Vietnam Skirmish Campaign

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

That's a great report!

Nasty.

[bigjackmac]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.  And I'm really not happy, Holmes was a stud, but "ces't la guerre."

"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..."
Actually, I think he pulled the classic "Sarge, I don't think I'm comin' back from this one.  Take this, make sure my wife knows I love her."

"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!"
I built a casualty table myself that uses a D20 roll to figure out what happened, and I've been pretty happy with how that's been working out (battalion aid station for four days, evac to China Beach for twelve days, evac to US-tour over, etc...).  And you're absolutely right: even though the perimeter held, it absolutely felt like a loss.  I don't feel like I messed anything up, i.e., made any bad tactical decisions (except maybe blowing the Claymores too early, but that was done to try to pin the enemy down to let Holmes and Fuqua get away), and certainly the NVA didn't do anything too fancy, just a very tough fight.

Wait until you see the next one.  That is, to me it was crazy/ridiculous/bonkers, I hope it comes through in my write up.

V/R,
Jack

[Norm]

Nice to see 1:1 gaming with 10 mm, you are getting a really good narrative out of these games.

[bigjackmac]

All,

Following the debacle at the NDP last night (early morning, actually), the squad is allowed to rest through late morning, get cleaned up, then went on working party for a few hours.  During this time 2nd Battalion passed through 3rd Battalion into the assault on Hill 475, while 1st Battalion (the squad's parent element is on holding the southern flan.  The vicious nature of the fighting has got many calling Operation Apple Cobbler "The Battle for Chopped Sirloin Hill."

By mid-afternoon 2nd Battalion's attack is stalled; in preparation for 1st Battalion assuming the assault position, several choppers' worth of replacements were flown out to join the battalion in the field, to include enough to bring the squad up to full strength.  This was causing some sever consternation amongst the few survivors of the squad, and Sgt Banaszak had the rare occasion to voice his opinion directly to the Company commander: "Sir, I don't like it, we've got men out on convalescence!  They're coming back, and they belong with the squad!  There's no way we're keeping these FNGs while our buddies get farmed out to other units."

"Sergeant, perhaps you haven't been paying attention to recent events.  It's 1430 hours (I don't know why the Army insists on saying 'hours' after the time...); your squad will be heading up that hill at 1530.  The way things are going, you'll have plenty of room on the squad for your returning buddies."  Banaszak's expression turned from one of anger to concern, his mouth went dry, and he peered over his shoulder at the looming hill.  "Uh, I see Sir, sorry Sir."  "No problem Sergeant, now you get back to your squad and get your boys ready."  This is what we call foreshadowing...

At 1500 1st Battalion was passing by LZ Bluebird, where so many wounded and dead were being evacuated by helicopter that Banaszak figured no one could be left in 2nd Battalion, and at 1530, as the squad passed through 2nd Battalion's front lines, he saw he was pretty much right...  Picking up the action at approximately 1545 on 24 Oct 1967.


Overview of board, north is right, US baseline is south (left), NVA is right.  You can see three enemy bunkers at far right, which are (top to bottom) Bunker1, Bunker2, and Bunker3.


Looking north at the NVA, left to right: Bunker1, Bunker2, and Bunker3.  At top left is an 82mm mortar position.


The US squad, moving north (right) up Hill 475, unknowingly about to run into an NVA bunker line (they've passed two abandoned bunker lines on the way up.).  Banaszak can't help but think, 'if only Holmes were here, he would have spotted the enemy already and warned the squad...'  The 'new' squad is as follows, from left to right: Pvt Mansfield, a replacement rifleman, Spec4 Shell, a replacement field medic, Pvt Thomas, a replacement grenadier, Cpl Ham, now 2nd Team's leader, Pvt Swan, now a rifleman in Team 2; Sgt Banaszak is between the two teams; Pvt Webster, grenadier, Sgt Bradley, a 'Shake and Bake' 90-day wonder, given his Sergeant's stripes pretty much straight out of basic (an 'interesting' program instituted by the Army, not real popular with guys already 'in-country' that are suddenly outranked by an FNG straight from the World), replacement Team 1 leader, then Pvt Wagner, replacement assistant machine gunner, Pvt Brown, replacement machine gunner, and Pvt Kolb, replacement rifleman walking point.


View from behind pointman Kolb, looking up the trail at Bunker3.


The action starts at Bunker3 (foreground).  One NVA activates and spots Kolb, Brown, and Wagner, opens up, and puts Kolb down (first shooting roll was a damned 20) with a serious wound (followed with a 14).  Next NVA opens up, Brown is down, out of the fight.  Third guy spots Bradley then shoots Wagner, seriously wounding him.  All three guys in Bunker3 fired, I count it as spotted.  Unbelievable: three NVA activate, three US troops out of the fight...


Banaszak, on the trail between his two teams when the shooting started, sprints right, moves up, and flops prone (bottom left in the bushes, next to the seriously wounded Kolb, on the trail, with Bunker3 at far right).

And then things got really crazy!!!  Sgt Banaszak has been recommended for the Medal of Honor for his actions on Hill 475 on 24 Oct 1967, which went beyond the call of duty.  That game was intense, and it certainly worked out like real life.  That is, you don't need a big-time hero until you've got a big-time problem.

For the rest of the fight, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-country-game-8-24-oct-1967.html

V/R,
Jack

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

That's a hell of a game.
Guess Swann's days are numbered too!

[toxicpixie]

Bloody hell, Banaszack is dangerous! He probably needs a psych check, he's going a bit thousand yard stare there :S

Swann's reminding me of Rifleman Bowlby's entire regiment. I can't see it going well for him. Full on mental breakdown coming there, I think. I don't think he's temperamentally suited to front line service...

And the FNGs appear to truly be FNGs with all the luck & skill that entails. Did anyone even get their names?!

[Techno]

 
Cheers - Phil.

[bigjackmac]

All,

Following their last fight, the battalion spent several days recuperating at the LZ, performing working parties in support of the battalions in the line, and conducting security patrols around the LZ perimeter.  On 28 Oct 1967 1st Battalion was thrown back into the line, and the squad was on point for a combat patrol heading up Hill 475 as the 201st Brigade continued its attempts to wrest control of the hill from the NVA entrenched there.

The squad received no replacements, but several of its previously wounded members were returned to full duty (Corporal Ham, Sergeant Bradley, Spec4 Stallworth, and Pvt Brown).  The squad's mission was to patrol up the main axis of attack, locate the next enemy defensive line, and punch through it on their way to the top.  They crossed the friendly lines at 0830, the line of departure at 0845, and the previous enemy line (from which the enemy had fallen back from) at 0915, and we pick up the action at 0945.


Overview of the table, with north being to the right.  Once again I'm playing solo on a 3' x 2' board.  The enemy baseline is to the right (north), the US baseline to the left (south), and the squad is patrolling up a trail leading north, entering from the bottom left.  You can see three enemy bunkers on the table, with Bunker1 at top center, Bunker2 at top right, and Bunker3 at bottom right.


Looking north at the enemy bunker line: Bunker1 at left, Bunker2 at top center, and Bunker3 at right.  Moving up the trail you can see one squad member, Spec4 Shell, on point.  All troops on the table are starting unspotted except Shell and the man immediately behind him (just off camera at bottom), Pvt Swan, who are starting as spotted as they are without cover on the trail, moving right into the NVA kill zone.


The squad, moving up the trail south to north, from right (closest to enemy) to left: Shell, Swan, Ham, Mansfield, Sgt Banaszak, Sgt Bradley, Stallworth (carrying the squad's machine gun), and Brown.  Because of how the casualties have worked out, the squad is in the field without either of its M-79 grenadiers.


Shell is on point (bottom center), not happy with Banaszak reaming his ass about running away in the last fight and putting him on pointman duty.  As he's grumbling to himself while moving up the trail, he sees or hears or just feel something bad about to happen.  As he moved up he had already noted a clearing to the right leading into a foliage-heavy treeline, but as he scanned again, suddenly he could make out the outline of an NVA bunker (top center).  He just opened his mouth to yell a warning when AK-47 fire erupted...


Behind Bunker3, where both NVA rifleman have opened up on Shell (top right) and Swan (top left).  The NVA at right delivers a full magazine of 7.62mm rounds in Shell's direction, but miraculously Shell is not hit!  The NVA on the left fires at Swan, missing him with two bursts, but the third lightly wounds him.  Due to the outbreak of automatic weapons fire, Bunker3 is spotted.


Shell (center) passes his test (caused by the shock of three bursts of AK fire), moves right, drops prone, and returns fire (at Bunker3, bottom right), stitching 5.56mm rounds into the sandbags but hitting no one, while Swann (top left) is stunned from his wounds and simply drops prone to avoid incoming fire.  At this point he's not even scared, he's just thinking, 'Swannie, don't you dare run away again, that @#$% Banaszak will shoot you just like he said!"


No sooner had Bunker3 opened up on the point element than Banaszak understood the threat and what he must do.  "Ambush front, base of fire, I'm moving right" he yelled as he shook out of his pack and web gear, stuffing frags and extra magazines into his cargo pockets.  Banaszak then sprinted off the trail to the right, continuing up the right side until almost face to face with the bunker, then dropped prone.  As the NVA are focused on the Americans to their front, Banaszak remains unspotted, though all his sprinting through the jungle will make it easier for him to be spotted.

What happens next? Will Banaszak continue to cover himself in glory, or will he fall apart?  Maybe even become just another casualty?  You'll just have to check the blog
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-country-game-9-28-oct-1967.html

Hope you dig it.

V/R,
Jack

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nice report Jack.
At least Swann didn't leg it.

[FierceKitty]

I'm off to 'Nam on the 4th. Any advice from the obvious experts here?

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Have fun!
Any more advice, visit tunnels, drink local, revel in the exchange rate!

[FierceKitty]

Have fun!
Any more advice, visit tunnels, drink local, revel in the exchange rate!

Exchange rate? Our currency is about to do a nose-dive!

[bigjackmac]

Thanks fellas.

Fierce Kitty - A little advice, though a bit dated, I haven't been since '02.  Don't exchange a cent more than you have to, for two reasons:
1) If/when you try to change it back out in Vietnam before you leave, they'll only give you about 35% of face value.  They get away with this because:
2) No one else will exchange Dong.  I tried Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Macao, couldn't get rid of it.  I still have a boatload of Dong in a box upstairs somewhere.

They won't shoot at you though

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

Exchange rate? Our currency is about to do a nose-dive!

At least the situation over there, is actually making the news over here now....Stay safe !
Cheers - Phil

[paulr]

At least the situation over there, is actually making the news over here now....Stay safe !
Cheers - Phil

You mean it has taken precedence over the doings of footballers