Battle of Dak To - July 29th & 30th

[whitney1]

Battle of Dak To
Background:
The Battle of Dak To was the last of a series of battles in and around the town of Dak To, Vietnam, taking place between November 3rd and 22nd, 1967. Several "regular" units of the North Vietnamese army with artillery support moved into the area on the Laotian border, and planned an assault similar to one they have successfully carried out years earlier against the French. Like the Battle of Khe Sanh taking place at about the same time, US firepower was so overwhelming that Dak To was a disaster for the NVA, with one NVA general referring to it as "a pointless waste of men and resources".
The first battle in the area had taken place as part of the Viet Minh's final attempts to eject French colonial forces from Vietnam. Assembling a large force they attacked the various outposts north of Kontum City on February 2nd, 1954, quickly overwhelming them. By the 7th it was clear the defense was lost, and the French withdrew from Kontum Province. The battle was known locally as Dak To, named for the nearby village (To = hot, Dak = water, after nearby hot springs).

One of the bloodiest battles of the war takes place in the Central Highlands near Dak To. About 4,500 troops of the US 4th Division and 173rd Airborne Brigade face off 6,000 North Vietnamese troops of the 174th regiment. The North Vietnamese are forced to withdraw, with 1,455 dead troops. US causalities numbered 285 killed and 985 wounded.

Unit Choices:
Americans: 4th Infantry Division
Airborne troops: 173 Airborne Brigade
North Vietnamese: 1st Division comprising the 66th, 320th, and 174th regiments
Independent infantry: 24th regiment
There will be a hand picked group of players playing as civilians and Viet Cong. There will be no distinguishable marks to differentiate and only the Viet Cong will know who else are Viet Cong. They will disrupt the game as much as possible and have free reign over what they do. (The leader of the Viet Cong will try to notify the nearest ref before any actions and clear as much as they wish through Game Control.) Only the game coordinator and those chosen for the roles will know who are Viet Cong.

Length of game: Day 1: 11am-9pm (ending at dusk, depending on light conditions.)
Day 2: 9am-2pm (Awards ceremony immediately following.)

Commanders:
Americans:
General James H Johnson – Commanding Officer
Played by: TBA
Col. Chris Chambers – XO American Infantry – CO American Armor forces
Played by: TBA
Lt. Col. Daniel Livingston – CO Airborne Forces
Played by: Jeff “Darthmag” Neet of Team American Anthem

North Vietnamese Army:
General Vo Nguyen Giap – Commanding Officer
Played by: Josh “DeltaPaintball” Foote of Delta Paintball Team
Col. Chan Ho – XO NVA regulars
Played by: John “Joker” Nell of Delta Paintball Team
Major. Sun Guy Neyo – 24th Infantry
Played by: Peter “Evil Cetane” Joy of Riot Squad Paintball Team

Costs:
Game dates: July 29th and 30th.
Pre-registration: $35. ($45 day of) Pre-registration deadline July 21st. Register by calling or visiting Albany Paintball Emporium. Phone: 518-452-4373
Field Paint Only. 2 Grades available. Origin Classic ($65) and Basic Training ($55). Camping available onsite.

More information available online at www.albanypaintball.com or www.strategicpaintball.com.

[-Cilio-]

Would you happen to have more pictures of the field? I checked the site out, there was only about 3.

Also, is this an in house promoter or outside? Have they run a lot of games? Just trying to get a feel for what to expect if we make the trip up to Albany.

Thanks for any info, much appreciated.

[whitney1]

Unfortunately, they are rebuilding their website and don;t have an official gallery, but one of the home teams has some photos up.
Here's a link to their gallery: http://www.blacksheepsquad.us/gallery
Or you can check out the photos on StrategicPaintball.com form the February game they held called Ice Station Delta.

Cilio, I know some of your old team was form the area and you might remember the field, up until last summer it was Splat Factory. The new owners have made quite a few improvements even since the photos in those galleries were taken.

Since the new owners have taken over, they have held 4 official scenarios and they hold mini-scenarios every other weekend. For this game, it is an outside promoter...me. I am doing this for the love of the game and to support the field. I can promise you that you won't be disappointed in the field. It's sparse in some areas, but that is part of them trying to expand it and bring the old field back to life.

Turnout has been on/off for some of their games, but even their game in February which was held with temps below -10 at noon had almost 100 players. We're expecting around 200 players for this game.

[-Cilio-]

Thanks for the info Whitney. We have the Wayne game at CPX IL on the following weekend but a couple of us might go if able. Just saw your post and figured I'd ask.

I talked to the guys from my former team and none of them (Joe C., Norbert or Tim) said they've been there. You might be talking about the guys from PAIN, I'll ask them.

Anything over a 100 is a decent size for a game, 200 would be great.

Poor Darth's sitting on the American team, all alone, facing all your Strategic boys :D He may have to pull out the light saber for this one ;)

[whitney1]

They average anywhere from 20 to 75 for an open play saturday, so turnout should be pretty good. I don't think anyone from Pain has played there, at least no one that was on Pain when I was there. The field is actually one of the oldest in the country, it originally opened in the mid-80's.

Jeff has plenty of help, I couldn't put the US General up because I didn't have his last name yet, but to lead the US: Tony 'Toochman' Tucci of Black Sheep Squad. But I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls out a lightsaber for it, he's been known to do that from time to time.