Scenario Design & Discussion

Crap. Just Crap. So thought Admiral Konstantin Sidenko as he slid the vodka bottle away across the desk and looked at the telex one more time. Japanese at Yuznho-Kurilsk, and I have to kick them out. And just three months until a nice retirement, the Black Sea villa, the wine cellar, the mistress, oh, the mistress...Crap! What rotten luck. I wonder who told them what lousy shape we're in. He stood up, put the bottle in the cabinet across the room. No more of that for a while. He put some water in the samovar for tea and assessed the situation. In a large sense, he was "screwed" as the Americans put it. Years of low budgets and corruption had sapped the Far East …

Resolve AAR Taiwan has managed to stem the tide of PRC fury against their fortress island. Unfortunately the mandarins in Beijing are unwilling to cease hostilities. Enter the United States Navy and, for good measure, Air Force. The Pentagon has concluded that one good parlyzing strike to Chinese strategic nuclear forces may be enough to force their concession. Easier said than done. Their target, Datong Missile Base, lies 1000nm inland, beyond a coastal belt of stalwart air defenses and naval task forces. The Lincoln carrier group, steaming off southern China, is given the mission of opening a lane for a bomber strike targetting Datong. Her airwing is co…

After Action Report "Punch Through" A Harpoon Classic scenario for the original NACV Battleset "Punch Through" was one of my favourites in the old times. It always gave me close and hard fought out battles. To be honest, I usually lost. In this scenario the red aircraft are rather well coordinated and heavily press the Nato defenders of Stornoway and Kevlavik. And so things getting started many years after the last scenario run. I start with setting up my GIUK CAP and an Iceland based Sentry. Soon after that one wave after the other attacks. SU-24 Fencers, Badgers, Backfires. The typical Soviet Cold War inventory. Nasty surprises include…

I was re-introduced to this scenario by a bug report. It took roughly five minutes to re-create the bug from the provided save game. It took another 3 hours for me to stop playing the stupid thing! That was the first time in a number of months I'd spent any real time playing HC for non coding purposes. So with Labor Day Weekend on the schedule I thought I might find opportunity to take the scenario for a spin from the start. The bug report that started it all: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2228326 Find the scenario at: http://harpgamer.com/harpforum/index.php?a...mp;showfile=361 So this is my kind of scenario, lots of action, not all that mu…

After Action Report for 'A Nice Little Shootout' A scenario by Pawel Kurek (PAK) 'A Nice Little Shootout' is a new HCE scenario for the EC2003 GIUK Gap battleset. I played the scenario using beta 2010.001 and the HCDB database. Scenario Background Orders As commander of the NATO (Blue) forces, you are directed to move the friendly amphibious group (AFS) southward at best speed toward safer waters along the Polish coast, while a multinational surface action group (AGS) is directed to try and rendezvous with AFS, to provide it with some better degree of protection against Russian attack. Also, you are directed to scramble as many fighter aircraft a…

AAR: Allegro [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic scenario By Christopher Stoner [a.k.a. DarkNite] PTM Tze Chiang had been the hero of the opening act in what would soon be known as the Spratly Affair. Her four victories over two Batillo-class gunboats and two H-6 Badger bombers made her the must successful command in the history of the Republic of China’s armed forces. However, Lieutenant Zhao knew that luck was a finite quantity and he firmly believed that he and his crew had used up all of theirs in the first scene. She was currently paired up with the frigate, Hsi Ning off the coast of Labuan. I ordered CAP [Combat Air Patrols] aloft over all of …

AAR: Bad Moon Rising [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic scenario By Brad Leyte I decided right away that recovery was too risky since there was virtually no possibility of air coverage of any of the surface elements. They would be too exposed in the heart of the Russian / Chinese strike range. I ordered the submarine tenders and rescue ships to stay well away from the Kuriles and gambled with the submarines. A CAP [Combat Air Patrol] was sent up to cover the Frank Cable. They were engaged by Flankers and returned fire when fired upon. It turned out that the Russians were going to be very sensitive to any and all flights in the northern Pacific and were "defend…

After Action Report: Bear Goes South 2 A scenario by jugasa77 This is a pretty short AAR, but I felt I owed the author at least a few comments. Bear Goes South 2 is a new HCE scenario for the EC2003 GIUK battleset. I played the scenario using beta 2009.017 and the HCDB database. This is a fairly large and busy scenario. And challenging. I lost both the HMS Illustrious and the HMS Invincible to brutal SS-N-19 SLCM attacks from Oscar class submarines at short range. So short in fact that I had virtually no opportunity to defend. My base at Orland, Norway, was also under constant threat. In the end it sustained only minor damage, but there were seve…

[spoilers! - obviously] After Action Report for 'Bearbaiting' A scenario by rainman 'Bearbaiting' is a new HCE scenario for the EC2003 GIUK battleset. I played the scenario from the BLUE side using GE Build 2009.076 and the HCDB database. Scenario Background Orders I am in charge of two surface groups, one centred on the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and the other on the amphibious assault ship USS America. The De Gaulle has a good number of Rafales aboard, while the America has only a handful of F-35B Joint Strike Fighters and US/Spanish Harrier II Plus types. Each group has a decent number of escorts and support vessels, and plen…

AAR: Beida-La-Boom [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic scenario By Mark Gellis Operation Yankee Slam was underway and the Marine Expeditionary Unit – Special Operations Capable [MEU-SOC] was nearing their line of departure. Unfortunately, the only meaningful air cover was based at Aviano airfield, nearly 700nm away. The task group only had a handful of Harriers for local protection so an E-3 Sentry and a gaggle of F-15 Eagles were tasked with immediate air protection for the ships. An EC-130E also accompanied them and thoroughly jammed Libyan radar to the point of near uselessness. The Libyans may not have been technologically advanced, but they were bra…

After Action Report : Big Lizzie and Big George A scenario by Broncepulido for the EC2003 GIUK battleset and the HCDB2-170714 database. Spoilers apply! * * * * * * I played this scenario from the Blue side, commanding the combined QE and Bush carrier groups in the North Sea, together with a handful of shore based aircraft assets. At game start, friendly reconnaissance assets quickly discovered a combined Russian/Chinese surface action group in the North Sea centred around the battlecruiser Peter the Great and a Chinese Type 052D destroyer. Although the sides are immediately hostile from start, I chose to permit Red to make the best overtly hos…

AAR: Black Valour A scenario by Mark Gellis Romania was unhappy with Turkey, and its big brother, Ukraine, had promised to show up on the playground if there was any trouble. This time, the playground was the Black Sea. Realizing that a large portion of my front line TuAF fighters (F-16 and F-4) were sitting on the tarmac with no weapons loaded, I immediately set about arming them for air-to-air and suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) missions respectively. The ex Perry class frigate Gediz and a pair of FPB57 fast attack craft were patrolling in the western Black Sea, but I did not want to reveal their positions just yet by energizing their radars. Rathe…

AAR: Blame it on the Kellys [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic scenario By Brad Leyte As the orders arrived from Canberra, all that I could think about was the poem that went, "For want of a nail..." When were the pongos ever going to learn that the pointy end of the spear is pretty damned useless without the beans, bullets, and gas needed to get them there? Now, due to a shortage of spare parts, no ASW helos could be operated from the frigates that depended so heavily upon them. Well, the bean counters finally got their way. I just hope that they are the same ones who have to count the bodies that result from their parsimonious conduct after this operation is ov…

After Action Report for 'Business as Usual' A scenario by AJ Heredia (Juramentado) 'Business as Usual' is a new HCE scenario for the Westpac battleset. I played the scenario from the BLUE side using beta 2010.005 and the HCDB database. Scenario Background Orders Intel reports formations at least ten (10) small boats between Zamboanga and Basilan, typically composed of small attack groups centered around a mothership. A group of stolen Indonesian Navy patrol boats is reported possibly south of Basilan. A detachment of aid personnel and supplies is being shipped from Zamboanga to Basilan, aboard the Philippine Navy LSM P06. Also, local commercial traf…

After Action Report: Colombian Hat Dance A scenario by Mark Gellis 'Colombian Hat Dance' is a new HCE scenario for the new custom 'Caribbean Sea' Battleset. I played the scenario using beta 2008.050. My Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico) task force was ordered to locate and destroy the terrorist base believed to be situate about 60 miles southwest of Juanchaco. As with much of its naval force, Task Force ABS consisted of elderly warships acquired from other nations, including the flagship Manuel Azueta (formerly the US Navy Edsall class destroyer escort USS Hurst), a pair of ex US Navy Knox class frigates – the Ignacio Allende (formerly the USS Stein) and the G…

AAR: Constant Glance [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic scenario By Brad Leyte "They're fighting over gas!?!", Bradford exclaimed? "I can't believe that they are fighting something when my brother-in-law has such a vast oversupply." A few grins lit up across the room at that. It was intended to lighten the mood and was only partially effective. The entire staff at US-Eastern European Task Force [EETF] HQ could see the dire situation they were in. Odessa had just launched her aircraft in what she would hope to be a lightning quick strike into the Crimea. With luck, they would be able to suppress the lightly defended airbase near Kerch before the Russ…

Continental Connection - EC2003 GIUK By Mark Gellis This scenario appears to be almost ripped from the headlines. Nuclear Proliferation. Since I only had one base with any ability to support my meagre aerial assets, I decided that I would have to be very careful in protecting her from attack. I only had 18 Falcons at my disposal so I elected to configure them for AAW missions. Once armed, 4 were assigned as a continuous Combat Air Patrol [CAP] approximately 200 nm NE of the base and in line with the Russian base on the Kola Peninsula. A pair of Falcons were sent north to reconnoitre for the convoy. Their Electronic Support Measures [ESM] detection equipme…

After Action Report: Crete Convoy A scenario by Mark Gellis So, I had to get a convoy through possibly hostile waters. Well, lotsa experience doing that, so her goes ... I had very little fixed wing air support, so that meant I would need to use my two helicopters sparingly and carefully. I moved into the Strait of Sicily at a decent cruise speed of 16 kt without energizing any radars or launching any helos. No sense in letting an enemy know my position too early ... It wasn't long, however, before I figured it was getting a little too dangerous to be cruising along blind. In fact, a neutral oil tanker had reported on open channels about being overflown by a …

AAR: Crimean River [spoiler Alert] By Brad Leyte The loss of weapons-grade nuclear material is the greatest modern-day fear of most Western leaders. That fear would become a reality if this mission were to fail. With only four Harriers in the entire operation, the heavy lifting was going to be left up to the pilots of the helicopter gunships and the Marines and Special Operations troopers in their slicks / Osprey. The Harriers were launched in order to clear a path for the air assault elements. Unfortunately, the pair of Harriers assigned to Simferopol air base declared mechanical problems and immediately returned to base. This meant that 50% of the …

AAR: Cruise Control [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic scenario By Mark Gellis The Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation is likely one of the most difficult missions to undertake. Not only must the evacuation force fend off threats to itself, but it must also attend to the needs of the evacuees. This was the mission assigned to the LPD Iwo Jima. The situation had the Cruise liner, LPD Trenton, HSV sailing independently. This meant that they would essentially be naked to aggression. With an unknown submarine reported in the area, I felt that it was just too risky to allow for them to sail alone. One torpedo would be all that was required to scuttle the…