One man and his brushes.: Gaming - ‘Nam

Picking up those brushes again.

Hi and welcome to the occasional mutterings of Dave Doc, a military modeller and some time gamer. Gaming and model making has given me a real education, History & Geography(obvious really), Artistry, Politics, Economics, Logistics, Project Management -you try building miniature armies without the last 3.

I will use the blog to record my creations & the odd occasion I actually do some gaming.

I have always been inspired by the aesthetic side of gaming. Playing on well constructed terrain using excellently painted units is always a joy.

Thursday 18 January 2024

Gaming - ‘Nam - Operation Black Knife

The first game at home for the year sees a return to SE Asia. This time a 1 on 1 game using The Nam - The Way it Was rules.

A VC force has been spotted and the Marines are sent on a search and destroy . The VC have their own objectives to complete as they are mustering supplies and forces for the future , so they have to get stuff off board , which means it’s not just a straight up firefight.

The VC are set up initially on blinds with some blanks . The US made a reasonable intel roll and chose 7 or the 12 to reveal finding some key teams and some blanks . Game on

US Forces

4 x 4 , Fireteams with M16’s . All trained

2 x M60 teams

1 Lt (veteran), , RTO , and Grenadier (7x Grenades ), 1 Corpsman

1 Mortar team , Veteran

VC ,

4 x4 rifles teams - with limited ammunition , trained

1 x 4 SMG team, veteran

2 x 5 AK47 teams , trained

2 x LMG teams, veteran , 1 x RPG

2 s Sniper (placed at far end of table). Veteran

VC supply column - 2 bikes , 2 carrier figures , 1 VC command - veteran

3 hidden caches - rolling on a d8

Card deck has 1 per squad , plus random event and joker .

First squad off the chopper.

The LZ is under observation

Halt ! - booby traps - punji sticks.. luckily they were spotted.

Ambush!

Incoming ! RPG!

Mortar section is set up on the cleared LZ.

1st round on target - takes out the RPG and his mates.

The VC supply column is though getting away

The LT finds another way through .

Sniper ! Wings the LT and kills the RTO.

Another LMG team opens up - the Marines just charge .

VC escape across the river - grenades and shots just don’t stop these.

VC command stay to conduct the defence.

Bug out time for the VC as the Marines get near the village

Casualty evacuation

A cache of weapons is discovered in the village too.

Great game only just won by Pete’s USMC final weapons cache discovery, found as a result of hiding from the sniper, they nearly missed it! 5 US KIA 3 wounded . 5 wounded VC captured - 14 KIA . The majority of the VC supply column got away . They will be back!

A few overhead shots of the wider table - until next time