Victory Insider - Vietnam

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Turning Words Into GamesThere are probably a number of ou r re ade rs who ar e also

fledgling game designers. Some of you are waiting to turn in yourfinished masterpeices to Victory Games for ou r delectation an dyour publication . But before you do

In this Thrilling Tales we ll describe how VG produces agame, an d in th e next issues we l l examine what edi torial an dgraphics do to produce a finished product.

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The above iron-clad rule also applies to game submissions toThe A valon Hill Game Company an d Microcomputer Games.WEP)

Victory Games has a two-year production schedule for newproducts already worked out. We have a number of freelancedesigners to contact an d assign to projects; once both parties have

worked ou t the details as to payment an d turn-in dates, a contractis drawn up an d s igned. We also have ou r in-house designers atwork on future products. Planning as we do for the far future, we

d o n ot want any possibility for misunderstanding to arise on thepart of freelance designers who send in a game proposal, or gamedesigners on a topic we have planned as a future game release. So,never, never, never send in a game proposa l or design withoutsending in a release form firs t. Ifyou wish to receive a copy of ou rrelease form, send a stamped self-addressed envelope to:

Release FormVictory Games, Inc. West 33rd St .New York, NY l

Once we have received a signed release form, we can look atgame proposals and design submiss ions . As a word of warning:we normally produce four to six simulation games per year. Ou rin-house design staff produces three to four games per year, an dwe have a number of professional freelance designers to drawupon. I t is no t the easiest thing in the world to br ea k i nt o th edesign field, but we are always looking for n n o v t v ~games an dunusual proposals.

As an aside, among th e many game systems we are not lookingfor a re genera l games such as Risk or Monopoly, sports games,children s games, or recaps of old game designs for example, anupdated version of Plot to Assassinate Hitler would be right out).

Executive Editor: Mark HermanManaging Editor: William PeschelThe Victory Games tatt

Mark Herman. Jerry Glichenhouse Rosaria Baldari Robert Kern Gerry KlugSusan Koch Ted Koller Michael Moore Paul Murphy Bob Ryer. Eric Lee SmithJim Talbot.Project Oversight: W. Bill

Contents Copyright © 1984 by Victory Games. Inc.

We are looking for mil itary simulat ion games In particular, andfor games we think will sell. A Wor ld Wa r I design may be the bestof its kind, b ut t he topic itself is financial death.

From MEAD to SEADO nc e a ga me is submitted, it is put through playtesting. The

game system must be complete and understandable by us. All ofthe rules necessary to play the game must be included; a designercannot get a way with a Line of Sight rules that says, U se anyreasonable Line of Sight rules. Most Line of Sight rules areunreasonable to begin with, an d we refuse the burden of makingadesigner s half-finished game design complete.

Assuming th e design is complete an d understandable, we thenmake extra copies of the game an d rules an d send them of f t o o urtesters. Our out-of-house testers have the delightful assignmentof tearing a game apart, finding the holes in th e rules, and checking up on the designer s research. Depending on how complete

. the game design is, the testers might be working on fine-tuning thegame system while VG begins work on production. If th e gameneeds major reworking after th e initial test results come in, we willdelay production unti l the designer has th e ch anc e to plug t heholes. .

Note that in the last sentence, it is the designer, no t VG thatrewrites the rules. A cooperative attitude with the company willnot ensure a sale, but not having it will definately kill it

Deathless prose designers need no t apply. WEP)Th e c omp le te d g ame design is then handed over to

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When Victory Games firs t a pp ea re d, o u r design and preproduction edi torial and graphics) offices were in New Yorkwhile the production typesetting an d print ing) was with ou rparent company, Monarch-Avalon, in Baltimore. For the firstyear an d a half of ou r existence, it was necessary for editorial an dgraphics to travel to Baltimore frequently: We first ha d to contactth e people in Baltimore who would be working with us, an d

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Now that Victory Games is established and profitable, we haveou r own typesetting equipment in New York, an d have worked ou tproduction schedules to maximize ease of publication. We are nowconsidering changing ou r title t o S EA D Sedentary Editorial andArt Depar tmen t) . So, i f you hear things are going to SEAD atVictory Games, it simply means editorial an d art have gotten theirhands on a project .

ictory nsider is devoted p rint in g art ic les abo ut the p ro du ct s o f Vic to ryGames Inc.

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3

Finding the Tunnel s Light

Winning the Vietnam ampaign Game

Tony urtis

Who out there among us has no t felt that the U.S. couldave - should have - done better in Vietnam? That t ired o ldhrase n ow you can change the course of history takes on addedower when talking about a Vietnam simulation. Most of us wouldearly love to see t ha t p ar t of ou r military history altered.

I helped to playtest Vietnam s campaign game an d found that theUS player can win, bu t it s a tough fight. No t surprisingly, the US

layer has to use a different strategy than the on e we lost withistorically.

Simply stated, the US player must seize the strategic initiative an dwin the pac if icat ion e ffor t. Every act ion by the US player has to be

irected towards increasing the number of population points underouth Vietnam SVN) control. There are two advantages for the US

when he wins the battle for controlling the hearts an d minds of theopulation.

First. No t only does the US player get to fully form an d upgradehe Army of the Republic of Vietnam ARVN), bu t it allows the for

mation of a large pool of r ep lacements for a long war of attrition.ve never lost a US unit, an d seld om a ny A RVN units, but the

ARVN has absorbed large quantit ies of replacements due to heavy

ighting. The ARVN has to sustain a major part of the fighting an dasualties in order to prolong the US presence past 1971-1972.

Second. By reducing the amount of Viet Cong VC)- controlledopulation, the US player dramatically curtails the effectiveness of

he Vc. Not only is the VC hard to catch an d kill, they are the forcemost able to slow an d halt the pacification effort. The cost to formVC units increases proportionally to the ratio of the VC draft level toVC-controlled population. The VC draft level increases when VC

nits a re formed or replacements are created. The more the USlayer hur ts the VC, the faster the VC draft level rises.

The level of VC-controlled population determines how many VCombat unit s can be bui lt in each province. Each populat ion pointllows the expenditure of one supply point . Since a single VC batalion costs two supply points to create, i t s apparent that high levelsf VC-c ontrolled p op ul at io n are needed t o c rea te a me an ing fulumber of VC units.

Thus, as this ra ti o increases, so does the c ost t o th e N ati on aliberation Front NLF) player to form VC units see the sidebarhe VC s Problems With Pacif ica tion for more information).

Keeping the South Vietnam provinces swept free of the VC determines how quickly the VC-controlled population falls. No t only

oes it become costlier to build VC units , it becomes much harder toeld them inside of South Vietnam.

Of course, VC units can still be created at will in Laos, Cambodiathe Ho Chi Mihn tra il boxes, but their effectiveness is impaired

ecause many of the highly popula ted areas in South Vietnam areutside of even st ra tegic movement range . They can cause a lo t ofouble in the border provinces, bu t because of their location, theyan only look on while the populous coastal provinces are pacified.

Winning the pacif ication effor t requires more than saying g oea t the VC an d occupy territory. We need to look closely at howmuch force is r equi red, wha t a reas of South Vietnam must beecured first and why), an d how to most efficiently fight an d defeathe VC an d NVA.

Part One Initial Deployment

ll US involvement n South Vietnam hinges on two ke y indices: US morale and UScommilmenl AI orale represents {he nation willingness 1 e ome involved inSoutheast Asia, to send troops and economic aid, to deal with internal dissent, and tosustain losses. Commitment represents thedegree to which the US s already involved. So

long s

US morale s

higher than commitment, the nation remains willing to contributemore to the w r effort. But when commitment exceeds morale, the country s more deeplyinvolved than it would l ike to be , and its participation n the w r must be reduced.

- from the ietnam rulebook

The US player has to make two important decisions regarding hisforce levels: how much to create or bring in, an d when to do it.Duplicating the historical deployment will bring the historical result:the US forces will do a decen t jo b at pacification, bu t the strain onthe US morale levels from the large amount of forces committed willforce a tot al US pullout an d a South Vietnamese collapse during1973-1975. Letting the ARVN go it a lone with minimal US groundsupport never gets pacification of f the ground. In fact, with theA RV N doi ng mo st of t he w ork against the VC, t he g ove rnme ntcontrolled population will s ta rt to slide into the VC camp.

The best course for the US player lies somewhere in between. Th eUS build-up must be more rapid than historically, bu t stop short ofhistorical levels. The ARVN has to take up the slack by assuming anactive role in the f ighting from the outse t. The US player has no realchoice other than to h it the ground running .

Consider the situation before t ur n o ne of the first season begins:the NL F player has 90 supply points ava ilab le for VC forma tion .Regardless of what the US playe r brings in as reinforcements, theNL F player will a lso have 18 commitment points the original 1given in the scenario, 3 for current US commitment, an d 5 forNVN morale 40 or less). Assuming the US player bombs the northan d the tr ai l, the NL F player still will have in the neighborhood of12 supply points which could be created an d sent down the trai l.Not all supplies will go for creation of VC units: replacements must

be created,an d

supply must be reserved sothat

units can be createdin the coastal provinces at the s ta rt of the second season withoutresorting to inefficient sea supply. .

So at the beginning of the game, the US player will be looking atalmost all of the 70 VCbattalions in thecountermix. That many unitscries ou t for a large initial US reinforcement so that destroying theVC units can begin in earnest .

An even more compell ing reason to bring in a large force is thateach of the VC batta lions no t eliminated or forced ou t of populousprovinces will a ff ec t the pac if icat ion die rolls at the s ta rt of thesecond season. The more of them left, the greater the negative effect.Consequences for the US player are grim. There is the outright lossof population and the delay in repairing the damage done. Provinceslosing population to th e VC will make it harder for pacification towork.

The following is a schedule of reinforcements which allows theUS player to go after the VC immediate ly. Note that no more than 5commitment points are introduced perseason. The SVN morale doesno t benef it f rom anything over 50, bu t the NL F does in two ways.They get 2 7 of all new US commitment as NVN commitment. On



4

seasons 2 an d 3 they would earn 6 ext ra commitment points becausecommittiJent would be over 75 an d 125, respectively. US morale cann ot s ta nd the pounding of season af ter season where new commitment is substantially above 25. Up to 25 costs 2 morale points. Each 5new commitment points thereafter costs I each.

e son one

Unit commitment pointsRemainder, 3d Marine Division 4Entire 101st Airmobile Division 10Entire 1 st A ir Cav Division 93 155mm Artillery Battalions 333 ai r points 118 airmobi le points 421 replacement poi nt s 72 SVN aid programs 2

e son two

Unit commitment pointsEntire Americal Division 11Entire 25th Division 930 ai r points 106 airmobile points 324 replacement points 8

2 SVN aid programs 249 ARVN supply points 7

Seasons threethru tenUnit commitment points

Entire 1s t Marine DiviSionEntire 4th DivisionThe Battleship New Jersey6 to 8 175mm Arti l le ry Batta lions2 to 4 155mm Artillery Battalions130 to 150 ai r points60 to 70 Airmobile points3 Riverine pointsReplacements as neededSVN Supplies as needed1st Brigade, 5th Mechanized Division optional

Th e first two seasons are giant killers, requiring commitmentpoints. Seasons 3 through require between an d 25 commitmentpointseach, with th e higher amounts occuring earlier an d then tapering o ff . Th e divisions listed above a re my persona l pre fe rencesbecause of their strong brigade artillery.

I l isted the 1st Brigade, 5th Division as an optiona l unit. I use itmostly against massed North Vietnamese formations. I keep it combined as a brigade because it has an awesome pursuit modifier, an dcan accomodate up to 48 art il le ry, a ir o r naval points. It s prettygood for secur ity operations too.

There a re two gentlemen s agreements players should agree tobefore the game . We know that dedicated artillery is more effectivethan independent artillery, an d much more so in the Division HQ artillery. A playe r interes ted in gamesmanship can bring in more ofthese than allowed by introducing single brigades of divisions withH Qs a nd their ar/ar cav battalions at tached. The commitmentpoint cost is identical to introducing independent artillery, b ut t hebenefit to the US playe r is much greater. US divisional HQs, thenan d now, are located with the bulk of th e division. To introducethem with what amount to independent brigades is wrong an d shouldno t be allowed. Agree that at least two brigades or regiments of adivision have to be introduced in order to bring in the HQ . Personally,I bring in all three . When it comes to ou r stalwart Free World Allies,take them all gladly except for th e Thai Black Panther Division. It sno t very strong, an d the three commitment points required to bring itin can be better used elsewhere . Th e r ap id US bui ld -up does yield a

small dividend for th e US pla yer - th e Free World Allies FWA)units become available for use sooner.Playtesting has shown that a US force of 6 or 7 divisions plus

generous support levels is optimum for th e campaign game. Moreground t roops drains US morale unnecessarily. most of th e US

countermix is employed, a lot of units are going to beunderemployed or unemployed by mid-game, when the VC unit density is lower. You spend precious commitment an d morale pointsevery time you introduce US units; don t waste them by bringing into o m uc h. But don t bring in to o little ground strength. Past experience proves that six US divisions are more than twice as effectiveas three. South Vietnam has a lot of territory which must be secured,an d it will require American ground troops in a lot of places to deterthe Vc . Let s face it: the ARVN, with its low pursuit modifiers an dbuilt-in VC alert bonus, will never do well fighting the VC alone.

addition to having enough units to go after the VC, a six or sevendivision density provides enough units to utilize as reserves an d firebrigades. The re a re suff ic ient uni ts to checkerboard contestedprovinces, an d make search an d destroy operations more effective,since US units no t in the operation can block avenues of retreat, an dserve as offensive reserves.

This large initial build-up will make more commitment pointsavailable earlier to the NL F player, bu t no t e no ug h to build th e VCan d NVA simultaneously a nd d o justice to either. Your rapid buildup will force th e NL F player into relinquishing either the pacificationfight early, or delaying the 1968 Te t offensive.

So with the large initial US presence, the level of VC forces neededto contest pacif ication starts high an d remains high. the NL Fplayer chooses to build the NVA an d go for an early big offensive, the

VC cannot infiltrate South Vietnam effectively. Th e US player willclear the critical provinces easily, an d pacification will proceed morequickly than it did historically. What the NL F player gains is a NorthVietnamese regular army possessing considerable firepower. It is thisfirepower which inflicts the majority o f U S/ ARVN casualties. It isalso this armywhich makes possible a truly crushing offensive. Backedby replacements an d a ided by the VC, the NVA has th e staying powerto launch enough attacks during an offensive to cause a drop of 2 to25 US morale points. It does no t t ak e m an y such offensives to closethe gap between US morale and commitment.

Or , th e NL F player can completely ignore th e NVA an d concentrate on a strong VC for the f irst few seasons. Not only is pacificationslowed, bu t in th e first two or three seasons there may well be a smallnet gain in VC-controlled population. The US player will be forcedto use free fire extensively, an d three or four worthwhile provinceswill probably be driven into VC control because of it. Assuming youexpended 50 commitment points in the first season, the NL F playerwill have 8 commitment points for second season VC production.You will be looking at all 70 VC battalions deployed again. T he N LFplayer will have around 24 commitment points for season three , soyou can expect to see no reduction then either. By no w you are thinking W hy did I go for th e fast build-up? Pacification is stalled, an dth e VC just keep coming back. Don t panic. Th e VC are at theirstrongest during th e first two seasons. Beyond their battalions, theycan create some expensive VC regiments. They can increase their initial strength only marginally.

As each season passes, ad d large amounts of firepower, upgradethe ARVN, and introduce enough US ground units to bring th e forcelevel up to that six or seven division level. This will enhance your

search an d destroy capability an d produce higher VC unit andreplacement losses. Yo u will have locked th e NL F player into a battlehe can t win, and you l l be pacifying provinces despite the high levelsof VC units fielded. The NL F player will be forced to pu t almost allcommitment points into supplies and, by season four at the latest,personnel points for the VC draft. When the VCcome ou t in strengthan d contest pacif ication, their losses will be high, an d the original 43 VC personnel points will go quickly. Th e longer th e NL F playerconcentrates on the VC-only strategy, the better it will ult imately befor you.

There are pitfalls to this strategy which are no t obvious at first.Th e large VC losses raise th e VC draft to ever higher levels. This playsinto your hands as pacif ication picks up steam. Th e VC-controlledpopulation starts to dwindle, making that r at io between VC draft

levelan d population

ever larger. Ult imately, pacif icationis no t

h ar me d, b ut t he VC are. They become to o expensive to build. Theharder the NL F player fights with them ear ly in the game, the soonercomes their demise.

Tactically, the NL F player always keeps some initiative because



5

he decides who runs the operat ions . Strategically, however, you havetaken the initiative away with the rapid build-up. A slower historicalbuild-up would let the NL F player keep pressure on pacification, bu tlosses would be lighter and replacement costs less. There wou ld becommitment points available t o s t ar t building th e NVA regulars. Th erapid US build-up forces th e NL F player to counter your moves, bu twi thout enough commi tment points to do so adequately.

On e last point about this build-up. Th e reinforcements broughtin from season three onward a re m os tl y support or artil lery units.They ar e brought in because the ol d maxim Firepower kills an dmore firepower kills better holds t rue . Take a g oo d l oo k at theCRT. Yo u can gain odds fo r an attack two different ways. You canmass bodies (ground strength points), or yo u can use some groundunits a nd m ak e u p t he d if fe re nc e with air, naval or artillery points.Fo r e xa mp le , p it 36 NVA ground s tr en gt h p oi nt s a nd 2 NVA artillery points against 2 US ground points an d 36 ai r point s. Bothsides ar e evenly matched in total points. Assuming that terrain is no ta factor an d that a four is rolled, th e NVA takes a 6-point loss and theUS a 2-point l oss . NVA: 36 ground s trength points plus 36 US ai rpoints to determine casualties; US: 2 ground strength points plus 2

NVA art i llery points to determines casualties.) It doesn t take amassive number o f ground units to prevail against th e VC an d NVA.

does require massive firepower.

T h e o th e r side o f o ur force equation is the Army of the Republicof Vietnam, t he A RVN . We made a serious mistake historically bycarrying most o f the weight of the war on ou r shoulders for the firstthree years. People conform to expectations. We didn t expect verymuch ou t of t he ARVN, an d they didn t disappoint us. Belatedly, westarted Vietnamization, an d got a glimpse o f a n a rm y that couldfight.

L ett in g A RV N t ak e a l arge r share of th e f ight ing ear lier paysdividends for th e US player. Never forget the fact that the US players ta r ts the campa ign with 520 very finite mora le point s, and t hey goquickly. Defeat ing the VC/NVA requires sufficient ground forces,firepower, an d replacements. Th e US player ca n provide enough o fall t hree i f he builds u p t o historical levels an d neglects t he ARVN forthe first three years or so. Th e US p la ye r will al so lose in much th esame manner as occurred historically. Even using the US force levelsmentioned earlier, commi tment and NL F offensives will force th estart o f US withdrawal somewhere b et we en s ea so ns 20 an d 24.Larger US force levels would only hasten t he depa r tu re date. Eventually t he A RV N ha s t o b e u pg ra de d. I f d on e sooner, it means thatless US forces ar e needed initially, an d some US forces will s tay onfa r longer than historically. This is significant because VC units willnever fare well so l on g as US bat ta l ions are around to chase themd ow n. A RV N units ar e no t well suited to killing VC because o f its

The V s Problems With Pacificat ion

ony urt s

battalion costs 2 supply points to create,up to 4 VC battalions could be placed inQuang Gna i, a ssuming no VC battalionswere t he re d ur in g t he initial placement.Several seasons la te r, i f t he re a re o nl y 4VC-controlled population points inQ ua ng G na i, o nl y 2 VC battalions couldbe formed.

Neither of these examples t akes in toaccount the doubling o f capacity throughthe use of V C s up pl y c on du it s. Whenfewer VC ba tt al ions can be formed, itbecomes easier fo r the U ARVN forcesto hunt them down. This enables thepacification die rolls to shift morepopulat ion over to the government , making formation o f th e VC u ni ts inside ofSouth Vietnam even harder. Th e entirepacification process becomes a vi ci ouscycle fo r th e NLF player, an d a bright

spot to be enjoyed by the US player inwhat will be a long and of ten f rus tr a tingwa r fo r him.

about twice as expensive t o p ro du ce t ha nthe stronger NVA regulars. It alsobecomes harder to deploy the VC wherethey ar e th e mos t effective - inside ofS ou th Vie tn am . Wit h the exception ofthe start ing VC s et -u p, f ro m s ea so n oneonward, supply expenditure fo r VC uni tcreation is limited to the amount of VCpopulat ion controlled on a province-byprovince basis.

Fo r example, in th e S um me r 1965season, Quang Gnai prov ince has

9 VCcontrolled population points. Si nc e a VC

VC Population Ratio 43 Less than I to I126 I to I 5 2 to I74 5 to I55 8 to I

it feeds upon itself. When the SVNgovernment reaches the 140 morale pointlevel an d pacification ge ts a be ne fi ci alcolumn shift. As provinces h av e m or epopulation s hi ft t o government control ,the columns used for pacification becomemore favorable, speeding th e loyalty slidet o t he s ou th . T he 4 to I ratio is the hardestto reach, with the 6 to I an d 8 to I comingeasier because as th e population controlleddecreases, i t affects the r at io m uc h m or edramatically than the gain in t he V C draftlevel. Here is an example:

Season VC Draft LevelI 75

5 204 309 5 40220 498

By the 20th season, the NL F playerwill be receiving a 35- t o 40-po in t mora leincrease p er s ea so n, b ut , to keep up thepressure on the US player, most andmaybe all o f this will have to be used fo rcommitment. by season 20, on e VC

battalion costs on e NV N commitmentpoint, th e NL F player has a problem. Tof ie ld even 30 VC battalions, plus th e supplies to build them, plus replacements,w ou ld e at u p all o f th e available commitm en t p oi nt s. There is also the NVAregular army, far more battleworthy thanthe VC, which has to be built, upgraded,an d supplied with replacements.

A s t he p ac if ic at io n goes aga inst theVC, it becomes harder to justify buildingVC units which, counting supply, ar e

A NVN Commitment Point Buys4 VC personne l po in ts3 VC personne l point s2 VC personnel pointsI VC personnel points

VC Draft Level: VC Population RatioLess than 4 to I4 to I - 6 to I6 to I - 8 to I8 to I or higher

To have a successful pacification program, you mus t defeat th e VC an d drivethem ou t of as many provinces as possible. What m ay n ot b e apparent is that aspacification becomes more successful, itssuccess will be mor e h ar mf ul t o the VCthan the US an d AR VN forces deployedagainst t he m. Pac if ic at io n a nd the VCar e irretrievably l inked with t he re la tionbetween th e amount of VC-controlledpopulation an d th e VC draft level.

T he d ra ft level begins at zero at th estart 0 f the ca m paign game, an d increaseswith the expenditure of VC personnel andc om mi tm en t po int s. T he y c on tr ol 43

population points, yielding them 143 pers on ne l p oi nt s. T he se p oi nt s go prettyquickly a nd t he n, as happened historical ly, NVA volunteers began fillingt he r an ks . But, a cc or di ng t o t he rules,on e NVA commitment point purchases 4VC personnel points so long as the ratioo f draft level to controlledpopulation remains at less than 4 to

This purchase price will change. Keep thefollowing ratios in mind:

In theor y, one NLF commitmentpoint will a lways buy 4 VC personnelpoints regardless of the ratio. But, as th edraft level increases over t he popu lat ionr atio, m or e an d more points ar e lostthrough higher desertion rates, fallingSouth Vietnamese recruitment, loss ofsanctuaries an d higher casualties causedas fresh, inexperienced troops a re th rowni nt o b at tl e in pl ace of experienced VCguerillas.

Then, as pacification picks up s team,



6

T he most important problem experienced byAmerican forces in Vietnam was no t taking territory;U forces were strong enough to go anywhere thatthey were required. The problem was engaging theenemy. NL F forces could hide among the people, ormel t away into the jungle when US forces arrived.

The R VN had been heavily infiltrated by NLF sympathizers; VC units fre quently k ne w about an impending operation before the R VN troops actuallyinvolved in it

- from the Vietnam rulebook

low pursuit modif iers , bu t when fully upgraded a re capable ofdefending against the NVA regulars. A US/upgraded ARVN in thelast 20 seasons is a winning combination, able to keep th e VC undercontrol and the population gains under government control whileholding off everything th e NVA can muster.

US casualties are a constant drain because they requirereplacements which raise the commitment level an d decrease morale.It only makes good sense to use the ARVN whenever possible to absorb losses. There will be enough cases where there are only US unitsavailable to take losses, so whenever possible, start operations withARVN units included. This is essential when slugging it ou t withlarge NVA forces, where losses can be seve ral s tr ength points perr ou nd , a nd combat can last several rounds. Taking losses of thatmagnitude with US o r F WA forces is unacceptable. The ARVN hasto absorb the majority of the losses t o p ro lo ng the presence of USground forces. To do so, the ARVN m us t have enough SVNcontrolled populat ion to draw upon an ample replacement pool.An d in order for the AR VN to remain strong throughout the campaign game, pacif ication has to succeed. Th e US player must boostthe population under SVN control f rom the original 217 up to th e

300 to 320 level dur ing the course of the game.When seeking to get th e most ou t of each US commitment point ,think about this: one commitment point buys seven SVN supplies.These supplies can upgrade three ARVN regiments an d on e ARVNarmored battalion. F or o ne c om mi tm en t point you receive sevenextra ground strength points two per regiment an d on e for th e battalion. an d six ext ra a rt il le ry s tr ength points two per reg iment .Bringing in an equivalent amount of US strength would require atleast two commitment points. The cost of ARVN artillery isequivalent to US art il le ry uni ts , an d will be needed when USwithdrawl occurs. lf the US player has neglected to form them he willpay an extra price during withdrawal. First , he will have to removet he US units he introduced in lieu of t he A RV N units, then, he willhave to remove additional units to lower commitment enough to provide supplies for building an d upgrading ARVN units.

When start ing the campaign game, th e US playe r has 110 SVNsupply 1 provided at the start an d 10 for the 217 SVN populationcontrolled . Th e US player ca n expend these to create an ARVNfrom th e countermix. Fo r the f irst season, the the ARVN should defend vital areas an d supply assistance to a rr iv ing US forces. Thismeans occupying all provincial capitals and m ajor cities, an d occupying Saigon with enough strength to prevent a game-winning up

d main against it. Towns located of f of roads should be occupied,bu t those on roads c an be left open because towns occupied by theNLF count against pacification only if held by th e NL F a t t he end ofth e season. NL F units place themselves at a d isadvantage i f theyoccupy towns on ro ad s; t he US pla yer c an ru n security operationsagainst them before the end of th e season. Remember, there is noalert movement for t he VC in a se curity operation.)

The initial countermix for the A RV N c an t ak e m an y forms, bu tdon t create any augmented units on turn one an d don t create anyRangers either - they just cost to o much on turn one with thelimited amount of s up pl y ava ilable. Cr ea ti ng 3 r ang er units onseason on e would only assure a 5<Ychance of their use in search an d

destroy operations die rolls of 4 or above would keep them out) andwould cost the equivalent of 10 regiments an d a battalion or 21 battalions you couldn t form. Here is a sample of v i l l ~units andwhat ca n be formed:

U T n n n Rgt Div Q I Cav I

Available 18 41 13 17 12Formed 18 35 0 6 12Supply Cost 12 70 0 6 12

105 155 175 Ranger Replacements12 5 6 5 N/A0 0 0 0 200 0 0 0 10=110

No artil lery was formed on turn one: to o expensive. Th e largenumber of bat ta lions formed frees most of the AR VN regimentsfrom occupation dutie s so the y ca n join US uni ts in search anddestroy missions.

On seasons 2 through 4, the remaining armor or ar cavalry battalions are formed an d the rangers are built. Seasons 5 through 10 areused to form HQ s an d upgrade all of the infantry a nd H Q s units.

Some artillery is formed. Seasons 11 through 20 are used to form theremainder of th e artillery an d activate th e last 2 ARVN divisions thedivisions may be activated sooner in place of forming the artillery oru pg ra di ng t he existing regiments . Five years i nt o t he c am pa ig ngame, you will have a full-strength, augmented ARVN on theground by the t ime any US withdrawa ls begin.

Now that you have your initial ARVN countermix, you are in fora real t reat . Actua lly, it s the NL F playe r who will get the laughs.You have to determine the loyalty an d ability levels for your one- an dtwo-star SVN leaders. Th e system requires keeping track of eachleader s current loyalty on the map, bu t it is well worth it. Nothingelse conveys so well the ca n of worms we opened when we started doing business with an often corrupt an d inefficient command structure. Abili ty levels range from abysmal to very g oo d for o ne - an d

two-star levels, with most fallinginto

the mediocre range.Th e

USplayer gets th e luxury of being able to assign ARVN divisions tocorps as he sees f it , making it possible to compensate for poor corpscommanders by placing good quality division commanders underthem, and doing the reverse with good corps commanders an baddivision commanders. I f this were as far as it goes, the re would be noreal problems, bu t each one- an d two-star leader a lso has a loyaltyrating. Murphy s Law decrees that there will be at least on e or twoleaders with horrible ability ratings, but super loyalty ratings - inother words, you will never be able to get rid of them. I always ha d atleast one division, and of ten two, permanently garrisoning provincecapitals or major cities. Conversely, I always h ad t o replace at leastone officer of above average ability because of loyalty ratings of 6 orbelow. Usually I was also able to replace at least on e terrible leadersbecause of low loyalty.

Th e most important SVN leader to worry about is th e ARVNchief of staff. He c on tr ol s tw o divisions: t he Ra ngers an d theParatroopers. They are swing units capable of going to Corps Areasrequiring assistance, or where no division can function effectivelyu nd er t he C or ps Commander due to low ability or low loyalty. Ofequal or greater importance is that the C of S controls all ARVN artillery: itself a very powerful force.

Now, a bad corps commander can be worked around by somejudic ious d iv ision swi tch ing . Bad div ision c om ma nd er s c an beassigned to areas where at least their divisions defend vital cities orcapitals, if n ot hi ng else. But a ba d C of S is a ser ious problem. Itturns your two swing divisions from assets into liabilities - just twomore divisions suitable for garrisons. Worse yet , all the ARVN artillery becomes useless for most, i f n o t all, offensive operations. For

tunately, chances of this happening a re remote. His to rica lly, thet roops under the C of S were among the best in t he A RV N, a nd youmay w an t t o m ak e a second gentleman s agreement to ensure that theC of S has decent ability an d loyalty ratings, even if it means increasing t he o dd s that on e or two of t he C or ps C om ma nd er s come ou t



below average.Th e US player has another problem to take care of as quickly as

possible: raising the SVN morale level to 140. First of all, as SVNmorale rises, the loyalties of one- an d two-s tar leaders will tend torise, making a coup less likely. The US player does not need coups:they render most of the AR VN ineffective for the season an d cost theUS morale points. They decrease SVN morale by eight , costing theUS additional commitment points. At a morale level of 14 or more,the pacification die rolls are shifted one column to the US player sadvantage accelerating the slide of provinces into the governmentcamp. It means that any province under VC control will beconvertedto government control over time i f VC/NV A units are eliminated orforced out.

How can the US player help get SVN morale up to 14 as quicklyas possible? First we have US commitment . Rapid bui ld-up in thefirst two turns alone yields a 20-point increase to SVN morale (takingthe first two turns representing 100 commitment points 7 5).Another facet, overlooked often, are the US aid programs. The firsttwo aid programs per season cost one commitment point each and increase the SVN morale by a die roll each. The average increase perseason is 3 to 5 morale point s; a very effective use of commitmentpoint s for the first two or three seasons. They shouldn t be neededafter that, s ince any aid programs past the second per season yieldonly one point each. The commitment points used to buy them could

be better spent elsewhere.One other means of boasting morale is by no t allowing provincialcapitals to fall. doesn t add morale to the SVN, but it preventsnegative deductions. Progress in pacification also increases SVNmorale. Once over certain levels, SVN morale increases. One methodI found useful was unrestrained strategic bombing of the North forthe first ten seasons; the 40 morale points was invaluable to the SVNefforts.

The strategic bombing of the North holds other benefits for theUS player. Duringthe first ten seasons, the NL F player s biggest constraint is in commi tmen t point s. He has the d il emma of t ry ing tomaintain the VC while bui ld ing up the NV A. Why not add to hisproblems? Unrestrained bombing of the North eliminates 3 or 4commitment points of supp ly each season f rom the amount beingsent south. the NL F player wants to form 5 VC battalions in thenext season, he will be forced to allocate 13 or 14 commitment pointsso that he will have the necessary 100 supply points to send after thebombing is over. Upgrading the anti-air defenses will either lower thesupply losses or raise the amount of US airpower necessary to keepthem high, but upgrading costs commitment points. After 1 to 12seasons, the South Vietnamese don t need much more help on the irmorale. The morale loss on the American side can t take much moreeither. In short, it s no longer cost-effective.

Bombing the trail has nothing to do with raising SVN morale, bu twhile we are on the subject of strategic bombing, we should cover it.

Low-level trail bombing is used from the s ta rt . Eight ai r point sguarantees one hit on t he t rai l, reduc ing the first season supp lycapacity from 9 per commitment point to 8 per point . Assuming 15c om mi tm ent poi nt s are spent on supply, that reduction is the

equivalent of 7 VC bat talions no t formed, or 45 replacements no tcreated the NL F player wants to increase supply flow to wherelight trail bombing cannot cause any reductions, 8 valuable commitment points will have to be spent to raise the opt imal t rail s tatus twoboxes. If the trail status is not raised, keep up the light bombing. itis, s to p b om bi ng for a while. Whe n b ombi ng t he North is halted,recommence trail bombing with a vengeance. There is no moralepoint loss for trail bombing, an d from the tenth season or so onward,the Achilles heel for the NL F player is manpower for the VC, no tsupply. Pac if icat ion will be caus ing the rat io of VC draft to VCpopulat ion to rise to where the NL F player no longer gets 4 VC personnel points for each commitment point expended. When the ratioreaches 6 to I , only 2 personnel points ou t of t he 4 are available forunits or replacements (a reduction of 2). At 8 to I , there is a 3 p oi ntreduction to l ou t of the original 4. trail bombing inflicts enoughhits to lower personnel capacity to 3 per commitment point ins teadof 4, a reduction of 2 at a 6 t o I rat io means only I personnel p oi ntgets through. At a n 8 t o I r ati o, t he r ed uct ion of 3 means that nonemake it. The intensive t rai l bombing will force the NL F player tospend more commitment points to increase the trail status by several

n most wars there is a line or front acrosswhich opposing forces face one another. Each combatant tries to h ol d onto his territory an d push ormaneuver the other into surrendering ground. Vietnam was different. Even at the height o f US involve

ment there were simply no t enough U t roops tohold a line along the entire length o f the country andto prevent the infil tra tion o f men and equipment.The result o f this was very fluid combat.

- from the Vietnam rulebook

boxes and avoid the personnel reduction.

art Two: Where acification eginsIn guer ill a warfa re , the side that defends everything ends up

defending nothing . As the US player, you need to remember that

even with the ARVN, you will never have enough forces tosimultaneously pacify the entire country - so don t try. You dohave enough forces to pacify what is vital initially, an d then spreadou t for the rest as the campaign progresses. Never lose sight of whichprovinces are most vital in t erms of population points. Compareyour populat ion con trol shee t with the governmen t-cont ro ll edpopulation levels at the start of the campaign game. Notice that noneof the provinces with nine or more population points is so firmly inVC control that pacification is hopeless from the out se t. Of theeight-point provinces, only Tay Ninh and Vinh Binh are solidly Vc.The VC will be ou t in force from the first season onward, so not all ofthe big provinces will be saved for pacif icat ion from the start . TheVC can t be everywhere either. They may field 65 to 75 uni ts , but i fthey op t to overload several key provinces, they will be weak in manyothers. Your task becomes one of identifying the provinces to l et

go in the fi rs t season, and the provinces to fight for regardless ofVC presence.

Starting with I Corps, here is an analysis of the provinces showingwhich should be defended and where free fire can be employed.

I Corps 5 provinces 5 population pointsQuang Tri an d Thua Thien are pro-government, the remainder

are mostly VC-controlled. Quang Tri is vulnerable to attacks becauseof its proximity to the DM Z a nd t he trail. In bo th Thua Thien andQuang Gri , you can use free fire, bu t for different reasons. First ofal l, I have developed a rule for free fire: any province where there isenough government -controlled populati on to let you roll forpacification using the right-hand (most favorable) column, you canuse free-fire when necessary (lots of targets or NVA regulars in divi

sion strength or more) because even with the - 2 for free fire, i t svery h ar d t o c ome up with m or e than small adverse results. Don tmake a hab it of using free-fire in firmly controlled provinces, but ifyou need strength elsewhere, or the province is being overrun, one ortwo seasons in a row is usually OK.

For other provinces where pacification rolls are made on the 2ndthrough 5th columns, free fire has to be used more selectively. Youhave t o weigh t he impact of a - 2 for free fire against what theVC/NVA will have left in the province at the season s end if free-fireisn t employed. If no t using free-fire would leave enough VC/NVAuni ts alive to shi ft pac if icat ion by - 2 or more, you may want to usefree-fi re as a one season stop-gap unt il you can get more groundforce an d firepower into the area. Ther e are four provinces -Quang Tri, Tin , N am and Gnai - where this applies . Addit ionally,there are two provinces - Quang Tin and Quang Nam - where itmay be necessary to use free fire for an extended period oftime, driving both into the least favorable, pro-VC pacification column.

Should it become necessary to write-off an area for pacification initially, this will be one of the prime candidates because of theabove reasons.



8

the VC do concentrate in Quang Tin and Quang Nam they arethin elsewhere so you can a fford to sacrifice a couple of otherwisedesirable provinces in order to maximize the killing of the Vc. Yourpacification efforts in the areas the VC have left alone will more thanultimately offset your population loss Later with the one columnshift plus sufficient forces these can be won back Isolated from thetrail Quang Gnai will have to depend upon VC sea supply or poolsupply There is no border safe haven for the Vc . kept free of theYC this point province will slide over to the government side Tryat all t imes to keep enough ground troops an d firepower in Quang

Gnai where all VC can be eliminated without using free fi re Thisprovince should get kid glove treatment

The Provinces of South Vie tnam

ORPS

provinces/54 pop ptS.

ORPS

7 provinces/57 pop pts

I II CORPS 7 provinces/47 pop pts

IV CORPS 16 provinces/131 pop pts





10

the NL F player IS to inflict casualties on the ARVN and US forces.Although good on the a ttack, the NVA uni ts a re at their best whenoccupying terrain that the US player must retake.

Conduct efficiently your search an d destroy operations. This is

obvi ous, b ut vital t o n ot e since these o pe ra ti on s will a cc ou nt fordestroying ninety percent of the V units. This operation is import an t and complex enough to warrant coverage in a separate article. See the next issue o f the Victory Insider. Editor.

While you must be aggressive against the VC and NVA, this doesno t mean taking foolish risks which cause excessive casualties or costmorale points. Do no t fall vic tim to the attack at all costs syndrome, especially when only US o r F WA units are involved. Everyreplacement point consumed in combat brings you closer to the pointwhere withdrawal has to begin. e very sure that there is an offsettingbenef it for the losses you take.

The n there are the times when you will be able to bring overwhe lming s tr ength to bea r aga inst the VC/NVA. Your chances oftaking casualt ies can be reduced if you leave some ground units ou tof the attack. Throwing your results into a lower column will lessenthe odds of destroying or chasing of f the targe t uni ts, but t radinglosses is an attritional game that the NL F will ultimately win. So longas the NLF player has uncommited units within striking distance of

US uni ts, it is the foolish US player who allows his replacements tofall to zero. There is no situation where a three-point US morale lossfor a unit loss is justfied. It is better to lose a provincial captial or takea temporary setback in pacif ication rather than lose a US unit. It is

also a fooli sh US playe r who uses uni ts of the I st Air Cavalry a ndlOist Airmobile after all a irmobile points have been used. Any airmobile loss suffered would cost an entire morale point. You will havea hard enough time against the NLF without providing aid and comfort t o t he e ne my in t he fo rm of costly errors.

Keep ground, artillery an d air points reserve dfor emergencies. Inthis game you must keep reserves. f you commit everything and theNLF player still has units uncommitted, you can bet they will be usedduring the last part of each second seasonal turn to d is rupt the upcoming pacification die rolls in the ensuing seasons. Here are two ex-

amples: In IV Corp s you have used all available US a nd ARVNunits in the second turn to c lear the Delta , and you have done a goodjob But there are five uncommited VC units just across the borderfrom Chau Doc. With no US or ARVN units to interfere , the NLFplayer runs five consecutive strategic movement operations to placethese VC units in five cultivated hexes of An Giang province. Score a5 on the pacification die roll. The US player will be very lucky no t tolose anypopula tion, and the5 makes it cer ta in that none will be gain-

USING THE FLOW H RTSThe procedure o f the Operations Phase is somewhat complex and dif-ferent f ro m m os t other games. These charts, or schematic representa-t ions, have been provided to clari fy and summarize the events o f theOperations Phase. Like the Sequence o f Play, these charts specify whalmUS be done, and th e ord er in which it must occur. To use Ihe charts,starl althe l P o f rhe general Operations Flow Chart below andfollowIhe arrows, answering the queslions posed in Ihe t imed boxes eilher yes or n o in each gray box, follow the instructions. I f yo u are

undertaking a security, search an d destroy, or clear and secure opera-tion, th e general O perations Flow Chart will direct yo u to the ap-propriate specialized chart on the following page. When yo u come to abo x marked Return 10 Begin Operation, start again with the generalOperations Flow Chart. The Operations Phase has no t ended until yo ureach the E nd Operations Phase o f the general chart. Note that thesecharts are merelyaids, an d the rules rhemselves are final authority in anydispute.

Operations low hart

Security

See i gr m

Search estroyor Clear Secure

END

OPERATIONSPHASE

Se e i gr m

, Y

I

~

player willingt o o ~ e r t e

NLF aeclaresoperation

NLF usplayer elects r

O .

player willing_ . , ; ; t . ; ; o . , ; ; o , - : ~ ~ e ~ r ; ; ; a t ; , ; e ; , . ; ? ~ . . . ..._.;.to;:;. .;;o- p -;;e; ;ra; .;t. ;;e-- ?

YE S IYES



11

- - - J

YES

Are alloperating units

withdrawn?

Retreats

Security Operation

Roll Die

3

t- - - - - . I s - s t a c k

in anenemy'occupied hex?

YES

tI

II

I ~ = F ~

IES

Roll for Rangerse ~ h Destroj;? - ~ c eif desired

NO YES II• SelectTarget Hex ool...

• Declare SupportlFree·Fire

• MovementlReaction

• OffensiveInterdiction

Designate Units

Searcll Destroyor Clear Secure

'i DeterminemoaiTers to comljat tie

·Dieroll• Apply Defender Casualties• Apply Attacker Casualties• RetreatlDefensive Reserve

Activation and Movement• Pursuit ( - 2 fo r Clear and Secure)1

Offensive Reserve Activation andMovement

2 •

Any operating unitsin target hex? NO

ArethereVCdefenders?

YES2 NO I

Any target units in Return t

adjacent hexes or ~ G I NOPERATION Ihexesoccupied by

oQerating units?YES

DIAGRAM A:

Search and DestroylClear and Secure

If operation i ~Clear and Sec4re,units may be assigned to ,eatral orHolding operations.

Remove Interdiction Markers

1. Offensive interdiction counts toward first round fire.2. I f operation Clear n Secure units may be assigned to Patrol or

Holding Operations.3. Attacking units may withdraw.



1 2

ed. To ad d insult to injury, the N LF player runs five consecutivestrategic movement missions at the start of the next turn, moving theVC unit s back over the border in safety.

In I Corps you have again done an outstanding jo b of clearing theVC an d NVA out. As the second season closes, two uncommi tedNVA divisions come across th e D MZ a nd a tta ck Q ua ng Tri City.You are ou t of air points an d your art il lery has been commi ttedelsewhere. Th e only uncommitted ground units are to o far south toenter as defensive reserves. Th e NVA enter the c ity, t ak ing heavylosses that are offset by the fact that next turn, Quang Tri's pacificat ion die roll will be mod if ied by -II C ha lk u p a major populationshift, and many seasons of careful pacification have just been blownaway. Again, th e N LF player conducts strategic movement operations to get the NVA regula rs far away from the scene of the crimewhile you stand by powerless to halt their flight.

But , there are ways to counteract this end of turn threat from theVC an d NVA. First of all, leave some ground, air an d artillery unitsuncommitted near threatened areas. There mere existance of thesereserves will discourage all bu t the mos t massive an d determinedNVA attacks. When the VA or NVA units t hr ea te n t o h ead f orcultivated hexes, use your reserves to play cat an d mouse with them.Th e larger the number of uncommitted VC or NVA units, the moreyou keep uncommitted. the NL F player has five uncommitted VCunits, bu t see that you have the strength to destroy th e first four thatcome across, thegain he ca n get ou t of the fifth unit will no t outweigh

losing the first four. Another way to counter VC an d NVA units thathave successfully moved is to make it impossible to strategicallymove back on the nex t turn. Place US I ARVN units between theVC/NVA and the border on patrol operations in the special operat ions designation phase. Also, uni ts ca n be strat moved during theUS I ARVN strategic phase to interpose themselves between theV C/ NVA a nd the border. Both types of operations can be car ri edou t before th e NL F player gets a chance to perform operations during the next turn. This way, the offending units will pay the price forthe damage they did.

There is a more passive means to discourage VC/NVA strategicmovement. In particularly vulnerable stretches of the border, position some of the chronically ineffective ARVN regiments. Amongtheir few redeeming virtues is that they still possess a zone of control.Place them 2 hexes inside the border with 2 hexes between each unit.With 5 ranger uni ts in the holding box the border will cost terrain + 2,an d each of the next three hexes will cost terrain + I to exit. Even aVC uni t with 2 movement point s will find it t ou gh t o go to o far.Most of the desirable coastal cultivated hexes will be ou t of range.These slow-down units placed near t he b or de r m ak e t he N LF playerthink twice about creating units further inside Vietnam, especially in

the mountains, because US I ARVN uni ts ins ide the borders don'tjust impede entry, they also hinder or block retreat. FWA units suchas the Koreans or the Q ueen's Cobra Reg imen t a re even bet te rbecause they can be pu t on patrol , making movement cost terrain + 2to exit. Left alone, they are vulnerable to casualties, so try to stack anARVN battalion with them to absorb the losses.

is far cheaper to occupy some hexes within South Vietnam witha single unit than it is to use several units apiece to drive the VC ou t of

each one.In the Delta some of these troublesome hexes are 1373, 1775,

1966 an d 2066. In the mountains of I Corps and II Corps, some of thehexes you might want to deny to th e VC are 5631, 4919, 5548, and4734. Each of these hexes gives a VC unit a terrain movement factorof + 3 on an alert rol l. Th e hexes sur rounding the above hexesgenerally cost less to enter, making escape easier an d requiring moreUS I ARVN units to block the escape routes. Much of the t ime youca n use final round pursuit bonuses from nearby operations to position units in these perfect VC hexes to deny them to the VC in th enext recruitment phase. you don't have the units to pursue, thenuse ARVN battalions, ineffective ARVN Regiments or the Philippine u ni t t o occupy these hexes. Another way to advantageously usefinal round pursuit is to c re at e a c ou pl e of stacks of AR VN orARVN/FWA units on roads using final pur suit. These will beavailable for security operations on th e following turn. They will bestrong enough to crush th e average VC batta lion caught on a road,an d powerful enough with air strength a dd ed to d o the same to an yNVA units found. the units are no t needed for security operations,

simply move them ou t as needed to nearby search an d destroy operations.

T he N LF player can heavi ly contes t a province by using a supplyc on du it t o d ou bl e the number of VC units created in a province,forming them into clusters. As many additional units as possible will

be strat moved across the border to form additional clusters. Onceestablished in clusters, the VC are very hard to displace, and causeadverse pacification results. Th e US countermeasure is to checkerboard these c on te st ed provinces so that VC clusters cannotdevelop. Picketing the border is a good way to start. AugmentedARVN infantry battalions are good also. They have no zones of control, bu t they ca n deny hexes an d block retreat. Th e US armoredcavalry squadrons placed on patrol status often provide an effectiveness to this checkerboarding ou t of proportion to the ir lowground strengths. Again, the NL F player may have second thoughtsabout committing large numbers of VC units to ar ea s where theycannot cluster or escape. Deploy your ground units where they will

be most effective. Mechanized battalions an d armored battalionswork best along roads , clear hexes an d grassland hexes where theirhigh pursuit bonuses can be exploited. They do pretty well in hills,but become very marginal in most other types of terrain. Your airmobile units can be used to greatest effect in the mountains, forestedhills and, surprisingly, the marshlands of t he Del ta where theyweren't employed historically).

Speaking of pursuit in th e Delta, there is one method which beats

airmobile, a nd t ha t is the amphibious point . They are expensive toacquire, bu t you only need two or three of them since they cannot bedestroyed.

s your dedicated artillery primarily the division HQ s and theAmerical S unit These units c an s up po rt a ny o pe ra ti on in rangewithout being tasked so long as at least on e of their respective subordinate units is taking part. This is on e of the greatest force multipliersin the game if you use i t correct ly. You have to d o a little planning tomake sure that these units will be within supporting range of two orpreferably three operations per turn. Because you will need morefirepower in the mountains of I Corps it only makes sense to employth e Amer ical Division t he re wher e th e mUltiplier e ff ect of itsdedicated artillery can be pu t to best use, freeing support points forother needed areas.

on t be afraid to invade Cambodia or Laos The best time t o d oso is immediately preceding an NLF offensive. This allows you todestroy a lot of potentially destructive units cheaply on the other sideof the border, where free fire has no negative consequences. This is

especially true of the open terrain opposite III Corps and IV Corps.Often enough damage will be done that the entire offensive will haveto be cal led of f in order to rebuild units an d replacements. Figuringou t when an offensive will commence is no t as tr icky as you mightthink, assuming of course, that the NL F player is planning on throwing a full -f ledged one . Th e first tell-tale sign is a really large accumulation of NVA, an d possibly VC, replacements. Offensives req ui re a g re at number of replacements to be tru ly effective. This is

because an offensive s success is proportional to the number of attacks made, an d NVA/VC attacks, relying m or e o n ground strengthpoints than artillery, are expensive.

The second clueis

that many NVA units generally waitin

the safetyof th e trail holding boxes until an offensive is imminent, an d emergethe turn before an offensive is declared. the US player has collectedair points as he should have, th e NVA forces will be forced intohiding or lose 20 to 30 SP's per turn to bombardment attacks . Payspecial a tt en ti on t o w ha t the NL F player does during each winterseason. If an offensive comes, it will usual ly be in th e spring seasonbecause of the 25 7 reduction in US air an d airmobile points due tomonsoons. Invasions to destroy NVA units retreating during or afteran offensive ca n be very effective also.

In summary, the 1965-1975 campaign game is winnable for theUS player, but the victory won't be cheap or easy. Start big with theUS forces, use theARVN as much as possible, accumulate firepowerinstead of ground t roops, pu t priority on securing the areas yielding

the most population points t o t he SVN government, an d take the waraggressively to the VC an d NVA wherever they may be. You will beable to hold th e strategic initiative from turn one an d never relinquish it.



attle tested Leadership System

or The Civil War Glenn Rahman

Part One Untried LeadersDuring the Civil War, both sides, bu t particularly the Union,

were plagued with many incompetant generals. Disasterously,here was really no objective test of a leader s capabilities before

he was delegated responsibility. John Charles Fremont, T hePathfinder, had earned a n impressive name for himself inWestern explo rat ion . He had also been in strumenta l in thebloodless conquest of Cal ifornia in 1846 dur ing the MexicanWar. Why should anyone have suspected that when placed inharge of a theatre of war, his office would become a bottleneckf passivity and misdirection?

Although it is probably that few games deliver their subjectbetter, Victory Game s The Civil War suffers from the old prob

em of having to give too much information to the players in someases. To be realis tic, Leaders have to be rated in respect to theirhistorical performance, as the game does. But in rating them, theplayer knows before the first shot is fired how skillful a particularLeader is. He therefore enjoys a kind o f h ind-ight that Presidents Lincoln and Davis never possessed. What

player would ever take Fremont out of St. Louis, except to keephim ou t of the way of an advancing Confederate army before hemesses things up. The hapless B.F. Butler, who historically wasgranted important commands, is destined never to be removedrom Ft. Monroe, where he can t do much harm.

Wouldn t it be more authentic and interesting ifeach Leader sabilities could come as a surprise to all concerned

especially the player to whom the Leader belongs? Wouldn this better approximate the dilemma of the wartime

presidents - as well as add an element of surprise that mostgamers like to see?

THE V RI NTPreparation A set of alternate Leader counters for both the

Union and Confederate forces has been provided in the cardboard insert to The General If you have that sheet, skip on to thenext section.

Just in case you ve lost your insert, complete instructions areprovided below. Do no t make alternate counters for the threeUnion Naval Leaders. At all times they are governed by the standard rules.

Th e counters should be blank, except for being identified byhe national color and a number of stars to denote the rank of the

Leader each represents. The variant counters that represent theCavalry Leaders shall have the cross-swords symbol printed onhem.

The Confederate set of variant counters shall be comprised of:Six 3-star LeadersOne 2-star LeadersFifteen I-star LeadersFour I-star Cavalry Leaders

Th e Union set of variant counters shall be comprised of:Eight 3-star LeadersSix 2-star LeadersFourteen I-star LeadersFi ve I-star Cavalry Leaders

These alternate counters represent the untried, unrevealed

Leaders.

Set up 86 Scenario In 1861, Leaders are untried. Each player

provides himself with four wide-mouth cups . Take the Leaderounters provided with the standard game and place them in the

1 3

cups, separated by rank.From the supply of varian t counters , place a unit of equal

rank in terms of stars) upon the map where a Leader is supposedto be deployed. Fo r example, a blank 3-star Confederate variantcounter should be placed in Nashville. That is 3-star Leader sAlbert S Johnson s deployment hex.

P lace the remain ing var iant counters on the turn recordtrack in place of the leaders due to enter the game. Different iatebetween Cavalry an d ordinary Leaders.

862 and Later Scenarios In these scenarios, some of theLeaders may be assumed to have been tes ted in combat. Theseare the Leaders which the scenario s tart s a lready deployed onthe m ap . Variant count er s s houl d be used on the turn recordtrack.

How to Use Untried LeadersAn unt ried Leader may serve only one function before he is

revealed: movement. All Union untried Leaders are assumed tohave an Initiative Rating of 3 All Confederate untried Leadersexcept Cavalry Leaders have an Initia tive Rating of 3. Confederate Cavalry Leaders have an Ini tiat ive Rating of 2.

An unt ried Leader may take on all functions of movementnormally, including entering enemy-occupied hexes and con

trolling hexes.Within a rank, there is no super iori ty amongst unt riedLeaders. A revealed Leader always outranks an untried Leader ofthe same rank.

When to Reveal Untried LeadersThe rule of thumb is to reveal the minimum necessary for

each game function.I. on e or more untried Leaders is present in a hex with a

demoralized force and no Leader of the highest rank present isrevealed, one Leader of the highest rank is immediately revealed.At that time the player must expend Commands to rally the force,unless he does no t have sufficient Commands remaining. Toreveal an untried Leader in this situation, the players must havethe following number of comm ands : 3-star - C on fede ra te 2,Union 3; 2-star - Confederate 3, Union ; I-star - bothplayers

2. If an unt ried Leader is in command of an Army and thea rm y mus t React to enemy movement, t he Leader s identity isrevealed. other untried Leaders of the same rank are with thearmy, they are no t revealed even though one may later t ur n o utto rank the revealed Leader).

3. a Leader commands a force which is not an army in combat, his identity is revealed even though one may later turn ou t to rank the revealed Leader).

4. Ifan Army becomes engaged in combat, aI/untried Leadersin it are immediately revealed. After the revelat ion, the highestranking Leader in the army is assumed to be in command of theArmy.

Other RulesI. a Leader is up for promotion, he must be revealed.

an untried Leader is killed, he is immediately revealed.3. If an unt ried Leader is wounded and hence ineligible for

promotion, he remains unrevealed. His variant counter is placedon the turn track and, la ter, in the Leader Pool.

4. Once a Leader is revealed, he funct ions according to rule2.5.

Part Two Cavalry LeadersDespite the usually high quality of the simulation in The Civil

War the Cavalry rules fall somewhat short of the desired end.Taken as a whole, the rules hamstring Cavalry operations by

making them too expensive relative to the rest of the act ion. It is

hard to understand the reason for this, s ince Cavalry is furtherrestricted by the rules governing the control of hexes, and thestrength which each Cavalry Leader may command.

The effect of these rules is to allow very little of the daring andfar-ranging cavalry raiding that was typical of the War Between

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14

he ar of Nerves New Scenario For TO The ext War n urope

By ruce MaxwellDesigner of N TO

The War of Nerves scenario examines the problems that theSoviet Union would face in deciding how to launch an invasion.There are a great many different approaches that could be taken,some aimed at maximizing surprise an d others aimed at maximizing preparat ion. The Soviet Union would have to decide whichunits to mobilize, and how long to mobil ize, before s tr ik ing.

would have to decide whether it wished to aitack ou t of barracks,or under cover of a massive maneuver exercise. would have todecide which minor allies it could trus t to alert ahead of time andwhich would be best left in the dark until the last minute. wouldhave to decide how many reinforcements could be sent to the forward Fronts without unduly alarming NATO s intelligence agencies. These, an d a gre at man y other fac to rs , wou ld make for avery complicated planning job especially considering the difficulty of estimating NATO s alertness, and the countermeasuresNATO might take. In this scenario, the Warsaw Pact player mustlay his own plans .

The War of Nerves scenario is played with its own set ofspecial rules. The basic concept is that play begins in peacetime,as in the other three scenarios. However, unlike those scenarios,war does not automatically break o ut o n the second Game-Turn.R ather, war bre aks ou t only when the Warsaw Pact playerchooses to declare war. Th e key feature of this scenario is the relat ionship between the Tension Level an d NATO s Alert Level.The Tension Level is determined by which preparations for warthe Warsaw Pact player has initiated. Th e more preparations, thehigher the Tens io n Level. T he Tens io n Level in turn affectsNATO s Alert Level. The higher the Tension Level, the greaterthe chances t ha t N AT O s Alert Level will improve. NATO sAlert Level determines NATO s readiness to meet an invasion.

W M RKERSIn order to play this scenario, five new markers are required:

I) a Peace-Turn Marker, a Soviet Mobilization Marker, 3 aWarsaw Pact Minor Ally Mobilization Marker, 4) a NATOMobilization Marker, and 5 a French Activation Marker.

W R ND PE CEThe scenario starts during peacetime an d remains there until

the Warsaw Pact player declares war. At the start of the Game,the Peace Marker is placed in the Game-Turn One box of theGame-Turn Track, and advanced one box at the start of each newturn of peace. The box current ly occup ied by the Peace-TurnMarker is referred to as the Peace-Turn. During a Peace-Turn,

no unit belonging to either player may enter enemy territory, normay either player execute any form of combat. During PeaceTurns , both players are subject to addit ional movement restr ict ions which vary depending upon NATO s Alert Level an d thevarious pre-war preparations that the Warsaw Pact has initiated.

The Sequence of Play during Peace-Turns is reduced to onlythree phases fo r each Play er-Tu rn : th eReinforcement Activation/Declaration Phase, the DetrainingPhase, an d the Movement Phase. In addition, the NATO PlayerTurn is skipped entirely when NATO is at certain Alert Levels.

The Warsaw Pact player may declare war at the s tart of anyPeace-Turn from the start of the game onwards . Th e WarsawPact player must declare war by the start of the Fifteenth PeaceTurn or he forfeits the game. Once the Warsaw Pact player hasdeclared war, all normal rules of play apply. Th e Peace Marker is

removed from the Game-Turn Track and the regular Game-TurnMarker is placed in the Game-Turn Two box. The box currentlyoccupied by the Game-Turn Marker is re ferred to as t he War-

Turn . The scenario is then played from Game-Turn Two throughthe end of Game-Turn Eight, or Game-Turn Fi ft een, as theplayer s desire.

N TO LERT LEVELSThere are fou r possible NATO Alert Levels: I) No Alert ,

Alert Condition One, 3 Alert Condition Two, 4) Alert ConditionThree. NATO starts the scenario at No Alert . At the start of eachNATO Player-Turn before war has been dec la red, the NATOplayer rolls on e die. the result is less than or equal to the currentTension Level, NATO s Alert Level increases by one. Once warwas been dec la red, all peacet ime res tri ctions assoc ia ted withNATO s Alert Level end. However, NATO s Alert Level at theinstant the war is declared does affect the point allocat ions andreinforcement schedules that a pply fo r the rema in der of thescenario.

No lertDuring each Peace-Turn that NATO is on No Alert , NATO s

Player-Turn is skipped. However, the NATO player may roll toincrease his Alert Level after each Warsaw Pact Player-Turn. Assoon as war is declared, the NATO player may execute normalPlayer-Turns.

If the Warsaw Pact player declares war when NATO is on NoAlert, the scenario is played according to the following rules:

The Warsaw Pact player uses the Organic Supply period listed inthe Tactical Surprise Scenario.

The Warsaw Pact player receives the Airstrike Bonus listed in theStrategic Surprise Scenario.

Th e NATO player uses the Initial Point Allocations and Activation Schedule listed in the Strategic Surprise Scenario.

Th e NATO player receives reinforcement uni ts and transportpoints for the current War-Turn as per the St ra teg ic Surpr iseScenario.

Th e NATO player receives Victory Points for Chemical Warfareas per the Strategic Surprise Scenario.

Both players receive Air Aitack Poin ts and Chemical WarfarePoints for the current War-Turn according to the Strategic Surprise listings on the Game-Turn Track.

Ale rt Condition OneDuring each Peace-Turn that NATO is on Alert Condition

One prior to the initiation of Warsaw Pact Maneuvers, NATO sPlayer-Turn is skipped. However, the NATO player may roll to

increase his Alert Level after each Warsaw Pact Player-Turn.Once the Warsaw Pact player has ini ti at ed Maneuvers, theNATO player may choose to activate all non-French NATO unitsin West Germany at the s tart of any subsequent NATO PlayerTurn (see Maneuvers). NATO s Player-Turn is then executednormally within the restrictions of peacetime play. Once war hasbeen declared, there are n o f ur th er res trictions on NATO sPlayer-Turn.

the Warsaw Pact p layer decla res war when NATO is onAlert Condi tion One , the scenario is p layed according to thefollowing rules:

The Warsaw Pact players uses the Organic Supply period listed inthe Tactical Surprise Scenario.

Th e NATO player uses the Initial Point Allocations and Activation Schedule listed in the Tactical Surprise Scenario.

Th e NATO player receives reinforcement uni ts and transportp oints for the c urr ent War-Turn as pe r t he Tactical SurpriseScenario.



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Th e NATO player receives Victory Points for Chemical Warfareas per the Tactical Surprise Scenario.

Both players receive Air Attack Points an d Chemical WarfarePoints fo r the cur rent War-Turn according to the Tac ti ca l Surprise l is tings on the Game-Turn Track.

lert Condition TwoDuring each Peace-Turn tha t NATO s on Alert Condit ion

Tw o prior to the initiation of Warsaw Pact Maneuvers, NATO sPlayer Turn s skipped . However, the NATO player may roll toincrease his Alert Level a ft er each Warsaw Pact Player-Turn.Once the Warsaw Pact player has in it iat ed M aneu vers , t heNATO pl ayer may choose to activate all N ATO un it s in WestGermany at the start of any subsequent NATO Player-Turn seeManeuvers . NATO s Player-Turn s then executed normallywithin the res tr ictions of peacetime play. O nce w ar has beendec la red, there are no fur ther res tr ic tions o n N AT O s PlayerTurn.

t he Warsaw Pact player declares war when NATO s onAlert Condition Two, the scenar io s p layed according to the

following rules:

Th e Warsaw Pact player uses the Organic Supply period listed

the Tactical Surprise Scenario.

Th e NATO player uses the Initial Point Allocations an d Activat ion Schedule listed in the Extended Bui ldup Scenario.

Th e NATO player receives reinforcement uni ts and transportp oi nt s f or the c ur ren t War-Tur n as pe r t he Ex te nde d Bu il dupScenario.

Th e NATO player receives Victory Points for Chemical Warfareas per the Extended Bui ldup Scenario.

Both p layers receive Air Att ack Point s and Chemica l WarfarePoints for the current War Turn a cco rdi ng t o t he Ext end edBui ldup l ist ings on the Game-Turn Track.

lert Condition Three the NATO player enters Alert Condit ion Three before the

Warsaw Pact player has declared war, the fol lowing effects occur:

The NATO player may start to execute normal Player-Turnswithin the restrictions of peacetime.

All NATO units except French uni ts in Franch are automat ical lyactivated, regardless of whether the Warsaw Pact player has ini tiated Maneuvers or not .

Th e NATO player immediately receives the Initial Point Allocat ions l is ted for the Extended Bui ldup scenario.

T he NAT O player immediately places the NATO Mobil izat ionMarker in the Game-Turn One Box of the Game-Turn Track an dthe French Activation the Game- Turn Four box. At the start ofeach subsequent Game-Turn, the NATO Mobilization Marker s

advanced by one box. Th e box currently occupied by the marker s referred to as the Mobil izat ion-Turn. During the NATO Reinforcement Phase of each NATO Player-Turn, the NATO playermay enter the g rou nd unit and transport point reinforcementslisted in the Extended Buildup scenario for the currentMobilization- Turn.

Thus, on Mobil ization-Turn One, the NATO player may enterthe Game-Turn One ground reinforcements listed in the ExtendedBuildup Reinforcement Schedule. On Mobilization-Turn Two,t he N ATO pl ayer m ay e nt er t he G am e- Tu rn Two g ro un d reinforcements listed in the Extended Buildup ReinforcementSchedule an d the Game Turn Two transport p oi nt rein

forcements l is ted for Game-Turn Two on the Game-Turn Track,etc.

When the NATO Mobilization Marker s moved into the GameTurn Four box, al l French uni ts France are activated.

the Warsaw Pact Player dec lares war when NATO s onAlert Condi tion Three , the scenario s played according to thefollowing rules:

Th e Warsaw Pact players uses the Organic Supply period listed inthe Tactical Surprise Scenario.

The NATO player receives Victory Points for Chemical Warfareas per the Extended Bui ldup Scenario.

Both p layers receive Air Att ack Points and Chemical WarfarePoints for the current War Turn ac cor di ng t o the Ext end ed

Buildup listingson

the Game-Turn Track.W RS W P CT ST RTING CONDITIONS

At the s tart of the scenario, the Warsaw Pact player receivesthe Ini ti al Point A ll oc at io ns listed for t he Tact ica l Su rpr is eScenario. add it ion, all Soviet and Eas t German uni ts onmapare considered to be act ivated . Note, however, tha t these uni tsmay no t move until the Warsaw Pact player has initiatedManeuvers.

SOVIET MO ILIZ TION

At t he s ta rt of t he scenario, the Warsaw Pact player shouldplace his Soviet Mobilization Marker in the Game-Turn One boxof the Game Turn Track. At the s tart of each subsequent turn ofpeace or war, the Soviet Mobilization Marker should be advanced by one box. During the Reinforcement Phase of each WarsawPact Player-Turn, the Warsaw Pact player receives the Sovietreinforcements, only, that are listed in the Tactical SurpriseScenario for that Soviet Mobilization-Turn. add it ion, theWarsaw Pact player receives any Transport Points l isted for thatTurn on the Game-Turn Track.

Thus, on Soviet Mobil ization-Turn One, the Warsaw Pactplayer receives the Soviet ground reinforcements listed for GameTurn One in the Tactical Surprise Reinforcement Schedule. OnSoviet Mobilization-Turn Two, the Warsaw Pact player receivesthe Game-Turn Two Soviet ground reinforcements listed in theTactical Surprise Reinforcement Schedule and the Game-TurnTwo Transpor t Point reinforcements listed on the Game-turnTrack for the Tactical Surprise Scenario, etc.

THE TENSION LEVEL

The Tension Level s tands a t one at the s tart of the scenario.The fol lowing Warsaw Pact preparations increase the TensionLevel as indicated. All increases are cumulative.



16

* Maneuvers: + 2.* Minor Ally Mobilization: + 1.* Intra-Bloc Movement: + 1.* Reinforcement: + 1.

WARSAW PACT WAR PREPARATIONSTh e Warsaw Pact p layer may take fou r steps to prepare for

war before war actually breaks out : 1 mobilize his minor allies the Poles an d the Czechs), 2 initiate Maneuvers to position hisunits along their national frontiers, 3) initiate Intra-Bloc Move

ment to allow his uni ts to concentrate along the West Germanfrontier, an d 4 initiate Reinforcement t o a ug me nt front-lineforces. Each step enhances his ability to overrun West Germanyin the early s tages of the war. However, each step also increasesthe Tension Level, an d therefore the chance that NATO s AlertLevel will improve,

ManeuversBefore the outbreak of war, the Warsaw Pact player may no t

move any of his activated units unless he initiates Maneuvers. Hemay ini tiate Maneuvers at the start of any Peace-Turn. Once hehas ini tiated Maneuvers , he may move all act ivated uni ts withinnormal peacetime restrictions. If the Warsaw Pact player initiatesManeuvers before the outbreak of war, the Tension Level is increased by tw o. O nc e w ar has been d elc ared , the War sa w Pactplayer is not required to initiate Maneuvers in order to move hisunits normally.

If NATO is on Alert Condit ion One or Two at any point afterthe Warsaw Pact p layer has dec la red Maneuvers , the NATOplayer may act ivate all non-French NATO units in West Germany. These N ATO units may then move n ormall y, p ro vi de dthat they do n ot leave West Germany.

Minor y MobilizationAt the s tart of any turn of peace or war, the Warsaw Pact

player may mobilize the Czech an d Polish armies by placing hisWarsaw Pact Minor Ally Mobilization Marker in the Game-TurnO ne box of the G am e- Tu rn Tra ck . A t the start of each subsequent turn this Marker is advanced by one box. Thereafter dur

ing the Reinforcement Phase for each Warsaw Pact Player-Turn,the Warsaw Pact player receives the Czech an d Polish ground

the States. Who is so lavish that he dares expend three Commandson Stoneman s Cavalry, a force of only three strength points atmaximum, while at the same t ime it t akes only two commands toal low Sherman to move an ent ire army of, say, twenty strengthpoints? Surely the resources needed to send Stoneman s littletroop raiding c an no t c om pa re t o that required by Sherman sMarch to the Sea.

While acknowledging sol id reasons for l imit ing the capabilities of Cavalry, we offer the following rules to allow the possibilityof some cavalier audacity.

I. To order any Cavalry Leader to move requi res only oneCommand.

2. To see if the order is obeyed, roll a die. I f the result is higherthan the Ini tiat ive Rating printed o n t he L ea de r s c ou nt er theLeader may move his s trength points that Pulse.

3. I f the die resul t in 2 is t higher than the Initiative ratingof the Cavalry Leader the Leader s t roop ma y no tmove - unless a dd it io na l Commands enough to bring the totalup to the printed Initiative Rating on the counter areimmediately spent. I f the additional on e or two Commands arenot spent, the original Command is lost to no effect.

4. Re pe at the p ro ce du re in e ach Pu ls e that Cavalry Leadertroop movement is desired.

reinforcements, only, listed in the Tactical Surprise Scenario forthe current Minor Ally Mobilization-Turn.

All Czech an d Polish units onmap are considered to be activated at the instant that the Warsaw Pact player declares MinorAlly Mobilization.

I f the Warsaw Pact player chooses to mobilize his minor alliesbefore he has declared war, the Tension Level is immediately increased by one. I f the Warsaw Pact player has not mobilized hisminor allies before he declares war, mobilization is automatic atthe instant that war is declared.

Intra,Bloc MovementBefore the outbreak of war, the Warsaw Pact player may no t

move any units from one friendly country to another until he hasini tiated Intra-Bloc Movement. He may init iat e Int ra -B locMovement at the start of any Warsaw Pact Player-Turn, provided that he has also i nitiated M ane uve rs s imu lt an eo us ly orpreviously. I f th e Warsaw Pact player initiates Intra- Bloc Movement before the outbreak fo war, the Tension Level is increasedby one. Once war has been declared, the Warsaw Pact player maymove units from one friendly country to another without restriction.

ReinforcementBefore the outbreak of war, t he War sa w Pact player must

withhold all available ground unit reinforcements offmap untilhe initiates Reinforcement. He may initiate Reinforcement at the start of any Warsaw Pact Player-Turn provided that he has alsoinitiated Maneuvers simultaneously or previously. Once the Warsaw Pact player initiates Reinforcement, he may enter all currentan d previously withheld ground unit reinforcements as fast as histransport capabilities allow. I f the Warsaw Pact player initiatesReinforcement before the outbreak of war, the Tension Level isincreased by one. Once war has been declared, the Warsaw Pactplayer is no t required to declare Reinforcement in order to enterhis available reinforcements.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

n this scenario, victory always is determined according to the

Victory Condition s che dule listed in th e Tactical SurpriseScenario.

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• , I _. , I I\ . \

TenSHUN The Lieutenant's asked me to say thatwe're looking for volunteers to fill the ranks of theVictory nsider This mission requires split·secondtiming, in·depth knowledge of the latest gamesfrom Victory, and a wil lingness to get the job done.

The Lieutenant also says that this job will paythe same rates as The eneral That's $18 permagazine page, $27 per page if you want AH or Vproducts.

So who's volunteering? Moore Ryer Koller

Herman Report to the Lieutenant at 0300 hours infull field pack and typewriter. n the doubleDISMISSED

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