"What were the higher level formations in the Vietnam War?" Topic
10 Posts
All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.
Please avoid recent politics on the forums.
For more information, see the TMP FAQ.
Back to the Cold War (1946-1989) Message Board
Areas of InterestModern
Featured Hobby News Article
Featured Link
Featured Ruleset
Featured Profile Article
Featured Book Review
|
Please sign in to your membership account, or, if you are not yet a member, please sign up for your free membership account.
Pattus Magnus | 09 Apr 2015 7:03 a.m. PST |
I recently picked up the 5Core Brigade Commander rulesand I'm keen to try them out. I already have a collection of 3mm US, Aussies and NVA and was thinking of using them for some games, but I'm not familiar with how the US and NVA organized their brigade-equivalent forces (meaning 8-16 companies) for field operations, or if they even did. If anyone can give me an introduction to the subject I'd really appreciate it to get me started. Of course I could just throw together a couple of "brigades" from the figs I have and play some games, but I prefer to use forces that are based on historical counterparts where ever I can. Thanks in advance. |
79thPA | 09 Apr 2015 8:19 a.m. PST |
Brigades could be part of a division or they could be independent brigades. You are fighting a huge battle if you have a US brigade on the table. You are fighting a big battle if you have a battalion on the table. You could also have a battalion sized force made up of individual companies from several battalions i.e., 1st BN deploys a company and 3rd BN deploys two companies. I don't game this period and have only done some light reading on it, but I get the impression that a brigade's TO&E could be a little amorphous. An airmobile brigade may have three battalions, while an infantry brigade may have a leg battalion, a mech battalion, and an armor battalion. This does not include support elements. IMO, you are gaming the wrong war if you want to throw out a couple of US brigades. It is more like a couple of platoons or a couple of companies. |
Pattus Magnus | 09 Apr 2015 9:27 a.m. PST |
79thPA, thanks for the quick reply. I get the same sense about Brigades being somewhat amorphous. I think maybe that's the advantage to them, in that they can be readily tailored to the situation through attachments. As far as using Brigade level rules for Vietnam, I agree that it's a great setting for platoon and company level gaming (I have some 1/72 figs for exactly that), but I think there's also a lot of room for higher level games. I've read a description of the Vietnam war as "a conventional war [divisions vs divisions] fought in unconventional circumstances [tropical jungle]". I'm thinking along the lines of gaming whole battles, like Hill 937 (aka 'Hamburger Hill'), or parts of the battle of Dak To and similar actions. |
Legion 4 | 09 Apr 2015 9:38 a.m. PST |
That sounds generally about right 79th … Just for the exercise/clarification. A US Div. is usually 3 Maneuver Bdes (INF or ARMOR or mixed). Bdes are usually about 3 Bns. A Bn is usually 4-5 Companies. For example, the TO&E of an INF Bn may have something like 3 Inf Cos., a HHC Co. and back then a CSC. A Combat Support Company, would be something like this, a Co. HQ, Scout Plt, Mortar Plt and AT Plt. … On occassion units would cross-attach/Task Organize by adding other units for an operation/mission. A Tank unit from another Co/Bn/Bde may be added. Or even another INF Co. or two. Or vise versa. For command and control purposes the attached units would be under the Higher unit HQ for the op or mission. Combat Engineer units as well could be added, etc. … Similar to like we do today. |
Doctor X | 09 Apr 2015 1:29 p.m. PST |
Pattus – There is a book called "Vietnam Order of Battle" that someone gaming on as large a scale as you are might want to look at. If I recall its an oversize book and is on its second edition. Google it up and see if its what you are after. |
Pattus Magnus | 09 Apr 2015 2:39 p.m. PST |
Thanks Doctor X, I'll look around for it. |
Legion 4 | 09 Apr 2015 4:17 p.m. PST |
I have that book in 1st Ed. … It's pretty good. |
79thPA | 09 Apr 2015 8:21 p.m. PST |
I sold my copy to a Viet Nam gamer years ago. If you want to game Viet Nam, it is worth picking up. |
Pattus Magnus | 10 Apr 2015 8:36 a.m. PST |
Thanks for the tip about that book – it turns out that the university where I'm an allumni has a copy, so I can access it that way. |
Martin Rapier | 11 Apr 2015 8:07 a.m. PST |
For Fivecore BC you could certainly field VC/NVA regiments, maybe even ARVN brigades. It is the US units which are the problem to get the unit counts right, however you could always treat the elements as half companies or even platoons rather than full companies which would get the element count up. |
|