Operation HAPPY VALLEY

[FJ_MD]

After the first months of 1965, VC domination in the Vinh Thanh valley is total. Forts, schools, churches, bridges and other buildings are metodically burned. The former village and hamlet leadership is destroyed or discredited.


The mission is to provide security for batteries A and C, 77th artillery, and company B, 8th engineers, during the construction and establishment of a US special forces camp, and to pacify the valley through offensive military operations.



Assaulting units have to travel as lightly as possible to increase mobility in the rugged terrain. No more than one 81mm mortar may be carried by each company, leaving the others at the battalion base.
The combat support company may be used as an additional maneuver element. So reconnaissance platoon, antitank platoon, heavy mortar platoon and company headquarters, may be given a mission as a blocking force into which the assaulting companies maneuver the enemy. Other roles may be security for the CP, eagle flights and as a battalion quick reaction force.



Operation Happy Valley is divided in three different phases:


(1) Domination
(2) Resettlement and Reconstruction
(3) Consolidation



Units of the 1st cavalry division will be involved only in the first phase (Domination)
In this phase air assault of one and two company sizes will be conducted daily against know
or suspected VC locations, covering an area from 3000 to 5000 meters in leght and 1000 meters in width. Rice paddies, hamlets and narrow valleys will be the average terrain on wich the units will move. When hill terrain will be the common ground, a manouver element will be helilifted to the high ground, which then will move down towards a prepositioned blocking force in the valley covering the natural and expected routes of VC withdrawal. VC camps and training camps may be present.

On each LZ artillery preparatory fire will soften possible enemy presence and clear the ground for the assaulting forces. Precise timing is necessary to avoid friendly casualties in the landing. Air strikes will be followed by intensive 105MM howitzer fire and after the landing gunships will sweep the surrounding area. However, no orbit areas are possible over the LZ because small arms fire from the surrounding hills make helicopters very vulnerable.

Eagle flight will be available if needed.

[Boonierat]

Very good FJ Did you make this up or did you find it somewhere?

[FJ_MD]

Thanks Boonierat! I rearranged by myself some infos I found about that particular operation! reading it again I corrected the "100 meters in width" with "1000 meters in width"! Anyway I take this occasion to congratulate with you on your research effort! That was a very impressive piece of work!


Davide

[FJ_MD]

Here a map for operation happy valley... feedback will be great! Thanks in advance


In my mind it will be a march from left to right with some place to "pacify" in between. Map slot is 229.


Davide

[Double_Deuce]

Looks really good to me. It seems to flow from left to right from higher to lower ground very nicely.

[Boonierat]

Really great stuff mate

[FJ_MD]

I'm glad to hear the map is not that bad from both of you! The next step is to test also its playability! It may be good for the eye but not for the play! (I cross finger)



The common ground here is hill terrain. So manouver units are helilifted to the two LZ on the far left of the map and their mission is to proceed down toward the valley (maybe blocking force(AUX units) may be placed on the right part of the map).

I tried to place some interesting point here and there. The top of the hill is the first, then there is a footpath that goes to north(and some other also south direction), and an ambush area with ravine in the south.
Next will come an isolated peak that is hard to reach in the north and what will may be an ammo dump in the south.
Other points of interests are the narrow passage in the south and what may be a training camp for VC in the middle of the portion of the jungle.

There may be some fighting for the blocking force arriving from the valley when they reach the two hill in the right part of the map.


With the reinforcement low percentile tactics for the enemy in these various part of the map, this may be always a different downmarch.


Feel free to say your opinion mates!


Davide

[FJ_MD]

I can work on chapter 1 of the 1st ToO and on chapter 11 of the 5th ToO. Sure working in conjunction with some of you will be great!


Davide

[Pyros]

Ok,

Davide I will make a thread with WHO works ON WHAT, in order to keep track of the progress.
Just for the moment work on the analysis of the scenarios, try to figure how the secondary mission will match with the primary and think the general topography of the map and the other details of the missions.
In other words... it is better to work in a paper, put the forces, make your calculations and design the tactical plan/analysis and movement of the units.
It will be better to use huge maps; since we will use the "Air Cav".

ciao,
Pyros

[FJ_MD]

I took the point! But in some cases use of helicopters is not possible other than as a mean of transport. Also some operations are splitted in sub operations that will cover a small portion of the whole operation. I think that huge maps sometimes may be not possible.

Geia sou!