Silver Bayonet - 25th Anniversary Edition
- 1.5 countersheets with 9/16" counters
- 22x34 inch mounted map
- Two 11x17 inch divider screens
- Rules & Play Book
- 15 Player Aid Cards
- One 10-sided die
DESIGNER/DEVELOPER: Gene Billingsley and Mitchell Land
ORIGINAL DESIGN: Gene Billingsley
MAP ART: Charlies Kibler
COUNTER ART: Charles Kibler, Mark Simonitch
RULE AND PLAY BOOK: Caitlin Land
PACKAGE DESIGN: Rodger B. MacGowan
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Tony Curtis
PRODUCERS: Mark Simonitch, Tony Curtis, Rodger MacGowan, Andy Lewis, Gene Billingsley
Component Photos (see slideshow at left) by Scott Mansfield. See Scott's Twitter for more.
LIVING RULES
ONLINE RESOURCES- Game Map
- Pleiku/Camp Holloway portion of Game Map
- Game Mechanics article from Rocky Mountain Navy
- Scenario #2 AAR from Lavia del Grognard [Italian]
-
InsideGMT Articles:
- Silver Bayonet, the 25th Anniversary Edition, by Gene Billingsley
- Anatomy of a New Map for Silver Bayonet, by Gene Billingsley
- Silver Bayonet Archival Material Part 1, by Mitchell Land
- Silver Bayonet Archival Material Part 2, by Mitchell Land
- Silver Bayonet: The Game as History, by Mitchell Land
- Sharpening the Bayonet: Silver Bayonet 25th Anniversary Ed. Update, by Mitchell Land
- Silver Bayonet Update: What's in the Box?, by Mitchell Land
- Tea Time: Scenario #6 After Action Review from Silver Bayonet, by Mitchell Land
- #3 The Drang River Valley (LZ MARY), by Mitchell Land
- Silver Bayonet Example of Play, by Mitchell Land
- Volko's Silver Bayonet Campaign AAR (Part 1), by Volko Ruhnke
Description
Silver Bayonet recreates the pivotal November 1965 battle between a full North Vietnamese Army Division and the US 1st Air Cavalry Division in the Ia Drang Valley. NVA expertise in lure and ambush tactics resulted in significant US casualties. US mobility and the ability to bring massive amounts of firepower to bear quickly virtually destroyed the attacking NVA division and forced a change in NVA tactics.
This re-issue of GMT Games' 1990 CSR Award winning title that started it all keeps the original operational system, but streamlines to it to include innovative combat resolution integrating maneuver combat, close assault, artillery bombardment, and support from gunships and air sorties.
Increased accessibility to primary and secondary source material has made it possible to make changes to more accurately represent both sides' unique capabilities without significantly altering or breaking the base game system. The major changes involve patrols, ambushes, landing zones, and the 1st Cav Brigade HQ, while minor changes tweak movement, combat, and coordination game mechanics to showcase radically different strengths and weaknesses the FWA and NVA force brought to the battles in the Ia Drang Valley.
Units: Section, Company, and Battalion
Time: Each game turn = 1 day
Players: 1 (Scenarios) or 2 (Scenarios and Campaign)
Map Scale: 1 mile per hex
Game Design: Gene Billingsley and Mitchell Land
