This little scenario requires a small recon patrol to enter and exit the board without loss. The Japanese have only a few units to cover the width of the board, but there is no requirement that any of them remain alive to win, only that they take a single step or more of the Marines. With 18 turns, there is a little time for the Marines to stop and take a shot here and there but little to get caught up in assaults. For 13 turns, the Marines managed to move around, back and forth to keep moving towards the south end of the board, until finally a Japanese force of an Inf, HMG and Cpt caught up to the stack of the US Cpt, single step of infantry and one of the LVT-A1s at the edge of the board. And right there, in the assault, the Japanese managed to take out a single step of the LVT unit while the Marine infantry and leader managed to get off the table. The second stack with the Sgt had started to go around the Japanese, but then it was too late. The single step had already been lost. A great scenario, a puzzle that will require lots of replay to find the best way, and one that is as challenging for the handful of Japanese troops as it is for the handful of Marines.

Marianas 1944, scenario #17: Patrol South

The puzzle I couldn’t solve, at least not on the first attempt. A pretty straight forward scenarios, the Americans must exit all their steps off the south edge of the map in 18 turn and the Japanese can win if they don’t. The Japanese have 4 leaders, 3 Infantry, 1 HMG, 1 20mm gun while the Americans have 2 leaders, 2 reduced Infantry and 2 LVT A1s.

The Americans try to avoid combat and recon south but the Japanese with 4 Leaders are able to divide into four forces, three hunting and assaulting American units and the forth, the 20mm gun far to the south in a blocking force. The Japanese kept maneuvering their three combat groups and assaulted at will, unafraid of loses but rolled much better on the dice and managed to eliminate two steps of LVT A1s and one step of Infantry, sending two leaders retreating back north.

An easy Japanese victory. Maybe next time I should fight it out as the Americans but with 18 turns, even that approach will be difficult. The American moved in two stacks one led by the Captain, the reduce Infantry, a LVT A1 and the other by the Sergeant, the reduced Infantry and a LVT A1 unit. Maybe I’ll change the stacks up next time and keep the Infantry in one and the LVT A1s in another. Worth a second try someday.