Much like the rest of you, I used my pandemic time to work on a new Vietnam project. I finally had my first game!
Just finished my first mission in a Vietnam War campaign using "The 'Nam: The Way it Was" by Wayne Bollands.
The rules let you use a campaign system and take a platoon through a series of missions with the soldiers surviving from one mission to the next.
Here's the platoon roster:
Having deployed as a platoon straight from training, all of the platoon is rated as veteran infantry (elite airborne infantry - its a mental thing). As we start getting replacements we will start to see trained troops filter in.
Each soldier is numbered to randomize any hits while playing.
3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1/503rd Infantry:
(Not pictured, Forward Observer team and Dog Team)
MISSIONUH-1D call sign "Lancer 11" was shot down vic An Loc Dong. 3rd Platoon, B Company will secure the crash site and rescue any survivors. Intel reports minimal VC / NVA presence in the area.
US Forces deploy - negative enemy contact.
From left to right, front row: 3rd Squad, M60 Team B, 2nd Squad, M60 team A, 1st Squad. Second row: PSG, Medic, Tiger, Dog Team, FO, PL
The rules as written use a card deck for activation where each side has an assigned suite and each unit an assigned card (ex: 1st Squad, A Team is a 4 of hearts). I instead made a token for each unit from extra 28mm round bases with a national flag on one side and the specific unit on the other.
The first pull:
Darn.
Using a random number generator (1-47) I rolled a 44. SGT Currie and the dog team tripped a booby trap! (What kind of terrible nose does this dog have?!)
It was right now that I realized I clumped my platoon headquarters VERY closely, with the dog team, PL, and FO caught in the blast zone. (Within 3")
Rolling for hits, the dog gets knocked down and will miss its next turn (maybe it will get its head in the game now), SGT Currie is uninjured, the Lieutenant and his RTO are unscathed. Sadly, the good luck ends there and the FO team takes the brunt of the blast.
SGT Jones and PFC Ciesielski are both killed.
The next few turns are uneventful, with the US forces advancing across the rice paddies with negative contact.
Once 2nd Squad starts to cross the final rice paddy, the NVA make an appearance (of course Army Intel was wrong!).
A fireteam and MMG open up on 1st Squad from a paddy dyke and a log bunker.
PV2 Bracewell is wounded and out of the fight!
Luckily, the next token was for a US Mortar barrage. The platoon leader called it in and dropped some steel on target.
This killed 2 NVA and suppressed both teams.
On the next token one of the US M60 teams sprays the jungle and inflicts a lucky hit on the MMG gun team.
With the only NVA on the field suppressed. 2nd Squad advances into the paddy field towards Lancer 11's crash site.
But quickly trigger more of the ambush with 2 additional NVA fireteams deploying.
The incoming fire fails to cause any US casualties, but 2nd Squad is pinned down in the mud.
The next turn sees another US Mortar token pulled, and 2LT Shull adjusts fire on to the NVA fireteam occupying Lancer 11's crash site.
This kills one of the NVA infantrymen and suppresses the team (I would also assume this destroys Lancer 11 ... so mission failed?).
Just when 2nd Squad thinks they are safe, an NVA MMG bunker opens up from their left flank hitting the RTO, SPC Hodges, in the neck, inflicting a severe wound.
(Interestingly, SPC Hodges was the only out-of-uniform soldier in the squad, being shirtless under his flak jacket. He probably was wearing white socks and had his hands in his pockets too.)
On the US right flank, M60 Team A opens up on the original NVA MMG Bunker, gets another lucky hit, and takes the team out of action.
Trying to flank the bunker hammering away at 2nd Squad, 3rd Squad advances towards the jungle, and promptly triggers another NVA fireteam.
Things are looking grim for 2nd Squad - pinned down in a rice paddy with 3 fireteams and an MMG bunker firing at them, casualties are about to mount. Luckily, the next token pulled is for the A4-B Skyhawk.
The Skyhawk is on target, and drops a load of napalm on the bunker.
The napalm also catches 3 of the NVA infantrymen in the fireteam along the paddy dike. Napalm in this game is lethal, if you get hit you are dead. At this point, the surviving NVA infantrymen decide enough is enough and bug out to Cambodia.
No longer pinned down, 2nd Squad advances by fire towards Lancer 11's crash site.
They inflict a casualty on the NVA fireteam, but it is not enough to suppress the NVA. The NVA's return fire sees SPC Novak take an RPK burst in the neck, killing him and pinning 2nd Squad's Bravo Team.
However, after this exchange of fire the remaining NVA decide to call it a day and retreat into the jungle.
The final tally is:
US:
3 KIA (Jones, Ciesielski, Novak)
2 WIA (Bracewell, Hodges) - Bracewell's wound is severe enough to be sent back to the States, but Hodges will return after the next mission.
NVA:
10 KIA (5 to the Napalm strike!)
6 WIA
Naturally, the US forces report a body count of 10, with 276 probables. (Westmoreland math at its best)
Being the first mission, 3rd Platoon isn't eligible for any replacements. "Luckily", the FO team are not organic to the platoon and will be replaced by battalion, but we are down 2 permanently from the organic platoon structure, with 1 missing the next mission.
The new, reorganized platoon looks like this:
The PSG's RTO (Maxwell) will replace Hodges while he is recovering, while Allen and Ruiz from the Weapons Squad will fill in as riflemen. Bonilla will pick up Novak's M79 and continue as the team's grenadier.
Overall, this was a fun game and a great introduction to the rules. I would recommend the ruleset to anyone interested in a persistent Vietnam wargame, at least until Warwick Kinrade's 'Nam 68 comes out.
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June 09, 2023, 12:29:24 PM
March 22, 2009, 03:35:48 PM
