"Near Disaster at Koh Tang " Topic

Has anyone gamed this? What set of rulws were used? Robert

The Mayaguez Incident: Near Disaster at Koh Tang

"Thesis : The tactical leadership, initiative, and individual hero ism at Koh Tang overcame poor operational command and control to narrowly avert a strategic disaster.
Discussion:The Mayaguez incident is a clear example in which the tactical, operational, and strategic level of war merged: where tactical actions had strategic implications. The strategic objectives determined by the National Command Authorities were to recover the ship and crew and in doing so demonstrate U.S. strength and re solve. Discussions in the National Security Council meetings clearly prioritized the objectives, the most important of which was to demonstrate to the world that the U.S. remained an international power willing and able to defend its overseas interests. Poor operational command and control during pla
nning created real problems that would plague the operations until its conclusion. From an execution point of view, these problems were developed by a combination of several factors that included:
1. A joint task force, composed of units from three different services, was hastily formed and tasked to rapidly conduct a complex ope ration with strategic implications.
2. Command and control failures during planning caused by the absence of centralized leadership to unify the effort and form a cohesive task force.
3. Faulty dissemination of crucial intelligence to the tactical planners and operators which resulted in a flawed scheme of maneuver. These factors created a planning environment characterized by chaos and confusion which
accentuated the fog and friction of the operation which nearly resulted in defeat.
Chaotic, confused, and incomplete planning based on
faulty intelligence proved to be a recipe for
disaster. During the operation, the same problems of command and control that plagued it during planning were present to a greater degree and accentuated the fog and friction of the battle. At the operational level, there was little situational awareness, and no one was in command or coordinating the battlespace. Throughout the fight, there were occasions when the Marines were nearly overrun by the numerically superior, well-trained, and disciplined enemy
force. During the fourteen hour battle seemingly minor tactical events influenced the outcome.The tactical leadership, initiative, and indivi dual heroism of countless servicemen overcame significant command and control obstacles to prevent tactical defeat and strategic failure. "

PDF link

Great question! I'm interested if there are any answers as well.

I think it would be a fairly dismal exercise for the US player, but then again it does present an interesting problem.

Same can be said of the Grenada invasion; anyone done that one?

Yes, I have run the battle at a convention. The full action was complex, airstrikes at land bases and naval assets, Presidential authorization for the use of chemical weapons (CS gas), a naval boarding action and the movement of Marines from Okinawa to Thailand and then the assualt lift by Air Force CH-53's to the island(which had to be done in two lifts). It was thought there was only a company of Cambodians defending the island instead of the Battalion that was found. A volunteer merchant marine crew for the Mayaguez was organized in the Phillippines and boarded the ship once the assualt had secured it. As they got steam up, a destroyer towed the ship away from the island.
The crew of the Mayaguez, thought to be held on the island, and the focus of the rescue operation, prevented the use of airstrikes and naval gunfire for fear of accidently hitting them. The crew had been removed from the island the night before the attack and they were found on a disabled Cambodian ship even as the battle was raging. Once found, the Marines could get the support they desperately needed to extract themselves. Under pressure, when the final helicopter departed from the island, three Marines, on the far end of the line, were left behind. IIRC, two were captured and executed by the Cambodians and the third hid out and was eventually killed while trying to steal supplies.
In my convention game, the Marines tried to use the CH-53's as gun platforms and ended up loosing too many aircraft to extract the Marines in a timely manner.

"…Presidential authorization for the use of chemical weapons (CS gas)…"

It is the opinion of the United States government then and now that Riot Control Agents (RCA) do not fit the definition of chemical weapons as outlined by the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The Osprey has a good coverage of the battle. I have been working on a scenario for Force on Force and or Flames of War. The attempted breakout of the two beach landing sites and the securing of the several MH-53s are all interesting to game. Most of the Kamer Rouge forces were well dug in with good fields of fire and interlocking fields of fire. The Opsrey has an excellent maps of the area.

VR
James Mattes

There are still 3 USMC MIAs from that operation. It was not executed very well as noted in the posts. And as in many cases the guys on the ground not only had be very heroic but suffer heavy losses as well. Because of all the reasons already listed. Years later a US recovery teams interviewed the Khamer Rouge. And 1 wounded Marine that was left behind was shot out right. And 2 that were left behind were captured later and beat to death with RPG launchers … Very sad … As far as how to game it … which I wouldn't want to, but IMO, it's kind of like Germans vs. French in 1940. With command and control rules reflecting that. But in this case the USMC and USAF are the French and the Khamer Rouge the Germans. Many costly lessons learned, that shouldn't have been, since the US had a lot of experience in the recent war in that region …

I had found a website for a documentary that was made about the battle that had a copy of the Presidential order from Ford, but can't locate the site at the moment. However, here are some others:

An article that was in Leatherneck Magazine
link

Veterans group
kohtang.com

One version of the timeline of events.
combatreform.org/kohtang.htm

Citations for awards:
link

A brief description of action and some declassified documents, and you can purchase more.

link

Ford renounced the first use of RCAs in war "in all situations except in defensive military modes to save lives" through an executive order in 1975. It subsequently required both the approval of the president and the secretary of defense to use them in those types of situations. RCAs are not banned and remain in use in the US military, however, and the president never authorized the use of chemical weapons as they are understood by the US government with regards to operations in and around Koh Tang Island.

Also, don't be scammed. A lot of declassified documents relating to the incident (and Southeast Asia in general) are available for free (as they should be) via the OSD website: link

I've found "The 14 Hour War " by James Wise & Scott Baron and "The Last Battle" by Ralph Wetterhahn to be good background material for this incident. Pretty much a disaster that stumbled to a sort of-happy ending and oh, by the way, we left three guys behind but you'd better not say anything about that…

I have been tempted to run a game around this incident, but not ever got round to it. I think it would make a good game.
A review on Amazon by the "President of The Koh Tang/MAYAGUEZ Veterans Organization" is not very complimentary of the Osprey. He suggests other titles.
As this incident seems very highly charged emotionally and politically I would suggest a wide reading list to take the full range of opinions.
Tim

Some 8mm camera footage taken after returning to base by one the PJ's that went on the mission.

YouTube link

We studied the operation in O&I and frankly it was amateur hour on so many fronts. I am not surprised some would have issue with the Osprey as it is not very flattering to the overall operation. But it is important to remember that Son Tay was a failure of the operational objective but every swinging dick got a bronze star. Go figure.

VR
James Mattes

In the book I read of the three left behind one was wounded and was quickly captured and murdered. The other two hid out on the island for several days before being captured while trying to get food. They were taken off the island and murdered.

There is also "A Very Short War: The Mayaguez and the Battle of Koh Tang" by John Francis Guilmartin too. Robert