CHARLIE DON’T SURF! 
Wargame Rules for the Vietnam War 
By Richard Clarke 
 
       Page 
  INTRODUCTION  2

1  PLAYING THE GAME  3
what you will need 
 

2  BASIC PRINCIPLES  4
scale, cards, forces and terrain 
 

3  THE GAME TURN  6
and managing the card deck 
 

4  COMMAND AND CONTROL  11
Big Men, initiative and action dice 
 

5  MOVEMENT  17
all arms, visible or otherwise 
 

6  SPOTTING AND SEARCHING  25
including spotting and reconnaissance by fire 
 

7  SQUAD AND WEAPONS TEAM FIRE  31
procedure, effect of fire, casualties and shock 
 

8  SHOCK AND AWE  42
the effect of shock and recovery from it 
 

9  DIRECT FIRE SUPPORT  41
AFV’s and gunships 
 

10  DIRECT FIRE AGAINST VEHICLES  47
shooting at tanks, APC’s and trucks 
 

11  INDIRECT FIRE SUPPORT  53
rules for artillery and fast movers 
 

12  FIRE FOR EFFECT  60
you’ve found the enemy, now pour it in! 
 

13  ANTI‐AIRCRAFT FIRE  63
and rules for downed aircraft 
 

14  BATTLEFIELD FEATURES  64
everything from booby traps and mines to civilians and the free world press 
 

15  CLOSE COMBAT  69
frantic fighting at close range 
 

APPENDICES 

  APPENDIX ONE: PLAYING THE GAME  70
  APPENDIX TWO : VICTORY – MILITARY AND POLITICAL  71
  APPENDIX  THREE: MISSION GENERATOR  73
  APPENDIX FOUR: FORCE GENERATOR  77
  APPENDIX FIVE: FORCE GUIDELINES  79
 

© TooFatLardies 2010 

Page 1
 introduction
Introduction
Charlie Don’t Surf is a set of wargames rules specifically for the conflict in Vietnam between the
years 1961 and 1975, from the initial escalation of the conflict, through the bloody years of the late
60’s where the USA had in excess of half a million servicemen committed to the Vietnamisation of the
conflict in the early 1970s and the eventual fall of Saigon and the South Vietnamese Government.

Writing these rules has not been easy. Indeed many gamers have been waiting for these for eight
years, but that has not been due to lack of interest or commitment. It is, and would have been, too
simple to present a pastiche or parody of the conflict, with the VC represented as “pop-up” targets for
the Free World player to gun down with its modern technology, a kind of South East Asian “Whack-a-
Mole”. Instead what we have laboured to achieve is a plausible representation of the conflict that
shows the different strengths and weaknesses of the forces present, where gamers must be aware of
what they can and cannot do and work within those boundaries to reach their objectives.

For the Viet Cong, local knowledge can make up for lack of military finesse and firepower. For the
ARVN forces, US support can make what seemed impossible a reality. Probably the biggest challenge
of all is for the US player who, despite his technological muscle, is limited in using that by his Rules of
Engagement and the all-seeing eye of the seemingly omnipresent press corps and.

As with all TooFatLardies rules the emphasis in Charlie Don’t Surf is on the men who fought and the
fragility of the human spirit in the maelstrom of combat. In the intensely pressurised environment of
the combat zone the best laid plan can go awry, and it is only the actions of key battlefield leaders
that drive on lesser mortals to achieve the ultimate objective.

Indeed, it is the uncertainty of the battlefield that we have tried to bring to the fore. The card based
turn sequence allows for seemingly infinite variability and unpredictability, making the job of co-
ordinating forces much more challenging and less predictable. You will find yourself relying on your
commanders on the ground to motivate and control your forces to get results. Whilst you as overall
commander know what you want your men to do, getting then to do it when you want it done is the
challenge on the battlefield.

Within the rules you will find all of the usual detail that you require for moving and fighting with your
miniature armies. Additionally we have provided full details for the armies that took part to allow you
to field your choice of fore, be that US, ARVN, VC, North Vietnamese Army or ANZAC forces.
Additionally, we have provided some thoughts on running and designing your scenarios.

There are many people on a number of continents who have contributed to these rules over their
lengthy period of gestation, and my thanks go to all of them. I have to thank Nick Skinner for the
germ of the idea when he put together the prototype set under the title DMZ. Robert Avery deserves
a mention in despatches for his valiant effort to make some sense out of my initial draft of the rules,
and I must mention my friends in the United States, several of them veterans of the conflict, who have
proved to be so helpful in developing the ideas in these rules through to fruition. To you all, many
thanks.

It is my hope that playing Charlie Don’t Surf is not just an enjoyable gaming experience but one that
will also give some insight into the tactics of the conflict and the problems that the participants,
Communist or Free World, faced. One thing is for sure, the rules should provide you with endless
challenges and the opportunity to re-fight Company level actions from the conflict on the tabletop.

Richard Clarke
Lard Island 2010

Helicopters on the cover foreground are from the 'Wargames Illustrated Exclusives'
Vietnam range, used with kind permission of Battlefront Ltd

Page 2
1 1 Playing the Game the game
playing
One of our key objectives in writing Charlie Don’t Surf was to provide a game that was fun and
challenging to play but also historically plausible, not just in the result but also in the fine detail as
each game evolves. To achieve this, gamers may choose two options when putting their games
together.

The rules are written to be played in a traditional head-to-head format, where one or more players
control the Free World forces whilst their opponents control those of the Communists. However it is
also feasible to structure games so that all the players work together as a team commanding the Free
World troops, and the umpire controls the Communists who operate according to a pre-constructed
plan of action. This method can be hugely enjoyable and represents the fact that in reality, both the
Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army were dogged by poor communications and an inflexible
command structure. As such, their attacks were planned in great detail in order that they would
achieve maximum success.

1.1   What Will I Need? 
In order to play you will need figures, a playing surface ideally 6’ by 4’ or larger, suitable terrain,
dice, Blinds, Fire Markers, Intelligence Markers and a set of cards that form the Charlie Don’t Surf
Game Deck.

There are a number of different companies producing figures for Vietnam in a variety of scales. As a
company level game, Charlie Don’t Surf is designed for at least one side to have around 100 figures
on the table during play. This in itself may influence the choice of figures when considering cost or
space available. We play the game using 15mm figures, but the rules have been scaled so that
anything from 6mm to 20mm figures can be used with no changes to the rules. Some gamers will
prefer to go with the larger 28mm figures, in which case they may wish to make some adjustments to
ranges and distances.

Commercial terrain is readily available. We recommend a playing area of 6’ by 4’ as a minimum, and

certainly a larger playing area can only enhance the enjoyment as it tends to give the hard pressed
Free World forces proportionately bigger challenges.

Within Charlie Don’t Surf the main dice referred to are six-sided D6. Being English, and notorious for
abusing our own mother tongue, we use the term “dice” to refer to one or more of these. Various
dice types are used within the rules, and these are described thus:

D6 A six-sided cube with faces marked from 1 to 6.

D10 A ten-sided dice marked from 0 to 9.

DAv An “average dice”; a cube with faces marked 2,3,3,4,4,5.

Deviation Dice A six-sided dice with two faces marked “Hit”, and four with arrows pointing in
one direction

A number shown before the dice type indicates how many dice should be rolled. For example, 2D6
means that you should throw two six-sided dice. If a D3 is referred to roll a D6 and half the result,
rounding up any fractions.

Charlie Don’t Surf is a card driven game system, and to play you will need a Game Deck. To
accompany them you’ll also require Blinds, which are used to represent unspotted troops and Fire
Markers to represent the location of unspotted troops who have just opened fire. All of these are
available to download free from the TooFatLardies Yahoo Group.

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22 Basic Principles
basic principles
When starting out with Charlie Don’t Surf there is, as with any system, much to learn. Here we set
out some of the basics so you can appreciate what the game is attempting to do.

2.1  GROUND SCALE 
In constructing these rules we tried to find a scale that was both aesthetically pleasing and practical in
representing the range of weapons used at this level. In the end we settled on 12” = 100 yards which
looks good with figures between 10mm and 20mm in size and at 1:300 is a perfect fit with anyone
using 6mm figures.

2.2  TIME SCALE 
In broad terms the use of the card based turn sequence is designed to represent bursts of action and
initiative on the battlefield rather than any specific or defined period of time. Consequently, the
duration of a turn can be considered to be variable length, where the Time Out card represents
intermittent natural breaks and lulls in the battle. That said it seems reasonable to assume each turn
represents roughly one minute of real time.

2.3  THE CARDS  
We use cards to represent the ebb and flow of battle, to make the structure of each turn entirely
variable so that the gamer has to be constantly aware of the changing face of the battle that is
unfolding before him. There is no certainty in war, and that element of uncertainty and even chaos
does need to be represented if our games are to be credible representations of combat. The
commanders of your forces, Big Men in the parlance of the rules, are the ones who restore order and
get the job done. Use these men wisely and you can work to plans; put the best men in charge of the
toughest jobs and you will be half way to victory.

2.4  ORGANISING YOUR FORCES 
Charlie Don’t Surf is a game that highlights the importance of leaders and their initiative; the men on
the battlefield who, in the face of adversity, drive on those around them to achieve victory. To that
end there are two sorts of men in the rules; Big Men, the individual battlefield leaders we have
mentioned above, and ordinary men. The former are individuals whose role is to lead. The latter
operate in units, a term we use to cover squads, weapons teams and platoons. As a game aimed at
company sized actions or larger, we cannot pay too much attention to the actions of individual
soldiers, and so assume they are doing their duty to the best of their abilities. Consequently, the
smallest unit of manoeuvre in the game is the squad or weapon team, whereas the smallest command
unit is the platoon. These are organised as follows:

The Infantry Squad: This is the smallest manoeuvre element in the rules. Generally starting with
between eight and twelve men, the squad operates together throughout the game. Historically some
units could and would be broken down into fire teams. However this is too granular a level of detail
for a company sized rule set and these are not represented in Charlie Don’t Surf.

The Weapons Team: A weapons team is a group of men who crew a particular weapon. The smallest
weapon team is the two man anti-tank team with an RPG or the two-man light machine gun team.
The largest would be the five man crew of a tripod-mounted machine gun or a recoilless rifle. These
crews operate together throughout the game.

The Platoon: A platoon is generally made up of a number of squads, weapons teams or sometimes
both. A classic example is the four squads in a platoon of US infantry, or three weapons teams
crewing the mortars in the Mortar Section.

AFVs and Helicopters: Each armoured fighting vehicles and helicopter is treated as an individual unit.
However they too are generally part of a larger platoon and will operate with other vehicles as a
coherent unit.

Page 4
How your troops perform will depend on their levels of training and motivation. These are reflected
partly in the number of Action Dice that they have available to use on a range of actions, and partly
through quality and quantity of the men who lead them. Additionally, the Game Deck will contain
cards that reflect a unit’s particular abilities and special skills.

Details on how to build and organise your forces can be found in the Force Guidelines in Appendix
Five.

2.5  BASING YOUR FIGURES 
We don’t mind how you base your figures. All that is important to consider is that you will need to be
able to keep track of casualties and you must be able to identify the Big Men on the table. How you
do that is entirely your choice.

2.6 TERRAIN AND VISIBILITY 
In order to represent real terrain on the tabletop Charlie Don’t Surf breaks this down into four main
groupings:

Terrain Effect Examples

Open or Hard This covers terrain where a man can walk Road, trail, dry field,
Ground unimpeded grassland
Light or This is where movement is impeded slightly. Wet paddy fields, muddy
Broken Muddy ground or light vegetation would be ground, light woodland,
Terrain typical. fords, elephant grass
Heavy Terrain This is where the going is getting tough, where Streams, heavy
possibly branches impede movement and undergrowth, dense
vegetation needs to be pushed through in order woodland or jungle
to progress.
Impossible This is terrain where in times of peace you Swamp, impenetrable
Terrain probably would not go. The vegetation is so undergrowth, bamboo
thick that in places it must be cut through or thickets.
significant force applied to create a path.

It is very likely that the state of the terrain will influence how easily a unit can be seen. However it is
worth noting that sometimes a unit can be moving in Broken Terrain, such as crossing a flooded paddy
field, but be clearly visible as if on hard ground. Alternatively the unit may be moving freely on Hard
Ground, but difficult to see by an enemy unit because of intervening linear terrain such as a hedge or
the tree canopy above.

As real-life terrain is infinitely variable the players should be certain at the start of the game that
they are all aware just what the model scenery on the tabletop represents.

Page 5
3 3 The Game Turn
the game turn
War is full of uncertainty and never more so than on the battlefield. To represent this, the actual
sequence of events during each turn is determined by the dealing of cards from the Game Deck. Each
card represents either a unit, a particularly important character – a Big Man - or a characteristic of the
forces involved in that particular battle. For example, a force that is particularly fleet of foot may
get a bonus movement card in the deck to represent their speed.

The Game Deck is shuffled by the player acting as Umpire at the start of the game, and then again
before the start of each turn. The cards are turned over in sequence, with one being acted upon
before the next is turned. In the early phases of the game all of the cards will be dealt in each turn.
Every unit will be activated, getting a chance to move, spot or fire as it wishes. However, once the
bullets start to fly - as soon as the first firing of the game begins - we add the Time Out card to the
Game Deck. From that point onwards once this card is dealt the turn ends, all cards will be placed
back in the deck and re-shuffled, and a new turn can then begin. Once this happens it may well be
that not all units will be activated in each turn. It is up to your Big Men to keep their troops moving.

3.1  THE GAME DECK 
For each game, a unique Game Deck is created which allows us to represent forces in an historical
fashion. This is not just about how many men are in a unit or what weapons they have, but also about
how that force was trained, what its state of morale and motivation was and how well it was led. This
Game Deck will include compulsory cards dependent on the troops and support available to each side
and force-specific cards dependent on the type of troops being fielded. All of the cards for both sides
are shuffled into one deck.

3.1.1    COMPULSORY CARDS 
Depending on the scenario being played, the following compulsory cards will be required for all games,
although some will only be included in the Game Deck when they become available.

o One Free World Blinds card

o One Communist Forces Blinds card
o One card for each Free World Platoon
o One card for each Communist Platoon
o One card per Big Man
o One Critical Wound card for each Free World Platoon (up to a maximum of three)
o One Free World Medic or Corpsman card
o One card for each support unit, be that artillery, helicopters or aircraft
o Free World Fire Authorisation card
o One card for each Forward Observer
o Ammunition Shortage cards
o One Di Di Mau card
o One or two Time Out cards according to preference

…EXAMPLE…
If your force has three US platoons with four Big Men accompanying
them you would have eight US cards in the deck: Platoons one, two
and three, plus four Big Men and one additional card for the Medics
who are attached to the platoons as a standard asset. If you have
artillery support available then when that is requested you’ll need
to add the card for that into the deck, along with the Fire
Authorisation card if Necessary and the FO card if such an observer
is present.

Page 6
The following cards will always be available for the Game Deck
Blinds Cards
(e.g. Free World Blinds)
The deck contains one
Blinds card for each side.
On this card all Blinds of
that force may take their
turn, moving or spotting.
The troops represented by
the Blind may fire, but if
they do they will be placed
on the table. Troops
operate on the Blinds card
while they are unspotted or
during the turn that they
are spotted, after which
they will be activated by
Big Men or on their unit
card. See Section 5.1 for
just how Blinds represent
the fog of war.
How many in the deck?
One card for each side.
i.e. one Free World and
one Communist Blinds card
Critical Wound
If a Critical Wound card is
drawn immediately after a
Free World unit has
suffered casualties, then
one of these is deemed not
to be dead but to have a
Critical Wound. See Section
7.10.3 to see the effect of
a Critical Wound.
How many in the deck?
One card for each Free
World platoon sized unit
Unit Cards
(e.g. US Platoon One)
Each Platoon or similar
sized sub unit, such as
Company Headquarters or
helicopter team, will have
its own specific card
included in the Game Deck.
When the card is dealt that
unit is activated and may
take their turn. See
Section 4.2 to see just what
options they have. Unit
cards are present for
infantry and armour
platoons. Helicopters may
operate together as a team
or individually.
How many in the deck?
One card for each platoon
sized unit or equivalent.
Medic/Corpsman
Medics operate with the
Free World forces. Their
presence keeps the morale
of the men high and allows
any wounded men to
receive the attention that a
modern army demands.
Sections 7.10.3 and 8.5.2
explain how this is done.
How many in the deck?
One only
Page 7
Big Men Cards
(e.g. Lt. Brad Walters)
One card is included in the
Game Deck for each Big
Man. When it is dealt he
may take his turn, using his
Initiative to influence
troops within his influence
distance or to simply take
his own go. The numbers
of Big Men present with
your force should
correspond to organisation
in the Force Guidelines in
Appendix Five.
How many in the deck?
One card for each Big Man
of both sides.
Authorisation
For fire missions that are
near an area containing
Vietnamese civilians - such
as villages or towns - that
are not in a Free Fire Zone,
authorisation may be
required from Saigon. In
that case the Authorisation
card is added to the deck.
See Section 11.4.1 for
details of how
Authorisation works.
How many in the deck?
One card only
Ammunition
Shortage
e.g. ARVN Ammunition
Shortage
This card is included in the
deck when units use high
volumes of ammunition.
If this card is dealt
immediately after a unit
that is potentially short of
ammunition has fired then
they are considered to have
an ammunition shortage.
See Section 7.8 for details.
This card may also be
scenario-specific.
How many in the deck?
One added each time high
ammunition use occurs
Support Units
e.g. US Air Support
Support can be provided by
forces off-table, such as
artillery fire from a
supporting Firebase, or on-
table from the likes of
helicopters. One card is
added to the Game Deck
for each unit providing
support.
How many in the deck?
Added to the Game Deck
when is requested or is
available.
Di Di Mau Forward Observer
A Vietnamese phrase for “Move out NOW!”. This card allows one unit of up to platoon e.g. NVA Forward Observer
size to return to Blinds after it has been spotted OR for an existing Blind to disappear
completely. Forward Observers may
control any incoming
When the card is dealt, the player may select any of his units up to platoon size that is artillery fire, adding to its
not in line of sight of enemy forces. Having done that the platoon will be replaced by a effectiveness.
Blind (see Section 5 for details of how Blinds work). To benefit from this the platoon
must be operating as a coherent unit, so any squad or weapons team that is further than Fire controlled in this way
4” from any other part of the platoon will remain on the table and will have to use a may only be adjusted when
subsequent Di Di Mau card if it also wishes to return to Blinds. the FO card is turned. An
FO figure may not fire but
A unit that is already on a Blind (whether it has or has not been previously spotted does may spot or move with
not matter) may use the Di Di Mau card to remove the Blind completely if it is taking up Action Dice appropriate to
a position in cover or, if preferred, it may split into two separate Blinds, one real, one a his troop type. Forward Air
dummy. Controllers may do a
similar job for air support.
To do this it must declare its intentions when the Di Di Mau card is dealt and then
ANGLICO teams provide the
remain stationary until the same card is next dealt in a subsequent turn. At that point
same function for fire from
the Blind will be removed from the table, the unit disappearing, or the additional Blind
off-shore warships and air
will be placed on the table adjacent to the current one. If removed, the unit is now
support from Navy or
considered to have taken a position in cover within 9” of where the blind was situated.
Marine aircraft.
This can include retiring into a tunnel complex if the entrance is within that distance.
Whenever a unit reverts to Blinds, a Blind disappears or it splits to become two Blinds,
an Intelligence Marker will be placed on the table at the location.
How many in the deck?
When a unit returns to Blinds on the Di Di Mau card any Shock that the squads or One card for each ‘FO’
weapons teams have accumulated will be reduced by 50% (round down). Any Big Men
with the unit will have their cards removed from the deck (or ignored) until they are
again spotted or the units actions mean that it is deployed on the table. If an umpire is
present he may be advised of their fresh position, if no umpire is available the player
should mark this new position on a sketch map.

If the Blind is spotted in between the two Di Di Mau cards the unit is deployed on the
table as normal.
How many in the deck? One card only

Time Out
The Time Out card is used to reflect the fact that once bullets start to fly the battlefield becomes a confused and
generally more chaotic place. As a result your men become harder to control as the natural instinct for survival can
overcome military discipline. To reflect this, the Time Out card is added to the deck at the end of the turn in which
the first shots of the game are fired. In all subsequent turns when the Time Out card is dealt this will mark the end of
that turn. All cards will then be returned to the deck and shuffled ready for the start of the next. The end of turn
sequence is now followed:

1. Any units that are automatically spotted are deployed (see the Spotting rules in Section 6 for details)
2. Any ground unit not activated in that turn may now fire at any close range target. It cannot move or spot
3. Any reserved dice may now be used. If not used they are lost
4. All Pins and Suppressions are now removed
5. Any relevant cards are added or removed from the deck.

Players may choose to add two Time Out cards to the deck to reduce the friction in the game. If this is done then all
players should be informed when the first of these two cards is dealt, and the turn then ends once the second Time
Out card is drawn.

How many in the deck?

A choice of one or two cards.

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3.1.2    FORCE‐SPECIFIC CARDS
These cards will be included in the Game Deck to represent the strengths and weaknesses of a force.
In all cases the card will relate to a specific force. For example there may be a US Rally card if their
force is of suitable quality, whereas a poorer ARVN unit accompanying them may not use this card.
The Force Guidelines in Appendix Five give details of how these cards can be used to tailor make
your forces.
The following cards may be added to the Game Deck
Rapid Deployment
e.g. VC Rapid
Deployment
A bonus move for a fast
moving force. One Blind
may move immediately,
even if it has already
moved during this turn.
How many in the deck?
Normally only one
Hesitant Troops
e.g. ARVN Hesitant Troops
Once this card is dealt it
remains face up. If the
next unit card dealt is of
that force then it will not
be able to move. It may
use all of its dice for other
purposes, such as firing or
spotting.
How many in the deck?
Normally only one
Rock and roll!
This card activates the
secondary weapons on one
AFV that is designated as
a weapons platform. The
player may choose which
weapon he activates when
this card is dealt, but may
never activate any
weapon more than once in
a turn.
How many in the deck?
One for each weapons
platform
 
Reconnaissance Scout bonus Hesitant
bonus e.g. Australian SAS Commander
e.g. VC Recon Bonus Scout Bonus e.g. US Hesitant
Commander
A specific recon unit may Included in the deck for
take an additional turn units with good fieldcraft
If his card has not been
over and above its normal or a force accompanied by
dealt already this turn,
card, it can move or a Kit Carson scout or by a
the overall force
spotting, but not fire. dog team, the Scout card
commander may not
allows the player to make
physically move this turn.
How many in the deck? one observation attempt
However he may spot, co-
Normally only one from a point 6” away from
ordinate artillery or
any one of his units.
control the fire of any
unit he is with.
How many in the deck?
Normally only one How many in the deck?
One only
Rally Commissar Civlians Move
e.g. ANZACs Rally
This card activates the
Any civilians on the table
This card should be Political Commissar is
will be activated by this
included in the deck for a often attached to NVA or
card. See Section 14.9
high-quality force. On its VC units. See Section
being dealt the relevant 8.5.2.
How many in the deck?
player may remove one One card only
point of Shock from a How many in the deck?
single unit. One only
How many in the deck?
One or two
SNIPER The blank card Ruse
e.g. VC sniper
It is useful to include a The Communist forces
This card activates one blank card in the Game may be given up to two
sniper team. If more than Deck to allow the timing Ruse cards at the start of
one sniper team is present of certain events, such as the game. They may add
use multiple cards with the arrival of them to the deck at the
the player deciding in reinforcements, without end of any turn.
which order they are alerting all the players to
activated as each card is what is happening. When subsequently dealt
dealt. See Section 7.14 the card may be used to
for details on how snipers How many in the deck? attempt to frustrate Free
work. One World plans. See Section
14.11
How many in the deck?
One for each sniper team How many in the deck?
One or two added
Page 9
 Armoured Bonus
Move
e.g. US Armoured Bonus
The player may move any
group of his own tanks
and armoured vehicles as
long as all are within 6”
from any other
functioning vehicle in the
group. Using this bonus
does not affect a unit’s
normal activation by a Big
Man or on its platoon
card. Units may not
undertake any actions
other than movement.
Any Blinds within 6” of
armour taking this bonus
move may accompany
them as part of the force.
How many in the deck?
Normally only one
Bonus Fire
e.g. Weapons Squad Bonus
Fire
This card represents
weapons that have a
notably high rate of fire,
either due to the
weapon’s inherent
properties or as a result of
the crew being especially
skilled. Any specific type
of weapon or squad may
be given a Bonus Fire
card. Standard examples
are MG Bonus Fire,
Weapon Squad Bonus Fire
or Mortar Bonus Fire.
Before the game begins it
should be specified which
unit or units this card may
be used for.
When the card is drawn
that unit may fire
immediately. This will
not affect its ability to
fire on its own unit card
earlier or later in the
turn.
How many in the deck?
Normally only one
Track Breakdown
e.g. US Track Breakdown
The M113 was prone to
throwing a track in
anything but the flattest
of terrain. When fielding
an M113 mounted force
add this card to the deck.
If this card is turned
immediately after an
M113 has moved off-road
then one vehicle has
thrown a track and will be
immobilised for the
duration of the game. In
particularly heavy terrain
two of these cards may be
included in the deck.
How many in the deck?
One or two, depending on
terrain.
Poor Fire
Discipline
e.g. CIDG Poor Fire
Discipline
In the heat of battle,
some troops will find it
impossible to maintain
their fire discipline and
open fire on any visible
enemy no matter what
the tactical situation.
Once this card is dealt, a
force with less than
perfect fire discipline will
roll 1d6 as below:
Poor Fire Discipline
Fails on a 1 or 2
Dreadful Fire Discipline
Fails on a 1 to 3
Abysmal Fire Discipline
Fails on a 1 to 4
If the dice roll indicates
the force has failed, then
the unit of that force that
is currently unspotted and
is closest to an enemy
unit will be placed on the
table and will open fire on
any enemy unit visible to
it. Any reserved dice that
the unit has will be lost,
and should its own card be
drawn later in the turn it
is ignored.
How many in the deck?
Normally only one
Page 10
Zips in the wire
This card is scenario-
specific and used when a
Communist force is
attacking a static Free
World force in a defensive
position.
Up to three cards may be
given to the Communist
player to represent
Sappers infiltrating the
Free World positions. See
Section 14.4.1 for details.
These cards are held by
the player and added to
the deck on any Time Out
card of this choice.
How many in the deck?
One to three
Local Forces
e.g. VC Local Force
Local Forces cards are
used in the deck to
represent a force that has
particularly good local
knowledge. In general
terms this will be troops
who have lived in their
operational area all of
their lives (typically local
VC or CIDG units). Instead
of using specific unit
cards, one Local Force
card will be included in
the Game Deck for each
platoon sized unit
present. When this is
dealt the player may
activate any platoon sized
unit of his choice,
whether deployed on the
table or still on a Blinds
Each unit can still be
activated only once in a
turn. However this does
give the player the
greater flexibility of
activating the units in his
chosen order of
importance.
How many in the deck?
One per platoon sized
unit.
DUST OFF
This card is added to the
Game Deck whenever a
Free World force suffers a
Critical Wound.
The Casevac helicopter
will arrive on the table on
the first turn that this is
dealt. It will act as a
transport helicopter but
with the sole purpose of
evacuating critically
wounded personnel.
How many in the deck?
One only
Human Wave
Used to replicate the mass
attacks of Communist
Forces, this allows the
player to launch an attack
with any number of
infantry units that he
chooses as long as no unit
is further than 6” from
any other in the group.
This will automatically
unpin or unsuppress any
unit taking part. He must
use all his dice for
movement.
To launch a Human Wave
attack at least half of the
units carrying out the
attack must be within
viable charge range i.e.
within the number of
inches it is physically
possible to roll with the
dice e.g. units in the open
with three Action Dice
must start within 18” of
the enemy.
How many in the deck?
One only
4 4 Command and Control
command & control
Command and Control is central to Charlie Don’t Surf, with the game emphasising the importance of
leadership through the system of Command Initiative, and the effectiveness of combat forces through
the use of Action Dice.

Units are activated when their unit card is dealt from the Game Deck but this is not their only
opportunity to take their move. To reflect command and control on the battlefield we have Big Men,
a force’s command assets, allocated to both sides. The number and quality of these will reflect the
quality and capabilities of a specific force. A guide to how many to use will be found in the Force
Guidelines in Appendix Five. But what do Big Men do?

4.1  COMMAND INITIATIVE  
The quality of an officer or NCO is represented by his Command Initiative level. This dictates how
many units he can influence and over what distance. There are four levels as shown below:

LEVEL DESCRIPTION COMMAND INITIATIVE INFLUENCE RANGE

4 Hollywood/Glorious Leader 4 12”
3 Professional/Hero of the People 3 9”
2 Keen/Devout Commander 2 6”
1 Shake n’ Bake/Leader of Peasants and Workers 1 3”

4.1.1    USING COMMAND INITIATIVE 

When a Big Man’s card is dealt they may use their Command Initiative in a variety of ways to influence
the battle and the men around them. These options are as follows:

Big Men may do the following using one Command Initiative

o He may take his turn immediately, using one Command Initiative to spot, move, send a radio
message or attempt a task.
o He may activate one squad, weapon team or vehicle under his command and within his
Influence range that he can see. The unit takes its turn immediately.
o A Big Man commanding an AFV platoon may order the whole unit to move in line or column or
form a line or column.
o Before a unit comes under fire, and if of sufficient rank, he may move a force of up to platoon
size. Once a unit has been under fire this is reduced to one squad or weapons team per
Command Initiative for the rest of the game.
o He may remove one point of Shock from any one squad or weapons teams in his Influence range.
o He may initiate a charge into Close Combat
o He may mark a target within 36” with smoke or fire a flare
o He may order a squad or weapons team to prepare to fire later in the turn as the opportunity
presents. See Section 4.2.4, Overwatch.
o He may un-pin a squad or weapons team

Big Men may do the following using multiple Command Initiatives

o He may un-suppress a squad or weapons team for two Command Initiatives
o A Company Commander may use ALL of his Command Initiative to activate any one Blind OR a
subordinate Big Man if both have radios. The subordinate Big Man may then use his Command
Initiative as though his card had been dealt. Should his card be dealt later in the turn it is
ignored.
 
 

Page 11
4.1.2 CHAIN OF COMMAND 
Big Men influencing troops around them must be aware of the chain of command. In normal
circumstances Big Men are allocated to specific units and may only influence troops from that unit.
For example, a Captain can issue orders to any units within his company, a Lieutenant or Sergeant to
those within his platoon, a Corporal to his own squad or weapons team.
In some situations the chain of command rules may be ignored. Troops with no Big Men left in their
own platoon may be influenced by Big Men from any unit.

4.1.3  ISOLATED BIG MEN 
A Big Man who is not accompanying a group may not fire or initiate close combat. He may, however,
choose to fight in close combat if attacked by an enemy unit, counting 1D6 for each two levels of
Command Initiative. He may move with up to 3D6 at the cost of one Command Initiative.

4.1.4  ATTACHING BIG MEN TO UNITS 
A Big Man may attach himself to one squad or weapons team at any time. To do so the Big Man simply
has to be physically with them. Once attached, he may move with that squad either when he
activates it or on the platoon card, however he may only positively influence their firing by adding his
Command Level to any dice rolls when they are activated on his own card. See Section 7.6. To un-
attach himself the Big Man only has to move away from the squad.

4.1.5   CAN A BIG MAN ACTIVATE A UNIT THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN ACTIVATED? 
No. Other than a few Bonus cards that allow additional movement or firing, units will only be
activated once in a turn. If the Big Man’s own card is dealt after the force that he is with has been
activated he may use his Command Initiative to remove Shock, Spot, undertake a task or move on his
own. Units that have their card dealt prior to the Big Man’s card being dealt may choose to ignore
that and wait for the Big Man’s card.

4.1.6   CAN A BIG MAN INFLUENCE UNITS ON BLINDS? 

Blinds and how they work will be explained in detail in Section 5. Suffice to say here that Big Men
cannot influence troops on Blinds and any Big Men on Blinds do not have their cards put into the Game
Deck until they are deployed on the table. Troops on Blinds automatically get benefits that represent
their officers and NCOs doing their jobs.

…EXAMPLE…
lieutenant randy buckmeir is a good officer, his men consider him to
be professional, we call him a level 3 big man. His platoon is made
up of three squads which have just emerged from sweeping through an
area of jungle, as shown below. Two squads are only a few inches from
him, well within his 9” influence range, whereas the third squad is
over 12” away meaning that he is unable to activate it from where he
is.

Page 12
 …EXAMPLE continued…
Randy has three command initiatives that he can use. He is keen to
get all three squads close together so that he can control them more
easily. He could use two initiatives to move the two squads towards
the third one, but randy is concerned there may be vc in the area. He
uses one initiative to activate his second squad, ordering it to
remain on overwatch. He then uses a second initiative to move himself
towards the third squad. This puts him within 9” so his third
initiative can now be used to move that squad to its left, closing up
with the rest of the platoon.

4.2  ACTION DICE 
Units are activated when their platoon card is dealt or a Big Man uses a Command Initiative. At that
point each squad or weapons team may use their Action Dice to undertake a range of activities such as
Spot, Move, Fire, Hunker Down, stand on Overwatch, undertake a task or any combination of these.

4.2.1    HOW MANY ACTION DICE DOES MY SQUAD GET? 

The number or Action Dice that a squad or weapons team has will depend on its quality and the
number of men. This is dictated by the table in the Force Guidelines. Below is an example for US
forces.

Troops/Dice 0 1 2 3 4
US Infantry 1,2,3 4 5 6,7,8,9 10
US Cavalry 1,2,3 4 5 6,7,8 9+
US Airborne 1,2 3 4 5,6 7+
US Marines 1,2 3 4 5,6,7 8+
USMC Combined Action Squad 1,2,3,4 5,6 7,8 9,10 11+
LRP, LRRP, Rangers, Special Forces 1 2 3 4,5 6+

As can be seen the number of dice a squad gets varies depending on its quality. For example, a six-
man Special Forces squad will operate with four Action Dice, the same number as a ten man infantry
squad.

Weapons teams operate with the same number of Action Dice as a full-strength rifle squad of their
troop type but their effectiveness does not reduce in the same way. Tripod-mounted machine guns
(MMGs or HMGs) have a crew of five and function at full effect until reduced to one man when they
are reduced to one Action Dice. Mortar teams, recoilless rifle crews, dedicated anti-tank teams and
light machine gun teams continue to operate at full efficiency until they are completely wiped out.
This recognises that these support weapons would usually have significantly larger crews than we
provide with our model soldiers. Details of crew sizes may be found in the Force Guidelines in
Appendix Five.

4.2.2    USING ACTION DICE? 
Once their Platoon or unit card is dealt all the squads, weapons teams, vehicles or helicopters in that
unit are activated. They can now use their own Action Dice allowing each squad, weapons team or
vehicle to act independently and in whichever order the player wishes. The actions available and
their dice costs are on the following table:

Page 13
 Infantry Squads & Weapons Teams AFVs and Tanks

Action Cost Action Cost

Move 1D6 inches 1 Dice Move with 1D6 1 Dice
Hunker Down 1 Dice Cross a minor obstacle 1 Dice
Cross a low obstacle 1 Dice Aiming when firing in an AT role 1 Dice
Cross a high Obstacle 2 Dice Attempt to Spot 1 Dice
Enter an unbarred building 1 Dice Load a slow loading weapon 1 Dice
Mounting/Dismount a vehicle 1 Dice Change target with main weapon 1 Dice
Fire with 1D6 1 Dice
Attempt to Spot 1 Dice

Attempt a task 1 Dice

Reserve a dice for use later 1 Dice

Attack Helicopters Observation Helicopters

Action Cost Action Cost

Make a weapons attack 1 Dice Drop smoke 1 Dice
Attempt to Spot 1 Dice Attempt to Spot 1 Dice
Make secondary movement 1 Dice Make secondary movement 1 Dice

Units may choose to duplicate actions, for example firing or moving with all of their dice. They may
Spot more than once or they may Spot once with an enhanced chance, adding +1 to their dice throw
for the use of any additional Action Dice.

Details on exactly how units deal with movement, firing, spotting and searching may be found in the
relevant section of the rules.

4.2.3   EFFECTS OF COMBAT 
A squad’s manpower losses will erode its effectiveness by reducing the number of Action Dice it may
use. As the numbers in a squad fall through casualty loss, so the dice available to that squad will also
reduce.

For example, if our six-man Green Beret squad were to lose a man then the Action Dice available to
them would drop from 4 to 3. If the strength fell to three men, only 2 dice would be available.

AFVs and helicopters do not lose manpower but they may lose Action Dice temporarily due to the
effect of enemy fire.

4.2.4  OVERWATCH 
When a unit is activated instead of immediately using their Action Dice a squad may reserve any or all
of them for use later in that turn and so gain some reactive capacity. These reserved dice are
available only for Spotting and Firing (at any range) and may be used at any subsequent point in the
turn as the player desires. This may even be part of the way through another player’s turn or on the
Time Out card.

Page 14
…EXAMPLE…
A platoon of us infantry is activated when its card is dealt. Two
squads have eight men each, whilst the third has lost two men dead,
and is reduced to six men. The two squads with eight men now have
four action dice to use in this turn. The first squad stands on
overwatch, reserving all of its dice to use later in the turn. The
second squad advances, moving forward with three dice allocated to
movement before hunkering down with the fourth action dice.

The third squad has only three action dice as it is operating at

reduced strength. iT uses one dice to spot the tree line ahead
and, seeing nothing, advances with two dice.

…EXAMPLE…
AN ARVN M41 attempts to fire at a PAVN T-54 tank. His first shot
is always considered to be aimed, so he fires with one action dice.
He misses. With two action dice left he must now decide whether to
aim with his second dice and then fire an aimed shot with his third
Action, or to blast away and fire two snap shots, one with each
remaining Action Dice. In the end he fires one snap shot and then
reverses away with his third and final Action dice.

…EXAMPLE…
A mechanised infantry platoon is activated when its card is dealt.
The men are mounted on their tracks, so each track has four action
dice, the relevant number for a full squad of that unit type. One
track moves forward with two action dice, with two more spent on
spotting the road ahead for any sign of an ambush.

In the next turn the same squad wishes to dismount and then advance
supported by the m113 which will still have the 0.50 cal manned.
Six men dismount at the cost of one action dice. They now have two
action dice to spend on whatever they wish, reflecting the fact
that they are operating with less than a full squad. The m113 has
three action dice left from its original four, also losing one
while the squad dismounted.

on subsequent activations the six man squad will have three action
dice, whilst the m113 will have four action dice.

…EXAMPLE…
an infantry squad is on the edge of a small hamlet. Across to
their right they know that two other squads in their platoon are
ready to give them covering fire if they have any problems. They
use two of their four action dice to run towards a large hooch.
With their third dice they enter the building and find that it is
empty. They use their final dice to begin searching the building.

Page 15
 …EXAMPLE…
An oh-6 ‘Loach’ and an AH-1 Cobra are flying together as a pink team.
Their card is dealt and they are activated. The player now chooses in
which order to use the two helicopters. Activating the loach first he
makes the most of its free initial movement and moves it into position
above an area of treeline. he declares that the loach is flying low
in an attempt to draw fire. He then uses his first action dice to
spot. He is lucky and sees a group of vc moving into position to
ambush a possible lz. He uses his next action dice to mark the target
and then with his last dice he moves away from the area to avoid
ground fire.

Next the player activates the cobra which moves to attack the vc. The
cobra uses two action dice for firing before also using its third dice
to move away.

Page 16
55 Movement movement
There are two types of movement in Charlie Don’t Surf. Movement on Blinds occurs when a force is
not spotted; tabletop movement happens once the force has been spotted and the figures are
deployed on the table.

5.1   HIDDEN MOVEMENT ON BLINDS 
Charlie Don’t Surf uses a system of Blinds to allow some fog of war to be added to the game. These
Blinds are blank cards, 8” wide and 1½” deep, which represent a platoon sized unit or smaller. You
can download some from the TooFatLardies Yahoo Group with suitable artwork for the various forces.

Troops on a Blind benefit significantly in that the entire force on that Blind can operate in concert
until it is spotted by the enemy. It may not be fired on. Troops on Blinds are not as badly affected by
terrain as those with figures deployed on the table, with any penalty being one dice pip less severe.
This represents the fact that when not under fire troops can be relied upon to generally do what they
are ordered and work together.

Blinds operate with four Action Dice which they may use to Move, Spot and/or deploy their figures on
the table in order to fire. These may be done in any order desired. Deploying from a Blind uses no
Action Dice or Command Initiative and any fire is done with the added initiative of the most senior Big
Man present with that unit.

Blinds are removed from the table and replaced with figures as soon as they are spotted by the enemy
or when the troops they represent open fire. Troops that started a turn on a Blind will always be
activated by the Blinds card in that same turn, even if they have been spotted and their figures are on
the table. From the end of that turn onwards they will then be activated by their own unit card or
when activated by a Big Man using his Command Initiative.

5.1.1  HIDDEN BLINDS 
Any terrain object that can conceal a unit is also considered a Blind. So a sniper in the hooch or the
VC squad hiding in the elephant grass need not be represented by a Blind so long as they remain
stationary, the terrain being considered a Blind in its own right. The player must consider, therefore,
that the enemy can be hiding in every clump of jungle or behind every rock.

5.1.2    BLIND FORMATIONS 
Troops on Blinds are considered to be deployed however best suits the players. However to represent
the effect of terrain in Vietnam there are two basic “formations” that Blinds should be deployed in, as
shown below.

Sweep Line or Arrow Head Indian File

or

Page 17
A Blind deployed in Sweep Line or Arrow Head formation will move with the same penalties as a unit
with figures deployed on the table. A Blind deployed in Indian File will ignore the first -1” movement
penalty of whatever terrain it is in.

5.1.3  “DUMMY” BLINDS 
Blinds may be used to create uncertainty in the minds of the players as to where their opponent’s
forces actually are. In that way, a Blind could be a real unit ready for action or dummy unit that
might represent a small reconnaissance patrol of a few men but with no combat value. In addition to
Blinds for his troops, a player may be issued dummy Blinds. These may move and spot as normal, but
will be removed from the table if they are spotted.

The number of Blinds deployed by the players should be as follows:

Force Dummy Blinds

Local VC or CIDG One for every real Blind
Main Force VC One for every two real Blinds +1 additional
PAVN/NVA One for every two real Blinds
US Air Cav, Marines, Airborne One for every three real Blinds +1 additional
US and ARVN One Only

N.B. These numbers are a guideline and can be adjusted to suit specific scenarios.

5.1.4  CAN I MOVE INTO CLOSE COMBAT ON A BLIND? 
Yes. This represents the fact that you have caught your opponent unawares.

5.1.5  PARTIAL MOVE ON A BLIND 
When a unit still on a Blind opens fire it will either have its figures placed on the table or will be
represented by a Fire Marker (see Section 7.12). In some instances only part of the unit’s turn is taken
on Blinds. In many cases the number of Action Dice that a Blind gets will differ from the number of
Action Dice that the units it represents get. For example, when a Blind is representing a platoon
where the squads would normally operate with three Action Dice, the Blind will still get four Action
Dice.

In this situation the number of Action dice used during that turn will be the higher of the two. So a
squad that would normally get three Action Dice will use the four Action Dice available to a Blind,
whereas a squad that would normally get five Action Dice will still use five dice.

5.2  INFANTRY TABLETOP MOVEMENT 
Movement of units deployed on the tabletop is done by squad, weapon team or individual vehicle. The
player selects a unit and allocates how many of its Action Dice he is using for movement up to a
maximum of three dice. He may not then alter that and must move the full distance indicated by the
roll of the dice unless he is moving to a specific named point such as “up to that building” or “in line
with 6 Platoon”. He then rolls the D6 and moves the unit the distance indicated on the table below,
taking into account the terrain.

Terrain Type Example Effect

Open or Hard Ground Road, trail or open ground 1” per pip rolled
Light or Broken Wet paddy fields, fords, light woods -1 pip dice rolled
Heavy Stream, heavy jungle -2 pips per dice rolled
Impossible Swamp or dense undergrowth -3 pips per dice rolled

Page 18
To reflect local knowledge, forces operating in their home environment, such as Local VC or CIDG
units operating on Local Forces cards, may ignore the first -1 pip penalty on movement .

5.2.1  CROSSING LINEAR OBSTACLES 
Infantry crossing obstacles such as a minor wall will use one Action Dice to do so. It also takes one
Action Dice to enter or leave a vehicle or building.

…EXAMPLE…
a us infantry platoon is moving along the edge of the jungle. The
lead squad is moving along a jungle trail, another squad is moving
in a paddy field just outside the jungle and the third squad is
moving through the jungle itself. All three are using three action
dice for movement.

The lead squad on the trail rolls 1,4 and 6, so moved 11” along the
trail. The second squad in the paddy field rolls the same and
deducts one pip per dice, moving 8”. The third squad in the jungle
also rolls 1,4 and 6. it deducts two pips per dice due to the
really harsh terrain, reducing the 6 to 4, the 4 to 2, and removing
the 1 altogether. As a result it moves only 6”.

 
5.2.2  THE EFFECTS OF SHOCK 
Shock is fully explained in Section 8. Each Shock point that a unit has suffered will reduce its
movement by one inch from the adjusted total distance.

5.2.3   MOVEMENT IN VARYING TERRAIN 
Troops that are moving in more than one type of terrain during a turn will declare where they are
moving to and will roll each dice individually, applying the movement penalty depending on what
terrain they are in for each dice of movement.

5.2.4    CHANGING FACING 
Squads and weapons teams may change their facing at no cost in Action Dice but only when activated.
Rifle squads and weapons teams are considered to have a 180° arc of fire to their front.

5.2.5  INTERPENETRATION 
Both Blinds and troops deployed on the table may normally pass through other squads or weapons
teams at no cost to their movement. Units interpenetrated by friendly troops who are obliged to
withdraw due to excess Shock may be adversely affected. See Section 8.4.

5.2.6  UNIT INTEGRITY 
There is no set distances for how close squads need to be for a platoon to retain its cohesion. It is
assumed radio communication allows some degree of independent action. Artificial penalties are
unnecessary as units a significant distance from their parent platoon are likely to suffer from
insufficient support from their comrades or an inability to be influenced by Big Men.

5.2.7   EFFECTS OF CASUALTIES ON MOVEMENT 
There are two types of casualties that affect movement: men killed and, for Free World forces,
Critical Wounds. As men are killed a squad’s Action Dice will reduce, restricting their actions. Critical
Wounds are covered in detail in Section 7.10.3.

Page 19
5.2.8   TUNNELS 
One of the characteristics of the Vietnam War was the extensive use of tunnels by the Communist
forces. As Charlie Don’t Surf is designed as a company-level wargame where the smallest sub-unit is a
squad or weapons team, the following rules provide an abstracted system for resolving movement and
encounters in tunnels. This is not a system for resolving tunnel-clearing activities, just a simple set of
mechanisms to accommodate tunnel systems in scenarios without making them the focus of the game.

At the start of any game, tunnel entry and exit points will be known only to the Communist Forces
player and any umpire. The number of these will depend on the scenario. If no umpire is present
these should be marked on a sketch map of the table and, ideally, marked with a suitably innocuous
piece of terrain.

Communist forces entering a tunnel complex may opt to stay there for any length of time and may
emerge at the point they entered on any subsequent turn at the cost of one Action Dice. If any Free
World forces enter the complex the Communist force must attempt to move towards another exit.

If they are heading for an alternative exit point they will measure the distance between the two points
and roll a D6 on the table below each turn.

Dice Effect
1-2 Pause to get your bearings. Do not move this turn
3-6 Move 9” towards your destination

Once the Communist force has reached its destination it may emerge on any subsequent turn for the
cost of one Action Dice. It must also take a Tunnel Exit test as follows:

Roll a D6. Deduct 1 for each time they paused to get their bearings. If the adjusted score is zero or
lower the unit has lost its way and will emerge from a different tunnel exit point. This will be diced
for at random.

Any Communist unit emerging from a tunnel exit may be positioned within 4” of that point and remain
hidden. If they move above that distance then they must be represented by a Blind.

A Free World force may simply collapse the tunnel by throwing in grenades. Alternatively any force
entering a tunnel complex will roll 1D6 each turn it is below ground and consult the table below.

Dice Effect
1 This is unpleasant. You abandon the tunnel and collapse the entrance with grenades.
2-4 Nothing to report
Fleeting glimpse of Charlie. Cumulative +1 on dice roll each subsequent turn in the tunnel
5 for each time this happens.
Encounter any Communist force in the tunnels. Both sides roll 1D6 on the Great Shot
6 column under 9” and roll for effect as normal. +1 on dice roll each subsequent turn in the
tunnel.

5.2.9   DIGGING IN 
With a turn representing around a minute and a typical game being a frantic twenty minutes or so of
action, lack of time prevents units from digging in effectively during the game. Consequently units
may not do so unless specifically allowed to by the scenario. Troops may choose to use one Action
Dice to “Hunker Down”. This represents them making the most of whatever cover is available and
reduces the effect of any fire on them. A unit doing so is considered to be Hunkered Down until it
next fires or moves.

Page 20
5.2.10  SUPPORT WEAPON MOVEMENT 
Support weapons, such as mortars, HMGs or recoilless rifles will only move when activated by a Big
Man or if they come under close range small arms fire. They may Move or Fire in a turn, but never do
both.

Tripod-mounted weapons like heavy machine guns and recoilless rifles will be unable to move if
reduced to a crew of one. Light support weapons, such as LMGs or light mortar teams, will generally
be considered part of an infantry platoon. When they do operate independently they move with the
same number of dice as a full strength squad of their troop type.

5.3   GROUND VEHICLE TABLETOP MOVEMENT 
All ground vehicles may use up to three Action Dice for movement whatever the quality of the troops
within them. Any excess Action Dice possessed by a better quality unit may be used for spotting,
debussing or firing.

The player uses the Force Guidelines in Appendix Five to see what his vehicle’s Speed Rating is. He
then cross-references the Speed Rating with the terrain that it is moving in on the table below to find
out how far the vehicle moves. Roll any Action Dice allocated to movement, total up the pips to give
the basic movement distance in inches and then adjust that total according to the table below.

Vehicle Type Hard Ground Broken Terrain Heavy Terrain Impossible Terrain
Slow Tracks No adjustment -2” per dice -3” per dice No move
Average Tracks +1” per dice -1” per dice -3” per dice No move
Fast Tracks +2” per dice -1” per dice -3” per dice No move
Wheeled Double pips -2” per dice No move No move

5.3.1   BOGGING DOWN 
Soft ground will slow movement as outlined above. Any vehicle moving in especially boggy terrain that
rolls two 1’s for movement, however many Action Dice they roll, will become bogged down. It may
test to get free each turn by using all of the vehicle’s Action Dice. If more 6’s are rolled than 1’s the
attempt succeeds. However, more 1’s than 6’s are rolled the vehicle is considered stuck for the rest
of the game unless it is winched out.

To winch out a bogged down vehicle a second vehicle of similar or greater size must be immediately
adjacent to the front or rear of the stranded vehicle. The recovery crew is dedicated to this task and
cannot undertake any other actions.

Once a turn roll 2D6 needing a double to free the bogged down vehicle. A winching vehicle greater
than 50% heavier than the one stuck may adjust one dice by one pip, so a roll of 3 and 4 may be
adjusted to be double 3 or double 4, thereby freeing the stuck vehicle.

 
 
 
 
 

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 …EXAMPLE…
three m113 carriers are advancing through a populated area near the
Dmz. Two tracks are moving along a road. the first rolls three
action dice for movement (2, 4 and 6) giving a total of 12”. The
m113 is a fast track so adds two pips per dice resulting in a move
of 18”.

The second m113 advances through a paddy field and rolls 2, 3 and
5. As the paddy field counts as broken terrain one pip is deducted
from each dice, resulting in a total move of 7”.

The third m113, also in the paddy field, rolls 1,1 and 6. it
deducts one pip from each dice and moves 4” before bogging down due
to the two 1’s rolled.

 
5.3.2  CLEARING IMPOSSIBLE TERRAIN 
The ability of infantry to move through Impossible terrain reflects the fact that they can hack their
way through to create a path. For armoured vehicles this is not so easy. Some tanks may, however,
use their main armament to blast a path through the vegetation by firing canister or beehive rounds.
Where this is done an area of heavy or Impossible terrain 3” square will be removed and now be
considered Broken terrain.

5.3.3   CONVOY VEHICLE SPACING 
Vehicles in convoy that have not been fired on will maintain a standard gap between vehicles of
double the vehicle’s length. They will only roll for movement of the lead vehicle, with the others
conforming to that. Once fired on this rule no longer applies and the individual vehicles will dice for
their own movement in all subsequent turns.

5.3.4   DEBUSSING, LIMBERING & UNLIMBERING 
These actions take one Action Dice each. Troops debussing from an APC, truck or similar will be placed
immediately adjacent to it for the cost of their one Action Dice. If the vehicle has not moved in that
turn then the troops may use the rest of their Action Dice as desired. If the vehicle has moved then
they must reduce the number of Action Dice available to each squad or weapons team by one for each
dice of vehicle movement.

5.3.5   MANHANDLING ARTILLERY 
Some very light guns may be moved by their crews alone, moving at half normal infantry speed. Some
light guns can move in the same way with one Action Dice only; some medium guns may be moved at
quarter speed. Heavier guns may only be moved by prime movers.

5.4   AIRCRAFT MOVEMENT 
Both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft have unlimited movement over the table, but must actually
be represented if they are operating in a tactical role such as making an attack, spotting or operating
at low altitude to insert or extricate troops. We recommend using a stand to elevate the aircraft to a
level above the table that looks appropriate. This allows aircraft attacking a ground target to be
placed over that target.

Helicopters are split into two distinct groups; Transport and Attack & Observation, and are treated as
follows.

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5.4.1   TRANSPORT HELICOPTERS 
Transport helicopters do not operate with Action Dice. Instead they are present on the table only
when flying at low altitudes to insert or evacuate ground troops. Upon arrival they will spend one
entire turn hovering above a suitable Landing Zone. On the following turn, they will be on or just
above the ground as the troops embark or disembark. On the third turn they will take off and leave
the table. During the two turns on the ground or hovering above it they are susceptible to ground fire
(see Section 13).

Transport helicopters bringing air-mobile forces to the battlefield may well do so in several lifts, most
likely one platoon at a time. When doing this each lift must leave the table before the next one can
arrive. The arrival of each lift will be dictated by the Reinforcements (blank) card. Once the previous
lift’s transport helicopters have left the table the next lift will arrive on a subsequent turn of the
Reinforcements card. If helicopters are in short supply it may be that the same transport is used for
subsequent waves, and to reflect this the time between lifts can be varied by how many times the
card needs to be dealt before they arrive. If plentiful transport is available the subsequent lift can
arrive on the next reinforcements card, however delays of one or two Air Support cards may occur,
depending on the scenario.

Transport helicopters are limited in the number of passengers that they can carry safely. They may
attempt to carry more, but this can affect their ability to get airborne. It is presumed helicopters
inserting troops will be carrying safe numbers, although sometimes it may be necessary to attempt to
evacuate greater numbers than is safe.

Each helicopter has a standard number of passengers that may be carried (outlined in the Force
Guidelines in Appendix Five. Helicopters attempting to carry more than this standard load must roll
a D6 if attempting to take off with more than that number, succeeding if they roll above the number
of excess passengers.

…EXAMPLE…
A CH-46 Sea Knight “Phrog” helicopter may transport 26 figures
safely. However, this one is attempting to lift out 30 men. The
player rolls a d6 for the extra four men needing to roll 5 or 6.
He rolls 2, the phrog is struggling to get airborne, Remaining on
the ground this turn. The player must now wait for the air support
card to be dealt again before he can try again.

5.4.2   ATTACK & OBSERVATION HELICOPTERS 
Attack and Observation helicopters operate with three Action Dice though their first movement in any
turn is at no cost. When a helicopter is activated the player will place the helicopter anywhere on the
table that he wishes it to operate. Once in position it may Spot or Fire with its Action Dice. It may
also have a second period of movement for the use of one Action Dice, moving to another position on
the table of the player’s choice. There is no limit to the distance a helicopter may travel.

5.5   BOATS AND AMPHIBIOUS VEHICLES 
Motor boats, amphibious vehicles and landing craft roll up to two Action Dice for movement whatever
the quality of the troops within them. The total number of pips on the dice is then adjusted on the
following table which gives the distance moved in inches:

Page 23
 Craft Adjustment
Very fast Double pips
Fast +2” per dice
Slow -1” per dice
Very slow -2” per dice
Travelling with the current Add between 1” and 3” depending on current
Travelling against the current Subtract between 1” and 3” depending on current

Squads or weapons teams in the boats may Fire, Spot or Hunker Down, but lose one Action Dice for
each dice of movement used by the craft.

5.5.1   WATER MOVEMENT 
Infantry attempting to cross a waterway that is too deep to wade without the aid of motorboats or
amphibious vehicles must use small boats or rafts. These would usually be supplied by divisional
engineer units.

Squads carrying a small boat or raft lose one Action Dice of movement in addition to any other terrain
effects. It costs nothing to put the vessel into the water, but takes two Action Dice to get on board
and one Action Dice to get out.

In water, normal infantry movement rates are used, but with the number rolled being halved. Moving
in reeds or through swamp vegetation will provide some cover from spotting, but the roll will be
divided by three to reflect a slower movement rate. Any fractions are rounded up.

Note that firing on rafts or small boats on open water is generally considered a Great shot. Any Pins or
Suppressions are ignored whilst in the water. Troops on board rafts or small boats are considered to be
unable to fire with any great effect and may only use a maximum of one Action Dice when firing.

Infantry floating themselves across water with the aid of inflatable bladders or similar will use the
same basic rules as above, but movement is quartered rather than halved, and no firing at all is
possible.

Page 24
6 6 Spotting spotting
& Searching
& searching
Spotting is only used against Blinds or areas of terrain that may hide unspotted units. Units that have
been spotted are deployed on the table and are assumed to be seen, or at least known about, by all
other units. In contrast, searching is an action that may be undertaken whenever the player feels that
something worth finding might be present.

6.1   WHO CAN SPOT? 
Spotting may be undertaken by a squad, weapons team, AFV crew or attack or observation helicopter
using one Action Dice or by a Big Man using one Command Initiative. In order to Spot the unit must
have a clear line of sight to its target accounting for the intervening terrain and that occupied by the
spotting target

o If both the spotting unit and the target are in the Open or in Light terrain that does not obstruct
the line of sight, then the attempt may succeed at any distance, depending on the dice roll.

o If the spotting unit is in the open, but the target is in Heavy or Impossible terrain then an attempt
may only be made if the target is within 4” of the edge of the terrain.

o If both the spotting unit and the target are within the same Heavy or Impossible terrain feature
then an attempt may only be made if they are within 9” or each other.

o If the spotting unit is in Heavy or Impossible terrain but the target is in open or light terrain then
an attempt may only be made if the spotting unit is within 4” of the edge of the terrain.

In the example above Unit C may attempt to spot Unit Y. It may not spot unit X as there are
intervening trees. Unit W is in a narrow belt of difficult terrain. This is less than 4” deep but will still
serve to break the line of sight from C to X.

Troops in terrain that can obstruct visibility will either count as being on the fringe of the terrain if
they are within 4” inches of the edge, or actually inside the terrain feature if they are more than 4”
from the edge. Troops on the fringe of a terrain type may be spotted by troops outside that terrain
from any distance providing the intervening terrain does not obstruct visibility. In the example above
Unit W and unit X may both spot unit B as both W and B are on the fringes of their terrain type and the
ground between them is open. Unit Y may not spot unit B as unit X is breaking the line of sight. Were
unit Y on a hill then it could observe over the head of unit X and try to spot B.

Troops that are both within the same Heavy or Impossible terrain type may spot at a maximum of 9”
distance. Unit A may try to spot unit Z as they are within 9”, but it may not spot unit X as it is not on
the fringe of the terrain and therefore cannot look out from it. Unit B on the fringe of the difficult
terrain may try to spot a target any distance away, but may only spot 9” into the difficult terrain

Page 25
6.2  HOW TO SPOT 
To Spot the player first states which enemy Blind he is attempting to spot, or, if he suspects the
enemy is concealed in some terrain, in which direction his Big Man squad or weapons team is looking.
He may look at an area with a 9” frontage for any one action. He then rolls 2D6 and adjusts the total
number of pips as below:

SUBTRACT
-1 if spotter is under fire
-1 if the spotter is pinned
-1 if target is stationary and not firing
-1 if target is local to this area
-1 if target has good fieldcraft
-1 if spotter is a buttoned down AFV
-1 If the target is entrenched
-2 if the target is in a bunker
-3 if spotting at night
ADD
+1 per dice the target moved this turn
+1 for each additional dice used to spot
+1 if spotter is a Big Man
+1 if spotter is a trained recon unit
+1 if target has poor fieldcraft
+1 if accompanied by Kit Carson scout
+1 if target is firing
+1 if spotter is higher than the target

Now check the adjusted total against the table below to see if the attempt has been successful

TARGET 0-4” 4-9” 9-24” 24” AND OVER

LOCATION/DISTANCE
In the Open Automatic Automatic 4 7
In Light Terrain Automatic 5 9 11
In Heavy Terrain 9 10 12 14
In Impossible Terrain 12 14 Impossible Impossible

Result: If the total equals or exceeds the number shown the spotting attempt is successful and the
enemy figures are put on the table. If the total is one less than the number required but an enemy
unit is hidden in the terrain being spotted, a Blind should be placed to confirm that something is
there but has not been clearly identified.

Spotting cannot be a precise science. If an umpire is available they should have complete freedom to
adjust the target scores to suit the circumstances. For example, the presence of smoke on the
battlefield or weather such as fog or rain may have a huge effect on visibility.

…EXAMPLE…
an nva hmg team is located on a hillside looking towards a small
hamlet surrounded by paddy fields in the valley below. A us blind
has just emerged from the treeline and is moving towards the village.

At a distance of 28” and with the target in broken terrain the NVA
need 11 or more on 2d6. However, the US force has little or no
fieldcraft skill so that is reduced to 10, and the nva player
decides to use three of his action dice for spotting, so that
brings the target score down to 8.

tHe player rolls 2D6 and gets a 3 and a 6, for a total of 9. This
is more than enough to spot the us platoon. The us player deploys
his figures on the table.
 

Page 26
6.3  AUTOMATIC SPOTTING 
In some circumstances troops will be seen by their opponents without the need for spotting. To
represent this, the following table is consulted on the Time Out card, and any forces within the
following distance of their opponents will be placed on the table.

TARGET LOCATION/DISTANCE 0-4” 4-9” 9-24”

In the Open Automatic Automatic Automatic
In Light terrain Automatic Automatic -
In Heavy Terrain Automatic - -
In Impossible Terrain Blind* - -

*In Impossible terrain no troops will be deployed on the table but any hidden units will be represented
by a Blind. Such units remain unspotted though their approximate location has been identified.

Any tank or armoured vehicle that comes within 36” of an opponent or soft-skin vehicle within 24” will
be placed on the table immediately due to its noise and size.

…EXAMPLE…
an arvn platoon advancing through the jungle are unknowingly within
3” of a hidden vc unit. On the time out card the VC position is
identified with a blind. Worryingly, The arvn force knows that
something is there, but they are not sure what.

6.4   RECONNAISSANCE BY FIRE 
Free World forces did use reconnaissance by fire - firing into terrain that they suspected contained an
enemy unit - in the hope of triggering a reaction from the Communist forces. While this can pay
dividends, it increased the possibility the firers would run short of ammunition.

Reconnaissance by fire may be conducted by a squad, weapons team or armoured vehicle firing at up
to a range of 9”. To carry this out the unit must be stationary for the entire turn and concentrate its
fire in an area with a frontage of equal length to its own. The player rolls 2D6 per squad or vehicle
firing with only ‘doubles’ having any effect:-

Double Result
1 No enemy revealed. If the firer is an infantry unit it is considered short of ammunition until
re-supplied
2 As above, but only Local VC or other units with poor fire discipline will respond
3 As above, but NVA units ignore this result and remain hidden
Any enemy unit present will immediately be deployed on the table, The firer will calculate
4-6 the effect of his fire using the Poor Effect column. After the effect of the fire has been
calculated the target will fire back, taking into account any Pinned or Suppressed results.

If a Communist unit is identified it must fire back immediately using all of its Action Dice. If its card is
dealt subsequently in the turn it is ignored.

Page 27
6.5   SPOTTING AT NIGHT 
Night-fighting was common in Vietnam as it suited the methods of the VC and PAVN. Free World
forces, hhich preferred fighting by daylight, restorted to artificial illumination at nightime.
Particularly common was the use of flares fired either from units on the ground, from supporting
artillery or from aerial flare-ships to assist them.

6.5.1   TOTAL DARKNESS 
Total darkness represents an unusually dark night or, more likely, an un-illuminated area that
contrasts with nearby areas which have been lit by flares. In total darkness troops will be able to
identify the enemy’s position only by muzzle flashes or with night-vision equipment such as the
starlight scope or infra-red equipment.

When a unit opens fire at night the position should be marked with a Fire Marker (see Section 7.12).
his will mark the unit firing but not show exactly how many men are present. In total darkness the full
unit will only be placed on the table on the third turn of firing or when spotted by the enemy.

6.5.2   SEMI‐DARKNESS 
In semi-darkness, the usual situation at night, the following rules apply:
o Distances for visibility are halved at night. Illuminated targets may be spotted from anywhere on
the table as long as there is line of sight.
o All spotting rolls are at –3 unless the target is illuminated in which case the roll is as normal for
daylight.
o At night Communist forces will have between one and three extra Blinds (dice for this).

6.5.3   ARTIFICIAL ILLUMINATION 
Free World players have access to various types of artificial illumination used to light up the night.
Each squad may be equipped with up to two hand–discharged flares. Each may be used to illuminate
an area 12” square immediately in front of the unit. Each flare will last for two turns, being removed
on the second Time Out card. Hand-discharged flares may be used at no cost in Action Dice.

A Big Man may use a Command Initiative to fire a larger flare. This may be fired in any direction and
will be positioned up to 36” from the Big Man. Once fired, the flare will illuminate an area with a 12”
radius for the remainder of the current turn and the next two turns. It is removed on the third
appearance of the Time Out card. Everything within the radius is assumed to be in the equivalent of
daylight; anything outside the area of illumination is considered to be total darkness.

Mortars and artillery may fire star shells and other illumination rounds. Each time one is fired, mark
the target spot and calculate deviation as usual for fire from these weapons (see Section 11). From
the point of “impact” (the flare will be slowly floating down to earth) the area illuminated will have a
12” radius for mortars and an 18” radius for artillery. A mortar fired illumination round will last for
four turns, being removed on the fourth Time Out card, for artillery the duration will be five turns.

Flares may be set to be triggered by trip wire. The wire will cover a 6” frontage, and any squad or
weapons team crossing that will set off the flare on a roll of 3-6 on a D6. It will illuminate an area
with a 12” radius for the remainder of the current turn and the next two turns.

A Nighthawk flare-ship is a helicopter whose job it is to keep the battlefield under constant
illumination. If available, once a flare-ship is present over the table the area is considered to be fully
illuminated for the rest of the game. The Umpire should factor into any scenario how many turns it
will take for a flare-ship to arrive in the area.

A Nighthawk “Lightning Bug” is a helicopter equipped with searchlights. These can only be used when
the helicopter is hovering. The centre of the illuminated zone can be up to 18” from the aircraft and
the zone has the same 12” radius as flares. These helicopters were susceptible to AA fire and may be
fired on by any units within 18” of them.

Page 28
6.5.4  NIGHT‐VISION EQUIPMENT 

Troops spotting using night vision equipment will roll to spot as normal using the semi-darkness
modifier. If they fail to spot a target they may re-roll one of the 2D6.

6.6 AERIAL SPOTTING  
Free World forces employed both fixed wing and rotary aircraft for observation purposes. These may
fly relatively high or they may attempt to get an additional bonus by risking flying at low altitude to
draw fire. This will, however, put them at risk from anti-aircraft fire. At high altitude an aerial
spotter will use the 9-24” range on the spotting table, at low altitude the 4-9” range. Helicopters may
only spot units in the Open, in Light terrain or on the fringes of Heavy or Impossible terrain.

Communist forces that are on a Blind or hidden will be more easily spotted by a low flying observer.
Units that have opened fire and are represented by Fire Markers must attempt to drive off the
observer with anti-aircraft fire. See Section 13.

Unspotted units may choose to open fire as per the anti-aircraft rules or may remain hidden, however
if the observer is flying at low altitude and the next card dealt immediately after it is the Communist
Forces Blinds card then any unit within 6” of the observer is automatically spotted and will be placed
on the table.

…EXAMPLE…
up in his 0-1 bird dog captain buck bronxstein can see very little
from high altitude. He makes a low sweep across the area of
operation, taking a risk that any ground troops may fire on him.

On the ground NVA Soldier Duc Phun is manning the 12.7mm anti-
aircraft machine gun. As the o-1 comes in low he opens fire, a
fire marker being placed on the table.

Bronxstein now uses two of his action dice to spot the fire marker.
As he is low he uses the 4-9” column, so his basic target roll to
spot is 10. he is using an extra action dice, so that comes down
to 9, and with a +1 for the fact that he is a trained recon unit,
his target is firing and he is spotting from a higher level this
comes down to 6. buck rolls his 2d6 and gets a 1 and a 4, five in
total. Duc phun remains hidden.

6.7  SEARCHING 
At some point in the game players may wish to search for items such as booby traps, mines, hidden
tunnel entrances, downed pilots hiding in the undergrowth etc. Action Dice can be allocated to this
task, each giving the searching squad one search roll.

Typically, all of these events will be scenario-driven. In designing the scenario each hidden item
should be assigned a numerical value from three upwards, with three being blindingly obvious and
more carefully hidden objects having higher ratings. When searching, the player will allocate a
number of a squad’s Action Dice to Searching and must roll equal or over the number to discover the
hidden item.

Some searches, those requiring higher totals, will need to be conducted over a number of turns in
order to have a chance of success. Some examples are given below by way of guidance:-

Page 29
 Target Roll Required
Poorly concealed 3+
Moderately concealed 8+
Well concealed 10+
Fiendishly concealed 16+
Tunnel entrance 16+
Underwater tunnel entrance 24+
Simple Booby Trap 5+
Land Mine/Claymore 7+

Items that are hurriedly concealed during the course of a game can never be better than well
concealed and are more likely to be considered poorly concealed unless a pre-prepared hiding place is
being used.

…EXAMPLE…
An Australian platoon is searching a hamlet for any sign of vc
activity. A section is examining a hooch which has a concealed
tunnel entrance below it. being well hidden this will take some
finding; The umpire has allocated this a value of 16. The squad
uses all of its four action dice to search the building, rolling 2,
3, 4 and 5, a total of 14. So far they have found nothing.

In the next turn the Australian player must decide whether to

continue his search. He is satisfied that one whole turn should
have been enough to find anything that was there, so the section
moves on. Had they continued to search they only needed to roll 2
on however many dice they used to reach the total of 16 and find
the tunnel entrance.

6.7.1   DOG TEAMS 
Free World forces may employ dog teams to assist with searches or spotting. They will add +2 to any
dice rolled in a search. They may also be used to assist in spotting, adding +2 if within 4” of an enemy
or +1 if between 4” and 9”.

Page 30
77 Squad squad
and Weapon Team
& weapons Fire
team fire
Firing in Charlie Don’t Surf is a quick and simple process that produces fast and coherent results
which combine the effect of fire with the impact on the morale of the target. Firing represents a
unit’s destructive capacity and incorporates the use of grenades, the squad’s light support weapons,
pistols and all infantry weapons in one dice roll.

7.1   TARGET ACQUISITION 
The basic rule when considering which enemy target your unit can fire at is that if they can see it they
can fire at it. In order to fire at a unit it must be spotted, in other words the figures must be
deployed on the table and not on a Blind or Fire Marker. Section 6.1 on spotting defines the effect of
terrain on visibility. The same rules apply to a unit when firing.

The potential target must be visible from some, or all, of the firing unit. If only some members of an
infantry squad can trace an unbroken line of sight to the target unit then only those men may fire at
the target.

7.2   THE FIRING MECHANISM 
Each squad or weapons team fires individually, rolling the number of Action Dice that it allocates to
firing. The total number of pips rolled gives the effectiveness of the fire, and this is cross-referenced
against the range and how easy the target is to hit on the Fire Table (see Section 7.9). This yields a
result consisting of a number or a number accompanied by a letter.

The number shown on the table is the number of hits that the target has taken. The effect of hits will
be diced for to discover exactly how many men have been killed and what Shock the target has
suffered (see Section 7.10).

The letter represents a temporary morale result of either ‘P’ – Pinned - or ‘S’ - Suppressed. This
morale status is immediate but temporary, remaining in place until the Time Out card is turned.

7.3   USING THE FIRE TABLE 
The Fire Table is quick and easy to use. There are three main columns for the three range bands that
the rules use - 0-9”, 9-18” and 18”+. Each range band is then sub-divided into three types of shot -
Great, Okay or Poor. To select which column to use for fire results the gamer simply checks the range
and then decides on how good the shot is.

More often than not, how good the shot is will be a subjective matter. For a gamer new to the rules
we recommend you simply consider a Good shot to be at a target in the open, an Okay shot is at a unit
in Light cover or Broken terrain and a Poor shot is at a target in solid cover, Heavy terrain or worse. If
the target is Hunkering Down then the shot counts as one level worse than it would otherwise be.

More experienced gamers may wish to develop that idea further, taking into account other issues that
will influence the result and allow fine-tuning of decisions. Is the target moving in the open? Is the
firer on higher ground or firing against an opponent on the sky line? All of these will make the target a
better one. Is the firer’s visibility affected by smoke, or is the firer himself under particularly heavy
fire? These issues will make the effect of firing poorer than normal.

Fine-tuning can be added by utilising “plus” or “minus” factors by adding or subtracting 2 from the pip
total of the firer. Alternately, if the impact is more significant, players may choose to represent this
by shifting a column to the right for a poorer shot, or to the left for a better one.

7.4  SQUAD FIRE 
Within Charlie Don’t Surf there are three basic types of squad which operate slightly differently when
firing due to their differing inherent firepower. These are as follows:

The Assault Rifle Squad: This is a modern infantry squad armed with fully automatic assault rifles and
supplementary weapons such as grenade or rocket launchers. Typical here would be most US squads
throughout the conflict with M16 rifles and M79 ‘bloopers’, PAVN units with the AK47 and rocket-

Page 31
propelled grenades, and better armed VC Main Force units. The Assault Rifle Squad fires using its
normal Action Dice allocation with no adjustments.

The Obsolete Rifle Squad: This unit would have been completely up to date in the Korean War, but is
now looking somewhat behind the times. Armed largely with semi-automatic weapons and inferior
automatic weapons, such as the BAR, these units simply cannot throw out the volume of firepower
that the Assault Rifle Squad can. Typical of these would be ARVN units up to 1968, local ‘Ruff Puff’
forces throughout the war and local Cadre VC forces. The Obsolete Rifle Squad loses one Action Dice
when firing. So, for example, one of these squads using three Action Dice for firing will roll just 2D6
on the Fire Table.

The Machine Gun Squad: This is a squad with tremendous firepower supplied by two or more general
purpose machine guns, such as the US M60. It can also represent an Assault Rifle Squad that has been
“up-gunned” by adding an additional machine gun team. These units fire with one additional D6 over
and above their Action Dice.

7.5   WEAPONS TEAM FIRE 
Alongside infantry squads we have the weapons teams which man infantry support weapons. These
use an identical method for firing; each weapon’s specific capabilities being represented as below.
They operate with the same number of Action Dice as a full-strength squad of their troop type.

7.5.1   TRIPOD‐MOUNTED MMGS AND HMGS  
Most machine guns are considered Medium Machine Guns, with the HMG designation being reserved for
those firing a heavier round, such as the US 0.50 Browning or the 12.7mm equivalent “0.51” used by
the Communist forces. To be considered a MMG or HMG the weapon must be firing from a tripod or
weapon mount.

Both MMGs and HMGs benefit from a longer range than a standard infantry squad. They treat Close
range as 0-18” and Effective range anything above 18”. HMG fire will also automatically Pin any
target they are firing at and will reduce any cover by one level.

These teams are made up of five crew members. They have the same number of Action Dice as a full
squad of their troop type and fire with that many dice. Unlike infantry squads there is no reduction in
the number of their Action Dice until the weapon team is reduced to one man, when they will only be
able to fire with 1D6. Tripod mounted MG teams may not move independently unless activated by a
Big Man or the enemy are within 9” of their position. They may move normally if attached to another
unit, such as an infantry platoon. They may never move and fire in the same turn.

7.5.2   INDEPENDENT LMGS 
LMGs may be deployed independently as two or three man weapons teams, in which case they have
the same number of Action Dice as a full strength squad of their troop type. They may fire with a
maximum of 2D6 until reduced to one man when that falls to 1D6 maximum.

At the start of the game a player with an independent LMG team in his force may attach it to a rifle
squad to enhance their firepower. This squad will then fire with one additional D6 over and above
their Action Dice.

…EXAMPLE…
Phan dung is An nva platoon commander. He has a two-man independent
lmg team as part of his force. Each of his infantry squads is equipped
with ak47 assault rifles and counts as an assault rifle squad. They
each have three action dice.

He may choose to allow the lmg team to operate independently, using

three action dice – the same as a full strength squad – but with a
maximum of two dice used for firing. alternatively he may attach the
lmg team to one of his rifle squads, with the additional firepower
adding 1D6 when they fire.

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7.5.3   FLAME THROWERS 
Infantry flame-throwers are represented as two-man teams. They operate with the same number of
Action Dice as a rifle squad of their troop type. They have a maximum range of 9” and fire with 5D6
on the 0-9” column of the fire table, ignoring all cover. Shock caused by a flamethrower is doubled.
Flamethrowers firing on wooden buildings will set the building on fire if they roll two or more 1s on
their firing dice.
These man-pack weapons were effective but limited in supplies of flammable liquid. To represent this
if more 6’s than 1’s are rolled during firing then the flamethrower is out of fuel and the team is
removed from the table.
A flamethrower hit on a truck will automatically destroy the vehicle. The effect of hits on any
passengers will be calculated without any allowance for cover. For flamethrowers used against AFVs
see Section 7.17.4.

7.5.4  LIGHT MORTARS 
When firing light mortars (up to 60mm in calibre) the player selects his target and rolls a D6 for each
weapon firing. If the target is in direct line of sight then one point of Shock is caused on a roll of 4
or 5. On a 6 the target suffers one point of Shock plus one hit on the unit, diced for on the Hit Effect
table (Section 7.10). If the target is not directly visible from the firer’s position then a roll of 4 is
ignored. If the target has solid overhead cover then subtract 1 from the dice roll.
Light mortars placing smoke select an aiming point and roll 1D6 plus a Deviation Dice. A 2” diameter
smoke screen is deployed on the aiming point and remains there until the third Time Out card is dealt.

7.5.5  ROCKET PROPELLED GRENADES 
Many squads will have a limited number of RPGs, LAWs or Bazookas as part of their weaponry.
However, some men so equipped will operate as independent teams whose specific task is to take on
armoured vehicles, helicopters or bunkers. These teams are made up of two crew members. They
have the same number of Action Dice as a full strength squad of their troop type, with no reduction in
effectiveness until both members are killed. These teams may not target infantry unless in a
strongpoint (see Section 7.17.2).

7.6  BIG MEN DIRECTING FIRE 
Big Men have no fire capability themselves. However, one of the advantages of having a Big Man
attached to a squad or weapons team is that he may direct their fire if they are activated using one of
his Command Initiatives. The squad to which he is attached (and not those simply activated by him)
may add +1 to the dice for each level. So, for example, a level 3 Big Man commanding a squad firing
will add +3 to the number of pips rolled for firing.

7.7  EFFECTS OF SHOCK ON FIRING  
Units that are affected by Shock (see Section 8 for full details of how Shock works) will deduct one pip
from the total rolled for firing for each point of Shock they currently have.

7.8  AMMUNITION RESTRICTIONS 
Fully-automatic weapons have a habit of eating ammunition at an alarming rate. To represent this
each time any squad or weapons team rolls three 6’s when firing their whole platoon is considered to
be using high levels of ammunition and an Ammunition Shortage card is added to the deck. If
subsequently this is dealt immediately after that platoon has fired then the platoon is short of
ammunition and may only engage targets at Close range and may use a maximum of 2D6 when firing.
Free World Forces may call for fresh supplies of ammunition as long as the unit has a radio. Roll 1D6
on the following table to see when this arrives.

Dice Result
1-3 Stand by. Dice again next turn
4-5 Resupply will arrive on 1D3 turns of the Air Support card
6 Resupply will arrive on the next turn of the Air Support card

Page 33
7.9  THE FIRE TABLE 
Cross-reference the number of pips on the firing dice with the range and how good a shot it is.
Remember to take into account if it is a Machine Gun weapons team or an infantry squad firing.

Close Range Effective Range Long Range

MGs/AFVs Up to 18” Over 18” Special Effect
Infantry Up to 9” 9” to 18” Over 18”
Dice Great OK Poor Great OK Poor Great OK Poor
1 4P 2 1 P - - - - -
2 5P 3 1 1P - - - - -
3 6P 3 2 2P - - - - -
4 7P 4 2 3P 1 - P - -
5 8S 4 2 4P 2 1 1 P -
6 9S 5 2 5P 3 1 1 P -
7 10S 5P 3 5P 3 1 2 1 -
8 11S 6P 3 6P 3 2 2 1 -
9 12S 6P 3 6P 3 2 3 1 -
10 13S 7P 3P 7S 3P 2 3P 1 -
11 14S 7P 4P 7S 4P 2 4P 1 -
12 15S 8P 4P 8S 4P 2 4P 1 P
13 16S 8S 4P 8S 4P 2 4P 1 1
14 17S 9S 5P 9S 5P 2P 5P 1 1
15 18S 9S 5P 9S 5P 2P 5P 1 1
16 19S 10S 5S 10S 5S 3P 5S 1 1
17 20S 10S 5S 10S 5S 3P 5S 2 1
18 21S 11S 6S 11S 6S 3P 5S 2 1
19 22S 11S 6S 11S 6S 3P 6S 2 1
20 22S 12S 6S 12S 6S 3P 6S 2 1
21 23S 12S 6S 12S 6S 3S 6S 3 1
22 24S 12S 6S 12S 6S 3S 7S 3 1
23 25S 12S 6S 12S 6S 3S 7S 3 1
24 26S 13S 6S 13S 7S 3S 7S 3P 2
25 26S 13S 7S 13S 7S 3S 7S 3P 2
26 27S 13S 7S 13S 7S 3S 7S 3P 2
27 27S 13S 7S 13S 7S 3S 7S 3P 2P
28 28S 14S 7S 14S 7S 4S 7S 3P 2P
29 28S 14S 7S 14S 7S 4S 8S 4P 2P
30 29S 14S 7S 14S 7S 4S 8S 4P 2P
31 29S 14S 7S 14S 8S 4S 8S 4S 2P
32 30S 15S 7S 15S 8S 4S 8S 4S 2P
33 30S 15S 8S 15S 8S 4S 8S 4S 2P
34 31S 15S 8S 15S 8S 5S 8S 4S 3P
35 31S 15S 8S 15S 9S 5S 8S 4S 3P
36 32S 16S 9S 16S 9S 5S 9S 5S 3P

The number shown represents the number of hits that that target has suffered. Any letter shows the
immediate effect on that unit’s morale. ‘P’ is Pinned, meaning that the target unit may not move
during the remainder of this turn. Any subsequent firing by the target unit in this turn is done with a
penalty of one range band shift to the right.

An ‘S’ result shows that the target unit is Suppressed. During the rest of this turn it is unable to fire
or move.

Remember: Any P or S result only lasts until the Tea Break card is dealt.

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7.10   HITS AND CASUALTIES 
Manpower losses to a unit, either killed or Critically Wounded, will erode its effectiveness by reducing
the number of Action Dice it has available or from the penalties imposed due to Shock.

From the Fire Table we will have ascertained the number of hits on a unit; we now need to see what
effect they have by rolling on the table below. Roll 1D6 for each hit.

Hit Effect
Near Miss Shock Dead
1,2,3 4,5 6

7.10.1 EFFECTS OF CASUALTIES 
Now that we have rolled on the Hit Effect table we know how many men have been killed, how much
Shock a unit has suffered, and how many near misses we have had. But what do these mean?

Near Miss: This has no effect. Breathe a sigh of relief and keep firing!

Shock: A point of Shock has been inflicted on the squad or weapons team. Shock is the morale
system in Charlie Don’t Surf and represents the breakdown of cohesion within the unit
under fire. For each point of shock on a squad or weapons team any firing or movement
will be done with one pip deducted from the total roll.

The amount of Shock a squad has suffered can be represented by suitable markers, such as
wounded figures, or by using a small dice. (See Section 8.5 for how to remove Shock).

Dead: A man has fallen for his country. Killed men reduce a squad’s effectiveness by reducing the
number of Action Dice available to that squad.

7.10.2     SECONDARY EFFECTS OF CASUALTIES 
As well as the basic effects of Shock and Kills on a squad or weapons team there can be two other
sorts of effects: Critical Wounds or the loss of Big Men. These occur as follows:

7.10.3    CRITICAL WOUND 
If the Critical Wound card is dealt immediately after a Free World unit has suffered deaths then one
of these is deemed to be a Critical Wound. The man concerned needs immediate casualty evacuation
by either helicopter or vehicle.

Critically wounded soldiers are lost to the squad (i.e. they no longer count towards the number of
Action Dice available) and have further negative effects on the unit. A squad that is located in cover
and takes a Critical Wound may not move any closer to the enemy than its current position. In
addition, any movement away from the enemy will be done with a maximum of two movement dice
per turn. A squad that is not accompanied by a Medic that moves with a critically wounded man will
roll 1D6 each time it moves. On a roll of 1 the man will die.

If a Medic joins the unit to take care of the critically wounded man that unit may then act as it
desires. On his card the Medic may move with the critically wounded men with two movement dice.
This is reduced by -1 pip per dice for each additional critically wounded man.

When critically wounded men are present on the table a Casevac card will immediately be included in
the deck. A suitable location to conduct the evacuation must be identified – an RVP for vehicles or LZ
for helicopters. On the arrival of the Casevac helicopter or vehicle any critically wounded men within
9” of the evacuation point will be removed from the game and presumed to survive.

If no suitable location is immediately available then one Medic may form an aid post. He may tend to
up to six critically wounded men at a time in the aid post. However, such an aid post may be fired on

Page 35
by the enemy; worse still, if over-run by the enemy the critically wounded men are automatically
killed.

7.10.4  HITS ON BIG MEN 
If a Big Man is attached to a squad or weapons team that has men killed he must roll a D10 to see if he
is affected. He needs to roll above the number of men killed that turn to be safe. If the roll fails for
a unit with a radio then roll a D6. On 1-3 the Big Man is killed and removed instead of the dead man.
On 4-6 the Big Man is critically wounded and requires Casevac. On a roll of 6 the unit’s radio has been
hit and cannot be used. If the unit lacks a radio then a failed roll automatically removes the Big Man.

7.11   FIRING AT MULTIPLE UNIT TARGETS 
There will be times when your units will find themselves firing at more than one target unit at a time.
This will tend to happen when the target units are within 2” of each other. In such circumstances, it
is not considered possible to concentrate all your fire onto one target unit alone.

When this happens common sense should be applied to split the casualties fairly between the multiple
targets. If, for example, you achieve six hits on an eight man rifle squad and a four man MG team
then a fair, proportional distribution would be four hits on the rifle squad and two on the MG team.

…EXAMPLE…
A vc squad armed with obsolete rifles opens fire on a us squad that
is hunkering down in some rice paddies. The vc squad has three
action dice and use them all for firing. however because their
weapons are obsolete they only roll 2D6 on the fire table.

They roll a 4 and a 6, a total of 10. they are 8” away from their
target, so that is close range. The us squad is in broken terrain,
so we can consider it an OK shot, however as they are hunkering
down it becomes a poor shot. A score of 10 is still enough to get
three hits and pin their target for the rest of this turn.

The us player then rolls 3D6, one for each hit, to see what the
effect of the firing is. He rolls 2, 4 and 5. This results in One
near miss and two points of shock.

The next card dealt is critical wound, if the us player had

suffered any men dead in the firing then one of these would have
instead become a critical wound. Since the firing caused no kills
the card is discarded.

The next card dealt is the US platoon card. The us squad may now
return fire. They are an assault rifle squad with four action
dice. They are pinned and cannot move, so they use them all for
firing. They roll 4D6 on the fire table. The vc are in heavy
terrain, so this is a poor shot, but with the us troops being
pinned it becomes an even worse shot. To reflect this they use the
poor shot column on the effective range chart, one range band
further away than normal.

Page 36
 …EXAMPLE continued…
The us player rolls 2,3,4 and 6, a total of 15. he then deducts
two from this as he has two points of shock giving a final total of
13, resulting in two hits on the vc. The vc player will now roll
to see what the effect of the two hits is. He rolls a 3 and a 6,
one near miss and one man dead.

…EXAMPLE…
taking the example above, let us assume that the card dealt
immediately after the critical wound card was that of lieutenant
Alvin meyer, the platoon’s commander. Alvin was not with the squad
when it was fired on though he was close by. He is a high quality
commander, level four, so has four command initiatives to use. He
uses one to move across to join the squad. With His second he
unpins the unit and his third he uses to remove one points of
shock. He then uses his final command initiative to direct the
squad’s fire.

The squad rolls the same dice as before, a total of 15, but it now
has only one point of shock deducted. Furthermore, it adds +4 to
its roll to reflect the fact that the fire is being controlled by a
level 4 big man. The total of 18is cross-referenced with the
close range at poor effect column. this results in 6 hits and the
vc are suppressed for the rest of this turn.

7.12   COMMUNIST FIRE FROM COVER 
Communist Forces that open fire from having been hidden in cover will not be immediately deployed
on the table. Their fire will be calculated as normal, but a Fire Marker will be placed on the table to
represent their general position. This is a half-way stage between being on a Blind and being deployed
on the table. The Fire Marker will be replaced by figures and the unit spotted if it fires again, or if it
is spotted by Free World forces under the usual process. It may, however, choose to move away
before it is spotted, in which case it is replaced with a normal Blind.

7.13    AMBUSH 
An ambush occurs any time an unspotted unit that is activated by its card (not on the Time Out card)
opens fire from Blinds or a hidden position at Close range. Fire occurs as normal, but to represent the
impact of surprise any Shock inflicted on the target unit in the first round of fire is doubled.

A unit that is hoping to ambush an enemy force may not get its Blinds card dealt before the Time Out
card ends the turn. In this case the player controlling the ambushing force may choose to fire
normally, with no doubling of Shock, or may elect for the unit to hold its fire, hoping for the Blinds
card to come up early in the next turn.

Ambushes take patience, discipline and good timing. To reflect this, an ambush can only happen when
the unit is activated by the Blinds card, and not on the Time Out card.

 
 

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7.14   SNIPERS 
Snipers are rated according to their skills. A skill level 0 sniper is the lowest grade; a skill level 2
sniper is generally the highest, although a true expert could be as high as level 5. He may spot enemy
Blinds and is classed as a trained spotter for that purpose. To fire, a sniper needs line of sight to a
target like any other unit.
Snipers may deploy anywhere within 12” of their own Blinds or units on table and may begin firing any
time that their Sniper card is dealt. They may choose to remain hidden over the course of a number
of Sniper cards; indeed the player does not have to decide where they are deployed until he wants the
sniper to begin firing.

Once a sniper begins firing a Fire Marker is placed on the table to represent the general area of his
firing position. Each time the individual Sniper card is dealt he may choose to fire, he may elect not
to shoot in that turn in which case he may Spot instead, or he may withdraw from the battle.
When firing, the sniper rolls 2D6 on the following table and discards the lower dice roll if firing at up
to 18” or the higher dice roll if firing at over 18”. Subtract 1 from the score if the target is in Heavy
terrain or worse.

Dice Result
0-2 Miss
3 Pins one enemy squad
4 Pins one enemy squad and inflicts 1D3 points of Shock
5 Causes one hit, Pins that enemy squad and inflicts 1D3 points of Shock
6 Kills one man, Pins that enemy squad and inflicts 1D3 points of Shock

If the squad that suffers a man killed is accompanied by a Big Man he will test as per Section 7.10.4
but will roll a D6 instead of a D10.
Enemy troops may not spot or fire on a sniper. However, if enemy troops come within 4” of a sniper
he is removed from the game and replaced by an Intelligence Marker. In addition, if at any point the
sniper rolls a double on the 2D6 he is removed from the table representing that he has been killed,
wounded, or just decided that his position is too obvious to be tenable.
A skill level 0 sniper is removed permanently but better quality snipers may return to the table in
another position. If the double rolled matches or is less than their skill level, the sniper reappears
elsewhere on any subsequent turn of the Sniper card. For example, a level 2 sniper who rolls a double
1 or double 2 must abandon his current position but may appear in another position later in the game.
A sniper may voluntarily withdraw from the battle when his card is turned, the Fire Marker being
removed from the table. If a sniper is forced to withdraw, not simply reposition, due to rolling a
double then the Fire Marker is replaced by an Intelligence Marker. See Section 14.12 for details of
how Intelligence Markers are used.

…EXAMPLE…
phun ki tan is a level 2 sniper deployed overlooking an unoccupied
village through which us forces are moving. On his card he shoots at the
lead squad. He rolls 2D6, a 3 and a 5. at under 18” he discards the 3
and checks the 5 result on the table. He has killed one man, inflicted
three points of shock and pinned the us squad.

On a double 5 he would have done the same, but his position would have
been compromised and he would have left the table for the rest of this
game.

Page 38
7.15 FIRING AGAINST SOFT‐SKIN TRANSPORT 
Squads or weapons teams firing on a truck mounted enemy will fire as normal if the vehicle is
stationary, or with one range shift to the right on the Fire Table if the vehicles are moving. If more
6’s than 1’s are thrown when rolling on the Fire Table the truck is automatically immobilised for the
rest of the game. Any hits from the firing are calculated as normal using the Hit Effect table.

Troops firing on an enemy within trucks with handheld anti-tank weapons such as RPGs and LAWs,
must be under 24” to have a chance of hitting their target. They roll 2D6 to hit, the higher of the two
dice rolled indicates whether the vehicle has received a disabling hit and is adjusted using the factors
at the bottom of the table to get the result. The lower of the two dice, which is not adjusted,
indicates the number of hits on the passengers. It is possible to achieve hits on the passengers without
disabling the vehicle with what is presumably a near miss or a hit on the rear body.

Higher Dice Lower Dice

1 1 No hits on passengers
2 Miss 2 No hits on passengers
3 3 2 hits on passengers
4 4 1 hit on each passenger
5 Hit 5 1 hit on each passenger
6 6 2 hits on each passenger
Expert Firer +1
Between 0-6” +1
Between 12-24” -1 No adjustments
Target moving in convoy -1
Target is moving lone vehicle -2
Novice Firer -1

Any passengers on a vehicle that is disabled will immediately be placed within 2” of the vehicle in
whatever arrangement their player chooses.

…EXAMPLE…
an nva two-man rpg team is waiting in ambush beside the road when a
truck full of cidg troops drives past on the way to the special
forces camp nearby. The nva team open fire, rolling 2D6. they
roll 5 and 3. the higher of the two dice indicates whether the
truck has been hit and must be adjusted to get that result.

The DISTANCE to the target is 9”, so there is no RANGE adjustment.

the target is a moving lone vehicle, so the -2 for that brings the
score down to 3. The truck has not been hit, or at least not
badly.

Now we test for casualties. The lower dice roll, a 3, is not

adjusted. it indicates a total of two hits on the passengers.
These are diced for and result in a near miss and one point of
shock. Not a great result for Charlie.

Page 39
7.16  FIRING AT TROOPS IN ARMOURED CARRIERS 
Troops firing small-arms at enemy inside armoured carriers cannot do any damage, but may force a
reaction from the crew or the passengers. An infantry squad or weapons team within 18” of a suitable
target must spend all of their Action Dice to target one carrier. Roll 2D6. Only doubles have any
effect:

Double Effect
1- 3 Carrier will attempt to run the ambush, moving at full speed with all of its Action Dice on its
next activation
4 Carrier crew will disembark passengers immediately and will move their vehicle away from
the enemy fire on their next activation using all Action Dice to do so
5 Carrier crew will halt on next activation and engage firer with their armament. Passengers
will disembark and engage firer
6 Carrier crew are disorientated. Halt on next turn. Any passengers may act as desired

7.17    INFANTRY ANTI‐TANK FIRE 
Infantry facing tanks have two means of attacking them. Ideally they will have some suitable anti-
tank weapons or, failing that, will be obliged to use the more scary option of close assaulting the tank.

7.17.1  INFANTRY ANTI‐TANK WEAPONS 
Infantry portable AT weapons teams, such as RPGs and LAWs, will be found either as part of infantry
squads or acting as independent teams. If part of an infantry squad these weapons may fire once in a
turn at the cost of no Action Dice.

An independent team will operate with the same number of Action Dice as a squad of their troop type.
Firing is done at the cost of one Action Dice, as is reloading. Therefore, if stationary, these may fire
twice in a turn with their three Action Dice.

When firing against a vehicle the infantry squad or AT team will name their target and then roll 2D6 to
hit on the following table:

Range Roll
0-4” 6
4-8” 7
8-12” 8
12-16” 9
16-24” 10
Expert firer +1
Novice firer -1
Each point of Shock -1
Target obscured -1
Target badly obscured -2

If the target is hit then use the strike dice as outlined in the Force Guidelines for that particular
weapon and the AFV’s armour value, calculating damage using Section 10.1. If a double is thrown
when firing then the infantry squad has run out of anti-tank rounds, whereas the independent weapons
team will have just one round remaining.

Page 40
7.17.2  ANTI‐TANK WEAPONS AGAINST STRONG‐POINTS 
Infantry anti-tank weapons fired against enemy infantry is normally considered to be covered by a
squad’s weapon firing, with specialist RPG teams concentrating on other targets. They may, however,
be used against infantry targets that are in a strongpoint, such as a bunker, a specifically constructed
weapons pit or in strengthened positions in buildings. Note that only direct or penetrative hits have
any effect.

When firing at a bunker or weapons pit from a range of 12” or less any double will also indicate that
the round has entered the enemy position and killed any enemy inside. At between 12” and 24” only
double 5 or 6 will have this effect. Bazookas were found to be particularly effective in this role, so
may adjust one of the dice rolled by one pip in order to get the double required.

7.18  CLOSE ASSAULTS ON AFVS   
Most NVA or Free World infantry squads will begin a game with some ranged anti-tank capability in the
form of PRGs or LAWs, whilst other less well equipped forces may have no capability whatsoever. In
real battle conditions AFV crews are well aware that if they get too close to enemy infantry they can
become vulnerable to even improvised weapons, many hand-delivered.

To reflect this all infantry have an inherent anti-tank capability when within 4” of enemy armour.
This represents men running forward with bundles of grenades or Molotov cocktails. This capability is
outlined in the Force Guidelines in Appendix Five, but is usually an anti-tank strike of 2 for normal
infantry and 4 for elite troops or engineers and sappers.

When an infantry anti-tank attack is made from a range of 4” or less no roll is made to hit (it is
assumed the weapons are being physically placed on the AFV). The players then use the system in
Section 10.1 with the strike dice and armour dice being rolled as normal.

7.19  MACHINE GUNS AGAINST ARMOUR 
Machine guns provided with armour piecing rounds are unlikely to destroy an AFV though they can
unsettle the crew and even knock bits off their target. When firing against an AFV MGs will
automatically hit their target, and move straight on to check their effect using Section 10.1. Their
strike factors against armour are detailed in the Force Guidelines section.

7.20   FLAMETHROWERS AGAINST ARMOURED VEHICLES 
The flamethrower will automatically hit any tank that is fired at. Against tanks the player will roll the
flamethrower’s normal fire dice as though rolling against an infantry target. If more 6’s than 1’s are
rolled then the AFV has been destroyed. Any tank that has not been destroyed will take two points of
Shock.

Against armoured carriers the player will roll the flamethrower’s normal fire dice as though rolling
against an infantry target. If more 6’s are rolled than 1’s, then the armoured carrier has been
destroyed and one hit is taken for each man on board. Any armoured carrier not destroyed will take
two points of Shock.

Page 41
8 8Shock and Aweshock & Awe
The battlefield is a dangerous place and our soldiers are only human. Military discipline does much to
keep them functioning under the most stressful conditions, but ultimately the rigours of action can
sometimes prove too much for even the toughest of men. As units come under fire it is likely that
they will accumulate a number of Shock points; this is the method by which Charlie Don’t Surf
represents unit morale.

The amount of Shock on a squad or weapons team should be marked, either by the use of unobtrusive
markers, such as casualty figures, or micro-dice. It is important to remember levels of Shock as units
are affected by it in several ways.

8.1  EFFECT ON MOVEMENT 
Squads or weapons teams subtract their current level of Shock from the number of pips rolled for
movement. So, a squad with four points of Shock that rolls a total of 12 for movement will only
actually move 8”.

8.2  EFFECT ON FIRING 
Squads or weapons teams subtract their current level of Shock from the total number of pips rolled
when firing on the Fire Table. The squad with four points of Shock that rolls a total of 18 for firing
will reduce that to 14 when consulting the Fire Table.

When dicing to hit a target, such as an AFV, squads or weapons teams subtract one from the dice roll
for every point of Shock.

8.3    EFFECT ON AFVS 
Multiple hits on AFVs, be they tanks or armoured personnel carriers, may not be sufficient to
completely destroy the vehicle, but they may well be enough to persuade the crew or passengers that
the damage is bad enough to see them withdraw from the action or bail out and abandon it
altogether. Morale ratings for AFV crews are included in the Force Guidelines in Appendix Five. The
effect of Shock is shown below.

Shock Level Effect

Shock = morale level
Shock = morale +1
Shock = morale +2
May not advance towards the enemy. All passengers
must dismount.
The AFV must withdraw to cover with all Action Dice
or be abandoned if immobile.
The crew will abandon the AFV

8.4   AWE 
Squads or weapons teams will suffer the effect of Awe when their Shock level reaches three times the
basic number of Action Dice that they have (not adjusted for weapon types or terrain). At that point
the unit will fall back 2” for each additional point of Shock over and above the three times limit.

The effect of Awe is immediate. When the Shock points are inflicted the unit will fall back
immediately. A unit suffering Awe may not advance towards the enemy and will fall back each time
that it receives additional Shock from firing.

A unit withdrawing due to Awe will take its dead and critically wounded with them if the amount of
Shock is three times the number of Action Dice. If the amount of Shock is four times the number of
Action Dice or more then any dead or critically wounded will be abandoned.

If units that must withdraw due to Awe are unable to retire - for example they are surrounded - then
they will remain where they are but add a further two points of Shock each time this occurs. If a unit
falls back off the table due to the effect of Awe it is removed from the game permanently.

Page 42
A squad or weapons team that is interpenetrated by a friendly unit retreating due to the effects of
Awe will suffer one Shock points for each 2” the friendly unit was obliged to withdraw this turn.

8.5   RALLYING SHOCK 
The effects of Shock are not permanent, and a unit may be rallied by Shock being removed. This
happens in the following ways:

8.5.1  A BIG MAN RALLIES A UNIT  
When his card is dealt a Big Man may use his Command Initiative points to rally a squad, weapons team
or AFV that is under his command and within his influence range. At that point he may remove one
point of Shock for each Command Initiative used. A Big Man may also opt to use an additional
Command Initiative to un-pin a squad, or two Command Initiatives to un-suppress it.

8.5.2  MEDICS AND COMMISSARS  
In addition to Big Men two other types of men may rally units; Free World Medics, or Communist
Commissars. The Medics may only rally Shock from a squad or weapons team that they are physically
with at the rate of one per turn of the Medic card (or Corpsmen for US Marines). They may not do this
if they are tending to a Critical Wound.

Commissars are attached to many Communist units to strengthen their patriotic and political zeal.
Commissars are rated as either level 1 or level 2 in their abilities, with a level 2 Commissar having
received training in Moscow or Peking. They may remove one point of Shock from any unit that they
are attached to for each ability level on the turn of the Commissar card.

8.5.3  THE RALLY CARD  
The final option for rallying a unit is the Rally card which is included in the Game Deck for high quality
forces. When a Rally card is dealt the player may remove one point of Shock from any squad or
weapon team of his choice.

8.6   DIE‐HARDS 
Die-hards are a force or scenario specific units who are prepared to stay behind to the bitter end,
acting as a rearguard for their comrades. The various forces can only have a few such units. Any
squads or weapons teams designated as Die-Hards must be selected by the player before the game
begins.

Die-hards ignore all the effects of Shock and will fight on until all their men are dead or their Action
Dice reduced to zero. They may, however be Pinned or Suppressed during a turn if a relevant result is
achieved on the Fire Table.

…EXAMPLE…
a vc squad has been reduced to six men and has accumulated four
points of shock. They take more fire from a us weapon squad and
whilst they do not lose any men dead they take a further four
points of shock, taking them to nine in total. They only have two
action dice, so the nine points of shock are more than three times
that. They immediately fall back 6”, 2” for each point of Shock
above the three times limit.

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9 9 Direct Fire Support
direct fire support
Direct Fire support in Vietnam could range from a light recoilless rifle to a state-of-the-art attack
helicopter. All are treated the same in Charlie Don’t Surf. Direct fire is used when a line of sight is
available to the target.

In normal circumstances Free World forces are restricted in how close they can call for support fire to
be brought in near their own forces. For a fixed wing aircraft strike this is 24”, for helicopter gunships
this is reduced to 18”.

9.1  AFV FIRE  
 
Tanks and other Armoured Fighting Vehicles may use their Action Dice to fire with their main or
secondary armament when activated. Reloading, except for particularly slow loading weapons, such
as the multi-barrelled Ontos, is considered to happen automatically.

9.1.1  AFV MOUNTED MACHINE GUNS  
General purpose or Heavy Machine Guns mounted on APCs, such as on top of infantry carriers, will fire
as tripod-mounted weapons. Closed armour machine guns, such as the hull MG on a tank, fire with a
maximum of 2D6. AFVs must allocate their Action Dice as any other unit, so an M113 with four Action
Dice that uses two of these for movement will only have two Action Dice to allocate to other actions.

9.1.2  WEAPON PLATFORMS 
Generally AFVs or river craft will have a main weapon and possibly one secondary armament. Some,
such as the M113 ACAV or the PBR, will have more weapons, and these are what we call multiple
weapon platforms. The following diagram shows a M113 ACAV and its fields of fire from its three
weapons.

Secondary
Armament

Primary
Armament

Dead Zone

Secondary
Armament

To reflect the fact that this vehicle has firepower over an above a normal AFV we add the Rock and
Roll! card to the deck at a rate of one card per AFV. When this card is dealt the player may choose
any one of his vehicles or craft of this type to fire one of its secondary weapons at full effect, i.e. with
the normal full complement of Action Dice. The player may choose any of the vehicle’s secondary
armament. However, no weapon may be activated twice in a turn.

9.1.3    AUTO‐CANNON FIRE 
Auto-cannon fire is treated as Heavy Machine Gun fire, and as such will reduce any cover by one level
and automatically pin any target fired at in addition to any other effects.

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9.1.4  MULTI‐BARRELLED WEAPONS 
Multi-barrelled weapons such as quad-mounted MGs or auto-cannons fire with the normal number of
Action Dice but +5 will be added to the final result for each extra barrel firing. The twin 40mm cannon
on the M42 Duster, for example, with a basic four Action Dice will therefore fire with a maximum of
4D6 +5.

9.1.5  VEHICLE MOUNTED FLAMETHROWERS 
Tank or vehicle-mounted flamethrowers have a range of 12” maximum. They fire against infantry,
crewed weapons or AFVs with 5d6 on the normal fire table but ignore cover. For flamethrowers in an
anti-tank role see Section 7.20.

9.1.6  THE ONTOS 
The Ontos, with its six recoilless rifles, may fire individual rounds or a volley of up any size to six
rounds for one Action Dice. Reloading is time consuming, needs a crew member to be outside the
vehicle and requires one Action Dice to reload two tubes.

9.2   AREA FIRE WITH HE AMMUNITION 
This is used when a gun, recoilless rifle or AFV fires at a visible infantry or soft-skin target. The player
firing declares the enemy unit he is firing at and then consults the table below to see how many firing
dice he rolls. The bigger the gun, the more effective it is likely to be.

Gun Calibre Firing Dice

Up to 70mm 1D6
71 – 99mm 2D6
100mm and greater 3D6

Artillery pieces or recoilless rifles must spend their entire turn firing. AFVs that undertake other
actions in the turn will reduce the total by -2 per dice for each Action Dice used for anything other
than firing in that turn.

If additional enemy squads or weapons teams are within 2” of the main target unit then they are
considered to be in the target area; add +3 to the firing dice total for each additional unit.

The player now rolls the dice against the Fire Table, taking into account any cover and the range. AFV
guns use the same range bands as Machine Guns, 0-18” being considered Close, Over 18” being
Effective.

Total up the hits on the target unit, reducing any cover by one level, and dice on the Hit Effect table
as normal. If more than one enemy unit is in the target area divide the hits equally between all units
before dicing for effect, with any odd number allocated to the main target unit.

9.2.1   BEEHIVE AND CANISTER ROUNDS 
Free World tanks, howitzers and 106mm recoilless rifles may fire canister, flechette or beehive rounds
when conducting area fire. These have a maximum range of 18” in Open or Light terrain, or 9” in
Heavy or Impossible terrain and fires with 5D6 on the Fire Table, doubling any Shock.

9.2.2    AREA FIRE AGAINST TRANSPORT VEHICLES 
Transport vehicles that are within 2” of a unit under area fire may be affected by it. Trucks and soft-
skin vehicles will dice as though caught in the target area of indirect fire (see Section 12.1) but add +1
to the dice roll if stationary. Armoured Carriers caught in area fire will take one point of Shock but
will not suffer any other effect. If direct fire weapons wish to engage Armoured Carriers then they
should use the rules for firing against AFVs in Section 10.

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 …EXAMPLE…
an nva t54 is heading for Saigon when it encounters an arvn platoon
mounted in trucks. The arvn infantry quickly dismount and leap
into some broken terrain at the side of the road, hunkering down.

The tank uses its first action dice to move into a better position
and then opens fire with its 100mm gun. It targets one squad which
has another within 2”, so both are in the target area.

rolling 3D6 on the fire table its gets 3, 4 and 6, a total of 13.
However, it used one action dice for moving so that is reduced to
11, but as there is a second ARVN squad in the target area it adds
+3, bringing the total to 14.

the arvn are 14” away, short range for a tank’s main armament, and
in light cover but This is reduced by one level so they get no
benefit from it though They are hunkering down, So that is 14 at
close range and okay effect. A total of nine hits and suppressed.
Five hits are on the main target unit and four on the other squad
in the target area.

Even better for the NVA is the fact that an arvn truck is within 2”
of the main target unit, so is also considered in the target area.
They roll 1D6 on the table in section 11.2 and put the truck out of
action as well.

9.3   DIRECTING FIRE AGAINST BUILDINGS AND BUNKERS 
Any gun above 50mm calibre firing HE against a building has the chance of recording a critical hit that
renders the building unstable or even collapses it entirely. When rolling the dice on the Fire Table if
more 6’s than 1’s are rolled the building is considered to have received a critical hit and, if
combustible, is set on fire. Any defenders must leave the unstable building on their next activation.
If three or more 6’s are rolled against a brick or solid structure, or two or more 6’s against a plant
fibre or light building, it collapses instantaneously, killing all occupants.

Fire against bunkers requires a more precise shot to be effective than simply firing in the general area
of an enemy unit. To reflect this bunkers are usually fired on using the Okay shot column, but
particularly solid examples can use the Poor shot column. At up to 18” any double rolled is considered
to have penetrated the bunker and knocked it, and its crew, out of action. At over 18” only a double
5 or 6 will have that effect. A gun under 70mm calibre that normally fires with just 1D6 will roll 2D6
in this situation and discard the lower of the two.

9.4   DIRECT FIRE FROM THE AIR 
Fire from the air can be against targets spotted from either air or ground. Pilots are presumed to be
in radio contact with the troops in the ground throughout their time over the table, but whilst
helicopters and light aircraft can act as spotters in their own right fixed wing jet aircraft cannot. The
latter can attack from map-co-ordinates and guidance from the ground, but are considered indirect
fire for the purposes of the game. See Section 11 for details.

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9.5  HELICOPTER GUNSHIPS 
Helicopter gunships in Vietnam were armed with an impressive array of weapons, from rockets and
grenade launchers to multi-barrelled miniguns that gave them a truly stunning punch. For game
purposes we allocate them a total number of ammunition points, between 10 and 16, which may be
used during the game. Once the number of ammunition points is reduced to zero the gunship will
leave the area and return to base or a re-supply point off-table. Gunships have three Action Dice that
they may use to spot or fire. Initial movement does not take any Action Dice, the gunship being
moved to wherever it wants to be as soon as it is activated. However, a second bound of movement
may be taken to anywhere on the table for one Action Dice.

A helicopter gunship must have a visible target before it can attack. Gunships may make an attack for
one Action Dice but are restricted to making a maximum of two attacks in a turn. Where two
different enemy units are attacked they must be no further than 24” apart.

Gunships may only attack targets that are visible from the air. This will be any enemy unit located in
the Open, in Light or Broken terrain. A target in some heavy and all Impossible terrain may only be
targeted if it is on the fringe of that terrain type, i.e. within 4” of the edge. Any target that is further
inside a heavy or Impossible terrain feature may not be targeted by gunships.

9.5.1  GUNSHIPS FIRING 
When attacking with a gunship the player uses one ammunition point. He selects one enemy unit as
the target and moves the helicopter to hover over that position. Before the gunship fires the ground
unit will attempt to drive it off with fire, using the anti-aircraft rules in Section 13.

If the helicopter is not driven off it will make its attack. The gunship fires at the main target unit, but
any additional enemy squads or weapons teams that are within 2” of the target unit, either partially
or fully, are considered to be in the target area as well. This potential target area may be increased
by 1” for each additional ammunition point the player chooses to commit to the attack.

The gunship will then dice for the number of hits on the target units using 2D6 on the Close range
column, reducing any cover by one level. It may add one additional dice for each additional
ammunition dice used and a further +3 for any additional enemy units in the target area over and
above the main target unit.

Gunships that roll two or more 6s with their dice on the Fire Table will use up one additional point of
ammunition.

9.6   HELICOPTER REPLACEMENT 
When a helicopter gunship uses all its ammunition points it will leave the table to refuel and rearm at
its base or staging area. There may be another gunship available to replace it so the player should roll
a D6 on the following table to see what is available.

Mission Priority Dice Result

1-2 Stand by. Roll again on next Air Support card
Priority One 3-4 Replacement will arrive on 1D3 turns of Air Support card
5-6 Replacement will arrive on next Air Support Card
1-2 No replacement available. Good luck
Priority Two 3-4 Stand by. Roll again on next Air Support card
5-6 Replacement will arrive on 1D3 turns of Air Support card

Page 47
9.7   TRANSPORT HELICOPTERS 
Transport helicopters were armed for their own protection and that of the men they carried but were
not considered suitable for extended periods over the battlefield. Fire from the transport helicopter’s
door-mounted machine guns can only take place during the period when they are hovering above an LZ
or actually landing and not when flying at altitude. Their role is to suppress an enemy rather than to
kill him so their gunners may fire from both doors with a 180˚ arc of fire measured from the door.
They cannot fire directly to the front or rear of the helicopter.

Firing is limited to an 18” range, within which they may fire onto a frontage of 12” against spotted
enemy units or against terrain that they consider may hide an unspotted enemy. No dice are rolled
but any enemy unit firing from the targeted area in the current turn will do so with one range shift to
the right, i.e. fire will be calculated at one range band further than normal.

…EXAMPLE…
A gunship is operating in support of a company sweep in the iron
triangle. The player can see that the enemy have a number of units
deployed in the treeline so moves his hog gunship to attack them.

It is a target rich environment so he increases the amount of

ammunition he uses by two points, making three points in all. This
increase in ammunition expenditure will increase the target area to
cover any enemy units within 4” of the main target unit. i.e. the
original 2” plus an additional 2” for the extra two points of
ammunition.

Hitting three vc squads in total the player now rolls his dice
against the fire table. Normally a gunship attacks with 2d6, but
the player chose to add an extra two ammunition dice, so he adds a
further 2d6 for 4d6 in total.

The target is in heavy terrain, but the gunship reduces cover by

one level, so it will be an ok shot at close range. rolling 1, 2,
5 and 5 for a total of 13. the player also adds +6 for the two
additional enemy units in the target area, making a total of 19.
the vc squads take 11 hits, five on the main target unit and three
each on the other squads in the target area. all three are
suppressed for the remainder of this turn.

Page 48
1010 Direct Firefire
direct Against Vehicles
against vehicles
Firing against transports and armoured vehicles may be undertaken by a range of units with varying
chances of success. The following rules are for dedicated anti-tank weapons such as tank main
armament, anti-tank guns, recoilless rifles and tank-busting helicopters.

Firing is done using the unit’s Action Dice, with firing and aiming using one dice each. When
activated, a gun’s first round is always considered as aimed; any subsequent rounds fired that same
turn will be snap shots unless an Action Dice is used to aim.

Helicopters targeting tanks and armoured vehicles will do so exactly as armoured vehicles, but they
must use three Ammunition Points for each attack carried out. They use eight strike dice when
checking for penetration and always hit the AFV’s rear or top armour.

10.1  HITTING THE TARGET 
The player firing selects any vehicle that is in line of sight of the weapon firing and uses the following
procedure.

Step One: The player rolls 2D6 and adjusts as follows:

SUBTRACT ADD
-1 Firer under fire this turn +2 Aimed shot
-1 Target moving +1 Firer elevated
-1 Per point of Shock on firer +1 Big Man directing fire
-1 Damage to gun sights +1 Any significant positive factor
-1 Any significant negative factor

Step Two: The player consults the following table to determine whether the target has been hit
after accounting for visibility and range.

Target 0-18” 18” and Over

In the Open 5 9
View Obscured (some cover) 7 11
View Badly Obscured (hull down) 9 12

Step Three: If the firer is successful in hitting the target he will need to compare the Strike value of
the gun firing with the Armour value of the target vehicle. These may be found in the Force
Guidelines in Appendix Five. Soft-skin vehicles have no armour, roll no dice in their defence and all
hits count.

The firer rolls 1D6 for each weapon strike factor counting each 5 or 6 if firing onto a vehicle’s frontal
armour, 4, 5 or 6 if firing onto side armour, or each 3, 4, 5 or 6 if firing onto rear or top armour.
The target vehicle rolls 1D6 for each armour class factor, counting each 5 or 6 rolled as a save. Both
players compare the number of hits achieved by the firer with the number of saves of the target
vehicle. If the number of saves exceeds the number of hits then the shot has had no effect, glancing
harmlessly off the armour. If the numbers are equal, or the hits exceed the saves then consult the
table below.

Page 49
 
10.1.1 EFFECT OF HITS ON TANKS 
If the scores are equal (including no hits and no saves). Roll Below
1-2 The AFV takes one point of Shock. May not advance towards the enemy on the next activation.
3-4 The AFV must halt and engage the firer in a fire-fight on its next activation
5-6 The AFV may act as desired
If one net hit – Take one point of Shock and lose one Action Dice next activation. Roll below.
1-2 Temporarily Immobilised. No movement on the next activation only
3-4 Engine damage. -1 pip per movement dice from now on
5-6 Turret hit. -1 on subsequent rolls to hit due to optics damage
If two net hits – Take two points of Shock and lose two Action Dice next activation. Roll Below
1-2 Vehicle permanently immobilised for the remainder of this game
3-4 Engine fire does major damage. -2 pips per dice of movement from now on
5-6 Main gun out of action for the remainder of this game
If net three hits – AFV destroyed by a critical hit. Dice for one hit on each crewman

10.1.2  EFFECTS OF HITS ON ARMOURED CARRIERS 
 
If scores are equal (including no hits and no saves) Passengers may disembark immediately if
desired. Roll below.
1-2 The APC must retire away from the enemy on its next activation or the Time Out card, using
all of its Action Dice to do so.
3-4 The APC will engage the firer if it is an infantry squad or weapons team. If a tank the APC will
withdraw as above.
5-6 The AFV may act as desired
If one net hit – Take one point of Shock and lose one Action Dice next activation. Passengers may
disembark immediately if desired. Roll below.
1-2 Temporarily Immobilised. No movement on the next activation only
3-4 Engine damage. -1 pip per movement dice from now on
5-6 Weapon destroyed. One weapon on the carrier is destroyed. Dice if multiple weapons
If two net hits – Take two points of Shock and lose two Action Dice next activation. Passengers
must disembark immediately. Roll Below
1-2 Vehicle permanently immobilised
3-4 Vehicle permanently immobilised. 1D6 hits on passengers
5-6 Vehicle permanently immobilised. 1 hit on each passenger
If net three hits – APC destroyed by a critical hit, driver killed. Dice for two hits on each passenger

Page 50
10.1.3  THE EFFECT OF HITS ON SOFT‐SKIN VEHICLES 
 
If the scores are equal (including no hits and no saves). Roll below.
1-4 The vehicle must retire away from the enemy on its next activation or the Time Out card,
using all of its Action Dice to do so.
5-6 The vehicle may act as desired
If one net hit – Take one point of Shock and lose one Action Dice next activation. Roll below.
1-2 Temporarily Immobilised. No movement on the next activation only
3-4 Engine damage. -2 pip per movement dice from now on
5-6 Passengers take 1D6 hits.
If two net hits – Take two points of Shock and lose two Action Dice next activation. Roll Below
1-2 Vehicle permanently immobilised for this game
3-4 Passengers take one hit per man
5-6 Vehicle permanently immobilised, passengers take one hit per man
If net three hits – vehicle destroyed by a critical hit. Two hits per passenger
1-3 Vehicle destroyed, passengers take one hit per man
4-6 Vehicle destroyed, passengers take two hits per man

10.2    COLLATERAL DAMAGE 
An AFV that is destroyed by a critical hit is deemed to have exploded and can potentially affect any
other AFVs that are too close. Any AFV within 2” will be take one point of Shock and will roll a D6.
On a roll of 1 or 2 they will take no action on their next activation.

Any AFV within 1” will take 2 points of Shock and will roll a D6. On a roll of 1 the AFV will catch fire
and the crew will need to extinguish this or abandon the vehicle. To attempt to put the fire out they
will have three attempts, one each on their next three Action Dice, requiring a 5 or 6 to be successful.
If the fire is extinguished then the crew may then continue as normal on their following activation.

Any soft-skins that are within 2” of a critical hit will be destroyed on a roll of 1-4 on a D6 and suffer
one hit per passenger.

…EXAMPLE…
An arvn Walker Bulldog is taking on an NVA T54. It has three
action dice and uses it’s first to fire a round at its opponent.
At a range of 32” the bulldog is firing straight down a road. the
t54 has little or no cover so 2D6 are rolled needing a 7 to hit.
the arvn gunner must be nervous - he misses.

The arvn player now has two action dice left. He can fire two more
snap shots, each requiring 9 or more on 2d6, or he can aim with his
second action dice and then fire an aimed shot with his third. He
goes for volume over quality and both shots miss.

Page 51
…EXAMPLE continued…
The t54 commander, a big man, is activated next. He hadn’t seen
the bulldog until it fired - but now he intends to deal with it.
With his first shot he fires. The bulldog is hull-down behind a
concrete barrier, so 10 is the number required to hit. The NVA
commander is a big man, giving him a +1, but he is also under fire,
so the -1 for that means it’s back to 10. he fires rolling 2D6. 5
and 6 equal 11 in total. A hit!

The tanks now need to work out the effect. The t54 has a gun
strike of 11 whereas the bulldog has an armour class of 4. the nva
player rolls 11 dice, scoring 1,1,2,3,4,4,4,5,5,6,6. As he is
firing at the frontal armour he needs 5 or 6 to register a hit, so
he gets four of them.

The arvn player rolls four dice, scoring 2,3,5,6. This gives him
two saving throws of 5 or 6. That reduces the four hits scored by
the T54 leaving net hits in total. The players now consult the
table for the effect of hits on tanks which states that the bulldog
takes two points of Shock and on its next activation will only have
one action dice. They arvn player also rolls a D6. A result of 4
means that an engine fire has occurred which subtracts 2 from all
movement dice that the bulldog may use from now on.

Page 52
 11 Indirect Support
indirect Fire
fire support
Free World forces in Vietnam had an incredible array of support weapons available to them, from
artillery support via a network of Fire Support Bases to the seemingly ubiquitous helicopter. What
support is initially available during our games will depend on the scenario, but the player on the
ground may call for any amount of support during play. Whether they get it or not is another matter.

Support fire, be it from helicopters, jet aircraft or artillery must be used against a spotted enemy
target. If there is no spotted target then the use of speculative or blocking fire is permitted for
artillery or heavy and medium mortars, but this will be done using the rules for firing at an unspotted
target in Section 12.2.

Artillery fire may be either Pre-Planned or Opportunity fire called for on an ad hoc basis in response to
enemy actions. In either case the artillery pieces will be operating from a position off-table and their
support will need to be requested by a Big Man or FO as outlined below.

11.1 REQUESTING FIRE SUPPORT 
Support fire, the amount of which is available may be restricted by the scenario, must be requested by
either the most senior Big Man on the table using a Command Initiative, or by a Forward Observer (FO)
or Forward Air Controller (FAC) using his whole turn to do so. On the appearance of the Time Out
card, the relevant support fire card is added to the deck. When it is subsequently turned, the process
outlined below is used. If more than one Fire Support mission is requested then one card will be
included in the Game Deck for each one.

Forward Observers or Forward Air Controllers have no Command Initiative, despite being an officer or
NCO. Their only function is to call in and correct the fall of artillery fire. They may move, spot and
operate with three Action Dice, but cannot fire. They may engage in Close Combat if attacked, but
count as one man with no bonuses for rank.

11.2   RULES OF ENGAGEMENT 
Free World forces are limited by rules of engagement to how close they can target fire support to their
own troops or Vietnamese civilian areas. For indirect fire support from artillery or mortars this is set
at a minimum of 18” whilst for jet aircraft it is 24”. Fire may be directed on or near civilian villages if
a Communist unit has been spotted in that area, but only once authorised unless it is in a Free Fire
Zone. Communist Big Men have no such limitations on their fire missions.

11.3  FIRE BOXES 
The target area covered by support fire will depend on what, and how many, weapons are firing and
what fire pattern is used. To represent this all support fire is broken down into 6” square Fire Boxes
in order to represent the area affected by the fire.

Firing Weapon Fire boxes

Half Artillery Battery 2
Full Artillery Battery 4
Heavy Mortar Platoon 4
Two Medium Mortars 1
Three Medium Mortars 2
Four Medium Mortars 3
Aerial Rockets 4 in square pattern
Aerial Bombs 4 in square pattern
Napalm 6 in 3 x 2 rectangle

Page 53
One Fire Box must be placed with its centre on top of the target, with the other boxes then arranged
as the player wishes to maximise the effectiveness in one of the following patterns or variations
thereof. Each Fire Box must be immediately adjacent to another, with each complete edge meeting
another. Boxes may not be staggered, but may be orientated in any direction that the player wishes.

One Fire Box Two Fire Boxes

Three Fire Boxes Four Fire Boxes

11.4   ARTILLERY FIRE ON OPPORTUNITY 
Opportunity fire is reactive fire called in against a target that has presented itself, but whose position
was not previously known and registered with the battery. How quickly artillery support arrives and in
what amount will depend on the priority of the mission (see Appendix Three and Four) and what
troops are involved. This is reflected on the table below.

Artillery Availability

Force Artillery Rating Deviation

United States Priority One 3/2/Auto 2D6
United States Priority Two 5/3/2 3D6
ARVN Priority One 5/4/2 3D6
ARVN Priority Two 0/4/3 4D6
ANZAC Priority One 3/2/Auto 2D6
ANZAC Priority Two 3/2/Auto 3D6
Other Allies 4/3/2 3D6
PAVN 0/6/5 5D6

Before the game begins all missions must be assigned a priority rating which dictates the level of
support available. Priority One will apply to missions where the Firebase has been readied to provide
support for this as its prime function. Priority Two will apply where the need for support is
unexpected, or where the Firebase is busy providing support elsewhere. In the former case assume
one full battery is firing in support, in the latter case half a battery.

The Artillery Rating represents the speed with which the battery can respond. It indicates the number
that must be rolled on a D6 for the artillery support to arrive on the first, second and subsequent turns
of the Artillery Support card. A ‘0’ on the table indicates that there is no chance of any artillery fire
arriving in that turn, ‘Auto’ means that it will automatically arrive on that turn.

The Deviation column gives the number of dice that are rolled in conjunction with the Deviation Dice
(see Section 1.1) to indicate the distance of deviation for any fire that is off-target once the fire
mission begins. If the player wishes to ensure that the fire is more accurate, the deviation may be

Page 54
reduced by 1D6 each turn without any cost in Initiative, representing a longer time spent calling in
ranging shots.

11.4.1  OPPORTUNITY FIRE PROCESS 
The process for calling in artillery fire is straight-forward once the request has gone to the battery,
and works as follows.
Step One: Once artillery support is requested an Artillery Before any firing can take place
Support card is added to the discarded part of the deck to be outside a Free Fire Zone the
shuffled in for the next turn. Do you need authorisation? Yes Free World player will need to
get authorisation from a higher
No authority. To represent this we
add the Authorisation card to
Step Two: The first time the Artillery Support card is dealt the Game Deck.
the player rolls against his Artillery Availability rating for the
scenario to see if the fire support is available. If it is the Once the Authorisation card is
player places his target marker on the centre of one spotted dealt we move on to Step Two.
enemy unit to indicate where the aiming point will be. This
will, naturally, alert his opponent, as this represents the If in a Free Fire Zone then the
initial ranging shots arriving. If the support is not available authorisation card is not
then the player waits for the card to arrive on subsequent included and this stage of the
turns using the artillery availability rating each turn. process ignored.

Step Three: The next time the Artillery Support card comes out the player will place his Fire Box
templates on the table to indicate the target area. The Deviation Dice is now rolled with the
relevant number of D6 to check where the fire actually lands. If the target is not directly hit the fire
box templates are moved to the point where the fire actually falls.

Result: The effect of the fire is now calculated in the target area using the Fire for Effect rules in
Section 11 with the effect calculated on the effective range column of the Fire Table.

11.4.2  ADJUSTING THE BOMBARDMENT 
Once artillery support fire arrives the effect of the bombardment will be calculated as arriving on the
same aiming point each time the Artillery Support card is dealt (not on the Time Out card). However,
the accuracy of the fire can be adjusted by the men on the ground. For each subsequent turn of fire
prior to the target being hit directly, the number of dice rolled for any deviation from the aiming point
may be reduced by one until the fire actually hits the target, after which no deviation dice will be
rolled in subsequent turns.

The aiming point for a barrage may be “walked” up to 6” in any direction to within 12” of friendly
troops. To do so a Big Man must use one Command Initiative or an FO uses their whole turn.

11.4.3  DURATION OF FIRE MISSIONS 
Unless specified by the scenario, Fire Missions will continue until they are stopped by instructions from
an FO or a Big Man using one Command Initiative. Artillery that cannot communicate with troops who
can report the fall of shot will fire for a limited time only. This will particularly be the case with
PAVN units when fire is requested by runner. In such circumstances any roll of the deviation dice
resulting in more 1’s than 6’s being thrown will end the barrage.

Artillery and mortar fire is consider continuous and forms an impenetrable barrier that troops may not
move into or through. Troops caught under the barrage may attempt to move out of the target area.
For the duration of a fire mission we recommend using suitable markers, such as cotton wool or kapok,
to represent the target area being hit.

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 …EXAMPLE…
the first time a us fire Artillery support card is dealt for a
priority two mission, the player needs to roll 4 or more on a d6
for it to be available. He rolls 2 and fails, clearly the battery
are busy elsewhere. On the next turn he needs to roll 3 or more.
if he fails again it will be 2 or more on all subsequent attempts.
However, he actually he rolls a 5, so the fire is now available and
he places his target marker on the table. On subsequent turns the
fire support arrives automatically until he stops with a radio
message.

the fire now arrives, so the player rolls 3D6 and the deviation
dice. The deviation dice shows an arrow pointing to the north
east, so the fire is not exactly where the player wanted it, he
checks the 3D6 and totals the pips, 2,4 and 6, making 12. So the
fire is coming in 12” to the north east. The player moves the fire
boxes covering the target area that distance and in that direction.

11.4.4    BROKEN ARROW 
Broken Arrow was a radio code phrase used when a unit is about to be over-run by the enemy. A Free
World force commander may use this at any time, but any support fire then called for must be
targeted on one of his own units. Blue on Blue casualties are very likely, but this is a last resort of
desperate men. All limitations on where support fire may be called, or adjusted to, are lifted.

11.5    PRE‐REGISTERED ARTILLERY FIRE  
In some scenarios, particularly where Free World forces are in defensive positions, a number of pre-
registered target points could have been plotted to allow for faster support fire response on pre-
determined points. If these are available, they must be a minimum of 12” from any Free World
positions. As with Opportunity Fire it needs to be called in by either a Big Man or an FO. Its fall may
be adjusted once it is firing provided the target point stays a minimum of 12” from Free World forces.

In such an instance the Artillery Support card will be put into the deck at the start of the game and
firing will commence the first time this is dealt after the request has been made, ignoring Steps One
and Two in the Opportunity Fire process. It fires with only 1D6 deviation. The number of these aiming
points will depend on the scenario but the choice of the locations should be decided by the Free World
player before the game begins.

11.6  UNOBSERVED FIRE 
In extreme circumstances artillery can be called upon to fire onto map co-ordinates without a spotter
to assist them. This would be most unusual for a Free World force, due to the almost universal
presence of radios, and more likely for a PAVN force where the call for fire support is sent by runner
rather than field telephone.

If Unobserved Fire is requested then the Artillery Support card is added to the Game Deck on the Time
Out. Firing will take place as soon as the card is drawn. In the case of a direct hit being indicated on
the Deviation Dice a D6 will be rolled. On 1-3 the fire misses the table completely. On 4-6 it hits the
target.

Artillery Firing at an unobserved target cannot be adjusted and will always roll the full number of
Deviation Dice each turn, even if it has successfully hit the target previously

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11.7 MORTAR FIRE – MEDIUM AND HEAVIES 
Medium and heavy mortars are treated as a battery, rather than individual pieces. They may fire
directly at line of sight targets or indirectly at targets identified by friendly forces. When firing
directly they are treated as any platoon, firing when activated by their card and ignoring steps one
and two below. When firing indirectly they use a very similar process as an artillery battery, as
follows:

Step One: Once mortar support is requested a Mortar Support card is added to the Game Deck on
the Time Out card.

Step Two: The first time the Mortar Support card is dealt the player immediately rolls to see if the
mortars are available to fire immediately. If they are not available the player must wait until the
next turn of the Mortar Support card before testing again.

Weapon Rating Deviation Dice

Free World Medium Mortars 2/2/Auto 3D6
Free World Heavy Mortars 3/2/Auto 3D6
Communist Mortars runner 4/3/2 3D6
Communist Mortars radio 3/3/2 2D6
Direct fire Communist Mortars Auto 2D6

Step Three: Once the mortars are available the target marker is placed on the table to indicate
where the aiming point is. Now place the number of Fire Boxes depending on the number of pieces
firing

Step Four: The fall of fire is now calculated using the Deviation Dice and the relevant number of D6
to check the distance of deviation. The effect of heavy or medium mortar fire is calculated on the
effective range column of the Fire Table, see Section 11, Fire for Effect, with the area covered
depending on the weapons firing. Duration of fire will be at the request of the player or may be
random in the case of the VC or PAVN, see Section 10.3.3. Medium Mortars firing on-table have a
minimum range of 12”, heavy mortars 24”.

11.8    FAST MOVERS 
Fixed wing aircraft have the advantage of speed, height and being able to deliver weapons payloads
that helicopters could not carry. Their disadvantage is a lack of pin-point accuracy and their inability
to see what is going on below them in any great detail. As a result we treat their fire in the same way
as indirect fire.

Gunships - such as the AC-47 ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’, the AC-119 Lightning or the Lockheed AC-130
Spectre - all possessed weapons designed to saturate areas far larger than our wargames tables so we
have intentionally ignored them for a company level game.

Air-strikes will only arrive if called for by the Big Man controlling the ground force using all of his
Command Initiative for one turn. They may be pre-arranged as part of the scenario, in which case the
Air Support card is added to the Game Deck on the Time Out card following the Big Man’s request. If
called for speculatively an Authorisation card is added to the Game Deck instead, with a D6 being
rolled on the following table when this is dealt to see if air support is available.

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 Mission Priority Dice Result
1-2 Stand by. Roll again on next Authorisation card
Priority One 3-4 Air support will arrive on 1D3 turns of Air Support card
5-6 Air support will arrive on next turn of Air Support card
1-3 No air support available
Priority Two 4 Stand by. Roll again on next Authorisation card
5-6 Replacement will arrive on 1D3 turns of Air Support card

An air attack will generally have three attack options: rockets, bombs or napalm. The first two use
four Fire Boxes places in a square to cover a 12” square. Napalm uses six Fire Boxes, placed to cover
an area 12” by 18”.

11.8.1  MARKING A TARGET 
A target may be marked by a Big Man accompanying a ground unit firing a smoke round at the cost of
one Command Initiative, by an Observation helicopter, or by a mortar platoon or artillery battery. If
artillery or mortars are used then an Artillery Support card will be added to the deck for that purpose,
the smoke being marked on its first appearance and the card then being removed from the deck.

11.8.2  MAKING THE ATTACK 
Once the aircraft arrives on the table the player will state which enemy unit is his primary target and
place the aircraft on the table above it. Any anti-aircraft fire is then calculated (see Section 13). If
the attack is pressed home the player dices for accuracy using the Deviation Dice and the number of
D6 indicated on the following table depending on whether the target is marked or not.

Fixed Wing Aircraft Attack

Weapon Deviation (marked) Deviation (unmarked) Fire Dice Fire Boxes
Rockets 2D6 3D6 4D6 4 in square
Bombs 3D6 4D6 4D6 4 in square
Napalm 3D6 4D6 4D6 6 in rectangle

If the attack is against an unmarked target then any direct hit on the Deviation Dice should be diced
for again on a D6. On 1-3 the pilot has been unable to identify the target and will return on the next
Air Support card to try another run. On subsequent turns the pilot rolls again for this with a +1 each
time. On a 4-6 the target is hit as normal.

Once the attack has been made the target area will be marked, allowing for any deviation, using the
relevant number of Fire Boxes and the effect of fire calculated using Section 12.

The effect of air strikes is always calculated using the Close range table with any cover reduced by
one level. Areas hit by napalm may not be moved through until the third turn of the Time Out card
after the strike.

…EXAMPLE…
An f4 phantom is called upon
tough vc position on the far
the chance of success the us
used a command initiative to
with orange smoke.
to deliver a napalm strike onto a
side of a river. In order to increase
platoon officer nearest the target has
get his blooper man to mark the target

Page 58
 …EXAMPLE…
To conduct an air strike the player places the jet above the
target. If the vc have any aaa units with which to engage this
type of target this will happen now, before the strike goes in.

The player wants to attack with napalm, so places the fire boxes on
the table in a 2 x 3 configuration 12” by 18” in size to show the
target area. He rolls a deviation dice and three d6 to see how
accurate the pilot is. He misses, but the deviation is only by six
inches, so the shift in the target still puts the vc well and truly
in the area hit. He now rolls 4d6 on the fire table to see the
result of the strike.

11.9   PREPPING OR H & I FIRE
Preparatory or “prepping” fire was utilised immediately before an operation began to shake up any
enemy who may be inclined to interrupt proceedings. This may be used by Free World or Communist
forces immediately prior to a game commencing. The effect on any troops in the target areas is
calculated and applied before the game begins, with any Pinned and Suppressed results beginning on
the first turn of the game.

Harassing and Interdiction Fire is used to disrupt enemy forces not yet engaged in the battle. It also
creates a barrier to movement that can deny ground to the enemy. It may be fired against an area
where there is no visible target.

Unspotted units, be they on Blinds or hidden in terrain, may be caught in the target area of prepping
or blocking fire. They will be Suppressed for the remainder of this turn unless they are in
entrenchments or bunkers, in which case they will be Pinned. Additionally each squad or weapons
team will roll on the following table. Add +2 to the dice roll for a napalm attack.

Dice Effect
1 No effect other than the automatic Suppressed or Pinned result
2 No effect other than the automatic Suppressed or Pinned result
3 Unit must move out of the target area immediately
4 Unit takes one point of Shock, must move out of the target area immediately
5 Unit takes two points of Shock, must move out of the target area immediately, is
Suppressed this turn and Pinned next turn whatever the level of cover.
6+ Unit takes three points of Shock and loses one man dead; dice for any Big Man
attached. Must move out of the target area immediately. Unit is Suppressed this
turn and Pinned next turn whatever the level of cover.

If obliged to move out of the target area a hidden unit will automatically be repositioned in the
nearest location immediately outside the target area that is not within line of sight of his opponent’s
forces. A hidden unit is not represented by a Blind and remains hidden in its new position. Free World
units deployed in static defences ignore any instructions to move from the target area, but add one
additional point of Shock each time this happens.

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1212 Fire Forfire
Effect
for effect
Once indirect support fire is arriving on the table we need to see what effect this has on the target or
any other unit caught in the target area. Any spotted units within the target area, either fully or
partially, will be affected by the fire. To see what the effect is we need to establish how many dice
are rolled on the Fire Table. This depends on the calibre of the pieces firing.

Weapon calibre Dice

84mm and under 1D6+2
85 – 105mm 2D6
106 – 125mm 2D6 +1
126 – 145mm 2D6 +2
146 – 165mm 3D6
166 – 200mm 3D6 +1
Over 200mm 4D6

The dice are then rolled on the Fire Table for each unit in the target area and depending on the type
of attack as follows:

Attack type Fire Table

Air strike Close Range column, reduce cover by one level
Mortar Effective Range column, reduce cover by one level
Artillery Effective Range column, reduce cover by one level

The number of hits on the affected units are then diced for on the Hit Effect table in Section 7.10. All
units caught in the target area of support weapon fire will automatically be Suppressed for the
remainder of this turn unless they are in entrenchments or bunkers, in which case they will be Pinned.
Any Shock caused by a napalm attack is doubled.

Any units in an area that has been attacked with napalm or whose Shock level is such that they are
obliged to withdraw (see Section 8) will do so immediately with the Suppressed or Pinned results
applying once they have been moved. The area attacked with napalm may not be moved through until
the third turn of the Time Out card after the strike.

12.1 VEHICLES IN THE TARGET AREA 
Vehicles caught in the target area of any support fire may take some damage. Roll 1D6 for each
vehicle and consult the following tables, adding +1 to the roll if the shells hitting are between 85mm
and 125mm, add +2 if they are over 126mm, aerial bombs or rockets.

Softskin Vehicles

Dice Effect
1-3 No effect
4-5 Out of action. 1D6 hits on passengers
6 Destroyed. One hit per passenger

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 Armoured Carriers

Dice Effect
1-2 No effect
2-5 Lose one Action Dice on next activation
6 Out of action. Passengers must disembark
7 Destroyed. One hit per passenger

Tanks

Dice Effect
1-3 No effect
4-6 Lose one Action Dice on next activation
7 Take one hit on the AFV damage table
8 Take two hits on the AFV damage table

In addition to the above the AFV will suffer a -2 penalty when spotting or firing while under
bombardment. Any crew riding on top of a carrier or tank will also check for casualties as though
operating in the open.

…EXAMPLE…
a full artillery battery of 105mm ‘Dime-Nickels’ is firing in a box
pattern and hitting three nva squads and an hmg team. The player
will roll 2d6 on the fire table for each of the target units to see
the effect.

Two nva squads are in the open, whilst the other and the HMG team
are in heavy terrain. The firing reduces the cover by one level.
Since the first two units have no cover they already count as being
a great shot. The player rolls 7 and 11 and checks that on the
effective range column. the first squad takes five hits and is
pinned, the second squad takes seven hits and is suppressed.

The third squad is in heavy cover, but this is reduced to just

light cover, so an okay shot. The same applies to the HMG team.
The player rolls 6 and 10. that’s three hits on the first squad
whilst the HMG team also takes three hits and is also pinned for
the rest of this turn.

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12.2   UNSPOTTED TARGETS 
Any unspotted units in the target area will be affected, but are not considered to be the primary
target. To calculate the effect on these units use the table for Prepping and H&I fire in Section 11.9.

…EXAMPLE…
two vc units are hidden in the area hit by a napalm strike.
DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE US PLAYER IS NOT AWARE THEY ARE THERE
These need to dice for the effect of the napalm strike on the table
in section 11.9. They each roll a d6, adding 2 for the fact that
it is a napalm strike.

The first squad rolls a 4, which with the +2 is a total of 6. they

take three points of shock, lose one man dead and are immediately
moved out of the napalm’s target area. They are suppressed for
this turn and next turn will be pinned.

The other squad rolls a 1. this becomes 3 with the +2, so the unit
is lucky, it takes no hits but is immediately moved out of the
target area.

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1313 Anti-Aircraft Fire
Anti-aircraft fire
Anti-aircraft fire can only take place when the target aircraft is operating in a tactical role i.e. where
it is flying low over the table. It will normally occur when a fixed wing aircraft or helicopter gunship is
attacking a ground target, when transport helicopters are attempting to insert or extract troops or
when spotting helicopters are flying at low altitude to get a better view.

Fixed-wing jet aircraft can only be attacked with specific AA weapons; hovering helicopters or
propeller driven light aircraft may also be attacked with small-arms fire provided the attacking troops
are within 18” of the aircraft.

To make an anti-aircraft attack the unit rolls 2D6 and adjust as follows:

SUBTRACT
-1 for each point of Shock on the firer
-1 if the firer is Pinned
-1 if the firer is in an area under fire
from a transport helicopter door gunner
ADD
+2 if the firer is a heavy anti-aircraft unit
+1 if the firer is a light anti-aircraft unit such as
AA MGs
+1 if the firer is using an RPG
+1 if the helicopter is carrying excessive load

Check the result against the following table to see if the aircraft has been hit.

Target Target Roll

Helicopter 11
Cobra Gunship 12
Light Spotter Aircraft 12
Jet Strike Aircraft 14

If the roll is successful and the target is hit roll on the following table to see what the effect is.
Again add +1 if the firer is a light anti-aircraft unit or RPG, +2 if a heavy anti-aircraft unit or a SAM-7
ground to air missile.

Dice Result
1-5 Aircraft driven off, may not attack this turn.
6 Aircraft damaged, leaves the table immediately
Aircraft downed. Roll a D6 adding +2 if firing at a
7+ helicopter. On 1-4 it leaves the table before crashing. On
5 or 6 it crashed on the table. Roll a Deviation Dice and
6D6 to see the location, ignoring any HIT result.

13.1  DOWNED AIRCRAFT 
If an aircraft is downed on the table then the rescue of the crew and any passengers becomes the
primary objective for the Free World forces and any off-table support fire now becomes Priority One.
Their capture also becomes the primary objective for the Communist forces.

Aircrew and any passengers that survive the crash-landing will hide near the aircraft. If Free World
forces arrive at the crash scene first then the player will roll a D6 for each man who was on board. On
1-3 the man is dead, on 4 he is alive but critically wounded (see Section 7.10.3), on 5 or 6 he is alive
and well. If the Communist forces arrive at the crash scene first they must wait until their next
activation at which point same test is taken, with any fit and well survivors being taken prisoner. Any
critically wounded survivors are killed.

Page 63
 14
14 Battlefield Features
battlefield features
The following rules cover some of the areas that may affect your games but are possibly inanimate or
non-military.

14.1   BOOBY TRAPS 
These are “one shot weapons” that only work once. When a squad or weapons team move over the
booby trap, they automatically receive between one and three hits, dependent on the size of the
device. Troops that are using Action Dice to search may avoid booby traps using the search methods in
Section 6.7.

14.1.1  SIMPLE BOOBY TRAPS 
Simple booby traps are normally associated with Intelligence Markers (see Section 14.12). These may
be as simple as a grenade in a can with a trip wire or a punji pit. The effect if triggered will be to
cause between one and three hits on the target unit depending on their type.

It may well be that players wish to allow simple booby traps to be set during a game by forces such as
sappers. In that case the effectiveness of the booby trap, i.e. the number of hits caused by it, will be
equal to the time number of turns taken to set the trap. A maximum of three turns may be taken
setting a simple booby trap.

14.1.2  COMPLEX BOOBY TRAPS 
These take more time and effort to arrange and must be in place before a game begins. Their location
should be noted before the game starts. These will include such items as captured shells with
improvised detonators. They cause 1D6+2 hits on the target unit with any Shock doubled.

14.2   MINES 
Minefields are treated as areas 6” square or 6” by 2” strips. Any squad or weapons team attempting
to cross an un-cleared minefield will dice for four hits when crossing this area. Single mines are
treated as a booby trap when used against infantry, causing two hits.

Tanks or vehicles crossing a mined area will roll 1D6 on the following table for each dice of movement
they take to cross the minefield or once with a -1 applied if crossing a single mine. An uncleared
minefield will affect any vehicles that travel through it until it is cleared. A single mine will only
detonate once.

Vehicle Dice Effect

Wheeled Transport 0-3 No effect
4 Mine detonated, vehicle immobile, passengers must disembark
5-6 Mine detonated, vehicle immobile, 1D6 hits on the passengers
Armoured Carriers* 0-2 No effect
3-4 Mine detonated, vehicle immobile, passengers take 1D6 hits
5-6 Mine detonated, vehicle immobile, passengers dice for one hit each
Tanks 0-3 No effect
4 Mine detonated, immobile but in action, one Shock on the crew
5-6 Mine detonated, destroyed and burning

*Troops riding on top of armoured carriers ignore any hit result other than Shock.

Page 64
14.3   CLAYMORE MINES 
Used by both sides, the claymore mine has a 90 degree target area to the front, a range of 9” and
strike with 2D6 on the Fire Table adding +3 for any additional squads or weapons teams in the target
area above the first. These can be activated by enemy troops triggering a trip-wire or by friendly
troops using an Action Dice to detonate them remotely. Troops hit by a claymore count as Suppressed
for the current turn and any Shock inflicted is doubled at Close range. As with booby traps the
location of these should be noted before the start of the game.

14.4   SAPPERS & ENGINEERS 
These troops specialise in the use of engineering and explosives and are proficient in undertaking tasks
in these areas.

14.4.1  ZIPS IN THE WIRE 
NVA and VC sappers can operate as normal pioneers, clearing wire or minefields, as below. However,
some units may wish to sell their lives more cheaply but possibly more effectively. Notorious for their
ability to move seemingly unseen into Free World positions, the Communist player may at the start of
the game exchange any squad of Sappers for a Zips in the Wire card. He may use the cards
immediately to represent preparatory missions by Sappers, or may hold the cards until he wishes to
use them, at which point they are added to the Game Deck. Once dealt the card must be acted on, as
below, and it is then removed from the deck.

Prior to the game, or when the Zips in the Wire card is dealt, a Sapper team will do the following:

o It may attack any spotted Free World Unit within 24” of a Communist Blind, using four dice on the
0-9” fire effect column of the Fire Table.
o It may clear a 6” gap in a section of fixed defences (wire, minefields, trip flares).

Any pre-game clearance of defences will be identified by the Communist player either by informing an
umpire, or by noting the location on a sketch map. The Free World player will not be made aware of
this activity until the enemy move through this area.

14.4.2  CLEARING MINEFIELDS 
Minefields may be cleared using appropriate equipment by Engineers or Sappers. These will roll 1D6
each turn that they entirely devote to clearing a 6” by 6” area of minefield (assuming an engineering
squad of around ten men). On a roll of 6 they can declare the minefield cleared. A 6” by 2” strip of
mines will be cleared on a roll of 5 or 6. A false minefield will be identified as such by the end of one
full turn spent working on it. Single file paths may be cleared through a 6” minefield on a roll of 4-6.

The alternative method, available only to Communist forces, is to clear the minefield by moving
troops across it. When this occurs each squad or weapons team dices for the effect of hits as in
Section 14.2 until one such unit crosses with no Shock or Kill results, at which point the minefield is
considered cleared.

14.4.3  BARBED WIRE 
Infantry may cross barbed wire, but must spend one turn entirely stationary negotiating it. During that
turn the unit must not be Pinned or Suppressed or it will fail to clear a path. Subsequent units
following on behind must complete the same procedure unless a permanent path is made.

Only Engineers or Sappers may clear permanent paths through barbed wire. Like the infantry they
spend one turn entirely stationary during which they must not be Pinned or Suppressed. Once that is
completed the area is cleared.

Tanks and other fully tracked vehicles also clear a permanent path by driving over the wire, although
they leave it as an obstacle that deducts one dice from any subsequent unit’s movement.

14.4.4  BULLDOZER OPERATIONS 
Bulldozers, in particular the Rome Plow, were used to clear areas of jungle, to either deny their use to
the Communist forces or to create open ground to allow helicopters to land. Bulldozers spending one

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turn clearing ground will roll 1D6. On a roll of 3-6 they will clear an area of jungle 2” wide by 4”
deep.

14.5   MILITARY ADVISORS 
Military Advisors, be they US Special Forces, USMC or Vietnamese LLDB, may act as independent
squads or may be attached to associated units, such as CIDG troops. Up to four Military Advisors may
be attached to an associated squad, increasing the number of men in that unit and thereby keeping it
at its maximum effectiveness for longer than would otherwise be the case. Three or more Military
Advisors attached to a squad will also give it an additional dice when firing. Military Advisor Big Men
may also influence troops from other units that they are serving with.

When a squad with Military Advisors attached takes casualties, the second man killed in any round of
firing will be a Military Advisor.

14.6   NATIONAL PRIDE 
Some troops will refuse to take orders from soldiers from other nations or contingents. To represent
this these units will never be activated by a Big Man from another force.

14.7   SMOKE 
Smoke may be placed by mortars, artillery, tanks, and specially equipped helicopters. For each unit
firing, roll the appropriate Deviation Dice as for their normal fire. At the point of strike, place smoke
that corresponds to the target area specified for that number of pieces (see Section 11.3).
Helicopters laying smoke may drop a screen of up to 48” long and 12” wide.

Smoke placed as a marker will remain in place for three full turns. Smoke as a screen lasts for six
turns. They respectively disperse on the third or sixth appearance of the Time Out card.

Vehicles that have smoke projectors may make smoke once during the game, deploying this 3” directly
in front of the vehicle on the turn of its card. This is removed on the third subsequent appearance of
the Time Out card.

14.8   BURNING BUILDINGS 
Buildings may be set on fire by the effects of incendiary weapons such as flamethrowers. In dry
conditions only, infantry squads may also set wooden or plant-fibre buildings on fire if they spend their
entire turn doing so. One squad may light one building per turn.

Buildings will continue to burn throughout the entire game. If a burning structure is physically
attached to another or within 2” of it, then a D6 should be rolled each turn to see if the fire spreads.
This being done on the Time Out card. On a roll of 1 or 2 on 1D6 the adjacent building is assumed to
have caught fire as well.

14.8.1  BURNING BRICK BUILDINGS 
Troops may operate from inside a burning building of brick construction, but will act with reduced
effect. Any spotting or firing is done at one range band further than the actual distance.

Each turn a unit is inside a burning building it must test to see whether it abandons it. Roll 1D6: on a
roll of 1, the unit must move out of the building on its next turn. Once a building has been abandoned
it may never be re-occupied.

Troops inside a burning building may allocate one or more Action Dice to fighting the fire. If they do
this then a roll of 6 when testing to see if they abandon the building will result in the fire being put
out. For each extra dice used above one to fight the fire, add one to the dice roll, so that with two
Action Dice being used to fight the fire, the fire would be put out on a 5 or 6. A natural roll of 1
always results in the building being abandoned.

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14.8.2  BURNING WOODEN OR PLANT FIBRE BUILDINGS 
These must always be abandoned immediately if they are set on fire. If the unit fails to move of its
own accord before the Time Out card appears, then on the appearance of the Time Out card the unit
is automatically placed just outside the burning building.

14.9 CIVILIANS 
In any war it is the citizens caught up in the conflict that suffer the most. In Vietnam this was
exacerbated by the Communist forces using the civilian population as a shield, living among them and
drawing on them for supplies.

For the most part civilians in our games should be considered to be going about their normal daily life
and allowing the war to interfere with that as little as possible. They are represented on the table in
groups who are going about certain tasks. For example, eight civilians may be tending the rice fields
while six may be in the village. If firing begins near civilians these groups will attempt to seek cover
within 12” of their current position. While they may not be intentionally targeted by Communist or
Free World forces, they may suffer casualties from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If
within 2” of a military unit being fired on the hits will be divided among them as though the civilians
were a military unit.

Free World forces should encounter civilians during games and suitable models should be sought.
Civilians have long been used by the military as a source of information and Free World forces may try
to gain information from the civilians they meet. To do this they need to be accompanied by a
Vietnamese speaker, such as a South Vietnamese Police Field Force officer, an ARVN interpreter or Kit
Carson scout.

Intelligence may be sought when not under fire. It takes a full turn of being stationary to question a
single civilian. Interrogation must be undertaken by a Big Man who may do nothing else during that
turn.

What the civilians know may be dictated by the scenario, or failing that the player can roll a D6 to
determine what is learned. On a score of 1-5 the civilians know nothing and have little interest in the
conversation. On the roll of a 6 consult the following table, rolling another D6:

Dice Result
This civilian is a human bomb. He instantly throws himself into the nearest
1 Free World squad and detonates his bomb, using four dice on the 0-9” fire
effect column of the Fire Table. If no squad is within 6” he kills the Big Man
This civilian looks like he knows something. On his next activation the Big
2,3 Man must remain with this individual, doing nothing else.

4,5 This civilian knows absolutely nothing, but does like Coca Cola and Salems.
This civilian knows much. The Communist Forces player must place his
6 closest unspotted Blind that is using terrain to hide on the table

14.10  THE FREE WORLD PRESS 
At the start of any scenario roll a D6. On a result of 1 a press team will be attached to the Free World
force. The press team will accompany one Big Man of officer rank for the entire game. If that Big Man
is killed roll a D6 and on a 4-6 the press team suffers a casualty. This will affect the Political Victory
conditions as listed in Appendix Two.

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14.11  RUSES 
Communist forces would often attempt to frustrate Free World forces by deploying smoke or using
radios to draw fire away from their real location. The Communist player may be given one or two
Ruse cards at the start of the game which he may add to the Game Deck at the end of any turn. Once
these cards are dealt the Communist player must attempt to use a ruse to adjust Free World fire. This
can be done as follows:

1. If this card is dealt before an aircraft can attack a marked target then the Free World player
will roll a D6 when attempting to attack, aborting for this turn only on a roll of 1 to 3. The
aircraft may attack again on the next turn.

2. When this card is dealt the communist player may move the target marker for any Free World
indirect fire by up to 12”. If the Free World Forward Observer’s card or the company
commander uses a Command Initiative before the Artillery Support card is dealt then the
target marker may be moved back to its desired location. If the Artillery Support card is dealt
before this can happen then the indirect fire will be calculated using the current target
marker.

14.12  POLICING THE BATTLEFIELD 
Free World forces are always keen to gain intelligence regarding their opponents, and may attempt to
gain this by policing the battlefield. To do this they need to make contact with the Intelligence
Markers generated when the enemy uses the Di Di Mau card or a sniper is removed from play. When a
Free World unit makes contact with an Intelligence Marker roll a D6 on the following table:

Dice Result
1 Blood trail, but nothing of value
2 Booby trap, 1 – level 1, 2 to 5 – level 2, 6 – level 3
3-4 Weapon or food cache
5-6 1-4 = Enemy PW, needs Casevac 5-6 = Military Documents

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15
15 Close Combat
close combat
Close Combat represents the frantic fight at close range, where firepower simply dictates that one
side or the other must give ground. Close Combat is initiated when one infantry force moves to within
2” of an enemy, irrespective of whether either party is deployed on the table or on Blinds. Armoured
units do not enter into Close Combat, relying on their weapons to damage an enemy.

When Close Combat occurs both sides total up the number of figures in the fight. If a number of
squads or weapons teams are present on both sides then the fight will be broken down into several
parts, with each squad taking on an opponent. If numbers are uneven then the units should be paired
up against an opponent with the attacking player deciding where any surplus squads or weapons teams
are allocated in the fight.

15.1 PROCEDURE FOR CLOSE COMBAT 
Each side will roll 1D6 for each figure in Close Combat, ignoring critically wounded and Medics. Adjust
the number of dice rolled according to the list below, in the order listed:

Each dice opponent used for movement +1 dice

Aggressive troops +1 additional dice per three so far
Stubborn troops in defence +1 additional dice per four so far
Inexperienced troops -3 dice per squad
Defending light terrain +1 additional dice per four so far
Defending Heavy or Impossible terrain +1 additional dice per three so far
Defending a bunker or entrenchments +1 additional dice per two so far
Led by a Big Man +1 dice per level
Non-automatic weapons -3 dice (e.g. only armed with bolt-action rifles)
Each GPMG/LMG in defence +3 dice
Flame weapon +6 dice
Engineer or Sapper unit +50% dice
Defender’s tripod mounted MMG/HMG +6 dice per weapon
Per two Shock points -1 dice
Unit Pinned -50% dice
Unit Suppressed -75% dice
Unit attacked in the rear -50% dice

If one side has four or more times the number of dice as their opponent then the side with the lesser
dice routs immediately, falling back 3D6 inches with their backs to the enemy and taking an automatic
four Shock points per squad. If surrounded they will surrender. Otherwise the two players roll their
total number of dice. Each 6 kills one enemy, each 5 is one point of Shock on the enemy.

15.2 RESULTS OF CLOSE COMBAT 
Compare both sides’ losses of dead (not Shock) and refer to the list below:

Draw Fight again immediately. This occurs for a maximum of three rounds, after
which both sides retire 3” facing each other.

Defeated by 1 Thrown back 6” facing the enemy. This unit may not advance in your next
turn but may fire, spot or undertake any other action. Aggressive or stubborn
troops ignore a defeat by 1 and fight again immediately.

Defeated by 2 Thrown back 9” facing the enemy. Add a further two Shock points per squad or
weapons team. This unit may only fire in its next turn.

Defeated by 3 Run away 12” facing your rear. Add a further two Shock points per squad or
weapons team. This unit may only fire in its next turn.

Defeated by 4+ Flee 18” in disorder. Double the number of Shock points taken. This unit may
not move or fire in its next turn. If no escape then the survivors will
surrender. The winner allocates guards at a 1 to 5 ratio.

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Appendix
AppendixOne
one Playing the
playing theGame
game
We strongly recommend using Charlie Don’t Surf for re-fighting historical actions and taking what was
actually achieved as a bench-mark for success on the tabletop. There is a vast choice of books on the
war in Vietnam and it is possible to find some superb de-classified military reports on-line at sites such
as Fort Leavenworth.
We have also used our research to create a system for generating scenarios that will allow the gamer
to enjoy some challenging games typical of the conflict.

1  DEPLOYING FOR BATTLE 
Unlike World War II or Korea, the war in Vietnam was not a linear affair. There were no clear front
lines, so we cannot simply deploy our model armies on the opposite table edges and then advance into
battle. For most of our games one side will ‘own’ a large part of the table, with the other side
attempting to take that from them. This could be a village that is being used by Charlie and needs to
be cleared by Free World Forces, or a CIDG camp that the Communist forces wish to capture.
The force occupying the table should generally be allowed to deploy in a central position from where
it dominates the table at the start of the game. Their opponents may enter the table at one or more
edges or by vertical insertion by heliborne forces. Exactly how units deploy will be dictated by the
type of mission they are undertaking (see Appendix Three).
We recommend that the players set up the table before they dice to establish the type of mission they
will be undertaking. Any potential objectives, such as hamlets or villages, should be placed no closer
than 12” to the table edge.

THE TACTICAL EDGE 
Whereas Free World forces may be extracted from a battle zone by air, Communist forces are limited
to ground movement. As a result, they must be constantly aware of their lines of communication and
their potential escape routes. To model this, the Communist player will designate one table edge of
his choice as his Tactical Edge. The Free World player should never be informed which edge this is
although he should be aware that it exists as it should colour his military judgements. He will be
aware that his enemy will have their lines of communication, and if he can effectively block them
them he will place himself in a strong position to do real damage to his opponents.

The Opposite Edge

The Adjacent Edges

The Tactical Edge

The tactical edge represents two things to Charlie, safety and reinforcements. In any game the
Communist player may choose to keep up to half his force off-table at the start of the game.
Whenever his Blinds card is dealt the player may bring any reinforcements that he wishes onto the
table via the Tactical Edge. To keep the Free World player guessing, he may also bring on one unit of
reinforcements and any number of the Dummy Blinds that he has available from any other table edge.
In the example above the Communist player has chosen one of the longer table edges as his tactical
edge, however he could just as easily have selected one of the shorter edges if that gave him a
tactical advantage.

If retreating from the table the Communist player should seek to withdraw his forces from his Tactical
Edge in order to keep them functioning as a coherent unit. He can withdraw from any table edge, but
using any edge other than the tactical edge will risk seeing his force dispersed and even captured by
the Free World forces in their mopping-up operations. This will be outlined further below.

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Appendix
Appendixtwo
two victory
victory –– military
MILITARY & &POLITICAL
political
In Charlie Don’t Surf the players can gain two types of victory, Military and Political. Both are of
equal standing. In order to achieve an outright victory one side will have to achieve both; namely
fulfilling its military objectives whilst keeping losses in men and material to an acceptable level. The
game ends when either force exits the table, at which point both military and Political Victory
conditions are assessed.

1  ACHIEVING A MILITARY VICTORY 
A Military Victory is won by achieving all of the objectives set by the scenario. This will include
measurable tasks, such as over-running the base, finding the supplies, clearing the village, and so on.
In some respects this is the most easily achieved victory for Free World forces; they have the hardware
to undertake any mission and win, providing they have strong leadership.

At the start of each game both sides must be presented with three military objectives; primary,
secondary and tertiary. The primary objective is quite simply the main military objective, such as
clearing a village of the enemy, opening the road, or defending the base. The secondary objective
will be less significant but still important, so this could be to ensure that you have a secure, safe LZ to
cope with any critical wounded during the operation or to allow react forces to reinforce if required.
The tertiary objective is less important still. Searching and finding caches of food or arms would be a
good example here.

The mission’s primary objectives are worth 20 points, with subordinate objectives being either 10 or 5
points each. It is possible, albeit unlikely, that both sides may achieve all of their military objectives.
It is more likely that both will achieve some of them. Furthermore, it is quite possible the two sides
will not have objectives of equal values, with one side possibly having only one objective, while their
opponent has several.

2  ACHIEVING A POLITICAL VICTORY 
A Political Victory is the type least liked by the men on the ground. It presents them with objectives
that are not always convenient when trying to achieve the Military Victory. Nevertheless, in the grand
scheme of things it is just as important. Both players need to consider how their actions will play out
on the bigger stage, how what they do will affect the ‘folks back home’ (be that in Hanoi or Peoria)
and how the politicians and the media will react.

The Communist player should be aware that underlying all of his orders and military objectives is the
need to keep his force together as a coherent unit. This need will sometimes force the player to
abandon his military objective and instead concentrate on achieving a Political Victory. A vital
consideration in keeping his force as a coherent unit is to try to retire from the table on the Tactical
Edge. Any troops that do so are assumed to have escaped and can fight again. Any troops who
withdraw via an adjacent edge will roll a D6 for each man. On a 1-4 they escape and rejoin their unit.
On 5 or 6 they are dispersed by the Free World mopping-up operation. Troops leaving the table via
the opposite edge will be dispersed on a 4 or 5, and captured by Free World forces on a 6.

Free World Forces can improve their chances of a Political Victory by policing the battlefield
effectively. To do this they need to make contact with the Intelligence Markers that are generated
when the Di Di Mau card is used by their opponents or when a sniper team is removed from play.

Achieving a Political Victory involves making more Political Capital than your opponent. Political
Capital may be measured on the following table.

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 Free World Forces Communist Forces
Result Points Result Points
Each NVA/VC Estimated KIA 1 Each Free World soldier KIA 2
Each VC Confirmed KIA 2 Each ARVN Paramilitary KIA 1
Each NVA Confirmed KIA 3 Each Free World soldier MIA 3
Each VC PW 3 Each Free World soldier PW 4
Each NVA PW 3 Each tank destroyed 3
Each VC/NVA dispersed 0.5 Each M113 destroyed 2
Each Civilian killed -2 Each Helicopter shot down 7
Each weapon or food cache found 2 Each light aircraft shot down 5
Military Documents discovered 4 Each jet aircraft shot down 10
Media Killed ? Media killed ?

Definitions:
o VC and NVA killed or Free World KIA refers to every man that was killed during the game
o VC and NVA bodies are retained where the entire squad or weapons team is killed, so there are no
survivors to remove the bodies of the dead.
o Free World MIA are men whose squad or weapons team is wiped out and their position over-run by
the enemy who then hold that for a minimum of two Time Out cards.
o PWs are men who are captured as a result of Close Combat or Communist troops who leave the
table by the edge opposite to their designated Tactical Edge and are then captured in the Free
World mopping-up operation.
o An ARVN Paramilitary is a member of the various militias, such as CIDG, Regional Force and Popular
Force units.
o To be destroyed, a tank or AFV must be completely destroyed or disabled but in an area controlled
by the Communist forces at the end of the game.

Whichever side gains the most Political Capital from a game will win the Political Victory. Achieving
up to 5 more points represents a minor political victory, between 6 and 12 more is a significant
political victory, 13 to 20 more is a major political victory, and in excess of 20 more is a political coup
that gets you on the 6 o’clock news.

3   THE FREE PRESS 
The involvement and influence of the Press Corps in Vietnam was quite unlike anything seen before
where powerful TV images broadcast globally were able to influence public opinion profoundly around
the world.

Where a media team is involved in the game, any civilian deaths will count as a -4 towards a Free
World Political Victory. At the same time all Communist points are doubled.

If a member of the media team is killed roll a D6 at the end of the game to determine where the press
apportion blame. On 1-3 the media presents the Free World forces in a negative manner, on 4-6 they
blame the Communist forces. Whichever side so blamed will reduce its total Political Capital by half.

Page 72
Appendix
Appendixthree
three mission generator
mission generator
There are plenty of opportunities for running historical scenarios taken from the many accounts and
after action reports that are available from the Vietnam War. For a more casual set-up it is equally
possible to generate missions and forces for both sides by rolling a few dice.

FREE WORLD MISSIONS 
There are four possible general mission variants available for Free World Forces: The Sweep, Search
and Destroy, Combat Patrol and Defensive. These are broad titles that can cover a wide variety of
mission objectives, as follows:

The sweep mission

At the heart of this mission is a Free World force moving down the table from one short
edge to the opposite one.

The primary objectives of this mission could be to move to a pre-determined LZ for

extraction, to sweep between two secure positions, to carry out a recon patrol of the area
looking for any sign of enemy presence, to sweep a road for mines, or simply to patrol an
area, possibly close to a Fire Support Base. Subordinate objectives here could be to find
weapons or food caches, or to establish which trails are being used by the enemy.

The search and destroy mission

This game involves the Free World forces entering on the table edge furthest from their
objective.

The mission involves securing an area and clearing it of any enemy forces or sympathisers.
This could be a hamlet where intelligence has reported an enemy presence, an area around
a village in preparation for a Hearts and Minds “Country Fair” operation, or a general area
clearance assisting a CIDG force. A perfect Search and Destroy operation will involve
forming a cordon around the target area and ensuring no enemy force escapes.
Subordinate objectives will be to find weapons or food caches, to interview the local
civilians to establish any Communist supporters among them or securing the rice harvest for
the government.

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 The combat patrol
A Combat Patrol is a mission where a known target is attacked. The Free World forces
enter on the table edge furthest from their objective.

Such a mission could be the destruction of an enemy force previously identified; an attack
against enemy supply lines, possibly destroying a vital bridge or attacking an enemy force
on the march. Equally it could be rescuing friendly Prisoners of War from the enemy
clutches, or moving to relieve a friendly unit that has been surrounded by the enemy.
Success in destruction or rescue missions is simple to gauge. Where an enemy force is the
target military success is achieved if the Free World player inflicts 33% casualties or more
on the enemy.

The defensive mission

This is the most simple of all Free World mission; where their force begins the game on the
table in a central position and expecting an enemy attack.

This could be in an outpost or simply taking up a defensive perimeter as the day comes to
an end. The primary objective for Free World forces is to maintain their position whilst
driving off the enemy. The secondary objective will be to launch a combat patrol in order
to drive off the enemy.

To select their mission the Free World player should roll 1D6 on the following table and then dice to
see on which table edge their force begins the game.

Dice Mission
1 Sweep Mission
2 Search and Destroy Mission
3 Combat Patrol Mission
4 Defensive Mission
5 or 6 Mission of player’s choice

Page 74
 COMMUNIST MISSIONS 
There are three possible general mission variants available for the Communist Forces; Security, “three
Strongs”, and Evasion. These are titles that can cover a number and variety of missions:

The security mission

This involves a Main Force or NVA force moving through or away from an area. In this case
the Communist force will move from one short table edge to the opposite edge.

This could be a Main Force unit guided by Local or guerrilla forces who are attempting to
protect it as it moves across the table. It could also be a headquarters unit making good its
escape while subordinate rifle platoons attempt to shield it from Free World forces, or
simply a policing mission to protect a supply route. In these situations the Communist
force could be deployed anywhere on the table at the start of the game. The primary
objective with a Security Mission is to ensure that the units in transit are able to leave the
table with 80% of their force intact and not dispersed. The secondary objective is to
ensure a safe get-away by keeping Free World forces further than 18” from the Tactical
Edge until the units in transit have left the table.

The “Three Strongs” mission

This is an opportunity for a Communist force to inflict maximum damage on the enemy
following Mao’s principle of “Three Strongs”: strong fight, strong assault and strong
pursuit. Here the Communist forces may start the game anywhere on the table more than
12” from the edge.

This might take the shape of ambushing a mobile enemy unit or attacking the enemy in a
fixed position. If the enemy are in a defensive position then the Communist forces will
begin the game anywhere on the table within 12” of the table edge. The primary objective
for the Communist force will depend on the mission details. If hitting an enemy in a fixed
position the Communist player must launch a hard hitting attack where all of his support
weapons and at least 50% of his rifle platoons fire at the enemy in any one turn. If
attempting to ambush Free World forces at least one platoon must ambush the enemy with
all of its squads. This could be split between two separate ambushes, where the first
ambush draws the enemy onto a second one, or it could be one large ambush. Subordinate
objectives are to increase the number of ambushes carried out in the game.

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 The evasion mission
There comes a time when the main objective for a Communist commander is less great
military victories and more the maintenance of an effective force. Here he may start
anywhere on the table more than 12” from the table edge, and with the Tactical Edge
being the furthest edge away.

The Evasion Mission sees his force potentially outnumbered or surrounded and seeking to
avoid entrapment and destruction. He needs to withdraw 75% of his force from the table
intact in order to achieve his primary military objective, whilst looking to maximise the
damage he does to his Free World opponent in order to win a Political Victory. His
secondary objective is to slow down the enemy by launching at least two separate
ambushes before withdrawing.

To select their mission the Communist player should roll 1D6 on the following table. If necessary the
Communist player will then dice to see on which table edge his force begins the game.

Dice Mission
1 The Security Mission
2-4 The “Three Strongs” Mission
5 The Evasion Mission
6 Mission of player’s choice

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Appendix
Appendixfour
FOUR force generator
force generator
Players may choose to select any forces they wish to field in order to replicate historical units as they
operated in the field. The Force Guidelines in Appendix Five give a good indication of what units
were available to a commander, be they part of his own company or available for him to use if the
mission demanded it.

In designing their own scenarios players should use common sense in adding assets to their basic
company. Whilst, theoretically, there is much that a company commander can call upon to support
him in achieving his military objectives, he will not expect to get every weapon in his Division’s TO&E
focussing on what he is doing.

For players looking to get a force on the table to enjoy a quick game the following tables can be used
to select your force for a mission. The Free World and Communist players should both select their
basic force as indicated and then both choose whether to roll two or three D6 on the table for
additional support. Both players then roll the lower number of dice on their table. The Communist
player also checks to see how many weapons or food caches that he must deploy on the table, hiding
them in his initial deployment area.

Free World Force Generator

Dice Sweep Search & Destroy Combat Patrol Defend

Basic Three platoons of Three platoons of Three platoons of Two platoons of
Force player’s choice player’s choice player’s choice player’s choice, plus
perimeter wire
1 Enemy has extra Enemy has extra roll Enemy has extra Enemy has extra roll
roll roll
2 No effect Off-table No effect Eight tripwire
stop platoon claymores

3 Off-table Helicopter insertion M113 mechanised One 0.50” HMG

stop platoon platoon support

4 Add one Pink Team hunter- Pink Team hunter- Three pre-registered
allied platoon killer helicopters killer helicopters artillery targets

5 Priority One Priority One mission Any support Four minefields

mission platoon
6 Any one of the Any two of the above Any two of the Any one of the above
above above

An off-table stop platoon is a unit that never enters the table but that is assumed to be in a
position to ambush any enemy forces leaving via one 24” section of table edge. The Free World
player should note where this is, and any Communist forces exiting the table in that area are
treated as though they left via the edge opposite the Tactical Edge when assessing Political
Capital.

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 Communist Force Generator

Dice Security “Three Strongs” Evasion

Basic Three platoons, plus one Three rifle platoons, plus Three platoons of choice
Force platoon of local guides or one support platoon of
escaping HQ platoon choice
1 Lose one platoon Lose one platoon Lose one platoon
2 Nothing Add one rifle platoon Add one rifle platoon
3 Nothing Add support platoon Add one support platoon
4 Add expert RPG team Add support platoon Add one support platoon
5 Add one local squad Add sapper platoon Add one support platoon
6 Add one platoon Any two of above Any one of the above
Caches One or two caches None Two to four caches

Any weapon or food caches must be hidden in or under buildings unless there are less than five
buildings on the table, in which case they must be hidden within 6” of a building. Dice to see
how well each cache has been hidden:

Dice Mission
1 Poorly hidden
2-3 Moderately concealed
4-5 Well concealed
6 Fiendishly concealed

Then roll for preparation work done by the Communist forces UNLESS they are attacking Free
World Forces on a Defend Mission.

Dice Mission
1 Nothing
2 One mine
3 One to two complex booby traps
4 12” of trenches, or two bunkers, two or three simple booby traps
5 24” of trenches, or three heavy bunkers, two minefields of six mine strips.
6 48” of trenches or six heavy bunkers, two ruses

Page 78
Appendix five
Appendix five force guidelines
force guidelines
Charlie Don’t Surf is aimed at games of roughly company size as this is the level that allows us to
most effectively capture the feel of the Vietnam War on the tabletop. The company is the key
tactical unit within the battalion where, with support units attached from battalion, Regiment or even
Division, it can form the core of a small but perfectly formed all-arms force that can be called upon to
undertake almost any military operation.

The company is large enough to act as an independent unit, undertaking its own missions, but small
enough for the commander to be in touch with what is happening at the lowest level. For the gamer
the company allows him to field units of many types, from infantry to armour, artillery and air
support, in a way that is plausible and realistic, and to have huge flexibility in creating his own
tabletop force to game with.

What follows are force guidelines for the armies that fought in the Vietnam War. Space demands that
we have selected the most popular gaming forces, the US Army, Marine Corps, the ARVN, the ANZACs
and the PAVN Communist forces. Details for other forces that fought will be made available on our
web site as free downloads.

For each force we present a number of options for how to configure your wargame force. In truth we
can only scratch the surface here as, typical of any force in a war zone, official TO&Es were only
observed as far as was practical. Many forces adjusted their organisational structure and the weapons
they carried in order to react and respond to the situation that they found on the ground. The gamer
may care to create his own force based on units that existed in the field. Here we have provided basic
guidelines around which he can build his own forces.

For each force we have provided details of what support would be available and at what level that
would normally be held. Within sensible reason the gamer can select the units that he would like to
attach to his force.

We have provided ratings for the units, showing the number of Action Dice a squad will have
depending on its current strength. This again is a general guide. The gamers should feel free to
adjust this to represent variations on the basic theme. Units that are tired, burnt out or just plain
badly led, can be downgraded, whereas units full of enthusiasm can have their ratings adjusted to
reflect that.

Figures are shown for anti-tank ratings, for any armour that may be present, as well as helicopters and
riverine craft that can be included in your games. Alongside this we have provided a list of cards that
may be used in the Game Deck in order to best represent the forces fielded. This again is a movable
feast, with the gamer encouraged to create their own cards to suit specific skills, abilities or even
situations that may occur within a particular scenario.

Finally there is a guide to rating Big Men. These are critical components in any force, the number
present and what their abilities are will hugely affect the way a force behaves in action.

Page 79
  
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Almost immediately after the 1954 Geneva Conference, the Republic of Vietnam was quick to
recognise its need for an armed force that could protect its newly found independence and, more
importantly, prevent the Communist north from enforcing unification. The result was the creation of
the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, a force that initially bore many hallmarks of its French lineage
but rapidly came to assume a form more akin to that of the US military due to their programme of
assistance and subsequent intervention.

Over the duration of the conflict in Vietnam the armed forces protecting the Republic were to develop
and change to reflect the needs of a counter-insurgency campaign. At a local level Regional and
Popular militias were formed in an attempt to ensure the security of the civilian population and the
pacification of areas that had been infiltrated by the Viet Cong. The Civilian Irregular Defence
Groups, largely raised from among the various ethnic minorities scattered across the country, were a
source of effective local troops, especially when well led by Special Forces units.

The regular Army, whilst rapidly equipped to a high standard, was very much a mixed bag when it
came to performance. While some of its conscripted units fought well others were more of a liability
than an asset. Throughout the war ARVN forces of all types operated alongside their Allies, and
fielding a South Vietnamese force provides the gamer with some interesting options. Here we cover
several force options, from a regular infantry company to Rangers and Regional and CIDG forces.

The following organisational tables serve as examples of the various forces but are by no means
comprehensive. ARVN Marines, for example, can be organised using the US model.

INFANTRY COMPANY
The standard ARVN infantry company was made up of a Company Headquarters, three platoons, each
of which had three rifle squads, and a weapons platoon with one MG squad and two 60mm mortars.

Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters:Two Big Men

Platoons One to Three: Three eight man rifle squads each

Weapons Platoon: One MG Squad

One Mortar squad

Prior to 1967 all ARVN regular rifle squads will count as fielding Obsolete Rifles, using the M14 or M1
carbine. The MG squad fielded two M1919 bipod or tripod mounted 0.30 MMGs with four crew each up
until 1967 when the M60 was introduced. By 1969 all ARVN regular units field the M16 and M60 as
standard, making them Assault Rifle Squads. The mortar squad was equipped with two M-19 60mm
mortars, each with two crew, throughout the conflict.

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each ARVN platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 5 or 6.

Page 80
  ARVN ARMOURED CAVALRY COMPANY
ARVN Mechanised Infantry was designated Armoured Cavalry and mounted in M113 armoured carriers
which, from 1964 onwards, were converted to Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles. The Company
Headquarters fielded two tracks with each of its three platoons fielding three tracks, each carrying a
rifle squad. A Support Platoon fielded four M113s, three with 81mm mortars, one with a 57mm
Recoilless Rifle

Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters: One Big Man
Two M113 APCs

Platoons One to Three: One Big Man

Three eight man rifle squads each
Three M113 APCs

Support Platoon: One five man Recoilless rifle team in one M113
Three M113 mounted 81mm mortars

All the M113s in the ARVN armoured cavalry formations mounted the 0.50” Browning and with the
introduction of the ACAV conversions they become Weapons Platforms with two additional machine
guns. ARVN cavalry habitually fought mounted in their vehicles, relying on firepower. However if
dismounted each of their squads will count as a Machine Gun squad

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each ARVN cavalry platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 5 or 6.

ARVN RANGER COMPANY

ARVN Rangers were tough, aggressive, professional soldiers. Made up of a Company HQ and three
platoons, each fielding four rifle squads, and a weapon platoon, these units provided the backbone of
the Republic’s Armed forces.

Page 81
  Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters: Two Big Men

Platoons One to Three: One Big Man

Four twelve man rifle squads each

Weapons Platoon: Up to four weapons teams selected depending on the mission. Rangers
utilised 60mm mortars, heavy and medium machine guns and recoilless rifles
as standard.

ARVN Rangers count as Assault Rifle Squads, utilising the M16 or the Colt Commando, and as
aggressive troops. For Long Range Patrol missions or when attached to US or ARVN units Rangers may
operate in smaller groups of two squads. ARVN Rangers are affected by National Pride.

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each ARVN Ranger platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 4, 5 or 6.

CIDG COMPANY
The Civilian Irregular Defence Force operated as the eyes and ears of the South Vietnamese
government and their allies at local level. Organised and often led by US or Vietnamese Special Forces
advisors these units operated to protect their home area from Communist incursions and proved to be
an effective fighting force.

Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters: One Big Man
A Team: Two Big Men, eight Special Forces soldiers

Platoons One to Three: Three ten man rifle squads each

Weapons Platoon: One MG Squad
One Mortar squad with two M-19 60mm mortars (two crew each)
Prior to April 1968 all CIDG rifle squads will count as Obsolete Rifle squads, fielding the M1 or M14
with the MG squads using the M1919 bipod or tripod mounted 0.30 MMGs. After that time a major
upgrade of weaponry was undertaken, with the M16 and M60 being issued. Units so equipped will
count as Assault Rifle Squads.

Mike Force
Mike Force units, the CIDG mobile assault formations, will add a two man 3.5” bazooka team to the
Company HQ and increase the rifle squads to eleven men each. It may also field a Recon Platoon
made up of three six man squads who are trained reconnaissance troops.

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each CIDG platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 6. For a Mike
Force unit add a Big Man on a 5 or 6. The first additional Big Man may be classed as Special Forces.

Page 82
 ARVN POPULAR FORCE COMPANY
 
The “Ruff Puffs” of the Regional and Popular Forces were militia troops who were used in largely static
roles to defend key points within the Republic, often in platoon sized units. After 1969 they may be
attached to regular ARVN forces. Their fighting ability and loyalty was, at best, questionable.

Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters: One Big Man

Platoons One to Three: Three eight man rifle squads each

Weapons Platoon: One MG Squad

One Mortar squad with one M-19 60mm mortar or M1 81mm mortar (three
crew)

Ruff Puff forces will field Obsolete Rifles until 1970 at which point they will be issued with the M16.
The MG squad prior to 1970 is likely to be armed with the Browning Automatic Rifle and will fire as an
Assault Rifle Squad.

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each RFPF platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 6.

SUPPORT
In addition to the basic company sized force the following assets may be called upon from battalion,
regiment or divisional formations. Any of these assets may be available depending on the mission that
is being undertaken, but it is worth stressing that in reality the amount of support that a company
would receive would have been limited.

Battalion and divisional Assets

Mortar Battery: Four 81mm or 4.2” mortars with five crew each
Anti-Tank Platoon: Two jeep mounted Anti-Tank squads, each with four 106mm recoilless rifles
mounted on jeeps. Four crew each.
Artillery Support: 105mm M-101 howitzers and 155mm M-155 howitzers
Recon Company: Three Recon Platoons, each with three eight man squads mounted in two
jeeps each.
Engineer Company: Three Engineer Platoons, each with four squads of eight men each. They may
field four flamethrower teams.
Tank Platoon: Five tanks per platoon
Air Support: Helicopter or fixed wing support as required.

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Rating arvn troops
The following table indicates the number of Action Dice available for ARVN squads depending on the
number of men they have.

Troops/Dice 0 1 2 3 4
ARVN Airborne or Marines 1,2,3 4 5,6 7,8 9+
ARVN Rangers 1,2 3 4,5 6,7 8+
ARVN Regulars 1,2,3 4 5,6 7+ -
CIDG/Mike Force 1,2,3 4 5 6+ -
RFPF “Ruff Puffs” 1,2,3,4 5.6 7+ - -

Infantry anti-tank
Infantry engaging armoured vehicles use the following table to check their weapon strike.
Weapon Weapon Strike
M-18 57mm Recoilless Rifle 6
M-40 106mm Recoilless Rifle 11
Infantry Anti-Tank 0-4” 4-8” 8-12” 12-16” 16-24”
Infantry squad 2 - - - -
Elite Infantry/Engineer Squad 4 - - - -
MMG 1 1 1 1 1
HMG 2 2 2 2 1
M-72 66mm LAW (from 1970) 7 7 7 7 7
3.5” Super-Bazooka 9 9 9 9 9

Armoured vehicles
The armoured vehicles listed here are the ones likely to be on the table in games of Charlie Don’t
Surf. As such we have ignored self-propelled artillery as this will be located off-table.
Vehicle Armour Class Weapon/Strike Speed
M48 A3 Patton 12 90mm 12 Average
M-21A3 Walker Bulldog 4 76mm 8 Fast
M-24 Chaffee 4 75mm 8 Average
V100/XM706 Commando 3 Twin 0.30 MGs Wheeled
M-106 107mm Mortar Carrier 4 4.2” mortar Fast
M-113 APC 4 MGs Fast
M-125 81mm Mortar Carrier 4 81mm mortar Fast
M-132 Armoured Flamethrower 4 Flamethrower Fast
M-577 Command Post Carrier 4 None Fast

Card allocation
One card will be present for each infantry and support platoon. Any attached tanks will operate on a
platoon card. Artillery support is likely if the ARVN force is on the offensive, but unlikely if defending
with no US forces present. Air support is only available if US forces are present.
The following national characteristic cards may be added as appropriate.

Page 84
Rapid Deployment: This may be included in the Game Deck for any armoured force.
 
Recon Bonus: May be included for Special Forces or Rangers specifically deployed on a Sweep
Mission, as well as Mike Force recon units.
Hesitant Commander: This should always be included for a RFPF force, and may be included for any
ARVN line force.
Hesitant Troops: This should always be included for a RFPF force, and may be included for any
ARVN line force.
Rally: This may be included for a high quality ARVN force, such as Airborne, Marines
of Rangers.
Armoured Bonus: Will always be included for an armoured force.
Track Breakdown: Always included for a track mounted force
Rock and Roll: Always included for a force with weapons platforms
Dust Off: Always included when Critical Wounds are suffered.
Poor Fire Discipline: Always included for RFPF, ARVN line and some CIDG formations.
Local Forces: Used for CIDG troops and well led RFPF forces.

Regular ARVN Forces will have neither good nor poor field-craft. Special Forces will have good field-
craft. ARVN Rangers will have National Pride.

Rating ARVN big men

ARVN Big Men can be rated according to the wishes of the scenario designer, or may be diced for on
the following table. The first Big Man attached to a platoon will be its commander. If a second Big
Man is present he will considered the platoon NCO. Where a company has two Big Men as part of their
HQ rate the second one as though a platoon commander. Add +2 for ARVN Ranger, Airborne or Marine
forces, deduct -1 for RFPF forces.

Role Dice Level

0-3 2
Company Commander
4-8 3
0-2 1
Platoon Commander 3-4 2
5-8 3
0-3 1
Platoon NCO 4-5 2
6-8 3
1-3 3
Special Forces
4-6 4

Page 85
  
ANZAC Forces
Australia and New Zealand provided troops to support the Republic of Vietnam, beginning with military
advisors as early as 1962 and then increasing up to Brigade strength in 1967. The majority of ANZAC
troops that served in Vietnam did so as part of the 1st Australian Task Force based, from 1966 onwards,
in Phuoc Tuy province. This force consisted initially of two battalions of infantry with that number
increased to three in 1967.

The ANZAC contingent was quick to build up its own support base, with artillery, APCs, an RAAF
contingent and, in December 1967, a squadron of Centurion tanks. Organisation followed the
Australian model, with the New Zealand contingent slotting into that formation; 2RAR, 4RAR & 6RAR
included the ANZAC personnel supplied by The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.

With their experiences in Malaya still fresh, ANZAC forces proved to be effective jungle fighters.
Tactically their approach was less firepower reliant than their US allies, with an emphasis on
pacification of the area and re-establishing the authority of the South Vietnamese government. With
their own province in which to operate they were able to effectively fight their own war using their
own methods with some considerable success. ANZAC commitment to Vietnam peaked in 1969 with
7,672 Australian combat troops and 552 from New Zealand. In 1971 the ANZAC forces were largely
withdrawn from South Vietnam.

INFANTRY COMPANY
An ANZAC company was a simple structure, with a Company HQ and three platoons, each fielding three
rifle sections.

Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters:Two Big Men
One attached FOO
One ten man rifle section

Platoons One to Three: One Big Man

Three ten man rifle sections each

Armed with either the SLR or the M16 and with each section fielding an M60, the ANZAC forces operate
as Assault Rifle squads. All ANZAC troops are stubborn in defence.

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each ANZAC platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 5 or 6.

Page 86
  
SUPPORT
In addition to the basic company sized force the following assets may be called upon from battalion,
or Task Force. Any of these assets may be available depending on the mission that is being
undertaken, but it is worth stressing that in reality the amount of support that a company would
receive would have been limited.

Battalion and Task force Assets

Mortar Battery: Six 81mm mortars with five crew each linked to the FOO
Anti-Tank Platoon: Sixteen 90mm MAW recoilless rifles. Two crew each.
Artillery Support: 105mm howitzers or 155mm howitzers
Carriers: One squadron of M113 carriers with T-50 turrets
Tank Platoon: Four Centurion tanks per troop
Air Support: Helicopter or fixed wing support as required.
Recce: One squadron of Special Air Service troops operating in 5 or ten man patrols.

Rating aNZAC troops

The following table is used to indicate the number of Action Dice that are available for ANZAC sections
depending on the number of men they have.
Troops/Dice 0 1 2 3 4
ANZAC Infantry 1,2,3 4 5,6 7,8 9+
SAS 1 2 3 4,5 6+

Infantry anti-tank
Infantry engaging armoured vehicles use the following table to check their weapon strike.
Weapon Weapon Strike
M-67 90mm Recoilless Rifle 9
Infantry Anti-Tank 0-4” 4-8” 8-12” 12-16” 16-24”
Infantry section 2 - - - -
SAS team 4 - - - -
MMG 1 1 1 1 1
HMG 2 2 2 2 1
M-72 66mm LAW (from 1970) 7 7 7 7 7

Armoured vehicles
Vehicle Armour Class Weapon/Strike Speed
Centurion Mk5/1 16 84mm 11 Average
M113 A1 APC with T50 turret 4 0.5” and 0.3” MGs Fast
M113 with Saladin Turret 4 76mm 8 Fast
M113 A1 4 Various Fast

Page 87
  
Card allocation
One card will be present for each infantry and support platoon. Any attached tanks will operate on a
platoon card. Artillery support is likely in all situations. Air support may be available.
The following national characteristic cards may be added as appropriate.
Recon Bonus: Always available for all ANZAC units
Scout Bonus: This should always be included for a SAS forces.
Rally: Normally two Rally cards available for an ANZAC company sized force.
Armoured Bonus: Will always be included for an armoured force.
Track Breakdown: Always included for a track mounted force
Rock and Roll: Always included for a force with weapons platforms
Dust Off: Always included when Critical Wounds are suffered.

ANZAC units always have good field-craft abilities and have National Pride.

Rating Anzac big men

ANZAC Big Men can be rated according to the wishes of the scenario designer, or may be diced for on
the following table. The first Big Man attached to a platoon will be its commander. If a second Big
Man is present he will considered the platoon NCO. Where a company has two Big Men as part of their
HQ rate the second one as though a platoon commander.

Role Dice Level

1-2 3
Company Commander
3-6 4
1 2
Platoon Commander 2-5 3
6 4
1 1
Platoon NCO 2-5 2
6 3
1-3 3
SAS
4-6 4

Page 88
  
People’s army of viet nam
The Peoples Army of Viet Nam had its roots in the Viet Minh fighters who had opposed the Japanese
and the French colonial authority in Indo-China. With the establishment of the divided states of North
and South Vietnam in 1954 the PAVN, commonly referred to by Free World commentators as the North
Vietnamese Army, were quick to look to infiltrate and destabilise the pro-western government in the
south. As early as 1959 the first steps were taken to develop infiltration routes through Laos and
Cambodia, routes that were to become the Ho Chi Minh trail.

The PAVN was inextricably linked to the North Vietnamese Communist Party, with its strategic
planning at the highest level being run by politicians rather than military men. Overall, the strategy
was to play a long game, counting on the fact that external support for the government in Saigon
would fall away over time. Throughout the war there was a balance between conventional and
guerrilla war tactics, each being used in turn as considered appropriate by the planners in Hanoi.

The PAVN was well supplied with weaponry by China initially and then the Soviet Union following the
Sino-Soviet political divergence. Its men were increasingly well trained, but were quite unable to
overcome Free World allies in conventional warfare. Consequently, the PAVN tended to favour
guerrilla operations, where hit and run tactics could allow them small military victories that would
gain political capital which would ultimately sap the will of South Vietnam’s supporters.

The Viet Cong fighters of the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam were, despite attempts to
present them as a true independence movement, a fully-fledged component of the PAVN, funded,
equipped and, most importantly, entirely under the orders of the PAVN command in Hanoi. The
Republic of Vietnam was split into six Military Regions. Within each of these a Regional Headquarters
would control regimental sized units of Main Force troops. Below them each Region would be broken
down into Provinces (with the exception of Saigon which was only one Province in size) where the
Headquarters would command one or two battalions of Local Forces.

Each Province was split into Districts, each with a company sized Local Force unit, with each Village
then fielding a platoon and each Hamlet a squad of Viet Cong guerilla forces who were little more than
a local defence force of part time soldiers. From District level upwards the forces deployed would be
full-time soldiers of the Viet Cong Local Forces.

As the war progressed the attrition levels within the Viet Cong meant that by 1969 almost all Main
Force fighters were from North Vietnam, as well as a significant proportion of Local Forces. This also
impacted on the strengths of fighting units whose manpower levels and complement of equipment
would vary hugely depending on the amount of time they had been operating in South Vietnam.

PAVN INFANTRY COMPANY

A PAVN company, be it designated as Viet Cong or NVA, followed a standard pattern with a Company
HQ and three platoons, each fielding three rifle sections, and a support platoon with two 60mm
mortars and a Machine Gun squad fielding two light machine guns. In the field maintaining such a
structure would become increasingly difficult so players may configure their PAVN forces with a large
degree of latitude for personal preference.

Page 89
  
Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters:One Big Man
Commissar
One attached RPG team

Platoons One to Three: Three nine man rifle sections each

Support Platoon: Two 60mm mortars with two crew each

One nine man Machine Gun squad

Armament varied depending on the level of the force. Local guerrilla forces would be armed with a
mix of largely World War Two vintage weapons, bolt action rifles, French and even British automatic
weapons, and should count as Obsolete Rifle squads. Local Forces were not much better equipped
during the early part of the conflict, but that situation improved so that by 1970 most of these would
be fielding sufficient AK47s to make them Automatic Rifle squads.

Conventional forces sent south for the major offensives would be well equipped, some even fielding
radios which allowed better co-ordination of movement, and should always be considered as Assault
Rifle squads

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each Local Force or Guerrilla platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of
6. For each Main Force platoon add a Big Man on a roll of 5 or 6. For each conventional force NVA
platoon add a Big Man on a 4, 5 or 6.

SUPPORT
Support for a PAVN forces would depend largely on the scale of the planned operation and the type of
unit involved. PAVN forces operating in South Vietnam would rely on local and guerrilla forces for
security detachments when on the move, so it is likely that units would have other types of troops
attached.

Battalion Assets
Mortar Battery: Three platoons of three 81mm mortars with five crew each
Machine Gun Company: Three platoons of three Type 57 7.62mm HMG. Five crew each
Anti-Tank Platoon: four recoilless rifles of varying calibres with five crew each. 57mm Type 36,
75mm Type 52 and 82mm B-10 being prevalent. From 1972 onwards the 9M14M
Malyutka (Sagger AT3) may be deployed by conventional forces with a two man
crew.

Regimental Assets
Anti-Aircraft: Six 12.7mm Dshk AAHMGs, five crew
Recon Company: Three Recon platoons, each of three nine man squads
Heavy Weapons: B10 82mm and B11 107mm recoilless rifles with five crew each

divisional Assets
Tank Platoon: Three tanks per platoon
Carriers: BTR-40 or BTR-152 armoured carriers
Artillery: 130mm M46 field gun or 152mm D20 howitzer in six gun batteries

Page 90
  

Rating pavn troops

The following table is used to indicate the number of Action Dice that are available for PAVN squads
depending on the number of men they have.
Troops/Dice 0 1 2 3 4
NVA Conventional forces and Sappers 1,2,3 4 5,6 7+ -
NVA Guerrilla forces 1,2,3 4 5 6+ -
Local Force Regulars 1,2,3 4 5,6 7+ -
Local security guerrilla cadre 1,2,3,4 5.6 7+ - -

Infantry anti-tank
Infantry engaging armoured vehicles use the following table to check their weapon strike.

Weapon Weapon Strike

M-67 90mm Recoilless Rifle 9
Type 36 57mm Recoilless Rifle 6
Type 52 75mm Recoilless Rifle 8
B-10 82mm Recoilless Rifle 9
B-11 107mm Recoilless Rifle 11
9M14M Malyutka 16
37mm M39 AA Gun 4
Infantry Anti-Tank 0-4” 4-8” 8-12” 12-16” 16-24”
Infantry section 2 - - - -
Sapper squad 4 - - - -
MMG 1 1 1 1 1
HMG 2 2 2 2 1
RPG 2 Type 56 9 9 9 - -
RPG-7 Type 69 9 9 9 9 9
3.5” Super-Bazooka 9 9 9 9 9

Armoured vehicles
Vehicle Armour Class Weapon/Strike Speed
T34-85 8 85mm 10 Fast
T54/55 10 100mm 11 Fast
PT-76 3 76mm 8 Fast/Amphib
Type 63 Light tank 2 85mm 10 Fast/Amphib
ZSU-57/2 2 Twin 57mm Cannon Fast
Type 63 SPAAG 5 Twin 37mm Cannon Fast
BDRM-1 2 MG Wheeled
BTR-152 2 MG Wheeled
BTR-50 3 MG Fast/Amphib
BTR-40A 2 MG Wheeled
ZSU-23/4 2 Quad 23mm Cannon Fast

Page 91
  
Card allocation
One card will be present for each infantry and support platoon. Any attached tanks will operate on a
platoon card. Artillery support is likely in all situations. Air support may be available.
The following national characteristic cards may be added as appropriate.
Rapid Deployment: This should always be available for any PAVN force, be they VC or NVA.
Recon Bonus: Should always be included for VC at local level, sometimes included for Main
Force VC or NVA units.
Scout Bonus: This should always be included for a Scout force.
Rally: Rarely included, only available for the best quality units from the NVA
Commissar: Always available when a Commissar is present.
Armoured Bonus: Will always be included for armoured units with an NVA conventional force.
Zips in the Wire: May be present if Sappers are fielded
Sniper: May always be present for a VC or non-conventional NVA force
Bonus Fire card: Always available for any PAVN mortars with line of sight to target
Poor Fire Discipline: Always included for Guerrillas at hamlet or village level
Local Forces: Always used for Guerrilla forces at hamlet or village level
Human Wave: Always included for any PAVN force.

Non-conventional PAVN units will tend to have good field-craft skills. Conventional forces’ field-craft
is neither good nor poor.

Rating PAVn big men

PAVN Big Men can be rated according to the wishes of the scenario designer, or may be diced for on
the following table. Add +1 for an NVA conventional force; subtract -1 for a Local force or Guerrilla
VC force.

Role Dice Level

0-2 2
Company Commander
3-4 3
5-7 4
Platoon Commander 0-2 1
3-5 2
6-7 3

Note on Terminology
During the Vietnam War there was much effort on the part of the Communist forces to present the
Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army as two quite different bodies, with the National Liberation
Front in the South represented as a popular political and military organisation seeking to free itself
from the shackles of a corrupt capitalist government. Since the end of the war and the unification of
the two Vietnams under the Hanoi government there has been no need to maintain such an illusion. In
official Vietnamese histories it is now made quite clear that the National Liberation Front was an
organ of the northern Communist government, and the Viet Cong (a term coined by the Saigon press
that that simply means Vietnamese Communists) were directly controlled by the PAVN.

We use the terms VC and NVA within the rules as they were terms used at the time by Free World
forces and media, and undoubtedly familiar to most gamers. In reality these differentiations did not
exist within the Communist forces. The only true differences were in the means of taking the war to
the enemy; either using conventional warfare or irregular methods. Many North Vietnamese soldiers
served in Main Force and even Local Force units in the South that would have been described simply as
‘Viet Cong’ by their opponents due to their use of hit and run tactics. Where we have used the term
NVA we are referring to the uniformed regular forces of the PAVN, whereas VC refers to the irregular
forces, and guerrillas to the part time militia in single squads and platoons in the villages and hamlets.

Page 92
  
United States Forces
The United States involvement in Vietnam pre-dated the Paris Treaty of 1954, with the USA supporting
the French administration with funds and armaments in the face of expansionist desires of Moscow and
Peking. After the establishment of the two states of Vietnam the USA provided support and assistance
for the embryonic Army of the Republic, taking a key part in equipping and training this new force.

What then followed was a spiralling escalation of support in response to continuous North Vietnamese
attempts to destabilise the Republic and their success in seizing control of large areas of territory in
the South. In 1965 the balance was tipped between providing US personnel in a support role to one
where the bulk of their forces would actively prosecute the war in a combat role. By the end of that
year 200,000 men were serving in Vietnam, and that number was to rise to in excess of half a million
men in 1968.

With a dazzling array of support drawn up behind him, the US soldier or Marine on the ground was
hampered in his fight by the fact that he was supposedly fighting inside the territory of an allied state,
and by the Rules of Engagement that he was obliged to operate by. Added to this was the new factor
of a media-saturated campaign (never before seen, and never since accommodated) where the troops
were now obliged to fight two wars; one military and one political.

The United States forces performed consistently well in an unpleasant war that provided more than its
fair share of frustrations; issues compounded by the fact that their opponents were not hampered by
the same considerations or obligations.

What follows is a guide to the forces present. We have attempted to make this list as representative
as is practical, but clearly there are many other variations of units that may be fielded.

INFANTRY COMPANY
The structure of a US infantry company was a flexible thing, partially due to the issues of effectively
distributing manpower once unavoidable attrition occurs, but also due to the desire to maximise the
firepower of the component parts. The following structure is the “text-book” organisation.

Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters:One Big Man
One attached FO

Platoons One to Three: One Big Man

One Medic
Three ten man rifle squads each
One nine man weapons squad

Mortar Platoon: Three 81mm mortars

The rifle squads are armed with M16s and M79 ‘Blooper’ and are Assault Rifle squads, the weapons
squad fields two M60s and one 90mm recoilless rifle and is considered a Machine Gun squad.

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each US platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 5 or 6.

Page 93
 
IN-COUNTRY INFANTRY COMPANY
Tabletop Force
In reality the strength of US forces in the field were generally lower than book strength, allowing for
men on leave, wounded or normal attrition through losses. A more realistic model for a US infantry
company would be as follows:

Company Headquarters:One Big Man

One attached FO
Option One
Platoons One to Three: One Big Man
One Medic
Three eight man rifle squads each
One eight man machine gun squad

Option Two
Platoons One to Three: One Big Man
Three ten man rifle squads each

In Option One the rifle squads are all under-strength and the machine gun squad has left its recoilless
rifle behind at base. The former count as Assault Rifle squads, the latter as a Machine Gun squad.

In Option Two the weapon squad has been broken down to equip each of the rifle squads with an M60,
giving it an additional dice of firepower.

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each US platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 6.

MECHANISED INFANTRY COMPANY

The Mechanised Infantry Company with the M113 ACAV was a well equipped force of mobile infantry
with a serious amount of firepower.

Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters:One Big Man mounted in one M113 carrier
Three Medics in a M113 “band aid box”

Platoons One to Three: One Big Man

Four eight man squads each mounted in one M113 per squad

Mortar Platoon: Three 81mm mortars mounted in M113 carriers

The mechanised infantry squads are each armed with two M60s that may fight mounted or
dismounted, with each M113 counting as a weapons platform for the 0.50” Browning and the two
M60s. When dismounted one man would continue to man the 0.50 from a mounted position, whilst six
men with the two M60s would dismount and fight as Machine Gun squads

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each US platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 6.

Page 94
 ARMORED CAVALRY TROOP
An  Armored Cavalry Squadron was made up of three troops of ground forces which were organised as
follows.

Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters:One Big Man
M113 HQ Track
Three medics
Communications Track

Platoons One to Three: One Big Man

Platoon HQ M114 track
Scout Section of two M114 reconnaissance tracks
M113 with one ten man rifle squad
M113 mortar track with one 81mm mortar
Tank section with three M48 tanks

The force represented here is theoretical as operational TO&Es would vary from unit to unit. The M114
was unpopular, and the Scout Section was often replaced by a M113 with the Scout Section crew
forming a second rifle squad which provided more firepower. The tank platoons would also vary in
size, with two tanks being more likely in the field.

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each US platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 6.

AIR CAVALRY TROOP

An Air Cavalry Troop was generally attached to each Armoured Cavalry Squadron. These formations
operated with a large amount of helicopter support, much of which was held back in reserve in order
to ensure provision of continuous air presence over the area of operation. The following structure
represents what would normally be operating in the AO at any one time.

Page 95
  

Tabletop Force
Red Team: The Red Team is made up of two helicopter gunships, the UH-1B Hog
up to 1968 and then the AH-1 Cobra

White Team: Two observation helicopters, the OH-13S Sioux or the OH-6 Loach

Pink Team Option: It was found that operating one Observation helicopter and one Attack
helicopter from the White and Red teams made a very effective Hunter-Killer
combination. The player may choose to split his teams up to form Pink Teams
if desired.

Blue Team: Five UH-1D ‘slicks’ provided transport for the Aero-Rifle Platoon.

Aero-Rifle Platoon: One Big Man

Four eight to ten man squads

The Aero-Rifle squads are each operate as an Assault Rifle squad

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for the Aero Rifle platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 3-6.

US MARINE COMPANY
The United States Marine Corps fielded a larger company unit than its Army equivalent, but it too had
problems maintaining numbers when in the field. A Marine squad was theoretically fourteen men
strong, but in practice these numbers were rarely achieved; a strength of twelve men per squad being
more typical.

Page 96
  

Tabletop Force
Company Headquarters:Two Big Men
One attached FO
One Corpsman

Platoons One to Three: One Big Man

One Corpsman
Three twelve man rifle squads each

Weapons Platoon: One Big Man

Mortar Section of three 60mm mortars (three crew each)
Machine Gun Section of three squads, each fielding two M60s (ten man squad
or two weapons teams with five crew each)
Anti-Tank Section of three squads, each with two 3.5” Bazookas (three crew
each)

The Marines were armed with the M14 at the start of the conflict, with this being replaced by the M16
during 1968; their squads are considered Assault Rifle squads throughout the conflict.

The Marines were trained to fire their M60s from either the bipod or tripod mount. If using the bipod
mount the squad will operate as a whole with ten men forming a Machine Gun squad. If tripod
mounted the squad will break down into two five man weapons teams, each counted as an MMG.

The Marines preferred the Bazooka to the LAW as it packed more of a punch.

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for each platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 5 or 6.

COMBINED ACTION PLATOON

US Marine forces were heavily involved with training and operating with ARVN forces throughout the
war. The following diagram shows a Combined Action Platoon, with US Marines combining with Popular
Force troops.

Tabletop Force
Platoon Headquarters: One Big Man (US Marines)
One Corpsman

Combined Action Squads: Four US Marines with ten ARVN Popular Force soldiers

The Combined Action Squad will count as Obsolete Rifle squads before 1970, but with three or more
Marines attached they will receive an additional dice for firing.

Additional Big Men: Roll a D6 for the platoon, adding a Big Man on a roll of 6.

Page 97
  
US SUPPORT
Support for a US forces was abundant and generally available. The following table lists some of the
assets that may be used by a company sized force. Clearly what support is available depends on the
priority of the mission being undertaken.

US ARMY
Battalion Assets
Heavy Mortar Platoon: Four 4.2” M-30 Heavy mortars, 5 crew each
Assault Platoon: Up to six eight-man Assault squads equipped with the M-2A1-7 flamethrower

BRIGADE Assets
Transport: Either truck/jeep transport or the battalion could be provided with M113
transport or be made airmobile with helicopters.
Artillery: 105mm artillery support.

divisional Assets
Artillery: 105mm, 155mm or 175mm artillery support.
Tank Platoon: Five tanks per platoon

US MARINES
Battalion Assets
Mortar Platoon: Six 81mm mortars, 5 crew each
Recoilless Rifle Platoon: Six 106mm
Anti-Tank Platooon: Six M-50A1 Ontos AFVs
AMTRAK Platoon Ten LVPT-5A1 amphibious vehicles
Tank Platoon: Five tanks
Artillery: One 105mm howitzer battery

REGIMENTAL Assets
Heavy Mortars: Six 4.2” heavy mortars
Artillery: 105mm or 155mm artillery support.

divisional Assets
Artillery: 155mm artillery support.
Tank Platoon: Five tanks per platoon

Rating US troops
The following table is used to indicate the number of Action Dice that are available for US squads
depending on the number of men they have.

Troops/Dice 0 1 2 3 4
US Infantry 1,2,3 4 5 6,7,8,9 10
US Cavalry 1,2,3 4 5 6,7,8 9+
US Airborne 1,2 3 4 5,6 7+
US Marines 1,2 3 4 5,6,7 8+
USMC Combined Action Squad 1,2,3,4 5,6 7,8 9,10 11+
LRP, LRRP, Rangers, Special Forces 1 2 3 4,5 6+

Page 98
  
Infantry anti-tank
Weapon Weapon Strike
M-67 90mm Recoilless Rifle 9
M-40 106mm Recoilless Rifle 11
Infantry Anti-Tank 0-4” 4-8” 8-12” 12-16” 16-24”
Infantry squad 2 - - - -
Special Forces team 4 - - - -
MMG 1 1 1 1 1
HMG 2 2 2 2 1
M-72 66mm LAW 7 7 7 7 7
M20 Super Bazooka 9 9 9 9 9

Armoured vehicles
Vehicle Armour Class Weapon/Strike Speed
M48 A3 Patton 12 90mm 12 Average
M41A3 Walker Bulldog 4 76mm 8 Fast
M60 MBT 16 105mm 13 Average
M103A2 Heavy Tank 4 120mm 8 Slow
M67A2 “Zippo” Flame Tank 12 75mm 14 Average
M551 Sheridan 4 76mm 8 Fast
M42Duster 40mm SPAAG 3 Twin 40mm 4 Fast
M50 Ontos 2 106mm RCL 11 Fast
M56 Scorpion 1 90mm 9 Fast
M163 VADS SPAAG 4 20mm Gatling 3 Fast
M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle 12 165mm 6 Average
XM706 Commando 3 Twin 0.30 MGs Wheeled
M106 107mm Mortar Carrier 4 4.2” mortar Fast
M113A1 4 MGs Fast
M114 Scout Vehicle 3 MGs Fast
M125 81mm Mortar Carrier 4 81mm mortar Fast
M132 Armoured Flamethrower 4 Flamethrower Fast
M577 Command Post Carrier 4 None Fast
LVTP-5 2 MG Average/Amphib

helicopters
Helicopter Role Crew Passengers Ammunition
OH-6 Loach Observation 2 - -
OH13 Sioux Observation 1 - -
OH-58 Kiowa Observation 2 or 3 - -
UH-1B Huey Transport 2 to 4 7 Door gunner
UH-1C Huey Transport 2 to 4 7 Door gunner
UH-1D Huey Transport 2 to 4 12 Door gunner
UH-1H Huey Transport 2 to 4 12 Door gunner
CH-21 “Flying Banana” Shawnee Transport 3 to 5 21 Door gunner
CH-46 Sea Knight Transport 3 26 Door gunner
CH-47 Chinook Transport 3 33 Door gunner
CH-53 Sea Stallion Transport 3 to 5 38 Door gunner
CH-54 Tarhe Transport 3 - -
UH-34 Sea Horse Transport 2 17 Door gunner
Huey Hog/Frog Attack 2 - 10/12
Huey Nighthawk Attack 2 - 8
Huey Heavy Hog Aerial Artillery Attack 2 - 14
AH-1 Cobra Gunship Attack 2 - 14
AH-1G Cobra Aerial Artillery Attack 2 - 16

Page 99
   Riverine craft
Name crew speed armament
Swift Boat Patrol Launch 6 Fast Fore: HMG turret mount
Rear: HMG platform mount
Assault Support Patrol Boat 6 Fast Fore: Twin HMG
(Alpha Boat or ASPB) Aft: One 81mm mortar
5 Fast Fore: Twin HMG
Patrol Boat, River Amidships: M79 grenade
launcher
Aft: One HMG
STCAM/FOM (French PBR) 8 Fast Fore: HMG
Aft: MMG
River Patrol Craft (RPC) 6 Average Four HMGs
Assault Support Boat 6 Average Fore: 20mm cannon
Amidships: Twin HMG
Aft: 81mm mortar
11 Average Fore: 40mm cannon + 2 HMGs
Amidships: Two 81mm mortars
LCM Monitor Two side turrets with one HMG
each
Aft: 20mm cannon
Command Control Boat 10 Average Fore: 40mm cannon
(CCB) Amidships: Three turrets with
HMG and two MMGs

Armoured Troop Carrier 8 Average Three turrets amidships, one

(Tango Boat) HMG, two MMGs
OR Flamethrower
OR Water-cannon
SK5 Air Cushion Vehicle 4 Fore: Turret mounted HMG
(PACV, “Pac-Vee”) Up to 20 Amidships: two side firing MMGs
passengers Aft: MMG or M79 grenade
launcher
Hurricane Airboat 2 Very None
Up to 5 Fast
passengers
Sampan 4 Very None
Fast

Card allocation
One card will be present for each infantry and support platoon. Any attached tanks will operate on a
platoon card. Artillery support is likely in all situations. Air support may be available.
The following national characteristic cards may be added as appropriate.
Rapid Deployment: This may be included in the Game Deck for any armoured force.
Recon Bonus: May be included for Special Forces units or occasionally for a particularly
experienced Observation helicopter crew.
Rally: This should be included for most US forces.
Armoured Bonus: Will always be included for an armoured force.
Track Breakdown: Always included for a track mounted force
Rock and Roll: Always included for a force with weapons platforms.
Dust Off: Always included when Critical Wounds are suffered.
Bonus Fire: Included for any force fielding tripod mounted machine guns or for
experienced mortar teams.

Page 100
US Army units will tend to have poor field-craft, with the exception of Special Forces who have good
 
field-craft. US Marines will not normally have good field-craft, but will equally not be likely to have
poor field-craft. All US forces have National Pride.

Rating US big men

US Big Men can be rated according to the wishes of the scenario designer, or may be diced for on the
following table. The first Big Man attached to a platoon will be its commander. If a second Big Man is
present he will considered the platoon NCO. Where a company has two Big Men as part of their HQ
rate the second one as though a platoon commander. Add +1 for Marine and Airborne forces; add +2
for Special Forces.

Role Dice Level

0-3 3
Company Commander
4-8 4
0-2 2
Platoon Commander 3-4 3
5-8 4
0-2 1
Platoon NCO 3-5 2
6 3
7-8 4
Special Forces 1-3 3
4-6 4

Page 101
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.

Close Range Effecti

ive Range Lo
ong Range
MGs//AFVs Up to 18” Oveer 18” Sppecial Effectt
Infa
antry Up to 9”
9 9” to
t 18” Over 18”
Diice Grreat OK Poor Great OK
O Poorr Great OK Poor
1 4P
4 2 1 P - - - - -
2 5
5P 3 1 1P - - - - -
3 6
6P 3 2 2P - - - - -
4 7
7P 4 2 3P 1 - P - -
5 8
8S 4 2 4P 2 1 1 P -
6 9
9S 5 2 5P 3 1 1 P -
7 10S 5P 3 5P 3 1 2 1 -
8 11S 6P 3 6P 3 2 2 1 -
9 12S 6P 3 6P 3 2 3 1 -
1
10 13S 7P 3P 7S 3P 2 3P 1 -
1
11 14S 7P 4P 7S 4P 2 4P 1 -
1
12 15S 8P 4P 8S 4P 2 4P 1 P
1
13 16S 8S 4P 8S 4P 2 4P 1 1
1
14 17S 9S 5P 9S 5P 2P 5P 1 1
1
15 18S 9S 5P 9S 5P 2P 5P 1 1
1
16 19S 10SS 5S 10S 5S 3P 5S 1 1
1
17 2
20S 10SS 5S 10S 5S 3P 5S 2 1
1
18 2
21S 11SS 6S 11S 6S 3P 5S 2 1
1
19 2
22S 11SS 6S 11S 6S 3P 6S 2 1
2
20 2
22S 12SS 6S 12S 6S 3P 6S 2 1
2
21 2
23S 12SS 6S 12S 6S 3S 6S 3 1
2
22 2
24S 12SS 6S 12S 6S 3S 7S 3 1
2
23 2
25S 12SS 6S 12S 6S 3S 7S 3 1
2
24 2
26S 13SS 6S 13S 7S 3S 7S 3P 2
2
25 2
26S 13SS 7S 13S 7S 3S 7S 3P 2
2
26 2
27S 13SS 7S 13S 7S 3S 7S 3P 2
2
27 2
27S 13SS 7S 13S 7S 3S 7S 3P 2P
2
28 2
28S 14SS 7S 14S 7S 4S 7S 3P 2P
2
29 2
28S 14SS 7S 14S 7S 4S 8S 4P 2P
3
30 2
29S 14SS 7S 14S 7S 4S 8S 4P 2P
3
31 2
29S 14SS 7S 14S 8S 4S 8S 4S 2P
3
32 3
30S 15SS 7S 15S 8S 4S 8S 4S 2P
3
33 3
30S 15SS 8S 15S 8S 4S 8S 4S 2P
3
34 3
31S 15SS 8S 15S 8S 5S 8S 4S 3P
3
35 3
31S 15SS 8S 15S 9S 5S 8S 4S 3P
3
36 3
32S 16SS 9S 16S 9S 5S 9S 5S 3P

Direct Fire Support

D Indire
ect Fire Direct Fire Supporrt
& Air Strikes Suppport To 70m
mm 1D6
71mm tto 99mm 2D6
100mmm plus 3D6
P = Pin
nned – All movementt stopped foor this turn
n – fire with
one column shift to
t the right. ct Fire Suppo
Indirec ort
To 84mmm 1D6+2
S = Su
uppressed – All moveement and firing stopped for thiis 85mm tto 105mm 2D6
turn 106mmm to 125mm 2D6+1
126mmm to 145mm 2D6+2
146mmm to 165mm 3D6
166mmm to 200mm 3D6+1
Over 2000mm 4D6