Scenario Design & Discussion

AAR: Force Z By Harold Hutchison HMAS Stuart found herself amidst three unidentified vessels. She immediately launched her SeaSprite helicopter to classify them. Unfortunately, one of her charges, Iowa Farmer, happened to be between her and one of the unidentified vessels. The merchant's master was particularly ornery today and refused all requests to turn his vessel to starboard and allow the Stuart to screen him. His reply was, "You're the [expletive deleted] Navy. It's not my job to get my [expletive deleted] [expletive deleted] [expletive deleted] shot off. You do your [expletive deleted] job and I'll do my [expletive deleted] job." With little choic…

The 275th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! SHARKS OF STEEL - PIG BOATS 2 At first, the world considered the declaration of war nothing more than a formality -- a joke. How could Russia successfully stage a war against Spain? Sure, the Spanish had vetoed the EC trade agreement with their large eastern neighbour, but they had their reasons. The problems could be evaluated and resolved. The declaration of war, though unnecessary, was somewhat understandable. In any case, the two nations were so far removed that nothing would come of the "war" -- right? The EC was completely shocked by the blitz the Russians conducted against the Spanish fleet. I…

The 264th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! LEND-LEASE 1994 The Second Russian Revolution was not the last -- most analysts knew this. The shaky economy the Yeltsin government inherited would not be easily fixed and a people with newly found rights had a tendency to complain and even defy. However, a disenchanted populace was not the major problem. When high-ranking military leaders decided that the new government could not manage the economy and ensure the survival of the Russian Federation, they acted. The Coup of 1994 was much better planned than its predecessor. There were no protests in the streets of Moscow and the propaganda campaign w…

Here's an excellent AAR. It is reprinted here with permission of the author: I tried Power Sweep from the NATO side. As I started the game, I got a passive sonar contact from my brit SSN that was behaving as a submarine; it course was quickly plotted to be right towards me so I calculated intercept time at 2 hours and started moving Kobben at 12 knots at periscope depth to cover the area left by my SSN. Two hours later the sub, now confirmed as Victor was at 6nm and two 81 knot torpedo's 'flew' towards it. destruction was instant w/o any chance of counterfire! I next moved the Brit SSN at 20 knots (it would not go to Flank) to cover the Norwegian Ko…

File Name: ANW DB - DESRON Battleset File Submitter: RKoelbach File Submitted: 15 May 2011 File Category: BattleSets DB Used: ANW DB 2.4.7 Authors: Dale Hillier DESRON Battleset for ANW DB V 2.4.7 written by Dale Hillier, rebuilt by Ralf Koelbach, 2011-05-15 The Battleset desciption file (dsd-file) is included. Just unzip the packed file in the scenarios folder under your ANW DB folder. Attention: You need the latest ANW DB version = V 2.4.7 to play them. Click here to download this file

The 46th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! To Enter Paradise Historians in the 21st Century will not agree on a start date for the First EurAsian War; some will argue, in fact, that there was none: the FEW will be for them nothing but a coalescing of several separate local wars. All will agree, however, that the collapse of the Soviet Union and then the partial collapse of the Western monetary system created a number of interacting power vacuums. And while the Rightful Restoration and the Koranic Compact initiated the creation of a new world order, they also fanned the flames of smouldering and ongoing conflicts all across Asia and Europe... Th…

Here's a nice report from Liuzg150181 re-printed with permission: Taken from my blog entry: http://liuzg150181.tripod.com/blog/ "Perhaps almost always, a pc game session against a human player - especially up against a veteran with tactical and strategic cutting-edge - would be much more pulsating and exulting than against the built-in AI which is more often than not of absymal or haphazard performance. No, the game is not about killing whales using harpoons(so environmentalist please don't flame my blog!), or that matters. As clarification the 'Harpoon' game is air and naval combat simulation game based the board game conceived by former naval officer Larry B…

File Name: Pledge 9: The Battle of El'dzhik File Submitter: Mgellis File Submitted: 06 Oct 2012 File Category: Scenarios Uzbekistan believes that Turkmenistan is using one of its dams to "steal" water from a river that runs through both countries. They have gone to the U.N., but to no avail, and have decided that their only option is to destroy the dam. Image: Uzbekistani Su-24 Fencer. Image released by the United States Air Force with the ID 050214-F-OK556-004. Author: Scott T. Sturkol, U.S. Air Force. Author's Notes: I wrote this scenario partly to explore the possibilities of smaller, air-oriented scenarios for Harpoon. It is based around a limited…

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…

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 38th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! The Svalbard Incident Following the demise of the "Evil Empire", the West believed that the "Red Threat" had completely evaporated. However, those same Western governments failed to anticipate the profound effects that hunger and poverty would have on the people of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The government of the CIS, faced a hungry populace on the verge of rebellion, realized that the West either could not or would not provide the massive capital outlays required to end the depression within the CIS. This left the government with the belief that only two options remained: allow the …

The 75th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Caribbean Happy Hour In the last few years, Venezuela made over 4B$ in military purchases from Russia. Su-30 Flanker planes, attack helicopters, and SAMs significantly changed the balance of power in the southern Caribbean. Negotiations continue over SSKs and, in September 2008, two Tu-160 Blackjacks made a surprise visit to Venezuela and flew patrols before returning to Russia. In summer 2008, the US re-activated the 4th Fleet to cover the Caribbean and CVBG George Washington practiced in the area before re-locating to Yokosuka, Japan. This left the Atlantic with just one carrier, Theodore Roosevelt whi…

[size:18pt]The [color:#CC0000]131[/color]st [color:#FF0000]NEW[/color] Harpoon scenario of the year![/size] [color:#000099]RECONNAISSANCE[/color] 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 co…

49th scenario posted this year! Another superb effort from one of the community's masters. This is the seventh scenario in his 21st Century Ocean Wars battleset. Malakka Strait The NATO-Russian war is 4 weeks old. Russia's naval aviation forces and US Carriers have fought several bloody battles around Japan. Japan has defended its islands well, but is now very vulnerable to the closure of its SLOC's. The Chinese navy has left port but has stayed out of the battle. The US losses in the Pacific and Atlantic theatres have forced it to withdraw the Seventh Fleet from the IO. Only Diego Garcia remains as a stronghold there. The task of providing security …

Just brainstormed the morning and thought how some of you would think of the US being the aggressor, the Red side? I've been researching the US Navy's return to Subic Bay and the reaction of the Philippines and China yet I haven't heard any reaction from Russia or North Korea. Some groups in the PI are against the return of the 7th Fleet and China seems neutral for the most part. So first off, has anyone read how China and North Korea are reacting to the US returning to its Cold War roots in Subic and second, your thoughts of the US annexing the PI in a Harpoon 3 scenario? China would appear to be the forerunner against the US occupying the island nation and with Nor…

Blast from the Past Ever wonder how difficult it might be to have a submarine creep up onto the beach for reconnaissance? Well, here's your chance to find out. This is the first Harpoon 3 scenario that I ever wrote. It's been damaged and unavailable for most of the year, but we've finally been able to repair it and now present it to you on StrategyZoneOnline for use with the PlayersDB. Beach Reconnaissance Soviet submarines have scored many successes in the Atlantic convoy lanes through the profligate expenditure of torpedoes and missiles. By the third week of the war, many submarines are suspected to be low on fuel and munitions. However, the number…

Here's another After-Action Report re-printed with permission from the author. The conflict started quite, French planes were buzzing overhead and I managed not to annoy them into hostility. I used the quite of the pre-dawn morning to drop Gurka's around the three Dessert Forts. Egyptians were not known for night-fighting after all. They were reinforced during the day but communication problems with my Indian friends prevented good damage reports, so as the conflict went on I supported them with flights of hunters in an attempt to breach the Forts to 50% damage. Fighters were dispatched overhead BP Torrey Canyon and the BP refinary. They strafed some dows …

The 39th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Prelude Tensions between China and Japan are growing after another violent incident between Chinese fishermen and the Japanese Coast Guard in coastal waters off the disputed Senkaku Islands. The tiny little Islands of the Senkaku Archipelago suddenly became very important for both nations after the discovery of huge gas and oil reserves in coastal waters off the Islands. Both nations are prepared to risk a military conflict to get control over the area...... Author: Frans Koenz This scenario has been tested in both H3 and ANW and is more challenging in H3. With over 310,000 PlayersDB scen…

AAR: The Five-Pointed Star [spoiler Alert] By Quinton Van Zyl Wow, talk about walking into the lion's den. The Chief of Staff opined to the Admiral privately, "Pourquoi ne pas simplement les laisser prendre Djibouti?" << Why don't we just let them HAVE Djibouti? >> Of course, it was only in jest. He and the Admiral had expressed this same sentiment countless times before; on many different missions throughout the empire. The only response was the same response that had been given to him on every other occasion, "Pour l'honneur de la France." << For the Honour of France >> From the air, the Gulf of Aden really did resemble the op…

Looks like lot's of folks have been enjoying this scenario. Here's another AAR from a satisfied player: