Sixth Battle

Sixth Battle (version 2.0)

A Harpoon Commander's Edition (HCE) scenario for the South Africa Battleset.

This scenario is intended for play by the BLUE side only.

This scenario is a tribute to a favorite novel of mine, The Sixth Battle by Barrett Tillman, and although some effort has been expended at recreating the battle depicted in that book, I have also taken varied some of the events and players to make a workable Harpoon scenario. The scenario background contained in the file is considerably more detailed, but essentially:

Several large Soviet battle groups, now operating under the banner of the Union of Eurasian Republics (UER), have assembled off the coast of South Africa. Their intention is to force a change of power in the Republic of South Africa (RSA), into one that favors the African National Congress (ANC) and, indirectly, the Front Line States (FLS) of Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The UER has cut a deal with the ANC and FLS to form a cartel that would extend to all of the RSA’s resources, including uranium. Hard line regimes in the client states of Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam have pledged their assistance. The UER and its allies in the region have overwhelming firepower, and the South Africans stand virtually no chance without American intervention.

The elderly US Navy carrier USS Ranger is the only NATO carrier in the Indian Ocean, and it can count on little support from other friendly forces. The Ranger battle group has been planning for several days the best way to attack the UER carriers, plotting and wargaming several possible options, and now they think they have found a winning idea.