"Game 14 of Vietnam Skirmish Campaign" Topic

All,

It's the evening of January 3, 1969 and everything is going swimmingly. The holiday has been joyously quiet, despite all the intel officers screaming about an NVA buildup to the east. Then combat erupts throughout the length of the country, with NVA and VC cooperating to attack dozens of US and ARVN bases.

The Brigade's planners have been gearing up for a series of operations to clear west of Dak To all the way to the Cambodian border, to reassert their dominance, so to speak. Alpha Company is once again expected to lead the way, so they are not manning the defense perimeter at Dak To, they are sleeping peacefully in their beds. Due to its size and importance, no one really ever thought the NVA/VC would attack Dak To, but that's exactly what happened: at 0330 sappers struck, blowing holes in the wire and disabling Claymores, tripflares, and Fugas. Simultaneously, 122mm and 130mm howitzers (yes, artillery), along with 107mm rockets, rained down for 15 minutes on Dak To, while the NVA assault battalions pushed through the holes created by the sappers. Alpha Company stood to as a QRF, with platoons being sent off as needed to plug holes in the perimeter. At 0430 it was the squad's turn, and they rushed forward to seal another breach.

Overview, north is up. Far right is main gate, with Bunkers 1, 2, and 3 top to bottom. To left of Bunker1 is a command post bunker, which is on fire; to its left is an arty position of two 105mm howitzers. At top left is a truck park, and just below it is the Base Operations Center. Bottom left is the beginning of the helo revetments, with a CH-47 sitting there. To its right is the Flight Operations Center. Between Flight Ops and Bunker3 is an ammo bunker and a communications bunker, both burning. Two NVA teams are moving forward about halfway east to west, with a number of VC milling around behind them. There are downed Americans and Vietnamese everywhere, but that's not the squad's concern: there mission is to evict the intruders and seal the perimeter off. The squad is entering at bottom left at the Chinook. It's pitch black except for the burning buildings, so spotting is affected, and everyone is starting unspotted.

Arty and CP bunker, with four NVA moving forward.

Ammo (left) and Comm (right) bunkers burning, with NVA moving up.

Perimeter bunkers (left to right, 1-3), with VC milling about.

The squad moving forward, not knowing exactly what's out there but knowing the enemy is there.

And the fight is on! Please check the blog to see how it goes:
link

V/R,
Jack

Hey what's all this:

This should have been easy due to the fire being right behind them, but my dice rolling sucks…

comes up and fires, but doesn't hit anything (rolled a 1 and a 2)

On this evidence I'm cancelling my order on those so called "magic dice" you can keep them :)

Well everything seemed to be going spiffingly till that Harris dash and even then by the sound of the report (apart from a few occasions) the US were let down by some pretty abysmal shooting(bad die rolls?)but at least Banaszak looks as dependable as ever…

Loved the report…had a very different feel to it then anything previous. Liked the artillery pieces and the various bits around too. Overall very enjoyable.

A question: how exactly did the claymore mines work…I know they have being mentioned several times in the reports and I noticed they were mentioned in Platoon but I dont think I have an understanding on how exactly they work…they are not just a regular pressure detonated mine are they?

Anyway 14 in a row…that's impressive…again thanks for going to all the trouble of photographing and putting all the narration and scenarios together…

Thanks guys.

Don't worry about the dice, Panda, I'll discount them from $18,500 USD to $19,000 USD for ya.

The game really ed me off becaus Harris and Doc White had just come back (after being gone for roughly two months), and they both got hit again, badly, so out for another extended period of time. Doc White was pure bad luck (great die roll by the bad guys), but Harris didn't have to happen. If I'd have just been more patient…

Regarding the different look, I worried that I didn't set the table enough for background. The point in the overall scheme of things is that it's the Christmas cease-fire, the US wound operations down and pretty much are all sitting on their bases having a good time. The NVA used this period to infiltrate, link up with local VC, stage, then launch attacks on a bunch of US and ARVN military bases in western RVN. It was sort of a dress-rehearsal for the infamous 'Tet' offensive the following year.

So, the Brigade is sitting at its base in Dak To, enjoying the holidays, when the NVA/VC strike. They breach the outer perimeter of the US base, and the squad is thrown in as a QRF to save the day.

Alright, Claymores. Claymores are command detonated, directional 'mines.' I say 'mines' because usually when we think of landmines we think of a metal disc planted in the ground that someone steps on (or a vehicle runs over)and it blows up. Claymores are much different. You carry Claymores around, and when you come upon occasion to use it, usually establishing a defensive position, i.e., diggin in, laying wire, tripflares, then run your Claymores out.

It's about 12" x 10" x 3", and it has two sets of little metal wire legs it sits on about 12" above the ground. It's flat, and the front has a stamp: "FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY." So you put that side facing where you expect the enemy to come from, you stick the det wire into Claymore, you unspool the wire back to your fighting position, then you attach it to the detonator (lot of guys called it a 'clacker'). It's got a small explosive charge in the rear, then it's packed with metal balls, so when you see/think enemy are in the killzone you hit the detonator and BOOM! it launches out like a giant shotgun. We trained with them and we had them in Iraq, but I never used one in real life.

Yes, 14 in a row, with three more that I've played but still need to post. I'm not sure how long I can keep this going! I'm sort of ADD + Compulsive, and lately I've had Crossfire spring back into my noggin. I dug my book out, been reading everything I can on the net, and have been eyeing all my forces critically to see what I can use right now, i.e., with a minimal amount of painting/basing/prep. So expect something Crossfire soon…

And where are your batreps, Panda? Your guys should be about finished knitting their socks and playing Shakespeare in the park, time to get at those Jerries!

V/R,
Jack

Cheers for the info on the mines…I FB'd you (take that whatever way you like …giggle) with an explanation of my lack of games…I'm flying to Toronto on business for a week this Friday and when I'm back we are moving house (including my war-game table) straight away so I don't see how I'll be wargaming any time soon :(

Good news though is Shakespeare went great…Lt Bagley was really excellent as King Lear with Dean being the only real disappointment…he was one of the three witches from the unmentionable play and to be honest it was kind of embarrassing

Oh and Tim (Ditto) was working on something with Crossfire….wonder is it done?

I friended you ages ago…didn't I? I really don't know FB very well,,,I'll check it out

All fixed….Saw your Vietnam FoW photos Blue….really nice stuff…you should check them out Jack,; they're in Blue's Albums on FB

Okay, I think we are caught up with being 'friends' on FB, now stop it!!! All future communication will be via TMP and/or e-mail, no more FB! I can't believe I let you ers talk me into that.

Okay, now that's out of my system, yes, everybody has nice families, blah, blah, blah. More importantly, we have finally confirmed Kyote-John is, indeed, a wargamer, complete with wargaming toys, and that someone in Oklahoma does actually have a camera, computer, and internet connection. ;)

See, all this screwing around on FB, I could have gotten another battle report posted on the blog! Now I am signing off for the evening to continue my Crossfire studies. This time, I am determined to make it work! Talk to ya later fellas.

V/R,
Jack

You guys are too funny…

Jack stop trying to annoy Blue. Blue stop sulking and finish reading your rules.

To think I come here to get away from the kids…;)

Look at the Panda, acting as if he's above it all, when, in reality, he's a lowly FBer.

For the record:
"See, all this screwing around on FB, I could have gotten another battle report posted on the blog! Now I am signing off for the evening to continue my Crossfire studies."
I didn't mean that in a punitive fashion, just that my time for computer/reading is limited (as I'm sure is true for you all, too).

Next batrep is on the way.

V/R,
Jack

Look at the Panda, acting as if he's above it all, when, in reality, he's a lowly FBer.

Don't play the innocent Mr Jack; the dogs on the street know you won't be happy till we're all on FB swapping shepherd pie recipes and knitting patterns….;

You're despicable, Panda. Don't hate on me because I actually play full, complete wargames. As a matter of fact, the next one is coming up.

V/R,
Jack