Dien Bien Phu, the final gamble

All VM units may no move. Each one has a movement allowance of 6, and now you may enter ZoF (but ZoC).

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1d.jpg

VM declares all assaults

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1e.jpg

French defensive fire:

The French units that are being assaulted now fires. For each unit the player takes the strength value and modifies it (like if the VM charges across wire etc) to get a final number. Then the French player rolls two dice. If the result is below that number the VM player gets a +1 on the result table. If above the number it will be a -1, and if result is the number then there is no modification.

The VM player then rolls a die (with the above modification) and checks the column corresponding to the VM unit's moral to see what the result of the defensive fire is.

The usual result is a step loss, but it can be "no effect" or a step loss + abort (no assault)

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1f.jpg

VM assault:

Now the assaults take place. You take the strength value of the assaulting unit and modify it to get a number, and as in the defensive fire you roll two dice. Roll below the number and it will give you a +1. Above it a -1 and if you roll the number then no modification. The French player picks the same unit that conducted the defense and rolls one die, modifies it (+1/0/-1) and checks the result table at the column corresponding with the unit's moral.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1g.jpg

French barrage:

Now the French bring on their artillery and mortar. As usual, on an enemy unit within 2 hexes of a French unit since it is night time. Many become shaken and a few receive a step loss as well. Already flipped units will not take a step loss, if received. They will retreate instead and not into enemy ZOF of course.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1h.jpg

(remember, you can download the charts in message 176 here: http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?7@@.1dd51d86/196)

Kim Kanger a écrit:

French barrage:

Now the French bring on their artillery and mortar. As usual, on an enemy unit within 2 hexes of a French unit since it is night time. Many become shaken and a few receive a step loss as well. Already flipped units will not take a step loss, if received. They will retreate instead and not into enemy ZOF of course.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1h.jpg

(remember, you can download the charts in message 176 here: http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?7@@.1dd51d86/196)

Hello Kim,
Pourquoi avoir placé les tirs de l’artillerie française après les assauts ?
Le but de l’artillerie était bien de casser les assauts justement au pied des positions voir directement dessus si nécessaire...

There will be a second VM impulse. French barrage will hit the VM before the 2nd impulse starts.

When rolling for defensive fire, the French unit may modify its strength value with +1 per supporting unit which includes all support units (that can barrage) within 5 hexes. This is the "quick barrage" that is called upon as soon as VM attacks. The rest of the barrage (in form of the barrage markers) takes place at this phase in between the 1st and 2nd VM impulse.

French reaction move:

The Algerians at Gabrielle feel quite stuck there and decide to stay while the legionnaires at Béatrice see a way out and decide to leave so that they can fight another day.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1i.jpg

Quite interesting, keep it coming

Thanks!


2nd VM assault movement

I decided not to chase the legionnaires across open ground. I don't fancy being caught out there when French barrage breaks lose. So all VM units move back into entrenched hexes and, around Gabrielle, prepare for another assault.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1j.jpg

2nd Assault declaration and French defensive fire:

The two VM battalions are both takíng casaulties while rushing up the Gabrielle hill.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1k.jpg

VM assaults and the 2nd French reaction movement:

The two VM battalions, supported by three other battalions each, slam into the two remaining trenches at Gabrielle. The first one fail miserably but the other one managed to destroy the Algerian company although it failed to take the trench since the Thai company hold the line.

The Strongpoint track has been decreased by 3 (the value of Béatrice) and the "Strongpoints taken" marker has moved up to 3 (once again the value of Béatrice).

The legionnaires which escaped from Béatrice has now moved to positions at Dominique.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1l.jpg

Vivement la contre-attaque française, indispensable à ce stade selon Bigeard...

We shall see, we shall see

VM attrition: None.

Mark isolated French units: Those two at Gabrielle have been marked.

Remove all shaken: They have been, on both sides. Barrage markers that show that the support units they belong to are shaken have been flipped into its non-shaken side, unless the the support unit has taken a step loss.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1m.jpg

Bigeard considérait qu'il fallait contre-attaquer immédiatement avant que les Viets ne soient bien installés.
Trop de retard et un manque d'engagement dans la contre-attaque sur Gabrielle selon lui. Il l'a prouvé sur les Eliane, d'ailleurs...

The French player will now try to bring in reinforcements and supply. Using the available markers the French player places a mix on the airdrop matrix at the lower right corner of the map. The 5 BPVN are available as reinforcements since the Strongpoint track has fallen down to 55. You may only place one marker per slot with the exceptions of reinforcements which you may place 2 companies in the same slot.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1n.jpg

You roll a die and check the weather table to see how many air transports that will abort back to Hanoi. I roll a "5" which means 6 aborts. Now I start to roll two dice six times, one red and one blue. The red one will give you one of the six rows in the matrix, and the blue die one of the 3 columns. So, each roll of two dice will give you a specific slot in the matrix. Here goes (first number is the row and the second number will be the column):

2-6: Food
2-5: Empty (already gone)
1-4: Food
2-1: Gas
6-6: 2 companies of 5 BPVN
3-6: Food

Replacement arrives (4 steps)
3x Gas arrive
6x Ammo arrive
2x Food arrive
2x companies from 5 BPVN arrive

I adjust the tracks and will place the new units and give four units replacements

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1o.jpg

Approche intéressante pour le ravitaillement !
Mais j'attends AVEC IMPATIENCE la contre attaque...

French move:

The French may now move freely (each unit as far as it wish) as long as it doesn't enter VM ZoC/ZoF or a hex in any VM trench zone (that is entrenched). I decided to spread out the support units a bit so that a single VM barrage marker will cover as few of them as possible.

I also spread out the tanks to support our boys at the front.

Citation :

Mais j'attends AVEC IMPATIENCE la contre attaque...

Then I have to try to extracticate the boys at Gabrielle so I sent some hard hitting paras with tank support to do the job. (happy now, Birhacheim? )

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1p.jpg

Kim Kanger a écrit:

Then I have to try to extracticate the boys at Gabrielle so I sent some hard hitting paras with tank support to do the job. (happy now, Birhacheim? )

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1p.jpg

Ouais ! On met le paquet ! Deux bataillons d'élite + Tous les chars + soutien artillerie et aérien maxi pour reprendre Gabrielle ! Peut importe le coût ! On reprend la position ! Faut que les Viets doutent !

A l'occasion, Kim, si ce n'est déjà fait - il faut que tu lises "Pour une parcelle de gloire", les mémoires de Bigeard, sur le sujet DBP. ça ne peut que t'aider dans la conception de"ça aurait pu se passer autrement avec un esprit combattif et une approche tactique différente...".

http://www.amazon.fr/Pour-parcelle-gloire-Bigeard-G%C3%A9n%C3%A9ral/dp/B0000DL8HX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347624612&sr=8-1

Kim !

Tu n'y mets pas assez de monde !
Faut mettre le paquet ! 4 compagnies dont deux du 5Bawouan et deux chars ! ET ben, c'est petit joueur !
Tu te crois où là, sur la RC4 ?

Juste pour rappel:

- les PA Gabrielle et Anne-Marie sont essentiels à l'approvisionnement du camp retranché car dans l'axe d'approche de la vallée - pas pour rien que la piste est orientée en ce sens... Béatrice, on peut s'en passer mais pas ces deux là... A intégrer pour le ravitaillement et les tirs de DCA d'attrition sur la flotte de transport...

I'm not sure about the importance of Gabrielle. Dominique 2 was a greater loss.


French assault move and barrage:

The French move up to Gabrielle and pull a barrage on the the VM units blocking them. The VM units are lucky and become only shaken.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1q.jpg

Kim Kanger a écrit:

I'm not sure about the importance of Gabrielle. Dominique 2 was a greater loss.


French assault move and barrage:

The French move up to Gabrielle and pull a barrage on the the VM units blocking them. The VM units are lucky and become only shaken.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1q.jpg

L'axe de la vallée, Kim; l'axe de la piste. D2 n'est pas en danger au début de la bataille.

I guess you will buy the game to check out a thing or two.

Well, here it continues:

Declare French assault, and VM defensive fire:

The VM battalion in front of 8 BPC managed to make the French paras stop dead in their track and abort from their assault while taking a loss as well. The other battalion receives no effect when shooting at 5 BPVN, so that assault is still on.

http://www.kangerproject.com/DienBienPhu/play/DBP-play-1r.jpg