It is fun to play a scenario with the Japanese on lots of open ground. They're faster-moving MGs and wagons make infantry actions more fluid and allow support weapons to keep pace with aggressive attacks.

In this scenario the Japanese must take a hill, some towns and a road from the Australian defenders. The Japanese have tough 9/8 morale, which along with their national assault bonus makes closing with the Australian defenders as fast as possible an attractive idea.

The initial Japanese advance from the southeast rapidly overwhelmed the Australian outpost defending the forward hill. Japanese troops poured across the plain behind the hill and approached the town and woods that formed the main Australian defensive line. At this point the Japanese center seemed to stall, and two flanking forces made progress only by fits and starts.

Eventually, the Australian center collapsed and the Japanese wings closed on the larger town in the rear. Here, a brave Australian company held out in the center of town against all attacks, handing out bloody noses to three waves of Japanese attackers. The remnants of the Australian center fell back and prepared a scratch defense of the western end of the road. A last ditch Japanese attack failed to clear them before the five hour time limit was up. A minor Australian victory.

I really enjoyed this scenario, both for the highly fluid Japanese forces and for the tactical decision to be made with each assault: do the HMGs join in the assault and give up the column bonus for Japanese infantry, or do the HMGs hold back and the infantry get to make a Banzai charge? I was frustrated by the Australian pilots inability to find their targets, but their doughty infantry kept up a steady defense in the face of steady casualties. A nice, fast-moving scenario.