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Having tried to experience an outpost siege from the air, I figured it would be appropriate to also do so from the ground. Once again I’ve got some Marines subject to a vaguely-historical situation who need my help. The scenario is The Walking Dead for Steel Panthers: Main Battle Tank.

Nice looking defense you got there. It would be a shame if…

The introductory text emphasizes that the scenario is free and loose with the historical details (although which details are not specified). It says that the portrayed battle is based on the aftermath of Operation Buffalo, where the 1st Battalion of the 9th Marines suffered substantial casualties. Although the battalion’s losses during this fight were dreadfully high, the battalion’s nickname, “The Walking Dead,” goes back further by more than a year. The scuttlebutt has it that in 1966 General Giap promised Ho Chi Minh he would wipe out the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines and referred to them as di bo chet, the walking dead. The delivery of this destruction was to be in time for Ho Chi Minh’s birthday, on May 19th. The 1/9 was operating around the area known as Dodge City (for its frequent shoot-outs).

This is the eightieth in a series of posts on the Vietnam War. See here for the previous post in the series and here to go back to the master post.

Giap did not destroy the 1/9 but, perhaps thumbing its collective nose at the General, the Marines took his appellation as their nickname. The name was also a grim reminder that (especially after Buffalo and the heavy losses at the beginning of July, 1967) 1/9 had the longest sustained combat (47 months and 7 days) and the highest killed-in-action ratio (26%) of any battalion in Marine Corps history.

The scenario note (and the scenario’s details themselves, of course) seem to refer to the dawn attack that kicked-off Operation Swift in early September, 1967. Unfortunately for the scenario’s author, the defender Marines in that battle were from the 1st Battalion of the 5th Marines (Geronimo!), not the 9th and the Walking Dead. I can’t say for sure this was meant to be that fighting from September 4th; while his descriptions put it in roughly the right place with a generally a similar situation, the company designations don’t quite line up either. Not that it is all that important. He says quite clearly that this is meant to be a fictional scenario. It’s just that, if I’m reading it right, it kind of ruins the reason for picking The Walking Dead as the scenario’s title.

Well-timed B-52 strike.

That said, it is a nicely put together scenario that contains a little bit of everything. The “firebase*” is taken from Scenario 104, which is a 1948 battle with the French. The map really does look good. The forces at the Marine player’s command includes infantry and armor, heavy artillery, helicopters, air support, and spotting aircraft. Rescue forces are on the way and recon teams prowl the jungle outside the wire. The Walking Dead is a good way to experience the full power of American combined arms. For one example, look at the above screenshot. A B-52 strike has been called in and you witness the effect of it in one of the opening turns. Given the situation (surprise attack) and the transit time for a B-52 flight, this would be pretty much impossible – but it is still cool.

A target rich environment.

The downside is that each and every turn must now track that multitude of weaponry over many targets and targets-of-opportunity. Even aiming a single volley out of the trenchworks can result in several minutes of return fire. Playing through a turn takes many, many times the “real time” turn length of 3 minutes. Computer opponent turns are a brutally long affair which tempts me into walking away from the machine while it cranks out the results. Of course, then, I miss all those fireworks that made the scenario seem so exciting to begin with. That A-6 and F-4 run you had scheduled? Yeah… they already happened and you missed it. Maybe you want another one a couple of turns from now?

This is all another reminder that nothing has really filled the shoes of this quarter-century-old PC game but that shoes this old and well-worn can sometimes get a bit rank.

Return to the master post for more Vietnam War articles. For more flight simulator goodness, click here.

*Scare quotes here because, if I’m correct, the attack was launched against a temporary, nighttime perimeter set up by D Company (1/5) in the vicinity of the village of Dong Son. The presence of the Marines was meant to shield the villages in the area from intimidation during elections. However, the scenario text is correct – the real goal was to draw out the enemy into a major engagement and destroy them.