Charlie Company: Infantry Combat in Vietnam, 1965-1972 (1986)

Miniature wargame rules for Infantry Action in Vietnam 1965 - 1968.
Charlie Company is designed to serve as an ongoing miniatures campaign game which reflects those peculiar circumstances that were a part of Infantry Combat in Vietnam. As such the rules are designed to focus on the Infantry Company and its supporting arms, and not on Special Forces, Riverine or Armored Cavalry actions. As a game system it can be played with anywhere from 3 players to as many as 20, with one person serving as umpire and being responsible for setting up and running the game.

Players take the role of a Company Commander, Lieutenant, or Sergeant in the US armed forces; the GM controls the VC and NVA. The players start off green and continue their “Tour of Duty” through scenarios and gain experience. Eventually, if they are lucky and skillful, they will become seasoned veterans. The game expects the players to complete 12 of these missions before their tour of duty has ended.

The book provides an overview of the Vietnam War and how the various militaries were comprised. Players may play Marines or the US Army and each is historically equipped. South Vietnamese units may be used as auxiliary forces as well as Ruff Puff’s, the CIDG, the Australians, the Koreans, and American engineers/special forces/LRRP teams. Terrain includes open, brush, elephant grass, forest, dense forest, jungle, rubber plantations, rivers and streams, swamp, villages, urban combat, bunkers and entrenchments, tunnels, rice paddies, hills, gullies, canals, roads, trails, and paths. Rules for booby traps like pungi stakes, claymores, etc. are also given. Helicopter assaults and air support rules (fire for effect, napalm, strafing, are in addition to all the typical infantry maneuvers usually found in miniatures wargames like direct fire, charging, grenades, sniping, forward observers, indirect fire, artillery, etc. Also includes rules for night vision, sappers, flamethrowers, engineers, riverine operations, beehive rounds, and prisoners. There is also a glossary of military jargon and a bibliography of suggested books to give Game Masters ideas for more scenarios.