Putting the US Aero-Rifle Platoon to Work

The ARP's, or Blues as they were often called, were utilised in a limited number of mission types. Despite their increased firepower and communications compared to a regular line platoon, this was not a unit that could sustain a fire-fight over a prolonged period or against a numerically superior enemy - especially if that enemy was determined.

However, when on the ground, the platoon often had significant aerial fire support from it's attendant helicopters - in particular, the Red or Pink teams that were invariably on-station. In considering this, it is unlikely that your aero-rifle platoon will be unsupported and you should be ready to deploy additional helicopter or infantry assets in support of the ground action.

Having said that, several mission types spring readily to mind and each of which is ideally suited to the employment of the ARP's:

• Securing downed helicopter and/or crew
• Developing light contacts
• Insertion into blocking positions
• Use as an Eagle Flight

Looking at these individually should give you some idea of how to develop scenarios for each of these mission types.

Bear in mind that the Aero-Rifle Platoon is only one platoon in the Air Cavalry Troop of the Armored Cavalry Regiment, Divisional Armored Cavalry Squadron or Air Mobile Division. In all of these cases, the Air Cav Troop was primarily a reconnaissance unit, charged with finding and fixing the enemy in place until larger forces or firepower could be brought to bear - this role directly influences the types of engagements that the Aero-Rifle platoon is likely to encounter.

Securing Downed Helicopters and/or Crew

Contrary to popular opinion, the US lost an enormous number of helicopters in Vietnam. Admittedly, not all of these were combat losses but a significant proportion were. The US Army alone lost over 2,200 helicopters to hostile action in the period 1962-1973. Of this total, some 600 were OH-6 'Loach' Aero-Scout aircraft. Anyone who has read accounts detailing the activities of the Aero-Scouts will know that many pilots experienced having a number of aircraft shot out from under them only to return again and again in another aircraft. Even the AH-1G Cobra, for all of it's justifiably vaunted firepower and maneuverability, nonetheless quite often fell prey to enemy action - over 170 of these aircraft were lost in the same period.

The figures quoted above are, I believe, total combat write-offs and do not include the hundreds of aircraft that went down, were recovered and eventually put back on the flight line. It can therefore be seen that the incidence of helicopters being forced onto the ground as a consequence of enemy action was quite high and that despite the best efforts of pilots to steer their stricken aircraft away from the contact area, many of them often went down in the midst of, or at least in close proximity to, the enemy.

The destruction of a helicopter, the acquisition of it's equipment and armament and the capture or elimination of it's crew were major objectives for the NVA and VC and they would often go to great lengths in order to achieve this objective. As a result, once a helicopter and it's crew went down, the race was on, the clock was ticking so to speak, as to who would get to the stricken aircraft and it's crew first!

Since time was of the essence in this situation, it was common practice to have the Aero-Rifle platoon on stand-by in order to react immediately to the loss of an aircraft. Once an aircraft was down, the platoon would be inserted in order to secure (or destroy) the aircraft and to retrieve the crew (dead or alive) - in this particular role, the Aero-Rifle platoon was quite often the only hope of the crew. Suffice to say, that hope was well placed since the ARP's were, according to all accounts, almost fanatic in this type of mission - to the point of sometimes inviting their own destruction.

So, the classic scenario consists of a downed helicopter and crew in desperate need of being retrieved prior to the arrival of enemy forces on the scene. What will generally develop on the table-top is a contest for the 'prize' between the ARP's and the equally fanatic enemy forces. In the case of the ARP's, they will want to be in-and-out of the area as quickly as possible, if necessary, the stricken aircraft, if not already destroyed, can be destroyed by other means (artillery and/or airstrikes) whereas the crew MUST be extracted. The enemy on the other hand, will contest the rescue fiercely and will often use the stricken aircraft and crew as 'bait' to lure the ARP's or other aircraft into their killing zone.

Sometimes, due to considerations of terrain, it was necessary for the ARP's to be put on the ground some distance from their objective, in which case they had to move quickly over-land to the scene. This could mean that they encountered enemy forces between them and their objective. The permutations are as endless as those that were experienced in real life and a reading of many of the excellent sources will give you dozens of ideas.

Developing 'Light' Contacts

In the role of reconnaissance, the Air Cavalry Troop constantly sought out the enemy, attempting first to locate him and then 'fix' him in position until sufficient forces could be mustered in the vicinity to destroy or capture him. For this role, the Red, White and Pink teams were developed consisting of observation aircraft and gunships generally flying one high and one low.

If contact was made, the gunships would generally 'roll in hot' on the enemy force whilst the location of the contact and the estimated size of the enemy force was relayed to a higher headquarters. If the enemy force was considered to be small enough to be dealt with by a single US platoon, the ARP's were often deployed to take care of this task. Similarly, if the contact was simply a suspicious sighting then, once again, the ARP's would be used to check it out. Quite often though, as was invariably the case in Vietnam, a situation that looked relatively straightforward at first glance could rapidly develop into something far more complex and dangerous.

In this manner the ARP's could find themselves being inserted into combat with what was deemed to be an enemy squad or platoon-minus, only to find that as the contact developed, this 'squad' was the reconnaissance squad of a much larger enemy force. In this scenario the hunter quickly becomes the hunted and it is time for the ARPs to 'didi' out or else find themselves having to 'call in the cavalry'.

In order to accommodate such an eventuality, it was SOP to have an Infantry Company also on stand-by status, or at least in close proximity to the AO, that could be inserted to either reinforce the ARP's or secure their extraction. This is the type of scenario that will involve all of your Crossfire forces.

Once a contact had been initiated and developed to the point that it was clear that larger enemy forces were involved than was originally estimated, the ARP's would generally be extracted and the main effort given over to regular line units. The extraction of the ARPs was sometimes a mission in itself and an excellent table-top scenario.

Insertion into Blocking Positions

As already mentioned, upon making contact with enemy forces, the Red, White and Pink teams would attempt to engage and destroy them. The enemy however, made best their attempts to escape and evade the aerial threat, often taking to their heels. In these cases, while the gunships and scouts tried their best to channel the enemy by attacking their flanks and rear, the ARP's would be inserted ahead of the retreating enemy force to take up a blocking position. In this manner they would act as the 'anvil' upon which the enemy would be broken in a classic maneuver.

This type of scenario is going to see the ARP's already in position, quite possibly using hidden placement rules, and awaiting the retreating enemy forces. The enemy objective is going to be to break through the blocking position and exit off the table or else be destroyed in the attempt.

The difficulty for the ARP commander is that he has only very limited man-power resources (eight stands of infantry and a command stand) with which to prevent the enemy's egress from the battlefield. This being the case, particular care needs to be given to the initial deployment of the ARP force. I would also suggest that the umpire establish the routes of the enemy's egress before the game begins and that the enemy force follows this path irrespective of the positioning of the US force.

This type of game can be very tense and either result in an almost immediate and furious exchange of fire or else involve the US commander frantically trying to reposition his forces in order to interdict the enemy route of withdrawal - still resulting in a frantic exchange of fire if the umpire has done his homework.

Summary

Introducing an Aero-Rifle platoon into your games opens up a whole range of tactical possibilities as well as affording you the opportunity to develop scenarios that will, as they unfold, involve the use of your full collection of figures. On the other hand, you can organise scenarios that are short and sharp and involve a battle of wits as well as brawn.

In all cases, when deploying the Aero-Rifle platoon in your games, remember the historical role that they played and don't go putting them into situations that are not in keeping with their historical deployment - they were not placed in a blocking position to interdict columns of NVA T-55's for instance, or to take on entire NVA battalions John Wayne style! This is not to say that they never found themselves in situations that could, and did, deteriorate rapidly, but rather that they were not used in a kamikaze or reckless manner.

Also, bear in mind that the full resources of an Air Cavalry Troop will, if necessary, be brought to bear in support of the platoon - the helicopter pilots and crews who had the ARPs to thank for the many times that they or their fellows had been extracted from under the noses of the enemy would, themselves, go to extraordinary lengths either to extract or protect their very own 'Blues' when the need arose.