is all the Australians will get, in this scenario. Two companies of Australian militia amount a counterattack. A Company enters the west side of the northern board, near the airstrip and village of Kokoda. C company enters the south edge of the south board, a long way away from everything except the tiny village of Pitoki. The Japanese have small garrisons in Kokoda and Pitoki, and a large reserve in the middle of the southern board. By scenario special rule, the Japanese cannot move until an Australian unit is spotted , or until turn 8.

The Australians use the first few turns to approach their objectives, staying out of sighting range of the Japanese forces. On turn 8, Company A moves up through the airfield adjacent to Kokoda, and Company C surrounds Pitoki. With the Australian forces concentrated, and only small Japanese garrisons ( one platoon each) the militia forces get a rare opportunity to win a pair of assaults. By the end of turn 10, the Australian side has a rare glimpse of victory - they hold the airfield, 3 of 4 village hexes and have an overwhelming assault going in on the last village hex.

But it is only a brief glimpse of victory. The Japanese have moved all of their reserve forces toward Kokoda and the airfield, leaving the southern board to the Australian Company C. The Japanese assaults start going in, and the Australian dug in/first fire advantage is not enough to offset the typical column shifts for leadership, better morale, and being Japanese. And in scenarios like this when the Australians have 7/6 morale, compound demoralization is not your friend. An hour of assault combat clears Company A from the village of Kokoda; the remnants retreat west through the airfield without enough strength or morale left to defend the airfield. Company C moves partway up the southern board, but realizes they don't have the strength or the time to affect the battle at Kokoda. Final results - the Japanese kill 13 Australian steps, hold two airfield and three village hexes for 26 points. The Australians kill 5 Japanese steps and hold one village hex for 10 points. Major Japanese victory.

I've rated this a four. The forces are by no means balanced, but there is enough space, enough forces, and multiple objectives to give the Australian player some options, and the Japanese player could easily make enough mistakes for the scenario to be competitive. It very much reflects the point the developers make in the campaign notes - the objective may not be so much an absolute victory but rather just the Australians proving to themselves that they can take the offensive and reach objectives, even if they don't have the strength to hold them long term.