Rumble In The Jungle

 This weekend I had the opportunity to run a Vietnam themed game using the Fistful of Lead rules, which have become my go-to over the pandemic and adapt well to any time period. Wiley Games has done an exceptional job with this series of games. A convention in Kansas City, March to Victory, run by the owners of Wiley Games, reminded me that I should revive this blog, but more of that on another post. 

The American force inserted at LZ Brillo Pad to inspect a near by village. Just a normal patrol as far as they were concerned. The area was already infiltrated with communist forces. Two 51 caliber antiaircraft guns, three snipers, and a machine gun nest were placed as slips of paper under various pieces of terrain. Three civilians acted as hidden movement markers. One of them actually represented a squad of Viet Cong Guerillas. I borrowed and adapted the hidden movement rules from NotJay of The Chronicles of NotJay fame. His show is fantastic and you can find it at the link above, every Wednesday night at 8:30 pm CST.

The American forces attempted to cross the river west of the LZ but came under machine gun fire from a hidden position. Casualties were taken immediately and the attempts to secure the dead and wounded led to a bunched up formation; perfect target for an NVA mortar strike. More casualties ensued. The radio operator made a desperate call for gunships to fire in support and a small OH-13 to land between the trees along the river so that wounded could be evacuated.

 

As the helicopters enter the board, the AA positions opened up, distracting them from the infantry push on the river. The Americans managed to secure a prisoner and place him on the OH-13 who whisked him away. However, VC forces with RPGs managed to knock both cobras out of the sky. The Americans called in a Huey to evacuate and beat a path through the jungle, dragging casualties with them. 

 The retreat was to end in disaster. A mortar barrage kept the fleeing troops heads down while communist infantry rushed the LZ. An RPG struck a Huey while it landed, destroying it and blocking the LZ from being used further. With the American force cut off from any retreat and the NVA and VC players having constant reinforcements, we called the game, ruling it a catastrophic loss for the forces of democracy.