US 5th and 7th Marines absolutely destroyed the Japanese 4th Infantry and supporting SNLF in a massive battle along the Matanikau River. The battle, over 7 hours, resulted in the utter defeat of the Japanese force and the achievement by the US of not only its target destroying the Japanese force, but also completely clearing them away from the US territorial objective. Marine firepower was decisive, concentrating against points in the Japanese line to create conditions favorable for assault. The Japanese, very aggressive through the whole battle, were unable to score many losses against the Marines because their attacks tended to come in piecemeal without adequate support.

The battle played out in many ways like the description of the historical action I had just read in Hammel's Guadalcanal: Starvation Island. Marine strategy was essentially similar to the historical attack, but the actions along the upper Matanikau were much more decisive in favor of the Marines. Chesty Puller became a legend because of his actions on Guadalcanal, including this battle. In my replay, there were legendary Marines everywhere. Decisive US victory.

Battle Report: Fighting along the north stretch of the Matanikau River on Guadalcanal resumed with intensity on October 7, 1942. Japanese troops from 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment occupied the village and east approach, while the 2nd and 3rd Battalions mustered west of the village along the coastal track. The 3rd Kure and 5th Yokosuka Landing Forces were situated further west and in jungle south of the track. Marines from the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 5th Regiment, 1st Marine Division were 2 Km east of the village along the coastal track, with the 7th Regiment and the Whaling Group of the 1st Division further south. An exchange of fire occurred on the hill 1 Km east of the village at 1000 hours, and the American 7th Regiment took the first casualties on the hill 1 Km south/southeast of the village an hour later. American units moved west, well south of the large swamp by the river mouth, while Japanese units held the ground east of the village. At 1430 hours, SNLF forces arrived from the west to shore up the west end of the Japanese line, which angled southwest from the village for 2 Km. At 1515, Japanese troops began to slowly meld back into the jungle after having caused significant American casualties. The American units pursued them supported by 3 platoons from the 1st Raider Battalion that arrived from the east along the coastal track. The Japanese held a defensive line in the jungle and a stalemate occurred at 1700 hours with both forces standing down.

Analysis: This 35-turn scenario is the first, and shortest, of two scenarios that cover the fighting along the Matanikau River in late October 1942. Hex control and step loss are objectives for both sides. The scenario was played using 4th Edition rules and the village rules from Kokoda Campaign for the town hex at the river mouth. This one is a real furball with large numbers of units attempting to control a 4-hex perimeter around one of two adjacent hexes. The limited command radius imposed by the jungle restricts the number of units that can be activated per turn, and the numerous minor river hexes running across the board combined with jungle limits the movement range. Consequently, fog-of-war comes into play frequently (about 75% of turns in this playthrough) and many units don’t even get into battle until halfway through the scenario. By Turn 23, the Japanese had exceeded the American step losses needed for victory, so they began to withdraw into the jungle to attempt to keep the Americans from reaching a similar goal. Once that occurred, there was no penalty to bringing in the Raider platoons to assist in the pursuit of the Japanese, so they came in on Turn 26, and the Americans had gathered the requisite number of Japanese step losses by Turn 29. There were no “changes in orders” after that, so the game was a draw. Total step losses were 16 for each side.

'Guadalcanal' has provided a few milestones for me in the terms of the most game turns actually completed but this scenario was the largest I've played so far in regards to the counter density; over 200 counters. However, a good portion of those units never made it on to the map or were needed for play. In fact it took 11 turns just to get all the starting marine units on map and the Japanese SNLF units deployed west of the Matanikau only moved east twice during the battle, never to make contact with the enemy due to the jungle fog of war rules.

The victory conditions for both sides give two options each; the Japanese must control all hexes within 4 hexes of #1826 OR eliminate 13 American steps while the Americans must clear all Japanese units within 4 hexes of #1726 OR eliminate 16 Japanese steps. Also, if any of the American reinforcements from the 1st Raider Battalion are used then the Japanese only have to eliminate 10 American steps to win, so it's best to leave those units in the box unless you really want the Japanese to win or at least get a draw. Chances are the Raiders won't make it to the battle in time to make a difference anyway.

There's not too much to write about the battle as it was a lot like the earlier "Battles on the Matanikau" scenarios but only 35 turns instead of 100+; same jungle, different day. However this entire battle took place on the eastern bank of the Matanikau with the Japanese forced to leave the cover of a lot of jungle hexes in order to attempt to hold their VC mandated territorial objectives. Because of this they were at a disadvantage with attacking marines with superior DF capabilties but this also required the marines to leave a lot of jungle cover to make contact or attempt to take their objectives. So what ensued was a very intense firefight between both sides but with superior firepower the marines were able to eliminate 16 Japanese steps by 14:15/turn 19. However, the problem now was how to hold onto victory without withdrawing too far back and letting the Japanese take control of the hexes they needed to win. By this time Japanese Army stragglers had managed to get to the American flanks and go into crazed suicidal assault mode while the marines desperately began to dig-in and try to hold out until the scenario's end. Unfortunately the frantic and desperate Japanese assaults prevailed and by 16:30/turn 28 had managed to eliminate the 13 required American steps but at an incredible human cost. Japanese losses reached 32 steps along with 8 leaders to reach their goal but that was what it took to force the draw; many times after American first fire the assaults were only rolling on the 9 column but in more cases than not the Japanese were able to roll the needed "6" to force an American loss.

Anyway, pretty much standard fare for 'Guadalcanal' but on a good day it is possible that the Americans can win this one if they are able to withdraw faster (but not too far) after meeting their enemy step loss requirements. They only had 8 more turns to go to hold on before the Japanese caught up with them in force. American air-support was very limited and only appeared twice during the 28 played turns and both times was not used as the worst lot of aircraft were drawn and fog of war intervened before those could even be used. Anyway, this one is a mere prelude to the epic battle to follow the next day (#19-"October on the Matanikau II") at a potential 108 turns length where likely all 200+ counters may actually come into contact, even the SNLF and raiders. I give it a standard "3" rating.

In this very large scenario (largest I have played) played over several sessions, the Marines are trying to push the Japanese over the Matanikau River with a huge force, while the Japanese have a huge force to resist. Victory conditions are based on area control (four hexes from the first major bend in the river) or inflicting step loses (13 for the Japanese, 16 for the Marines). Both sides have some on board artillery, while the Marines have occasional aircraft.

The Japanese set up along a creek east of the river, set up in and around the village (including direct fire guns in the village), some hidden flankers heading south, and reinforcements along the trail to include SNLF troops. They also have some artillery to the west. The Marines set up a large amount of forces on the eastern end of the map, plus have plenty more in reserve. Both sides have late reinforcements, but the Marines reinforcements reduce the number of steps the Japanese need to inflict, so they probably won’t be brought on. The Japanese reinforcements arrive late, and cannot go into the river area unless the Marines push much farther west than required, and so they also will probably not play a part.

The Marines advance on the Japanese, and begin to move in heavily against their advance positions. With fog of war being after only two activations and needing a 15, the first seven turns advance rapidly. The Marines are not even able to move their entire force, and a significant number of troops are still not on the board. Combat is light, with each side suffering two step losses, but the Marines have a decent size force advanced for combat as the Japanese move reinforcements up the trail.

All heck breaks lose in the next seven turns, as the Japanese pour out of the jungle to try to get into as many assaults as possible. During the course of the battle I have as many as seven assault hexes going on simultaneously. Typically the Japanese have the upper hand until a couple of step losses, then the Marines wear them down. By turn 11 the Japanese have reached their required 13 steps inflicted, while the Marines reach their 16 on turn 12. Reinforcements continue to pile in on both sides, and combat is extremely intense.

The next seven turns see the casualty count continue to climb until finally on turn 19 nearly all Japanese positions east of the shoreline hexes finally collapse. Even the original eastern stream position holds until then, as the Japanese kept advancing reinforcements and the dug in units held against massive direct fire, but on turn 19 the weakened position falls to assault. A Marine effort to hit what they believed to be the Japanese right along the riverbank goes bad when the final hidden Japanese units are revealed and they charge into assault and the most advance Marine thrust suffers major losses before reeling back. Turns 20 and 21 see some minor cleanup actions as the Japanese are now too weak to launch more attacks, but can still maintain a strong defense on the eastern shoreline. The Marines have been pounded, but still have plenty of firepower. Unfortunately it will take several more turns to regroup and get all the straggling starting forces into position to launch another attack. Even the SNLF Commander announces that the contested ground is a place of death, not a place of victory, and does not advance his troops past the eastern shoreline. There is no need to play out the remaining 14 turns, as an organized second wave would require half that time to get into position, and the clock would expire well before the second wave got very far. Both sides are exhausted, and the battle breaks off.

In the end the causalities are massive. The Marines lose eight leaders and 31 steps, while the Japanese lose ten leaders and 42 steps. Yes, total losses of 18 leaders and 73 steps in 21 turns! Given losses, both sides achieve their victory conditions, so the scenario is a draw. American aircraft are not very effective despite the amazingly higher than expected appearances. They do account for the Japanese 75mm and one mortar in one particularly effective strike, but are otherwise no more than noise.

The scenario certainly suffers from some issues. The non-starting forces for each side are ridiculous. The Marine reinforcements are certainly not needed, and only make the Japanese victory conditions easier. The Japanese reinforcements are useless unless the Marines are crazy enough to push much farther west than the scenario could ever drive them to do. On top of that, the victory conditions suffer horribly from the both sides need to fight to the death over a large geographical objective that nearly completely overlap. This was a big problem in Beyond Normandy that for club games I had to modify to prevent every scenario becoming a draw. Same here. You’re not going to clear out that much area without huge casualties, and it is highly unlikely you could even manage to clear than much area even if the casualty rate had no bearing on the scenario. You have to kill everything the adversary has! So, with this many units, the impossibility of clearing the area is compounded with a relatively small casualty count needed for victory. You would literally have to make a conscious decision to lose the scenario to not be able to stack up the body count. If it was first player to achieve that condition it would be another matter, and the scenario would have been close with only one turn deciding the difference.

Normally these issues would generate a rating of 2 from me. But in this case the scenario was just so much fun, especially with the fast moving turns, that I will bump it to a 3. If you want a scenario that is just plain fun, but you know it’ll be a draw before you even start, do not pass this one up!

Author	treadasaurusrex (Japan)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Draw
Participants	ACav
Play Date	2023-10-06
Language	English
Scenario	Guad018

This behemoth of a scenario was played over 8 sessions beginning in mid-september. Others have reported this one in great detail,so the will just be an outline AAR. I led the implacable Japanese side and ACav was the Marine commander in this slog of a scenario. Oddly, this gamey scenario provided lots of counters for both sides, that were never used, since to introduce additional Marines to the battle reduced the number of steps the Japanese need to inflict! The nightmarish FOW rule for this scenario resulted in a total of 14 FOW-shortened game turns of the 35 we played. This was a game of slow, but constant movement through some awful terrain to get units in place throughout. Overall casualties were surprisingly light for the first 10, or so turns. After that, the Japanese engulfed the advancing Marine elements in numerous close assaults. We made maximum use of Peter's digital assault hexes to keep track of the assaults. These fights were typically deadly and step loses piled up rapidly. As others have noted, if the Japanese can get the upper hand in close assault with minimal losses -- and have reserves close at hand -- it is hard for the Marines to wear them down. However, the dogged Marines eventually prevailed by the end of game turn 25, when the last of the initial Japanese positions east of the river had fallen. The hidden Japanese elements that suddenly appear and immediately assault take a serious toll, until Marine firepower is finally brought to bear in adjacent-hex firefights. Our play-through mirrored the historic results and the casualties were very high. The Marines lost 7 leaders and 32 steps. The Japanese lost 9 leaders and and 31 steps. US air support proved to be remarkably ineffective. These massive losses ensured that both sides achieved their victory conditions, resulting in a rather frustrating draw.

This scenario's victory conditions needs a rewrite as the size of the non-starting forces for each side are ridiculously huge. Marine reinforcements are not needed, and only make the Japanese victory conditions easier. The Japanese reinforcements are likewise, fairly useless, unless the Marines push much farther west. The victory conditions suffer from both sides needing to fight to the death over relatively-large, geographical objectives that overlaps the enemy's. It is simply impossible to completely clear that much area without huge casualties.

Yes, one has to eliminate everything your adversary has in play, and with this many units, the impossibility of clearing the area is compounded by the a relatively small casualty count needed for victory. I intended to give this slog a rating of 2, but I played a challenging & aggressive opponent who made the game fun, so I give it a generous 3.