Silver Bayonet - Operation Long Reach

We’re back after it, this time to finish up the first cycle of plays with Scenario 11, Operation Long Reach, the full campaign of 39 turns.

As usual I played FWA, opponent as usual taking the PAVN. ARVN is really outnumbered at the start, with forces clustered in Pleiku and the Special Forces camps. However, I got very lucky on my first Air Support roll gaining 30 points. With ARVN hunkered down, there was not much more to do other than shift some units after the PAVN setup.

Here’s the setup:

PAVN, however, had to take an aggressive approach early on. One of the victory conditions is taking Pleiku, which if taken would hugely threaten the US’s ability to operate due to Camp Holloway’s proximity on the eastern outskirts of town. As it played out, the PAVN did not roll well (though not poorly), and I did not roll poorly (though not particularly well), and ARVN held out strong. This is important as ARVN needs to deliver supplies to either Duc Co or Plei Mei at some point. (A good story about this supply run is chronicled in “The Cat from Hue” by Jon Laurence.

We got through 4 of 39 turns, and saved the state to allow continuing the play. It might take 6-8 sessions if it goes the full length, but I suspect we’ll get to conclusion around the half way point.

Scenario 11 scoring notes, 2026-07-19

Marks: F = Fatigued, S = one step lost, E = eliminated. An E costs one or two steps depending on the unit’s strength when it was destroyed. The step cost of each E is shown in its row.

Turn 1

Turn: FWA 1, PAVN 0. Cumulative: FWA 1, PAVN 0.

Turn 2

Turn: FWA 1, PAVN 2. Cumulative: FWA 2, PAVN 2.

Turn 3

Turn: FWA 3, PAVN 0. Cumulative: FWA 5, PAVN 2.

Turn 4

No entry recorded.

Turn: FWA 0, PAVN 0. Cumulative: FWA 5, PAVN 2.

Score summary

FWA has destroyed 5 NVA steps through Turn 4.