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All,
1330 Local Time
31 January 1966
Song Ve Valley, RVN
Operation Double EagleOperation Double Eagle kicked off on 28 January 1966, with the intent to locate and destroy the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) 18th and 95th Regiments (which were believed to have infiltrated across the DMZ in December of 1965) and the Viet Cong 2nd Regiment in Quang Ngai Province, while the US Army and ARVN forces kicked off Operation Masher/White Wing just south of the Double Eagle area of operations to destroy the NVA and VC base camps believed to be located there. On 28 January the boys’ platoon went ashore with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines (3/1) at Red Beach, spending a couple days patrolling in the local area without contact.
On 30 January the boys’ platoon became attached to 2/3, while B-52 ‘Arc Light’ strikes were carried out in the Song Ve Valley. The intent was for the battalion to patrol the valley immediately following the B-52 strikes, but this didn’t happen due to poor weather in the area, so the boys spent a restless day and night shivering and soaked under their ponchos. The boys’ platoon ended up getting sent back to 2/4, which was then lifted by helo into the west end of the Song Ve Valley, from which they began their search.
The boys’ platoon has been humping the valley all day, walking the massive line of craters created by the B-52 bombers, while other platoons paralleled them on the ridgelines to the north and south. The problem was that the boys’ platoon was massively outpacing the flanking platoons as humping was ten times easier on the floor of the bombed out valley then it was on the heavily jungled ridgelines, cut a million times by jagged ravines. The boys’ platoon seemed to call a halt every ten minutes, trying to allow the flankers to catch up, all the while having that very uneasy feeling they were being watched from those very same ridgelines…
Overview, north is to top left, with the squad moving from west (bottom left) to east (top right). At top left is Hill 175, while there’s a low ridgeline running north-south at far right. Other than that it’s thick jungle broken up only by the craters, burned out areas, and rubble piles left in the wake of the B-52 strikes.
The squad pushes east. It’s slow going as the point element takes many breaks to stop, look, and listen for signs of trouble, and the rest of the squad uses that time to search the area. “Look at that, man, VC were definitely here!” said Nelson. The squad was finding all sorts of broken weapons, ammo crates, fuel drums, pieces of bodies, even an overturned truck! “Yeah,’ replied Corporal Little, “looks like the Arc Lights hit a VC base camp. Good on’em.”
Danny and Tate (top right) are nearing the end of the debris field, with the rest of the squad pulling up behind them, eager to get out of the open area. Nikki (bottom center) paused for a moment for another sip of nice, warm water…
At exactly the moment a burst of AK fire broke out from atop Hill 175 (bottom left)…
And it is immediately joined by another AK from the west (bottom left, with Hill 175 off camera to top left), firing on the Marines (top center/left) from behind!
As the 7.62mm rounds come in, they find flesh! Nikki (bottom right) is struck, drops his canteen, and falls next to it on the jungle floor! Rivera, next to him (red bead) is suppressed, while Cpl Little (yellow bead at top left) is pinned.
Danny and Tate (bottom right) immediately face about and begin working back, trying to find the threat, as Sgt Garcia, Cpl Zamora, Holmes, and Jackson (center/left) all hop into nearby craters, seeking cover, peering over the rim to try and discover the location of their tormenters.Danny listened intently, and all thoughts of the enemy disappeared when he didn’t hear the sound of the M-60 firing, knowing it could only mean one thing. To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/02/two-brothers-fight-10.htmlNext fight coming up Sunday night/Monday morning.
V/R,
JackAll,
1430 Local Time
13 January 1966
An Hoa, RVN
Operation MallardSome old faces, Nelson and Griffin, had returned to the squad, and some new faces, Rivera and Tate, were picked up as replacements, bringing the squad strength to twelve Marines, nearly their T/O strength. They’d been patrolling in and around Da Nang for a little over a week when Sergeant Garcia walked into the squadbay and gave them a Warning Order: they were heading about 20 klicks south of Da Nang to support a sweep by 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines (1/3) and 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (3/7) in and around a village named An Hoa. It seemed An Hoa was a burgeoning industrial center (or at least he South Vietnamese government hoped so), with the country’s only functioning coal mine and a newly completed railway spur located there. But the Viet Cong R-20 Battalion, recently reinforced by the 5th Main Force Viet Cong Battalion, was causing big trouble there for the ARVN assigned to protect An Hoa, so the Marines were being sent in find, fix, and destroy the VC forces in the area and evacuate about 300 villagers from small hamlets in the surrounding area into the (allegedly) better protected An Hoa village proper.
The Marines kicked off Operation Mallard on 11 January 1966, having been trucked into staging areas the previous night. The first two days and nights were relatively uneventful, the Marines following the long established routine of humping all day before stopping about an hour before sunset to dig their night defensive positions, eat their evening chow, then spend a long, uneventful night interrupted by standing watch and sometimes a couple hours out on OP/LP before getting up the next morning to piss, brush their teeth, eat morning chow, stomp in their holes, and set off in search of the Viet Cong again.
But on the third day of the operation they were humping the bush when local Ruff-Puffs (members of the ARVN) reported Viet Cong had occupied Hill 108 looking down on the western end of An Hoa. The boys’ platoon was attached to a company from 3/7 and dispatched to destroy the VC threatening An Hoa from Hill 108, the fear being the VC would infiltrate An Hoa and damage or destroy (again) coal mining infrastructure in the village. As the company moved west on Hill 108 it took contact from the north; the main body of the Marine company wheeled to deal with this contact, but the boys’ platoon was ordered to continue west at the double in order to cut off and prevent the VC from entering An Hoa, taking Hill 108 in the process.
Overview, north is up. The southeast corner of Hill 108 is visible running across the top of the battle area, from top left to top center right, with the An Hoa railway spur running just below it, with a river bend in the east and southeast (bottom right). A portion of the northwest corner of An Hoa Village is visible in the southwest (bottom left), to include a concrete refinery building VC sappers had previously snuck in and blow up. The center of the tactical area is dominated by rice paddies, devoid of cover. The Marines are hustling into the area from the southeast (bottom right), where they were patrolling east of the river bend, so they’ll have to require that large open area at center.
The Marines push across the rice paddies, towards the hill.
The Viet Cong open fire as the Marines cross the railroad tracks.
Nik and Danny stand tall and return fire.
As Corporal Zamora’s fireteam (bottom center, with the rest of the squad at top left and the VC atop the hill at top right) move to flank the enemy positions.To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/02/two-brothers-fight-9.htmlNext fight coming Wednesday night/Thursday morning.
V/R,
JackAll,
0930 Local Time
19 December 1965
Phuoc Ha Valley, RVN
Operation Harvest MoonEveryone knew the Operation was scheduled to wrap up tomorrow, then they’d return to Da Nang and get a rest as the Christmas truce kicked in. But the op wasn’t over yet; the squad was thankful for not having to stand watch the previous night, but now they were back to normal, back at it, having chowed down on some cold C-rats, brushed their teeth and shaved with some cold water, stomped in their holes, hoisted their packs, and set off into the jungle, searching for the enemy. They’d been humping for several hours already when the sound of gunfire and explosions could be heard in the distance. The Platoon called a halt and Sergeant Garcia signaled the squad to take a knee and face outboard, pulling security while he moved to Jackson and propped the radio handset between his shoulder and ear, listening and narrating for the squad. “Golf Company is on point and’s got contact… They got casualties, calling for fire and MEDEVAC… VC are attempting to flank, separate them from the rest of the battalion. Fox Company is moving right to head it off… Fox is in contact, taking casualties… Arty is pounding the VC in front of Golf, but they’re not pulling back… Air is on the way… VC in front of Fox broke contact, Fox will be on the move in about ten mikes… Air says they got dinks moving to the west, trying the other flank… Uh-oh…”
Once again the ‘uh-oh’ was a call to action for the squad. Their platoon was being sent west to head off this new threat to the US flank, but it was a lot of ground to cover and so the three squads were assigned sectors, not really tied into each other. “The Lootenat assures me we’re not out there with our asses hanging in the wind, that Echo Company is regrouping and will be right behind us, we just gotta head the dinks off and hold’em until Echo arrives. Alright, let’s move!”
Overview, north is up. There is a hardball road running north/south in the west (left), and you can just see the bend in a nearby river in the southeast (bottom right), while there’s a small village in the north-northwest (top center left), butted up against a low ridge in the west (far left). There’s a relatively large hill in the east (far right) that’s heavily wooded, and thick jungle dots the landscape, aside from the open areas covered by rice paddies. The Marines, harried on by Sergeant Garcia to head off the enemy, have the advantage here. They have hustled to their assigned location and taken up hasty defensive positions in hopes of ambushing the flanking Viet Cong, whom they expect to enter from the northeast (top right).
The Marines (bottom left and bottom right) open fire on the Viet Cong (top center), catching the enemy crossing some rice paddies.
But the VC quickly recover, returning fire with their AKs and an RPG.
Which allows several VC to escape the kill zone, getting into the village (top right, center, and bottom left), where they work to flank the Marines.To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/02/two-brothers-fight-8.htmlNext fight coming up Sunday night or Monday morning.
V/R,
JackAll,
1530 Local Time
18 December 1965
Phuoc Ha Valley, RVN
Operation Harvest MoonThe operation began nine days ago, and it’s been a real bastard. The boys helo’ed into the west end of the Que Son Valley, got into a helluva ambush, watched some B-52 “Arc Light” bombing raids pound the hell out of the valley, then got to walk around for another week looking at abandoned VC base camps before somebody finally realized the Viet Cong had pulled out of the Que Son Valley and were now inhabiting the nearby Phuoc Ha Valley. III MAF committed 2/9 and had them enter one end of the valley whilst 2/7, whom the boys were still attached to, entered from the other end. Both battalions soon found themselves in the fight of their lives.
The squad found itself at the tail end of the 2/7 formation; they could hear a helluva cacophony about a klick up ahead, and they tried to make sense of the chatter on the radio, but it was crazy. It seemed that the 8th Viet Cong Battalion had ambushed the Marine battalion and were trying to isolate HQ and Hotel Companies from Fox and Golf Companies, and 2/9 was in a very similar predicament. In any case, the boys were with Golf Company, which was ordered to move off to the in an attempt to outflank the VC defensive line and breakthrough to HQ and Hotel, but on the way their mission changed.
The Platoon Sergeant, Staff Sergeant Dunn, quickly briefed the entire squad: a section of HQ Company was separated from the main body and found itself in a running gunfight heading west. They managed to break contact but they’re beat up pretty bad and they can hear Charlie out there in the jungle looking for them. They don’t know exactly where they’re at, other than ‘in the bend in the river,’ so you’re going to go out there and be their cavalry coming to the rescue. Golf is moving east-northeast, so the rest of the platoon is gonna be the bridge between them and you, now go get’em, cowboys.”
Overview, north is up. The Marines will enter the table in the southwest (bottom left) and follow the river northeast (top right), searching for the separated HQ Company Marines. Sergeant Garcia figures the bend in the river referenced on the radio is at top right, and there’s a nice bamboo thicket that would be perfect to hide in if one were hurt and being pursued by the enemy. The Marines are in a narrow valley, with the jungle covered slope of Hill 304 present in the northwest (top left), and a finger of Hill 412 jutting northwest from the southeastern end (bottom right) of the area of operations.Time is of the essence, the squad needs to find the HQ Company Marines before the VC do, or they succumb to their wounds. And Sergeant Garcia really hopes the HQ Company Marines are hiding exactly where he thinks they are, because if the squad reaches the bend in the river and hasn’t found them, they’re going to have to split up and search both sides of the river simultaneously, which is a recipe for disaster.
The initial deployment; “Alright, take five,” said Sgt Garcia. “This fork in the river is about 100 yards south of where I’d be hiding if I was those Marines. It’s awful quiet, not sure what to make of that. Maybe they found a place to hole up and the dinks can’t find’em. Maybe they’re all dead… Or maybe it’s a trap. Alright, break time is over, on your feet!”
But no sooner had squad (top center) broke cover than a sniper’s rifle (bottom center) rang out…
One fireteam pushes forward aggressively to flush out the sniper…
As the other polices up its wounded and begins falling back across the river.To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/01/two-brothers-fight-7.htmlNext fight coming up Thursday.
V/R,
JackAll,
1230 Local Time
10 December 1965
Que Son Valley, RVN
Operation Harvest MoonWhile the boys were cavorting on Operations Red Snapper, Black Ferret, Blue Marlin I, and Blue Marlin II, the Viet Cong 1st Regiment had reconstituted itself, dodged various US/South Vietnamese sweeps, and concentrated in the Que Son Valley, which comprised the west end of the area of operations for Blue Marlin I. During Blue Marlin I, the Marines swept east of Route 1 and the ARVN swept west, extending their area of control out to Hiep Duc, where they established a Ruff-Puff base. The Marines pulled out on 12 November and pushed south, and that is when the 1st VC Regiment struck. On 17 November the ARVN base at Hiep Duc fell; the ARVN counterattacked the next day and by 19 November 1965 they had retaken Hiep Duc, killing 141 Viet Cong while losing 33 of their own.
The two counterattacking ARVN battalions were pulled on 20 November to go deal with another emergency; the security situation in the Que Son Valley immediately deteriorated. III MAF met with ARVN commanders and began planning a joint operation to neutralize Viet Cong forces in the Que Son Valley. US Marine forces would be 3/3 and 2/7, while the South Vietnamese would contribute the ARVN 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, the 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, and the 11th Ranger Battalion.
Operation Harvest Moon kicked off on 9 December 1965, and it was a disaster right from the start. The Viet Cong launched attacks on the ARVN 1/5 and 1/6; the latter was repulsed, but the former overran the ARVN infantry and killed their regimental commander. The ARVN 11th Ranger Bn was also ambushed and lost over a third of its strength in less than an hour. The US Marine 3/3 was lifted in and set off to assist them but ran into a battalion-strength strength defensive position that cost the lives of 11 Marines before the VC withdrew. The boys had gotten their first helicopter ride, landing further west with 2/7, and walked all day without seeing anything or firing a shot.
Because things were going poorly, the US Marines committed 2/1, which attempted to land near Cam La, but the LZ was hot and the helos were shot up badly enough that only one rifle company (Fox Company) was landed and the remainder were put down in alternate LZs further west. The rest of the day was spent trying to link up and cost 20 more Marines killed in action (I would loved to have gamed this but I cannot find any H-34s in 15mm-1/100 scale… If someone can point me in the right direction I’d greatly appreciate it).
Overview, north is up. The Marines are entering via the road at bottom center left, with the Song Ly Ly on their left flank and a couple hamlets on their right. The hamlets are separated by some rice paddies, and there are several more in the north end of the area. The squad is on the far left flank of the company, with the entire company on line (off camera to bottom right) extending to the southeast; one could argue the company should be in a bit more of a tactical stance, but they have a lot of ground to cover, a lot of areas to search, and so far they haven’t run into any contact, despite what happened to the ARVN yesterday and what 2/1 was currently going through on their LZs at Cam La.
The Marines search a hamlet for signs of the Viet Cong.
The search complete, they move out to search the next one.
The Marines (top left) come under heavy fire at from VC at point-blank range (bottom right)!
As VC in the northwest (bottom left) launch a rocket at the Marines (top right, with the VC element that initiated the ambush at top left).
Marines are dropping like flies (casualty figures at center and bottom left)! With the bulk of the squad falling back under heavy fire, only Corporal Zamora and Washington bottom left hold their ground and return fire!
The squad is disintegrating under intense enemy pressure, but one Marine refuses to leave his wounded brothers in the line of fire, dashing through heavy fire to retrieve Deleon, saving his life…
And helping the rest of the squad get its marbles back, at least enough to make an orderly withdrawal.To see the actions that saw a squad member awarded the Navy Cross, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/01/two-brothers-fight-6.htmlNext fight coming soon.
V/R,
JackAll,
0130 Local Time
18 November 1965
Near Hoi An, RVN
Operation Blue Marlin IIFollowing the end of Operation Blue Marlin I, the boys re-boarded the amphibious shipping and sailed to Chu Lai, where 3/7 was offloaded. They went ashore and to a couple days of rest, before it was time to re-board the ships for Operation Blue Marlin II, this time with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines. They sailed south and landed 22 miles south of Da Nang on 16 November 1965, where they wheeled right and pushed north towards the confluence of the Song Truong Giang and Song Cua Dai (Song = River). The Marines have spent two days humping the bush east of the Song Truong Giang without contact, while two battalions of ARVN Rangers have done the same west of the river.
The boys got a new squad leader, Sergeant Garcia, and the Platoon Sergeant, SSgt Dunn, briefed him on his squad’s mission to babysit a bridge tonight. “The bridge was previously guarded by an ARVN detachment, the squad wouldn’t be receiving any attachments, arty would be on call, though no one is expecting any trouble tonight. The Company Gunny was out there right now with a squad from 2nd Platoon. You now stand detached; go forth and do good things! And good luck, Sgt Garcia.”
Overview, north is up. A tributary of the Truong Giang River runs north and south, with a few sampans moored at the northern end. There are hamlets present in the northeast (top right) and southwest (bottom left), a finger of Hill 275 protrudes south in the northwest (top left), there’s a rice paddy in the southeast, and thick patches of jungle dot the landscape. The bridge is not fortified, but there are sandbagged emplacements surrounding it.
The Marines moved into the defensive positions; Sgt Garcia and Nelson took the small bunker at left, while 1st Fireteam went into the SE bunker (bottom right), 2nd Fireteam went into the West bunker (far left), and 3rd Fireteam went into the NE bunker (top right). The Marines settled in for the night, with each bunker going to 33% and the command bunker going to 50% (only two of them in the bunker).
At exactly 0130 the cough of distant mortar tubes could be heard to the northeast, and approximately thirty seconds later five 82mm HE rounds rained down around the bridge’s defensive positions.
Immediately following the mortar impacts, the VC 1st (off camera to left) and 3rd Squads (top right) launched rockets at the Marine defenders…
On the east side of the bridge, a rocket slammed into the SW Bunker, suppressing Cpl Little and Nikki.
And the Viet Cong come streaming out of the jungle to overwhelm the Marines defending the bridge!To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/01/two-brothers-fight-5.htmlNext fight coming soon.
V/R,
JackAll,
1130 Local Time
11 November 1965
Near Tam Ky, 15 miles north of Chu Lai, RVN
Operation Blue Marlin ITwo days ago the boys boarded landing craft, which deposited them at ‘Green Beach’ about 15 miles north of Chu Lai Airbase yesterday (don’t worry, the Corps brought out enough with the nightly resupply helos for everyone to get a couple bites of cake and a warm beer). The squad was now attached to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, which was working in conjunction with the Vietnamese 2nd Marine Battalion. Once ashore the US Marines peeled left and began pushing southeast between the Song Tam Ky and Song Truong Giang (Song = River), parallel to Route 1, while the Vietnamese Marines were lifted by US Marine helos (yeah, that caused the US grunts a little heartache) west of Route 1, where they begin their sweep to the southeast. The boys walked all day, passing numerous villages and locals, but not seeing a single Viet Cong or hearing a single shot fired. They stopped multiple times to search for weapons caches, boobytraps, even villages that seemed to have ‘too much’ rice, but nothing of interest was found. As usual, about an hour before sunset the sweep halted and the Marines dug in to their night defensive positions and ate their evening chow. The boys spent a long, uneventful night, including being out together for a couple hours on OP/LP. The next morning the Marines got up, pissed and brushed their teeth, ate morning chow, stomped in their holes, and set off in search of the Viet Cong again.
This morning the squad is walking point, escorting a team of Combat Engineers that are sweeping the road for mines ahead of the tanks and tracks. They’ve been on the road for five hours already, having started at 0630, but are behind schedule as the Engineers have had to stop and remove several mines already.
North is DOWN, the convoy is moving on the road from northeast (bottom left) to southwest (top right). At bottom right is a tributary of the Truong Giang River, while at top right is a small village, and at top left is a small rise/ridgeline. A couple small rice paddies dot the landscape, as well as patches of thick jungle.
Cpl Little motioned the Combat Engineers to start sweeping again and off they went.
But there it is, contact! From the north side of the river, a rocket pops and comes hissing in!
As an understrength VC squad in the south (bottom left) opens fire on the boys’ squad (top center to top right).
Caught on the road, the Marines are having a rough go of it.
Nik (bottom right) gets the Pig thumping away at the VC (top left).
Cpl Little looks as Doc treats the wounded and Griffin gets on the radio to call for MEDEVAC.To see the whole fight, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/01/two-brothers-fight-4.htmlNext fight coming soon.
V/R,
Jack
