KoCa016 
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Over the Hills and Far Away Scenario 1: The Trail Back Kokoda Campaign #17 |
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| (Attacker) Australia | vs | Japan (Defender) |
| Formations Involved | ||
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| Australia |  |
2/33rd Infantry Battalion |
| Japan |  |
144th Infantry Regiment |
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| Overall Rating, 6 votes |
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3.5
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| Scenario Rank: 433 of 940 |
| Parent Game | Kokoda Campaign |
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| Historicity | Historical |
| Date | 1942-10-08 |
| Start Time | 08:00 |
| Turn Count | 16 |
| Visibility | Day |
| Counters | 31 |
| Net Morale | 0 |
| Net Initiative | 1 |
| Maps | 1: 34 |
| Layout Dimensions | 43 x 28 cm 17 x 11 in |
| Play Bounty | 143 |
| AAR Bounty | 165 |
| Total Plays | 5 |
| Total AARs | 2 |
| 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 a week of internal bickering in the Allied command, the 25th Brigade finally moved back to Ioribaiwa Ridge in force on September 28th and found the Japanese positions empty. Ordered to pursue the Japanese, Brigadier Eather moved out slowly to avoid outrunning his supply lines and repeating the travails of Maroubra Force. It was October 6th before Australian patrols made contact with Japanese outposts near Templeton's Crossing. Maj. Gen Horii had left II Battalion of the 144th Regiment there to contest the highest point of the crossing and slow the Australian advance. |
| Conclusion |
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As the Australians advanced, they found increasing signs of distress among the Japanese: not only was the Imperial Army abandoning its dead, some of the bodies showed no signs of wounds, implying they had died of starvation. Even so, they continued to fight with determination. The cautious Australian advance and tenacity of the Japanese defenders allowed the understrength II Battalion to bring the entire Australian force to a virtual standstill for five days. But the rest of 25th Brigade spent that time massing for an attack. |
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| Army |
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| Imperial Japanese Army |
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| The Trail Back |
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Besides VPs for steps losses, the villages are key to victory for this scenario with 3 VPs for Aussie and 2 VPs for Japanese control. The Japanese tried their best to ambush the advancing Aussies but did not do lasting damage, those Aussie units that survived brought superior firepower against the stubborn Japanese troops, slowing clearing one village after another. |
| 0 Comments |
| Australians Ambushed, but not Stopped | ||||||||||||||
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This was a simple and brutal, grinding, infantry-only slugfest that my opponent's stubborn Australians won thanks to their superior firepower and my bad die rolling. I led the defending Japanese ambush force mostly hidden in the jungle in this 4-session bloodletting. Both sides got middling leaders. The Emperor's boys slowly gave ground after a few successes in causing casualties among the probing Aussies during turns 1-6. After that, the relentless Australian adjacent-hex fire fights ground down the Japanese contingent fairly rapidly, and my wily opponent was able to continually reinforce his close assaults allowing withdrawn unit morales to recover, while fresh formations tried their luck with cold steel and grenades. He had reserves that the Japanese lacked to make this tactic work. This unbalanced encounter was an Allied walk over after turn 9, with no chance to mount a successful Japanese counter attack with the strength to push back effectively. I give this scenario a generous rating of 2. It is better suited to solitaire play, than shared, IMHO. |
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| 1 Comment |
