Task Force Shoemaker - Scenarios

These three linked scenarios allow you to play out actual engagements from May 1970 in Cambodia. As it happened many of the engagements in this incursion from Vietnam were against the NVA and not the Viet Cong, and furthermore they weren't contested as fiercely as the setups allow for. These changes have been made to allow for the restraints of my collection and for playability.

Vietnamese forces had been using eastern Cambodia as safe havens to rest and recuperate without fear of American and ARVN attacks. Transporting materiel down the Sihanouk Trail these areas also served and supply bases.
On 30th April 1970 President Nixon announced his decision to launch American forces into Cambodia with the special objective of capturing "the headquarters of the entire communist military operation in South Vietnam."
While ARVN forces in the south fixed the enemy’s attention, Task Force Shoemaker including the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment would drive forward to cut off and capture the elusive enemy headquarters while destroying enemy forces and equipment.

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Anyone wanting to read more can get a quick overview in Chapter VII of the CMH study Mounted Combat in Vietnam or can read Keith Nolan's excellent book Into Cambodia: Spring Campaign, Summer Offensive 1970

Encirclement

In mid-afternoon the 11th Cavalry surrounded Snoul, with the 2nd Squadron on the east and 3rd Squadron on the west.

3rd Squadron, moving through the rubber trees to encircle the city, triggered an ambush set to hit the 2nd Squadron as they took the airfield and silenced anti-air guns.



Elements of 3rd Squadron move in towards the airstrip



Lying in wait for 2nd Squadron is this light machine gun team, hoping to catch the infantry without any armour support



Their ACAV surges out of the jungle, leaving its infantry behind. The Viet Cong HQ's security cell, armed with an RPG takes aim and its shot brews up the M113 instantly!



The crew bail out, but run directly into the fire from the recoilless rifle in the other house, putting them all down



The cavalry rushes to the rescue, but their advance leaves the VC a free hand elsewhere



The nearby cell of Viet Cong rush the vehicle crew, taking one prisoner and finishing the rest off - the nearby HQ team is powerless to intervene



A close-range firefight erupts nearby, as the ACAV's squad continues along its original line, and is hit by an advancing VC cell



On the other side of the airstrip 3rd Squadron halt their advance as they try to suppress the nearby VC group, but the VC fire hits a couple of the top gunners



Ignoring their faltering support, the squad rush across the open ground towards the houses



They take fire from the HQ security squad and several of their number go down



Luckily, only one of those wounds seems serious and they continue to the house, where another unpleasant surprise awaits them. Despite having cleared the recoilless rifle team, another batch of VC has climbed up from the hidden tunnel complex below



A murderous crossfire wipes out that unfortunate squad. The nearby VC command team runs in and takes a prisoner.



As the Sheridan puts the pedal to the metal and advances across the airstrip the RPG gunner takes his best shot. It knocks out the main gun, leaving the hapless tank with just the 7.62 MG to carry the offensive to the VC



With two groups of VC now slipping into the jungle with their prisoners, the VC look to continue their advantage, engaging the last remaining American squad to great effect



The other defanged ACAV races to their aid - winning that race with inches to spare



The Sheridan trundles to its aid, but now the VC smell blood and are following in its wake



A newly arrived Viet Cong sniper takes up position - as soon anyone gets in or out of that ACAV he'll let them have it!



The Sheridan blocks any line of sight to the ACAV's back ramp from that quarter - though now the VC numbers have swollen in the vicinity



Backing up in a desperate attempt to run over some of the VC and bring its machine gun to bear, the light tank takes a full belt of .50cal through its rear armour and conks out. The crew bail out, but aren't happy about the couple of battle-hardened Viet Cong who lurk in front of them



The remaining M113 crew rush out, gunning down several VC with their sub-machine guns, and getting the American soldiers back on their feet and towards the ACAV



They may get away, but the overly aggressive actions of the officer will be examined in detail (he'll surely be court-martialled for flagrant disregard of military practice). A bad end for the American squadrons of Task Force Shoemaker.

On the Road Again

By early afternoon on the 4th, 2nd Squadron aimed to break out of the jungle and get to the ridge astride the highway. They were tasked to secure the first of three destroyed bridges for engineering units to follow.

As they move up the trail, the local Viet Cong have other ideas



As the American column comes to a bend in the trail, a machine gun in a hidden bunker opens up on the nearby squad



As the column begins to orient itself to take care of this threat, another hidden bunker reveals itself straight ahead



The squad has been cut down by the murderous crossfire



As the ambush appears to be going well, the VC reserve at the highway moves in to support the attack



A hidden Bazooka team draws a bead on the Sheridan at the head of the column, but to no avail



The Americans clear out the bunkers with a flanking manouevre and the Sheridan races ahead to stave off VC reinforcements



The American dismounted infantry clears out the second bunker



The Sheridan, having just lost its commander to well-aimed gunfire has no chance to defend itself with fire as a VC cell charge in with grenades and sub-machine guns blazing



The crew bails out in a panic, but despite having them at their mercy the Viet Cong don't seem able to gun them down as they jump off the tank. The firefight goes on for some time, but despite taking a few hits, the tank crew wipe out the VC to a man (and the tank driver who was hit turned out to have taken a round to hit mess tin!)



The crew, bouyed by their success get back into the tank and look for revenge. The next VC cell to arrive on the scene gets the 155mm gun point blank



The rest of the column reaches the road, having wiped out the rest of the Viet Cong resistance in the area



The three armoured vehicles surround the remaining VC - cornred like rats, the VC give as good as they get, and refuse to die. Despite



Because that last group of VC barely held on (one guy kept making his 'first aid' checks) the Viet Cong eked out a draw. Seriously, the VC player rolled an ungodly amount of '6's when checking casualties.

Secure the LZ

2nd Squadron punches through the enemy cordon to cross the border en route to taking control of landing zones to be used later in the day by the 9th Infantry Division.

A circling scout helicopter spots a large enemy force on the edge of the clearing.



Moving through a small farm, the men of 2nd Squadron spread out



Things had looked clear from their vantage point at the farm, but as the jungle erupts with fire, the squadron discovers itself surrounded on three sides



In the jungle to their right the VC are moving in force - the Lieutenant and his RTO draw back with the M113 to call in assets from the farmhouse



Circling the Squadron's other flank are more VC, who exchange fire with the squad. They grab cover at the edge of a paddy field - it's better than nothing!



The threat on the right becomes more evident as VC have high-tailed it there from the rest of the battlefield - the Americans lay down suppressive fire with the M60 to buy some time. They'll wait for the Sheridan to wade in



With the VC on the defensive, the Americans near the paddy field advance, but one guy stands on a Toe Popper and goes down. With both sides in need of help from the Sheridan, they realise that they're all short-timers and reason with themselves that they can provide covering fire from where they are



As the medic rushes to the aid of the squad on the left, they open up on a water buffalo which blunders out of the jungle! Though terribly for the Americans, the LT has discovered a tunnel right beside the farmhouse. While he's preparing a satchel charge, four VC rush out and gun down him and the RTO!



Only one of the four survive the fire from the M113 around the corner, but that's no satisfaction to the rest of the troop



A VC sniper appears to open fire on the Americans, just as the Sheridan crew go a little loco - maybe it's the sniper fire, but as if this situation wasn't fugazi enough!



On the left the medic has seen to the casualties and they're all combat effective. They push through the edge of the jungle and send Victor Charlie packing



Their M113 AVAC bursts through the jungle - the top gunners have taken a hammering but it's still doing the business



Nearby the VC are reorganising - they're biding their time for a final push through the LZ



The M113 crew shut down the tunnel near the farmhouse



Things are starting to look up for the Americans, they're taking cover at the edge of the clearing and engaging with the Viet Cong across the way - but with the Sheridan and M113 both on the scene it shouldn't take too long to set them to flight



The Sheridan's commander gets hit by concerted fire from the jungle, and the driver loses his nerver and reverses back into the jungle.



With the M113 taking bazooka fire from somewhere else, there's no way in hell the Air Cavalry are calling this LZ secure (and that's ignoring the anti-tank mine on the other side of the clearing!).