berto
Posts: 20708
Joined: 3/13/2002 From: metro Chicago, Illinois, USA Status: offline
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Binh Gia 3 - The Sacrifice - 12/31/64 - AAR (Berto vs. AI) The purpose of this AAR is to: showcase the game's many features; to explain some of the finer points of game play; to post some pretty screenshots; and to have some fun. For this AAR, I have decided to play the scenario Binh Gia 3, The Sacrifice. This is the third and final episode of a Vietnamese Civil War scenario trilogy. To set the stage, here is the Scenario Information back story for all three of the Binh Gia scenarios: VN_641230_Binh_Gia Scenario Information 30 December, 1964 [Binh Gia, 67 km SW of Saigon South Vietnam]: While there was political unrest in Saigon, the Communist leadership in North Vietnam and the NLF were formulating plans to fight the South. Besides actions in the Mekong Delta, the Viet Cong were ordered to conduct other military operations in South Vietnam as part of their Winter-Spring Offensive. Since July, the new Viet Cong 271st and 272nd Regiments had overrun a number of strategic hamlets, including Xan Sang, Cam Xe, Dog Xa and Thai Khai. The next target for the 271st Regiment was the fortified village of Binh Gia in Phuoc Tuy Province. The village was populated by roughly 6,000 Roman Catholics that had fled from North Vietnam and resettled there. The 1st Battalion of the 271st Regiment started their assault in the early morning hours. The defending Popular Force units were overwhelmed and retreated into the bunkers near the village parish. Reinforcements, in the form of the 30th Ranger Battalion, were helicoptered with helicopters of the 118th Aviation Company and attempted to retake the village. --------- VN_641231_Binh_Gia Scenario Information 31 December, 1964 [Binh Gia, 67 km SW of Saigon South Vietnam]: The previous day's battle saw the 30th Ranger Battalion mauled and split between the parish area and the outskirts of the western side of the village. The Viet Cong were reinforced by another battalion of the 271st Regiment and had dug in in preparation for another assault by Government forces. Due to the shortage of helicopters and the long transit times from Bien Hoa, only a company at a time could be transported. The 38th ARVN battalion landed unopposed to the south of Binh Gia, while the 4th ARVN Marine Battalion, the "Killer Sharks", had their first company on the ground, securing their Landing Zone to the northwest. The 38th Rangers began their assault on the village and ended up spending the whole day fighting against the entrenched Viet Cong. Only when the 4th Marines started their attack did the Viet Cong begin to falter. With gunships and air support, the ARVN units eventually pushed the Viet Cong back into the Quang Giao Plantation. -------- VN_641231_Binh_Gia_PM 31 December, 1964 [Binh Gia, 67 km SW of Saigon, South Vietnam]: The seesaw battle of Binh Gia ended with the 4th Marines and Rangers retaking the village. Gunships of the 68th Assault Helicopter Company pursued the retreating Viet Cong units into the Quang Giao rubber plantation. One of the gunships was hit by ground fire and crashed in the plantation, the crew perishing on impact. Elements of the 4th Marines expanded their perimeter to the east and advanced into the plantation to recover the downed crew. Shortly after the Marine company arrived on the scene, an artillery barrage landed amongst the unit, followed shortly by waves of Viet Cong. The rest of the 4th Marines were then sent to rescue the beleaguered company. Meanwhile, the Viet Cong 271st Regiment had reorganized and prepared for a fight. A 2D screenshot of most of the battlefield, with the hot spot hex located at the site of the helicopter crash: I have toggled ON Map Hints, to emphasize the map terrain hexsides. You can toggle Map Hints by means of the highlighted Map Toolbar button, by the menu selection Display > Map Hints, or by my preferred method, hotkey \ (also Alt+0). The same general area, in 3D. Note where the Jump Map outlines the displayed map, and how much larger the full scenario map is. In the 3D screenshot, I have highlighted the ARVN units by means of the * hotkey. There is also a Highlights Toolbar button (at the lower left of the screenshot), else you can use the menu Display > Highlight > All Units. For this AAR, I have chosen Turquoise as my Highlight Color: You have 16 different Highlight Colors to choose from. You can select your favorite color. Or you can select a color that works best for the given map. Sometimes a lighter color will work best on a darker map (one filled with jungle). At other times, a darker Highlight Color might work better on a lighter map (one filled with rice paddies). Experiment to see what works best for you!
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