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)
42.857142857143%

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:
DateReporterOpponentResultComments
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.
2022-10-24(A) Craig Renier vs Jack Wilson Japanese winThe Japanese focused their attack on the west side slowly forcing their way up the ridge. The attackers were lucky with a couple attacks and a risky CC which cost the Japanese 2 full squads but took out the American 9-2 leader and a full squad. By Turn 3, the Japanese found themselves behind due to the cautious approach. A piece of the American force which was divided from the main body broke under DFF giving the Japanese an opening to concentrate their forces. And on Turn 5, the Japanese invoked SSR2, revealing two squads. One of those newly revealed squads was covering the American left flank. It broke under Prep Fire. With the ground free from Defensive Fire, the Japanese closed on the last defenders. On Turn 6, the Americans invoked SSR3, but failed with a 6. The 10-1 leader subsequently directed a Prep Fire which broke another MMC which was covering the open ground approach on the hill. The Japanese moved in for the kill when the AA gun was revealed. A 16+1 shot stripped one MMC but had no effect on another. The crew broke under AFPh. The Japanese advanced onto the gun and recovered it in the American Turn 6 RPh. The last American hope was to break the Japanese MMC in possession on the gun and then eliminate the Japanese units in CC. But the Japanese passed the subsequent MC ending the game.
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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
MoriQuessir Added a playing2022-11-13 01:38:53
Jwil2020 Added a playing2022-10-25 02:31:43
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Statistics:
Avg Rating: 7.66Votes: 38
Views: 4902
To-Play list count: 1
Estimated Play time: 2.8 hours
Recorded Games: 25
Archive recorded plays:
Japanese10
American (USMC)14
Drawn:1

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