I believe slightly favours the Japanese player. As the Marine I set up in dug out along the edge of the Jungle, hoping that firepower alone would halt any Jap advance. Brett bravely advanced into a hail of fire losing two steps immediately, however by the end of GT2 he was in a position to launch two large assaults. This was were the higher morale for the fanatical Japanese really helped as they managed to shrug off the first fire and were hitting the US with 18 & 24 assault shots. Eventually the US line buckled, this in turn let the Japanese units get to the rear of the US line and onto the VC Hex radius which meant that although I had gotten my six step losses I would be forced to try and clear the three Jap units in my rear. By then Brett had also achieved his VC, and was in the happy position for the last few turns knowing he could not lose. The US counterattack failed miserably and in the end Brett and his Japanese ran out comfortable winners. This was the first time I had used hidden units and disorientation rules but that does not excuse this loss. My set up was poor, with all my units in the front line there was no reserve to deal with the Japanese break through. The Japanese morale of 9 is the key though meaning they can shrug off most M/M1 results and giving them a bonus in assault. However dropping their morale to 8 would swing the game too far the US's way. Still an interesting little scenario indeed.

This was a fast, violent battle between weak battalions of Japanese Army and US Marines. The Marines were defending along the edge of the jungle, their front line thinly held. The Japanese planned to concentrate their attack on the Marine left, hoping to punch through with two companies while the remainder of their infantry and HMGs demonstrated against the marine center and right.

Disorientation in the dark jungle night resulted in the Japanese attack initially coming in piecemeal. The Marines started inflicting a steady stream of losses on the Japanese. About halfway through the 3.5 hr battle the Marine lines were clumped into two strong groups, but the Japanese were threatening to infiltrate between them.

After a series of bloody assaults the Japanese had worked around the right flank and were threatening their objective hex. Desperate Marine counterattacks destroyed this threat. In the final 30 minutes, the Japanese major taught a course in night orienteering in the jungle, wending his way between defenders to threaten the objective again. A final desperate Marine assault failed to eliminate the threat, so the battle ended in a draw.