Wyre Forest Club Day and the opportunity for a big game.
Ia Drang Valley 1965
U.S. forces have inserted via helicopter into LZ X-Ray to engage North Vietnamese regulars. What begins as a reconnaissance-in-force escalates into a brutal three-day battle. The U.S. must hold the landing zone while repelling waves of NVA assaults. The NVA aims to encircle and annihilate the isolated American battalion before reinforcements arrive.
U.S. Victory Conditions
Hold LZ X-Ray during the day
Evacuate wounded units via helicopter
Prevent NVA from breaching command post perimeter
Enter the gulley clear of enemy troops
Eliminate U.S. infantry units
Capture or destroy the U.S. command post
Prevent helicopter reinforcements from landing
The US forces stepped down from the helicopters and moved to cover the contact line and protect the LZ.
1st contact the US Fire Teams blaze away at the hidden NVA.
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Across the extended battle field units of North Vietnamese rushed to pressure the US landing zone. Numerous helo's were forced off the table as they attempted to bring in additional reinforcements to bolster the line.
The NVA were nimble and managed to pin a number of US units forcing them to rush across the LZ to plug multiple gaps as the NVA platoons concentrated on weak points, even over running a fire team who were wounded and unable to bring enough fire to bear on the attackers.
With casualties mounting across the LZ and a number of fire teams down to less than 50% the US fell back as the NVA moved down the ridge line to enter the open landing zone.
A tough day in the field for the US, the NVA's fluid movement and reluctance to leave dense cover until they have a concentration of forces put the Americans under pressure. the M60 Weapons teams were unable to get into an optimum firing position. When they did get set up they often lost the initiative which allowed the NVA to drop out of sight again...
I suspect next time the US will come in a lot harder with off table support. Sometimes games mirror reality.....
What a lovely looking game there Stu and, as you say, sometimes our games mirror reality and history. We never got on with FoF and I think there is a CoC variant out there that might be worth a look?
ReplyDeleteGreat game and fantastic looking table.
ReplyDelete