Battle for Nha Do, 23 Feb, 1950

Following on General Giap's successful trial run with his new division at Pho Lu, 8-13 Feb, 1950, he began pulling his troops out of the region to move them towards Colonial Route 4 on the northeastern border of Indochina. The small post of Nha Do was literally on the way, so it was attacked. The battle turned out to be bigger than he planned. The photos below show the model battlefield that will be fought over this coming Wednesday and a report will follow. *NOTE, my VM commander was sick today, so game has been rescheduled for next Wednesday.

Looking north past the French fort to the village of Nha Do at top of photo. A French T'ai battalion with attached irregular forces hold the position. A VM regiment will attack from the tree line north of Nha Do, while a second regiment will be located about middle of the photo.

Village of Nha Do from the west, with the French post in upper right corner.

Sub-hamlets to the south of the post as viewed from the west. Its the dry season so the paddies (for the most part) are dry as well.

On the 23 of Feb, 1950. General Giap was moving his men eastward following the successful attack on Pho Lu. In the next valley on their way towards their goal of Route Colonial 4, the Viet Minh launched a hurried assault on Nha Do. At the bottom of photo is one battalion moving on the French post, but look carefully at the top and you will see another full regiment moving across the valley floor to attack from the east:

A regimental 57mm RR is firing on the western bunker (just off the top edge of photo) held by the Tai's troops in the post:

After the first hour of fighting, and the Viet assault troops smashing through the barriers surrounding the post, the French air support from Hanoi finally arrives. Two P63 Kingcrobra's drop bombs and strafe the massed VM, first to the east by the village:

and then to the west of the post. Here the casulties are severe as the VM were badly bunched up:

Wider angle view of above, but still a lot of VM out there!:

At the eastern edge of the post, the waves of VM are breaching the barriers as well. The bunker there as been all but silenced as its roof was smashed by concentrated 81mm mortar fire:

But then, after an hour and 20 minutes of heavy fighting, the first of the reinforcements arrive! The 3BCCP begins its drop west of the attacking VM, trapping them between the air drop and the post itself. You may notice the three Ju52, which the French were still using in 1950, calling them Toucans. Notice the VM at the top of the photo still assaulting the post:

This photo is just to the right of the preceding shot. The 3BCCP find themselves closer to the VM support weapons then the regiment itself:

A Spitfire Mk IX races over and bombs/strafes the now retreating VM on the west flank, as they desperately attempt to make it to the safety of the jungle:

The final turn of the game sees the 3BCCP overrun all regimental/battalion mortars, MMGs, and a rearguard VM company as the remainder of Giap's battered forces escape to the east. It proved to be a very close affair for the French,  just as it had occurred back in 1950. Unfortunately for the French, the next season's campaign on Route Colonial 4 would lead a massive French disaster that would almost end the four year war. More to come!

Battle of the Brown Water Navy

Continuing our French Indochina tour, the gang played a small Dinasault engagement.  French forces included two small motor launches armed with MGs, one LCA, three LCMs with 20mm guns, and a command Vedette FOM 11m. On board where two French Commando units but the main mission was to come ashore further upriver to pick up a small unit of Commandos that had captured an important Viet Minh intelligence officer. The LCMs would land their troops near a village to draw local forces away from the recovery point. They were bait for the larger picture. An interesting point to the game is that the Viet Minh commander didn't know that his platoon stationed up river were actually French Commandos! It would lead to an amusing escapade!

With the mother launches leading the way followed by the LCA (to recover their assets from the enemy shore (the small dock at top left), the LCMs begin to turn towards their own target with the Command Vedette behind them.

The enemy village on the left with two smaller hamlets nearer the river bank. The VM had sentries out but the French had been able to approach at very slow speed for five turns before they were spotted!

As the LCMs head for shore, the first VM mortar shells begin falling around the boats, but there are no hits.

The Launches and LCA are pushing up river at top speed, while more and more shells fall around the LCMs, amazingly with still no hits!

By now, two full VM platoons have taken their station along the river. You can just make out some mortars and a Recoilless Rifle on the right side of photo. Hits are now finally striking the approaching French, knocking out one of the 20mms.

LCMs still boring in, their return fire now inflicting casualties on the VM!

An overall view of the battlefield

French 20mm fire falling around one of the VM 57mmRR.

Finally two of the LCMs reach shore, while one more RR strikes an LCM and takes out another 20mm. The Commandos begin to disembark to keep the VM attention of them and not the launches still moving upriver.

Under close watch of their Launches, the LCA pulls up to the dock. Its at this moment that the "VM' in this hamlet jump up and move onto the dock. The VM commander wondering why his men are moving out in the open!

With the infiltrated Commandos successfully recovered, the LCMs begin their withdrawal, their own Commandos having taken heavy losses during the brief skirmish. It had been a fun little engagement.

The River Mat comes from Cigar Box, while the Brown Water Boats are from The Scene and Old Glory. With balsa and poster board, and using the website Into:Wargaing the First Indochinese War (which I highly recommend), I think some nice little models were put together.

Sorry about the reflecting lights, I experimented with clear plastic pin the river to make it shine,, but it affected the photos. Oh well, perhaps they are the reflections form the flares the VM were putting up! Hope you enjoyed!

LZ X-Ray

This is just a small teaser for a larger game that will attempt to recreate the battle that took place over 14-16 Nov, 1965. I had the nice opportunity to begin play testing the scenario at GameCo held in Colorado Springs this past Saturday. This is an event directed at Middle and High Schoolers, through our gaming hobby. Had great fun with six young men who tried out something they had never done before. The following photos will soon be followed by a much larger and detailed story. Will keep you posted.

At a scale of 1figure/model representing two men/helicopter, this shows the third wave of UH 1Ds bringing in elements of the 1/7 AirCavalry.

The termite hills behind which Lt Colonel Moore established his CP for his battalion's struggle against the PAVN forces, is center right of photo

Looking north towards the Cho Pong mountain with the CP near the termite mounds again, center right

PAVN forces (shown at bottom) make their first assault on the Air Cav.

In a few weeks time I hope to stage (and record) the battle in much greater detail, so stay tuned!

Defeat at Pho Lu

    Following the defeat of the premature attacks on the French post, 8-9 Feb, General Giap took the next few days to concentrate his 308th Division for an overwhelming assault. An entire regiment is drawn up within the cover of the jungle-covered slopes west and north of Pho Lu. Even with one battalion having lost about a third of its strength in those earlier attacks, the two new battalions meant the VM were deploying 8 companies to face down, the understrength company of Goumiers and platoon of Tai's partisans!
    The VM pounded the post with 82mm mortars (x3) and 57mm RR (x1) for an hour but it proved to be a bit disappointing. The only real effect was the destruction of the overhead cover of the eastern bunker! Well, this was their first real battle following training in China. The VM then launched all three battalions with x2 cos each. The Moroccans and Tai's laid down all the fire they could. (Missing two of their four automatic weapons destroyed earlier)

The French commander, a young lieutenant, did receive some good news...a company of the 3BCCP (some 115 paras of the 3 Colonial Parachute Btn), had been dropped to the west from their Toucan transports (originally German Ju-52s!). The VM commander thought initially, they might be bombers; however when a total of 6 flew by, it left him somewhat confused. (You can just make out the French post at the top of the photo)

During the second round as the VM sappers blew holes in the chevaux de frise, the Armee de l'Air made its appearance. A Spitfire Mark IX roared in, successfully dropping two 250lb bombs, and then raking VM troops with 20mm and MGs!

The VM by now had destroyed much of the barriers between them and the defenders, and in the NW bunker, they were already climbing up the steep slope to get at their enemies. But before the end of the round, the Armee de l'Air appeared again as two P-63 Kingcobras added more bombs, 37mm cannons and MGs! The heavy losses failed to slow down the VM assault:

A close up of the aircraft, and the VM assaulting the NW bunker (left-center):

With VM 82mm mortars, 57mm RR, MMGs, 60mm mortars, LMGs and rifles rifles raking the walls and the posts interior, the Goumiers still stand strong along the northern wall, although they only have one remaining moroccan left standing in the NW bunker. The Ta'is on the other hand have taken heavy losses on the west wall, only three remaining outside the SW bunker (although one has been shaken, shown with the yellow cap) .

During the succeeding rounds, the VM are now pouring into the post's interior and the defender's numbers are dwindling rapidly. By the time another Spitfire races by, it has no targets outside the post perimeter. To add make matters worse, the VM finally destroy the SW bunker along with the two remainder Ta'is inside.

And now making its belated appearance, the Paras of the 3 BCCP appear coming down a mountain trail to the SE of the post.

As two more Kingcobras make an appearance (and again, unfortunately for the French, with no recognizable targets), one remaining Goumier is left standing defending his position. (Spot him with the white tuban?) He charges and takes down his last VM.

As the VM take the post, (and the commander wisely leaves the Tricolor flag flying from its pole so the French won't bomb the post, the Paras reach the ford on the Red River only to realize the VM have left two additional battalions on the south bank to handle any possible reinforcements! Game over!

Tragically for the French, historically at this point, the Paras were hit by tremendous fire, killing their commanding officer and his exec almost immediately. Yet another young Lt (named Planey) found himself in command of a virtually hopeless situation. Retreat was the only option but could see masses of VM moving on each of his flanks to surround his command. In order to have a chance of saving any of his men, he was forced to leave behind his dead and wounded, Days later, after a grueling march through the jungle-covered mountains of the Ta'is region, he brought his men out safely to Lao Kay. However, High Command crucified him over his choice of leaving his men behind. He was unsuccessful to convince his superiors that the enemy were no longer the untrained guerrilla fighters, but men who maneuvered and fought as major units. 

"I never stopped telling my chiefs, 'The Viets aren't the same any longer: these are really tough ones,' but they never believed me. They said, 'Your nerve cracked.'"

The War in Indochina had entered a newer, more deadly phase!

Battle of Pho Lu, 1950 Indochina

    Following the fall of China to Mao Zhedong's Communist Revoution, General Giap's Viet Minh forces had been receiving equipment and importantly, training. The ex-history teacher now decided to test his new forces by sending the 308th Division into the Tai's Highlands in February 1950. The small post of Pho Lu was unfortunate to find itself the target of thousands of Viet Minh. Some 150-men made up the garrison, taken from a Moroccan Tabor, mountain goumiers alongside a handful of Tai's partisans. The post located in an isolated valley bisected by the Red River. There was no road or airstrip; only contact was via the river by dugouts or a 20 km hike via mountain tracks! The French certainly knew to to pick isolated garrisons!
    Using 15mm figures (mostly from Eureka Miniatures and Peter Pig) and a scratch built log and mud fort, the first unsuccessful assaults on the position were recreated recently.
   A single company was chosen to make the initial attack at night. creeping quietly from the jungle-covered hills, the leading sappers had nearly reached to cheval de frise when the French put up a flare and the action began:

The Viet Minh 60mm mortars place one of their first shots on the garrison hut while the surviving sappers blasted apart the outer barrier. The assault squad was close at hand with their ladders:

The ladders go up against the 'Japanese Palisade', as they called the woven bamboo fencing. (the French were shortchanged when it came to actual barriers like barbed wire!).

With the garrison hut burning behind them, the goumiers were thinning out the assault troops:

The Moroccans have taken numerous casualties by now as the ladders go up against the wall:

The Viet Minh are decimated leaving one final soldier standing. Viet Minh mortars had unsuccessfully been targeting the French mortar position:

On the final turn, the Viet Minh is taken down as the last VM shell lands in the mortar pit!

A Viet Minh company commander will have some tough questions to answer when his battalion commander arrives!

Cruel Seas in Norwegian waters

The gang has been playing through the various scenarios that cam out with this new set of reals. This highlighted game we set in Norway, 1940.

Here during the pre-dawn hours, two German E Boats are escorting two freighters loaded with troops. Their goal is to travel down the fjord in the upper right. The English however are lurking in the upper right

Three British MTBs searching through the gloom to spot the reported enemy force:

Following a couple of turns, the two forces have spotted each other and are moving to engage. First shot made by a German 37mm, but it misses. Note the second E Boat is using a small island to remain undetected:

With the second German Boat making it's appearance, numerous hits were scored on each other, but the Germans hit much harder, with one MTB exploding before it got to fire or launch torpedoes! Her cohort does get its 'fish' into the water.

While the E Boats pass the MTBs, the left-hand German has its steering damaged and it is forced into a left turn. The British command boat gets one torpedo launched as they close in on their targets. The first MTB is now simply a black smudge on the water. If they run straight and normal. they look like they will strike home!

While it's mate is out of the fight due to its damage, the remaining E Boat smashes another MTB; but the command boat gets its second fish into the fjord:

Success! Three torpedoes strike home, and the freighters are burning! The E Boat heavily damages the remaining MTB, but it survives.

Incredibly, the last MTB, despite its serious damage, escapes into the darkness while the E Boat attempted unsuccessfully to finish her off. The invasion, at least on this front, is stopped!