Scenario Design & Discussion

The 43rd NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! A Georgian Affair On 8 August, 2008, ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet deployed to the coast of Georgia to take participate in the "forcing to peace" operation. The Ukrainian government saw the writing on the wall. With this invasion, the Kremlin was re-asserting control over its sphere of influence on the former Soviet republics. In hopes of checking future aggression from Crimean bases leased to Russia, the Ukrainian parliament demanded that the vessels which participated in this naked act of aggression not return to those ports. Russian Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Anatoly Nogovitsyn…

The 54th NEW Harpoon scenario in the last 12 months! Shadow the Boomer After several vicious carrier battles in the Barents Sea and with the ground war stalemated in the Nordic winter, negotiations started to end the war. Both parties observed a cease-fire, which held surprisingly well in the first week. However, NATO feared Putin would make use of the cease-fire to bring his boomers to bastions prepared in the Barentz Sea. USN and Royal Navy hunter-killer subs were sent to stake out Severomorsk and be prepared to shadow SSBNs exiting the harbour. Author: Freek Schepers Nordkapp Prior to war breaking out, a small Dutch Task force of…

The 170th NEW Harpoon scenario in the last 12 months! Bluff Cove On June 8 1982, one of the most tragic events of the Falklands war took place. Two amphibious ships embarked with the Welsh Guards were taking too long to unload at Bluff Cove and, when daylight broke, were found and bombed by the Argentine air force with heavy loss of life. Later investigations speak of inter-service rivalry between the British forces, and of a blatant disregard of the basic principles of amphibious operations. Author: Freek Schepers With over 179,000 PlayersDB scenarios downloaded in the last 12 months alone, the PlayersDB has proven itself the unequivocal…

The 44th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Georgia Peach On 13 August, 2008, President Bush directed the United States Navy to oversee a "rigorous and ongoing" air and naval humanitarian mission to Georgia. 20 August, 2008, DDG McFaul, WHEC Dallas, and LCC Mount Whitney were soon enroute to Georgia after picking up aid supplies in Crete. 21 August, 2008, Russian forces block the only land entrance to the Georgian port of Poti after vowing to withdraw troops the day before. Special thanks to Freek Schepers and Ralf Koelbach for their kind assistance in testing this scenario for compatibility with ANW. Author: Herman Hum With over 3…

The 289th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! The Backyard The Cold War finally went hot and furious as battles arose around the world. This scenario deals with a U.S. multi-carrier attack supported by Japanese forces in the Western Pacific. The U.S. forces must neutralize the Soviet fortresses in the theatre. Those Red bases are heavily protected. This scenario was originally written by Ralf Koelbach for Harpoon Classic Commanders Edition and has been re-made for Harpoon3 and the PlayersDB with the consent of the author. Author: Herman Hum With over 117,000 PlayersDB scenarios downloaded in the last 36 weeks alone, the PlayersDB has pro…

The 251st NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Last week, we released 120 New scenarios. This week, we return you to our regular programming schedule. RESCUE A SAILOR On March 23, 2007 Fifteen Royal Marines were captured by Iranian patrol boats while on routine inspection of an Indian freighter. The UK must look for options, through political or military means, to get its people back. At the same time, US presence in the Gulf is at a high with two CVBGs amidst great tension over Iran's nuclear program. Author: Freek Schepers This scenario has been tested for compatibility with Harpoon ANW. Harpoon ANW users can get them at: C…

The 290th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! 3.0 May Day First of May 1982 was when hostilities finally broke out around the Falklands. South Georgia had been liberated by the British and, early in the morning, a lone Vulcan bomber cut the runway at Port Stanley in half. The Argentineans had their army dug in around the Falklands, had attack planes dispersed around the islands, and the Air force and Navy were ready to meet the British forces. In the next three days, the General Belgrano and Sheffield were lost, air attacks proved the effectiveness of the Sea Harriers and SAMs; but also demonstrated their limitations and damaged many ships …

The 32nd NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Hemphill's Ordeal This scenario is an interpretation of the account from Michael A. Palmer's, "The War that Never Was". "About a dozen Soviet submarines of various types, both diesel and nuclear-powered, lay athwart the sea lanes leading toward the Norwegian Sea. The Soviet Northern Fleet staff had charged its submarines with three tasks: reconnaissance for long-range SNA strikes, delaying the movement north of key American convoys and task forces, and attacking NATO ships and installations with torpedoes and missiles. The Soviets had far better success with more traditional attacks. In the first t…

The 291st NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! #2.5 Suomenlinna - Yuri's Gambit This is the second scenario in the Battleset "21st Century Ocean Wars" War between NATO and Russia is imminent. The Russian forces on Kola will need unhindered access to the Atlantic. Admiral Yuri Padorin has drafted an alternative plan to deal with Finland. Author: Freek Schepers With over 127,000 PlayersDB scenarios downloaded in the last 37 weeks alone, the PlayersDB has proven itself the unequivocal players' favourite. Harpoon3.6.3 users can get the Complete Harpoon 3.6.3 Library [PlayersDB-7.4.7] The 21st Century Ocean Wars Battleset is available at: …

The 279th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! The Third Temple A surprise attack by Egypt and Syria on Israel during Yom Kippur yesterday has been astonishingly successful. Using the element of surprise, the Egyptian and Syrian Air Forces destroyed scores of Israeli planes in their revetments. Under cover of the strongest SAM-belts the world has ever seen, Syrian ground forces have broken through Israeli defences along the Golan Heights and are pushing south towards Jerusalem. Israeli ground-attack planes destroyed scores of tanks, but were decimated by SAMs. As the Syrians are moving out of the protection of their SAM belt, they rely on the A…

The 166th NEW Harpoon scenario in the last 12 months! Operation Island Wind Dateline July 1, 2008 North Korea has recently been threatening to test a long-range ballistic missile; shrugging off the concerns of the world community. Despite the threat of sanctions, they have persisted in their preparations. This scenario was originally written for Harpoon Classic by Scott Boles (a.k.a. Akula) and has been re-made for compatibility with Harpoon3 and the PlayersDB with the consent the author. Author: Herman Hum This scenario has been tested for compatibility with Harpoon ANW. Interfet-Stabilize East Timor is an old P…

The 34th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Liberation of Antilles ('75) This is the 1975 variant of the fourth scenario in the "Hugo's Folly" Battleset. The 'elected' prime minister of Venezuela, Perez, has invaded the ABC Islands to capture and nationalise the refineries built there to process the new Venezuelan oil. The Netherlands, still outraged over how they were forced to give up New Guinea to Indonesia 14 years ago, has decided not to invoke article 5 of the NATO charter, but to demonstrate to the world that it can take on a Banana Republic by itself. Netherlands has pulled together the largest Task Force it is capable of amassing…

The 280th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Vulcan 607 April 1982. Argentine forces had invaded the Falkland Islands. Britain needed an answer. And fast. The idea was simple: to destroy the vital landing strip at Port Stanley. The reality was more complicated. The only aircraft that could possibly do the job was three months from being scrapped, and the distance it had to travel was four thousand miles beyond its maximum range. It would take fifteen Victor tankers and seventeen separate in-flight refuelings to get one Avro Vulcan B2 over the target, and give the crew any chance of coming back alive. (book of Rowland White: Vulcan 607) Aut…

The 44th NEW Harpoon scenario in the last 12 months! H-Hour As the arctic daylight fades into mid-afternoon twilight, the tension along the Soviet/Norwegian border erupts into a heavy artillery and rocket barrage. The Norwegian defence forces have been preparing for this day for many years. It is now time to defend their homeland or suffer a second occupation in 50 years. 'Helmets On!' this is going to be a tough one. As the Norwegian commander, the best you can hope for is to inflict delay on the overwhelming force coming towards you. Destroy key bridges or tunnels to slow Soviet ground troops and inflict as many casualties as you can. As …

The 289th NEW Harpoon scenario in the last 12 months! 4.0 San Carlos By the 20th of May, there were strong indications that invasion was imminent. Destroyers had shelled Argentine coastal garrisons and rumours were rampant that SAS troops were on the ground. During the night, an Argentine freighter was shelled by an unknown British warship in Falkland Sound. By daybreak, Argentinean observation posts saw the amphibious force steam into San Carlos waters. Author: Freek Schepers With over 142,000 PlayersDB scenarios downloaded in the last 12 months alone, the PlayersDB has proven itself the unequivocal players' favourite. Harpoon ANW u…

The 46th NEW Harpoon scenario in the last 12 months! Sea King to Chile Incident One of the most mysterious events of the war happened on May 16th, when a Sea King was found burning and abandoned near Punta Arenas airbase. The British claimed a 500nm navigation error but, after the war, it became clear that SAS Special Forces had been planning a raid to take out the Exocet-armed Super Etendard aircraft which had sunk Sheffield and Atlantic Conveyor. Speculation on the nature of this operation still ranges from SAS-Hercules aircraft landing on Rio Grande airbase in order to destroy the planes on the ground to the setting up of covert radar facilities t…

25th Scenario Posted this Year! NWCM3 - Carving Turkey When the NSC made good on its promise to deliver SA-10 Grumble SAM systems to the Greek Cypriots in the spring of 1995 despite Turkish protests, the stage was set for another conflict in Cyprus. The presence of the advanced weapons shifted the delicate balance of power as it put nearly all aircraft operating from the Turkish side of the island at risk. NATO was embarrassed when regular Turkish forces stormed the island a few months later. It had not been aware of Turkey's intent to reclaim Cyprus once and for all. Hand-in-hand with the economic boom in the NSC came military modernization and revitalizat…

30th Scenario posted this year! Freek Schepers has posted his latest scenario. This is his first scenario to use the Colonial Wars database by Paul Bridge. We sincerely hope that it is not his last for this database. CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS In this scenario the forces are arranged as they were in the Caribbean on October 22nd 1962; the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. After the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Cuba started re-arming with the most modern Soviet weapon systems. MiG-19 and -21 fighters armed with Atoll-AAM, SSM-armed missile boats, and SA-2 SAMs have been supplied to Cuba in early 1962. Training has been provided in the USSR and Soviet a…

32nd Scenario posted this year! Harold Hutchison has posted his latest creation. Force Z You are in command of four Australian frigates with orders to protect merchant shipping in an Indonesian exclusion zone. Author: Harold Hutchison This scenario uses the HutchDB and can be found in the StrategyZoneOnline File Archives

27th Scenario posted this year! Dave Steinmeyer has released his first Harpoon 3 scenario. He is the 9th author to post a scenario. Congratulations, Dave, and thanks for sharing your work with the community. Lone Wolf Three NATO diesel submarines travelled north together, guarding each other during snorkel periods. They had intended to conduct wolf-pack operations near the Soviet sub base at Polyarnyy. They have been plagued by bad luck, however. First, one unit was sunk by a Tango-class SS before the other two could sink it. Then as they approached their objective, one of the remaining two boats hit a mine and was lost. The remaining ship, a Dutch Walr…