AAR - By the Belt - Battle of Landing Zone Albany -- 20200620 BETA

[berto]

A playtest AAR of the VN_651117_LZ_Albany scenario.

If you have seen the Mel Gibson movie We Were Soldiers (or read the Hal Moore book, We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young), this is the first battle's (at Landing Zone X-Ray) aftermath, where at Landing Zone Albany the NVA ambushed and nearly destroyed the US 2nd/7th Air Cav.

[NOTE: BETA gameplay and graphics]

The scenario briefing:



At scenario's beginning, the NVA positions (with Elevations toggled ON):



US Turn 2.

First contact!



US Turn 3.

A lucky, random indirect fire (artillery) hit (evidently from LZ Columbus, off-map to the east):



More US forces arrive on scene:



NVA Turn 3.

The ambush begins!

[berto]

NVA Turn 4.

Because the NVA recon unit (green circle) has been forced away, we have lost sight of forces right at LZ Albany.



The overall situation, 2D view. We have caught the US strung out in march formation, before they have a chance to form a proper defensive perimeter. Good!



The opportunity to attack the enemy battalion HQ is too good to pass up. We attack, and ...



... we fail.

Evidently, we have at least scored a 1 SP (Strength Point) hit on the US HQ:



(For this and for all other screenshots, be sure to click on the images to display them in 100%, no shrink view.)

NVA Turn 5.

Oh, the US battalion HQ stands alone:



It's Disrupted too! We assault:



And destroy the HQ!



That right there is one of the keys to our winning this battle. With the battalion HQ destroyed, the US face reduced Supply (aka Command Efficiency).

The current losses:



At US 9 SP Losses to the NVA 4 SP Losses, things are trending in our favor.

At Turn 5's end (with the Terrain Effect Modifer overlay toggled ON), with our mortars in place, we are finally able to indirect fire (crosshairs):

[berto]

NVA Turn 6.

The loss ratio is beginning to even:



Hmm. At LZ Albany, the US defensive position doesn't appear to be strong:



We assault!



The US suffer SP hits, but they hold:



On Turn 6, we heard the sound of what seemed to be US helicopters.

US Turn 7.

The US helos fire on our forces west of LZ Albany:



We assault southeast of Albany:



We take the position!



Compared to earlier Campaign Series titles, notice how much richer and varied -- and how bloodier! -- assaults are in the CS Vietnam game.

We try assaulting LZ Albany again:



In this latest assault, the outcome is not quite so favorable for us:



First visual sighting of the enemy helicopters:



How many are they?

[berto]

US Turn 8.

Uh oh, there appear to be at least six US helos, possibly more. They hit one of our mortars:



Will the US helos turn the tide of battle?



NVA Turn 8.

Losses on both sides are really piling up. NVA SP losses now slightly exceed US losses. Not good!



What about the current Victory situation? Right now, the US (Side A) are at Minor Defeat, but on the verge of a Draw (201 VPs or higher):



Have we hit our peak? With US helos in the fray, are we now outgunned? Should we perhaps withdraw?

Taking a chance, we do not withdraw, we remain committed to the attack. The NVA launch another assault. In the Vietnam game, the NVA have decisive assault advantages. They cannot hope to just sit back and trade fire with the enemy. The US firepower advantage is overwhelming. No, the NVA must assault whenever and wherever they can.



Wow! A fantastic Assault Result!



The US position at LZ Albany looks temptingly weak:

[berto]

US Turn 9.

We opfire at some unknown unit at hex 41,23. We hit (reduce) a US helo perhaps?



The current Victory tally. What? How did the US go from nearly 200 VPs now into negative territory, at -125?



Look at the Side B EPs (Event Points) in that Victory Dialog.

Aha! We did indeed destroy 2 SP of enemy helos! Hence the huge EP (Event Point) awards (see preceding Victory Dialog).



NVA Turn 9.

We assault LZ Albany again:



A most bloody affair!



We try again:



A fantastic outcome!



With the fall of LZ Albany, our victory is now almost assured. We took a chance, and we were rewarded for our boldness.

The current situation, and Strength/Losses tallies:



Losses are now overwhelmingly in our favor.

[berto]

NVA Turn 10.

The NVA assault the two remaining US commanders:



With their deaths, the destruction of the US 2nd/7th Air Cav battalion is now complete:



The latest Victory tally:



A US, Side A Major Defeat for sure!

At scenario's end, a surprise:



US forces from LZ Columbus attempt a rescue. Too little, too late!

Note how the US helos have by now exited the scene. (Returned to base for refueling, no doubt.)

...

In Real Life, although the battle was fierce and the US 2nd/7th Air Cav verged on annihilation, in the end they managed to survive, just barely.

In this playtest, the human played NVA side did indeed wipe out the AI played US 2nd/7th Air Cav.

Not an unreasonable result. In human vs. human PBEM (or perhaps H2H) play, we would expect the US to do better, play more like Real Life, with the 2nd/7th escaping total destruction. With a human played US side vs. an AI played NVA, the US would expect to do even better, of course.

NOTE: A few glitches here and there, all of this is still in BETA. But the game is by now very far along. Release is by no means soon, but we draw ever closer!

[ringoblood]

Fantastic[;)]

[Andrea G]

Poor Mel Gibson dead?
Great Job

[Jason Petho]

ORIGINAL: Andrea G

Poor Mel Gibson dead?
Great Job

Not quite, this particular battle happened after "Mel Gibson" had left on the slick

[ringoblood]

ORIGINAL: Jason Petho

ORIGINAL: Andrea G

Poor Mel Gibson dead?
Great Job

Not quite, this particular battle happened after "Mel Gibson" had left on the slick

lol[:D]