Anzacs in Vietnam .

My big project for 2016 will be Vietnam in 20mm ,I have chosen to do the Australian and NewZealand forces rather than the usual American ones that grace so many war games tables . The Anzac contribution to the war in Vietnam was no where near as big as the American presence but is recognised as being more succesful , The Aussies at first only sent advisors but were soon committed fully and even introduced national service to bolster the numbers they could commit .The U.S at first used the Aussies in joint operations with its own forces but the Australian command pressed for its own task Force as it realised the American objective of large battle ,all out war was not the way to go. They had learned in Malaya with the British that the best way to deal with this type of war was to seperate the population from the enemy and deal with the enemy with patrols and ambushes .The hearts and minds war used by the Aussies was well recieved by the civilians and they soon became hated by the VC and NVA forces they came up against .The Aussie's were soon backed up by the SAS and the New Zealand Kiwis as well .

o 59,000 Australians served in Vietnam
o A total of 508 were killed in Vietnam
o A total of 3,100 were wounded in Vietnam
o 804,000 Australian males registered for National Service 
o 63,000 Australians were conscripted into National Service
o 18,000 National Servicemen served in Vietnam
 200 were killed
 1,279 were 
wounded
o Peak Australian troop deployment in Vietnam was 7,672 

New Zealand Defence Force in Vietnam o 3,500 served in Vietnam
o 37 were killed in Vietnam
o 187 were wounded in Vietnam
o Peak NZ troop deployment in Vietnam was 552

Over 100 medals for Gallantry were awarded including 4 Victoria Crosses .

THE PROJECT 
I am going to base the first part of the project on the scenario Binh Ba Market place in the Force on Force book Ambush Vallety from ambush alley games,  The scenarion is based on events on the 7th/8th june 1969 when Australian forces engaged VC and NVA forces in the village of Binh BA , this was an unusual battle in this stage of the war as it involved fierce hand to hand combat and house to house fighting .

Troops and AFV's advance on Binh Ba

Step 1 will be the Australian forces which will be

Platoon HQ = Officer , NCO, RTO, Runner and Medic

3 x Rifle Sections each of :

  

Element 1= Leader , scout,MG team ,rifleman

Element 2= Leader ,Scout, 3xRiflemen

4 x CenturionMkV tanks

4 X M113 Cadillac cage turret

Then I will concentrate on the NVA /VC forces and then the Village its self , when all this is done I will expand the Australian forces to company size for a possible Long Tan Scenario .