ASL scenario BFP-26 Armored Samurai

I've been toying with playing the PTO and the Japanese for years, trying a couple scenarios but it never caught on, too much to learn.  Then I purchased Blood and Jungle from Bounding Fire Productions and it has a very nice intro - the first scenario is no Banzai, no Dare Death, no PTO terrain, etc...  The next one simply adds that the Japanese are HTH if they attack, the next one adds one other item, etc...

So BFP26 takes place in Manchuria in 1932 and features a bunch of Japanese AA trucks, "tanks" (they are tracked, have some kind of gun, and are not actually un-armored...) and Japanese first line squads.  They are up against 2 Chinese ARTY pieces of 70mm and some first line and conscript squads.  The Japanese win by controlling two particular buildings and keeping CVP under 34.

The Situation at start.  Japanese come in on the right side on/after turn 1.

End of Japanese turn 1.

End of Chinese Turn 1.

End of Japanese turn 2, the AA trucks come on and I get over enamored with the firepower they bring (16fp after moving...)

End of Chinese turn 2. 

First Melee, A Japanese HS and Squad jump on a Chinese squad and all that happens is the HS gets eliminated.  No HTH and not HTH modified for the Japanese.  At this point I am still playing the Japanese like I would play with other nationalities...

End of Chinese turn 3.

Japanese Arty lands, sometimes you just get lucky...

Japanese turn 4 end.

Situation at the end of Japanese turn 5.  Chinese guns pop up and fire!  The Japanese MG at the top killed a tank as well.

End of Chinese turn 5, the guns shock one tank and when another fires PB it malfs the MA...

At this point something clicked, Japanese do not break they Stripe...

BONSAI!  (Banzai is not allowed by SSR you see).

At the top right a platoon moved directly adjacent to the Chinese LMG, squad, and leader in the building, all the squads stripe and the leader CRs but all is good!  I lose an AA truck however and that brings me close to the CVP cap...

Pretty much the end of the game.  I had to try a bum rush to get to the last Victory building and lose an AA truck in the process which brings me over the CVP cap.  If I were to play this again I would know better  - the Japanese win or lose with their ability to keep going when other nationalities break and run.  The squads on the trucks would have disembarked as soon as getting on board and swarmed the Chinese defenses.  The trucks themselves would be for long range cover fire.

The US Civil War turns 3,4, and 5

Played through turns 3,4, and 5 of The US Civil War yesterday.  The south appeared to be in big trouble at the end of 61 and then the winter of 62 introduces RE Lee and things look up.

End of turn 3 in the East.  Longstreet has been kicked out of his spot in WV, now holding onto one last little town (left side of pic near the center).  J Johnston holds off the union horde with Stuart nearby.  Stuart had gone on a run up north did some damage and after figuring out I messed up and used the 0 column instead of the 1 (and thus he lived rather than died) he skeedadled back in VA.

The situation in the West and far West.  Van Dorn holds Springfield.  AS Johnston holds the Mississippi.

A shot centered on WV, which is about to fall.

End of turn 4.

In the east "whiskers" Burnside takes Norfolk.  J Johnston and Beuregard hold off McClellan and Longstreet falls back into VA.

In the west Grant had taken Nashville, AS Johnston swung around to retake it (Grant had moved back to the spot where the 1SP currently resides) and Grant managed to Intercept but then lost the battle.  Nashville is saved!  The problem is the South had to use up almost all the SP in the area to do it.

End of turn 5.

First in the East.  Longstreet was defeated at Stauton but the the US did not have enough MP to destroy the space and take control.  RE Lee moved near but could not make it that phase (not enough MP).  Next activation roll the south wins and RE Lee attacks - knocking the interlopers down 2so to no loss.  Since it was 2-1 Lee kept going and attacked again finishing off the last US SP.  Next activation round Lee went up to Harpers Ferry (using a Special Action to increase speed by 2) and knocked them back as well (the DM stack above them is where they ended up).  Finally some troops in DC went south and attacked Beuregard and lost (lucky buggar but the entrenchments helped).  I thought I had it on the picture but further south the US landed troops and took a port too, the squeeze is starting...

More fighting between Grant and AS Johnston, with Mcgruder now up as cavalry.  Basically the two are pounding the snot out of each other.

In the Far West Curtis takes Springfield, not looking good for the Rebs, but there is a lot of ground and not much in the way of VP spaces.

Both my opponent and I rate this game highly, now that Lee is on the board he will have to protect the north while making big gains elsewhere - it is close to a southern auto-victory at the moment.  The problem for the south is pushing for that victory means leaving somewhere else uncovered...