Bucha, Ukraine - 27 Feb 2022 - 15mm
Battle Report: US Special Forces & Montagnard vs. Communist NVA and Viet Cong
Although the full video of the wargame played between myself and Rasmus is up on our YouTube channel, just for fun I thought I would also post a brief battle report as well (perhaps for those who don’t want to click through the 3-hour gameplay).
In summary, the game is played in Barry Doyle’s Valor & Victory system, updated by my own Valor & Victory: Modern Expansion publication. This scenario takes place in 1966, near the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam, unofficially across the border in neighboring Laos. It is through Laos and Cambodia, after all, where the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail runs, providing a near-ceaseless flow of troops, weapons, and supplies to communist forces of the PAVN and National Liberation Front fighting in South Vietnam.
One side is made up of US Special Forces (about 20 officers and man) around which has been built and trained a force on anti-communist Montagnard insurgents, indigenous mountain tribesmen living in Vietnam and Laos. Historically these were organized into CIDG detachments (Civilian Irregular Defense Groups). The enemy force is made of a mixed for of PAVN (NVA) regulars, supported by main force guerillas of the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong). I am playing the Communist PAVN/NLF forces, and Rasmus is playing the US Special Forces and CIDG Montagnard insurgents.
The full background on these engagements has been posted previously, I won’t belabor the point here. Suffice it to say that both sides are using masked counters (including dummies), the identity and force composition of which are concealed from the opposing player until said force is encountered, assaulted, or opens fire. In this way we approximate the stealth and concealment to integral to jungle guerilla operations. We can also see civilian counters (families of noncombatants, moved at random and under control of neither player), and five objective hexes chosen to reflect their location’s part in overall control of the locality. 
Things go sideways for the communists right away as one of my platoons stumbles into a hidden M18 Claymore antipersonnel mine, costing me half a squad off the bat. These are handled as per the usual VVME booby trap rules, where each s tack must roll 2d6 at the end of its movement. An 11 or 12 indicates a trap has been struck, unless the unit was using slower, more cautious “Assault Move” rules, where only a “12” hits a mine or booby trap.
One of Rasmus’ CIDG platoons (under command of Lt. Bui, an ARVN observer from Saigon) walks into a bit of a trap themselves, where they are soon spotted by NVA and VC forces and taken under a horrendous fire. They’re a little too forward, note other Allied platoons are still too far back (and undiscovered by my own forces) and thus not yet in position to provide fire. Admittedly, I made a rules mistake here where ethe platoon in hex K5 originally made the spotting check (illegal because of elevation in hex J5) but units in J8 and K8 are in position to make the same roll and open fire accordingly.
The communists smell blood in the water and swarm out of the foliage surrounding the village and LZ Whiskey. I really pour it on here, even including fire from a single 60mm captured mortar here. Note Rasmus’ platoon marker “2”, which at the time was not actually revealed to me. I have showed the forces mapped to Counter 2, including two medic teams that swiftly start “dust-off” evacuation of Lt. Bui’s devastated CDIG platoon.
To counter my fire superiority over the open terrain of LZ Whiskey, Rasmus starts a general flanking maneuver around the south side of the village. Not one but FOUR lucky breaks fall his way here. (1), yet another flanking force of mine hits ANOTHER M18 Claymore mine (my THIRD of the game) in hex G5. (2) The civilians that were rooted in hex I9, along with my forward platoon (and thus preventing any fire or assault into that hex per American Rules of Engagement stipulations) suddenly get spooked and bolt out of the hex, clearing the way for a horrendous fire of Green Berets and Montagnard allies. Out of four 2d6 APFP fire rolls, Rasmus will roll snake eyes TWICE (lucky breaks 3 and 4), the best possible roll in the game. Not only is my forward platoon wiped out at a stroke, but two of Rasmus Green Beret units are now “valorous” (note the blue medals, +1 APFP and x2 assault score for the rest of the game).
By the time we get to Turn Five (second last turn of the game), it’s time to start thinking about grabbing what objectives we can. My remaining forces in the hooch to the south and eastern tree lines (including mortar support) manage to carefully pin down all of Rasmus’ forces in hex E7, which is then assaulted by part of my damaged platoon from the north. Green Beret and Montagnard prisoners will make lovely guests for our torture pits later. Unfortunately, these are then COUNTER-assaulted by more Green Berets and Montagnard forces form the south, and now NVA prisoners are taken, including an officer (all these captures are big VP bonuses for both sides). Meanwhile, that flanking force to the south kicks open the back door of the hooch and starts wiping out more NVA and VC stacks, taking more prisoners. 
The final dispositions. At the end of Turn 6. A detached force from my norther platoon manages to take the road objective hex to the northwest, while others take the actual LZ Whiskey (even if they are wiped out by Green Beret opportunity fire). Lt. Herkimer meanwhile takes the hooch and high ground to the southeast, but this still leaves me with three of five objective hexes. Meanwhile, my NVA command group and mortars trades fire with the Americans and Montagnard Laotians in the large southern hooch, both sides pinging away with light damage on each other (up to and including the appearance of an American special forces sniper. To be honest, though, the objective hexes seized, the casualties inflicted, and the prisoners taken have already told the tale on this one.
The final score. The bloody cost paid by the Green Berets, including prisoners taken or killed on the table, has just been too much. Also, I commanded three of five objectives at the end of the game, meaning that a strike of F-4 Phantoms out of Thailand was probably needed anyway to clear the communists from this village … effectively erasing the village. Perhaps worst of all, the faith in the Laotian Montagnard in their Green Beret mentors has perhaps been sorely tested, given the body count. Still, the NVA has been badly hurt in this area, given the relatively close score. Congrats to Rasmus on a good, hard-fought game!
0The double blind did really add to the game – being able to drop one flank and yet @oriskany not being able to ignore it
Yeah, @rasmus – that northern wing turned out to be nothing at all. I only had one platoon up there, but they were stalled at least a turn and a half while I tried to make spotting checks on your dummy counters.
Then they stomped on that third claymore. >:O !!!
the guys who placed the mines where the Free World MVP 😉