![How To Paint Moonstone’s Nanny | Goblin King Games [7 Days Early Access]](https://images.beastsofwar.com/2024/12/3CU-Gobin-King-Games-Moonstone-Shades-Nanny-coverimage-225-127.jpg)
Hürtgen Forest - Game Video
USMC vs. NVA, Hill Battles near DMZ, 1967 (replay)
Okay, so the replay commences. A few changes to the rules on booby traps, the Marines are now in danger of hitting one every time they move a stack, on a 2d6 roll of 11 or 12 (it was just 12 before). However, they cannot hit one on advance and assault phase, and they can reduce the chance to only a "12" result IF they use "Assault Movement" rules. This is basically half movement rate, but +1 cover bonus and reduced chance of undetected booby traps. You can see where NVA opportunity fire is greeting the Marines the second they walk onto the battlefield.
The worst opportunity fire comes in the north, where Captain Waterman's HQ platoon is hammered by very accurate fire from the NVA DShK 12.7mm HMG and that captured 60mm mortar (now commanded by the +2 NVA captain).
During the defensive fire phase of the NVA Turn 1, the Marines finally get a chance to hit back. Their firepower is ferocious, but they (as always) suffer from a frew drawbacks. One is range. Their 5.56mm (.223 Remington) M16A1s don't shoot as far as Soviet / Chinese AKMs (7.62mm COMBLOC), while the M79 "blooper" 40mm grenade launchers doon' 
Marine Turn 2 starts with the Command Phase, when they call in all their off-board artillery. The "Light Barrage" and "Heavy Barrage" counters show where they're targeted, but they can drift, as shown by the explosion markers. Units set at an angle are pinned, units in gray are destroyed.
With NVA units in the south having failed to rally from Marine defensive fire in Turn 1, plus the mortar barrages, the Marines are thus ready to launch a few "bloodless assaults" against entirely pinned NVA stacks ... assuming they don't hit any booby traps along the way. The new booby trap rules make them a little more dangerous, but also give the Marine player a chance to manage the risk by having his squads take their time moving through terrain, and thus the overall mechanic is less random.
Further north, the Marines are having a rougher go of it. More bloodless assaults are being carried out against pinned NVA stacks, but NVA counterfire (that damned DShK and especially that mortar) are positively mauling Capt. Waterman's and 2ndLt. Pierce's platoons.
In the south, the battlefield falls momentarily quiet. All units are rallied, and its time to start evacuating prisoners back to the rally point.
Pierce's platoon moved forward to try and get a bead on that mortar pit, but is now being pinned down by savage NVA mortar and HMG fire. There were actually POWs in the stack when it was hit, and these took the first casualties. The NVA are now basically gunning down their own men to keep them from falling into American hands. 
Captain Waterman rushes up with three fireteams in an attempt to take some of the pressure off of Pierce. This is a bad, bad move, and will really come close to losing the game for the Marines right here. Pinned down out in that rice paddy, with that murderous mortar team (assisted by +2 officer) continually dropping shells on them, and now in a cross fire of AK, PKM, and RPG fire, Waterman's men are in for a very bad day. 
Things take a very nasty turn for the Marines in the south as well, where TWO booby traps are hit, one where Collin's platoon is trying to get prisoners off the table and reconsolidate their position (I'm not over-extending this wing like I did in my game against Rasmus) and another booby trap goes off where my Navy corpsmen are trying to rejoin their platoons. At least Bergman's platoon is clearing NVA positions out of the hooches up on that ridge.
With Waterman and Pierce in real trouble up north, I have to break things loose in the south and hopefully put pressure on that MG and mortar pit from the south. Collins gets the order, and he leads his platoon in. The Marines have to lucky a few times here ... they have to NOT hit a booby trap running through the jungle (11 and 12 on 2d6), they have to dodge most of the NVA opportunity fire, then they have to win the assault, then they have to rally enough of their pins so t hey are not susceptible to counter-assault. Believe it or not, they more or less pull it off, assisted in no small pert by (again) ridiculous American firepower, and the judicious tossing of a satchel charge to help make their assault a lot easier.
They'd better do something fast, because although Pierce and Waterman (pinned down in those rice paddies) are chipping away at the MG and mortar teams facing them, they're being scissored apart in turn. Damn, I REALLY wish I had saved at least one or two of those off-board artillery missions for that mortar pit. The Marines didn't have eyes on the target at the time, I should have waited. That mortar team has a +2 officer making their fire all the more accurate, and is rolling like a friggin' BOSS on top of that.
Looking great as always. How long did the game take to play?
“assisted in no small pert by (again) ridiculous American firepower, and the judicious tossing of a satchel charge”
That’s essentially the stereotype of the USA in Vietnam at least here in Australia, massive firepower and a lot of explosives.
@elessar2590 – Valor & Victory is a great little game you can run in about 2 hours tops, for a relatively large game like this (company vs. company). Smaller introductory games I’ve seen run in as little as 45 minutes.
We should get together online one of these weekends for a game. As you may remember, I have Australian troops made up for the ATF down in the Phuoc Tuy Province near Saigon. 😀 😀 😀
I would love to do that. I’m in the middle of moving right now but I should be set up by the end of the month. I’ll send you a PM later tonight and we can set a date.
Sounds great. 😀