About This File
This scenario has been written to be playable in Harpoon Classic version 2022.027 (last available Matrix Patch) and is a variation of my previous version A 2nd Taiwan Strait Crisis Escalation.
Play in Westpac BS using HCCW-140314 DB.
On 24 and 25 August 1958 Chinese Communist (PRC) forces and Taiwanese (ROC) forces clashed in the vicinity of Dongding Island, which the Nationalist (ROC) troops controlled. The action was seen as an attempt by the communists to land on the island. This was the only naval and amphibious landing action during the crisis. ROC had begun to build military installations on the island of Kinmen (Quemoy) and the Matsu archipelago, very close to the Chinese mainland. The PRC shelled the islands of Kinmen (Quemoy) and the Matsu Islands in an attempt to take them from Taiwan, governed by the Kuomintang (KMT), and to probe the extent of American commitment to defend the Republic of China. The conflict also involved air, naval, and amphibious operations. Then U.S. secretary of state Christian Herter reportedly described it as the "first serious nuclear crisis". The USA provided military assistance in both material, especially aircraft and artillery, and a strong naval presence including naval escorts for island replenishments.
The Communist Chinese government announced a unilateral ceasefire on 6 October 1958. However, on 20 October the PLA resumed artillery fire on Kinmen because a U.S. Navy warship had breached the PRC-declared 3 nautical miles exclusive zone from the coast of China that they claimed was a stipulation for their unilateral ceasefire agreement.
In this scenario we play with the idea of the situation escalating, rather than subsiding. The powerful US carrier group has left and a major portion of the Taiwanese air force is in maintenance and repair. Word has it that USSR and China are getting restless
SPOILER ensure you play with nuclear release enabled 