you're already in cubbie
general military strategy/tactics
almost all infantry/foot units are represented at company level unless otherwise stated. so this means that, roughly speaking, each infantry unit equals approximately 150-200 men. all autorproduction rates (especially the US ones) were determined using this calculation against the total turns for the scenario in connection with actual real-life/historical deployments.
South Vietnam
the name of the game for this position is to rid the south of the Viet Cong and take over the various VP locales located all over SV. there's a catch though - all of the Viet Cong units have the 'invisible' flag. these are the units that are spawned from the Ho Chi Minh Trail city imp's. this network stretches north of the DMZ in central Laos and winds its way all the way south of Saigon. the regular PAVN/NVA (Provisional Army Viet Nam/N Vietnamese Army) units can be built in any locale so long as the 'North Vietnam' resource flows into it via a road net (it's the 'rural' resource up north). these units though are not invisible. so how to defend against the invisible enemies? special forces units of course
these elite units have the 'detect invisible' flag and are spawned every ten turns by three different pre-placed wonders (US Green Beret, US Ranger LRRP, ARVN Ranger -- LRRP stands for Long Range Recon Patrol). so the key is to scatter these units (there's a half dozen pre-placed) across the Republic so that they can actually 'see' the VC units at which point you can call in your air strikes - this is important - b/c without spotting the VC units, the air units can't conduct a successful bombardment mission. most of the ARVN units (Army of the Republic of Viet Nam) can be built (ARVN Marines & Paratroopers are spawned). all tanks are spawned and unbuildable (the wet weather in indochina was not conducive to tanks outside of defensive roles).
the prosectuion of the air war as this position demands some MM'ing if you wish to succeed. you start out w/ 2 large carrier battle groups (CBG) parked out in the Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea. in sum, there are 10 carriers w/ a transport capacity of 5-6 planes which basically equal a naval aircraft squadron for each in-game unit (they're all named to the historical order of battle too as are all of the ships). each naval air unit has unique and distinct abilities and bonuses too (air-to-ground attack, fighter-bomber, reconnaissance). these aircraft are also the only ones able to load onto the carriers which are all immobile btw. but the ranges of the aircraft all allow for them to hit nearly anywhere in north or south vietnam and westwards. none of the naval aircraft are buildbale and are instead autopro'd by certain sm wonders (they act simjply as 'replenishers' for any lost or damaged naval aircraft - you're bound to lose
some you know
)
the land-based aircrafts have similar attributes and bonuses plus the biggie: the heavy bomber bonus - ie, the B-52 Stratofortress. these beasts are the most devastating conventional bombers ever to fly and they have tremendous in-game stats (100 bombardment and 6 RoF + lethal land). of course, they're autoproduced by the pre-placed 'Operation Arc Light' wonder every 12 turns. land-based air-to-ground planes, fighter-bombers (f/b's), helos, gunships, and transport planes round out the lineup of air units.
note that the high-end f/b's are only able to be built in the 5 Thai 'Airbase' cities shown circled in red.
this is a sealed off part of the map where Charlie and company can't get to b/c some adjusting w/ tile restrictions in the editor. so for all intents and purposes, this area is a safe haven to conduct air wars from.
however, a great deal of caution needs to be used when attacking fixed enemy locations like cities and advanced earthworks as there is often enemy anti-aircraft emplacements and i've lost several planes during testing due to this. the NV position has a whole unit line dedicated to anti-aircraft weapons (flak and SAMs). and i finally found a way for the AI to build the AA pieces. so beware if you want to take your precious B52 fleet over Hanoi. send in your f/b's in droves until you know that the coast is clear. i'll go into greater detail later on the both sides of the air war as this was by far the most intensive aspect of the war (more US bombes were dropped on
South Vietnam than all of Europe combined during WW2
). so if you're an aircraft enthusiast, this one's for you
air transport is key for the SV position, especially w/ the helos. just as they were effective all over S Vietnam during the war, they're just as important for the SV player for battle field/LZ insertions in many of the inaccessible and rugged terrains along the HCMT. the venerable UH-1 Huey "Slick" can carry 2 infantry units and will quickly become your best friend
the heavy duty C-130 Hecules transport planes are also handy in that they can schlepp the heavy arty pieces and the light armored units (M113 & M551). the air transport net also is good when there are not enought special force units (ie detect invisible) to patrol certain areas or road/highway junctions. the helos and c-130's can bypass the land route and resupply quickly and painlessly.
my basic strategies when playing this position in testing consisted primarily of counter-insurgency operations in the southern parts of the HCMT and along the borders in the Central Highlands of SV. search-and-destroy type operations for the most part. i'd send in a few US infantry companies usually w/ a special forces unit so i could 'see' who i was fighting against and also to call in air strikes. i made decent gains doing this but Charlie never rests. by that i mean that he's always trying to penetrate through the Highlands and to reinforce some of the VC-occupied VP tiles scattered throughout SV. know that Charlie is awfully sneaky moving around - and it can get hairy if no special forces units are around. the air strikes are what will save your ass really. so use the special forces units judiciously and you'll at least be able to stem the tide.
i'll post more on NV later
El J you will undoubtedly appreciate Bede's turnlogs. One of the finest writers on these boards.
nice 
Which reminds me of something El J, I've got a whole bucket-load of Vietnam-era songs if you think you need any more. 
