Campaign for South Vietnam

[larryfulkerson]

And going through the OOB visiting all the various units, I at last come to the 91st Airborne Bn and it turns out that I have just enough
helicopters to move the Bn to about 40 hexes in any direction. The 91st works for the ARVN Chief of Staff and I don't have a memory of
how reliable the COS is but I'm thinking it's about as flaky as the other ARVN units so I don't plan on flying the Bn anywhere dangerous
just yet.

[larryfulkerson]

Now I've come to the 41st Rangers and I'm thinking of moving them down to the blown bridge to see if any enemy units are still in the
area. But I don't know if I should use helicopters or trucks to get them there. I kinda want to save the airmobile cap. for any other units
I may need to fly into the AO to support the 41st according to what they find. So it's trucks to move the Bn.

[larryfulkerson]

I moved him this far and found an enemy unit. I don't yet know if it's NVA or VC so I'm going to dig in and call for a lot of airstrikes on the
enemy unit to do a recon on what kind of equipment it contains. I think I might be able to push around a VC unit but those NVA units are
dangerous, especially for a single unit as your only attacker.

[larryfulkerson]

In this scenario the way you request a formation is to disband a placeholder unit for that formation. These are the things I thought I
might need right away to get a good start on the search and destroy operations and the Marines are to defend the DMZ and points
north. I didn't want to request the Strategic Air Command B-52's yet because they are costly in terms of the EEV value they carry.
I guess I should explain the EEV value now. The more units you request the higher the EEV is and when the EEV reaches 100 then
the formal withdrawing of Allied units begins. I don't remember what EEV stands for but it's a rough measure of how many units are
requested.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the result of the airstrike on what turns out to have been a rather small VC unit. It was destroyed utterly.

[larryfulkerson]

During the NLF T2 the VC unit that was near Tay Ninh swept in from the NE and moved SW and killed the RF unit there and then moved
out of Tay Ninh into the countryside in Cambodia. So now the only way to get at the unit is by air. Some air strikes are in order.

[larryfulkerson]

This represents the Allied losses so far: It reflects the loss of the RF unit at Tay Ninh and 3 Spads were lost in airstrikes and there's an
M-41 Bulldog that was lost from somebody somehow. Maybe when I moved that ARVN tank unit one of the vehicles broke down or some-
thing.

[larryfulkerson]

The 52nd Aviation Bn at Saigon gained 5 Heavy Helicopters and 2 light ones this turn. Now I can lift more than just one ARVN Ranger
unit per turn.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the reinforcements I get this turn and the expected reinforcements I expect to receive in turn 3 and I don't see the 1st Cav in either
list. And I really needed the 1st Cav ASAP. D'oh. Maybe in turn 4 or something.

[larryfulkerson]

The ARVN 5th Inf Div wasn't in garrison mode this turn so I broke down the inf regiments and spread them out and parked the HQ and
the arty in the middle.

[larryfulkerson]

The ARVN 7th Inf Div was available for movement too. So I spread them out also.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the results of an airstrike on that VC unit that fled to Cambodia. The South Vietnamese Air force lost some planes and the VC
unit eluded the bombs and rockets and bullets etc.

[larryfulkerson]

I got such dismal performance out of my airstrikes that I'm moving the fire indicator up to "free fire" so that I get 100% from my aircrews
instead of 50%. It causes a +1 EEV adjustment per turn that it's on so I need to turn it off when I no longer need free fire from my units.

[larryfulkerson]

I got some Marine Air units this turn and they were automatically deployed by the game engine in Da Nang and I'm going to move them to
Thailand for three simple reasons: (1) they will be safer, no mortar and or rocket attacks at Ubon, Thailand, (2) they can reach any
place on the map from there and (3) since they fly their missions in-country they will still qualify for combat pay. Besides, the food is
better in Thailand. And the barracks are better. It's just a much better deal all around.

[larryfulkerson]

That VC unit that fled to Cambodia is back. It moved NE to Tay Ninh and is threatening the city proper. I hesitate to attack it w/ the ARVN
unit that is in Tay Ninh because they have a proficiency that is abysmal. They would be mowed down like so much grass. I'm going to
lay on some air strikes first to soften up the target. I'll use the Marine Air since they are F-4's and that's better than using the Spads.

[larryfulkerson]

The ARVN Marine Div had a brigade handy in Saigon that I could use to attack the VC unit. The VC unit retreated before combat about
four times before it disappeared.

[larryfulkerson]

Okay, I finished moving my stuff and hit the end turn button and then the NVA moved it's stuff and here's the situation in the far north.
We see the appearance of an NVA HQ and some engineers and I'm thinking that there's at least a Brigade-worth of infantry not far
behind. So I'm going to employ some Marines and contain them before they actually cross the DMZ. No use losing the RF unit closest
to the DMZ if we can avoid it.

Also, there's some motorized arty still in Laos so far but I can reach it w/ my interdictors. I'll lay on some air strikes and see what
happens.

[larryfulkerson]

There is a brand new NVA Regiment on the trail in Cambodia that also showed up this turn. The only way to get at them is to bomb them
from the air. I'll lay on some air strikes and see if we can make a dent.

EDIT: The ARVN division at Ban Me Thot is the 23rd Inf Div and it's in garrison mode. Looks like I might have to employ the rangers for
this situation. I can dig them in at the border and use them as a sort of trip wire in case the NVA Regiment moves to the east.

[larryfulkerson]

Part of the reinforcements this turn are the 3rd Marine Amphib Force presumably spawning at San Francisco. It doesn't have any Infantry
but does have some engineers and some beautiful arty. There are two recon units in the 3rd MAF that are already deployed in northern
SVN. I'm not sure where to move this stuff to. Maybe Phu Bai or Da Nang. Make it Phu Bai.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's a listing of the Allied aircraft in use so far and their capabilities. A-37's, F-100's, O-1's, O-2's, OV-10's, AC-47's, AC-119's, and
AC-130's are missing from the kinds of aircraft deployed so far.