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Operation: Hastings @ Outdoor Adventures In Bowie Md.

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MessedUpMike:

Operation Hastings

Saturday, June 3, 2006
On May 17, 1966 , two hundred NVA soldiers waded across a shallow section of the Ben Hai River , the demarcation line dividing North from South Vietnam . Once across, the soldiers followed a narrow jungle trail through the lower half of the six-mile-wide demilitarized zone. Their mission was not to fight but to reconnoiter four districts in central and eastern Quang Tri Province in preparation for an invasion of Quang Tri in late May by the ten thousand men of NVA Division 324B, commanded by General Nguyen Vang. Vang planned to annihilate the ARVN 1st Division assigned to defend the province. Morale was high.

Vang needed large stores of food and armaments in place in Quang Tri before he gave the order to cross the Ben Hai. VC allies were tasked with this mission but fell woefully short, stalling 324B in the DMZ, as the American commanders monitored its activity and speculated about its intentions.

Though indications of the buildup were numerous, General Westmoreland was unwilling to mobilize his forces and commit them to immediate counterattack. The marines, whose tactical area of responsibility included Quang Tri, shared MACV's concern about the NVA build-up in the North. But they disagreed with MACV that the build-up constituted preparation for an all-out invasion of Quang Tri. Some marine estimates suggested that an invasion was unlikely because of the insurmountable logistics and supply problems a division-size NVA force would incur. Westmoreland ordered General Walt's Marines to conduct the reconnaissance needed to ascertain the purpose and scope of NVA infiltration into Quang Tri.

In addition to spotting three hundred fifty NVA regulars, the marines sighted fortifications, including mortar pits, trench lines, and foxholes. General Walt of the marines concluded, "General Giap and Ho Chi Minh had decided to slug it out with us." Westmoreland was now "convinced that the better part of 324B had moved across the DMZ."


General Westmoreland swiftly ordered Walt to ready as many as seven marine infantry battalions (eight thousand men) to stop 324B. Reinforced by five ARVN infantry and airborne battalions (three thousand men), backed by artillery and aircraft, and covered by the long-range guns of the U.S. 7th Fleet, Walt's marines fanned out in mid-July toward the DMZ. Operation Hastings , the largest marine operation up to that time, was underway.

Two dozen missions, smoke, special effects, tanks and lots more!

Cost: $50 ($45 online), includes Camping Friday night and Saturday night

Game start 1000 hrs Saturday to 1600hrs.

Game resumes 1800 hrs Saturday night, ends at 2300 hrs.

Biodregradable BBs are required.

For more info and updates click here:
http://com5.runboard.com/boutdooradventuresforums.fairsoftatoa

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