Greetings again Fire in the Lake fanatics! After a 5 year absence, Fire in the Lake returned to WBC tournament competition this year.
The 2024 tournament opened with a total of 7 enthusiastic combatants (including your GM) who came to “smell the napalm” again. The first Heat used the revised Tournament Deck B with 2 total tables (4 players at Table 1 and 3 players at Table 2). In that first heat, it was the ARVN garnering 2 wins (Tim Klepaczyk and Andrew Brown, both new to the tournament) with the NVA (played by your very lucky GM), along with Steve Katz (a veteran, also playing the NVA) coming in second at both Tables.
In the second heat using the revised Tournament Deck A and with only one table of 4 players, the ARVN won for a third time (Joel Tamburo, a tournament veteran), with the NVA (again played by your very lucky GM) coming in second once more.
Because only 4 entrants showed up Friday to contest for control of the “hearts and minds” of Vietnam in the Medium Scenario, the tournament proceeded immediately to the Final. Our second heat winner Joel Tamburo took control of the NVA. Todd Carter (a veteran) was the VC. A second place finalist in the first heat, Steve Katz, was the US. Tom Blessing (new to the tournament) was our final player, representing the ARVN.
For the first time in tournament history, a “historical result” was achieved. Joel Tamburo representing the NVA secured Victory and the first place laurels with 21 VPs (+1 Margin) when the second Coup Round occurred (a Failed Coup Attempt). His Insurgent partner, Todd Carter, as the VC came in second place with 18 VPs (-18 Margin), receiving a copy of Karnow’s Vietnam as his additional prize. Tom Blessing as the ARVN and Steve Katz as the US tied with 29 VPs each (-21 Margin). But Tom Blessing as the ARVN secured third place on the tiebreaker (also receiving Karnow’s Vietnam as his additional prize) with Steve Katz as the US coming in a very respectable fourth place (receiving Moore’s/Galloway’s We Were Soldiers Once and Young as his additional prize). By virtue of their earlier respective finishes in the Heats, Andrew Brown secured the fifth place laurels while Tim Klepaczyk secured the sixth place laurels.
As relayed to me by the contestants in the Final, here are some interesting events that happened in this titanic ight for the “hearts and minds”:
- COIN forces struggled due to “President-for-Life” Nguyen Cao Ky miraculously surviving two coup attempts (meaning each Pacification would cost 4 Resources instead of the usual 3)
- Brutal “Search & Destroy” operations by the COIN forces that adversely affected the Vietnamese population as too many villagers were caught in the cross-fire (thus shifting Support/Opposition one notch each time towards Active Opposition)
- The hellish moonscape created by “shaded” Arc Light for the B-52 bombings (each Air Strike now shifted targeted locations not one, but two levels toward Active Opposition) which also didn’t help the COIN cause
- COIN forces were aided by the armored punch of Patton M-48s which helped repulse the first NVA invasion
- NVA eventually controlled the Mekong Delta areas which became critical to its success
- NVA’s timely play of its powerful Easter Offensive pivotal event to decimate COIN forces that proved too much for the US/ARVN to overcome
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