[Hermit]

Having pushed the VietCong/VietMinh back in the Mekong Delta area, we have gradually been flushing enemy units out of their bases and worked our way northward over the past few months. It's now the fall of 1956, and we've cornered some consolidated enemy units in the rugged mountains of the Central Highlands. They haven't had time to prepare defensive positions yet, and we've been ordered to move forward and engage before they do have time.

Their positions are concentrated in an area containing six rugged peaks, comprising one central horseshoe-shaped ridge surrounded by five others that are nearly as impressive. There are some tree-covered valleys, some rice paddies, and a very few open areas on the surrounding plateau. There is a single dirt road running E-W, and one running N-S. The N-S road will be of little use, since it will be well behind the expected encounter area, and it's unlikely the enemy will come down off their high hills and seize it. The E-W road, while potentially useful, offers many opportunities for ambush (of us) and will therefore be used only on a section-by-section basis as we clear it. There's good visibility from a weather standpoint, but the many high hills and trees mean it will be mostly short lines of sight. The enemy's acquisition of B-10's, discovered in our last encounter, combined with the short lines of sight, will make it difficult for effective enemy troop-killing by armor without endangering our own tanks, meaning they'll be relegated to a suppression role when/if they have an LOS to the enemy. That also ignores the extremely rugged and steep hillsides. When you factor in that aspect, armor will have only a limited role in this engagement.

Since our last report, we've upgraded another tank to M48A2, and replaced another that was lost to an enemy SKZ bazooka. We also got new SPA artillery after ours went back for refitting. Our 155mm units were replaced by 8-inch, closed-top units. Unfortunately, they hardly carry any ammo, just enough for a few volleys, and they'll have to be be tied closely to an ammo supply or they'll be of very little use either. Division has sent over six platoons of scouts to search out the enemy, and six big transport helos to ferry troops around in the area. Two flights of Intruder's with those kick-a** cluster bombs are also waiting on-call. That's all we're getting in terms of support this time, plus a bunch of ammo 1/2-tracks. Wish us luck!