21st November 2010 - Vietnam Game

[MJ1]

It is the night of the 31st January 1968 and the players will find themselves enveloped in one of the defining moments for Vietnam the Tet Offensive. The 1st January for the Vietnamese represents the most important holiday of the year and a 2 day ceasefire had been announced by the NVA and ARVN. This ceasefire was not to hold and the NVA launched a bold attack throughout Vietnam to try and finally defeat the ARVN and their Allies. This is one of the few operations where the communist fighters came out of the jungle to take on the ARVN and Americans in a head on fight.

The city of Huế (pronounced “HughA”) was the former Imperial capital of a united Vietnam and represented a key political centre for the NVA to capture and control. With many Southern political leaders and their staff working and living in the city the target was of prime importance for the North and South. Highway 1 passed through Huế and the city itself was divided by the Perfume River with only 2 bridges connecting the Old Imperial City to the North and the new city suburbs to the South. The old Imperial palace was of national importance and became a hostage in the war between North and South.

Players will take on the roles of the commanders trying to control this important city and up to 3 players a side will be required. For each player we will need an umpire who will help the players implement their orders on the map. This will be my first attempt to model city fighting and the issues that surround it. Players will be free to make decisions as they see fit. The units will be battalion / company level. There is no need to research as the scenario is based upon the battle but will not necessarily accurately reflect the historical reality. The game will be designed to give players an insight to the actual battle and issues faced by the real commanders of the day.

[MJ1]

Anyone interested please either post here or via e-mail. It will be played from 11am on Sunday to around 4pm. You will need to bring your own lunch and the venue is Little Gaddesden village hall at HP4 1NX

Umpires will be need to be available at 10.30am for a pre game brief.

Key commanders will need to do some initial planning the week before the game and e-mail me with those by the Friday night before the game.

Plenty of free parking available and Tea & Coffee is provided.

It is expected that the game will cost £5 per player to help cover the cost of the hall.

[Martin]

I'm definitely up for this one.

Martin

[symsr2003]

It is the night of the 31st January 1968 and the players will find themselves enveloped in one of the defining moments for Vietnam the Tet Offensive. The 1st January for the Vietnamese represents the most important holiday of the year and a 2 day ceasefire had been announced by the NVA and ARVN. This ceasefire was not to hold and the NVA launched a bold attack throughout Vietnam to try and finally defeat the ARVN and their Allies. This is one of the few operations where the communist fighters came out of the jungle to take on the ARVN and Americans in a head on fight.

The city of Huế (pronounced “HughA”) was the former Imperial capital of a united Vietnam and represented a key political centre for the NVA to capture and control. With many Southern political leaders and their staff working and living in the city the target was of prime importance for the North and South. Highway 1 passed through Huế and the city itself was divided by the Perfume River with only 2 bridges connecting the Old Imperial City to the North and the new city suburbs to the South. The old Imperial palace was of national importance and became a hostage in the war between North and South.

Players will take on the roles of the commanders trying to control this important city and up to 3 players a side will be required. For each player we will need an umpire who will help the players implement their orders on the map. This will be my first attempt to model city fighting and the issues that surround it. Players will be free to make decisions as they see fit. The units will be battalion / company level. There is no need to research as the scenario is based upon the battle but will not necessarily accurately reflect the historical reality. The game will be designed to give players an insight to the actual battle and issues faced by the real commanders of the day.

I am aviable!

Robert

[MJ1]

Robert / Martin can you say what you prefer to either play or umpire and if play what side you would prefer and if you want the senior command position.

At the moment the plan is one senior commander away from city and two at city on the ground controlling forces there.

Of course the plan might change as I work through the design

[MJ1]

Hi this is the number of people I have down for involvement in the game: -

Martin James (NVA)
Steve Hockin (US / ARVN)
Robert ? (??)
Paul Dowden (US / ARVN)
Andrew Owens (??)

Richard Prosser (Umpire)
John Acs (Umpire)

Tim Gow (Possible)

I need Robert or Andrew to be an Umpire so Robert as you signed up before Andrew can you confirm if you want to play. If so you will be assigned to the NVA and working with Martin. The briefings for the game will be compiled over the next few weeks.

There is room for more people but I will need to know before hand (by 8th Nov) to work out roles. Ideally I would have 3 a side but with 4 I shall design the game slightly differently from 3 a side.

Should any players drop out on the day, umpires might be asked to take on a player role to ensure we get a reasonable game.

[hammurabi70]

Not only do I already have something allocated to this date but I am already double-booked. Have we got anything for December or do we assume seasonal activities takeover until 2011?

What do we have for the future?

[Martin]

Nothing planned for December.

We will probably fix a game for late Junuary or February 2011, but are currently taking stock. We were fortunate to have a lot of regular 18-20 year-old players over the last couple of years. The downside is that they have moved away into their first jobs or (temporarily) to university.

It will be interesting to see what turn-out we get for the November game.

Martin

[MJ1]

Updated Names List

Martin James (NVA)
Robert Syms (NVA)

Steve Hockin (ARVN)
Paul Dowden (USMC)

Andrew Owens (Umpire as other umpire dropped out)
John Acs (Umpire)
Vince (Umpire)

Tim Gow (Possible)

[MJ1]

The maps have now been issued for those not playing and following here you can see what we will be using by following these two links: -

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14841130/Hue%20Area%20Map%20v2.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14841130/Hue%20City%20Map%20Players.jpg

[MJ1]

Updated Names List

Martin James (NVA)
Robert Syms (NVA)

Steve Hockin (ARVN)
Paul Dowden (USMC)
Andrew Owens (USA)

John Acs (Umpire)
Vince (Umpire)
Andy (Umpire)
Ian (Umpire)
Alan (Umpire)
John's Friend (Umpire)

[Martin]

Just a reminder that the cost for this game will be £5 per head to cover the hall rental. If this is your first game, it's free however.

Suggest you bring something for your lunch. We also normally take a break mid afternoon for afternoon tea, so any cake or biscuits contributed will be gratefully received. I will provide coffee, tea, milk & sugar.

Martin

[MJ1]

Updated Names List

Martin James (NVA)
Robert Syms (NVA)

Steve Hockin (ARVN)
Paul Dowden (USMC)
Andrew Owens (USA)

John Acs (Umpire)
Vince (Umpire)
Andy (Umpire)
Ian (Umpire)
Alan (Umpire)
Steven Davis (Umpire)

[hammurabi70]

Went the day well?

[Ian]

Yes - there has been quite a long discussion on the Yahoo Group. US player threatened to start shooting ARVN generals. Mind you, the US had also shelled the ARVN! At one point every one in Hue, on both sides, was cut off from supplies, and the NVA was indulging in regimental scale guerilla tactics.