Back to Khe San

 Our scheduled game was postponed due to illness, so Tim put Khe San on again, as it works well as a team game.  We played this a few weeks ago, so we're a bit more familiar with what works and what doesn't from a tactical pov.

As before, the VC setup is pre-determined, although the units are allocated randomly. A couple of stacks in trenches next to Khe San, big stacks in Laos and the DMZ, and a couple of units along Route 9. We had half a dozen units to start with, most of which weren't great, although in the last game we found the USMC Tank Company very useful as it was quite mobile. 

We had to put the SF unit at Long Bai near Laos, otherwise we put two units in Khe San and the Rock Quarry, with an outpost on one of the nearby hills (the triangle). As we found in the previous game, the US have to attack to win, they can't just hide in their Firebases, and it is important to clear the VC trenches next to Khe San. Losing Khe San is an automatic loss.

Unlike the previous game, we were allowed to choose the US action cards this time, so we plumped for a Reinforcement card - which we used to pick more Marines, some AirCav (who apparently have integral choppers now) and some helicopter gunships.

We stonked one VC stack with B52s, while we assaulted the trenches with our other units, supported by the Skyraiders.

Well, that went well! The VC are pushed back away from the Firebase.

The VC responded with a Major Attack action card, and those big stacks rolled forwards.

One of our positions was completely overrun!

And we were driven out in confusion from another. Well, that could have gone better.

Time to counterattack. Our guys roll out again to take on those big stacks, supported by all available air.

Our guys are repulsed in the north, and in the south, discover a huge concentration of VC.... I'm not sure even the Marines can take on all those guys. 

Another disaster. We are defeated and take heavy losses. The survivors fall back.

The VC follow up with a direct assault on Khe San and the trenches next to the Rock Quarry. Clever this game AI isn't it?

Fortunately the assault on Khe San is (just) repulsed, but the ARVN are overrun. As Mr Springsteen sang "Had a brother at Khe San, fighting off the Vietcong. They're still there, but he's all gone. Gone, gone away maan". 

Fortunately we managed to whistle up some more reinforcements, so it was time to attack again. We concentrated all our spare stuff against one VC stack near Long Bai, taking advantage of the special Firebase Support card which gives a combat bonus.

At least that worked, and the VC were driven off. There is still that huge VC stack top left though. 

More VC assaults near Khe San in the trenches. 

We managed to beat that attack off as well, and the dead VC pile was pleasing high. However the US had by now lost no less than six ground units, and there was no coming back from that as we simply couldn't kill enough stuff and take enough ground to offset the big VP penalty for all those destroyed units. We called it at that point, US Tactical Defeat, the worst result so far.

What a clever game, with endless replay value.