Wargame: Red Dragon Vietnam War Decks

Note from the author

 
I just completed binging on some Rambo films a few days back, and decided to share with you all my interpretation of what a Vietnam War themed deck would be like. 
 
I am by no means a qualified historian, nor am I a pro at Wargame Red Dragon. I just happen to love the game, and reading some history. I have tried to keep the units as historically accurate as possible, and have searched a myriad of sources [its Wikipedia mostly :)]. 
 
There’s also lots of helicopters, and napalm in keeping with the pop culture depictions of the war. 
 
Anyways, have fun playing with these decks. 
 
 

NVA + Viet Cong Deck

 
NVA + Viet Cong Deck : 
 
I won’t bore you with any history or context behind the Vietnamese guerrillas and the North Vietnamese army. Lets just straight get to the point. 
 
They are an infantry heavy force since tanks and other heavy equipment are very difficult to move around and use effectively in forests. Most of their hardware is supplied bu the erstwhile USSR, and China and their allies as reflected in the deck. 
 
 
 
Deck Code : @Us4aSOcwpykLoLpyiYEJ5yiGsgCF4F5DDC8Q5FTItQnkc5hUIUJbGCZchsKmQ7hPpICiloCkReUOpDxLUQEIaxO+TDEV6LJEOA== 
 
Infantry comes in trucks and BTR-60Ps, pretty standard stuff. I’ve also given them lots of shoulder launched AA to act as a counter to the American helicopters. 
 
They have quite good missile AA, but not as good AA guns. If used properly the SAMs will alone decimate enemy aircraft. 
 
The Vietnam war wasn’t know for its tank battles. The difficult terrain, and American airpower rendered tank offensives useless. They did have tanks like T-34-85, Type 59s, T-54s, PT-76s etc etc..but nowhere near as much as the Americans, so I have just given them T-34s and PT-76s. PT-76 is also amphibious so it can be used to make some nasty surprise attacks 🙂 
(Should I add a card of Type 59s, to make it more balanced..?) 
 
Some recoilless rifle mounted jeeps for more ambushes… 
 
I added the helicopter I found in Battlefield Vietnam.. 
 
Early in the war they had Mig-17s which weren’t much good against American F-4s, but these do not exist in-game. They also had Mig-19s which I have added. 
The jewel of the North Vietnamese air-force has to be the Mig-21. It was a massive pain in the bottom for the F-4 when it was introduced and it will the same here too 😉 
The Russian migs were bit too good, so I gave them the Chinese versions. They cost just a little less than the F-4s, but are more experienced. 
The airforce is for defensive purposes mainly, they do have some attack aircrafts, but they can easily shot down, so use them carefully. 
 
Thats pretty much it. The NVA deck is best suited for defense and ambushes, using these in flat open maps will result in easy annihilation of your infantrymen. 
 
 

US Deck

 
US Deck: 
 
Lots of helicopters, lots of napalm, and then some more….at a glance that is what this deck seems like. I do not know how accurate this depiction is though 🙂 
I have tried my best to keep the units as historical as possible. 
 
 
 
Deck Code: @AM4J2ggcqPUdhUxBkqKIJVMziKiSCFTI46okcckBU4SllNIYuSlxIxR8kgJT6SSiwImySakGIuqI8iHolhXEi8FrxWRFxlcKScixovSLGiuoroA= 
 
Lets face it, the US decks seems a lot scary in comparison to the Vietnamese one, and to some extent it is. It is expected to be a tough nut to crack, and since Wargame cannot simulate a 20 year long conflict along with the various political issues it entailed, in most of the cases the American deck will win against the Vietnam deck. (But its fun using napalm to burn vast swathes of the land, and see so many helicopters flying about, isn’t it ?) 
 
4 out of the 5 infantry cards have helicopter transports. So be careful of the NVA anti-air. 
 
Sheridans and M48 Pattons form the armoured spearhead. M60s weren’t used in Vietnam (except for a few variants which are present in the support tab). The Sheridans are easy prey for the T-34s and PT-76s, but the vast numbers of M48 tanks make up for it. 
 
The iconic cobras and more heli-borne infantry form the backbone of your recon. 
 
Now comes the fun parts, in the vehicles tab, both the Zippo and M150 shoot napalm. Excellent for burning out the NVA and VC infantry. 
 
Cobras and Heavy hogs for helicopters. Watch out for the shoulder AAs. 
 
Assigning aircraft was quite a task for me. I really wanted to include the A4 Skyhawk, but in the end dropped it in favor of the Aardvark. You also have the F-4s, which do all things from SEAD attacks, to napalm strikes, and air superiority missions. 
Most of the aircraft here are worth a lot of points and are in limited quantity, so you cannot just waste them. Each aircraft shot down will hurt you dearly. 
 
In the naval tab the Monitor Zippo provides more napalm for your pleasure. 
 
There isn’t really much to say regarding the playstyle of this deck. Use it as you wish, I’m sure you are a much more better player than me in Wargame. Helicopters provide fast insertion of troops, and then maybe follow up with tanks, maybe some napalm strikes…the skys the limit. Just have fun. 
 
Let me know your views in the comments, any changes or additions that could be done. 
Enjoy 🙂 
 

Here we come to an end for Wargame: Red Dragon Vietnam War Decks hope you enjoy it. If you think we forget something to include or we should make an update to the post let us know via comment, and we will fix it asap! Thanks and have a great day!