Gone to Pieces - The Battle for Binh Gia

Following the disastrous 1963 battle of Ap Bac, more military equipment and advisors were sent by the United States to the Republic of South Vietnam in the hopes that better armaments and training could defeat the obviously growing strength of the Communist forces in that embattled country. The Battle of Binh Gia was the first major test of the effects of the escalating US presence in South Vietnam, and its outcome had a telling effect on the US role in the conflict. For the NLF player you will need to weigh carefully when/if to withdraw. You have overwhelming force on the ground at start, but if you cannot win an early automatic victory, your enemy will grow in strength and capability as the game goes on. You also can, in many ways set the pace of the battle with your deployments and withdrawal decisions, but be careful of losing sight of how to win as a prolonged battle could just as well play into your enemy’s hands as yours.The ARVN player needs to proceed with deliberation during the game. You are vastly outnumbered on the ground at start, and will have to pay a steep price in VP to enter your reinforcements. You can’t afford to cautious, as your enemy could just withdraw when it looks as if their lead in VP is jeopardized. You will need to look and plan ahead in this game to be able to “buy back” lost VP and ensure a win by the end of the last turn, whenever that may be.