Although we can’t yet see them in the above screenshot, there are several communist forces located along the Ngan river and they are fairly beefy. The communist forces also appear a little stronger. From the get-go, the enemy seems a little more active than the last round and the South Vietnamese are a little more willing to respond, so the overall feel is that more is going on. The notes also show when the various ARVN units will be available to assist in U.S. This time around, however, the scenario notes identify the several left-over operations so that, as a player, you can pick what was still going on in the previous game as well as kick-off your new operations. Obviously, when breaking up the war per the calendar, at some point one scenario has got to end and the next will begin.
#THE OPERATIONAL ART OF WAR IV SCREENSHOTS SERIES#
The way this series is designed, the transition between scenarios is, by necessity, not very smooth. You can compare the above screen shot to almost the same area of the map showcased in my earlier article.Īnother new feature addresses the issue I talked about while wrapping up that previous scenario.
#THE OPERATIONAL ART OF WAR IV SCREENSHOTS MODS#
The 4th iteration has new features as well as features that are just “new to me.” In that latter category I include the custom terrain mods that are used in this series both to better portray the unique Vietnam terrain and just to improve the looks of map overall. One can see the improvements made as the scenario author moves through each installation in his series. This is one of several engagements in the opening turns of the new scenario. Playing Vietnam Combat Operations, Volume IV, I encounter the enemy right where they should be, albeit a few days ahead of the historical schedule. I find a major enemy formation in the Song Ngan valley a few days ahead of schedule. The losses and the wreckage earned the battlefield the moniker “Helicopter Valley.” During the initial insertion, three transport helicopters were downed in a collision.
Marines was to launch helicopter assault to isolate and destroy it. Intelligence placed a divisional headquarters somewhere in the Ngan river valley. Operation Hastings was a July, 1966 effort to engage North Vietnamese regular army units that had moved across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) into South Vietnam and to force them back across the border. There are also some new experiences in the next iteration of Vietnam Combat Operations, ( Volume IV this time), all waiting to be discussed in the context of operations in South Vietnam on its northernmost border. Squad Battles: Vietnam has a number of multi-part scenarios and this is the first one I’ve played, so that is one new experience for me in this article. Given my critique of the The Battle at Ap Chinh An, one would think I’d be pleased to see what was done with the two-part scenario, The Battle at Song Ngan. See here for the previous post in the series and here to go back to the master post. This is the thirty-eighth in a series of posts on the Vietnam War.