AAR By The Belt-LZ Albany Big Ivan as USA (No peeking Crossroads)

[Jason Petho]

FWIW, I am finding some trouble interacting Matrix Games forums site... just got a couple of 500 Internal Error messages while trying to reply.

Alas, yes, I get those as well.

I'm hoping when the switch to the new forum host, that stops.

[Big Ivan]

I hope all you gentlemen who chimed in on this post enjoy playing CS-Vietnam as much as I did testing the game.

It's truly awesome! Cool game hands down!![:D]

[Big Ivan]

Screenshot end of my Turn 6.

Well darn it! I lost a leader and 2 infantry platoons to an NVA assault (that will leave a mark!). Also, most of my artillery hit nothing except empty jungle. At least I assume it was empty.
My gunships and Sioux recon ships were released so they are currently in bound. Should be close to Albany next turn. They are flying in at low level.

[berto]

ORIGINAL: Big Ivan

Well darn it! I lost a leader and 2 infantry platoons to an NVA assault (that will leave a mark!).

Apart from bad luck (bad die roll), this catastrophe maybe happened because your opponent was somehow able to surround and flank (but not quite encircle) your stack. As you know, there are now significant assault bonuses to flanking (and encircling). Protect your flanks! (And your rear!) If possible, Dig In!

[berto]

Don't forget to set your standalone recon units to Weak Defend!

[devoncop]

Good tips from berto their ....I am making notes [:)]

Re your comments Ivan it is great to hear you are enjoying the game so much....only 24 hours to go for us mere mortals before we get to jump in ourselves....it feels like Christmas Eve when I was a kid !

[Big Ivan]

ORIGINAL: devoncop

Good tips from berto their ....I am making notes [:)]

Re your comments Ivan it is great to hear you are enjoying the game so much....only 24 hours to go for us mere mortals before we get to jump in ourselves....it feels like Christmas Eve when I was a kid !

You are going to like it devoncop, it's a fun game to play! [:D]

[Twotribes]

I bought the ME one and am intimidated by the interface.

[Jason Petho]

CSME will be updated to 3.00 to bring it up to the same standards as CS Vietnam.

[Big Ivan]

Screenshot end of my Turn 7.

Kind of a quiet turn and that scares me. My artillery did cause some damage but minimal I believe. My Scout ships and gunships did arrive in the vicinity off to the right of the screenshot. I'll have to press them into service next turn. Artillery plotted along my whole front again. Hopefully I hit something.

[Big Ivan]

Screenshot end of my Turn 8.

Well, I received some reinforcements in the form of a Huey Transport helicopter. Probably going to need that to transport ground troops to LZ Albany. I was successful in digging in at LZ Albany so now I have an improved position there.

Also, as one can see from the screenshot, I used my Sioux Recon Helo's to do a recon reveal. There is a sizable NVA force out there east of LZ Albany. I moved my 4 gunships in there taking 4 separate shots and got some kills plus retreats. My artillery did some nice work too!

I have 4 available aircraft, so I plotted 2 of them for airstrikes in my next turn. One with bombs the other rockets. One can see the airstrike markers on the 2 large stacks. I did lose another infantry platoon but I received 100 Event Points for holding LZ Albany for 3 turns. Score is still a draw at this point.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

Reading the AAR has me interested in the game. Now to check out the other side of the story.

[berto]

You are recovering nicely, John. There's still hope.

[Big Ivan]

Screenshot end of my Turn 9.

I don't know berto, this is getting pretty hairy. He's right in my face and in force. Trying to balance direct fire attacks and op fire. That age old problem. Crossroads has ample MMG's available so that is a big concern with my helos. He starts shooting them down that can get expensive fast. It's interesting to note that the American firepower is not as dominate as I thought. The NVA are still holding up pretty well against it.

[Big Ivan]

Screenshot end of my Turn 10.

Opps The NVA took LZ Albany. Now to try and get it back. It will not be easy. My American troops seem to be off on their shooting today and a few of them are also disrupted...LOL!

[Big Ivan]

Screenshot end of my Turn 11.

Well no chance in the time allotted to get LZ Albany back. The NVA are too strong in that hex and my Americans have suffered too many strength point losses and almost constant disruptions. True too 3 of my Artillery batteries are out of supply for the last turn which doesn't help my cause. Artillery ammo is currently at 65 and dropping a couple of points every turn.

[Big Ivan]

Screenshot end of my Turn 12.

Screenshot end of my Turn 12 final with victory tally end of my turn. Well, I have a draw and I'll take it. It was a hard-fought battle but the turns I held LZ Albany I think made the difference. The NVA force out there is pretty powerful. I lost 15 strength points of infantry, 1 leader and 4 strength points of recon. I don't know what the NVA losses are yet, but I expect comparable to mine.

[berto]

Not a bad result. You recovered nicely from that earlier disastrous assault loss of two platoons. I expect the superior firepower of your firebase arty, the helo gunships, and the CAS saved the day. As it pretty much did in Real Life.

[Big Ivan]

Yeah berto and thanks for your comments throughout![:)]

I didn't know much about that engagement (battle) until recently. The Americans almost got routed in the real engagement with a lot of dead and wounded in the 6 or so hours of fighting.

One of the things that was interesting was the scripted morale drop after those big losses. I had to be very careful after that happened. Morale is very important in the Campaign Series.

This game is and has been so much fun playtesting. You never know what you're going to get![:D]

[carll11]

how did you get that colored control panel at the bottom?