Silver Bayonet: The First Team in Vietnam, 1965

About this board game

Silver Bayonet: The First Team in Vietnam, 1965 is a two-player, company-level wargame with a listed playing time of 300 minutes. It recreates the desperate struggle between the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division and a full North Vietnamese Army division in South Vietnam’s Central Highlands.

In October 1965, General Vo Nguyen Giap launched a major offensive west of Pleiku, threatening two isolated special forces camps and the strategic town beyond them. With the garrisons surrounded and badly outnumbered, the newly formed 1st Cavalry Division moved from nearby An Khe to provide relief.

The American force is completely airmobile, with more than 400 combat helicopters offering rapid movement and resupply. That mobility does not guarantee victory: the opposing soldiers are tough, well-trained veterans, and the fighting unfolds across thirty miles of rugged, jungled terrain.

Silver Bayonet presents the campaign at a detailed operational scale. Each turn represents one day, each hex covers one mile, and units represent companies. Players can explore the challenges of limited intelligence and concealed forces while managing air support, transport helicopters, and SAMs.

• Introductory scenarios lasting 5–30 minutes
• Advanced scenarios lasting 1–2 hours
• A campaign game lasting 2–20 hours
• Twelve scenarios covering the conflict
• A 22-by-34-inch mapsheet, 200 die-cut counters, three player aid cards, and a ten-sided die

Set between October 23 and November 25, 1965, the game focuses on the clash west of Pleiku and the struggle to hold back the Communist offensive. Its range of scenarios supports both shorter introductory sessions and an extended campaign experience.