The mission was to rescue the crew of a downed helicopter. The Free World objective was located in the top left corner, between the small patch of woods on the right side of the river, and the larger half-circle of woods. The NVA objective was behind those woods.
The NVA force was an Infantry Battalion (Fearless Trained) which consisted off:
Battalion HQ
x2 Infantry companies (with B41 rpg upgrades)
Recoilless Gun company
Anti-Air company
Local Forces company
x2 HMG nests
The US force was a Rifle Company (Confident Trained) which consisted of:
Company HQ
x2 Rifle Platoons
Armored Cavalry Platoon with
-Command M113
-x2 Scout Sections
-x3 Sheridans
Tank Platoon
Aeroweapons Platoon
The game started with a bang when the local forces appeared in ambuscade and opened up on one of the two American platoons that had been on patrol, following the small stream. The Americans didn't take much damage (especially since each infantry stand can take two 'wounds' before being removed) and they fired back. Their return fire was near as ineffectual, and only removed a single stand.
The NVA came on in force. One of the infantry companies was placed just within the woods behind the American objective, safe from enemy fire in the cover of the trees. The two HMGs revealed their positions, hosing the Americans in a shower of hot lead. These nests would be critical to the NVA, keeping the Americans from advancing their infantry towards the objective.
The second NVA infantry company came in behind the Americans, and began to chase after them. Several assaults occurred, and while none where decisive, the Americans became trapped between the advancing NVA infantry and the HMG nests.
Of course, with the large amount of defensive fire the Americans could still put out, the NVA had to fall back. By this point the Americans were down to only 1 platoon at near full strength. The second platoon had been reduced to a single team, and the Company commander was safe after a couple close calls.
The 2iC was in a much worse position, however. His team advanced and attempted to put a LAW into one of the nests, but failed to hit. He was then butchered by the local forces, their black clothing wet with sweat and blood.
Knowing that American reserves would be arriving regardless of what was rolled next turn, the NVA infantry stopped their pursuit of the Americans and turned to face the incoming armor. Unfortauntely, because they moved, they were unable to dig in. Fingers were crossed.
The American arrived, with the Armored Cavalry rolling onto the table in full force. The amount of fire the M113's alone could put out was disgusting, and the Sheridans added their Beehive ammo (basically turning their cannons into giant shotguns) into the mix.
The result was a decimated company. While they managed to pass their morale tests (thank goodness for Fearless infantry), the NVA plan was in tatters, so we decided to pull the infantry from the table. Another passed morale test, and Charlie melted away into the trees...
Only to reappear further away, and in greater numbers again. This heralded the end of the game - it would take too long for the American armor to get to the objective before the NVA could take it, and the infantry couldn't make it either. The main problem came from the lack of reserves on the American side - the tanks and helicopters never made it onto the table, and they could have rained terror on the NVA forces.
The situation on turn 4. Unfortunately, it came would be another two turns before any of the American reinforcements would arrive.
The result was a decimated company. While they managed to pass their morale tests (thank goodness for Fearless infantry), the NVA plan was in tatters, so we decided to pull the infantry from the table. Another passed morale test, and Charlie melted away into the trees...
It was a fun game, however. And while I'm not so interested in Vietnam, this definitely gets me interested in FoW set in the Cold War, which the group agrees we have a fantastic resource for that!
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