It's a Jungle out there

Adding more Trees to the collection.

With the intent on beefing up my Jungle terrain I decided to set about adding some more trees to my collection.

The trees were purchased in bulk from a discount model tree dealer on EBay from China.

http://stores.ebay.com.au/9amfree/Model-trees-/_i.html?_fsub=2504620018

Bases were made from MDF coasters.  Covered with sand and painted.

Holes were drilled into the bases and trees glued in place.

I had a bunch of left over Palm trees and ferns from a previous project that I decided to put to good use.  The foliage was sprayed lightly with green paint then dusted with yellow spray paint.

They were then cut from the trunks to use as plants to be fixed to the tree bases.

The Trees were sprayed with spray glue then Woodland Scenics Blended Turf T49 was sprinkled on to give a fuller and more uniform look to the trees.

 This also toned down some of the more garish green areas of the trees.

The Palm and Fern tree foliage was then glued with a hot glue gun to the bases.

I also covered other bush terrain areas I had with the Blended Turf which can be seen on the right of picture.

God Help Me, I was Only 19

ANZAC force for Chain of Command NAM

III Corps
III Corps was the third allied combat tactical zone in South Vietnam. During the 1960s and early 1970s, the country was divided into four major administrative and military regions, and III Corps extended from the northern Mekong Delta to the southern Central Highlands. It was also known as Military Region 3 (MR 3). III Corps had its headquarters in Saigon, and consisted of the following provinces: Tay Ninh, Binh Long, Phuoc Long, Phuoc Tuy, Long An, Binh Duong, Long Khanh, Binh Tuy, Gia Dinh, Hau Nghia, and Bien Hoa. The 18th and 25th Divisions of ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) played prominent roles in the military defense of III Corps, as did the 2nd Armored Cavalry the 81st Airborne Rangers and the 1 Australian Task Force.

Courtesy http://www.vietnamwar.net

ANZAC Patrols
Patrolling was the cornerstone of 1 Australian Task Force’s (1ATF’s) operations in Phuoc Tuy Province. Rather than wait behind the wire for the Viet Cong to launch attacks on the Task Force base, the Australians sought to control the area around Nui Dat, denying the Viet Cong any element of surprise and making it difficult for them to move undetected.

Courtesy http://vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au/combat/patrolling.php

ANZAC Rifle Platoon


NEW DETAILS EXPLAINED
Team Leaders
Team Leaders command a specific team whether that be a fire team or a support weapons team. They may also be a vehicle commander.
These are present to represent forces with strong JNCO leadership, giving them more flexibility in using the command dice they have.

• Team Leaders are activated on a 2.
• They have 1 initiative point. 
• A team leader can only influence his own team and he must be within unit integrity of them. 
• They only test for leader casualty if their own team suffers a casualty. 
• If their team suffers as many casualties as men in the unit then they are automatically hit. 
• Team leaders that are hit are immediately killed (they do not roll on the leader casualty result).  
• A team leader killed causes a roll on the Bad Think Happens table under Junior Leader wounded.

M-79 Blooper

• Activated same as rifle grenade.
• Close range 7-36. Effective range 36"+.
• Fires with 2 dice.  
• Roll for hits as though target is in the open unless target has overhead cover.

LAW

• May only be used when an individual man is commanded by a Leader using a Command Initiative.
• Can target armour, infantry or bunkers.
• AP: 8. HE: 3         
• Range 4-24", Range bands of 12" (from 0)

90mm Recoilless Rifle

• AP: 14 HE: 4
• Can only be used when the ANZACs are defenders and can take entrenchments. (Base Defense)

106mm Recoilless Rifle

• AP: 16  HE: 5
• Can only be used when the ANZACs are defenders and can take entrenchments. (Base Defense)

M113

• Armour: 2, 50cal M2HB MG Flexible on cupola mount, Fast, Capacity: 13

M113 Cadillac Gage T50 machine gun turret

• Armour: 2, T-50 turret mounting twin .30 Browning machine guns, Fast.
• Counts as mounted MMG firing at 1.5 times effect.

M113 FSV

• Armour:2 AP:4 HE:5, gun turret, Co-Ax MG, Fast.

 Centurion MK5

• Armour:8 AP:11 HE:7, Co-Ax MG, Average

ANZAC RIFLE PLATOON 1965 - 1971

NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Silent Patrolling
When deploying from Jump off Points, regular troops deploy within 9” and elite troops within 12”.
Enemy forces attempting to Ambush an ANZAC force must deploy further than 10” from any ANZAC infantry unit.

Five Rounds Rapid
When a Leader is attached to a rifle Team and uses two or more Command Initiatives to activate that Team, he may add that many D6 to the Team’s firing dice to reflect his controlling their rapid fire.

Offensive Support
Once per game a player may use a Chain of Command Dice to call in offensive support.  This represents artillery, Gunship or Air support being called in.
Offensive Support is designed to disrupt the enemy during an attack or to break up an enemies reserves.
Offensive Support will not kill any of your enemy, but it can reflect the disorder it causes in his ranks by disrupting his ability to deploy reserves onto the table.
A Chain of Command dice may be played at the end of a turn in order to have the following effect during the next turn only:
Units and Leaders must roll to deploy onto the table as though no Senior Leader is present with their force. Section 4.3, Deploying onto the Table. This lasts only for the following turn of the game, after that it has no continuing effect.

NB: This is effectively an in game barrage.  It presents an excellent opportunity to deploy your other toys on the table as we mark this by placing an Attack Helicopter or Aircraft near opponents table edge.


PLATOON FORCE RATING: 
Regulars: +3

Command Dice: 5

Rifle Platoon HQ
1 x Lt, Senior Leader with Owen SMG
1 x Platoon Sergeant, Senior Leader with L1A1 SLR

Three sections each of
1 x Corporal, Junior Leader with Owen SMG

Scout group
1 x Scout with Owen SMG
1 x Scout with L1A1 SLR

Gun Group
1 x Lance Corporal, Team Leader L1A1 SLR
1 x GPMG M-60 with 2 Crew

Rifle Group
1 x Rifleman with L1A1 SLR and M-79
3 x Rifleman with L1A1 SLR

Options
From 1967 replace any Owen SMGs with M16A1 assault rifles.

ANZAC Support List
Figures in brackets denote max allowed

List 1
Stretcher Bearer (Treated as Medical Orderly) (1)
Engineer Mine Clearance Team, 4 men (2)
Engineer Wire Cutting Team, 4 men (2)
Engineer Demolition Team, 4 men (2)
Minefield (3)
OC (Adjutant) (1)
Barbed Wire (2)
Jeep, no crew
Entrenchments for one Team
LAW (6)

List 2
Roadblock (1)
Pre-Game Barrage (1)
CoC dice (1)

List 3

MMG (M60) on tripod mount, 3 crew, base defense* (1)
Pioneer Flamethrower Team, 4 men (1)*

List 4
Engineer Section (2 teams) with Junior Leader (1)
Forward Observer and 81mm mortar section (1)

List 5
ANZAC Regular Squad with Junior Leader (1)
M113

List 6
M113 Cadillac Gage T50 machine gun turret with Junior leader. (From 1967)
M113 FSV with Junior leader. (From 1970)

List 8
90mm Recoilless Rifle with 3 crew, base defense*

List 9
106mm M40 Recoilless Rifle Team with 4 crew, base defense*
Centurion MK5 with Junior Leader


The following can only be selected in scenarios where the enemy may take entrenchments or static defences and the ANZACs are the attackers.
*Pioneer Flamethrower Team, 4 men*

Base Defence
Can only be used when the ANZACs are defenders and can take entrenchments. 

Grab Them by the Belt Buckle

Viet Cong Main Force for Chain of Command NAM

VC FORCES EXPLAINED

VC Mainforce Regulars
Known as 'hard hats' since they wore the ubiquitous pith helmet, these forces operated and were organised along traditional military lines. Organised into battalions consisting of 3 Rifle Company's and a Combat Support Company these troops were, on the whole, well trained, aggressive and well led.
On larger operations they could be organised and deployed as regiments of 2-3 battalions.

VC Mainforce Regional Guerrillas
The Mainforce Regional units of the Vietcong more often than not operated as independent companies but often split up and dispersed into platoons, squads and cells. These soldiers were fulltimers and were better equipped and trained than the local guerrillas. The personnel of these units were often local to the area in which they served.
Generally these units operated within their home region and fought as fully formed units.

VC Local Guerrillas
These were the archetypal 'farmers by day, soldiers by night', comprising those either too old or too young to fight in the regular VC units and dressed as local peasant farmers.
Whilst their primary activities consisted of intelligence gathering, sniping and emplacing booby traps, these troops were employed in the support of VC Regional and Main Force units operating in their locality as porters, scouts and guides.
Force size was dependent on the size of the local village or hamlet and ranged from a single 3 man cell to a platoon of 3-4 squads. Generally operated at the squad level of 12 men.

Courtesy Grunt Online

The following list covers Main Force Units. 

VC Local Guerillas and smaller scale insurgent style actions will be covered separately.

NEW DETAILS EXPLAINED

RPD

• Treat as Belt Fed LMG

RPG-2

• May only be used when an individual man is commanded by a Leader using a Command Initiative.
• Can target armour, infantry or bunkers.
• AP:8 HE:2 Min 4", range bands of 12" (from 0)
• Min 4", range bands of 12" (from 0-48")
• Limited Ammo - 3

RPG-7

• May only be used when an individual man is commanded by a Leader using a Command Initiative.
• Can target armour, infantry or bunkers.
• AP:11 HE:3 Min 4", range bands of 12" (from 0)
• Limited Ammo - 3

60mm Light Mortar Barrage

• This barrage covers a 12 inch square area.

60mm mortar Team, 3 crew

• Treated the same as Chain of Command main rule book

0.30 Cal MMG in a Bunker

• Tri-Pod Mounted MMG
• Treated as Hard Cover including from above.
• Can be deployed using the rules for Ambushes without requiring the use of a Chain of Command dice.
• May not be selected as a support option in scenarios where the player cannot take entrenchments.

57 mm Recoilless Rifle

• AP:3  HE:3

75 mm Recoilless Rifle

• AP:4  HE:4

POLITICAL CADRE
A Political Cadre is a Senior Leader armed with an SMG.  He may be attached to and influence ANY VC troops in the game, whether from the core platoon or supports.  He counts as one man for morale purposes when considering Shock levels and one man in any Close Combat. A Political Cadre does not fire or crew crewed weapons.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
Allows VC  player to either deploy one unit an additional 6” further from a Jump-Off point than would normally be the case OR to move a jump-off point up to 18” in any direction, so long as it is further than 12” from any enemy troops or Jump-Off Point.

MAIN FORCE VC PLATOON 1965 - 1968

NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Human Wave
A VC Senior Leader can use all of his Command Initiative to order all the units within his Command Distance that haven’t been activated yet in that Phase, to assault the enemy. Any troops so activated can choose to  move up to 4D6 straight towards their chosen enemy (terrain dependant), each squad dicing for its own movement. They halve their Shock for Movement purposes (rounding up). Any Squad or Squads which gets within 4” from enemy initiates Close Combat. Defenders will count any unit that moved 4D6 as 3D6 for defense purposes.

Hard to Detect
The VC tactics of dispersal, rapid concentration and excellent camouflage mean they are hard to target during their build up. If an opponent takes a pre-game game barrage the VC player will add +1 to their dice when attempting to bring forces onto the table.

Our Land
VC Patrol Markers use 14” as both their move distance and the distance from a friendly Patrol Marker within which they must remain.
Other than this additional 2” they operate as normal Patrol Markers.


PLATOON FORCE RATING:
Regulars Armed with SKS: +2
Regulars Armed with AK47: +4
Command Dice: 5

Green troops Armed with SKS: -4
Green troops Armed with AK47: -2
Command Dice: 4 + 1 additional different coloured dice counting any 5 or 6 rolled only and ignoring any 1-4 rolled.

Rifle Platoon HQ Section
1 x Lieutenant, Senior leader with SKS
1 x Senior Sergeant, Junior leader with SKS

Rifle Squad x 3
1 x Sergeant, Junior leader with SMG or SKS
1 x RPG-2
1 x RPD with 2 crew
5 x Riflemen with SKS

Options
From 1968 Replace SKSs with AK-47s.
From 1968 replace RPG-2 with RPG-7.

VC SUPPORT LIST
Figures in brackets denote max allowed

List 1
Barbed Wire (2)
Entrenchments for one Team

List 2
Roadblock (1)
RPG team, 2 men (1)
Local Knowledge*
CoC dice (1)
Sniper Team

List 3
60mm mortar Team, 3 crew (1)
Forward Observer and 60mm Mortar Section (1)
Political Cadre (1)
0.30 Cal MMG 5 crew (1)
57 mm Recoilless Rifle team, 5 men (1)

List 4
Sapper Penetration Cell* (1)
Green Infantry Squad with Junior Leader (3)
Forward Observer and 82mm mortar section (1)
DSHK 12.7mm HMG (Can be tripod mounted as A/A) with 5 crew (1)
0.30 Cal MMG 5 crew in a Bunker (Hard Cover)  (1)
75 mm Recoilless Rifle team 5 men (1)

List 5
Regular Infantry Squad with Junior Leader (1)


SAPPER PENETRATION CELL*
Can only be selected in scenarios where the enemy may take entrenchments or static defences.
Special Characteristics - Elite and Diehards
4 men, 2 x AK-47, 2 x Wire Cutters, 3 x Bangalore Torpedoes
Team counts as a Mine clearing Team a Wire clearing Team and a Demolition Team

Next cab off the rank the ANZACS.

Next stop is Vietnam

Chain of Command US Army List

II CORPS Zone
"II Corps was the second allied combat tactical zone in South Vietnam. It included the Central Highlands and contiguous central lowlands, and was known politically as the Central Vietnam Highlands, one of the four major administrative political units of South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s. II Corps was also known as Military Region 2 (MR 2). The military and administrative headquarters of II Corps was in Pleiku, and it consisted of the following provinces: Kontum, Binh Dinh, Pleiku, Phu Bon, Phu Yen, Darlac, Khanh Hoa, Quang Duc, Tuyen Duc, Ninh Thuan, Lam Dong, and Binh Thuan. The major ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) units operating in II Corps were the 22nd and 23rd divisions."

Courtesy of www.vietnamwar.net

I Field Force Vietnam
"I Field Force, Vietnam was a corps-level command of the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Activated on 15 March 1966, it was the successor to Task Force Alpha, a provisional corps command created 1 August 1965 (renamed Field Force Vietnam on 25 September) for temporary control of activities of U.S. Army ground combat units arriving in Vietnam.
I Field Force was a component of U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) and had its headquarters at Nha Trang."

Area of Responsibility and Units Assigned
I Field Force's area of responsibility was II Corps Tactical Zone, later renamed Military Region 2, which comprised the twelve provinces of Vietnam's Central Highlands. Among the divisions and brigades it controlled were:

• 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)
• 4th Infantry Division
• 3d Brigade, 25th Infantry Division
• 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division
• 173rd Airborne Brigade
• 41st Artillery Group
• 52nd Artillery Group

Courtesy of wikipedia

US RIFLE PLATOON

NEW DETAILS EXPLAINED

Team Leaders
Team Leaders command a specific team whether that be a fire team or a support weapons team. They may also be a vehicle commander.
These are present to represent forces with strong JNCO leadership, giving them more flexibility in using the command dice they have.

• Team Leaders are activated on a 2.
• They have 1 initiative point.
• A team leader can only influence his own team and he must be within unit integrity of them.
• They only test for leader casualty if their own team suffers a casualty.
• If their team suffers as many casualties as men in the unit then they are automatically hit.
• Team leaders that are hit are immediately killed (they do not roll on the leader casualty result). A team leader killed causes a roll on the Bad Think Happens table under Junior Leader wounded.

M-79 Blooper

• Activated same as rifle grenade.
• Close range 7-36. Effective range 36"+.
• Fires with 2 dice. 
• Roll for hits as though target is in the open unless target has overhead cover.

LAW

• May only be used when an individual man is commanded by a Leader using a Command Initiative.   
• Can target armour, infantry or bunkers.
• AP: 8. HE: 3        
• Range 4-24", Range bands of 12" (from 0)

90mm Recoilless Rifle

• AP: 14 HE: 4
• Can only be used when the US are defenders and can take entrenchments. (Base Defense)

106mm Recoilless Rifle

• AP: 16  HE: 5
• Can only be used when the US are defenders and can take entrenchments. (Base Defense)

M42A1 Duster

• Armour:2 AP:3 HE: 9 Co-Ax MG, Open Topped, Average

M113

• Armour: 2, 50cal M2HB MG Flexible on cupola mount, Fast, Capacity: 13

M113 ACAV

• Armour: 2, Hatch armor and gun shield for mounted 50cal M2HB machine gun, Two 7.62mm M60 light machine guns pintle mounted with gun shields.

M67A2 Zippo

• Armour:8 HE:6 Flame, Co-Ax MG, Average

M48 Patton

• Armour:8 AP:11 HE:7, Co-Ax MG, Average

US RIFLE PLATOON 1965 - 1971

NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Medics
A medic may use his activation to remove one point of shock from a unit that he joined.
To do the this, the Medic must join the unit and spend one activated Phase assisting them.
NB: This is in addition to the Medical orderly rules from the main book .

Offensive Support
Once per game a player may use a Chain of Command Dice to call in offensive support.
This represents artillery, Gunship or Air support being called in.
Offensive Support is designed to disrupt the enemy during an attack or to break up an enemies reserves.
Offensive Support will not kill any of your enemy, but it can reflect the disorder it causes in his ranks by disrupting his ability to deploy reserves onto the table.
A Chain of Command dice may be played at the end of a turn in order to have the following effect during the next turn only:
Units and Leaders must roll to deploy onto the table as though no Senior Leader is present with their force. Section 4.3, Deploying onto the Table. This lasts only for the following turn of the game, after that it has no continuing effect.

NB: This is effectively an in game barrage.  It presents an excellent opportunity to deploy your other toys on the table as we mark this by placing an Attack Helicopter or Aircraft near opponents table edge.

PLATOON FORCE RATING: 
Regulars Armed with M14: +5 
Regulars Armed with M16: +8

Command Dice: 5

Rifle Platoon HQ
1 x Lieutenant Senior Leader with M14
1 x Platoon Sergeant Senior Leader with M14
1 x Medic, Medical Orderly
2 x M60 GPMG with 2 crew (attached to squads)

Rifle Squad x 3
1 x Squad Leader, with M14

Fireteam 1
1 x Team Leader, with M14
1 x Grenadier, Pistol .45 cal, M-79
2 x Rifleman, with M14

Fireteam 2
1 x Team Leader, with M14
1 x Grenadier, Pistol .45 cal, M-79
3 x Rifleman, with M14

Options
From 1966 replace M14 rifles with M16A1 assault rifles.

U.S. SUPPORT LIST
Figures in brackets denote max allowed

List 1
Medical Orderly (1)
Engineer Mine Clearance Team, 4 men (2)
Engineer Wire Cutting Team, 4 men (2)
Engineer Demolition Team, 4 men (2)
Minefield (3)
OC (Adjutant) (1)
Barbed Wire (2)
Jeep, no crew
Entrenchments for one Team
LAW (6)

List 2
Roadblock (1)
Pre-Game Barrage (1)
CoC dice (1)
1 M60 GPMG with 2 crew (1)

List 3
Sniper Team
MMG (M60) on tripod mount, 5 crew (1)
Pioneer Flamethrower Team, 4 men (1)*

List 4
Engineer Section (2 teams) with Junior Leader (1)
Forward Observer and 81mm mortar section (1)

List 5
US Regular Squad with Junior Leader (1)
M2HB .50 cal HMG on tripod with 5 crew (1)
M113

List 6
M42A1 Duster with Junior Leader

List 7
M67A2 Zippo with Junior Leader

List 8
90mm Recoilless Rifle with 3 crew, base defense*
M113 ACAV with Driver two crew for m60s and Junior leader.

List 9
106mm M40 Recoilless Rifle Team with 4 crew, base defense*
M48 Patton with Junior Leader


The following can only be selected in scenarios where the enemy may take entrenchments or static defences and the US are the attackers.
*Pioneer Flamethrower Team, 4 men*

Base Defence
Can only be used when the US are defenders and can take entrenchments.
*90mm Recoilless Rifle with 3 crew
*106mm M40 Recoilless Rifle Team with 4 crew


Next up Main Force VC

Jungle Boogie - Chain of Command NAM AAR

SCENARIO
The Patrol
I Corps Tactical Zone
October 1968

U.S.M.C vs NVA

Mission
US forces are to sweep the area and engage any enemy encountered.

Game Details
USMC Force
1968 option less 3 fire teams
Force Rating:  +6
Support: +2
Support Taken: 1 Fire team
Force Morale: 8

NVA Force
1968 Option
Force Rating: +4
Support: +4
Support Taken: Local Knowledge, CoC Dice
Force Morale: 8

Objective
To win a victory, one side must force his opponent to withdraw from the table, either voluntarily or due to a reduction in his Force Morale, whilst keeping his own Force Morale at 3 or greater. If neither side achieves this, both will withdraw.

NB: All picture descriptions will appear below photos.

Table Layout

 
The majority of the table was classed as Primary Jungle (http://carportgaming.blogspot.com.au/2016/08/run-through-jungle-terrain-rules-for.html) with the top  right and bottom left corners graded as waist high grass offering light cover with no effect on movement.  Troops who were moving on tracks would be considered in the open however troops running across a track would be considered as in heavy cover but with line of sight treated as in the open for any troops who interrupted or fired from overwatch.

Alternative view of table from the NVA left flank.


Patrol Phase

USMC patrol markers in blue.  NVA in red. US pushed patrol markers aggressively on their left flank while the NVA pushed down their left also knowing they had the local knowledge support option allowing a final Jump Off Point (JOP) to be moved up to 18 inches as long as it ended further than 12 inches from an enemy JOP.

Close view of patrol markers.


Deployment of Jump off Points

US JOP markers indicated by (from right to left) red, yellow and purple smoke.

NVA JOP markers the hard to spot tunnel entrances (with white numbers on top).

Alternate view of JOPs.  At the end of the placement of JOPs the NVA player chose to use local knowledge to move his JOP at top right of screen towards the US red smoke marker.


Phase One NVA

NVA start with first phase and deploy a squad on overwatch from the JOP nearest to the US red smoke deployment attempting to cut off the US right flank.


Phase Two USMC

The US get the next two phases and deploy a squad with attached M60 from the purple smoke marker.

Gaining the next two phases in a row they decide to aggressively attack the NVA right flank and push quickly towards the furthest right NVA JOP.

Top view of battlefield showing initial troop deployments and movement.




NVA Phase

Second NVA squad deploys before their JOP is overrun.

Firing on the US squad and inflicting some shock.  The heavy cover of the Jungle helping to reduce casualties.

The NVA first squad pushes forward to overrun the US right flank JOP.


US Phase/NVA Phase

The US deploy their second squad on the top left of screen then the US first squad trades fire with NVA squad that fired on them.  Finally the third NVA squad launches an assault against this US squad  which is unpinned with only minimal shock.  The US soundly rout the NVA squad luckily suffering no casualties and some shock themselves.  This proves to be a major turning point in the battle leaving the NVA outnumbered and outgunned.


US Phase

Seizing the numbers advantage the US place their first squad on overwatch and move their second squad up to a flanking position of the NVA squads left.

Close up of the action.

Rear view of the US push.

The US gain another phase and deploy their final squad forming a sweeping line and aggressively pursuing the NVA forces who are now on the back foot and in their phase commence withdrawing back towards their first squad.

Close up of NVA first squad who have overrun the US right flank JOP.

Full view of the Battlefield.


NVA Phase

NVA player has 2 phases.  Ends turn after first phase causing morale checks for the US and themselves for lost JOPS then uses the second phase to deploy Platoon leader. Places second squad on overwatch and moves first squad into line in cover near the track running through the jungle opposite the approaching US squad.

View from NVA second squad.

Aerial view of battlefield.


US Phase

US line pushes forward causing more casualties on the NVA left flank.


NVA Phase

With the NVA morale now down to 3 the NVA platoon leader orders a Human Wave assault with the remaining NVA squads on the US right hand flank.  This causes casualties on the US squad and some of the leaders resulting in a drop in US morale to 4.  However the final assault causes both NVA units to flee, severely reducing their numbers and with casualties to their leaders the NVA moral drops to zero.


Final Result
US Victory.


Observations
The NVA had set out to be aggressive with the use of Local Knowledge and pressed early.  The US JOP on the NVA right flank proved vital and with 2 early consecutive phases and another 2 consecutive phases at other key stages in the game the NVA were placed on the back foot.  To the US credit however they seized their opportunities through aggressiveness which paid dividends.

Another key turning point was the early assault from the NVA on an unpinned unit with minimal shock.  Automatic weapons are lethal in defense against assaults.

As for terrain the table was covered largely in Primary jungle reducing line of sight and not allowing troops to run with 3 dice.  What is does produce is close quarters fighting but also forces a player to be careful to not stumble on an unpinned enemy.  My personal thoughts were they worked very well producing a new set of tactical decisions but at the same time not bogging down the game.

All in all it was an enjoyable spectacle.

I'll leave it to the players involved to comment further on their thoughts.