Mugs and Vietnam

We received the coffee mug [inscribed "Enemy at the Gates" and "I wasn't afraid of the Big One! "] from The Gamers, thank you. Every time I use it I am reminded of a period in a place in Vietnam called Tuy Hoa. The time was shortly after the start of the famous Tet Offensive by the North Vietnamese in February 1968. I was based at Tuy Hoa on TDY for about three weeks, flying logistic support missions around South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese had invaded the town of Tuy Hoa, which was only about five miles from the air base I was living on.

They had completely captured all of the town and had driven out many American civilian workers who lived there and worked on the base. The ones lucky enough to get away came to the base for protection. The base, however, was only lightly guarded by Air Police and a company or two of South Vietnamese infantry. The North Vietnamese had an entire division operating in the area, but fortunately they had other objectives to capture in addition to the air base so the division was not concentrated on the base.

One night they launched an operation whose purpose was to capture the base. I was one of the occupants then. I do not know what size force they used, probably less than a regiment, but they did not succeed. They were stopped by our C-47 gunships. I managed to watch much of the action as I was preparing to evacuate the base if needed. The firepower of a gunship is awesome, and when several are in use it is a lot of air artillery. So, that night, the Enemy was at the Gates trying to get in.

Interest Rekindled

I thought a comment on your brigade series games might be of interest. It was one of these games that rekindled my interest in a hobby I had basically abandoned for ten years. Most of my old opponents had moved on, and what new ones I found were much younger than I was. Usually, they were also less capable than the "old guard" that I used to know. Also AH, that company whose ads I had first seen in Boys Life and whose classic games like AK, Midway, 'Grad, and 'Loo had been my passion in junior and senior high school, was off on a trip I did not want to make after the late 1970s. My circle never thought much of S&T, and the only games I ever purchased from SPI I later sold as scrap.

Then a few years ago I wandered into a game store near the university where I teach and study and saw Bloody Roads South. Well, the Battle of the Wilderness had always been a passion with me ever since I read Lee's Last Campaign in high school; so, I took a chance. My first impression were not favorable. The two maps I found daunting and the rule book had a look of complexity for complexity's sake, but I had spent money so I persevered and was surprised. I had discovered a rather elegant system that had enormous possibilities for solitaire play. I kept the game set up for a week in the limited space I have and discovered a gem. From that beginning 1, orgy-like, bought Clash of Arms' La Bataille series and started on GMT's Great Battles of'History series.

There is much I could say I discovered or rediscovered in the last few years, but one point is essential and it is a point few designers seem to understand. A game that uses two standard hex sheets will be played occasionally, one with four will be set up once in as many years as there are sheets.

I own a great number of your brigade series games, but if the game does not have one-mapsheet scenarios, it does not get played. So one oi'my pleas to this brave new wargame industry is that you search for those actions that will fit that one-sheet format and that the level of design, tactical, grand tactical, or strategic, reflect what best fits size constraints. Those constraints should basically be the edges of a standard card table or of such a table extended by a 36x24" canvas board.

For me, then, your most valuable games are Embrace an Angry Wind, No Better Place to Die, In their Quiet Fields, and April's Harvest. (Perryville I will not speak of, since it is in bad taste to speak evil of the dead.) I hope the Napoleonic Brigade Series will concentrate on constricted battlefields (Waterloo, as always, comes to mind, as do some of the actions in Spain and Italy) as well as actions of the Austerlitz size.

[With a single map, Marengo meets your requirements for table space and an Italian setting.

Civil War

As a fan of the Civil War, Brigade series, I have followed with interest recent articles on improving the system. While generally believing that the CWB's greatest attribute is its simplicity and that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I want to cast my vote in favor of continued efforts to fine-tune two areas: the command rules and fire table results.

Actually, my last effort at commanding the Union in the first day scenario of Thunder at the Crossroads 11 would have been much foreshortened by imposing restrictions to "nail down" General John Reynolds. As it was, we played to the end because the Federals still had a chance to deny the Rebs possession of Cemetery Hill. Although I lost resoundingly on wrecked commands, it was a nailbiter to the end on who would hold the high ground. I would therefore propose different restrictions on movement for Meade/Lee as opposed to acting army commanders.

As to Fire Combat Table results, it is possible that different styles of play may engender more historical losses, but our gaming group's results and a recent session at ORIGINS indicate that most gamers will see excessive fire losses compared to historical casualty figures, as discussed in Larry Tagg's article in Operations 15. Granted, the CWB presents a streamlined, playable approach to its subject matter, and I am not advocating major surgery.

On the other hand, if the game represents a model of reality, an improvement that makes the model more accurate should be considered, and modifying either roster casualty boxes, Fire Combat Table results, or both should have a minimal effect on playability. The fact that one's car still runs does not prevent us from taking it in for periodic maintenance, and I hope Dean and the series designers consider an occasional tune-up for a elegant system.

[Articles in several issues of 0perations-including the one in your hands-prove that there are plenty of master mechanics out there ready to share their adjustments and enhancements to the CWB. For example, see the next letter. Keep an eye on future issues for some substantial and interesting articles on Thunder II]

Historical Losses

One of the aspects of the CWB series I have always enjoyed is comparing the game losses to the actual historical losses. No other Civil War game I have ever played has been able to do this. In most games no differentiation between hard casualties and stragglers is made. In some games losses are defined in "steps" and thus no accurate assessment can be made of a unit's losses in battle. The CWB series is the first and only series I have seen which attempts to address this.

I agree that the CWB Fire Combat Table is too bloody. I have had many experiences like Larry Tagg [Ops 15] where game losses far exceeded historical ones. I also agree with Mr. Bartlett's thinking [Ops 17] that the Fire Combat Table should reflect the erosion of a unit's fighting strength and will to fight. However, I feel that the table should also accurately reproduce historical losses. I assume that is what The Gamers also have in mind when they provide historical loss figures so players can compare their performance to the real thing. The problem lies in how to reconcile these different perspectives.

In my play, I have found that making a slight modification to the Fire Combat Table generates losses much closer to historical ones, but still provides for the reduction of a brigade's overall fighting ability (thus preserving the integrity of concepts such as wrecked brigade levels, corps attack stoppage, and so on). Whenever a 1/2 or 1 1/2 result is rolled, I automatically round down. What this does is reduce the number of hard casualties, while maintaining the same level of straggler losses. Brigades usually reach wrecked status in the same time frame as before.

While I have not conducted extensive mathematical equations to compare the percentage of loss using this modification against not using it, I believe it strikes nearer to reality. My losses are now closer to the Official Records, but the Eleventh Corps still dissolves within an hour against Rodes and Early at Gettysburg.