All,
On the last patrol the squad moved to the downed UH-1 Huey, destroyed equipment, and recovered the friendlies, also managing to give the NVA a bloody nose in their first contact with regular forces. While performing their recovery mission, Sgt Banaszak noticed numerous large holes in the aircraft, the kind made by a 12.7mm heavy machine gun. The Brigade focused the bulk of its patrols west for a few days, hoping to find and fix the NVA, or at least eliminate the HMG(s), but no luck, no contact by anyone.
It's 13 October 1967. The squad has been out all night on night ambush, again no contact. They had been set up just north of the village of Con Quan 9, southeast of Dak To, about a klick north of the village, overlooking a major north-south trail network. The squad was just packing it up for the hump back to base when Battalion came on the horn: seems the S-2 just got word the Regional VC tax collector was in Con Quan. The squad was ordered to move south and see what they could see. The squad is down Bleier (Okinawa) and Blount (China Beach).
Overview of map, north is 'up.' Hill 105 at top left, village of Con Quan at bottom left, and Hill 75 at top right. US baseline is left, VC is right. The squad is in and around the ville, having just marched south (off map) around Hill 105 then turning east into the ville.
While the US apparently has informers in Con Quan, so does Victor Charles. These three (rifle, LMG, and 50mm mortar) are in the treeline at bottom right, looking at the ville. They were sleeping in the ville when a comrade burst in and let them know Yankees were coming down the trail. They searched for the tax collector, but he was nowhere to be found, so they hauled ass across the paddy into the treeline, surprised the taxman wasn't there.
The squad: Sgt Banaszak is at far left, speaking with the village honcho, with Greenwood, Harris, and Swan at the wall. Doc White is just outside the north wall, giving medical attention to a little girl, while Sgt Russell is standing on the trail aggravated with Ham and Stallworth, who are in the treeline on Hill 105 (top center), smoking and joking instead of pulling security like they should be. Holmes, always steady, is at far right, where he has taken up a prone position to keep look out to the east.
The ville, with Banaszak talking to the villager, (l to r) Swan, Harris, and Greenwood at the wall, and Doc White just outside the north wall with the mama and baby-san. Sgt Russell is up on the trail, with several civvies around.
If you look closely, between Banaszak, Doc, and Russell is a very suspicious looking individual, who has just approached from the left. He's shocked and bewildered to find Yankees in the village, but he stays cool. He's further shocked and bewildered that he can't find his three travelling companions; perhaps he should have told them he was staying with a friend last night… He's really, REALLY shocked and bewildered when the village chief, talking to what looks to be the American leader, spots him and his eyes bulge almost out of their sockets. The tax man has been made, and stumbles back a couple steps, almost running into another American. Crap!
As the village chief swings his arm up to point and the American leader turns to take a look, the tax man takes off running into the rice paddy, heading for the treeline! Spec4 Harris, with the M-60, hops the wall to give chase.
The third VC in the treeline, this one with an old French MAS-36, fires at Sgt Russell (bottom left), Stallworth, and Ham (top right). Stallworth and Ham take some stress, but Rusell is knocked on his back, hurt bad. As the mortar fired three times, the LMG fired three times, and the rifle fired three times, I'm counting the treeline as spotted at this point.
Looking east from behind Holmes (foreground, behind bush under tree), straight down the trail where the four VC just arrived, with the VC treeline at top right. The VC pointman moves up the knoll to his left, goes prone, but can't spot Holmes lying prone in the bushes (VC is top center, just to right of trail you can see his green 'prone' bead next to the bushes his hiding in). Holmes shifts his shooting position back left and opens up straight down the trail, making a mess of the VC: SMG receives a light wound and LMG a serious wound, with the SMG and remaining rifleman on the trail racking up a goodly amount of stress (you can see all the red dice on the trail).
I figure I'm pretty comfortable with the tax man (top right), surely he's going to assume a fetal position from all the combat stress… but he passes like a champion: he hops up, he uses both actions to crawl towards the civvies so the Yankees can't shoot at him. Swan and Harris (seriously wounded) are lying in the paddy, while Banaszak (bottom left) passes his test (from the mortar fire), stands up, hops the wall, and sprints ahead, determined to catch that damned VC tax collector!
That's the end of the turn, and the VC win the initiative for the next turn, meaning the tax man activates first. He hops up and sprints into the jungle, he got away, mission failed…
For the whole report, please check the blog at:
link
More to come.
V/R,
Jack
