The Japanese hoped to bypass the Allied army on the border of Manipur State and Burma, and cut off them from their supply lines for defeat in detail. The Allies planned to allow themselves to be surrounded, but to supply their forces by air and watch the Japanese wither at the end of a tenuous supply. However, this plan depended on the Indian divisions at the border disengaging from the Japanese and retreating to Imphal for the real defense. Despite knowledge of the Japanese plans, the Allies began the withdrawal too late. The 20th Indian Division was at the end of the line. The Japanese used the same tactics that had stood them so well in 1942 – infiltration causing panic. The 20th garrisoned Tamu and the villages at the border. At one such village, the defenders, in the process of planning a retreat, heard the rumble of engines. Tanks! The Japanese 14th Tank Regiment had been asked to push the defenders out, to the block the Japanese were sure to have established on the road behind. However, the Japanese found Witok defended by the best battalion of the 10th Gurkha Rifles. Armed with automatic weapons and fresh from jungle school, the Gurkhas placed so mush fire on the attackers that the Japanese broke off the attack. This was the first action for the 4/10 Gurhkas in the six month long struggle for Imphal, during which they earned the nick-name “the non-stop Gurhas”.
Attacker: Japanese (Elements of the 213th Regiment, 33rd Infantry Division and the 14th Tank Regiment)
Defender: Gurkha (Elements of the 4/10 Gurkha Rifle Battalion and the 2nd Battalion (Border Regiment), 100th Indian Infantry Brigade, 20th Indian Division)
4.5 turns
Players: 2 OBA: None Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:8.0 D:7.0
AFVs: A:2
Type 97B CHI-HA x 2
AFVs: D:0
Guns: A:0
Type 89 Heavy Grenade-Launcher x 2
D:0
OML 2-in. Mortar
Misc Rules:
PTO, LJ. (Exc: Brush remains Brush, roads exist). Grain is drained Rice Paddies w banks.
Not a PTO fan, so frustrated as always trying to kill Japanese squads. Game went down to the final close combat and the Gurkhas prevailed for the win.
2022-11-19
(D) Jeff B
vs
Steve Etzelmueller
Gurkha win
Japs heavily smoked their approach, with the Brits mostly set back out of LOS awaiting them. The paddies therefore were not too dangerous for the Japs to just run across the banks. A 448 was KIA'd while taking a ride on one of the two tanks en route to putting pressure on the lone British squad in the west, while the CE crew was stunned. Unlike my usual disdain of FHs, I did setup much of my force entrenched, and therefore just sat and prepped during my half of the turn. Hot dice were to be found on both sides; too hot for a scenario as small as this to absorb. Besides the above-mentioned KIA, my 9-1-led 2-Squad FH was hit with an AFPh ATT CH that nailed both squads (with the PIAT squad succumbing), my 8-1 and accompanying 648 were sent back to deep within the village broken by a lucky ITT shot while they sat assumedly safely in one of the stone buildings, and the final straw being when the Japanese 10-1 went berserk, taking the two 448s that were with him to their doom. With an extremely depleted force, the Japs called it quits on Turn 3 after this move, leaving us unsure how this one could've played out under normal circumstances.
2020-12-07
(A) Dave Mareske
vs
Robert Hammond
Gurkha win
Great game with Robert...had fun all the way through though my DRs were suspect at times. The Japanese could not finish a close combat which cost them in the end. The game came down to the final CC where the Gurkhas needed to roll a 7 to kill of my Japanese and retain control of the third building. They did so.
2020-10-10
(D) Richard Jenulis
vs
Aaron Cleavin
Japanese win
vASLOK 2020 Emperor's Finest mini round 1.
2020-07-27
(A) Dave Mareske
vs
Dennis Dowd
Japanese win
Gurkhas set up mainly in the center of the board so the Japanese tried a pincer attack trying to encircle the defenders. It mostly worked, though I lost a tank to the MTR (yes it can be done!). The Japanese were able to keep the Gurkas either pinned down or broken so they could not retreat into the village. The Japanese captured all three stone buildings on turn 4. Fun little scenario with a good introduction to Rice Paddies.
2019-10-12
(D) Andy Beaton
vs
Ryan Kent
Gurkha win
ASLOK 2019. After handshake and cleanup realized that Japanese could have won, rolled what-if dice and the Japanese would have won. Could have gone either way.
2017-02-01
(A) Eric Partizan Eric
vs
Gurkha win
2016-08-20
(A) Jason Wert
vs
Andrew Hershey
Gurkha win
Tough fight on the IJA. Banzai'd first and third turns to cover the ground and had pushed the Gurkhas back into the village. Tough fight in a foxhole in the road cost me 1.5 squads and didnt have enough to get to the last two buildings.
2016-03-12
(D) Simon Staniforth
vs
Gurkha win
2015-10-24
(D) Richard Jenulis
vs
Bill Owen
Gurkha win
2015-10-09
(D) Michael Rodgers
vs
Hennie Van Der Salm
Japanese win
This may have been my first time playing with rice paddies. I made one mistake with my British defence. I had two units in the rice paddies that were enclosed by hedges. I should have had a third, because Hennie had two tanks to tie up those two units so his infantry could move through that rice paddy unmolested. Besides being an excellent player, Hennie had hot dice and I had cold dice. He had a mortar crew that was well supplied with smoke and WP, while my mortar team rolled 11, 11, 11 and 9 before going down. After Japanese turn 3, I conceded because I did not have enough troops left to win.