Indeed it was, thanks guys.

V/R,
Jack

All,

1530 Local Time
18 December 1965
Phuoc Ha Valley, RVN
Operation Harvest Moon

The operation began nine days ago, and it's been a real bastard.  The boys helo'ed into the west end of the Que Son Valley, got into a helluva ambush, watched some B-52 "Arc Light" bombing raids pound the hell out of the valley, then got to walk around for another week looking at abandoned VC base camps before somebody finally realized the Viet Cong had pulled out of the Que Son Valley and were now inhabiting the nearby Phuoc Ha Valley.  III MAF committed 2/9 and had them enter one end of the valley whilst 2/7, whom the boys were still attached to, entered from the other end.  Both battalions soon found themselves in the fight of their lives.

The squad found itself at the tail end of the 2/7 formation; they could hear a helluva cacophony about a klick up ahead, and they tried to make sense of the chatter on the radio, but it was crazy.  It seemed that the 8th Viet Cong Battalion had ambushed the Marine battalion and were trying to isolate HQ and Hotel Companies from Fox and Golf Companies, and 2/9 was in a very similar predicament.  In any case, the boys were with Golf Company, which was ordered to move off to the in an attempt to outflank the VC defensive line and breakthrough to HQ and Hotel, but on the way their mission changed. 

The Platoon Sergeant, Staff Sergeant Dunn, quickly briefed the entire squad: a section of HQ Company was separated from the main body and found itself in a running gunfight heading west.  They managed to break contact but they're beat up pretty bad and they can hear Charlie out there in the jungle looking for them.  They don't know exactly where they're at, other than 'in the bend in the river,' so you're going to go out there and be their cavalry coming to the rescue.  Golf is moving east-northeast, so the rest of the platoon is gonna be the bridge between them and you, now go get'em, cowboys."


Overview, north is up.  The Marines will enter the table in the southwest (bottom left) and follow the river northeast (top right), searching for the separated HQ Company Marines.  Sergeant Garcia figures the bend in the river referenced on the radio is at top right, and there's a nice bamboo thicket that would be perfect to hide in if one were hurt and being pursued by the enemy.  The Marines are in a narrow valley, with the jungle covered slope of Hill 304 present in the northwest (top left), and a finger of Hill 412 jutting northwest from the southeastern end (bottom right) of the area of operations.

Time is of the essence, the squad needs to find the HQ Company Marines before the VC do, or they succumb to their wounds.  And Sergeant Garcia really hopes the HQ Company Marines are hiding exactly where he thinks they are, because if the squad reaches the bend in the river and hasn't found them, they're going to have to split up and search both sides of the river simultaneously, which is a recipe for disaster.


The initial deployment; "Alright, take five," said Sgt Garcia.  "This fork in the river is about 100 yards south of where I'd be hiding if I was those Marines.  It's awful quiet, not sure what to make of that.  Maybe they found a place to hole up and the dinks can't find'em.  Maybe they're all dead... Or maybe it's a trap.  Alright, break time is over, on your feet!"


But no sooner had squad (top center) broke cover than a sniper's rifle (bottom center) rang out...


One fireteam pushes forward aggressively to flush out the sniper...


As the other polices up its wounded and begins falling back across the river.

To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/01/two-brothers-fight-7.html

Next fight coming up Thursday.

V/R,
Jack

Nice to see a scenario where one enemy causes so much consternation.
Well written Jack.

Seconded !

Good one, Jack ! 

Cheers - Phil. 

Thanks guys, but I'm definitely a fan of less consternation!

V/R,
Jack

 All,

0930 Local Time
19 December 1965
Phuoc Ha Valley, RVN
Operation Harvest Moon

Everyone knew the Operation was scheduled to wrap up tomorrow, then they'd return to Da Nang and get a rest as the Christmas truce kicked in.  But the op wasn't over yet; the squad was thankful for not having to stand watch the previous night, but now they were back to normal, back at it, having chowed down on some cold C-rats, brushed their teeth and shaved with some cold water, stomped in their holes, hoisted their packs, and set off into the jungle, searching for the enemy.  They'd been humping for several hours already when the sound of gunfire and explosions could be heard in the distance.  The Platoon called a halt and Sergeant Garcia signaled the squad to take a knee and face outboard, pulling security while he moved to Jackson and propped the radio handset between his shoulder and ear, listening and narrating for the squad.  "Golf Company is on point and's got contact...  They got casualties, calling for fire and MEDEVAC...  VC are attempting to flank, separate them from the rest of the battalion.  Fox Company is moving right to head it off...  Fox is in contact, taking casualties...  Arty is pounding the VC in front of Golf, but they're not pulling back...  Air is on the way...  VC in front of Fox broke contact, Fox will be on the move in about ten mikes...  Air says they got dinks moving to the west, trying the other flank...  Uh-oh..."

Once again the 'uh-oh' was a call to action for the squad.  Their platoon was being sent west to head off this new threat to the US flank, but it was a lot of ground to cover and so the three squads were assigned sectors, not really tied into each other.  "The Lootenat assures me we're not out there with our asses hanging in the wind, that Echo Company is regrouping and will be right behind us, we just gotta head the dinks off and hold'em until Echo arrives.  Alright, let's move!"


Overview, north is up.  There is a hardball road running north/south in the west (left), and you can just see the bend in a nearby river in the southeast (bottom right), while there's a small village in the north-northwest (top center left), butted up against a low ridge in the west (far left).  There's a relatively large hill in the east (far right) that's heavily wooded, and thick jungle dots the landscape, aside from the open areas covered by rice paddies.  The Marines, harried on by Sergeant Garcia to head off the enemy, have the advantage here.  They have hustled to their assigned location and taken up hasty defensive positions in hopes of ambushing the flanking Viet Cong, whom they expect to enter from the northeast (top right).


The Marines (bottom left and bottom right) open fire on the Viet Cong (top center), catching the enemy crossing some rice paddies.


But the VC quickly recover, returning fire with their AKs and an RPG.


Which allows several VC to escape the kill zone, getting into the village (top right, center, and bottom left), where they work to flank the Marines.

To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/02/two-brothers-fight-8.html

Next fight coming up Sunday night or Monday morning.

V/R,
Jack

Great report,
Missing the action and blow by blow at the end though!!! 🤣

I  thought they were all just getting p**sed out of their heads. 

Good one again, Jack.

Cheers - Phil

Sorry guys, this is a family restaurant!

V/R,
Jack

All,

1430 Local Time
13 January 1966
An Hoa, RVN
Operation Mallard

Some old faces, Nelson and Griffin, had returned to the squad, and some new faces, Rivera and Tate, were picked up as replacements, bringing the squad strength to twelve Marines, nearly their T/O strength.  They'd been patrolling in and around Da Nang for a little over a week when Sergeant Garcia walked into the squadbay and gave them a Warning Order: they were heading about 20 klicks south of Da Nang to support a sweep by 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines (1/3) and 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (3/7) in and around a village named An Hoa.  It seemed An Hoa was a burgeoning industrial center (or at least he South Vietnamese government hoped so), with the country's only functioning coal mine and a newly completed railway spur located there.  But the Viet Cong R-20 Battalion, recently reinforced by the 5th Main Force Viet Cong Battalion, was causing big trouble there for the ARVN assigned to protect An Hoa, so the Marines were being sent in find, fix, and destroy the VC forces in the area and evacuate about 300 villagers from small hamlets in the surrounding area into the (allegedly) better protected An Hoa village proper.

The Marines kicked off Operation Mallard on 11 January 1966, having been trucked into staging areas the previous night.  The first two days and nights were relatively uneventful, the Marines following the long established routine of humping all day before stopping about an hour before sunset to dig their night defensive positions, eat their evening chow, then spend a long, uneventful night interrupted by standing watch and sometimes a couple hours out on OP/LP before getting up the next morning to piss, brush their teeth, eat morning chow, stomp in their holes, and set off in search of the Viet Cong again.

But on the third day of the operation they were humping the bush when local Ruff-Puffs (members of the ARVN) reported Viet Cong had occupied Hill 108 looking down on the western end of An Hoa.  The boys' platoon was attached to a company from 3/7 and dispatched to destroy the VC threatening An Hoa from Hill 108, the fear being the VC would infiltrate An Hoa and damage or destroy (again) coal mining infrastructure in the village.  As the company moved west on Hill 108 it took contact from the north; the main body of the Marine company wheeled to deal with this contact, but the boys' platoon was ordered to continue west at the double in order to cut off and prevent the VC from entering An Hoa, taking Hill 108 in the process.


Overview, north is up.  The southeast corner of Hill 108 is visible running across the top of the battle area, from top left to top center right, with the An Hoa railway spur running just below it, with a river bend in the east and southeast (bottom right).  A portion of the northwest corner of An Hoa Village is visible in the southwest (bottom left), to include a concrete refinery building VC sappers had previously snuck in and blow up.  The center of the tactical area is dominated by rice paddies, devoid of cover.  The Marines are hustling into the area from the southeast (bottom right), where they were patrolling east of the river bend, so they'll have to require that large open area at center.


The Marines push across the rice paddies, towards the hill.


The Viet Cong open fire as the Marines cross the railroad tracks.


Nik and Danny stand tall and return fire.


As Corporal Zamora's fireteam (bottom center, with the rest of the squad at top left and the VC atop the hill at top right) move to flank the enemy positions.

To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/02/two-brothers-fight-9.html

Next fight coming Wednesday night/Thursday morning.

V/R,
Jack

Excellent, Jack ! 

What's a 'boonie'...as in a "bloody boonie cover" ?

Cheers - Phil.

US slang for jungle Phil - boondocks....British Army might say Oggin....

Cool Jack

The gaming table you have is gorgeous!

Quote from: ianrs54 on 08 February 2021, 07:25:24 AM
US slang for jungle Phil - boondocks....British Army might say Oggin....

Boondocks is derived from the Tagalog word bundok meaning mountain and was picked up by the Americans in the Philippines and applied to anywhere remote or isolated

It was also transferred to New Zealand by US Servicemen during WWII

My Filipino in-laws were surprised that I knew the word