Campaign Series Vietnam - YouTube

[Jason Petho]

After going over the latest news on the UPDATES for CSME and CSVN we dived into some senseless violence. I playtested a FSB Ripcord scenario I had hidden away and was taught some valuable lessons in fighting in the mountains and jungle. Even my plethora of Cobra's couldn't save me. Well, that's only partially true. What a nail biter of a battle anyway! Then we started up the third installment of the Hue scenarios. More intense city street fighting and a massive counterattack by the NVA. Good times

https://youtu.be/nw9nMBk8cN8

[Jason Petho]

We went through the latest news about the UPDATES for CS Middle East and CS Vietnam and then talked about some interesting tidbits that I found while I have been working on the North Koreans for the 1.40 UPDATE to be released at the end of the year (ish). After we dove back into the Hue #3 scenario where we engaged in heavy city street combat. The battle itself has been going well, considering. Some flanking maneuvers were successful and we are in the final phases of assaulting well defended NVA bunkers.

https://youtu.be/lzMxp9UCtCs

[Jason Petho]

I explained how to grab the Campaign Series Vietnam 1.31 UPDATE and explained some of the goodies included, we went over the North Koreans that I have been working on lately and then dove into a couple Hue scenarios. We finished off number 3, assaulting hard and trying to make progress on the last two positions we needed to take. It was bloody, but we were successful! Then we started on Hue number 4 and utilized some cavalry and gunships to advance from the northwest towards Hue. There was a lot of interaction today with brilliant questions and conversations! Such a good session!

https://youtu.be/thPZxl1FlWo

[Jason Petho]

After going over the latest news from the Campaign Series, we played a custom scenario by one of the Campaign Series playtesters. John had created a Korean War scenario with the Chinese forces against the US Marines at the Chosin Reservoir. It was an interesting scenario and allowed me to see how the Chinese performs in combat at this point of the OOB's and gave me lots of ideas for potentially scripting the scenario. If you want the scenario, which is actually designed to be played H2H, you can find it over in the Blitzkrieg Wargame club database! (https://www.theblitz.club/)

https://youtu.be/2lhqTySollo

[Jason Petho]

After going over the progress on North Koreans and plans ahead, we returned to Hue and continued with the Scenario #4 by David Galster. Just a reminder that these need to be scripted before we release them to the public, but they will be included in the future UPDATES for the Vietnam game. It was a rough city fighting scenario, our poor troops were getting eaten. But, we did have a bunch of gunships (which I didn't lose this time... ha!) that provided ample support. After the successful conclusion of the scenario we started up the next scenario, Scenario #6 which is over the same terrain, but I have far more troops to conduct the assault. I am missing all those gunships I had though.

https://youtu.be/47d9fCjK4Vw

[Jason Petho]

An overview of the goodies I've been working on and a reminder about the future updates. After we dove back into Scenario #6 of the Hue set of scenarios. This is a rough one. It is the same terrain as #4 but a completely different set up. Lots of senseless violence and battling happening as we attempt to clear defences in depth with bunkers, trenches and ample NVA troops causing mass casualties. Lots of valuable lessons for advancing into the jaws of multiple heavy weapons. I wish I had my gunships from the last scenario, absolutely!

https://youtu.be/AfoH5a1iois

[Jason Petho]

A brief overview about what is going on with the Campaign Series before we dove into the nasty fighting for the villages. Even with the off shore bombardments, this was a tough nut to crack. Block by block we attempted to push through the village, clearing the North Vietnamese troops. Alas, they were dug in like Alabama tics, and we suffered some serious casualties as we pushed into the chaos. Good times, but a doozy indeed.

https://youtu.be/lFBoPGRMbRk

[Jason Petho]

We went over the latest news with the North Koreans and some news about the 1.40 and 2.40 updates. Then we fired up the CSVN 1.40 BETA UPDATE and starting playing another new Hue scenario, number 7! This is a nasty fight for Hue itself. This is extremely messy and bloody city fighting. We are half way through the scenario and have advanced 500 metres or so. It's a challenge indeed, but fun... really, really fun!

https://youtu.be/Vz5Svg0bsgs

[Jason Petho]

I gave a preview of the latest Cold War graphics and then explained the current state of the North Koreans and the process of assigning ID's. Then we jumped back into the Hue #7 scenario where I spent the session getting my rear handed to me in intense city fighting. Literally block by block of horrendous losses. It was nail biting all the way to the end as my Marines and ARVN tried to push the NVA and VC out of the city. This is likely one of the hardest scenarios I've played in the series so far!

https://youtu.be/zgRzlEJZKxg

[Jason Petho]

We shared some very exciting news about a couple new features, one that will change the whole way that the Campaign Series plays. Let me know what you think in the comments! I'd love to hear some feedback and ideas regarding the new feature! Then we moved into a new scenario by David Galster that deals with Operation Lam Son 719, the ARVN incursion into Laos in 1971. This is the first scenario of a series that I'm giving a test to see how it plays. A lot of helicopter action in this session and combat assaults.

https://youtu.be/KiEEnb3o8zM

[Jason Petho]

I had a distraction since last session, so shared that goodness and explained the advancements Petri has made with the new MAKELUA tool that will be coming out in January with the UPDATES. Then we dove back into the first Lam Son 719 scenario where I am experiencing helicopter operations like never before. The amount of loaches, gunships and slicks we have on the map is amazing, I even feel bad for the poor North Vietnamese. Well, I did, until they started shooting down my helicopters.

https://youtu.be/et0bGUtwhrY

[Jason Petho]

A quick overview of what I've been doing on the platoon files and a discussion about the future plans embedded throughout the session. We continued our ARVN LAM SON 719 operation into Laos and discussed tactics in air mobile operations. Much to my surprise, this scenario had some B-52's that we could call in as airstrikes, which we did. And holy amazing! That was epic to watch, I am looking forward to more use in the future!


https://youtu.be/-2ZqcY2Jm8M

[Jason Petho]

Lots of great progress on the assigning of weapon values and graphics for the six nations I'm currently working on, which was the show and tell today before we wrapped up the Lam Son 719 scenario. I have a new appreciation for 37mm Anti-Aircraft guns as I lost a number of helicopters during the many maneuvers in this scenario. We had a good run of B-52 strikes come in and I explained how they work during the scenario. I enjoy these larger battles as they consist of a number of smaller fights that one need to manage and focus on.

https://youtu.be/u4C6D_ErkjU

[Jason Petho]

We started off by going over some of the new Warsaw Pact infantry graphics with some different uniforms and weapons and then we dove into a new OPERATION LAM SOM 719 scenario. This is scenario number 2, where we have ample helicopters, paratroopers and a mechanized force to try and advance deeper into Laos. Ah, the epitome of senseless violence indeed. There was a lot of good discussions and questions today, with ample tactical advice for playing!

https://youtu.be/-dM4Y_iRpk4

[Jason Petho]

We started off with something a little different. I showed you one way to create outlines for new graphics, as it is explained in the manual - in case you're so inclined. Then we dove back into the LAM SON 719 scenario. It's a fascinating fight with lots of action all over the map. I really enjoy these types of scenarios where you have a lot of things to think about and deciding how to manage your resources. Alas, the anti-aircraft made short work of some helicopters, but we're making excellent progress! There was lots of great discussion, thank you for tuning in and thank you for watching!

https://youtu.be/dw2FG5_twvg

[Jason Petho]

As a bonus, I had the opportunity to stream on the Slitherine TV Twitch channel this morning, so jumped on the chance. We dove back into Operation Starlite and I was giving some basic tutorial explanations about the game as well as some intense combat all around. I have a new hatred for snipers and recoilless rifles as we advanced into the Viet Cong stronghold. On the bright side, our assaults were going well today! We even secured Hill 43 with relative light casualties!

https://youtu.be/urXpR6e9_7s

[Jason Petho]

We went over the latest status for the various UPDATES for Middle East and Vietnam, showed the progress on the new nations that will be added and then dove back into the senseless violence in Laos. We wrapped up the second scenario, giving lots of ideas for scripting potential and had a lot of great discussions. This episode was filled with random tips and tricks to keep in mind when playing!

https://youtu.be/2HFCFx2e_ys

[Jason Petho]

We started off by giving an overview of the new North Korean's that will be included in the Campaign Series Vietnam 1.40 UPDATE coming in January. This is for those that are keen on the Korean War and wish to create those scenarios. That means CS Vietnam will have China and North Korea with the United States and South Korea for organizations available for that. Then we generated a lua file with the new csmklua2 cslint tool and played through the number 3 scenario of the Lam Son 719 scenario set. What a bloody mess that was, especially since were without any form of air support.

https://youtu.be/CVMGvkws6RE