Saigon. COMUSMAC-V announced today that Marines stationed at Firebase Toast near the Cambodian border had repelled a North Vietnamese at tack in the middle of the night of May 8. When pressed for details, the MAC-V spokesman noted that NVA and VC losses were heavy, gleefully pointing out a confirmed body count of 208 and blood trails indicating a much higher loss of life. When pressed for US losses, the spokesman was less forthcoming. Only after insistent questioning did he acknowledge that several Marines were killed. Responding to rumors that the firebase had not received any artillery or TAC air support during the attack, the MAC-V spokesman noted that he did not have any details. The true extent of the casualty list was revealed by anonymous sources who noted that 71 Marines are going home in body bags. Interviews with survivors of the attack tell of massed waves of NVA and VC assaulting suddenly out of the night behind a murderous barrage of rockets and mortars. One unidentified survivor stated, "They were in the wire before we could even react. The whole treeline erupted with fire." According to other survivors, the firebase would have been overrun except for the efforts of a few Marines who fought hand-to-hand with the NVA until slain. A number of posthumous medals seem to be in the offing. Congressm - an Oliver Snerdly, whose son was apparently among the lost, is reported to be pressing for an investigation of the catastrophe. Snerdly is presently on a fact finding mission in Saigon. And so went our most recent game at Ramstein Airbase, Germany. Over our last three Friday sessions, we have played Charlie Company, RAFM's Vietnam skirmish level rules, The defenders included seven ten Marine squads, two four marine 105mm howitzer crews, three four Marine vehicle crews, and twenty command and support personnel. Using Scott Wydako's scratch built firebase set on a 7 x 10 gaming space, Ramstein gamers tried to keep Comrades Ho (VC Anthony Ates) and Wang (NVA CJ Arseneault) from taking the base. Ho and Wang had a combined force of 350 figures. Losses on both sides ran about 70% killed or seriously wounded. Pete Gill, our token British member, refereed what turned into a bloodbath for both sides. For those of you who have never played Charlie Company, it is a skirmish level fight with the referee usually running all of the NVANC forces and the players serving as small unit commanders trying to survive a tour (twelve missions) in Vietnam. The rules work well, although the Americans often complaid about the hidden movement of their opponents. With the right terrain and figures, the game is visually attractive. Charlie Company is easy to learn, plays fast, and seems to capture much of the flavor of the actual experience. Major Bill, we have about ten active gamers in our group now and are always looking to recruit more, If you run across anyone bound for Germany and the LandstuhlKaiserslautern-Ramstein area have them e-mail me. Reports that reached me from Nashville seems to indicate that NASHCON was a rousing success. Sorry I missed it this year. Back to Dispatch July 2001 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com