About This File
Fleet Ex 83
A Harpoon Commander's Edition scenario for the Westpac Battleset.
This scenario is designed for play by the BLUE side only.
The year 1983 has sometimes been described as the 'most dangerous year'. Certainly an argument can be made that this is true, at least as far as the Cold War was concerned. A number of events occurred during 1983 that brought the two superpowers of the era - the United States and the Soviet Union - as close to the brink of war as they had ever been.
On 8 March 1983, American President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech in which he described the Soviet Union as an 'evil empire' and the 'focus of evil in the world'. Soviet President Yuri Andropov responded angrily, describing Reagan as 'insane'. Barely two weeks later, fuel was thrown on the smoldering fire. Reagan delivered another speech on 23 March, announcing plans for a laser armed, space based missile defense system that would defend America from nuclear attack. Again Andropov was incensed, accusing the USA of preparing for a first strike.
With the rhetoric heated to an unprecedented temperature, and the paranoia in full swing, the stage was set for the possibility of a full scale conflagration between the superpowers.