Scenario Design & Discussion

AAR: The Cyprus Question 1966 [spoiler Alert] By Quinton Van Zyl Admiral Feathergill, aboard the carrier Ark Royal, examined his Order of Battle one last time. As the mission of the task force was the liberation of Cyprus, he decided to re-arm most of his Greek air assets for AAW missions. They weren’t likely to be of much use over Cyprus and their limited range meant that they could only attack the Turkish mainland. That was the one thing he did NOT intend to do. He would try to keep the conflict centred on Cyprus and not allow it to escalate to attacks on Turkey proper. He immediately sent his reconnaissance assets aloft to try and pin down the location of…

The 55th new scenario of the year! The seventh installment of "The Cyprus Affair" battleset has been released. NEW WORLD ORDER SERIES: THE CYPRUS AFFAIR CAMPAIGN #2 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 re…

The 54th new scenario of the year! The sixth installment of "The Cyprus Affair" battleset has been released. NEW WORLD ORDER SERIES: THE CYPRUS AFFAIR CAMPAIGN #2 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 rec…

Here's another AAR by Dave Steinmeyer. It is re-printed here with permission from the author. AAR: Beach Reconnaissance [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon 3 scenario By Herman Hum I plotted my course for the first Named Area of Interest (NAI1). It's the one that's furthest SE. My course took me N, then I turned and approached the coast at right angles. After a few minutes, I got my first contact, a goblin to the E of my start point. I never really got a track on him, and lost him shortly after. The next pair of contacts as I approached NAI1 were both a skunk and a goblin to the NW. Again, I lost the goblin pretty quickly. Then I lost the skunk. Next…

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…

AAR: Indian Expansion [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon 3 scenario By Paul Bridge Defence Minister Singh had no experience in military matters. He had been appointed for his connections and his political shrewdness. He saw his opportunity to rise further in the Indian government with his latest scheme. He sold the cabinet on his vision for India to rise above her former masters and prove to the world that the Indian Ocean was for the Indians. His plan called for their former imperialists to be lulled into a false sense of security at the negotiating table while the real voice of negotiation would be spoken by the air force and the navy. He proposed a surprise at…

53rd Scenario posted this year! Another installment in the Harpoon 3 Battleset based upon Brad Leyte's "New World Order - Cyprus Affair" series, has been released. This is starting to look like a weekly TV Serial! SCARECROW - Scenario #5 - New World Order Campaign #2 [The Cyprus Affair] 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 emba…

50th, 51st, and 52nd scenarios posted! Well, we've done it! Christmas comes early. Three new scenarios by three different authors have been released into the Harpoon community - two for Harpoon 3 and one for Harpoon Classic enthusiasts. These are the 50th, 51st, and 52nd scenarios to be posted to StrategyZoneOnline, ScenShare, FilesOfScenShare, and HarpGamer. That means 50 new scenarios have been produced for Harpoon Classic and Harpoon 3 and the year is not even over yet. Bravo, boys, and keep it up! Continuing on in his "Battle Ocean 90" series, Mark Gellis has posted his Hungry Lion [EC2003 NACV] scenario. Freek Schepers has released, Indian, the 8th scena…

AAR: First Contact [spoiler Alert] By Ragnar Emsoy Reports were received from all throughout the Norwegian Sea: many unidentified ships and aircraft were spotted closing in on the Norwegian coast. Fighters had been scrambled, but we needed to conduct a proper surface search. As four Orion P-3s of the 17th Maritime Patrol Squadron prepared to launch from Andoya, most of the unidentified contacts were localized through ESM efforts. Some contacts were easily classified as Kresta cruisers and others as Sovremenny/Hangzhou destroyers. Northern Command ordered us to ascertain the identities and intentions of these contacts. While waiting for the P-3s t…

AAR: Syrian WMD [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon 3 Scenario By Scott Mackenzie Admiral Forrester read the Intel report one last time. Well, he thought, we've finally found where those WMDs, originally reported in Iraq, have ended up. We may not have found the weapons, themselves, but we certainly have located the technology for producing them. Those boys in the Agency finally got one right after all these years and now the USN was being called in to do what they do best - blow things up. As always, the AEW [Airborne Early Warning] aircraft were sent aloft first to establish the radar picture over the region. With all eight aircraft available, the resolu…

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 …

"Battle Stations. Battle Stations. All hands man Battle stations. This is not a Drill!!" We're having a Harpoon III contest and you're invited! MATCHPLAY Harpoon3 players are challenged to try this series of scenarios from either side. At the end of each game, send me the saved game file and I will send you the next scenario. It will be customised and based on the results from your previous game. Overall, there are three scenarios for each participant; three playable by France and three playable by the Dutch side. Players' results (losses to you and your enemy, Victory Conditions met, ammo expended, and ROE violations) will be tabulated and sent to…

AAR: Breaking the Shackles - India [spoiler Alert] By Quinton van Zyl Prime Minister Gandhi was quite explicit in her orders. Ensure that Sri Lanka remained under the hegemony of Mother India. Intelligence on enemy dispositions was vague. The Indian Ocean is a BIG place, after all. The only nugget of useful data was that American forces had left Diego Garcia and the Strait of Malacca. With only had these general locations to work from, the reconnaissance assets were despatched; Canberra from Jamnagar, Antonov-12s from Calcutta, and Dakotas from Port Blair. It was still the middle of the night, but I was gambling on the fact that although my cameras would b…

AAR: Baltic Tide By Dave Steinmeyer Baltic Breakout - every NATO commander's nightmare - was about to come true. I immediately turned on the SAM radar of my I-HAWK batteries in order to have some semblance of an air picture as I would not have any AEW support from the E-3 Sentries. The picture did not look good. The Mk43 Sea King from Rygge combined with the Danish Hercules MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] would be more than adequate for the surface surveillance role. However, I was severely lacking in air search assets. Combat Air Patrols [CAPs} were formed over Lubeck Bay and Kobenhavn. The Swedes were out in force. I sincerely hoped that they wou…

Wow! :surprise: The stuff that movies (and scenarios ) are made of! I certainly hope that someone tries to make a scen for this one. Cold War thriller is for real, author writes By JULES WAGMAN SPECIAL TO THE BLADE Toledoblade.com RED STAR ROGUE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF A SOVIET SUBMARINE'S NUCLEAR STRIKE ATTEMPT ON THE U.S. By Kenneth Sewell, with Clint Richmond. Simon & Schuster. 306 pages, $25. Red Star Rogue reads like a spy thriller, except that nuclear engineer and submarine veteran Kenneth R. Sewell says it's true. A rogue Soviet Golf-type submarine blew up in the Pacific March 7, 1968, while attempting to launch a nuclear missile a…

39th Scenario this year! Dave Steinmeyer has posted his third scenario, Power Sweep. For a guy who just started designing this year, this promises to be yet another classic. Only a handful of units, but this scenario should by no means be considered easy. Take that attitude and you'll soon find yourself on the wrong end of a 533mm torpedo! The war has not been kind to the Soviet navy; especially their submarine forces. In order to protect their remaining submarine units, the Soviets have been forced to begin escorting their less capable boats with first-line SSNs. In this engagement, a Soviet SSN is guarding two other units as they proceed south…

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…

35th Scenario this year! Dave Steinmeyer has posted his second scenario, BALTIC TIDE. Thanks for sharing it with us. World War III has been raging across the globe for three days already. Casualties have been high on both sides. Where the Soviets expected to make rapid gains on land, they have not. And where NATO expected to quickly gain control of the skies above Europe, the Pact has made more than a fight of it. At sea, there are only the quick and the dead. What were supposed to be set piece battles turned into bloodbaths with the winner being whoever fired first. While no American carriers have been sunk, yet, three have been heavily d…

34th Scenario posted this year! See for yourself if history could have played out differently at the Bay of Pigs. This scenario uses the Colonial Wars database edited by Paul Bridge. Bay of Pigs On April 14th, 1961, six ships departed a Nicaraguan training camp where they had spent months training with CIA instructors. Brigade 2506 was to land at the Bay of Pigs in southern Cuba to overthrow Castro's regime. Sixteen B-26C Invader medium-range bombers were ready in Central America to support their invasion. Cuba's army and militia, while numerically strong, were thought to be poorly motivated and likely to switch sides when the invasion took place. …

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