Two Brothers in Vietnam

Started by bigjackmac, 04 January 2021, 04:31:42 AM

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FierceKitty

How inflammable is the fur they're so cheerfully firing rockets into?
I don't drink coffee to wake up. I wake up to drink coffee.

Duke Speedy of Leighton

You may refer to me as: Your Grace, Duke Speedy of Leighton.
2016 Pendraken Painting Competion Participation Prize  (Lucky Dip Catagory) Winner

Techno II

I should say so !

Another goodie, Jack !

Cheers - Phil :)

bigjackmac

"How inflammable is the fur they're so cheerfully firing rockets into?"
It hadn't really factored into my tactical considerations, but quite, apparently.

And unfortunately yes, a rather 'normal' pair of engagements on the DMZ.

Thanks guys.

V/R,
Jack

bigjackmac

All,

1500 Local Time
16 July 1966
Ngan Valley, Quang Tri Province, RVN
Operation Hastings

The boys are with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment (K/3/4), on their first trip up to the DMZ.  Yesterday they were helo'ed into the area, then found themselves in a sharp firefight trying to cross the Ngan River which saw them repulsed with two Marines badly wounded.  The Company tried twice more to cross the river, but the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars of the 90th Regiment threw them back both times.  Kilo Company then fell back approximately 200 meters to the north and dug in, but the NVA pursued them, harassing with mortars and snipers, and by 1930 Kilo's commander reported to battalion that the company was entirely surrounded.  At approximately 2015 the NVA launched a full-scale assault on Kilo Company's hilltop, which the Marines threw back owing to some brutal close-in fighting buttressed by supporting fires, with both sides suffering significant casualties.

The Marines of Kilo Company pried themselves out of their holes with the sunrise, and were greeted with an NVA mortar barrage for their efforts.  It didn't last long and there were few casualties, so the rifle company got itself in order and not long after was back on the move, proving south towards the Ngan River.  There was good news in that 2/4 had been told to hustle up and move west with all practical speed in order to effect a linkup with 3/4, owing to the tough resistance the Marines were running into, and radio traffic reported that 2/4 arrived at LZ Crowe* at approximately 1400.  So there was a strong base behind Kilo Company, to the north, but it kind of left Kilo as the lone, dangling appendage to the south, still under orders to find and force a crossing to the south side of the Ngan River.

Needless to say the Marines were none too happy to be flung out so far to the south, without support, to an area they'd already gotten a good bloodying in, but order are orders, and so we catch up with Sergeant Little and his squad about to make another attempt to cross the Ngan River.

*With three helos already grounded there from damage caused by collisions, then the NVA shot down a Marine CH-46 yesterday evening, the LZ Crowe area was now being referred to as "Helicopter Valley."


Overview, north is left, for my second big DMZ map.  The western area (bottom) is pretty open and flat, a couple spare trees and scrub, the Ngan River is narrow and shallow and flowing in a southwest to easterly direction, but the big deals are the two hills, the massive Hill 212 dominating the north (left to top left) and Hill 104 on the south bank, in the southeast (top right).

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eu34MuDhKKk/X91VJuYTR2I/AAAAAAAA374/yQCEJYaJxCw-3eXGTsCdgI74nU3loVHmwCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_5219.JPG[/img]
Sergeant Rob Little leads his squad towards the Ngan River (right top), looking to get across while avoiding any contact with the NVA, hugging the base of Hill 212 (left), Hill 104 looming ominously across the river (top center right).  Sergeant Little (bottom left) called the squad to a halt and had them pull security; behind them (off map to bottom left), the rest of the platoon halted as well.  Rob called his fireteams over and explained his plan: "we're not walking into a mess like we did yesterday, and I know that hill across the river's gotta be housing some NVA on it, so you guys sit tight, Jackson and I are gonna hustle up front and put some arty on the hill."


They (bottom left) get in behind some scrub and raise supporting arty on the radio; Jackson spent a couple minutes providing the data to the battery, then called out "spotting round on the way, shot out!"

"Splash!"  "Splash, out," replied the battery.  "You're dead on, fire for effect!" (you can see the cotton 'blast' atop the hill at top center)


Danny's 2nd Fireteam nears the river (center, with Cpl Benavides' 1st Fireteam off camera to left), the freshly cratered Hill 104 still looming ominously across the river...


And the mid-afternoon stillness is shattered by the NVA squad on the south bank of the Ngan River opening fire at point-blank range on Danny and 2nd Fireteam...


Correa is still in shock (center right) as Doc dashes up to him, while Jackson (bottom left) gets on the radio, trying to get that arty support back on the hook!


Worn out Marines catch a quick breather.  Sorry, I just like the closeup of the figures, great sculpts from Jimmi at Flashpoint.

It's gonna be another long day for the jarheads.  To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/04/two-brothers-fight-21.html

Only three more fights left in the boys' first tour, next one coming soon.

V/R,
Jack

Techno II

Coo....You did have some good dice rolls in that scrap, Jack !  :-bd

Cheers - Phil. :)

Lord Kermit of Birkenhead

FOG IN CHANNEL - EUROPE CUT OFF
Lord Kermit of Birkenhead
Muppet of the year 2019, 2020 and 2021

paulr

 :-bd =D> :-bd

How do you form the hills under the fur? They look very natural
Lord Lensman of Wellington
2018 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2022 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2023 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

bigjackmac

Phil - Yessir.

Ian - What of?

Paul - Thank you, and they're just old towels and shirts piled up.  I get them as tight as I can, and make sure to create plenty of fingers and draws, though this sometimes causes problems with the lie of the mat.

V/R,
Jack

bigjackmac

All,

1930 Local Time
16 July 1966
Ngan Valley, Quang Tri Province, RVN
Operation Hastings

The boys are with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment (K/3/4), on their first trip up to the DMZ.  Yesterday they were helo'ed into the area, then found themselves in a sharp firefight trying to cross the Ngan River which saw them repulsed with two Marines badly wounded.  The Company tried twice more to cross the river, but the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars of the 90th Regiment threw them back both times.  Kilo Company then fell back approximately 200 meters to the north and dug in, but the NVA pursued them, harassing with mortars and snipers, and by 1930 Kilo's commander reported to battalion that the company was entirely surrounded.  At approximately 2015 the NVA launched a full-scale assault on Kilo Company's hilltop, which the Marines threw back owing to some brutal close-in fighting buttressed by supporting fires, with both sides suffering significant casualties.

This morning the Marines of Kilo Company pried themselves out of their holes with the sunrise, and were greeted with an NVA mortar barrage for their efforts.  It didn't last long and there were few casualties, so the rifle company got itself in order and not long after was back on the move, proving south towards the Ngan River.  There was good news in that 2/4 had been told to hustle up and move west with all practical speed in order to effect a linkup with 3/4, owing to the tough resistance the Marines were running into, and radio traffic reported that 2/4 arrived at LZ Crowe* at approximately 1400.  So there was a strong base behind Kilo Company, to the north, but it kind of left Kilo as the lone, dangling appendage to the south, still under orders to find and force a crossing to the south side of the Ngan River.

Needless to say the Marines were none too happy to be flung out so far to the south, without support, to an area they'd already gotten a good bloodying in, but order are orders, and so Kilo Company again attempted a crossing of the Ngan River, and again they were repulsed with casualties, by NVA on both sides of the river!  The beleaguered company beat feet back to the hill they spent the previous night on and dug in, and it wasn't long before the NVA were making their presence felt...

*With three helos already grounded there from damage caused by collisions, then the NVA shot down a Marine CH-46 yesterday evening, the LZ Crowe area was now being referred to as "Helicopter Valley."


Overview, north is up.  Another night-time hilltop defense battle by the Marines, where they are dug into the top of the hill at bottom left, a bend of the Ngan River visible to the northeast (top right).  As usual, this is the DMZ, so lots of grass, some scrub, and pockets of trees in places the wind couldn't blow them out of.

You can see the Marines dug into three bunkers atop the hill (bottom left), while the NVA are infiltrating the hill in an arc from the northwest (top left) to the southeast (bottom right, with their MG team in the northeast (right top).


Once again the boys (bottom right) find themselves in the thick of it, firing down slope on advancing NVA (far left, top center left)...


But their bunker takes a rocket, putting Correa out of the fight...


The NVA push relentlessly forward, close assaulting the bunker...


Which is enough for Danny and Nik to decide to get out of Dodge!  They each grab Correa under an arm and fall back, behind a nearby hedge (bottom left, from center), as the nearby NVA (top right) toss grenades into the recently vacated bunker.

To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/04/two-brothers-fight-22.html

Next fight coming soon.

V/R,
Jack

Lord Kermit of Birkenhead

FOG IN CHANNEL - EUROPE CUT OFF
Lord Kermit of Birkenhead
Muppet of the year 2019, 2020 and 2021

Duke Speedy of Leighton

Crumbs Jack. Great details.
You may refer to me as: Your Grace, Duke Speedy of Leighton.
2016 Pendraken Painting Competion Participation Prize  (Lucky Dip Catagory) Winner

Techno II

Good stuff, again, Jack ! :-bd

Cheers - Phil.  :)

bigjackmac

Thanks guys, and will do, Ian.

V/R,
Jack

bigjackmac

All,

1400 Local Time
18 July 1966
Ngan Valley, Quang Tri Province, RVN
Operation Hastings

The boys are with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment (K/3/4), on their first trip up to the DMZ.  Yesterday they were helo'ed into the area, then found themselves in a sharp firefight trying to cross the Ngan River which saw them repulsed with two Marines badly wounded.  The Company tried twice more to cross the river, but the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars of the 90th Regiment threw them back both times.  Kilo Company then fell back approximately 200 meters to the north and dug in, but the NVA pursued them, harassing with mortars and snipers, and by 1930 Kilo's commander reported to battalion that the company was entirely surrounded.  At approximately 2015 the NVA launched a full-scale assault on Kilo Company's hilltop, which the Marines threw back owing to some brutal close-in fighting buttressed by supporting fires, with both sides suffering significant casualties.

This morning the Marines of Kilo Company pried themselves out of their holes with the sunrise, and were greeted with an NVA mortar barrage for their efforts.  It didn't last long and there were few casualties, so the rifle company got itself in order and not long after was back on the move, proving south towards the Ngan River.  There was good news in that 2/4 had been told to hustle up and move west with all practical speed in order to effect a linkup with 3/4, owing to the tough resistance the Marines were running into, and radio traffic reported that 2/4 arrived at LZ Crowe* at approximately 1400.  So there was a strong base behind Kilo Company, to the north, but it kind of left Kilo as the lone, dangling appendage to the south, still under orders to find and force a crossing to the south side of the Ngan River.

Needless to say the Marines were none too happy to be flung out so far to the south, without support, to an area they'd already gotten a good bloodying in, but order are orders, and so Kilo Company again attempted a crossing of the Ngan River, and again they were repulsed with casualties, by NVA on both sides of the river!  The beleaguered company beat feet back to the hill they spent the previous night on and dug in, and it wasn't long before the NVA were making their presence felt, and about 1930 local time the NVA mad their push.  The Marines were once again able to hold on, but Doc Eakle was killed, and two more Marines were wounded and had to be evacuated, bringing the squad down to a total of six bodies, seven including Holland, the attached machine gunner.

Kilo 3/4 was ordered to hold fast the next day (17 July 66), sitting in their holes all day as Lima Company, 3/4, was dispatched from LZ Crowe to move south and reinforce Kilo on the hill just north of the Ngan River.  Lima Company arrived that afternoon and dug-in, taking over a share of the hilltop perimeter, which allowed Kilo to pull some men back into reserve, which meant more sleep for the beleaguered company as they finally had a relatively quiet night in the bush.  At some point intel came in that the NVA, who had suffered their fair share of casualties too, had withdrawn from the Ngan Valley, so the new plan was for 2/4 and 3/4 to move out and exit the valley to the northeast, sweeping back towards the coast.  So on the morning of 18 July 1966, Kilo and Lima 3/4 packed up, stomped in their holes, and trudged back north to LZ Crowe, arriving just as Mike 3/4 and all of 2/4 stepped off to the northeast.

Lima 3/4 took off not longer after they got back to LZ Crowe, and the plan was for Kilo Company to hang around and blow up all the NVA weapons and ammunition that had been captured, as well as the three damaged helicopters still sitting on the east end of the LZ.  So that's what the Marines were doing, split up into squad-sized elements they were packing up gear and prepping stuff for demolition, when all of a sudden, at about 1400 local time, gunfire was heard from multiple directions.  Sergeant Little, with the squad at the far western end of the LZ and substantially distant from the rest of Kilo Company, further east, ordered the rest of the squad to grab their gear and get ready to move in a hurry!

*With three helos already grounded there from damage caused by collisions, then the NVA shot down a Marine CH-46 yesterday evening, the LZ Crowe area was now being referred to as "Helicopter Valley."


Overview of the west end of LZ Crowe (which actually extends further east, off camera to right-top), with hills and trees in the northwest (to left) and southeast (bottom right).  There is a cache of enemy weapons and munitions in the southwest (bottom left), which is where the squad was located when the NVA attacked, and the rest of Kilo Company, 3/4, is to the northeast (top right), which is where the squad needs to get.

The squad is in the southwest (bottom left), salvation (in the form of Kilo Company's perimeter) is in the northeast (top right), and there are NVA squads pressing in from the northwest (top left) and southeast (bottom right), meaning the squad has to run the gauntlet in order to reach safety. 


Here is the squad's initial dispositions: Sergeant Little and LCpl Jackson, the RTO, are at top center, with Pvt Holland, the machine gunner, just to their left.  Corporal Benavides is at far left, Pvt McCaffrey, the grenadier, is at bottom center, and Danny and Nikki are at far right.


Sergeant Little and Jackson (bottom center left) are standing there arguing about which targets rate priority of fire for fire missions as the rest of the squad wires captured enemy weapons and munitions for demo, when the rattle of gunfire to the northeast (top left) startles them both back to the moment.  Rob stops mid-sentence.  Looking to the east (top), he is taken aback when NVA soldiers suddenly pop into the LZ (left top and center right), between them and the rest of Kilo, 3/4 (top left)!!!


The Marines (bottom left) immediately open fire, quickly realizing they are in immediate danger of being cut off by NVA between them and the nearest friendlies.


The Marines move out, but they're in a bad way; Sergeant Little makes the tactical decision to stay in the center, using fire and maneuver to advance across the LZ to reach Marine lines but exposing the squad to fire from both flanks, rather than move into the dense brush on either side of the LZ, which would provide cover and concealment, but would put the Marines face to face with an enemy of unknown strength at point-blank range and thus unable to utilize supporting arms, with another enemy element of unknown strength coming in behind them, albeit in a position of having to cross the open LZ in order to get at the Marines.


Casualties begin to mount as Sgt Little lays down fire with his M-14 and Jackson calls for arty.


The NVA continue to assault the beleaguered Marines.


But the squad keeps going, bringing their casualties out with them!  Nikki (far right) continues laying down fire to the north as Jackson moves up behind the lumbering Holland (center, carrying Corporal Benavides) and Sergeant Little covers Danny (bottom left), who lifts the wounded McCaffrey onto his shoulders and begins moving east.


Marine arty begins to fall...


As the squad (left bottom) nears friendly lines (top right)...


But the NVA (bottom right and off camera to left bottom) aren't finished with them (top left) yet!


Driving Nik to perform some (more) heroics, driving into close assault the NVA positions...

To see the whole fight, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/05/two-brothers-fight-23.html

So that's the end of Operation Hastings.  I hope you enjoyed it; all five fights were based on real fights that Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, took part in, to include the getting left at LZ Crowe and almost being overrun.  I really enjoyed the games using KR-16, particularly the river crossings and the first hilltop defense (and was proud of my DMZ tables), they were lots of fun, and it felt like I was able to still keep some personality in the games despite playing with elements, rather than individual troops.  It actually felt kinda strange going back to 5MAK after playing KR-16, but the next fight proved it didn't take me long to get back to normal. 

Last fight of the boys' first tour coming right up!

V/R,
Jack