World’s Bloodiest Tennis Court
Recommendations: 12524
About the Project
Lately, I've been running war games every weekend with members of the community via web conference. Players log on and play wargames with each other in real time, regardless of location, and we usually have at least a couple spectators as well. Many times it’s been Darkstar, but we’re also running wargames in Panzer Leader, Arab-Israeli Wars, and now Valor & Victory.
BoW/OTT community members @brucelea, @damon, @davehawes, and @rasmus have taken the plunge, leading battalions across thousands of meters of desert, starfleets in pitched battles across the heavens, or vicious firefights in the jungles of Vietnam, all without leaving the comfort of their home.
Hard-core, old-school command-tactical wargames can now be run (complete with spectators and recordings) in real time, with BOTH PLAYERS moving pieces across THE SAME virtual game board, thus maintaining player agency, speedy and instant results (no play by e-mail), interwoven turn sequences, any questions / feedback instantly received and addressed, and with the game being virtually recorded as it goes, a ready-made battle report can actually be created as we go.
All of this without the players having to install any new software on their computer, on any platform (PC or Mac). All that's needed is to agree on a time, a handful of dice, and a bellyful of courage!
Every weekend can now be a boot camp! All without costing me thousands of dollars in airfare, too!
Related Game: PanzerBlitz
Related Genre: Historical
This Project is Active
Open Invite: Wargames on the Weekend
Once again it’s time to “stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard favor’d rage ” … and take your dice to the wargame table.
As always we’ll be running wargames on the web this weekend!
If anyone wants to play in any of the games listed below, please let me know what game, what day and time, and which faction you’d prefer, as soon as you can so I can start building the scenario.
Options (Saturday at 17:30 UK time or Sunday 17:00 UK time):
- Darkstar (please let me know what faction you’d prefer)
- Valor & Victory (VWW1, WW2, Vietnam, Lebanon, or even Falklands if I can get some counters and maps put together)
- Arab-Israeli Wars (1956, 67, 73, or 82 Lebanon)
- Tactical Combat Middle East (Panzer Leader in 1991)
- Panzer Leader WW2 as always, virtually any theater or campaign. 😀
- AirWar C21 for the Falklands, 1982.
- Naval Command for Falklands, 1982
Again, if interested – either in playing or in spectating, please let me know with a PM.
On Sunday, I would actually like to give Falklands 1982 a swing in Valor & Victory if anyone is interested. This would help facilitate the last Falklands episode for the Ops Center, but of course I’ll run whatever the players are most interested in.
First come first serve, and I need time to build the scenarios.
Hope to see some of you there! Either way, have a great weekend!
JIM
Falklands Land Ops - Building Armies in Valor & Victory
We're underway with a complete Valor & Victory force for Royal Marines in 1982 Falklands. I know I want to build at least another force for Paras, and then of course Argentine infantry that opposed them. Other options might eventually include Scots Guards, Welsh Guards, Gurkhas, depending on community support. I hope to stream a demo game UK vs. Argentinian infantry battles in Valor & Victory of this sometime on Sunday, May 26 - again, depending on community interest. Stay tuned. Falklands Land Ops - Argentinians, Snipers, Medics
So as shown below, we now have enough for a beginning game in Valor & Victory for the Falklands 1982.
Please join us at 8PM UK time, 3PM East US time for another live stream on the Sitrep’s Twitch Channel, where we’ll be trying out these counters in a quick demo game!
New counters, new map, new setting, new expansions for a great game system, new options for historical wargaming!
The Sitrep never sleeps!
So here are Argentinian infantry conscripts, commanders / leaders, support weapons, British snipers and medics, Argentinian snipers and medics ... pretty much the rest of what is needed to run a beginning Valor & Victory game in the Falklands, 1982. Hey, anyone ELSE build two whole armies in the last 6 hours? =DGold Beach Commemorative 75th Anniversary Panzer Leader
My friends @brucelea and @damon are gearing up for a 75th Anniversary wargame of Avalon Hill’s classic Panzer Leader – recreating part of 50th Northumbrian Division’s landing at “Jig” sector, Gold Beach, 07:20 hours, 06 June 1944.
Initial waves will be made up of 1st Bn / Hampshire Rgt and 1st Bn / Dorsetshire Rgt, followed up by 47th Royal Marine Commandos, Royal Engineers, 2nd Bn / Devonshire Rgt, RFA batteries, and Sherwood Rangers (Sherman DD tanks).
They’ll be up against elements of Infantry Division 352 (Grenadier Rgt 916), and elements of 441 “East” Battalion, Rgt 726, 716 Static Infantry.
At least two of us have walked these battlefields, so there will be something of a connection in the design and play of this wargame.
The game will be played on-line on Saturday, June 8.
This thread will record some of the research, design, and of course game play that goes into this small week-long project.
And finally, the first work-in-progress of the Panzer Leader map board. She’s not quite finished (no trees, a few labels missing, and of course one of the German beach defenses on here yet). But she’s on her way. My goal is to finish the map by Tuesday and get started on counters Wednesday and Thursday. Friday we’ll hammer out a few special rules and design the workbook by which @brucelea and @damon and I will play the game (I’m taking the Germans) …
… and Saturday we hit the beach!
Map complete - starting counters
Okay, the map is now complete. It’s actually complete whether I like it or not, apparently this afternoon I didn’t save it properly as editable layers … so large scale changes are lo longer possible without re-drawing the whole thing. Apparently the gods are trying to tell me something …
It’s fine! Stop obsessing and get some sleep!
I chose this sector for a number of reasons …
- My two players wanted to try British units (reasonable enough).
- Pretty sure Gold was “tougher” than Sword.
- This part of Gold (“Jig” Sector, turning west inland to fight toward Arromaches in “Item” Sector) is one of the few times we see British seaborne infantry actually fight true German troops that day (as opposed to “Ost” battalions, largely drawn from Belarus and Ukraine).
- We get some Royal Marine Commandos in the second wave (and after all this Falklands work, I loves me some Royal Marine Commandos).
- Two squadrons of tanks also land here (Sherwood Rangers – I think later renamed the Nottinghamshire Rangers?)
- The terrain here is interesting, with substantial towns right on the water, tough German beach defenses and “wiederstandnester” strongpoints, cliffs to the west leading toward Arromanches (about 20 hexes off off the west edge of the map), marshes and farmland (which are still here today), and even a small river which … rather bizarrely, never reaches the sea (?), apparently diverted east to a series of canals and marshland.
So here is the top third of the map. Each hex is 150 meters across, and so would fit two 6' Bolt Action tables end-to-end, or one 5' Flames of War table. We're going to be landing three battalions of infantry here, plus commandos, plus two squadrons of tanks, AVREs, etc. In all, about 2200 men and 30 tanks, plus bulldozers, flails, maybe even a platoon of AVRE Churchills (if we cheat slightly with the strict historical timeline and landing schedule). 
A few years ago I travelled to ALL the Normandy beaches, landing zones, and battlefields, from Pointe du Hoc to Falaise. These are some of my photographs of Gold Beach. This is looking east from atop the bluffs east of Arromanches, so I believe this is looking down onto either Jig or King Sector assault beaches. The trip was a few years ago. Either way, the beaches on our Panzer Leader board look a lot like this. 
Looking west across the beach at Arromanches. This was in Item sector, and so far as I can tell wasn't actually "landed" on on D-Day, but assaulted from the east by troops that landed earlier in the day on Jig (231st Brigade, 1st Dorsetshire, 1st Hampshire, later 2nd Devonshire and 47th Royal Marine Commando). 
75 years later, the remains of "Port Winston" Mulberry artificial harbor is still in place. 
More of the Mulberry remains.British Unit Research (detail) and Map Re-draw
Here are the units I have cross-referenced and verified from at least two sources that WERE THERE at Gold, Jig Sector, first hours of the battle. 1st Hampshires (A & B Coy) lands at Item Green. 1st Dorsetshires (A & B Coy) lands at Item Red. The DD Tanks of Sherwood Rangers that were supposed to land with them were late, but they had a few tanks in the form of specialist armour drawn from 82 Squadron, 6 Assault Regiment / Royal Engineers and "B" Squadron of the Westminster Dragoons. A lot of these are Flails and "bobbins" funnies. Later, 2nd Devonshires lands in a second wave, along with the Sherwood Rangers, a company of the 73rd Field Engineers, two batteries of artillery (Self propelled? Verifiying), and finally the 47th Royal Marine Commando. All this combined makes up the first big wave of 231st Brigade / 50th Northumberland. More details to come.
And yes, I know I said I wasn't going to re-draw this map, and in my defense, I didn't ... fully. But I reverted from the "Arab-Israeli Wars" style tree HEXES to the "Panzer Leader" tree HEXSIDES. This will cause less confusion on terrain rules for Saturday's game and besides, I was able to use the HEXSIDE design to better approximate the thin treelines / hedgerows actually on the inland battlefield. I also clarified the cliff hexsides to the extreme west (for those who've been there, these are the cliffs that continue to extend west until you hit those memorials that overlook the Mulberry remains and Museum at Arromanches itself). OPEN IMAGE IN NEW TAB to get a much better resolution.
A view if THIS battlefield as it looked in the summer of 2014. You can see the thin tree lines I was trying to recreate on the Panzer Leader mapsheet
A view if THIS battlefield as it looked in the summer of 2014.British Company Research
Drilling down a bit, getting the actual compositions of British rifle companies for 1944, and by extension, battalions like 1st Dorsets, 1st Hamps, and 2nd Devons (to be featured in Saturday's game). Next, conversion to Panzer Leader to counters can be created. To be honest, most of these are already created, but they may have to be tweaked since they were last used in the Desert 1942- early 43 games. One example, note that Support Weapons Platoons now contain PIATs - which they did not have in Tunisia. I hope to have some counters up later today. :DCounters *Mostly* Complete - Setting up Map
Work continues on the Gold Beach Panzer Leader game scheduled for Saturday, June 8, 4PM UK time.
We created some of the counters and set up some of the map live on Sitrep Twitch Channel last night. We had some great conversation with the role of research in “high-history” games, naval bombardment, the potential role of the panzer divisions, the real reasons why Omaha was so much bloodier than the other beaches, the Juno Beach landings, and different eras of Canadian flags.
After we signed off I tinkered a little with the Germans, and started with a general map set up. I will fill this out and get everything completed later tonight in time for tomorrow’s game.
But for now …
German beach defenses are now in place. WNs = the historical locations and numbers of individual “wiederstandnester” strongpoints, fortification blockhouses represented by “Fortification” counters, flanked by two “IPs” (improved positions – slit trenches, MG nests, mortar pits, sandbags, barbed wire, etc). I also have “Trenches” (antitank ditches) covering the beach egress draws. Minefields are placed in the beach, as well as “Block” counters representing Czech hedgehogs and anti-boat pilings. The British are coming in with A & B Coys, 1st Hampshires and 1st Dorsets, along with their battalion support companies and command groups. Germans are set up with two very distinct troop quality levels, the hard-core 352nd Infantry to the west and the much softer 441 “Ost” Battalion of the 716th Static Division to the east. 
A close up of German defenses. Their 5.0, 7.5, and even a battery of 8.8s are staged in their approximate historical locations, along with FlaK (2.0 cm, x4 2.0cm), HMG sections, HQ troops, transport (halftracks, trucks, and yes … horse-drawn wagons), mortars, off-board artillery (10.5 cm and 15.0 cm howitzers), etc. 
Sounds like a tall order. Fortunately, support is close behind. These two squadrons (companies) of the Sherwood Rangers were actually supposed to land at 07:20, five minutes BEFORE the first infantry leapt from the Higgins boats. Didn’t happen, they arrived late, but they will arrive. Of course we have plenty of air support for the British as well. I made sure to include an EVEN number of air strike counters so Damon and Brucelea can split them evenly. No fighting over the Typhoons, please!
Not gonna lie, I am cheating here SLIGHTLY when it comes to the timing of these units. The mish-mash of 82nd Assault Squadron / 6th Royal Engineers and scattered elements of “B” Squadron, Westminster Dragoons were there at the outset to help the infantry on the beach. I don’t think they had any AVREs, though. The flails, the bobbins were there, though, and will help with getting British vehicles off the beach and clearing German minefields. The Bridges and the AVREs show up later in the afternoon, but like I said, cheating SLIGHTLY and including a sample of these units just to show them off in the game. Same with the 47th Commando. These guys will show up late in the game, but still far sooner than their historical 14:00 hours would indicate.Looking forward to a great game tomorrow! 😀
Counters Complete - Map Finalized - Special Rules Posted
Okay, we’re all set. Game starts in 1 hour (minus). 😀
SPECIAL RULES:
LANDING:
- Coastal hexes are designated either SEA hexes or BEACH hexes by the color of the hex beneath their central dot.
- At the end of movement, during the turn BEFORE they are scheduled to land (or in the initial set up for first wave units), British units are placed in a SEA hex adjacent to their planned beach landing hex.
- Germans may then fire at them during their subsequent turn.
- RULE SHORTCUT: Unlike “official” Amphibious Landings rules in Panzer Leader, where landing British units are inverted (so Germans cannot see which boats carry which units) – here we will roll a d6. On a 1-2, the German attack hits the intended target. 3-4, the attack hits the “next unit to the left.” On a 5-6, the attack hits the “next unit to the right.”
- As per Panzer Leader XI.D.3, all units except DD tanks are assumed to have an armored DF of 8. DD Shermans get normal DF, Germans must add +2 DRM to DF attacks (obscured target).
- Landing takes place FIRST during the movement phase of the subsequent British turn.
- DD tanks make a d6 roll. On a 1-5, they land normally. On a 6, they sink and are removed.
- All units (including surviving DD tank units) must also make a landing placement roll. Once the British player indicates which hex the unit INTENDED to land, roll a d6.
- 1-2 = unit lands normally.
- 3 = unit lands one hex to the west.
- 4 -5 = unit lands one hex to the east.
- 6 = unit lands two hexes to the east.
- Any unit that hits a block counter while trying to land is destroyed.
- Getting onto the beach hex is that unit’s whole movement.
- Exception: DD Tanks can land and hove half their movement.
- Any units that are CARRIED (towed guns, etc) must debark loaded in their carrier vehicle.
- Non-DD tank units cannot move half once they land (unloaded from LCTs, etc).
- Units scheduled to land on a given turn MUST land on that turn. They cannot “wait” until the beach opens up.
- Any hex that winds up “overstacked” (3 units to a hex) must IMMEDIATELY “lose” a unit per overstacking rules. This takes place BEFORE previously landed units move out of the hex.
- Once all units land on a given turn, units that were already landed in previous turns can now move normally.
- German units taking opportunity fire do not have to make the “shortcut randomizer” roll mentioned above if they shoot at units as they land (using normal unit DFs and target classes).
TERRAIN:
- All Beach hexes cost vehicles double movement.
- Entering a hex where the unit climbs one elevation level costs double movement (infantry included).
- Climbing a bluff hex off a beach hex costs 4 vehicle movement, 2 infantry movement, 6 truck movement. Churchill Bobbin Funnies can lay a carpet in these hexes to make it “clear.”
- Stream: This is a shallow stream. Costs infantry 2 MP to enter. Costs vehicles 4MP to enter, trucks 6MP to enter. Stream does not block LOS. Stream gives +1 DRM. Road negates stream. Churchill Bridgelayers can bridge the stream.
BEACH OBSTACLES:
- Trench rules: Normal. Cannot be crossed at all by any vehicle. No effect on infantry. Can be bridged by Churchill Bridgelayers.
- Mines: Normal. Can be removed by flail tanks per AIW rules. Can be removed by Combat or Construction engineers which move onto the mine hex and roll a 1-2 on 1d6.
- Blocks: No effect on LANDED infantry. Sinks any landing unit that drifts into them. No vehicle can enter a block hex. Can be removed by LANDED engineers who move into the hex and roll a 1-2 on 1d6. Can also be removed by Churchill AVRE that is adjacent to it and declares an attack (BOOM). Removed blocks no longer blow up landing units in subsequent waves.
- Churchill Bridgelayers can lay three bridges. Normal AIR Bridgelaying rules.
- Churchill Bobbins can lay three “roads.” Renders beach hexes and beach bluff hexes normal for movement purposes.
NAVAL GUNFIRE (SHORTCUT RULES):
- British get 50 points of (H) class INDIRECT naval gunfire support on every ODD turn.
- This can be split up into two attacks if desired (20/20, 30/10, 35/5, etc).
- Must be within LOS of the north side of the table (any beach or bluff hex)
- Can also be called in by any non-dispersed, unloaded combat unit (not trucks).
- On a 1-4 it lands as targeted. On a 5-6 the shellfire drifts one hex (1d6).
The finalized map. Now includes unit deployment areas, force labels, and morale levels, and full German deployment. "Open in New Tab" for full resolution.
Research on the composition of the German 352nd Wehrmacht Infantry. This division would face both the British at the very west end of Gold, and the Americans at Omaha. Definitely the best German unit in action on the first day.Gold Beach D-Day Landing Game - COMPLETE (9 Hours!)
Gold Beach Panzer Leader game: COMPLETE
Run Time: NINE HOURS
Result: EPIC
Losses (both sides): BRUTAL
Decision: LAST TURN
Players: (@brucelea and @damon): WARGAME HEROES
D-Day 75th Anniversary: COMMEMORATED
>> End Transmission.
Initial Landings. Already British losses are horrific to German fire and beach obstacles.
First British armour struggles ashore, but still more is lost to mines and beach obstacles.
Even amidst this carnage, the Churchill Bridgelayer and other engineers units clear mines, and lay bridges over German antitank ditches. That yellow target icon (hex 0822) is the first objective hex the British will reach.
Typhoon airstrikes go in. The first one is shot down, but the two behind it pulverize the HQ of 441st Ost Battalion / 726 IR / 716 ID.
Miles behind the beach, other Typhoons go after 10.5 cm artillery batteries of 352nd Wehrmacht Infantry Division.
The Churchill AVREs have shoved themselves off the beach and now start launching "flying dustbins" mortar demolition charges into stubborn German defenses (III. Bn / Grenadier Regiment 916 / 352nd Infantry).
Although the 441 "Ost" Battalion put up a rather pitiful fight historically, here these platoons have stood TALL in the face of Damon's 1st Dorsetshire Rifles and 2nd Devonshire Rifles. It took four turns and two fire missions from battleship HMS Warspite and escorting destroyers to finally dig these badasses out of that "wiederstandnester" bunker complex.
Turn 8: With more armor on the beach, the British now break deep inland, curling southwest (exactly as was done historically) to push for objective hexes in the German backfield.
Royal Marine Commandos are now ashore, ready to help British assault engineers and 1st Hampshire with clearing operations of Asnell and Le Hamel. Historically, these were brutal fights that lasted all through the early afternoon of D-Day. Also, we see DD Shermans of Sherwood Rangers push toward the beach exits behind Asnell, one of them pinned down by 8.8 cm fire and a battery of ex-Polish 77mm guns brought over after the 1939 Campaign.
Finally, almost three kilometers inland from the beach, the game is decided in a fire-scorched, blood-soaked, smoke-stained decision on the very last turn. Leave it to the Royal Marines! 
Final Result. Every smoke column shows where a platoon was destroyed. Full battle report videos will start going up on YouTube soon. I've also added "Panzer Leader DSOs" for players Damon and Brucelea! :D Gold Beach Wargame - First Video Posted
Things are just getting started here, everyone. Myself, @brucelea , and @damon go over the map setup, the units involved on both sides, some of the objectives and special rules. Finally we get into the opening shore bombardment barrage from HMS Warspite and her escorting destroyers … and then look into the first wave of landings of 1st Hampshire and 1st Dorsetshire.
This one gets bloody fast!
There will be at least two more videos. Again, just the highlights, this game went for nine and a half hours, I wouldn’t even try to record, render, and post that much video. 😐
I hope some of you will check it out! We really try to recreate the historical conditions and tactical situation of 50th Northumberland’s right wing on that fateful day, putting the leading elements (first wave on our table is about 1300 men), 231st Brigade on Jig Green and Jig Red assault beaches.
Gold Beach Wargame - Second Video Posted
Part II of our Gold Beach Panzer Leader game (myself with the Germans, @brucelea and @damon with the British) has now been posted on the Sitrep YouTube channel. Now that all the rules, units, history, and initial landings are out of the way, this video jumps straight into the carnage with improved sound, music, and a lot more combat. We see Royal Engineer AVREs blowing up beach obstacles, pipers striding out of landing craft, steadfast defense by German coastal troops, British armored bridgelayers, and Flail tanks clearing lanes through German minefields.
The Germans are just about starting to crack (maybe ???) But have the British lost too much already? And will my reserves be able to seal the breach? 🙂
British units: 1st Hampshire Rifles, 1st Dorsetshire Rifles, 2nd Devonshire Rifles (231st Brigade), “B” Assault Squadron / 6th Royal Engineers, Winchester Dragoons.
German units: Infantry Division 352 (Grenadier Rgt 916, III. Battalion) and elements of 441 “East” Battalion, Infantry Rgt 726, 716 Static Infantry Division.
Gold Beach Wargame - Final Video Posted!!
Part III of our Gold Beach Panzer Leader game (myself with the Germans, @brucelea and @damon with the British) has now been posted on the Sitrep YouTube channel. It comes down to the final crunch here, folks, a 9+ hour game to the last turn, and almost the last roll! We have Typhoon fighter bombers, German FlaK, Royal Marine Commandos, Centaur assault tanks, Churchill AVREs, desperate defense and frantic close assaults!
This is one for the record books! With some funny jokes and sound effectsm too! 😀
British units: 1st Hampshire Rifles, 1st Dorsetshire Rifles, 2nd Devonshire Rifles (231st Brigade), “B” Assault Squadron / 6th Royal Engineers, Winchester Dragoons, 47th Royal Marine Commandos, Sherwood Rangers
German units: Infantry Division 352 (Grenadier Rgt 916, III. Battalion) and elements of 441 “East” Battalion, Infantry Rgt 726, 716 Static Infantry Division.
Omaha Beach - Panzer Leader - Map and Counter Construction
So after the success of last week’s Gold Beach game (Gold Beach is one of the British invasion beach zones during the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944), I thought I would create a new scenario for Omaha Beach, the big American beach depicted in Saving Private Ryan.
The system will be Avalon Hill’s Panzer Leader.
This will be a monster game, play-tested solitaire (not live … it would literally take days). But the ambition here is to run all of Omaha Beach, in true scale, no shortcuts, no gimmicks.
So far I have the map mostly complete – with the American units built.
The map in its entirety. Each hex is 150 meters, so the map overall is just short of 6 miles wide (10 km)
A detail of the Dog Green and the Vierville draw, one the bloodiest sectors of Omaha, by far the bloodiest part of D-Day. This was the setting for Saving Private Ryan, but only a small slice of what we'll be recreating with this game.
American units for use in the web game. Each piece is a platoon of 5 tanks or about 50 men. We're looking at all the unit TYPES here, there will be hundreds of counters in all on the map. I should say these counters are the start of a complete library for US forces in ETO 1944-45, not all of it will be used on OMAHA BEACH specifically.Omaha Map Complete - American Forces Built and Set Up
The Omaha Beach Panzer Leader mega-game continues to come together. The overall map is now complete (2500+ hexes, 24 square miles, or almost 63 square kilometers, estimated 2800 Flames of War tables).
American landings are researched and set up to pretty precise to the historical plan, we’ll see what the current, tides, beach obstacles, and enemy fire do to it.
Now I just have to set up the Germans.
The project is temporarily paused, however, to facilitate construction of a Valor & Victory Vietnam game for Saturday.
The full map, now with trees, hedgerows, and a beach shingle. 
American landing research for 116th Regimental Combat Team (29th US Infantry). not only do we have to account for all these units and when and where they are scheduled to land, but also their size,composition, and equipment.
Same with the 16th Regimental Combat Team (US 1st Infantry Division), followed by the 18th RCT that lands behind them mid-morning. 
Converted to Panzer Leader and set up on a color-coded phased turn landing schedule. Each color is a different turn of the game (20 turns in all, I think) and has a designated beach assault sector Every piece is a platoon of 5 tanks or 50 men, or a battery of 4-6 guns. Clearly this game is going to be ridiculously gigantic. This doesn't include air support or offshore naval gunfire support. Fortunately, the Germans are far less numerous.Change of Gears - Heading Back to 'Nam for Some Special Forces Action
So I’ve taken a brief break from Omaha to build and run a game with @stvitusdancern on the Sitrep Command Team. The game was Valor & Victory (Barry Doyle, Vietnam Expansion by @oriskany) where we pitted a platoon of US Special Forces up against Vietnamese regulars (PAVN) near the Laotian border, Kon Tum Province, South Vietnamese Central Highlands, III Corps, mid-December 1967.
The general situation in this part of the war was dominated by a VC/NVA build-up for the Tet Offensive that would hit in January-February 1968. During this build-up, large contingents of NVA troops and weapons for the VC would come down the the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos and Cambodia – with branches leading off the trail at many points, leading into South Vietnam. American and ARVN ground forces were not allowed into Laos and Cambodia, but they could interdict these forces as they crossed into South Vietnam, hopefully stopping the buildup and perhaps using intelligence gained in these actions (prisoners / captured documents) to build a better picture about the Tet Offensive that was building up.
So here are the Special Forces units I put together in Valor & Victory to facilitate this game. We have Special Forces squads, half-squads, and medic teams. There are also leaders. They are named for American Revolutionary War Generals. The leader is Morgan, named for Daniel Morgan, leader of the 11th Virginia (the "Virginia Riflemen") and founder of the Rangers. He is often recognized as the "father" of American Special Forces. 
Vietnamese forces. These the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), often called in Western Press as the NVA (North Vietnamese Army). These are not South Vietnamese communist guerrillas like we see with the VC (National Liberation Front, or NLF). This is a hardened, trained, regular rifle company of the formal army of Hanoi.
The Special Forces platoon. They are carried in four UH-1 Iroquois transport helos (more typically called the "Huey") - the "slick" configuration without significant guns. The last helo on the bottom is a full-on UH-1H Gunship, which has sacrificed half its troop carrying capacity for some small degree of armor plating and rockets and guns ... LOTS of guns.
Here is the map I drew up for this game, live on Twitch, on Thursday. Seven objective hexes will be designated. Gianna must take at least four (the majority) to win the game by the end of Turn 6.
The battle begins. All NVA units begin "masked" - obscured as black counters until Gianna's troops spot them, move adjacent to them, or they fire on Gianna's units. During her initial movement phase (as helos entered the board), my NVA captain and a heavy machine gun crew on high ground (DShK 12.7mm) open fire on one of her birds, hitting and damaging it but JUST MISSING shooting it down. Instead it is "Pinned" (helos that are "pinned" have to withdraw from range of enemy gunfire and stay there until "rallied".) But now that NVA gun position is revealed, and in comes Gianna's gunship to release .50 cal, 7.62mm MG, and 2.75-inch rockets. BOOM! There goes the DShK (and my captain). However, the American commander (Captain Morgan) has landed on the ground to the east and headed north into those hooches, only to discover that those masked NVA units were "dummies" - "EMPTY JUNGLE." Throughout the game Gianna will have to discern where my forces really are, and how they are deployed. The Vietnamese are always hidden in this war, after all. 
Some more NVA units reveal themselves to the north, where I try to attack MSgt Herkimer's Squad once it becomes a little too isolated wading across that stream. That's three half-squads, one of them carrying an RPG-7. But those are Special Forces, and their opportunity fire more or less annihilates this force before they can mount the assault. So far we have one NVA officer and 16 men either killed, wounded, or driven off, with really no losses to the Americans other than a damaged UH-1 (and perhaps a wounded pilot or co-pilot or crew chief). But this game is just getting started! Gianna vs. Oriskany - Part 01 posted
Good afternoon ~ We have now posted Part 01 of the Sitrep Podcast Live Wargame between @oriskany and @stvitusdancern. See if her US Special Forces can find, pin down, and destroy elements of my NVA main line regiment, Kon Tum Province, Central Highlands, South Vietnam, December 1967.
System: Valor and Victory
Parts 2 and 3 coming soon!
Enjoy!
What is WRONG with me?
My God, I think there is something legitimately wrong with me. What kind of fool tries to recreate a legitimate, full-scale, platoon-based, historically “approximate” re-staging of ALL of Omaha Beach?
Well, the map is complete. The initial forces are set up. Just a few special rules to iron out and it’s time to start this apocalyptic game.
The whole map. Almost six miles wide, over three miles deep. At least 5,000 men on the table already. Each hex is a 4x6 15mm table, or three 28mm tables.
A close up of what I'm sure will be the bloodiest sector of a very bloody beach, Dog Green and Dog White, the right shoulder of the Omaha assault zone. 
THIRTY SECONDS! GOD BE WITH YA! A detail of the initial landing waves of Dog Green and Dog White. Note the "Ranger" counters in Dog Green. This is "C" Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion, "Captain Miller's" unit in Saving Private Ryan. They went in with "A" Company, 1st Battalion, 116th Regimental Combat Team at the mouth of the Vierville Draw. Well, you've seen the movie. The reality was horrifically worse. MOVE FAST, AND CLEAR THOSE MURDER HOLES!
German defenses at the mouth of the Vierville draw. Now 726th Rgt was originally a "second rate" unit, part of the 716th Static Infantry Division. But since March they'd been attached to the hardened 352nd, reinforced and re-equipped, and trained largely to 352nd's standards. Furthermore, elements of 352nd had been moved up to reinforce them (916th Grenadier Rgt, specifically). Still, you'll notice that many of the German platoons are still the weaker 2-I-2 "Security" platoons rather than the "3-I-2*" Rifle Platoons. Nevertheless, only the fact that the Americans get another whole wave just like this one every other turn for at least eight turns, plus massive destroyer, cruiser, and even battleship gunfire support (USS Texas), plus massive air support, even gives them a sliver of hope.
Things might go a little easier in 16th RCT / 1st Infantry Division's sector over in Easy Green and Easy Red. 
German defenses are actually extremely brittle. When you make up German units as they actually were, and try to deploy them along a battlefield of the proper scale, you realize how thin they were. True, 352nd Division was reinforced, but they were also expected to defend 33 miles of beach, an absurdly huge frontage for a single division in the field. Here is the limit of their reserves. Couriers on bicycles, empty trucks and horse-drawn wagons, flak troops, and so on. There are some nice regimental 12.0 cm mortars back here, along with the 10.5 cm howitzers of I.Bn/Artillery Regiment 352.Dear God, It's Started.
Turn One is complete. It took about 90 minutes. Nineteen turns to go. So far there are few surprises.
The landings are chaos.
DD tanks are sinking.
German AT guns are murdering all the American Shermans with dozer blades.
Engineers cannot push inland to blow holes in beach obstacles or the sea wall shingle.
The Americans at Dog Green and Dog White have been all but shattered, with “A” Co / 116th all but annihilated in the opening fire phase.
But some armor has made it onto the beach. And air power has knocked out at least one infantry gun and pinned German MG-42 bunkers in Wiederstandnester 71 (the exact bunker complex that butchered Captain Miller’s company at the Vierville Draw).
Meanwhile, German artillery (8.0 cm mortars, 15.0 cm mortars, 10.5 cm howitzers, and even one battery of 15.0 cm howitzers) has positively mauled American landing points at Dog Green and Easy Red (16th RCT, 1st Infantry Division).
So as horrible as things are, some parts of the American landings are actually going slightly better than historically, while others are going much worse.
H-Hour +10 minutes. 27 American platoons have been destroyed (marked by black smoke columns) across five miles of assault beach. So that's over 900 men killed, wounded, or hopelessly scattered.
As expected, the hot spot is the American right wing, in front of "Dog One" draw leading toward the Vierville objective hexes. This was BY FAR the bloodiest slice of Omaha, which was BY FAR the bloodiest beach at Normandy (more casualties than the other four invasion beaches plus the three divisional airborne drop zones ... all combined). To kick the historical results a little, I have thrown a lot more support here. Note the naval gunfire support markers (green target icons) and the four P-47 Thunderbolt air strikes. One plane was hit and damaged, but the strike went in and probably saved at least some lives.
A close up of the Vierville Draw. Note the Ranger counters, "C" Company / 2nd Battalion. This was "Captain Miller's" unit, and yes, he's already lost a third of his company. One difference, though, is that fourteen Shermans have made it on the beach. Two full platoons of five and one four-tank platoon of dozer-blade Shermans. Let's hope they make a difference. 
Further east, the landings get even more scrambled because of tidal shear. Some units hit German beach obstacles coming in, either dispersed (pinned) or killed outright. DD Shermans sink wholesale. In hex 0907 (just beneath the Big Red One symbol) German artillery has wiped out a whole American company in a single barrage (three counters = three platoons = 150 men). This part of the beach was actually a little easier at first historically thanks in part to a fortuitous brush fire ignited by naval gunnery, the smoke actually blinded some German fire. Not here. 
The far east sector, on the left wing of 1st Infantry Division / 16th Regimental Combat Team. German fire is positively murderous, but a fair number of American tanks have made it onto the beach - I actually rolled pretty well on these, the roll is not easy because of the historical rate of American losses). So here's hoping this positive change from history makes a difference, because this part of the beach is actually a little bloodier so far than the real event 75 years ago.H-Hour +36 minutes. It's Getting Worse!
Turns 2 and 3 are now complete, putting us at about 36 minutes past H-Hour. The American second wave is ashore … sort of. Losses continue to be hideous. American losses now stand at 48 platoons of various types rendered combat ineffective (1680 men, so roughly 560 killed and 1120 wounded).
Although some cracks may just be starting to spread in the Atlantic Wall, casualties and equipment losses are reaching the point where I honestly don’t know if the Americans will succeed in opening the four major draws off Omaha.
The Vierville Draw at the end of Turn 2. The remnants of A/116th and C/2nd Rangers have made the horrific dash across the sand and have now reached the shingle, represented by the darker brown band that lines the beach at the foot of the bluffs. Engineers have to either blow a hole in the shingle on a successful demolitions roll, or Sherman Dozers have to clear a path. Again, despite the "historically horrible" losses suffered by the assault infantry, one positive change remains the larger presence of surviving American tanks (seriously, almost half of them actually made it to the beach IN OUR GAME, a shockingly high number). Note the "Open" markers, showing where engineers have already cleared gaps in German minefields or cleared paths through the shingle. NO VEHICLE is allowed to pass through the shingle hex until it is cleared. So opening these cuts is vital.
On the opposite end of the beach, the 16th RCT / 1st Infantry Division has really caught a break here. A volley from the battleship USS Texas has scored some amazing hits and positively EMPTIED Wiederstandnester 62, while a P-47 airstrike and even some tanks have pummeled the Germans in Wiederstandnester 61. Resistance here is not broken, but it has been very badly weakened through some frankly VERY lucky dice rolls. Not so lucky are the Americans still struggling shore, being positively liquified by consistent German artillery firing from further inland. Making the artillery doubly effective is the "pre-sited" special rule. Because the Germans have the beach pre-sited, indirect fire artillery missions on a BEACH hex do not have to be called in a turn in advance like normal.
The center remains in doubt. While German artillery and infantry guns are positively mauling survivors still hung up and pinned down in the beach obstacles, not enough engineers and dozers have made it across the beach to both open gaps in the shingle, and more importantly ... blow the blocks that are barring exit via the draws and roads. This is the crucial shortfall, as of course these are the objective hexes that determine victory in the game.
Finally on Turn 3, German artillery starts to slacken a LITTLE. This is because P-47s that dropped their ordinance are allowed to linger on the table for strafing attacks, or conduct spotting missions if a German unit fires from under cover within ten hexes. Well, the first planes bombed on Turn 1, spot on Turn 2, which means they can direct third-wave air strikes on Turn 3 to hit at least some of these 10.5cm howitzer positions. Of course every howitzer battery has at least a 2.0cm FlaK protecting it ... But at last at least a third of the German artillery is silenced. The problem is the Americans only have SO MANY air strikes ... 
The second major wave (second echelon of life rifle companies) makes it ashore in the 16 RCT / 1st Infantry Division sector to the east. No gaps have been opened in the beach obstacles yet (every beach landing hex is assumed to have obstacles in it) so every American unit still has to make a survival roll as it lands. Note at lower left, two Sherman platoons (10 tanks) have snuck through a gap in the shingle opened by dozers to actually take one objective hex. It's still behind that block, though, I need to get engineers to it to blow it before the draw is considered open and I get the points for the objective (only engineers can blow a block counter, Sherman dozers cannot do this).
Is it possible that things in the west are getting even worse? All the luck in getting the Shermans ashore and landing a few naval gunfire salvoes on German bunkers has deserted the Americans here. Losses in the second wave are almost worse than in the first wave. Also, German artillery in the west is more intact after Turn 3 air strikes. So yes, Dog Green and Dog White absolute tornadoes of carnage.remain 
The good and bad news on the American right (west). Note that survivors of C Company / 2nd Ranger Battalion are now off the beach and climbing the bluffs. I anticipate the first actual American close assault on Turn 4. However, Brigadier General Cota seems to be out of the battle! Note that the HQ Company of the 116th Regimental Combat Team has been blown up trying to come ashore (bright green counter, upper left)! Oddly, this reverses history, where "Captain Miller" and the Rangers did NOT lead the way off the beach as depicted in the movie, Vierville Draw was only opened around midday by Brigadier General Cota (Robert Mitchum, The Longest Day) leading a flanking attack from the east pretty much where we see the breach being made here. But Cota won't be leading that effort in this game, it looks like it's coming down to the Rangers after all. So this game is turning out more like the movie than the history, at least in this local sector.
The overall situation at the end of Turn 3 (H-Hour + 36 minutes). FLASH: OUTCOME OF INVASION STILL IN DOUBT!
