Isurava and the Trail South Scenario 2: Isurava, Day Two Kokoda Campaign #7 |
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(Defender) Australia | vs | Japan (Attacker) |
Formations Involved | ||
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Australia | 21st Infantry Brigade | |
Australia | 39th "Hawthorn-Kew" Infantry Battalion | |
Australia | 53rd “West Sydney” Infantry Battalion | |
Japan | 144th Infantry Regiment |
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Overall Rating, 6 votes |
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3.83
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Scenario Rank: 188 of 940 |
Parent Game | Kokoda Campaign |
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Historicity | Historical |
Date | 1942-08-28 |
Start Time | 08:00 |
Turn Count | 24 |
Visibility | Day |
Counters | 0 |
Net Morale | 1 |
Net Initiative | 1 |
Maps | 1: 34 |
Layout Dimensions | 43 x 28 cm 17 x 11 in |
Play Bounty | 137 |
AAR Bounty | 171 |
Total Plays | 5 |
Total AARs | 1 |
Battle Types |
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Inflict Enemy Casualties |
Urban Assault |
Conditions |
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Hidden Units |
Terrain Mods |
Scenario Requirements & Playability | |
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Kokoda Campaign | Base Game |
Introduction |
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After learning that his force faced new Australian troops, Maj. Gen. Horii elected to commit all three battalions of 141st Infantry Regiment to his second attack on the Isurava defenses. II Battalion would join III Battalion in a direct attack on the Australian positions while the I Batttalion would attempt to flank them. The Australians now had three companies of the 2/14th in the line at Isurava, and the fourth (A Company) had arrived and was placed in reserve after force-marching all night. The 53rd remained scattered, but pressure in that area remained low. |
Conclusion |
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The Thirty-Ninth and 2/14th Battalions stood firm throughout the day eliminating any Japanese who managed to penetrate the Isurava lines. Though ordered into reserve at the end of the day, the 39th requested and received permission to stay in support of 2/14th for another day. The 53rd continued to struggle all day and proved unable to resist the numerous Japanese forces on the eastern Abuari trail, but the timely arrival of troops from 21st Brigade gave them some badly needed support. |
Additional Notes |
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Note the setup inadvertently shows the wrong orientation for the board. 34 should be in the top left hand corner. |
2 Errata Items | |
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Scen 7 |
Board orientation should be as noted in the Additional Notes (Matt W
on 2017 Mar 11)
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Scen 7 |
Japanese setup calls for 2 Lt Colonels but my counter mix only has 1. Substituted with a Colonel. (Juiceman
on 2020 Dec 19)
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Didn’t We Just Go Down This Track |
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Day 2 for the battle of Isurava, set up is similar to day 1, the Japanese forces are restricted to the east and west side of the creek that runs down the center of the map (approximately). The East force has a specific boundary that they cannot cross while the West force must stop after capturing Isurava. In essence you have two separate battles or forces that cannot support each other, well except for indirect mortar fire. The East Japanese force headed down the track looking to capture the two villages in their area of operation thus denying the Australians 8 victory points while gaining 4. Elements of the Australian 53rd Battalion, Maroubra Force was deployed to check this advance knowing that help was on the way from Alola. The 53rd stopped the Japanese advance at first but continued pressure & failed morale checks caused this unit to all but cease to exist, not even the reinforcements from Alola could recapture the village of Abuari let alone hold the line as they fell back to the waterfall. On the west side of the creek the 39th Battalion set up in & to the right of Isurava, while the 2/14/21st Brigade setup at their northern limit to the west of Isurava. The Japanese came down the trail, quickly overrunning the hidden units of the 39th Battalion & before the Aussies could react the Japanese were assaulting Isurava. Elements of the 21st Brigade tried to counter attack the enemy units but the Japanese had set up their 3 HMG on the 60m hill to the NW of the village that poured accurate Op Fire into any Aussie units that tried to move thru the light jungle towards the village. Then indirect mortar fire from the 3 stacked 81mm mortars got hot which helped disrupt & demoralize any Aussie units that could be spotted. This time around there were no last turn heroics on the part of the Australians, the Japanese were firmly in control of Isurava. |
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