Interesting scenario, short primarily because of low troop count. US troops are in a race to exit 5+ steps off the south side of the board (tanks that enter on or after turn 8 dont count). NKPA have to prevent that. From the set-up procedure, things didnt go well for the US. Drawing a 7-1-0 Cpt to lead them, the rest were average 8-x-x leaders with only 1 having a morale bonus. The setup starts the US north of the river. Since the rivers run north to south, I assumed this meant north of the bend in the river and set up just to the north, lined up by command structure to allow the whole group to move on one action as long as possible. I split the NKPA into 2 elements to enter on the road from east and west, with the NKPA Major leading the SMG company and the rest split up so equal numbers of infantry and an HMG enered from both sides. The Major entered with the easern force and was able to take advanage of his full move just in time to block the US force. As the US only got the initative on turn 2, the NKPA were in a foot race that they won, and the US sergeant with the mortars moved off to the west into a cleft in the hill to deploy his mortars while the NK Major with the SMGs engaged the 2 platoons next in line in assault and the other 2 elements moved adjacent to the last 2 US stacks intending on assaulting them next turn. NKPA dice were hot, and the Major rolled snakeeyes, taking 3 steps immediately, the US counter doing nothing. the US LT failed the leader loss check and the surviving step of HMG went to demoralized, then failed a US turn morale check and was destroyed in the attempt to flee the assault hex. The two other US stacks opened fire to the adjacent NK stacks and slowed them down, forcing them to take morale checks in their next turn instead of assaulting. The US sergeant got his mortars ready and managed to get a shot off that slighly added to the morale damage of one NK stack. But next turn came and the NK Major and his killer company moved into assault the US commander and his stack of an HMG and an Infantry platoon, and once again, rolled snakeeyes. Again a US leader loss and the US side became decapitated, with a disrupted HMG step left holding until it was eliminated on the next turn. The other NKPA units from the east had regrouped and one started the assault on the last US stack in the column as the NKPA western group caught up and assaulted the US sgt and his mortars. The NKPA Major managed one more roll of snakeyes and desroyed the last US stack, with one surviving step of infantry heading north away from safety while the mortars and sergeant fought off attacks for several turns before they also succumbed, the Sergeant getting away but being chased. Finally, on turn 12, the US tanks came in and rushed up the road towards the last surviving infantry step but the tanks were caught in assaults while the demoralized US infantry kept fleeing further north. After two turns, with a step loss and demoralization, then an attempt to flee, the brave tank troops fell to more assaults, and three stacks of NKPA chased down the last survivers, while the last NKPA force finally caught up with the fleeing Sergeant on the south edge of the board. On turn 18, the NKPA major and his company of SMG troops caught and eliminated that last step of troops. NKPA lost a single step throughout the morning to a total loss for the US.

Korean War: Pusan Perimeter, scenario #32, All So New!

I played a couple smaller scenarios this morning and this was one of them. Of course I used the corrected map setup from the second release of this game. The Americans have to exit five steps off the south edge of the map to win and rivers swollen due to heavy rain so they try to rush their units south but the North Koreans come in on both the western and eastern edges of the maps to cut them off and cut them down.

At first the Americans try to avoid combat and rush south but there is no way to avoid being tangled up in combat in this situation or your units will be grounded down to nothing. It turns into a chest match of movement and combat with the Americans, with a lower morale taking the worst of it. Even with the M24 tank reinforcements rushed in from the south, getting ambushed and assaulted on a forest road hex, losing a step and being of little help. By turn 13 I called the game a NKPA victory and no American steps exited the southern edge of the map and they had lost 8 steps counting the tank step, which left only 6 steps left in a mostly demoralized of leaderless state.

Clearly I was impatient with my American attempt to exit the southern edge of the map and should have maybe held back and organized some better attacks before attempt to flee south and maybe it would have been a closer match. The North Koreans did lose two steps but recovered quickly with their 8/6 morale.