Breakdown

Two Divisional officers (an S-2 and an S-3) are being escorted back to base, after conducting a field interrogation of a high-ranking VC. Their vehicle throws a track and the crew gets out to repair it.

A Viet Cong cadre chooses their moment well to close in on the stopped convoy



The Americans deploy security - they've got a bad feeling about this!



At the edge of the jungle, the VC take up positions and open fire



The GIs take control of the junction and return fire



The intel officers bail out of the bullet magnet. They're advised that they're probably safer on the outside!



The rearmost security M113 takes an RPG hit and brews up



On the other side the arduous task of clearing the jungle begins - they successfully drive back the VC



Bereft of their supporting firepower, the Americans make a meal out of the other VC cell - a dangerous game of cat and mouse ensues where several GIs are picked off



Showing stern bravery the remnants of the American Squad drive onwards into the jungle to buy the third M113 the time to get out



That mission is a success - but there is one final spectacular reaction sequence which deserves a mention! This one allowed the M113 to drive off into the sunset...



A very interesting one, some alternate strategies for the VC present themselves, maybe I'll post the replay...

Snatch and Grab

With the Tet Offensive in full swing, many Americans units are left without a clear role and some just don't know what's going on.

'D' Company's HQ is out in the middle of nowhere, it's sent patrols and has stationed piquets to catch Viet Cong trying to escape the counter-offensive, but little does it realise that it's caught the very special attention of a Vietnamese commander who's sent in his best men on a snatch and grab mission.



Captain Fanning assumes that the VC he can see are in flight, having never seen the enemy duke it out before - they obviously haven't spotted his position in the dark



But these VC know exactly what they're after - a sniper team set up in the jungle



The Assault group charge in - virtually all the Viet Cong are armed with sub-machine guns and in close range that should prove decisive



Too late Fanning realises his mistake and gets every available man to the edge of HQ's position to open up



It's too little, too late and the HQ is overrun. The Viet Cong's intelligence officer races to the command track to look for anything useful



One of the Company's patrols are coming in



They engage some of the Viet Cong in a long-range firefight, able to pick out the snipers who give their position away



The patrol tries to cover the open ground as quickly as possible



The Viet Cong hold out while they ransack the American's HQ



A brief counter-attack stalls the American advance



Not for long, as the left hook of the patrol starts to make an impression on the VC's defence of the outpost



Some of the VC start to withdraw under fire - they've taken one of the HQ staff prisoner



The other section of the American patrol starts to cut off the retreating VC, taking down one of the senior guerillas



The Americans open fire on the supporting light machine gun, winning that firefight with ease



VC casualties start to mount up but everyone is dragged into the jungle



Leaving the Americans to retake the HQ and count the cost



A hectic night battle, where Charlie really did rule the night. Massed SMGs are hugely effective (so long as you are able to close the range).

Once again, I gave this another go solo, and a more aggressive start from the Americans and some lucky rolling from the HQ team see the VC embroiled in a tough firefight before they can even start their intelligence-gathering operation.

Scorched Earth

As the Tet Offensive broke out, ad hoc arrangements were made to ferry troops to the worst hit areas. In one case trucks dropped their cargo loads on the side of the highway to pick up a company on the road.

When calmer heads prevailed, a Quartermaster Sergeant Major insisted the these crates, carrying 100 cases of LAWS be secured for immediate use in the defence of Saigon. Two Squads of infantry with their M113s head down to the fork in the highway to collect.



A cadre of Viet Cong which were heading to the junction to ambush passing American units discovered the crates and once they could hear the heavy tracks down the road, decided to hold out as long as they could and try to set the crates on fire or destroy them somehow



The second squad approaches along the northern fork. The detachment has been spooked already by the presence of mines and the infantry has disembarked and are alongside the trundling M113



On the southern fork, heavy undergrowth screens the 1st squad's advance



They fan out carefully after seeing activity near one of the crates



The ACAV guns ahead of the infantry, moving towards the first crate - it doesn't spot any activity though and Corporal Frost starts to get a bad feeling about this one



As one of the crates starts to smoulder the VC Bazooka team holds it fire, hoping for a better shot. In front of them, a VC sniper team are hidden behind the crate and are drawing a bead on the squad coming up the other fork



The second squad is moving in, but they spot a different group of VC on this side of the road, behind a paddy field wall



As that group of VC set fire to the crate, the Americans run for cover along the side of the road and open fire on the VC



The VC are forced to fall back - but the Cadre leader puts another flare into the crate for good measure!



The VC Bazooka team picks its moment and puts a round right through the M113's thin skin. Most of the crew bail out and hunker down behind the burning hulk



The second squad takes control of the crossroads - worried about their pals across the way, but determined to follow the mission through



Now, rushing to come to the aid of their M113 the GIs hump up the road trying to suppress the VC



Meanwhile the VC have withdrawn and the Bazooka man is trying to get a strike on the second APC



Second squad start to take sniper fire from somewhere and several of them go down along the verges



The second M113 opens fire on the VC sniper team, but only drives them back



Crafty Charlie is using the brewed up M113 as a screen for its flanking movement



By now the Viet Cong have set three of the crates on fire



The second vehicle takes a glancing hit from the Bazooka, knocking out a track



The GIs get into a fierce firefight with the VC pushing them out of the "supply dump"



The VC somehow get the chance to torch another crate



The Americans push on outflanking the VC and using the paddy field as solid cover



Securing two of the crates and taking control of the crossroads, though at a significant cost, the platoon settles down to wait for relief



The Viet Cong are happy with their day's work and withdraw into the jungle. The Americans are sure that they've wiped out a platoon, but as often happens find neither abandoned equipment nor bodies.



Pretty tense battle, though a solid victory for the Viet Cong in the end. I tried this again solo and things were much closer the second time around, the VC pinching victory by a nose, though none of their force made it unscathed.