CSV try III Ian is NLF larry is Allies csv_lgf_v1.0.sce

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: devoncop

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson
It appears that the NVA have killed my ARVN regiment...the one that ventured into Laos. I'm going to have to be more careful. Fortunately the ARVN units respawn but the American ones don't so I'll have to monitor them to make sure they don't go into harm's way without a good reason.

Thats an interesting one Larry.

I deliberately didn't kill off the 51st though it was reduced in combat strength from a 5-4 to a 3-3 by artillery. I cut it off from supply. I am wondering if ARVN/US units left in Laos at the end of a turn automatically are eliminated? It a shame as my fiendish plan was to trap them there and harvest the VP every turn [;)]

Having said that I guess you would have just disbanded it so it wouldn't have worked. Just thought you should know I didn't wipe it out....

I don't think the scenario or the game engine deletes the Allied units that venture into Laos and I was expecting to have to fly him out of there because where he was and the way you surrounded him I would think he would be out of supply and therefore couldn't disband. I'm intreeged with the idea of a raid on your supply points. I'll have to recon those bad boys and see what's around them before I leap off the cliff that way.

[devoncop]

Turn 4

The slow dribble of VC reinforcements increases slightly but not enough to make enough difference to the VP total yet which ticks up again to +3 to the US despite the Colonel Custer antics of the commander of the 51st ARVN Regiment (deceased).

Only one US attack is made this turn.....an air strike on a VC unit spotted inside Cambodia by Larry. Unfortunately for the Allies ...and fortunately for the VC this turns out to be the CO HQ of the liberation forces in South Vietnam.....one of the very few units with decent AA capability and 4 A-1 Skyraiders are shot down for no VC loss.

Elsewhere some VC pacification satisfyingly takes place in Saigon itself before the agitators melt away into the populace and more bridges are blown. The powerful 1st US Marine Divn is seen arriving in South Vietnam in ever greater force.[&:]

For the second consecutive turn the VC engineers unhelpfully fail to repair the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

The Monsoon helpfully starts.....

[Hyding]

Yes Larry Hoi An (or maybe the air bases near it) is usually my choice for the northern heliport. There are other reasons to provide a garrison (it is a VP site) and it gives llift to everything inthe north except a deep Laotian penetration. At the same time it has deep reach to the south and doesnot interfere with bases scheduled to be used by the arrival of aircraft from 2nd AF or Marine Expeditonary Force planes.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: Hyding

Yes Larry Hoi An (or maybe the air bases near it) is usually my choice for the northern heliport. There are other reasons to provide a garrison (it is a VP site) and it gives llift to everything inthe north except a deep Laotian penetration. At the same time it has deep reach to the south and doesnot interfere with bases scheduled to be used by the arrival of aircraft from 2nd AF or Marine Expeditonary Force planes.

Hey there William my friend. Thanks for posting your observations and ideas and advice. I appreciate all the advice I can get. Except for maybe Ian...he's got an agenda I'll bet. I've started moving the resting planes to Thailand and when they become combat ready again I have to google the unit designation to see where they were based. I like that kind of detail.

[Hyding]

ORIGINAL: devoncop

Turn 2

So this game with "Borders On" is going to need a slightly different strategy from the last one I am thinking.

I need to try and be less predictable with the NVA (no more just moving due south from North Vietnam) and also be more creative with the weak VC units.

Disbandment after territorial gain or some mighty satisfying bridge blowing[:)] will need to be the name of the game in the very early stages and I then need to co-ordinate a wave of arrivals so I can locally try and swamp the provincial defenders.

The advantage of this is that in the early turns at least Larry will have mobilised the Marines ans MACV (and I expect some air assets) with little for them to do......the disadvantage of course is it allows free reign to the ARVN/US to sweep through the 50% of territory that begins VC controlled and re-convert it.

This turn there is some active bridge blowing in the Delta and the NVA get their marching shoes on (thankfully without interdiction)...

well one important thing you did pick up is it is easier to find Larry's hexes to convert.

it is frustrating as the NFL to get hit with interdiction just looking for ARVN controlled hexes to convert.

Now the best path to a potential victory point hex is always clear to you. Almost any ARVN hex could score for you....Larry has to find the one ones you converted in your last turn. Some are obvious but you can be sneeky and deceptive.

Being able to see all your potential scoring hexes let's you use them efficiently with less chance of being bombed.

You have not yet felt the impact even a third of the potential airpower of the US but don't worry the US really can't afford to have all that airpower on the board for any length of time (or ever). When interdiction levels are high it is nice to know the shortest path to potential scoring hexes instead having to figure out where those hexes are even at.

borders shown has advantages for both sides. When playing the NLF I was always more comfortable playing with borders on. If it was not statistically the best for the NLF I felt it worked for me and I could use it to reduce my losses. I know that the scenario designer Curt Chambers was equally comfortable and competent usingborders on or off.

[Hyding]

Just make sure to move those planes out of Thailand before you activate the 13th AF because those guys will fill all the Thai bases.

[devoncop]

ORIGINAL: Hyding

well one important thing you did pick up is it is easier to find Larry's hwxes to convert.

it is frustrating as the NFL to get hit with interdiction just looking for ARVN controlled hexes to convert.

Now the best path to a potential victory point hex is always clear to you. Almost any ARVN hex could score for you....Larry has find the one ones you converted in your last turn. Some are obvious but you can be sneeky and deceptive.

Being able to see all your potential scoring hexes let's you use them efficiently with less chance of being bombed.

You have not yet felt the impact even a third of the potential airpower of the US but don't worry the US really can't afford to have all that airpower on the board for any length of time (or ever). When interdiction levels are high it is nice to know the shortest path to potential scoring hexes instead having to figure out where those hexes are even at.

borders shown has advantages for both sides. When playing the NLF I was always more comfortable playing with borders on. If it was not statistically the best for the NLF I felt it worked for me and I could use it to reduce my losses. I know that the scenario designer Curt Chambers equally comfortable and competent usingborders onor off.

Many thanks William

I need all the advice I can get.

In the scenario notes it explicitly points out that for the first two years the VC can usually just hit and run away and certainly in this third attempt I am finding that.

I now have concerns about the Laos and Cambodian supply points so I am going to have to think about protecting them which is a pain [:@]

I have found the main problem with the US airpower to be in CS and Interdiction missions rather than direct strikes but no doubt as Larry calls in 13th AF direct strikes will also be a problem.

For the first time I am now paying attention to the provinces most likely to be sympathetic to VC conversion and also the quality of the ARVN in different provinces. That was why it was especially gratifying to knock out a Reg from the 1st ARVN which is one of the better ARVN Divisions.

[larryfulkerson]

I like my aircraft units to have at least 4 planes in it before it gets to fly combat missions because I can imagine units having losses as high as three planes per squadron per strike and I don't want to lose the entire unit all at one time. And I don't have any Intruders on hand and I won't start making any until T11 so I flew them to Guam just to get them out of the way. They will rest there until they grow another plane each.

[devoncop]

Turn 5

The monsoon keeps the VC safe this turn and no attacks are received. Consequently their is VC activity recorded in Chong Thien and Kien Phang provinces and the VP lead for the US is pegged back from +4 to +2.

The 1st battalion of 7th US marines nosing into the western mountains of Thua Thien province is repeatedly shelled to good effect but otherwise activity from the VC is minimal.

There is no US interdiction for once and even the engineers on the trail manage some progress.

Happy days

[larryfulkerson]

The ARVN 1st Division, 51st Regiment spawned at Saigon and it's low on supply and missing some of it's equipment so I'm going to leave it in Saigon until it heals. I'm practically out of Assault Squads already. D'oh. According to the number of trucks on-hand I need to disband one of the transportation companies parked in the Phillippines to give the pools some more trucks. I'm wondering how much longer the monsoon is going to last...I'll have to scan the scenario briefing again to check that. The 51st is untried so far, so I'll have to find an easy combat for it for it's first combat so the proficiency will register higher when it solidifies. I've found that failing an attack will cause the proficiency to tend to not be so high when it's resolved for the first time by combat so it's better to attack something that will easily evaporate etc.

[devoncop]

Turn 6

All praise the monsoon[:)]

The heavy rain limits the US to one toothless airstrike and this turn there are active VC units in 6 provinces causing VP's to reduce a further 2 and bring the score back to 0.

EVV is only 10 so I am hoping to get Larry to request more units.

This turn around half the VC units are disbanded to save up for a push later and there is light shelling down south of an ARVN Ranger unit causing 13% loss. Several more bridges are dropped. I am likely to lose a couple of VC units during the US turn but a couple have been kept where they are despite their vulnerability to try to drag US/ARVN units out of position.

A second engineering unit thankfully arrives on the trail to hopefully speed up its repair.

In less good news an NVA infantry regiment trying to infiltrate Thua Thien is blocked by US Marines forming a defensive line along the mountains and is mauled in disengaging as it withdraws back into Cambodia....

[larryfulkerson]

VC activity is just about to get out of hand in the Delta. I've got multiple broken bridges and not enough units with engineers to fix them. I've got some Marine engineers sitting at a port in the north ready to sail, it's just not his turn to move yet. I'm going in OOB order just to make sure I don't miss anybody. I'm trying to keep the formations together loosely speaking. about half the ARVN divisions are in reorg for one reason or another each turn.

The tournament is about to start.
Go sign up in the sticky thread
about it.

Here's a link to the sign up thread:

tm.asp?m=4506615

[larryfulkerson]

I've got the new mud and snow rules turned on and I'm wondering what difference that will make to the way we play the game. Probably not much difference I'm guessing. I'm also supposing that each rain cloud in the sky is going to spawn a muddy spot on the ground. I have no proof but it kinda makes sense to me.

[devoncop]

Turn 7

Apologies to Larry. Turn was sent in before I did my diplo-pouch

The active units in the Delta continue their merry work despite the unfortunate ending of the monsoon. I noticed considerable redeployment of US Engineers so I expect to see a step up of US activity in the area very soon.

The activity of the VC is offset by the US pacification efforts this turn as only 2 provinces managed new pacification by the VC so VP's remain stable at 0 and the EVV is also stable at 10 as Larry resists any temptation to increase US troop levels.

There are a number of trails leading to isolated ARVN towns in the interior so this turn the VC try to cut these as well as blowing more bridges.

An attempt to shell ARVN Rangers in Thua Thien province is ended preaturely as I fail a proficiency check.

There were no US or ARVN attacks last turn other than more interdiction strikes on Hanoi which destroyed another AA unit.

Next turn sees a bigger influx of VC units so I am hopeful I may be able to turn the VP's positive soon.

[Hyding]

The Free World Allies could really use a reusable Theater Option (TO) to make the Hanoi area off limits. FWA interdiction attacks suffer constant distractions and losses as a result of their aircraft loving to make interdiction attacks on the Hanoi defenses. They US can eventually wear down NFL AA and air units but they currently lack the ability that US presidents had to place Hanoi off limits.

Larry's work around of limiting aircraft range (a nice new feature of TOAW IV)is helpful but it is labor intensive and restricts the range of aircraft throughout the map and not just in the direction of Hanoi

[Hyding]

I think I'll start a thread in the war room so we can discuss the scenario without distracting from your AAR

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: Hyding
I think I'll start a thread in the war room so we can discuss the scenario without distracting from your AAR

I have nothing against us discussing it here. It would make an interesting and relavent discussion.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the reason I like to have 4 or 5 planes in the squadrons. This unit got itself shot down somehow and now it's probably gone for the duration of the game, I'm guessing. I hope not.

[devoncop]

The only interdiction I suffered last turn Larry was in Hanoi.

I guess the planes were shot down by AA as they hit another AA unit.

[larryfulkerson]

I posted this somewhere else but I thought it was applicable so I'm going to post it here too. A1C Freddie Fenter was shot down while taking part in Linebacker II. We lost a lot of B-52's as well as tactical aircraft, and lots of pilots got captured and locked up in the Hanoi Hilton during this operation. But I wasn't there and maybe it's just the thing needed during the war, I donno.