3rd Playtest of Surviving 'Nam - 'Perfect Ambush'

    A platoon of the Big Red One infantry division patrols a trail in Vietnam, headed for an ambush!

Cpl. Hawk was on point for the Big Red One, leading a column of 15 U.S. Army infantrymen through an area of dense jungle. Intel had advised that this area was very active with Viet Cong, but so far the two squads and headquarters element were having a walk in the park. Supposedly, in another klick or two, they'd rendezvous with the trucks to take them back to base. As the winding trail straightened out, Hawk could see it take a sharp bend to the left up ahead. He shook his head, and called just loud enough so the squad leader, Cpl. Kern, could hear, "Stay frosty and keep your spacing...this looks like a perfect ambush spot!"

    Troop dispositions at contact, with V.C. troops circled and the platoon moving to the right to exit

Just as the words left his mouth, the heavy, humid air of the jungle was shattered by gunfire. As one, the platoon hit the dirt. Kern called, "Contact nine o'clock and 12 o'clock -- and bunker between the two!" Immediately, the soldiers began to move off the relatively open trail and into the woods on the left and right. In the front of the column, soldiers began to pour fire into the bunker and the jungle to their left and front. Firing from his hip and trailed by his radioman Pfc. Byars, 2nd Lt. Cooper cursed as his M16 jammed. "Piece of shit!" 

    The V.C. bunker dead ahead of M60 gunner Pfc. George, who would duel with it for a couple turns

Where the trail took its bend, a V.C. armed with an RPG rose and fired to his left. There was a flash and loud explosion. Leaves and branches fell like rain. The men could hear Pfc. Tatum screaming as he went down. Dammit, Hawk thought, first blood to the V.C.!  Meanwhile, more V.C. popped up from spider hole fighting positions along the left side of the platoon's column. The sounds of their AK-47's and older bolt-action rifles threatened to overwhelm the senses of the U.S. soldiers. At the rear of the column, Cpl. Frey of 2nd Squad pointed out a V.C. to his M79 gunner, Pfc. Janowicz. The bloop gunner squinted, raised his shotgun-like weapon and fired. Boom! A flash and a scream brought a smile to the eagle-eyed M79 gunner, "Got 'em, boss!"

    The soldiers quickly move off the trail and into the cover of the trees once the firing begins

Back at the front of the column, the former, Pogue Pfc. Otis, was proving his worth, again. He fired a burst at the RPG gunner who'd taken out Tatum. The grenade launcher went flying as the guerrilla threw up his hands, then collapsed. Behind him, Pvt. Cassidy chucked, "Get some, O-thai!" This was the former rear area private's second month with 1st Squad, and he was proving useful. "You are officially not a cherry anymore, O-thai!" Suddenly, the humid air whistled with the sound of incoming mortar rounds. Men hit the dirt again, but looked up hopefully when the rounds impacted solidly on the V.C. bunker.

    Pfc. Tatum is hit by the explosion of an RPG round, fired by the V.C. at the top left

Lt. Cooper called out, "Relax, boys -- those are mine!" Smoke rose from the bunker and sticks and leaves continued to fall like rain all around. The men of 1st Squad looked at each other and grinned. Cassidy shouted, "Holeee shit! Get some L.T.!!" The machine gun inside the bunker chattered again after the smoke cleared, and it was obvious at least one V.C. soldier was still alive inside. The platoon's M60 gunner, Pfc. George, was targeting the bunker, but his shots seemed to be having no effect on the enemy inside the stout wooden construction.

    Lt. Cooper removes his helmet to better spot his Fire Mission's rounds fall on the bunker

Cpl. Kern called over to his friend. "Hawk - toss a grenade through the opening. That'll finish them off!" Hawk looked uncertain, but slung his M16 and pulled out a grenade. He rose to a crouch and pulled the pin, when suddenly automatic weapon fired tore through the jungle all around him. Startled, he dropped to the ground and lost his grip on the grenade, cursing and reaching for it frantically. BOOM! "Oh shit," Kern called out. "Hawk's down!" The corporal rose and fired wildly into the surrounding jungle, blaming himself for his friend's wounding. More fire tore through the jungle, and Kern yelped and went down, too. Things weren't going well with 1st Squad -- three soldiers were down already. 

    Stupid! I had Cpl. Hawk prepare a grenade, even though he wouldn't be able to throw it till next turn

At the rear of the column, Cpl. Frey pointed out another V.C. raising up out of his spider hole to Janowicz. "I see 'em, boss." He angled his grenade launcher, estimating the distance carefully. "Now you see him..." BOOM! The round landed on target. "Now, you don't -- that's how you do it, boss! You can buy me a beer back at base..." Frey patted Janowicz as he ran by him, motioning him to move on up. As he neared Pfc. Griffin who had taken cover in the trees on the right side of the trail, he saw movement beyond him. Griffin heard the crunching of undergrowth behind him at the same time and turned. His eyes widened, bright white against his dark skin. A squad of four V.C. had appeared, outflanking them. The V.C. noticed Griffin at the same time and fired through the trees at him. His back to a thick tree, he was unharmed, but the other soldiers all hit the dirt around him.

    Outflanked! Four V.C. riflemen appear on the right & rear of 2nd Squad - a dangerous moment

Seeing the enemy bunched up, Griffin pulled out a grenade, prepared it, and lobbed it towards the oncoming V.C. The fragmentation grenade bounced once and exploded. Three of the four went down, screaming. "Good toss, Griffin!" Kern called. To Cpl. Frank, the platoon medic, he yelled for him to hurry up the trail. It sounded like 1st Squad was taking casualties. He fired at the remaining V.C., but missed. Frank took off running through the trees, but after a few steps, his boots snagged a wire. A stick grenade exploded at his feet and Frank went down, rolling and grabbing his leg. 

    A quick-thinking Pfc. Griffin tosses a grenade at the squad, taking out 3 V.C. with one attack

Meanwhile, 1st Squad and HQ were starting to take care of business. Pvt. Cassidy fired a M79 round and landed in perfectly between two enemy. The explosion tossed them into the undergrowth, where they lay still. Pfc. George and his assistant gunner Pvt. Warfield, loaded another belt into the M60. Fire laced out from the barrel, this time striking home through the bunker opening and killing the last V.C. machine gunner inside. George swiveled and fired to his left, where the large V.C. squad was guarding another bend in the trail. One went down and the others flattened themselves, pinned by the machine gun's suppressing fire. Another V.C. fell backwards as George lowered his aim. Cooper's radioman fired into the jungle while the lieutenant was taking a call from the battalion colonel. He saw one V.C. go down, but wasn't sure if he'd hit him or just made him keep his head down. 

    Pvt. Cassidy shows he's a pretty good shot with the M79, too -- not just Janowicz!

Another V.C. with a RPG popped up in the jungle to the left of radioman. Frantic fire from the U.S. soldiers poured into the jungle around him. It wasn't until Lt. Cooper called in another fire mission on the position that the RPG gunner finally went down. Meanwhile, men were checking on their comrades who had been hit. Pfc. Otis called out that Tatum was hurt bad and couldn't walk. After helping George load a fresh belt, Warfield dashed through the trees to check on Hawk. He bandaged up the now twice-wounded corporal, joking that he'd take home two Purple Hearts, now. Hawk held out his hand and Warfield helped him up. He grimaced but nodded to say he was good. Dashing up from 2nd Squad, Pfc. Carter checked on the medic. Together, they bound up his leg wound with a bandage the medic pulled out of his bag. He gave Carter a thumbs up and used his rifle to leverage himself to his feet and took a few steps. He nodded to show he was good, as well.

    The extra Fire Mission card came in handy as Cooper's strike takes out a V.C. RPG gunner

Lt. Cooper shouted over the gunfire, "We have an alternate pickup point, men! Gather up the wounded, exfil the way we came in!" Just as he and his radioman stood, a single shot rang out from the trees to the left. Cooper pitched forward and dropped like a stone, unmoving. Byars reached for him, rolling him over. Another single shot rang out. Byars fell on top of his lieutenant. The single shot barked again, whizzing past Pfc. George's head and causing him to duck and crouch down.

    A shot of the platoon 'taking care of business' and downing V.C. all around them

"Sniper 10 o'clock! Let him have it!" The surviving members of 1st Squad poured fire into the trees where the sniper fire had come from. No one seemed to be able to him him, though, and the single shots rang out again and again. Thankfully, the incoming fire seemed to be rattling his aim, as no one else was hit. Eventually, Pfc. George was able to take the deadly sniper down with his M60. Meanwhile, Cpl. Kern was back on his feet, also only lightly wounded. Carter and Otis were carrying Tatum between them, and the medic was sprinting towards the Cooper and his radioman. 

    Peek inside the  bunker as Pfc. George's M60 finally finishes off the last of the machine gun crew

Cpl. Hawk limped down the trail, tracing a circle with his fingers in the air. "Everyone up! Grab the wounded. We're leaving!" 1st Squad and HQ fell slowly back, carrying their wounded with them. Byars turned out to be okay, the bulky radio having absorbed the bullet. He was helping carry the C.O., who looked messed up. As they reached 2nd Squad, Janowicz and Griffin were guarding the woods to either side. The joke died on Janowicz's lips when he saw the limp form of the lieutenant being carried towards him on the trail. Cpl. Kern patted both of the rear guards on the shoulder as he walked by, praising their good work today. Janowicz couldn't resist and held up four fingers to Griffin to show how many V.C. he'd killed. Griffin grinned, then flashed a full hand and a single finger. Janowicz looked surprised, mouthed the word six, and nodded appreciatively. With those two guarding their rear, the platoon withdrew down the trail.

    After finishing off the bunker, George switches fire with his 'hog' to this V.C. squad

This was my third solo playtest of  Surviving 'Nam: A Year "In Country" with Mr. Charles rules. Before the game, I made a number of tweaks to the rules. I am very fortunate in that I have more than a half dozen groups of players testing these cooperative miniatures rules for me in the U.S., U.K., and Italy. A consensus seemed to say the rules worked well, but were fairly deadly and lethal to the U.S. soldiers. So, I dialed back the "Danger Levels," and added some non-lethal cards to the event card deck. I really liked the way this game played out. The only time the doo-doo really seemed to hit the fan was when I had a run of consecutive bad dice rolls. 

    The 'sitrep' late in the game, with soldiers checking on wounded comrades, while others keep firing

And then just when it seemed things were in hand ,and the platoon was taking care of business, that damned sniper showed up! When rolling to avoid his shots, my men threw consecutive a 2, 3, and another 3. My firing at him was equally pathetic until the M60 finally took him out. Surprisingly, the bunker LMG ended up doing nothing to my platoon. Neither did the two LMG-armed troops that popped up in 2nd Squad's area. Janowicz and Griffin took them out quickly and handily. As it was, 15 men marched down the trail, and only two needed to be carried out -- Pfc. Tatum and the unfortunate 2nd. Lt. Cooper. The other wounded walked out on their own. I consider that casualty rate acceptable -- especially in a scenario that is supposed to be a classic, L-shaped ambush.

    Getting to those who have been hit and are 'Down' is a key part of the rules & managing your squad

Sadly, the rolls took a turn for the worse on the Post-Battle Recovery Chart. Cooper lost a limb and his war is over. Two of the Lightly Wounded, though, Cpl. Hawk and Cpl. Kern, apparently were toughing out worse wounds than they appeared. Kern will be out for two months and Hawk for three. Hawk's wounding was my fault (or Kern's?). I used Kern's squad leader ability to have Hawk prepare a grenade, even though he wouldn't be able to throw it till Hawk's own activation. Before he got his turn, though, a V.C. shot him and got a "Pin" result, which means the soldier drops the grenade and is automatically "Down." A bit of an "own goal," as they would say in soccer! Griffin made up for it later, though, with his beautiful grenade toss at the V.C. squad that had outflanked the rear of the column.

    'Let's go, people - we're moving out!' Cpl. Hawk & Cpl. Kern get the troops moving off-table

So, I guess it was another game where you didn't want to be in charge! The lieutenant is out, Kern is in Da Nang recuperating, and the next likely 1st Squad leader is in a hospital in Japan recovering, too.  The sole remaining part of the platoon's leadership is Cpl. Frey. of 2nd Squad He recommend to Ltc. Meyer that Pfc. Griffin be promoted to corporal and given 1st Squad. The colonel agreed, and also pulled some strings. Another poor Pogue (People Other than Grunts) was transferred from the rear to 2nd Squad to replace Griffin. What's more, a brand new cherry "Butterbar" will be joining the platoon next mission, 2nd Lt. Fickell. The good news is the platoon's 12-month tour of Vietnam is now 25% over. Who knows? Some of them may survive Vietnam yet!

    Pfc. Carter & Pfc. Otis combine to carry a wounded Tatum faster

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 290
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 231

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 201

So, what's been going on with my painting? I have finished my second batch of six figures for Devilry Afoot. I am underway on the next group of orcs, and am also mixing in some Native American shamans for my Franklinton campaign. Expect another update soon with pics of those finished figures. I also need to take some photos of the rice paddies I made (and you may catch a glimpse of in the photo below!).  

    Near the battle's end, the field is littered with the wounded and dead at the site of a 'Perfect Ambush'