So what's next Jack ?

What's next?  That, my friend, is an excellent question!

The short answer is, 'I'm not sure.'

I've been painting like a maniac, but I just keep buying more... 
First, I need to type and post the last batrep for this series, then I need to type up some Cuba Libre fights I've already played and post them so I can close out my dreadfully long "Operation Chunky Bandit."

Then it's open; options are:
-diving straight into the second tour for "Two Brothers"
-getting back to my WWII in the Pacific campaign, which is more aerial dogfighting, my rifle platoon hitting the beach at Guadalcanal, and maybe some naval actions (both big-time and PT Boats)
-kicking off Operation Barbarossa for KG Klink
-I need to reanimate my Sword of Gideon blog and finish off the War of Independence
-finally get my Brits/Canadians vs Germans in Normandy going
-finally get the Western Desert going
-get back to my special ops stuff with "Black Ops"

Probably a couple more I'm forgetting...
What do you recommend?

V/R,
Jack

All good choices mate

Another good scrap, Jack !

(And that was on a quick gander .....I'll have a proper read over the weekend.)

Cheers - Phil.

Great campaign with the brothers Jack....still don't know how you play and write up your very readable narratives for that many games 

What about Operation Watchtower next?? (1st Marine Div on the 'canal).....I always find your dogfighting scenarioes inspirational.....maybe enough to get my own Zero flight back on the table "somewhere in the Pacific" in another scripted campaign?


       

Seconded

Operation Watchtower was Task One after all

First, well, there it is!  I owe it to my loyal fans to give them what they want, so we're soon headed for sun'n fun in the South Pacific.  Gonna be a bit as I still haven't received all the troops I need, damned Battlefront (place an order on 21 Jan, still haven't received...).

Not sure how inspirational I can be, but I'd love to see more of your Zeros on the prowl, Pierre, and you're absolutely right, Paul!

Second, why is everyone changing their forum monikers all of a sudden?  Did I miss the memo?

V/R,
Jack

Okay then.....looking at the operations that the IJN undertook in support of the landings at Attu and Kiska (all actually a part of the Midway operation) l think there's a definite aerial campaign in there that l can use for the Zero flight....but they will be on a different carrier this time. They get to fight the weather as well as the Americans 

Air raid Dutch Harbour....this is no drill!!!

Look forward to seeing the Marines hitting the beach some time soon Jack.

Sounds great, Pierre, I guess Zeros vs P-38s?  Definitely a campaign underserved by wargamers!

V/R,
Jack

Quote from: bigjackmac on 12 May 2021, 02:54:21 AM
Sounds great, Pierre, I guess Zeros vs P-38s?  Definitely a campaign underserved by wargamers!

V/R,
Jack

Would you believe P-40's flying from the American "secret base" at Fort Glenn on Umnak Island? One of the squadrons involved was commanded by the son of General Claire Chennault, the founder of the AVG (the Flying Tigers).

Ah, yes, of course P-40s.  I know there were P-38s in the Aleutians, but that must have been later.

I had no idea Claire Chennault had a son serving in the Army Air Corps, very cool.  I actually lived in Alaska during my childhood and read a book on the Aleutians campaign; I took it to mostly be a battle against the elements vice man vs man, though I also recall quite a bit of discussion of the Army Air Corps essentially trying to dive bomb with B-17s and the wings ripping off at the roots...

V/R,
Jack

Quote from: bigjackmac on 12 May 2021, 02:54:21 AM
Sounds great, Pierre, I guess Zeros vs P-38s?  Definitely a campaign underserved by wargamers!

V/R,
Jack

We have re-fought the naval battle of the Komandorski Islands

Paul,

The Komandorskis, eh? Sounds awesome, is it on the internet anywhere for me to take a gander?

V/R,
Jack

All,

Well, here we are, the final fight of the boys' first tour!

1330 Local Time
26 September 1966
Near Mo Duc, Quang Ngai Province, RVN
Operation Golden Fleece

When Sergeant Little walked into the squadbay and announced the Warning Order on 14 September 1966, only 22 days before the boys were set to rotate back to the States, neither Nikki nor Danny said a word.  First, Danny didn't care, running ops was why he was in Vietnam, and though Nik was pissed, he knew better than to voice it in front of the junior Marines.  And he knew it wouldn't change anything anyway.  Danny had kept bringing up the idea of shipping over for another tour, and Nikki had kept ignoring it or pooh-poohing it.

But Rob could tell Nik wasn't happy, so he pitched it the same way the Lieutenant had to him: Operation Golden Fleece is set to be a piece of cake.  Eleven days in the field, down south, with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and the ARVN, providing security in some village called Mo Duc for the annual rice harvest, no sweat!  The squad packed its gear and reported in to 1/7, trucking down south to Mo Duc, approximately 170 kilometers down the coast from Da Nang, which brought Nik much happiness, as it was about as far away from the DMZ as a Marine in I Corps could get!

The Marines hit the ground running on 16 September 1966, working closely with the ARVN and local villagers to clean out suspected Viet Cong weapons caches and safeguard the rice harvest.  Even Danny had to admit this was much more fulfilling work than anything else they'd done since arriving in Vietnam.  They'd arrived young and idealistic, helping the people of Vietnam by keeping them safe from Communism; things hadn't really worked out that way, and the villagers they interfaced with on a regular basis sure didn't seem to appreciate the American's presence.  But this was different: here the Viet Cong actually had a history of coming in, stealing the rice, and pressing youngsters into service, and so the Marines, actually keeping the villagers from being mistreated by the VC, were finally finding a local population that was welcoming and actually helping them to root out the Viet Cong.  The villagers were actually pointing out Viet Cong cadre members, as well as booby traps and weapons caches!  The Marines, working closely with the ARVN, would then cordon off the area and politely conduct a search of the area, with no preparatory airstrikes or artillery barrages, rather than their normal 'Hammer and Anvil' tactics on Search and Destroy missions.  Hell, the docs and dentists were even here giving vaccinations, setting broken bones, stitching up lacerations, and checking teeth!  Several times Nik actually caught himself smiling; he was helping people, and they were making a real dent in the local Viet Cong forces and infrastructure.  Over the past ten days the battalion had arrested over 100 suspected Viet Cong members, people the locals villagers had pointed out, and had uncovered hundreds of weapons and tons of ammunition and explosives.

But with all that success, the Marines had to know the Viet Cong weren't going to take it lying down.  The squad was out, conducting a presence patrol in one of the nearby villages; this village had been a problem for a number of years now.  The ARVN had originally wrested control of the area back from the VC in 1962 and installed a militia unit there (known as "Ruff-Puffs"), which had fortified the village with bunkers and trenches.  But the VC had infiltrated the village, killed the village chief and Ruff-Puff commander, and demanded fealty.  There was an uneasy peace for a bit, a truce between the two sides or, closer to the truth, an agreement by the Ruff-Puffs not to interfere with the Viet Cong, but the problem was that every now and again ARVN infantry would return to the area, and fighting would again break out.  Under one of President Ky's Pacification initiatives, the village was relocated and the area left unoccupied, with regular ARVN operations to ensure it stayed that way.  The last ARVN operation had been more than a year ago, and it had been very quiet, but this morning villagers in the closest village reported Viet Cong activity in the area.  The squad was dispatched to investigate...


Overview, north is up, and back to the tropical tables again!  There is a creek visible in the northeast (top right), which is the direction the Marines will enter from, and the fortified, abandoned village is visible in the southwest (bottom left).  There are slight rises in the northwest (top left) and southwest, more important for their dense foliage than their elevation, with more dense vegetation spread around the perimeter of an area dominated by open rice paddies.  You can see the VC occupying the fortified village at bottom left, and the Marines have reached the creek at top right.


Sergeant Little gets the squad to the river and then calls a halt, pulling a set of field glasses up to his eyes.  "Damn, I don't like the looks of this at all; look at those brazen bastards, you can see'em running back and forth, and lots of'em, like a damn ant colony.  Lamont, give me the RT."

Rob got on the radio with battalion, then was handed over to a FAC.  Twenty minutes later the Marines were treated to a good old-fashioned barbecue...


The Marines cross the creek...


And fan out into skirmish line as they approach the village.  "God bless, it's hot, little brother," complained Nik (far right).  "You bet yer sweet ass it is," Danny smirked back.  Sergeant Little jumped in: "Knock off the chit-chat, ladies, stay frosty," he demanded, when something caught his eye.  "Hey, I got moov..."


But before he could even finish the word, the heavy, oppressive, still air was disturbed by the 'pop' of a B-40 rocket being launched, coming straight in at the squad...

To see how the final fight of the boys' 1st tour turned out, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/05/two-brothers-fight-24.html

If you'd like to see my thoughts on the first tour, and where we're headed for the second tour, please check the blog here:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/05/two-brothers-first-tour-prologue2nd.html

More coming soon, but first I have some other wargaming business to attend to.  I hope you enjoyed the boys' first tour as much as I did.

V/R,
Jack

Good stuff