Following the recommended order of scenario play, the first is #6 Tea Time, we come to scenario #3 LZ Mary. This scenario depicts the night ambush conducted by A/1/9 and some CIDG Strikers on the NVA 66th Regiment as it was moving into the Ia Drang Valley as well as the subsequent NVA counterattack.

[NOTE: These examples don’t, necessarily, show the best tactics to be used. They are for illustrative purposes.]

Pictured below is a representation of the scenario card which comes in the box. These scenario cards allow players to play these smaller actions without having to unfold the entire map.

Note that the Special Scenario Rules (SSR) indicate that during GT1, the FWA conducts a single round of Assault Combat against the PAVN units (simulating the night ambush). Cross-referencing their modified roll of “7” with the 2-3 column of the Assault Combat table generates no loss on the NVA.

Per the SSR, play now continues with the PAVN player turn. There is one Reinforcement this turn, so the PAVN player places it in 1021 and moves his units. Not wanting to attack across the Ia Drang (Drang River) which would incur a +1 DRM, the PAVN player moves across the river (which isn’t an impediment to movement) and next to the FWA units for 6 Movement Points (MPs). They place an Assault Marker in the Combat Declaration Phase.

As there is no PAVN artillery on the map, there is no Offensive Bombardment. The defenders have the option of conducting a Combat Refusal. By rule, the CIDG may always attempt, but the US unit may not as it is in Operational LZ. Wanting to maximize his defensive capabilities, the FWA player elects not to conduct Combat Refusal. The FWA player could also conduct Defender Reaction to bolster the defenses, but, as there are no units adjacent to do so, it’s a moot point (in the Campaign Scenarios, helicopters can be used to bring in units from a Helicopter Base) . The PAVN player proceeds to the Combat Resolution Phase; the first step is to determine Attack Coordination. As there is no NVA HQ present, the PAVN player rolls against the nominal command value of “3”. He rolls a “4” and is “Uncoordinated”; he will incur a “+1” DRM on the assault (in addition to any other DRMs), and the FWA will benefit from a “-1” DRM. First, however, the FWA player gets to conduct Defensive Bombardment. He has no artillery, helicopters (Campaign Scenarios only), or Air Points available, though, so this is skipped.

The defender then rolls first on the Assault Combat table with a strength of four (three for A/1/9’s Defensive Strength and one for the CIDG’s). They roll a modified “2” which causes another step loss. The PAVN player flips a unit to its reduced strength side. He then attempts to return the favor but rolls a “10”.

Both sides then roll against the highest Efficiency Rating unit to determine whether or not they fire again in Assault Combat. The PAVN rolls a “10” and the FWA rolls a “9”, so neither player fires again.

This effectively ends the turn, and we move on to Game Turn 2.

A/1/8 arrives as a Reinforcement for the FWA, however, because there are PAVN units adjacent to the LZ, it’s considered a Hot LZ. The FWA player must roll against the unit’s ER. He rolls a “7” which exceeds A/1/8’s ER, so the unit arrives Fatigued.

Since that unit is Fatigued and can’t attack, the FWA player elects not to move any units or declare any combats. He does choose to conduct Offensive Bombardment against the NVA units next to the LZ. He decides to use three of his available nine Air Points (saving six for Defensive Fire in the upcoming PAVN assault). As the PAVN player only has three stacking points adjacent to the target hex, no Air Defense Fire is possible. Needing a “1” to cause a step loss and/or a “2” or less to cause a Fatigue result, he rolls a “7” which is no effect.

This ends the FWA half of the turn, and the PAVN player receives his GT2 Reinforcements in 1021.

During movement, A/8/66 slides around the LZ to the other side. He could have moved directly from ZOC to ZOC for an extra MP in each hex (1219 – 1319) for 6 MPs or simply walked around (1118 – 1218 – 1318 – 1319) for 8 MPs. The PAVN are good like that. In any case, B/8/66 moves one hex, and the newly arrived C/8/66 and A/66 Mortars move into the hex they vacated. He then declares that all units, including the mortar (mortars can do that, regular artillery can’t), from all three hexes will be Assaulting (which is the limit – four stacking points of units).

First, though, the mortar will fire Offensive Bombardment against the hex using its Bombardment Strength of “2”. He rolls a “3” which narrowly misses causing a Fatigue result.

Neither US unit can conduct Combat Refusal, and the FWA player would rather keep the CIDG unit to increase his defensive strength. No units are eligible for Defender Reaction. The PAVN rolls for Attack Coordination and rolls a “3”. Rolling equal to the value causes the attacker to lose the ability to conduct Maneuver Combat Support. Since the PAVN player is Assaulting, this has no effect and the attack proceeds as Coordinated.

First, though, the FWA player conducts Defensive Bombardment with his remaining six Air Points. The PAVN player has seven stacking points adjacent and gets to fire on the ADF Table. In addition, since there is an artillery unit adjacent, he gets a “-1” DRM on the roll. Another roll of “3” would normally miss, but modified to a “2” it hits. He then chooses which type of target to shoot at, Observation, Gunship, Transport, or Air Points. In this case, of course, only one of the four applies, and he fires at the Air Points. Rolling a “4”, he cross-references the die roll with the appropriate column and gets a “-1” result. This means that of the six points of Bombardment Strength the FWA player allocated, only five are able to be used. This is important as the Bombardment/Support columns break between 5 & 6. Cursing his luck, the FWA player rolls for his Defensive Bombardment and gets a “9” which is a whiff anyway.

The FWA player then rolls on the Assault Table with his Defensive Strength of eight. However, because 1-49% of his steps (2 out of 6 = 33%) are Fatigued, he incurs a “+1” DRM. He rolls another “9” and misses again. The PAVN player then rolls with his Attack Strength of 12, a “+1” DRM for terrain and a “-1” DRM for having three attacking hexes (each one over two is a “-1”). He rolls a “7” which causes a step loss. The FWA player chooses to reduce the CIDG unit. Both players then roll to determine if they fire again. Both sides roll low enough to do so. This round, unlike the first round, is simultaneous, and all DRMs still apply. The FWA player, still an eight strength with a “+1”, rolls a “7” and misses. The PAVN player, still a 12 strength with his modifiers netting out, rolls a “4” which is another step loss (and narrowly misses causing two step losses). The FWA player chooses to eliminate the CIDG unit.

This is the end of the scenario, so VP are tallied. 

The PAVN player earns 2 VP for steps destroyed (the CIDG unit). The FWA player earns 1 VP for destroying a step (A/8/66) and 3 for retaining control of LZ Mary for a total of 4 VPs. The FWA wins.

Author: Mitchell Land