Ev’rybody’s Heard About The Bird

By Matt MacKenzie

The new(ish) ‘Nam 1965-1972 book is out and consider me excited! It is my absolute honor to bring you Marines in Vietnam, I grew up just after the last troops were pulled out of there. I’ve seen all the movies, documentaries and now it’s time to (re)launch Vietnam in 15mm with a revamped rules set based on V4 for Flames of War. It’s my intention to present the options and lists you are able to put together from a time when Marines were taking the fight to the NVA in the jungle and streets of South East Asia.

You’re an errand boy. Sent by grocery clerks. To collect a bill. -Col. Walter E. Kurtz

The Marine Rifle Company choices are pretty straight forward, offering a little bit of everything. The one thing absent from the list is the helicopter support that was available to them, Marines relied on basing themselves in large bases and supplies were dropped or flown in for them to resupply ammunition, rations, and water. A good mix of straight up soldiers, mortars and armor will be enough for you to take the fight to your opponents front doorstep and use your forces to turn the tide in your favor.

Thank you very much! Can I be in charge for a while!? -Gunnery Sergeant Hartman

The additional weapons platoons and Transports you can add are pretty straightforward. Made up of average stats and 50% in the Morale/Rally areas, means your Marines won’t give up the hill or firebase without a serious fight. Mandatory M-72 Anti-Tank rockets are in the mix should you find yourself up against armor.

With an AT of 12, you’ll want side shots, and defensive fire to maximize their effectiveness. At the end of the day, it’s a little better than spending the extra points if you are short. If not, however, there is always the AT 16 ROF 1 90mm Recoiless Gun that packs a pretty good 3+ FP against enemy units.

I think you either spend the points and split at least one in each of your platoons or don’t bother at all if you can only outfit one. Armored transports are another plus to getting your Marines around the fields and open areas of Vietnam. Decent movement for their size and average transport stats make them a bargain at 1 point as an add-on for either the Marine Rifle Platoon or the small mortar det.

I have experience lugging this thing around. The tube, baseplate, and the ammunition make up a very capable weapon for supporting operations. Whether being attacked, or going on the offensive, they definitely have their use in a variety of situations. I would have liked to have seen a little more detail when it came to the employment of the mortar at night and a little more attention paid to a mortar platoon size during the Vietnam conflict.

Typically a platoon was made up of two tubes, not three, and the battalions usually only had four tubes total available to them at any given time. Perhaps this was done strictly for gaming purposes, Battlefront has certainly gotten away from ‘historical’ aspects when it comes to the re-released games we have seen so far.

Giving us a little more flexibility would have been nice when it came to adding this into our lists. 2-points for two tubes and 4-points for four tubes would have been a better option.

If you employ them at night, you should be able to ‘illuminate’ an area under an arty template,  negating night rules for shooting as an example. If you choose to use the Marines, I would suggest taking the Tropic Lightning Mortar Platoon over the one provided in the Marine section of the book. Have a look at their cards below!

Whaddya say there Bob, guy like that make it? Yes or no? -Sergeant ‘Red’ O’Neill

The M-48 Tank was a capable addition in areas where they could maneuver and employ it effectively. Here we see the breakdown of the stats of the M-48 Patton main battle tank, along with the second option for the Marines in ‘Nam. As a support piece, this tank is plenty capable with its stats and cost. For the fighting spirit of the Marines during the Vietnam conflict, I would have liked to have seen a few more improvements for the points cost, however. I think a 3+ skill rating and assault rating would make the cost of this tank a little more appealing, you do get the IR stat line, but other than that, there’s not much else here.

Anti-Air and a very capable anti-bunker solution are both covered off by the flamethrower version of the Patton. First up, the M48 Zippo flame-tank has good stats, a flamethrowing gun with a high ROF and at a cost that should make USMC list builders very happy.

The 106mm recoilless guns of the Ontos anti-tank with a hard-hitting AT 17 should bring down anything you come up against, they are rather vulnerable with weak armor but make up for this in both points and employing ‘Brutal’ in its stat line. *Brutal: Infantry, Gun, and Unarmored Tank Teams (including passengers) re-roll successful saves against Brutal weapons. p.62 Special Rules Section

Medics are a very good add-on and a good way to ‘dump’ a point if you want to include them in your Marine force. Take note of which formations are listed as being eligible. Their special rules can be found on p.200 of the ‘Nam rulebook. They can basically transfer hits from other teams or being shot at themselves.

Once they have been hit a total of 4 times (by placing a marker for each hit), the team is destroyed, removed from the table. This may save you in a tough spot when you have a large force about to assault for example and need to keep the fight going. Medic teams cannot charge into contact but can become an assaulting team if in contact with an enemy team. (ie: counter assault)

Hopefully, I’ve gone into enough depth to help you decide which way you plan on going with your Vietnam themed formations. I think the Marines will build into a very formidable force, one that can hit back and take a bit of a beating, much like the brave men that went off as Marines during the Vietnam War.

Keep your eyes on this site, I’ll be bringing you all sorts of Vietnam facts, fiction and it’ll no doubt give you some inspiration to break out and buy some of the new kits and models over the next few months to get ready for ‘Nam!