Vietnam Skirmish Campaign

[bigjackmac]

All,

Following the vicious fight for Hill 475, the Brigade pulled back to its base and sent out patrols to the west, chasing the NVA towards the Cambodian border.  Little contact was made and it appears the NVA made good their escape.  Routine patrols resumed until two UH-1s were shot down in two days by HMGs to the west.  Aggressive patrolling was conducted to try to locate and destroy the NVA HMGs, which had downed three helicopters so far, to no avail.  Intel suggested the NVA was working more closely with the local VC, and the weapons were being kept on the move throughout the local network of villages so as to keep them hidden from the Americans.  To counter this, Brigade decided to implement the "Strategic Hamlet" initiative, wherein smaller villages would be packed up and moved to several larger villages which would theoretically be easier for the Brigade's forces to keep an eye on.

Several of these relocations have been conducted by the Brigade and have gone off without a hitch.

It's 13 November 1967 and the squad has been sent west to the village of Kai Yao, where they will pack up the villagers and move them east to a larger village...


Overview, South is 'up.'  The ville of Kai Yao is at bottom right, the squad in column on the trail, entering from bottom left, with rice paddies to either side of the trail.



The squad, from right to left: Fuqua, Stallworth (w/M-60), Brown, Russell, Thomas (M-79), Sgt Banaszak, Ham (M-79), Swan, Bradley, Shell, and Kolb as 'Tail-End Charlie.'


The village, with the villagers standing by for evacuation as leaflets were dropped three days ago notifying them (and the VC) of the pending relocation.


The squad moves up and Banaszak confers with the village honcho.


The squad begins leading the villagers east to their new home...


As VC close in on three sides...


And all hell breaks loose.  The VC in the east (top left) open up first, initiating the ambush.  A LMG opens up lightly wounding Kolb and Russell (center, two guys with yellow beads), quickly followed by rifle fire from the same location, and Sergeant Banaszak (center, on the trail just in front of the villagers) goes DOWN!!!

To hear the rest of their harrowing tale, please visit:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-country-game-10-13-nov-1967.html

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

 
Cheers - Phil.

[toxicpixie]

I knew Banaszack had shot his mental bolt, poor bloke. That silver star was an autopilot drill from training, not conscious thought... He's got to be next up for a psych discharge :S

Still, it seems to snapped Swann out of his funk a bit...

Oh yeah - some jungle sweeps for the MIA up next?!

[ronan]

Nice game Jack !

I'm glad to see you're on this campaign ! 

Thank you for sharing

[bigjackmac]

Toxicpixie - I think Banaszak's doing find, he's been through a lot    I actually like that he's not all of a sudden a super-human every mission, and Swan has been coming along.  Probably a negative on the MIA searches; word is, Shell and Fuqua went over the hill and are stoned out of their mind in Saigon.  Or, Shell and Fuqua were snatched by the VC and turned over to the NVA, who whisked them across the Cambodian border, up the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and they're now residents of the Hanoi Hilton.  Either way, we're not likely to see or hear of them again.

Ronan - Good to see you brother, where have you been!!??  Never mind, I'm glad you're back!  I just took a look at your last two games (German patrols in the valley), looks like you've had a rough time!  Anyway, what do you think of my Vietnam campaign?  It's got me thinking about my Legionnaires vs Vietminh...

Phil - M-14s, Phil, M-14s 

V/R,
Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

Following the Brigade's initiative to relocate various smaller villages into fewer large ones, it opened up the opportunities for the use of greater firepower, particularly to the west, nearer the Cambodian border where the NVA frequented.  Due to this, the Brigade stepped up its use of B-52 'Arc Light' strikes.  As these occurred, frequently a patrol would be sent out to conduct a "Bomb Damage Assessment," that is, patrol up the length of the airstrike in an attempt to ascertain if the enemy suffered any casualties.  The vast majority of the time nothing was found, just a massive string of 500-pound bombs ripping the jungle open.  But every once in awhile...

It's 22 November 1967, and the squad is on patrol near the Cambodian border, conducting a BDA for an Arc Light that occurred earlier this morning.


Overview of board, right is North.  The squad entered from the left (South), the NVA from the North.  It's dense, trackless jungle on each side of the Arc Light strike, with bomb craters running from south to north.  Interestingly, a small, bombed out structure is noted atop a knoll up ahead.


The squad, down to seven warm bodies, from right to left: Swan on point, followed by Stallworth (M-60), Bradley (with his brand new PFC stripes, courtesy of running last fight), Thomas (M-79), Sgt Banaszak, Ham (M-79), and Kolb bringing up the rear again.


Swan (bottom left): "Holy Crap, Sarge, take a look at this!  We've been on how many of these, ain't seen a damned thing!  Check it out, looks like the flyboys finally hit something!"  Banaszak: "Yeah, looks like a comm site, got fresh bodies and everything."


Swan and Banaszak move up to the comm site.  Banaszak: "Hell, I imagine when they figure out this thing ain't transmitting anymore they'll be sending someone up to check it out.  What was that?"  Please take a look to the right of the comm site.


Swan (bottom center) moves over, and spots five NVA moving down the Arc Light track.  "Damn, they really should be busting brush, not walking down the damn highway."  Banaszak whispered back, "Yeah, they're lazy just like us," then cut loose, lightly wounding the NVA pointman (bottom right).

A short, sharp fight that goes pretty well for the squad, see the rest here:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-country-game-11-22-nov-1967.html

I've got one more already played, soon to be written up, and it's a good one, so stay frosty

V/R,
Jack

[toxicpixie]

Now that went better!

Aaaaaaand relax

Is the next some R&R in Saigon versus Navy & Marines

[ronan]

(...)Ronan - Good to see you brother, where have you been!!??  Never mind, I'm glad you're back!  I just took a look at your last two games (German patrols in the valley), looks like you've had a rough time!  Anyway, what do you think of my Vietnam campaign?  It's got me thinking about my Legionnaires vs Vietminh...(...)

Life's sometimes difficult.. Thank you.  I like your AARs, The guys improve. The bombed terrain was a very good idea, and good scenario 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Two great scenarios Jack, nice to see it firstly not going their way, then pulling off a coup on that last patrol!

[bigjackmac]

Toxipixie - "Is the next some R&R in Saigon versus Navy & Marines" 
Can't do it; if I let them go on liberty near Marines they're likely to suffer even heavier casualties 

Ronan - "Life's sometimes difficult.."
I know what you mean.  Hopefully it's over, and it wasn't too hard on you, I hope all is well.  I'm glad you liked the scenario, I had been looking for your comments! 

Lemmey - Yeah, every now and again, particularly after a really tough fight, I like to throw up a scenario that's kinda softball to get the squad back on its fight.  It's worked twice, but the two other times I though 'this should be easy' turned out to be pretty tough fights, so you never know!

On a totally unrelated note, It's funny that I find myself addressing three of the officers from my "Hell on Wheels" Campaign 
In preparation for the baby being born in a few weeks, I've been working on small scale stuff, and recently I've been eyeing some 6mm stuff to use so that maybe I can get that campaign back on track.  That, or 10mm, just on a gridded, 'Portable Wargames'-rules type of deal.  Either way, I'd like to try to get you guys back on the table soon 

V/R,
Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

For the squad, Happy Thanksgiving!  It's 25 November 1967 (I didn't look at a 1967 calender to see if it's correct, but close enough for me), and the squad is enjoying a day on base with turkey and stuffing.  But they're not off the hook; the Brigade has several patrols out, still trying to find those damned HMGs, which have put another helo two days ago, and the squad is on standby as a Quick Reaction Force should something go awry.

Which is exactly what happened.  On of the the Corps-level 'Lurp' (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols) teams has gotten itself into a @#$% sandwich out on the border; they stumbled onto an NVA base camp, called in air, which saturated the place, but a lucky NVA walked into them during exfil and compromised them.  They went on the run, trying to make it two klicks to the LZ, but the NVA did some damage.  The Lurps are in a bad way, holed up on Hill 65, about 300 yards from the LZ.  They have heavy NVA pressure from the northwest, at least company-size, and four of their seven-man team are out of the fight.  The squad is heloing out to the LZ, its mission to secure the Lurps, move them to the LZ, and exfil everyone.

As soon as the squad's helo, a Chinook (because I don't have any Hueys...), touches down, fast movers are gonna drop Snake and Nape (500-pound 'Snakeye' retarded bombs and napalm) to the northwest of Hill 65 to help the Americans break contact with the NVA pushing there.  It's up to Banaszak's boys to get the Lurps back to the choppa and thus to safety.


Overview of board, north is up, LZ at bottom right, Lurps at top left.


The "Alamo," atop Hill 65 three Lurp troopers fighting off NVA (off camera to top left), protecting their four downed buddies, praying for help.


Screaming in low over the rice paddies from the south comes a lone CH-47.


The Chinook sits down and Banaszak (far left) leads his boys out:  Thomas (M-79) top right, Stallworth to his left, then Bradley, Ham next to Banaszak, Kolb to his right, and Swan just exiting the helo.


And then, from the northeast (top right of board), NVA arrive.  The squad had been detached from the NVA attacking Hill 65 from the northwest, with the intent on flanking them, when the Yankee steel-bird descended onto the paddy field to their south.  The NVA leader makes a snap decision: half will focus on the Yankees to the south, the other half will push west (left) to flank the Yankees on Hill 65.

And the race is on!  I will throw in a spoiler; the squad once again accomplishes its mission, but loses a dear friend...


Ham and Thomas are still on guard as the last of the Lurps gets the wounded aboard the helo (far right) and Swan comes sprinting in (top left).  "Where's Banaszak?"


As three NVA enter the board from the west side of Hill 65.


Banaszak (center) is sprinting towards the helo (bottom), as the three NVA (top center) open up.


Ham and Thomas both fire, but as the grenades are in flight Banaszak stumbles and goes down...

To see how it turns out, check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-country-game-12-25-nov-1967.html

V/R,
Jack

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

A great report, taking hits and risks is costing them. They are running the risk of becoming special forces themselves!
Green recruits added to this bunch?  that is going to hurt!

[toxicpixie]

Good stuff again!

Given the amount of FNGs coming in, there's not a lot of the original squad left :S

[bigjackmac]

Yes, casualties and transfers out have taken a heavy toll.  If they can make it through the holidays, Harris and Doc White will be coming back.  I didn't have to transfer Bleier out of the squad, but he was injured pretty bad, out for awhile, and Banaszak's been doing such a great job that there was no way I could keep both of them in the same squad.  So, promoting Bleier seemed to be the best/easiest thing to do.

Another thing worrying me is losing so many guys to the '3-time Loser' deal, as all the guys are racking up a tremendous amount of Purple Hearts.  In the game itself there are three 'levels' of casualties: light wound, serious wound, and 'down.'  After the game I roll on a chart to see how bad they really are, from 'back in action,' i.e., just got knocked out or a concussion, to 'KIA.'  So far, if someone was hit in the game, even a 'light wound,' I've been handing them a PH.  I need to revisit this, maybe only guys that get evacuated to China Beach, Japan, or the US get a PH.  That should keep guys around a bit longer.  I hope...

In any case, I've been having a great time, hope you guys are too, and thanks for reading and commenting!

Also, here is my formal solicitation for scenario ideas, I'm running out, I can't keep this going forever!  Aside from what you've seen in the batreps, I've got some Jeeps, M-113s, and M-48s to finish up, then I can use them, but I don't have any Hueys (just a couple Chinooks) or Riverine stuff.  Well, I do have a really cheesy LCVP-looking landing craft, but no PBRs or Monitors, or Vietnamese watercraft.

V/R,
Jack

[paulr]

Interesting to see some of the real paper war command challenges coming out in this campaign. Being a good officer is not all about your performance in combat, you also need to know how to fudge the paperwork if you have to