A wee while ago, there was some discussion on the list regarding gaming Vietnam using HOTT rules , shortly after that, Jeff Bolton introduced us to the idea of linear campaigning. I mentioned both ideas to my regular opponent, Stuart Murdoch. He felt that HOTT could not capture the feel of wargaming Nam, and that the linear campaign sounded rather dry. I agreed that going up and down a five-stage ladder was not particularly inspiring - what was needed was a map over which to superimpose the ladder. The country would need to be long and thin .... A bit like ...... VIETNAM.

During the conflict, South Vietnam was broken into four military areas. I adjusted this to five. I photocopied a map of Vietnam and then superimposed five circular zones:

Zone One: centred on Saigon (roughly the equivalent to III Corps tactical zone).

Zone Two: encompassing Bau Loc, Dalaim, Ban Me Thout, Nha Trang

Zone Three: encompassing An Khe, Pleiku, Dak To, Qui Nhon.

Zone Four: encompassing Duc Pho to Da Nang

Zone Five: Quang Tri, Hue, Dong Ha, Khe Sanh to the border.

This map was mounted on a cork board with a red (communist forces) and a blue ('free world') map pin, both stuck in Zone 3: Pleiku.

Objectives: The US forces must push the VC back across the DMZ and the NVA must push the Yanks out of Saigon. I had already re-based my 20mm Vietnam War figures for use with HOTT. So, on Stuart's next visit, he was hit with a combination of the two ideas that he had earlier scorned. The result: Stuart is now building up his own HOTT Nam army.

The forces for each side were: for each side:

US Forces

6 Shooter (infantry)@ 2AP
1 Beast (K9 Dog Team) @ 2AP
2 Lurkers (SF ambush party) @ 1AP
2 Airboats (Hueys) @ 3AP
1 Dragon (A4 Skyhawk) @4AP
1 God (Bird Dog FAC / Arty Spotter) @ 4AP

NVA / VC Forces

4 Shooters (NVA regulars) @ 2AP
4 Hordes (VC) @ 1AP
4 Sneakers (VC sappers / infiltrators) @ 3AP
2 Lurkers (VC ambush group) @ 1AP
1 Magic User (Sniper) @ 4 AP

The total value of 3 and 4 AP units on the VC side is 16AP out of 30AP (i.e. more than half) - this error was not spotted until well into the campaign. The US Bird Dog would not fit onto its God base without toppling over. We gave it a larger base, placing it in a convenient location on the table and using a God sized base with a cotton wool / hamster bedding explosion marker to denote the actual position (in game terms) of the element. The figures used are 20mm Esci plastic, Platoon 20 metal, Airfix 1/72 model aircraft and Revel 1/100 Hueys.

We played HOTT without amendment (except that although based as if 15mm figures, the movement and ranges were as per 25mm figures). The games played so far have definitely had a Vietnam feel to them. We use a lot of bad going and both Sneakers and Lurkers play a prominent part in the games. The biggest mental adjustment was in having to relate the Magician as a sniper. We might add a light mortar or artillery observer with radio to the base (to explain away the indirect fire that magicians benefit from). The linear campaign also works like a dream. We are using the rules without the optional attrition rules by Wallace & Davis. So far, GI Grace has pushed Ho Chi Murdoch back to the DMZ and then been kicked back to Pleiku and is now advancing once again towards Khe Sanh. We have both run out of reserves and in our next game under-strength (i.e. less than 24AP) armies will be fielded for the first time.

One thing that the campaign threw up: as the losses mounted, it was not always possible to field a 24 AP army whose number of 3 or 4 AP value units did not exceed half the value of the army. In our last encounter, the VC army included four Sneakers and a Magician. I would propose the following addition / amendment to the linear campaign rules as follows:

The composition of the initial 30 AP worth of units must not exceed 15AP of units valued at 3, 4 or 6AP. When drawing up forces for battle, both players must attempt to keep to the HOTT rules regarding force composition i.e. An army's collective total of 6AP, 4AP, 3AP elements must not exceed half its total AP. Only if it is impossible to do so can a player exceed this limit and even then must keep the number of high AP units as close to half the total value as possible. If an army ends up composed solely of elements that cannot be generals then either the army falls back to regroup until a suitable element can be returned or the army disintegrates, losing the campaign.

If Vietnam is not your idea of a good location for a HOTT campaign then try Crete -In Anthony Beever's book on the German invasion of Crete, there is a map dividing the island into five sections. New Zealand is also the ideal shape for a linear campaign.

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