Recoilless

Recoilless

An ammunition horse and her platoon, Korea 1952–53. A free documentary game.

In October 1952, the 75-mm Recoilless Rifle Platoon of the 5th Marines bought a small mare at the racetrack in Seoul and named her after their weapon. On 27 March 1953, in the fight for Outpost Vegas, she carried ammunition up Hill 120 all day.

You are the platoon's ammunition sergeant on that day. Load eight rounds or six; let her rest or send her up again; send Marines packing alongside. The battle's course is history and you will not change it. What you decide is how the rounds get up the hill — and what that costs the horse and the men who carry.

• No enemies to aim at, no score. At the end, your count stands beside the counts in the record — 51 trips and 386 rounds in Andrew Geer's book of 1955, "more than 150" in the general's foreword, "over five hundred" in a photo album, and nothing at all in the official history.
• From the record: Geer, Reckless, Pride of the Marines (1955), and U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, vol. V (1972). Official Marine Corps photographs and maps.
• With the Korean porters who carried the same loads at night, the dead of both sides, and how a legend grows.

English. Plays in the browser, about twenty minutes. Free; donations welcome.

Independent. "Sgt. Reckless" is a registered trademark of its owner; this game is not affiliated with or endorsed by any foundation, venue, or the U.S. Marine Corps. Content note: war; deaths stated as figures; no images of the dead.