Scenario Design & Discussion

The 51st NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Papa and Son The Papa and Son Battleset was written by Ralf Koelbach for the HUD3 and Harpoon ANW. They have been re-written for compatibility with the PlayersDB and Harpoon 3 by Herman Hum with the consent of the author. These scenarios are designed for beginners. All scenarios use the same map, starting with using smaller parts of this map. The complexity and difficulty of the scenarios increases steadily. A fourth and fifth scenario has been added to the Papa and Son battleset by Ralf Koelbach. "Wings of Steel" In "Wings of Steel", aerial warfare is introduced. You are facing a Russi…

The 17th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Serpent's Island Starting from 1878 back when the Treaty of Berlin offered it to Romania and until today, this piece of rock has played various roles that have reflected the interests of the countries in the region. After being a simple location for a lighthouse used for guiding navigation, it became a strategic point for the USSR, the latter annexing it in 1948 through a simple handing over minute, out of the desire to complete its control of the Danube by taking advantage of the military and strategic context of that time. After the fall of the Soviet Empire when it became part of Ukraine, the latter bei…

The 25th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Alone in the Snow Sweden's neutrality lasted only as long as the Reformed Russian Republic had no need of anything that Sweden had and not a moment longer. The determined resistance of the United States' 1st Special Forces put the R3 theatre commander behind schedule by 36 hours. Behind schedule has never been a comfortable place for a Russian Commander and this commander was determined to be uncomfortable only for a very short period of time. His plan to get things moving again involved turning Norway's southern flank. But, in order to do that, staging bases closer than Germany were required. Unfortuna…

The 25th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Alone in the Snow Sweden's neutrality lasted only as long as the Reformed Russian Republic had no need of anything that Sweden had and not a moment longer. The determined resistance of the United States' 1st Special Forces put the R3 theatre commander behind schedule by 36 hours. Behind schedule has never been a comfortable place for a Russian Commander and this commander was determined to be uncomfortable only for a very short period of time. His plan to get things moving again involved turning Norway's southern flank. But, in order to do that, staging bases closer than Germany were required. Unfortuna…

The 268th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! PLUG THE DIKE The success of the Reformed Russian Republic in Norway increased the importance of supply interdiction in the Baltic Sea. The logistical requirements of the R3 army were enormous. Tons of supplies attempted to make transit of the shallow waters between Denmark and Norway. The threat to these small convoys was limited in scope. Because of the success of R3 airfield strikes, the NATO aircraft that remained had adopted a defensive posture, awaiting reinforcements. The few offensive missions that NATO launched were primarily offensive counter-air and aimed at the R3 air bases. Convoys of…

The 53rd NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Montreux Convention Since 1936, the Montreux Convention has governed the passage of naval vessels through the Straits of Bosporus and the Dardenelles. Turkish sovereignty over these waters was recognized with all signatories. The Convention limits vessels to 15,000 tons with a maximum combined tonnage of 45,000 tons for countries not sharing a border on the Black Sea. Foreign naval vessels are limited to 21 days within the Black Sea. On 21 August, 2008, three NATO frigates from Spain, Poland, and Germany sailed into the Black Sea and were joined by the American frigate, Taylor, for port visits and exer…

The 79th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Somali Pirates 2008 saw a huge increase in pirate activities in the Gulf of Aden and Western Indian Ocean. In the absence of an effective government in Somalia, whole fishing families took to piracy and hostage-taking as a means of income. NATO's navies, vastly over-designed for the task (with poor HumInt and even poorer ROEs), are forced to carry out the oldest Navy mission of the alliance, keeping the Sea Lines of Communication open. The task of preventing attacks by pirate ships nearly indistinguishable from regular fishermen is virtually impossible. Ships operators refuse to let their shi…

The 253rd NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! INGRESS PROJECT PENINSULA 94 Peninsula 94 is a series of 4 related scenarios (Recon, Ingress, Strike Ops, and Egress) representing different phases of a US multi-carrier battle group attack on the Kola Peninsula. From the Russian perspective, this is the mission the navy has trained for since its beginning: defense of the homeland. These scenarios are related by a common order of battle and a concurrence of mission. Any discrepancies can be attributed to poor bomb damage assessment and better than expected damage control. They should be played in order and from the same side to appreciate the deve…

The 20th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! "Eyes and Claws (Act II)" This is the seventh scenario of the PaSon battleset; the "pro version" of Eyes and Claws, the sixth scenario of the PaSon battleset. While the PaSon scenarios are designed for beginners, this one should be a match for experienced Harpoon players, too. Like the whole PaSon battleset, this scenario also assumes that the Soviet Union never collapsed and the Cold War went hot. There is a strong Red beachhead in Norway which has to be eliminated with limited resources. The Harriers are dedicated to Roberto Yeager. Use them wisely Author: Ralf Koelbach and Herman Hum H…

The 277th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Alpha Strike 1 As the tide of battle in the North Atlantic turned in favour of the NATO allies, it became clear that the lynch pin was Keflavik. Without it, NATO lost the ability to track R3 submarines as they sortied into the North Atlantic to interdict the sea lanes of communication. Without it, the convoys in transit lost raid warning and attrition capability on the Backfires, Bears, and Badgers hunting them. With Keflavik, R3 gained a forward base for those same aircraft, extending their search and attack range thousands of miles further into the North Atlantic and making strikes on the ConUS a terri…

The 81st NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Get the Tbilisi This scenario is an interpretation of the account from Michael A. Palmer's, "The War that Never Was". "... A large convoy of eight Soviet cargo vessels carrying supplies and equipment had rounded the North Cape and was making its way to Harstad. Attack NATO aircraft were driven off by the Tbilisi's Flankers and Forgers. The Soviet carrier had covered the landing of the Northern Fleet's Marines at Harstad and seemed likely to safeguard the movement of the brigade's equipment and supplies to the newly established beachhead as well. Moreover, the carrier's fighters hindered movement by ai…

The 54th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Philippines When Mt. Pinatubo covered Clark AFB in the Philippines, it signaled the end of US protection of this nation. By 2008, the Philippine Air Force had no operational jet fighters and its Navy had not acquired SAM- or SSM-armed ships. Insurgents and terrorist groups made good use of the stricken military and, by 2008, the Philippines opened discussions with China, Japan, and Korea on military and economic cooperation. The Philippines' closest neighbours, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Brunei, perceived a repeat of the WWII invasion threat from the north and each decided to widen their sphere…

The 278th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Missile Boats at Dawn No nation in the Middle East, and perhaps not in the world, has a more effective intelligence service than the Israeli Mossad. Quiet and effective, they search out potential problems and deal with them. On occasion, the things they discover are of such magnitude that assistance is needed from other arms of the Israeli military. Such was the case in mid-February, 1997. Through the work of a single agent, the Mossad learned of the completion of a quantity of chemical and biological weapons in Libya. These agents of mass destruction were to be shipped to Egypt. No target had been…

The 3rd NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Somali Convoys 2008 saw a huge increase in pirate activities in the Gulf of Aden and Western Indian Ocean. In the absence of an effective government in Somalia, whole fishing families took to piracy and hostage-taking as a means of income. NATO's navies, vastly over-designed for the task (with poor HumInt and even poorer ROEs), are forced to carry out the oldest Navy mission of the alliance, keeping the Sea Lines of Communication open. The task of preventing attacks by pirate ships nearly indistinguishable from regular fishermen is virtually impossible. Ships operators refuse to let their ship…

The 255th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! MATRIX SIEGE An exercise between the USN and Baltic naval forces. The passages of the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom [GIUK] Gap remain an intense focal point even in time of peace. The GIUK Gap is THE single most significant choke point for Russian merchant and naval shipping. These waters are also rich with abundant fishing areas and valuable mineral deposits and disputes regarding them are common. The resources that Russian once counted on are no longer guaranteed and a hungry Bear is a dangerous thing, indeed. At the same time, the Western Democracies are scrapping their naval assets faster tha…

The 55th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Devil May Care SilentHunter is the 25th new author to release a Harpoon scenario for everyone's enjoyment. Many thanks for creating and sharing it. When Britain faces its greatest peril, only one man can save the day. He's going to need a little help, though. This scenario recreates, in ANW form, the climax of the James Bond novel 'Devil May Care'. An evil genius intends to destroy Volgograd and start a nuclear war that will wipe out Britain. Only the RAF can stop him... Author: SilentHunterUK With over 330,000 PlayersDB scenarios downloaded in the last 12 months alone, the PlayersDB…

The 256th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! EGRESS PROJECT PENINSULA 94 Peninsula 94 is a series of 4 related scenarios (Recon, Ingress, Strike Ops, and Egress) representing different phases of a US multi-carrier battle group attack on the Kola Peninsula. From the Russian perspective, this is the mission the navy has trained for since its beginning: defense of the homeland. These scenarios are related by a common order of battle and a concurrence of mission. Any discrepancies can be attributed to poor bomb damage assessment and better than expected damage control. They should be played in order and from the same side to appreciate the developing…

The 4th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Warnings This scenario is based upon events described in the book, "Show of Force", by Charles D. Taylor, 1980, Charter Books. The United States has established a Trident re-supply base in the Indian Ocean. The Soviets claim that such a base is meant to de-stabilize the region and prevent the self-determination of African nations and others within the area due to intimidation. Both nations have deployed extensive fleets to the Indian Ocean in a "Show of Force". In retaliation for American ASAT operations, the Soviets have replied in-kind and destroyed all reconnaissance and communications satelli…

The 257th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! INTERFET-STABILIZE East Timor is an old Portuguese colony which was annexed by Indonesia in 1975. In August 1999, the citizenry overwhelmingly voted for independence, and, almost immedately afterwards, Indonesian-backed militia bacame active. By September, 250.000 people had fled the killings. In September, President Habibi of Indonesia finally agreed to the deployment of a multinational UN-peacekeeping force in East Timor so long as it was primarily Asian troops. While US, New Zealand, Italian, Singapore, Malaysian, and Norwegian troops began the long preparations for deployment, Australia was rea…

The 58th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Homecoming Coincidental with their attacks on Orland and Bergen, the Romanov's will also attempt to close the Suez and Panama Canals, and they will succeed. This will follow the successful decoying of substantial U.S. forces into the Pacific. (Alaska was, after all, unfairly traded away in 1867 for $7 million dollars; it was time for it to re-join a re-born Empire!) The immediate consequence will be the temporary isolation of the remaining forces in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Their greater than expected success in the Norwegian Sea will present them with an unprecedented opportunity, the outr…