Turn 7 – Dave

 
The endless bombing campaign is constantly wearing away at my strength. I only have a single unit of fighters available, but at the least I can hope to lessen the effectiveness of the enemy attacks. I send my Warhawks to attack the enemy bombers, with some success, but at the cost of 2 strength points.
 

 
I need to fall back with my Heavy Infantry, but with Japanese units holding the road, my only option is to move through the jungle. This costs me efficiency, but if I stay to the north of the forests I will be very exposed. The screenshot below shows that moving south into the jungle will cost me 2 efficiency points, but needs must.
 

 
My Heavy Infantry finish off the weakened Japanese infantry at the front of the column, allowing my infantry to advance into the hex they previously occupied. My position is now much less vulnerable.
 

 
The enemy light tanks are just ahead of my GMC, so, with the gun elevation down, I move forward to strike. Light tanks are the perfect target for the M3 GMC, and my attack deals a hefty blow and sends the crippled light tank unit retreating over the river.
 

 
Finally, I move my engineers along the road towards the eastern bridge. One last bridge to blow and the Japanese will need to ford the river across the eastern front-line.
 

 
Turn 7 – Lukas

 
The Japanese attack runs dry as their tanks split up, one taking another devastating volley from Dave’s 75mm GMC and the other stopping dead in front of my bunker, unwilling to risk an attack with my AT gun behind it. My Stuart tanks move forward to finish off the badly damage enemy tank, assuming I have nothing else to fear but some artillery fire.
 

 
The rest of the turn is spent peppering the enemy units with artillery shells and aerial bombardment, while my “Rescue Dave Force” takes up their new positions.
 

 
Turn 8 – Dave

 
With Lukas’ units now reinforcing my western defences, I feel a bit more comfortable. Lukas’ anti-aircraft fire follows on the heels of my fighter attacks last turn and does more damage to the Japanese bombers, although they take a beating at the hands of the advancing Japanese infantry as a result.
 
The Japanese seem to be focussing their attacks on Lukas this turn, which gives me some respite.
 
I move my engineers into position to blow the last bridge.
 

 
My fighter keeps up the attack on the Japanese bombers, dealing two points of damage. My heavy infantry then counter-attack against the Japanese infantry which had attacked Lukas, and I follow up the attack by cutting the enemy supply lines with my M3 GMC. Again, I’m setting up Lukas to deal the real damage!
 

 
Turn 8 – Lukas

 
As my recon unit finally retreats back to our side of the Northern river before Dave blows the last bridge, it detects more Japanese infantry preparing to ford the river.
 

 
My bunker litters the enemy with machinegun fire while an infantry unit is sent to launch a consecutive counter attack.
 

 
The remaining units retreat out of enemy artillery range in an attempt to recover both their strength and efficiency levels before the next major enemy attack force arrives.
 

 
 
Turn 9 – Dave

 
A Japanese fighter has swung out of nowhere and engaged my Warhawks. My aircraft have survived, but only just! It’s definitely time to fall back for repairs.
 

 
Otherwise, the Japanese have again tried to ford the river in the east. Lukas’ defenses are holding firm though.
 
My engineers blow the eastern bridge. This will hopefully blunt the impact of the following waves of attackers.
 

 
My Warhawks can’t make it to an airfield this turn. I decide to fly them directly south, simply to get as far away as possible in the hope of avoiding the attention of the enemy.
 

 
My howitzer nearly wipes out the remaining Japanese infantry in the west, and although it’s tempting to follow up by engaging with my Heavy Infantry and GMC, I don’t want to make the same mistake as before. Instead I pull both units back into defensive positions, and reinforce them.
 

 
Turn 9 – Lukas

 
The Japanese artillery forces me to retreat from the river banks, but I have a fully recovered infantry unit in reserve to drive back their ground attack. Their attempt to cross the river has been destroyed and little else is happening on the battlefield as I give much needed rest to my weary units. But is just the silence before the storm…
 

 
Turn 10 – Dave

 
My hopes of my fighters evading the enemy are dashed. Japanese air superiority is confirmed as my remaining Warhawks go down in flames.
 

 
Japanese reinforcements have arrived, in the form of three medium tank units to the north. This will be a challenge!
 
I inch my Gun Motor Carriage into range, and take a shot at the newly arrived armoured divisions, but it barely makes a dent… it seems these will be harder to kill than the light tanks of the previous attacks.
 

 
I direct my howitzer fire at the supporting Japanese infantry with a little more success, and reinforce my Heavy Infantry.
 
This turn, I’ve recieved additional requisition points. If we’re going to weather the incoming attack, we’re going to need reinforcements!
 
I purchase and deploy a armoured unit of Stuarts, and a unit of US infantry, leaving my coffers empty of requisition points. My deployment areas are in my towns to the south, so I immediately deploy my new aquisitions with the intention of bringing them forward double time!
 

 
Turn 10 – Lukas

 
The Japanese have realised a few infantry and light tanks won’t be enough to break the US defense, and now several Chi-Ha medium tanks backed up by significant numbers of infantry have appeared. Doubting the performance of my since M3 Stuart light tank against this medium armour I decided to upgrade my 37mm AT gun to a 90mm gun.
 

 
This unit type has both AT and AA capabilities and should be useful as fire support. The remainder of my forces bunch up in the nearest city and brace for impact.
 

 

Turn 11 – Dave

 
It looks like the eastern bridge was blown just in time, as Japanese medium tanks appear and immediately begin to ford the river, attacking my engineers who had only just moved to the shores… The AI has also finished off Lukas’ bunker, and the number of Japanese units now flooding over the central bridges is making things look rather grim.
 

 
I don’t have the strength required to make any serious counter-attacks here, so the first thing I do is start bringing forward my newly deployed reinforcements. The sooner they make it to the front, the better.
 

 
I reinforce the engineers and my infantry in the west. The Japanese offensive in the east has left Lukas’ howitzers in danger of direct attack from medium armour, so I lower the gun elevation of my GMC and move it into a position to protect Lukas. It’s not a great defense… it’s efficiency is low, but it _is_ a tank destroyer… so it should fare better than the exposed artillery pieces.
 

 
My howitzer fires at the approaching columns of Japanese infantry, but really, I’m relying on Lukas to take the initiative this turn…
 

 
Turn 11 – Lukas

 
The enemy force looks menacing, and makes a rapid thrust toward my northern city. Our strategy will be to dig in around heavy AT support and preserve our efficiency as much as possible. I switch my AA gun to direct fire setup, allowing it to act as a light AT gun.
 

 
As my light tank is ill suited to fight a static fight against superior numbers of medium tanks, I decide to move it across the pontoon bridge. The move works surprisingly well, as the tanks smash into a disrupted enemy infantry unit and force it to retreat. The advance move allows my Stuarts to cut off an enemy Chi-Ha medium tank. Seizing the opportunity, I move forward move units to assure the enemy can not easily extract the tank back into its supply lines.
 

 
The enemy attack looks rather weak now on the Western flank, so hopefully we can use superior numbers and tactics to crush that side quickly. In the mean time the city defenders position themselves so everything is covered by AT gun support. The recon units are positioned in front of the pontoon bridge so the enemy cannot use it without a fight – supported by my new 90mm AA/AT gun.
 

 
Turn 12 – Dave

 
Whilst the rest of our combined forces group together to form a tight defensive position, I have left my engineers exposed on the right flank. I had hoped to delay the enemy river crossings from the east before retreating, but it quickly becomes apparent that was a futile hope. The Japanese attack me from three directions, rolling over my engineers without difficulty.
 
The japanese medium tanks also attack my M3 GMC, which only just survives, retreating behind Lukas’ forces.
 

 
Lukas has neatly boxed in the enemy medium tanks in the west, cutting it off from supply and leaving it vulnerable. I need to capitalise on that, and almost on cue my reinforcements are arriving from the south. My howitzers join my fresh armoured unit in attacking the isolated Japanese armour, but only manage to reduce them to strength 4.
 

 
My infantry are low on efficiency, and the combat odds indicate that throwing them into the fray would do little to help, so I hold them back to preserve them for a better opportunity. I hope Lukas’ troops can make the final kill.
 
My M3 GMC is crippled, but after purchasing Stuarts and infantry reinforcements, my requisition points are too low to reinforce the GMC unit. I tuck them safely behind Lukas’ defensive lines, raise the gun elevation, and fire an ineffective shot at the approaching Japanese armour.
 

 
Turn 12 – Lukas

 
As predicted the enemy fails to recover its Chi-Ha tank on the western flank and it takes significant damage from our attacks. My own tank takes a bit of a beating too as the enemy tries to break the encirclement. Instead of using my units to finish off the crippled Chi-Ha, my heavy infantry makes a very successful counter attack, pushing back its opponent. It now threatens the enemy heavy artillery!
 

 
In the east, the enemy tanks have just destroyed Dave’s valuable Engineer unit and reduced the 75mm GMC to scrap. My units rally around the last surviving AT position while launching a small counter-attack against the enemy infantry threatening the pontoon bridge.
 

 
Turn 13 – Dave

 
The Japanese in east make good use of the mobility of their armoured units, swinging around the right flank to enter the town and raise the Japanese flag in the centre. The medium tanks stop short of attacking Lukas forces, which are protected by anti-tank support fire from his 90mm AA gun.
 
The loss of this key point will reduce our supplies, but we should have plenty in reserve.
 
I finally have enough requisition points to reinforce my GMC. The unit is still on very low efficiency, but hopefully with a turn of rest it should be able to make a contribution to our defence again.
 

 
With the enemy closing around our defences in the east, a swift victory in the west is critical. I move my Stuarts forward to join Lukas’ push forward, leaving the isolated and cut-off enemy medium tanks for my infantry to clear up.
 

 

 
Since Lukas has secured the pontoon, the Japanese have started fording the river alongside it. Next turn, they will be across and in a position to threaten my howitzer. I move my Heavy Infantry, now recovered from their previous engagements, into a position to protect my artillery, and use the latter to bombard the enemy tanks on the eastern side of the river.
 

 
My Stuarts attack the enemy in the west with great success, wiping out the enemy unit and advancing to keep the pressure on. Hopefully we can throw back this attack in time to come to the rescue to the eastern defenders.
 

 
Turn 13 – Lukas

 
My heavy infantry catches the enemy artillery with their pants down. Worn out from my B17 bombardements the unit takes massive casualties from the assault, and my bombers gets the reward for their hard work by dealing the final blow.
 

 
Confident that the west is now secured, I move my tanks back toward the city and repair some of its strength. The Japanese slowly envelop my defensive position, but seem reluctant to attack it with their tanks. I launch a few minor attack mostly aimed at pinning down some disrupted enemy units.