Vietnam Skirmish Campaign

[FierceKitty]

There should be a company named after the person who started that technique for mass-producing cheap palm trees!

[bigjackmac]

All,

On the last patrol the squad moved to the downed UH-1 Huey, destroyed equipment, and recovered the friendlies, also managing to give the NVA a bloody nose in their first contact with regular forces.  While performing their recovery mission, Sgt Banaszak noticed numerous large holes in the aircraft, the kind made by a 12.7mm heavy machine gun.  The Brigade focused the bulk of its patrols west for a few days, hoping to find and fix the NVA, or at least eliminate the HMG(s), but no luck, no contact by anyone.

It's 13 October 1967.  The squad has been out all night on night ambush, again no contact.  They had been set up just north of the village of Con Quan 9, southeast of Dak To, about a klick north of the village, overlooking a major north-south trail network.  The squad was just packing it up for the hump back to base when Battalion came on the horn: seems the S-2 just got word the Regional VC tax collector was in Con Quan.  The squad was ordered to move south and see what they could see.  The squad is down Bleier (Okinawa) and Blount (China Beach).


Overview of map, north is 'up.'  Hill 105 at top left, village of Con Quan at bottom left, and Hill 75 at top right.  US baseline is left, VC is right.  The squad is in and around the ville, having just marched south (off map) around Hill 105 then turning east into the ville.


While the US apparently has informers in Con Quan, so does Victor Charles.  These three (rifle, LMG, and 50mm mortar) are in the treeline at bottom right, looking at the ville.  They were sleeping in the ville when a comrade burst in and let them know Yankees were coming down the trail.  They searched for the tax collector, but he was nowhere to be found, so they hauled ass across the paddy into the treeline, surprised the taxman wasn't there.


The squad: Sgt Banaszak is at far left, speaking with the village honcho, with Greenwood, Harris, and Swan at the wall.  Doc White is just outside the north wall, giving medical attention to a little girl, while Sgt Russell is standing on the trail aggravated with Ham and Stallworth, who are in the treeline on Hill 105 (top center), smoking and joking instead of pulling security like they should be.  Holmes, always steady, is at far right, where he has taken up a prone position to keep look out to the east.


The ville, with Banaszak talking to the villager, (l to r) Swan, Harris, and Greenwood at the wall, and Doc White just outside the north wall with the mama and baby-san.  Sgt Russell is up on the trail, with several civvies around.

If you look closely, between Banaszak, Doc, and Russell is a very suspicious looking individual, who has just approached from the left.  He's shocked and bewildered to find Yankees in the village, but he stays cool.  He's further shocked and bewildered that he can't find his three travelling companions; perhaps he should have told them he was staying with a friend last night...  He's really, REALLY shocked and bewildered when the village chief, talking to what looks to be the American leader, spots him and his eyes bulge almost out of their sockets.  The tax man has been made, and stumbles back a couple steps, almost running into another American.  Crap!


As the village chief swings his arm up to point and the American leader turns to take a look, the tax man takes off running into the rice paddy, heading for the treeline!  Spec4 Harris, with the M-60, hops the wall to give chase.


The third VC in the treeline, this one with an old French MAS-36, fires at Sgt Russell (bottom left), Stallworth, and Ham (top right).  Stallworth and Ham take some stress, but Rusell is knocked on his back, hurt bad.  As the mortar fired three times, the LMG fired three times, and the rifle fired three times, I'm counting the treeline as spotted at this point.


Looking east from behind Holmes (foreground, behind bush under tree), straight down the trail where the four VC just arrived, with the VC treeline at top right.  The VC pointman moves up the knoll to his left, goes prone, but can't spot Holmes lying prone in the bushes (VC is top center, just to right of trail you can see his green 'prone' bead next to the bushes his hiding in).  Holmes shifts his shooting position back left and opens up straight down the trail, making a mess of the VC: SMG receives a light wound and LMG a serious wound, with the SMG and remaining rifleman on the trail racking up a goodly amount of stress (you can see all the red dice on the trail).


I figure I'm pretty comfortable with the tax man (top right), surely he's going to assume a fetal position from all the combat stress... but he passes like a champion: he hops up, he uses both actions to crawl towards the civvies so the Yankees can't shoot at him.  Swan and Harris (seriously wounded) are lying in the paddy, while Banaszak (bottom left) passes his test (from the mortar fire), stands up, hops the wall, and sprints ahead, determined to catch that damned VC tax collector!

That's the end of the turn, and the VC win the initiative for the next turn, meaning the tax man activates first.  He hops up and sprints into the jungle, he got away, mission failed...

For the whole report, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-country-game-5-13-oct-1967.html

More to come.

V/R,
Jack

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

That taxman must have been an Olympic sprinter!!!

Cool report again mate.

[Matt J]

nice reports Jack, gives me some incentive to getting my own Vietnam project past the leadpile stage.

Also what you are cooking up with Phil looks very good.

[toxicpixie]

That taxman must have been an Olympic sprinter!!!

Cool report again mate.

I think he had considerable incentive to break the ten second 100 metre dash

Good report, they always feel really in period!

[bigjackmac]

The tax man did indeed have incentive to skedaddle along at a rapid clip.  Having said that, the squad was rather preoccupied with the LMG and rifle in the treeline, Russell getting hit, mortar rounds dropping in, then another group of VC showing up on the NE trail.  Not to mention, I don't have an exact timescale down, but I believe that whole engagement probably took about two minutes of 'real' time.

Thanks for the compliments, and good luck with your Vietnam project, mine's been a lot of fun!  And I'm dreaming of the day I have some beautiful, M-14-armed Marines in my possession.  I may never play anything else again.  Yeah right, who am I kidding, I can't keep my mind on one project for more than a week!

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

Phil looks very good.

Nicest thing anybody's said to me for ages !
I put it down to clean living.
Cheers - Phil

[Matt J]

Hey misquote!

Get on with them Romans you (so you can move onto Dacians  )

[bigjackmac]

Don't get too excited Phil, he didn't mean it, he's just flattering you so you'll kick out new sculpts for us     And clean living?  Perhaps you've inhaled too much lead dust     Having said that, I'm living cleaner than I ever have in my life, and it's not working!  In any case, let's get to work:

All,

Ten days of furious patrolling but no contact.  Then, on 22 Oct 1967, 2nd Battalion gets itself into a sh!t sandwich up at Hill 475, northwest of Dak To.  By mid-afternoon 2nd Bn was spent, and 3rd was lifted out there and conducted a relief in place, facing NVA on the east face of the hill.  Brigade is concerned it's bitten off more than it can chew, and the next morning, 23 Oct 1967, it commits Bravo Company, 1st Bn, who helos out and approaches from the SE but rapidly runs into a buzzsaw, an NVA bunker complex.  Alpha Company is called to the rescue; Bravo identified the right (southern) flank of the NVA bunker line, but can't get there themselves.  Alpha helos out, with 1st Squad, 1st Platoon in the lead, bustin' brush in a hurry to relieve the pressure on Bravo, and, in turn, 3rd Battalion.  The squad must find and eliminate the enemy bunker anchoring its defensive line on at the base of Hill 475.


Overview, north is up.  The blob at top left/top center is the base of Hill 475, with the enemy bunker at top right.  The squad is strung out in column from the bottom up towards the bunker, moving pretty (too?) quickly.


The enemy bunker, with three NVA troops in it.  B/1st Bn is off table in this direction (NE), fighting and pinned down by the rest of bunker line extending to the NE.  The squad is to take this position, then consolidate here with the remainder of its platoon (1st), while 2nd and 3rd continue NE, rolling up the enemy bunkers from the flank.  The bunker is starting as 'spotted' because the three guys in there are firing up a storm at Bravo Company, off table.


And here is the squad, hauling ass to get to that bunker as soon as possible.  From left to right, Stallworth is tail-end Charlie (bottom left), then Ham (M-79 grenadier), Doc White, Sgt Banaszak, Swan, Greenwood (carrying the M-60 since Harris was MEDEVAC'ed, or, for my good friend Panda-John, "humping the Pig")., and Holmes (top right), in his usual spot as pointman.  Everyone can hear the firing from the bunker, and Holmes can actually see it.  The squad is starting out unspotted (violet beads) as they are coming from an unexpected direction; funny, the NVA have no flank security out.  They're usually better than that.

SSgt Bleier, Sgt Russell, and Spec4 Harris are all convalescing, while Blount finished his stay with the medics, but is not present in the field.  This is because he decided to exercise his option due to the '3-time Loser' rule.  That is, any man that's received three Purple Hearts can request a transfer out of the field, so PFC Blount is now working at the Brigade laundry, but the squad has not yet received a replacement...


Well, there's no flank security because every swingin' Richard that can be spared from the bunker line has been pulled back, given fresh ammo and grenades, and is being sent around the NVA right flank to go roll up Bravo Company's left flank.  There are eight of them in the initial wave.  I'm playing this that the enemy will receive reinforcements in the counterattack if they are doing well, if not no reinforcements will come, the idea being that, if their counterattack fails/stalls, they will 'go firm' with a minimally manned defensive line (in this case the bunker line and a light skirmish line to the south to refuse their flank) to buy time for the bulk of their force to withdraw to another defensive line further up Hill 475, or out of the area altogether.


Let's get it on!   Holmes (bottom right) has the squad moving up much to fast for his taste, and as he crests the rise he can see the enemy bunker (off camera at top right).  However, his 'Spidey-sense is bothering him, he's noticed movement to his left out of his peripheral vision.  He drops prone (remaining unspotted), and spots three NVA up on Hill 475 (top left; he had two successful spotting actions, but, because of their close proximity to each other, I allowed all three to be spotted).

Check out all the action at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-country-game-6-23-oct-1967.html

Hope you guys like it!  

Please let me know what you think, what's googy/screwy/messed up, or if you have an idea about something I'm doing or not doing, I love to hear folks' feedback.

V/R,
Jack

[toxicpixie]

It's all good stuff!

I was going to mention that Holmes is one dangerous and calm man, Banazcek is solid and the Doc is earning his keep & they deserve a bit of an XP boost, but you ran into that on your AAR by the half way point

I really wouldn't want to be in the M60 team though :S

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Very enjoyable report Jack, nice to see some 'characters' developing! 

[Techno]

What Will said.
Cheers - Phil

[bigjackmac]

Thanks for the comments guys, I appreciate it!  While I'm very pleased with the character development and how the games have been playing out, but this is not my favorite batrep.  You'll soon see why...   

And then the wheels came off...  If you recall, after a stiff fight yesterday to flank the NVA bunker line holding up 2nd then 3rd Battalion moving up Hill 475, all US forces pulled back and dug into company-sized NDPs.  The squad had been resupplied and even received a couple replacements.


Overview of table, north is up, NVA baseline at top, US baseline at bottom.  The squad is dug-in in three bunkers, from left to right, bunker 1, 2, and 3.  The NVA is coming in force from Hill 475 (north), entering their base edge and trying to get off the southern base edge.  Everyone starts unspotted (violet beads).


Looking from behind Bunker 2 (bottom right), you can see the squad laid concertina wire, four claymores (aqua beads), and put out an LP/OP (center top, Holmes and Fuqua).


It's pitch black, and both Holmes and Fuqua are awake on LP/OP, when fleeting, specter like shapes and sounds suddenly crystallize in Holmes' mind: @#$%, how'd they get so close?  "Echo 5 Bravo this is Echo 2 Hotel, we've got beaucoup Charlie out here, we're coming in" Holmes whispered into the field phone. "Come on Fuqua," as the two men crawl back two actions, both reserving one for overwatch.


The NVA move up in the center, as Holmes and Fuqua are falling back (bottom left) to their own lines.


Then the damn new guy has some gear catch on the wire (bottom center left), and the NVA are alerted to their presence!  Holmes begins to turn just as the NVA at far left opens up, giving Fuqua a light wound.  Holmes empties a mag in the NVA's general direction, missing, but then Fuqua ripped off a burst and put an enemy soldier on his back.  Banaszak is beside himself; the new guy screws up and now his friend's life is on the line, so he does the only thing he can: "Ernie (Holmes), get down!!!" he screams, and Holmes pulls Fuqua down as Banaszak blows the squad's four Claymore mines.

To see how the squad fares the NVA's daring night assault, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-country-game-7-24-oct-1967.html

Wait until you see the next one (already played, just need to write it up)!!!

V/R,
Jack

[toxicpixie]

Did Holmes make the mistake of referring either to piccies of wife/sweetheart and new baby, or say out loud that he only had one sleep and a wake up to the plane home...

Ouch.

Still, I think these nicely illustrate the casualty rates - one US serviceman dead, three wounded and three times that in NVA casualties, and it still feels like a loss even if they did hold the perimeter!

[Techno]

Great stuff again, Jack !
Cheers - Phil