Nam: Riders on the Storm

By NDNG_Dane

Lieutenant Dan here,
This past weekend, I was able to get in my first ‘ game against one of the Local Force Leaders – Comrade Paul. We played the “HOT LZ” mission at 45 points each.

Fielding the 173rd Airborne in Viet Nam

Airmobile Rifle Company HQ
Airmobile Rifle Platoon (x2)(short)
UH-1 Huey Aviation Platoon
Airmobile MG Platoon
Airmobile 81mm Mortar Platoon
Support:
Gunship Aeroweapons Platoon
OH-6 Aeroscout Platoon (2)
A4 Skyhawk Flight (2)

Local Forces Battalion
Local Force Battalion HQs (upgrade to SKS/AK47)
Local Force Company (upgrade to SKS/AK47)(x2)(medium)
Local Forces Mortar Platoon
Local Forces Recoilless Gun Platoon
PAVN HMG bunkers
Support
Local Forces AA Platoon
PAVN Local Resistance Teams (3)

Mission: HOT LZ!
Special Rules: Airmobile Operations (Free World player)
Immediate Scattered Reserves (Nationalist player)
Triage and Medevac (Free World player)

Turn one:
Free world player is the attacker: Company HQ and the two short platoons insert into the quiet valley in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam as part of the new “Strategic Hamlet Program”.

Hueys touchdown in the crop fields near some Vietnamese village huts. The OH-6 “Loaches” are scouting the forest edge to the North, looking for signs of “Victor Charlie”. AH-1 Cobra gunships provide over-watch to the airmobile infantry Landing Zone (LZ).

Nationalist player rolls – no reinforcements arrive this turn.

Turn two:
Lieutenant Dan and the two platoons move out to secure the Free World objective and check out the Vietnamese huts. The OH-6 “Loaches” continue to scout the forest looking for Charlie. With the 173rd airmobile company safely on the ground, the AH-1 Cobras go off to the North seeking prey. The Huey aviation platoon returns to the Pickup Zone (PZ) where the rest of the 173rd airmobile company is waiting to join the fight.

Comrade Paul rolls for his VC HMG bunkers. They arrive just to the South of the 173rd airmobile company and open fire on the exposed US infantry. Ouch!

Turn three:
Lieutenant Dan issues orders for the first platoon to dig in and establish fighting positions around the objective. Lieutenant Dan directs the second platoon leader to Run, Forrest, Run! Lieutenant Dan also recalls the AH-1 Cobras to start engaging heavy machinegun bunkers to the south of our LZ. The Huey aviation platoon returns to the “Hot LZ” bringing the 173rd Airmobile MG platoon and inserts them at the edge of the forest with orders to seize the VC weapons cache. Lieutenant Dan relays to the MG platoon leader that all infantry support is 100% committed and to proceed on his own with what he has! “Roger, Charlie Mike” was the crisp response over the command net.

Comrade Paul rolls for his first local force company, bugles blowing as they charge out of the mountain. More casualties to the 173rd airmobile company.

Turn four:
Lieutenant Dan calls for some “devil’s brew”. Sky Hawk-08 responds he is in the AO and can deliver immediately! Napalm pins the local force company coming out of the mountain to the south of the LZ, destroying two teams in its’ hellish inferno. Second platoon also fires on the local force company. The OH-6 “Loaches” continue gun runs on the VC HMG bunkers. The MG platoon secures the VC weapons cache. The Huey aviation platoon returns to the PZ where the rest of the 173rd airmobile company is waiting to join the fight.

Comrade Paul brings in three platoons from reserve. The second local force company, arriving just to the South of the 173rd LZ coming out from the mountain among the HMG bunkers. Bugles blowing, they charge toward the US first platoon, securing the free world objective, alone and unafraid. Also arriving this turn is the local forces recoilless gun platoon, which appears in the forest, in front of the 173rd MG platoon.

Deadly fire from the recoilless guns kills one of the 173rd MG teams. Also arriving this turn is the local forces mortar platoon arriving from the northwest. The 173rd company is now completely surrounded. The first local force company shakes off the napalm strike and attacks toward the dwindling US second platoon in the Vietnamese huts.

Turn five:
Lieutenant Dan confirms a radio transmission that the MG platoon leader has secured the VC weapons cache and eliminated the VC recoilless gun platoon in the forest. With both objectives secure, Lieutenant Dan calls in “Mike-Charlie” and is awaiting extraction – LZ is still “Hot”!

Observations:
This was my first ‘NAM game and it was a lot of fun!
No plan survives first contact. It seems as if I was reacting to new Nationalist units as they came out from everywhere.

The speed of play was fast. Like TY, I really like the cards.

Each of the Local Forces Companies was almost twice the size of my (short) airmobile platoons! As if that wasn’t bad enough, Special Rule: Born in the North, to Die in the South allows PAVN Infantry and Local Force Companies to regenerate when destroyed. The only thing that saved me, was that Comrade Paul upgraded his rifles to SKS/AK47s, shortening his effective range to only 8 inches.
The PAVN Local Resistance Teams add a fun level of uncertainty. A Free World player can be securing an objective, and all of a sudden, local villagers come by and move the objective 8 inches away!

(No Water Buffaloes were harmed during the movement of this objective)

Charlie Mike! This is November, Delta, Delta, Out!