Campaign Series Vietnam - YouTube

[Jason Petho]

Starting a new and shorter scenario since we finished A Week in Binh Long. Tonight we played the first half of The Contradiction - The Battle of Minh Thanh Road. Our core unit is a couple of cavalry troops from 1st/4th Cavalry (Quarter Horse) and we are going to ambush and destroy a Viet Cong Regiment. Exciting times to be had with all this firepower!

https://youtu.be/UR8wU9Se7z4

[Jason Petho]

An error was found in the script and I decided to give it another go. I started from turn 8, near the start of the ambush site. Silly me for doing so, especially live. What a mess. Things were going so well before the Viet Cong decided to get serious. These 12 turns are an example of ways to experience and defeat an ambush, but then get surprised and have a bad day!


https://youtu.be/PizDb1GjmE0

[MarechalJoffre]

Another great session. Shame I miss those live, but I do catch up on YouTube.

Curious, are we going to get the updated Minh Thanh Road scenario?

[Jason Petho]

Yes, for sure, you'll get it in the next update that is released, more than likely 1.31.

Jason Petho

[Jason Petho]

I could say that the ambush rolled into our favour and it was a glorious victory. Well, that's what the press would say. The reality is that the ambush was finally cleared when the Viet Cong finally decided to withdraw from the highway. That was a rough session today, with more losses than I could shake a stick at. Lots of valuable lessons learned though!


https://youtu.be/4ruNGLGilZA

[Jason Petho]

An all French scenario session today! After a few questions about how to win the Giong Dinh scenario has come to my attention recently, I decided to give it a whirl with the 1.30 UPDATE and see how it went. I show some tactics on what do to and, of course, what not to do. Ha! The scenario only takes about an hour so then I started up Blood and Coal, Battle of Mao Khe and managed to play through the first 12 turns. It's a mess, but a heck of a lot of fun!


https://youtu.be/nSysMKXoCEo

[Jason Petho]

It was a very late session last night, damn work getting in the way of my schedule. We ended up finishing up Blood and Coal successfully! That was a fun little scenario, the French parachutists were the core of the counter attack, with some valuable lessons how to assault. The second game was the start of a Rendevous with Destiny - Battle of Ia Drang. This is the first landing with 1st/7th Cavalry in to LZ XRAY in the Ia Drang Valley. I did do a modification, which I explained in my babbles, although I'm having second doubts. Let me know what think!

https://youtu.be/qL1YUqye0fc

[Jason Petho]

My internet crashed during the live stream, but I kept recording and played through these two scenarios. I played the two primary Ia Drang scenarios. Let me know what you think about the first one and if I should remove the extra helicopter platoon. The second one, Broken Arrow, I knew I added some options for the attacks, but the attacks in this case were pretty tame. I might see about revising the script for a future update or try it offline another go and see if it is just a fluke. What do you think?

https://youtu.be/SOPCMIAm5Xg

[Jason Petho]

Since the CS Middle East 2.30 UPDATE still hasn't been released, although should be released tomorrow, I started up another Vietnam scenario. This has me operating a couple Marine Battalions into the DMZ and trying to hunt down some PAVN regulars. Well holy crap! What a mess so far. I'm just getting started and it is already nerve wracking. But it's fun, a lot of fun. I lost some precious helicopters though, which will make my attack in the north quite difficult. Give it a watch, tell me what you think!



https://youtu.be/ThhlYNonko4

[Jason Petho]

Continuing on with Operation Hickory, we are stumbling forward into well position NVA defences. Both the American Marines and the ARVN Parachutists are having a hell of a time making progress. The ARVN are taking brutal losses in the forests just south of the DMZ, while the Marines are holding their own... so far. My helicopter situations went from bad to terrible. This is a good scenario to learn how to attack... or die.

https://youtu.be/tND_GkTxg60

[Jason Petho]

Back to Vietnam for today's session! We are continuing on with Into the DMZ and the brutal fighting that is happening in this sector. This session provides a lot of good examples of how to use the Free World firepower to reduce well defended bunkers and trenches, especially when operating in close quarters with the enemy. Jungle bunker busting at its finest. Alas, the ARVN Parachutists, on the other hand, are having a hell of a go. It's a rough fight, very indeed.

https://youtu.be/SR9N-x24oSM

[Jason Petho]

We finished off Into the DMZ - Operation Hickory. While I would like to say it went swimmingly well, it generally didn't. There were a lot of valuable lessons learned in this session. This session is a bit longer than usual as I played through until the end so we can start up something new next time. This was a challenging scenario and I know what I would do next time I played. There are a lot of small challenges in the scenario, which makes it most fascinating to play.

https://youtu.be/KHu-5Zbze88

[Jason Petho]

Back to Vietnam and we started a new scenario today. Hunting in Ho Bo Woods, Operation Crimp. This takes place in III Corps area northwest of Saigon near the Iron Triangle. The star of this episode is the 1st Australians and we land into LZ March and attempt to clear the plantation. Of course, I have suffered casualties and it took quite a bit to get my troops organized into a coherent attack, but we're on the way! The US Airborne is nearly on scene in their slicks getting ready to land at LZ April! Exciting times to be had.


https://youtu.be/66SE8RQLigo

[Jason Petho]

It is most interesting to play this scenario. Operating in the plantation and things seem to be going relatively smoothly when all of a sudden, well, they aren't. The losses haven't been too bad thus far, although the Australians have definitely taken the brunt of the casualties so far. You can see the differences between the Australian and US Airborne troops, especially in terms of movement in the jungle terrain. Let's just say I'm glad I have the firepower I do in this scenario, it's all about the firepower.



https://youtu.be/68H9k5npKqA

[Jason Petho]

We wrapped up Operation Crimp, which went fairly well. I cleaned up the map, mostly, although seemed to have missed some key Event Point items, including an elusive headquarters that I was struggling to destroy. After that, we started up a Dien Bien Phu scenario, the Loss of Beatrice. In this scenario I'm playing the Viet Minh and assaulting a well defended French position. Night is about to fall but I have managed to get a toehold in the position. Exciting times for the Viet Minh!

https://youtu.be/D8QD4q01cVk

[Jason Petho]

Campaign Series Middle East: Back to Lebanon. How fun is this! The terrain is just brutal and there are Syrians and PLO everywhere. I even managed to find some T-62's in the mix. The assaults are making progress, albeit methodically. Some actions are better than others, but I am about to perform a combat assault in the rear with an Israeli infantry company, we shall see how that goes - or doesn't. This is a fun scenario thus far and I could see it being quite challenging versus a human PBEM. Scripting will be an interesting challenge too!

https://youtu.be/TyZ04cDlHf0

[Jason Petho]

If you like the French scenarios, this session was for you! We finished off Loss of Beatrice, which turned out to be pretty easy as I was already in the western part of the defences. Beatrice fell and there didn't appear to be a counter-attack, so it was ending turns until the end. Next we played Ninh Binh Attaque, which was a fantastic little battle and went right to the wire on turn 12. Absolutely fun and nerve racking. Then we started another French scenario called GM1 Counter where I am trying to recapture Ninh Binh. I spent the first few turns preparing for the assault that will be coming. Exciting times with lots of explanations!

https://youtu.be/_YFosBx0OSE

[Jason Petho]

Another session with some French scenarios. I finished off GM Counter and then started up Operation Tulipe. Operation Tulipe seems to be an interesting scenario, I am up against a significant Viet Minh force as I am attempting to clear a highway while advancing from the north and south. It's a little larger than the other French scenarios I have been playing, which is a nice change - I do prefer the larger ones. There are lots of options for assaulting and maneuvering. While I am making good progress, some lessons were learned in assaulting a well defended town.

https://youtu.be/hERe_nVI9OQ

[Jason Petho]

Campaign Series Vietnam: We wrapped up Operation Tulipe with great success. It went to the last turn though, so that was fun! Lots of small battles cumulating into the large affair. There are a lot of small unit tactics lessons in this video, as well as showing the importance of heavy weapon reliance for the French forces, much as we see later on when the US arrives in Vietnam. In that sense, it is good practice!

https://youtu.be/nGt-T31CLX0

[Jason Petho]

Campaign Series Vietnam: Well then, here I go trying to do something fancy and it blows up in my face. Completely and horribly. Here are some good examples about how NOT to attack a well defended position, especially against regular NVA troops, with ARVN troops. I was thinking that my flanking move would save the ARVN some casualties instead of a frontal assault against some hills. Silly me.


https://youtu.be/CU8jXoTCvfE