Kokoda Trail Campaign - July 08, 1942

Historical Background:
The Kokoda Trail campaign was a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Australian forces in extremely inhospitable terrain in the Mountains of the Owen Stanley Range.

After conquering the northern coast of New Guinea the Japanese attempted to attack Port Moresby overland in a strategy to isolate Australian from the United States. A strong force under the command of Tomitaro Horii clashed with woefully understrength defenders of from the Australian 39th Battalion and Papuan Infantry Battalions and forced them to withdraw but their resistance was such that the Japanese believed they had defeated a force of 1200 men where in fact the defenders had only numbered 77 during the initial clash.

The Australians were forced to constantly withdraw under pressure until they came to a defensible strong point in the trail, a feature known as Mission Ridge and set up a strong defense on a hilltop straddling the trail later to be known as "Brigade Hill". The Japanese started off with frontal attacks but then turned to flank attacks and finally the defenders were forced to retreat to Menari.

The Japanese didn't press their attacks further, logistics were very hard since everything had to be carried on foot over the trail and when Japanese fortunes at Guadalcanal turned for the worse the Japanese high command decided it could not support operations both on New Guinea and Guadalcanal and a withdrawal was ordered on the Kokoda trail.

The fighting of the Kokoda trail campaign was the first time in history that Australia's security was directly threatened. Had the Japanese won they would have captured Port Moresby - the last defense before the Australian mainland. On a memorial dedicated to the defenders of the Kokoda Trail Campaign the words: " Courage Endurance Mateship Sacrifice" are written and the campaign holds a special place in Australian history.

The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.

Briefing:
Axis Player (Japanese)
- Take 5 Command Cards
- You move first

Allied Player (Australia)
- Take 5 Command Cards

Conditions of Victory:
5 medals

The hex with the medals on Brigade Hill is a temporary medal for both the Australians and the Japanese

Special Rules:
All Japanese special rules are in effect

Australians have the "Stiff Upper Lip" special rule

Warning:
Please note that this scenario was not approved by Richard Borg or Days of Wonder, so you have to check yourself about playability, potential gaming issues, etc.