Rules of Engagement (ROE) AAR - US Marines vs Japanese Part 1

Sunday night saw Wyvern Wargamers refight a small part of an engagement from the Japanese Guadalcanal campaign with the Kuma Battalion attacking a swamp filled patch of Jungle prior to the assault on "Edson's Ridge" (Lunga Ridge).

The search for the perfect WW2 rules continues and tonight we used Rules of Engagement and selected the "Hold the Line" scenario. Mark volunteered to run the game and provided me with the OOB for both sides so I could make up the forces before hand.

Mission Brief 
Attacker:Japanese Kuma Battalion

You are ordered to launch an assault on a key section of the enemy line as part of a wider attack in an effort to punch through and cut off the enemy force.
US forces are thought to be holding the local village together with a spotter in the nearby temple.

Defender: US Marines

As the enemy presses home the advantage, you are ordered to hold your position in an effort to keep possession of vital supply lines and the temple which your Artie spotter has been using to interdict Japanese movements. 

Order of Battle 

Attacker: Combat Effectiveness 25          Defender: Combat Effectiveness 18

I altered the scenario weight slightly with 23 points for the Japanese and 16 for the Marines as the unit composition in ROE was slightly different as I had originally built my forces, however it could be argued that casaulties have taken their toll on both sides.

The Battlefield 
One piece of terrain is chosen by the defender as their HQ in this case the temple – this is the primary objective. It may be a building or another suitable piece of terrain. Placed at least 20cm and no more than 40cm from the defenders table edge and no closer than 50cm from either side. 

Deployment 

Attacker deploys all their troops following the deployment of the defender’s hidden markers. Start 30cm in.
Defender deploys first using the Hidden Deployment rules. All markers must be within 40cm of the objective.
Attacker goes first. 

Victory Conditions

Demoralised troops do not count.

Attacker Decisive Victory:

Attacker has twice as many figures than the defender within 20cm of the objective.

Attacker Marginal Victory:

Attacker has more models than the defender within 20cm of the objective.

Defender Marginal Victory:

As per Attacker, but Vice versa.

Defender Decisive Victory:

As per Attacker, but vice versa

Any other result is a draw.

With 23 Points to spend on the Japanese attackers I opted for the following forces.

Platoon Command
3 Rifle Sections
3 LMG teams
1 Grenade Launcher Section
1 HMG team

2 Type 95 Tanks

More than enough to push the Marines from the jungle path and village.

The Marines before them had 16 points to spend, these were spend on the following elements.

Platoon Command
2 Rifle Squads
.30 Cal MMG Team

Bazooka Team

Enough to hold the board for the night?

Parrt 2 AAR Tomorrow.