Strategy in 'Tiger of Malaya'
Scenario #3 (Campaign Game), Part 2
By Doug McNair
May 2007

The Japanese drive on Singapore continues in today’s episode of my Tiger of Malaya replay. On Turn 1, the Allies blew two of the three bridges crossing the River Muar, and kept the Japanese from crossing the remaining bridge or fording the river at any other point. But Japanese warplanes hit the Singapore Causeway and snarled traffic there, keeping the majority of Allied reserves from making any significant progress toward the front lines. This may buy the Japanese the time they need to break the forward Allied defensive lines and cross the Muar.

The battle continues.

Turn 2: 16 – 17 January 1942

INITIAL SEGMENT: First, the Japanese player rolls on the Weather Table to see how many impulses weather conditions will allow this turn. He rolls a 4 – 2 = 6 (there’s a –2 weather modifier on Turn 2), and per the Weather Table that means this turn will consist of six impulses.

Then both players check to see if all their units are in supply. They are, and all artillery units get to flip to their Available sides. The weather condition of 6 lets the Japanese player put between three and five chits in the cup, so he chooses to put in both his FULL chits, plus an ATTACK, a MOVE and a CHOICE. The 6 weather lets the Allied player put three or four chits in the cup, so he puts in a JUNGLE-CAPABLE FULL, a FULL, a CHOICE and a MOVE.

The Japanese player then rolls a 3 and subtracts two from the result to see how many air units he can use this turn. He draws a Ki43 Oscar unit, which is weaker than the Sallies he drew last turn and has a range of only 36. That shorter range means it won’t be able to keep the Allied reserves from Singapore from reaching the fork in the road at Skudai, so he’ll be using the air unit for ground support this turn.

The first chit drawn is . . .

JAPANESE ATTACK: Japanese units can’t move, but those which are already adjacent to Allied units can attack them and artillery in range can bombard. This is better for the Allies than a Japanese FULL (which would have let them bring in more units before attacking), but it’s still going to hurt.

First, the 1/4 infantry and the recon battalion from the Japanese Guards Regiment attack the only Allied unit they can attack together — the Indian 7/6R infantry battalion holding the river line just northeast of Muar. They’re halved in strength because they’re attacking across the river, but the 1st and 3rd Guards Artillery battalions are both in range of the target hex and provide fire support. The closest Allied artillery unit is just out of range and can’t provide defensive support, so the attack comes off at 19 – 4 or 4-1 odds.

Crossing the river here is vital because it would allow for a flanking attack on the bridge in the next Japanese impulse, so the Japanese commit their Oscar unit which raises the odds to 5-1. The Japanese roll a 3 and the air support makes all the difference, because a 3 on the 5-1 table scores two hits to none while a 3 on the 4-1 column would have been just one hit.

Facing two hits forces the Indians on the other side of the river to retreat since they have no third step. They take one hit and retreat one hex due south, and the unscathed Japanese 1/4 infantry battalion crosses to the south bank of the Muar while the recon battalion stays in place since it can’t cross a river without a bridge or a boat engineer unit.

Farther to the northeast, all three battalions of the Japanese 42nd Infantry Regiment attack the Australian 2/26 infantry battalion and the 2/4 motorized AT company on the road northwest of Jementah. The attack gets no artillery support and goes in at 30 – 7 or 4-1, and rolls a 5, scoring three hits to one.

The Australians lose the AT company and their infantry battalion retreats two hexes south-southeast to an offroad Level 1 Jungle hex. The jungle is more defensible, and retreating there puts Australian ZOC in the path of Japanese units hoping to move straight south to the unguarded section of the River Muar. One Japanese infantry battalion takes a step loss, and the regiment splits with two battalions heading southeast down the road to Jementah while another battalion and an engineer company head into the jungle to hem in the Australians there.

Finally, six Japanese infantry-type units plus three tank units and artillery support attack the reduced-strength Australian 2/30 infantry battalion and its accompanying AT unit on the road two hexes northwest of Gemas. Australian artillery at Gemas pours in defensive fire support, and the attack goes off at 44-7 or 6-1 odds (the AT unit prevents the tanks from adding another +2 odds bonus). The Japanese roll a 3 and score three hits to one, so the infantry drops to its last step and it and the AT unit retreat two hexes southeast to join the full-strength 2/29 infantry battalion at Gemas. A Japanese bicycle battalion takes a hit, and all the attacking units advance two hexes and end up adjacent to Gemas. The impulse then ends.

The next chit drawn is . . .

JAPANESE FULL: The breach of the Muar river line at the coast puts confusion into the Allied ranks, and the Japanese advance rolls on. Japanese reinforcements appear on the north edge (a tank company being transported down the coast by steamer, and the 11th Infantry Regiment with tank and artillery support on the middle road northwest of Gemas). Two Japanese artillery units which fired last turn recover, and the rest of the Japanese forces on the coast road arrive on the north bank of the Muar.

To the northeast, the Japanese 5th Infantry Regiment prepares to attack the Indian recon company blocking the road east to Jementah while the 42nd prepares to attack the Australians who retreated offroad into the jungle. The Japanese reinforcements move down the road toward Gemas while the forward units surround Gemas to get a +1 odds bonus by hitting it from four hexes. The Japanese steamer takes its tank company ten hexes south so it can land on the south bank of the Muar later this turn and support the attack on the town.

The infantry units that advanced to the north bank of the Muar don’t have enough movement points left to attack across the river this impulse, so the 1/4 Infantry Regiment that crossed the Muar last impulse attacks Muar Town along with the recon unit and two tank companies at the north end of the bridge. The Allies have an AT unit in the town which keeps the tanks from adding odds bonuses, so the Japanese player sends in his air support again and the attack goes in at 3-1 odds. The Japanese roll a 4, and each side scores one hit. A Straits Settlement Volunteer recon unit dies bravely, the Japanese recon unit attacking across the river takes a step loss, and the town holds.

But then the lone Indian 3rd Recon Company blocking the road west of Jementah gets wiped out by a 10-1 attack from the Japanese 5th Infantry regiment and supporting units, which advance two hexes east and clear the swamps. This means they have an unobstructed route eastward to Jementah or overland south to the unguarded Muar river and the town of Lenga beyond.

On the other side of the jungle to the north, the 42nd Infantry attacks the Australian 2/29 infantry battalion in the jungle at 4-1 odds, but rolls a 1 and takes two hits to one. The Australians retreat south unscathed, and both remaining full-strength infantry battalions of the 42nd flip to their reduced-strength sides before advancing into the vacated hex.

Finally the assault on Gemas goes in at 4-1 odds due to the envelopment bonus, and the roll of 4 scores two hits to none. Gemas is surrounded by Japanese ZOC so there’s no point in retreating (the retreating units would lose an extra step if they retreated through enemy ZOC, and that would nix the point of retreating). The last step of the Australian 2/30 infantry battalion dies, and the 2/29 takes a hit to keep the all-important AT company alive along with the artillery, which hopefully can escape back to Allied lines at the river very soon.

JAPANESE CHOICE: Still confusion reigns in the Allied ranks, and with all available forces having reached the bridgehead at Muar, the Japanese player opts for an ATTACK impulse before the Allies can regroup.

Two battalions of the fourth infantry regiment attack across the river, hitting the Indian 4/BJ infantry regiment two hexes northeast of Muar Town. With artillery support the attack goes in at 3-1 odds, and the Japanese roll of 4 scores one hit per side. The Japanese bridgehead puts ZOC into the Indians’ rear, so any retreat they would make would have to be back across the river to the southeast. That would be pointless, so the Indians hold their ground and take the step loss. A Japanese infantry battalion takes a step loss, and the Axis fail to widen their bridgehead over the Muar.

But the line is weakening, and the British artillery north of Parit Jawa fires defensive support against the renewed Japanese attack on Muar Town. The artillery brings Japanese odds down to 3-2, but the Japanese once again throw in air support and roll a 6 on the 2-1 column, scoring one hit to none. The Indian 5/18G infantry battalion takes a step loss, keeping the British AT company there alive and holding-off the Italian tanks trying to cross the bridge. The Allied lines hold!

The Japanese give their damaged 42nd Infantry Regiment a rest against the elusive Australians in the jungle northwest of Jementah, but the 21st and supporting tank units go in for the kill at surrounded Gemas. The 6-1 attack only rolls a 2, but that scores two hits to none. Once again retreating is pointless due to being surrounded by enemy ZOC, so they lose an infantry step and an artillery unit.

That just leaves the last step of the 2/29 infantry battalion and its AT company in Gemas, but they’re still blocking the Japanese advance.

The next chit drawn is . . .

ALLIED JUNGLE-CAPABLE FULL: Finally, the Australians get a clue and get the hell out of Dodge. The two remaining stacking points worth of units in Gemas can’t exert ZOC anymore, so it’s pointless for them to stay there and get killed. Unfortunately, the brave AT unit that’s been holding off the tanks isn’t jungle-capable, so it stays behind while the last step of Australian infantry bugs out and makes for Batu Anam on the north bank of the Muar. The HQ and engineer unit at Batu Anam pull back across the river, where the engineer will start building fortifications the first chance it gets.

There are just too many Japanese coming down the road or through the jungle for the Australian 2/29 infantry battalion in the jungle to block, so it pulls back to join its HQ on the north bank of the Muar next to Jementah. The Indians and Australians north of the swamps on the east coast build a fortification in the path of the oncoming Japanese, and that lets one of the Australian battalions to the south double back to Endau, from where it will be able to head toward the main action as soon as a friendly HQ arrives from Singapore to give it a supply line.

The next chit drawn is . . .

JAPANESE FULL: Nobody but the Aussies has a clue what’s going on, and the Japanese keep rolling south. Luckily for the Allies, all Japanese artillery units in range of the hotspots fail to recover, but all the Japanese infantry near Muar cross the river to attack the thin Allied lines there. Japanese tanks and infantry close on the Allied units holding the hexes north of the two blown bridges, but the 5th Infantry Regiment heads due south overland toward the river, intending to cross it and reach the town of Lenga next turn (from where it can take the road west to Muar Town).

The east-coast units move to engage the Australians and Indians north of the swamps before they can fortify the whole area, the tanks and truck-borne infantry that arrived with the reinforcements head southwest toward the Muar bridge, and the steamer lands its tank company right next to the Muar bridge on the south bank of the river.

The entire Japanese west-coast force attacks Muar Town, and the 8-1 attack (maximum column) rolls a 3 for three hits to none. The Indian 5/18G infantry unit dies, and the British 85th motorized AT company retreats two hexes south to join the British 155th Artillery Battalion in the road-jungle hex northeast of Parit Jawa. The AT and artillery units make for three stacking points between them, and that creates ZOC on the coastal roads to slow the Japanese advance. But the Japanese tanks storm the bridge and take it, while the infantry move through Muar Town and bypass the weakened Indian infantry to pursue the Allies down the coast, stopping two hexes north of Parit Jawa.

Then the attack on the Australians who fled from the jungle to the riverbank near Jementah goes in. Japanese tanks which split-off from the southbound 5th Infantry Regiment join the assault, and since the Aussies have no AT support the attack goes in at 6-1 odds after the Japanese send in air support as well. The attack rolls a 5, scoring four hits to none. An Indian HQ unit dies and the Aussie infantry battalion takes a step loss and retreats two hexes across the river toward the remaining Allied HQ at Sagemat. The Japanese can only advance into the hex the Aussies vacated because it contains ZOC from neighboring Indian infantry units, so the Japanese fail to cross the river for now.

The last step of the Australian infantry battalion at Anam gets wiped out by an 8-1 tank and infantry assault, but it scores a hit on the Japanese before dying. The bicycle battalion takes the hit as the Japanese take Anam, and the Australian AT company that helped hold the Japanese back at Gemas also dies after doing one hit. The Japanese advance through Gemas and up to Anam after losing an infantry step. The Japanese on the east coast attack the Indian 2/170 infantry battalion (whose position is not yet fortified) at 4-1 odds, and they score one hit but take one. The Indians retreat to the swamp unscathed, and the Japanese lose an engineer company rather than taking an infantry step loss, since they’ll need all their firepower to fight their way past the Aussies to the roads.

The last impulse of the turn is . . .

ALLIED MOVE: Finally, the rest of the Commonwealth forces in Malaya get the message and barrel toward the Muar. The Allied steamers make landfall two hexes south-southwest of Parit Jawa, landing two British infantry companies on the coastal road. The Indian HQ that was supplying Muar drops back to join the just-landed British, and the weakened, bypassed Indian infantry battalions who were holding river line near Muar Town pull back one hex south each (they can’t get any farther due to Japanese ZOC).

The British AT unit that retreated from Muar joins one of the Indian units, and the first of the Allied reserves trickles in to join British artillery at Bakri. That makes three stacks of three stacking points each, meaning they all exert ZOC and effectively block the roads south of Muar Town.

More reserves head north from Singapore, and all the Allied forces left north of the Muar move to the south bank to hold the south ends of the two blown bridges. A reduced Aussie infantry battalion moves down the south bank of the river toward the Japanese 5th Infantry Regiment, which is making for a river crossing farther west. A truck unit links up with the engineer company that blew the bridges over the Muar, since it will be needed soon to blow more bridges over the Gerchang to the south. That ends the impulse, and the turn.

Turn 3: 18 – 19 January 1942

INITIAL SEGMENT: Once again the weather roll is 4 – 2 = 2, and that means there will be six impulses again this turn. The Japanese player then rolls a 6 – 2 = 4, meaning he’ll get all four air units this turn. One Japanese tank company and a few Allied units are out of supply, and once again the Japanese player puts in the cup FULL, FULL, CHOICE, MOVE and ATTACK chits. The Allied player puts in the cup FULL, JUNGLE-CAPABLE FULL, CHOICE and MOVE.

The first chit drawn is . . .

JAPANESE FULL: Japanese mortar and mountain artillery reinforcements arrive on the north board edge, and then Japanese tanks and infantry move down the coast road to attack all three Allied stacks blocking their path plus the straggling, Out of Supply Indian infantry they bypassed.

Farther east, the 5th Infantry Regiment crosses the Muar at Lenga, and the remaining Japanese units move to attack the Indian units holding the south ends of the blown bridges. Some make it across the river before attacking, but most are still on the north bank so their attacks will be weakened, especially with British artillery at Segamat firing support for both bridges.

Finally, the Japanese infantry on the east coast moves to attack an Australian infantry battalion blocking its way south.

A reduced infantry and recon battalion with tank support attacks the Indian 45th HQ plus the two British infantry companies the steamer landed on the coast road. Clearing the coast road and making it to the bridge at Batu Pahat before the Allies do is key, so the Japanese throw in a flight of Sallies which up the attack odds to 6-1. But the Japanese only roll a 2, which scores two hits to none. One British infantry company dies, and the remaining one plus the HQ retreat south on the road while the attackers occupy the hex they vacated.

Next, two Japanese infantry battalions attack a Malayan infantry company and a British artillery battalion holding the town of Bakri. All by themselves the infantry attack at 8-1 odds, and their roll of 5 scores four hits to none, wiping out both Allied units and letting the Japanese advance past Bakri on the inland road. Next, Japanese tanks and engineers attack the reduced Indian infantry and British AT units which retreated from Muar. They get artillery and air support, and the attack goes in at 5-1 odds. The Japanese roll a 6 scoring three hits to none, and the Indian unit dies (hopefully to be rebuilt with the replacements coming in two turns) while the British AT unit retreats two hexes south. Finally, a heavy tank company attacks an Out of Supply, reduced Indian infantry battalion on the river east of Muar, with artillery firing attack support. With its defense strength reduced to 1 due to being Out of Supply, the +2 tank bonus puts the attack on the maximum 8-1 column, and even with a roll of 1 the Indian unit dies. The coastal and inland roads from Muar to the Gerchang are now free of Allied units that exert ZOC.

Farther east, the Japanese try to take the south end of the blown bridge at Batu Anan. Most of their units are on the north bank of the river, and the British fire artillery support, so even with Japanese air support the attack is only at 2-1 odds. The Japanese roll a 3, which scores no damage to either side. The attempt on the blown bridge east of Jementah is at even lower odds (3-2), but the Japanese roll a 6 and do one hit to none. One weak Indian infantry unit dies, and the Allied lines hold!

The Japanese infantry on the east coast score one hit on the Australians but take one in return, and the Aussies retreat south unscathed while the Japanese have to take a step loss. With the Japanese threat from the east fading fast, the Australians will be able to start redeploying units west from there shortly.

The next chit drawn is . . .

ALLIED FULL: The Allies retreat south from the Muar toward the Gerchang. Reserves from Singapore move north, including a British infantry battalion that uses rail movement to reach the railroad bridge over the Gerchang north of Paloh. An Australian infantry unit near the east coast pulls back southwest, and the two Allied steamers move to pick up a reduced-strength Gurkha unit on the coast.

The next impulse chit is . . .

JAPANESE CHOICE: With the Allies fleeing south, the Japanese take a MOVE option and head south, crossing the Muar with all their infantry but having to leave some of their tanks on the north bank while their engineers move into position to start repairing the blown bridges. Units on the coast road bypass the remnants of the Allied Muar River line, and the 5th Infantry Regiment heads south overland while screening its left flank against Aussies in the jungles.

The next impulse is . . .

ALLIED MOVE: The Allies keep fleeing and moving units to form a new defensive line along the Simpang Kanam and Gerchang Rivers. Units from the old blown bridges keep moving south, and the Aussies and Indians in the eastern swamps keep moving back south and southwest.

The next impulse is . . .

ALLIED JUNGLE-CAPABLE FULL: The Aussie engineers would like to blow the bridge over the Gerchang southwest of Labis, but the Allied artillery is still on the north bank and that would trap it there. So they stay put while Aussie infantry and engineers keep moving toward the new river line.

The last impulse of the turn is . . .

JAPANESE MOVE: Japanese units continue pursuing the Allies south, ending up adjacent to the Gerchang River at Batu Pahat (which is guarded by Brits), and in the swamps north of Yong Peng (which are not guarded at all). They then try to repair the two blown bridges to let their tanks across, but both attempts fail. The turn then ends.

So, after the first six days of combat, the Japanese have reached the Gerchang, but the Allies are organizing a new line of defense there and have plenty of reserves on the way. They’ll also get 23 Indian replacements two turns from now plus the first of their reinforcements, and as time goes on Allied numbers will climb at least as fast as Japanese numbers will.

The Japanese will therefore need to break the Gerchang River line quickly and bypass the northern Allied defenders before they can link up with the Allied reserves. Can they do it? Tune in next time and find out!

Click here to order Tiger of Malaya