AAR: Nam'68 Mission 1: Village search and Sweep

I finally got to run a game of Nam’68 with two mates of mine visiting the scorching hot(!) north. We rolled up a Search and sweep scenario with 5 search points, sweeping down a main road in the late evening(the approaching night sub-plot). I gave them a reinforced squad and a M60 team (dividing the two fireteams between them and sharing the M60 team), a slap on the back and let them out into the jungle.

Oh yeah and a partly generated Mission briefing to set the scene (not necessary to read):

MISSION BRIEFING

• Date: 14 January 1968

• Location: Village of Phu Lac, Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam

• Unit: 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 5th cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

OBJECTIVE

Conduct a search and sweep operation in the village of Phu Lac, a small rural settlement suspected of concealing Viet Cong supply caches. The village is located approximately 12 kilometers southeast of Quang Ngai City and lies adjacent to Highway 521, a key route used for enemy logistics.

TERRAIN & FEATURES

• Phu Lac Village: 3 structures, sparsely arranged.

• Paddy Fields: Surround the village on the north and south sides; visibility is limited due to tall grass and irrigation dikes.

• Route 521: Dirt road running west to east through the centre of the village; potential for ambush or IEDs.

• Nearby Terrain: Light jungle to the west.

ENEMY SITUATION

• Expected enemy presence is low.

• Intelligence suggests possible hidden supply caches rather than active fighters.

• Civilians may be sympathetic to VC; exercise caution during interactions.

MISSION TIMELINE

• H-Hour: 1600 – Depart from Firebase Granite.

• 1630 – Arrive at Phu Lac via Highway 521.

• 1645–1900 – Conduct sweep and search of village structures and surrounding fields.

• 1900–1930 – Debrief and extraction.

COMMAND & SIGNAL

• Platoon Leader: 2LT James “Red” Howard

• Radio Call Sign: “Bravo Three”

• Company HQ Call Sign: “Bravo Actual”

• Frequency: PRC-25, Channel 3

Part 1.Initial deployment

Taking point proceeding down “highway” 521 into the small hamlet of Phu Lac was fire team 1 lead by Sgt Harrison, with fire team 2 (Cpl Burgess) following behind. As Cpl Burgess’ team had already seen some combat attrition, being down to 3 men and of suffering morale, was reinforced by the platoon Sergeant Watts and Sp. Ellis, the platoon medic.

The author being slow on the draw with the camera, here Pvt Stone had already taken off to search the hooch in the foreground.

The reinforced second fire team.

The M60 team lead by Pvt Hayes deployed in the bush to the south, taking point on a small hill looking down the village.

Part 2. Explosion-proof americans
Fire Team 1 quickly secured a position in the center of the village, settling into a paddy field while Pvt. Stone began searching the central hut. The calm was shattered by a sudden, loud explosion followed by a rising stack of smoke. It didn't look good from Sgt. Harrison's position.

 

Fire team 2 had taken an approach northwest to investigate a large stilted longhouse. Pvt. Medina and Pvt. Hall sprinted across open ground, taking cover behind a nearby tree. Unbeknownst to them, the tree was booby-trapped with an old French 80mm mortar round. The device detonated, obliterating the tree and setting the longhouse on fire. Miraculously, Medina and Hall emerged unscathed.

The explosion appeared to be the signal for the VC to launch their ambush. Light machine gun fire erupted toward Fire Team 1 but did nothing to rattle the grunts, who immediately returned fire, pinning most of the lmg team.
Pvt Stone taking the cue to get on with it and get back to the fight, hurriedly searched the hut, sprang another booby trap - now a hand grenade perched behind a vase - which proceeded to blow out a side wall but nothing else. Lucky americans!

 

The VC had very little luck pinning anyone of Fire team 1, which then was free to push west into a better blocking position.

 

A second VC cell, armed with outdated French bolt-action rifles, opened fire on Fire Team 1. Their marksmanship proved just as poor as the LMG team’s, and they were quickly suppressed as well.

 

The quite populated village had civilians running northeast to cover behind the American lines, and it was this distraction that lended the VC their only success in bleeding the imperialist occupiers. A single vc infiltrator snuck up behind Cpl Burgess of fire team 2, who was pre-occupied trying to search the still burning longhouse for survivors of the explosion. Shot in the back at close range, Burgess was dead before he hit the ground.

 

A brief firefight ensued, somewhat longer than anticipated considering the precarious position of the outed infiltrator, ending with his death, breaking the morale of the remaining VC, who opted for fighting another day, disappearing back into the jungle.

For the Americans, the battle ended on a bitter note. With one casualty on each side, the kill ratio stood at 1:1 and scored as an US defeat.

 

Still, the campaign phase offered some consolation: both fire teams were promoted to veteran status, though the threat level increased to Mike (medium).

All things considered we had a lot of fun with this game, and looking forward to run it again soon. It was particularly nail-biting for me as the VC/umpire, I had two turns of being almost perfectly lined up for a devastating grenade throw right in the middle of Fire team 1, but had to play two turns in a row without any advanced actions.