Kawaguchi's Gamble PTO (id:#63915)
(ASL Starter Kit #4 ID: S64)   [next]   [previous]
Near Henderson Field, Guadalcanal 1942-09-13 ()
Designer: Ken Dunn
Starter kit scenario?:    Deluxe scenario?:
 
Balance:
JapaneseAmerican (USMC)
41.860465116279%

Overview:

Colonel Merritt Edson's command, a composite battalion made up of U.S.M.C. Raiders and Paramarines, had just been ordered to occupy a "quiet area", an unnamed ridge overlooking the all-important Henderson Airfield. Much depleted from past operations, they were moved to give them a rest. The Japanese, however, had organized a series of complicated maneuvers designed to surprise the American defenders and to reach a point adjacent to the ridge through which they planned to assault the American lines and break through to Henderson Field -- the key to maintaining control of Guadalcanal. General Kawaguchi's gamble gained him an element of surprise, allowing him to bring 3,000 soldiers against the 800 Marines occupying the ridge. But these Marines were some of the best and toughest on the island and were determined not to retreat.
Attacker: Japanese (1st Battalion, 124th Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 4th Regiment)
Defender: American (USMC) (Raider Battalion and Paramarine Battalion)  
5.5 turns
    Players: 2     OBA: None     Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:13.0 D:8.0
AFVs: A:0
AFVs: D:0
Guns: A:0 D:1
M1A2 37mm AA Gun

Victory Conditions:

Exit VP: Building Control VC: Area Control VC:
Unit Based VC: LOS Style VC: CVP Cap:
Misc Rules: PTO.
Map Board(s): o
Overlays: NONE
Errata (source)
Players wanting to play this game/Request a match:

Scenario info

Last Played:
DateReporterOpponentBal.ResultComments
2022-12-22(D) Jack Wilson vs Bob T. American (USMC) winBob and I have decided to play through the SK4 pack. This was the first time for him on this scenario. I had an advantage as I've played it three times now and, of course, picked up a few things with my three previous losses.

I got lucky on the 2nd Japanese turn when I KIA'd the 10-1 leader and one MMC. Bob rebounded to launch a strong effort in the middle, augmented with two bloody Banzai attacks.

It looked like it was going to come down to a last turn CC fest, but the Americans were able to keep their AA gun hidden on a level one hill and thus seal the victory.

A fun scenario that gives the player new to PTO a crash course in concealment, dense jungle, the peculiar Japanese abilities (especially the HtH CC!) and, yes, Banzai. This devious tactic is something the American player must always be alert to.

I see that according to ROAR, and the Archive, the scenario is tilted toward the Americans. Perhaps. But I think the Japanese have excellent chances.

One minor quibble I would have with the design (beside the quirky out-of-the-blue DR SSR 2 & 3 allow) is the VC condition that encourages the American player NOT to use his powerful AA gun, and therefore put it jeopardy of capture and destruction, at least early on. Losing the gun means he now has to have two MMC survive the carnage. However, it might be worth considering putting it on the front line where it might be able to reap sufficient carnage early before succumbing to the inevitable.

A personal milestone for me: after playing exclusively solo for nearly 2 years this was my 50th live scenario this year.
2022-11-16(D) Jack Wilson vs Ken Walsh Japanese winSecond time in three days playing this one, only now as Americans. Game ended on American turn 5 when my last MMC got pinned in the MPh. Even if it had survived, I would have had to win two Hail Mary CCs to pull off a win on the last turn.

Love the scenario for play balance, but I am not a fan of the quirky SSR that potentially can cause perfectly healthy and concealed Marine MMCs to suddenly break and lose concealment without the Japanese having to fire a shot.

Nevertheless, I made several tactical errors (which Ken capitalized on) which did not help the American cause,

Well-played game on Ken's part.
2022-11-13(D) Dmitry Klyuykov vs Jack Wilson American (USMC) win

(VASL Log)		Round 3 in Stew's mini-tournament. USMC gave up some ground and setup in the back controlling open ground stripe with a AA Gun trying to ambushing the flanking force. With some good firing Americans were able to hold their positions. Thank you for playing, Jack!
2022-11-12(A) Jack Wilson vs Dmitry American (USMC) winFourth PTO scenario. First time playing the Japanese. Dmitry executed a rock-solid defense which my ham-fisted bumbling tactics could not crack. Learned some useful lessons from a far better player I hope to employ in the future.
2022-10-24(D) Jack Wilson vs Craig Renier Japanese winSecond SK PTO game. Not brilliantly played on my part, but I felt I played well enough to win. As usual, Craig played a solid game with a methodical, yet relentless, advance.

The game was in doubt until the last turn. There were about three or four DRs toward the end that had any one of them gone in the American favor could well have flipped the result.

Mais, c'est la vie!

Excellent well-balanced scenario.
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ActionDate
Jwil2020 Added a playing2022-12-23 21:16:05
TiltingAtCthulhu Modified the gps location2022-12-21 11:13:10
Jwil2020 Added a playing2022-11-16 21:13:10
Jwil2020 Added a playing2022-11-14 07:48:38
MoriQuessir Uploaded a VASL file2022-11-13 01:42:26
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Statistics:
Avg Rating: 7.67Votes: 39
Views: 5854
To-Play list count: 1
Estimated Play time: 2.8 hours
Recorded Games: 26
Archive recorded plays:
Japanese10
American (USMC)15
Drawn:1

ROAR Data: (as of November 2021)
Kawaguchi's Gamble [Confirmed]
[A] Japanese 8
[D] American 10
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