Saturday 20 January 2018

I don't need no Doctor

Vietnam War Free World Casualties During Firefights


A lot of Vietnam War wargames tend to place a huge focus on casualty extractions and dust offs.

Unfortunately the battlefield does not stop still with time outs to deal with casualties.

I have not added casualty extraction and dust offs to the DMZ supplement as Chain of Commands shock and casualty mechanism better reflects the effect during a firefight which is the time span covered by the rules.  Additional rules covering this can certainly be added to a campaign.

What has been added however is the following additional Free World Forces rules for Medics.
 
Medics
A medic may use his activation to remove one point of shock from a unit that he joined.
To do the this, the Medic must join the unit and spend one activated Phase assisting them.
NB: This is in addition to the Medical orderly rules from the main book .



RAND Corporation Reports
The below extracts from RAND corporation interviews provide some excellent insights and dispel several myths about casualties suffered during fire fights in Vietnam.










The full reports can be found here
http://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R818.html
http://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R819.html
http://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R821.html
http://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R823.html

Click on Download eBook for Free to see each report.

Once again any comments feedback or suggestions are fully welcomed.

Friday 12 January 2018

I'm gonna knock on your door

An alternative scenario for Chain Of Command - DMZ.


The following scenario was designed to represent a sector which a platoon has been tasked with closing off during a Sweep and Clear mission.  In response the enemy is attempting to either break out of the closing net or engage the force in order to allow a break out elsewhere in another sector.

The Scenario
The Free World Forces are the Attacker in this Scenario with the NVA/VC being the defender.

Victory Conditions
Each side can win Either of two ways.

To win a victory, one side must force his opponent to withdraw from the table, either voluntarily or due to a reduction in his Force Morale, whilst keeping his own Force Morale at 3 or greater.

Additional Free World Forces Victory Conditions
Free World Forces may achieve an alternative Victory at the end of any phase/turn in which they currently have control of or have captured a total of at least 2 enemy Jump off Points and their current morale level is 4+.

Additional NVA/VC Conditions
Move one Team to the enemy base line.

If neither side manages to achieve any of their victory conditions then the game ends in a draw.


A Chain Of Command - DMZ After Action Report

Below is a brief After Action Report of a game using the the above scenario.

Main Force VC 1968
Support - Local Knowledge, Regular Infantry Squad.

U.S Army 1968
Support - OC (Adjutant), M113


The Game
Table Layout

Areas of trees treated as Woods

Rice paddies were flooded. No running, reduced movement

Grass areas waist high.  Light Cover.  Open when moving

Village.  Open Ground. Buildings Light Cover

Patrol Phase

Small Tunnel Entrances used as VC Jump off points

Coloured Smoke for U.S Jump Off Points

Jump Off Points (JOP) deployed

Local Knowledge.  VC Central JOP moved

First U.S Squad deploys on overwatch

Second Squad attempts to flank

Second Squad on the move

Second Squad sweeping towards enemy JOP

Scouts from Third U.S Squad deploy

First two VC squads appear

They put down fire and are returned in kind

More VC appear

U.S M113 deploys and opens up

VC units make their move

The break out is on

The VC are hit with a wave of fire

The U.S Second squad turns the VC flank

VC Tunnel entrance is shut down

VC break out is stopped dead in it's tracks

Summary
The VC attempted a bold move by using Local Knowledge and utilising their longer patrol movements to deploy their markers as far up the table as possible.  This was not without risk as it  allowed the U.S to potentially shut them down quickly as they had the first turn.  They VC attempted to rush the U.S by deploying as quickly as possible through the rice paddies trying to break through the net.  Unfortunately for them the tactic did not work and they were cut down on mass in their dash across the open paddies.


Further Errata to Chain of Command - DMZ
We had discussions after the game in regards to the Army List support option of a Chain of Command Dice.  This was originally included mainly to allow ambushing options.  Given it's potential to affect other aspects of the game we have decided to replace the CoC Dice support option as follows.  I think this should make for a better gaming experience.

Errata
Replace the CoC Dice(1) support option in any army lists with Pre-Planned Ambush(1).

Pre-Planned Ambush
A player may choose this support option to perform a pre-planned ambush. A pre-planned ambush differs from a normal Ambush.

A Pre-Planned Ambush allows a single, as yet undeployed infantry team OR SQUAD/SECTION to be placed anywhere within 12” of a friendly Jump‐Off Point and further than 6” from any enemy infantry.

The unit may then fire immediately without further activation. An ambush conducted like this represents a pre-planned ambush site.

The unit will make their attack and then must be kept on the table in the ambush position at the end of the phase.

If the player’s opponent has troops on Overwatch covering the area from which the pre-planned ambush is made, they may fire after the ambushing unit has fired.

Further Errata can be found here