donaldseadog

For Classic Harpoon version 2025.025, Westpac Battleset and HCDB2 170909 Database

There's two hypothesis for this fictitious scenario:

First, a change in USA focus and deployments has left no USN forces in the West Pacific region other than a sole SSN that is in transit after maintenance at HMAS Stirling, Western Australia.

Second, internal Taiwanese political change has led to a swift change in status with PRC who now have use of Taiwanese facilities and have announced a forward military presence in the smaller island countries of the west pacific to enhance their security and to protect infrastructure being provided by Chinese aid.

In an encounter a Philippines Navy Frigate has been sunk by the Chinese, the situation leading up to the sinking is unclear.

A small combined Australian and Singapore naval group is nearby with associated air units conducting combined exercises.

Picture from Wikipedia: Singapore Navy Formidable Class Frigate.

Photo:  Ada-class ASW corvettes of the Turkish Navy

This scenario can be played with GE version 2022.027 (matrix last release) or newer, Database HCDB2-170909 in Medc 2003 Battleset.

While Russia is still busy fighting it's war with Ukraine she has been harassing other countries with aircraft incursions, but Turkey fights back.

For play with Harpoon Classic vers 2022.027 or newer, Middle East Battleset and HCCW 140314 Database.

Israel invaded Egypt on 29 October 1956, having done so with the primary objective of re-opening the Straits of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as the recent tightening of the eight-year-long Egyptian blockade further prevented Israeli passage. After issuing a joint ultimatum for a ceasefire, the United Kingdom and France joined the Israelis on 5 November, seeking to depose Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and regain control of the Suez Canal. [from wikipedia Suez Crisis Suez Crisis - Wikipedia ]

In this scenario I've used as much as possible the platforms in use then by each country, but much reduced in numbers and non historically correct locations, and a very simplified strategic plan.

The platforms of this era (and upto say late 60's) are interesting to use with usually radar controlled gunnery as primary AA defense and non guided short ranged rocket or bombs as primary aircraft launched surface attack weapons. The lack of terrain following ac equipment prevents close formation multi ac attacks instead requiring either high exposure to detection multi ac formation or multiple effectively single ac wave skimming attacks. Even in the early 70's non formation but close proximity wave skimming attacks by A4 skyhawks was still practiced by RAN fleet air arm.

For play in HC game version 2022.027 (matrix patch) or newer. Westpac BS and using database HCWW 101110.

21 January, 1941, a Japanese invasion fleet of one light cruiser, ten destroyers, four minesweepers, three submarine chasers, three patrol boats and sixteen transport ships left Tarakan for Balikpapan, (oil rich areas of Borneo). A MLD Dornier spotted the fleet that same day, but heavy clouds with strong winds and prolonged rain prevented the plane from shadowing the fleet. On the next day, U.S. Navy submarines S-40, Pickerel, Porpoise, Saury, Spearfish and Sturgeon were ordered to intercept the fleet. Later, they were joined by Dutch submarines K-XIV and K-XVIII. Sturgeon fired several torpedoes on the convoy and reported sinking three ships. However, postwar records failed to confirm any damages to the convoy.

In this scenario a simplified version of the situation is recreated with the submarine force intercepting the south bound invasion fleet at the narrow northern entrance to the Makassar Strait.

(ScreenShot US SS Porpoise, http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08172.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2030041)

Use game version 2022.027 (matrix patch) or later in Westpac Battleset with Database HCCW 140314

The "Landing at Pontian" (17 August 1964) was an amphibious landing made by a small body of Indonesian troops in the Pontian District, Johor, Malaysia. The landing took place during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, an undeclared war fought between Malaysia and Indonesia during the early 1960s over the creation of a Malaysian Federation encompassing parts of northern Borneo, areas that Indonesia sought to increase its own power in Southeast Asia.

On 17 August 1964, Indonesian President Sukarno announced a 'Year of Dangerous Living' as a part of his country's Independence Day celebrations. To reinforce his point, Sukarno had ordered that a force of Indonesian troops and exiled Malaysian-Chinese land in mainland Malaysia to kick off a campaign of such invasions to create guerrilla bases in enemy territory and stir up Communist sympathizers. The effort was a failure, as targeted Malaysians proved unreceptive to Indonesian efforts and the invaders were swiftly rounded up by Anglo-Malaysian security forces.

The landing shocked the British, who had not expected such a strong and prominent step from the Indonesians, but did not incite them to respond to Sukarno's escalation of tensions. The absence of violent reply stiffened Sukarno's burgeoning resolve, and led him to continue with more landings, amphibious and airborne, throughout the fall and winter of 1964. 

The landings at Pontian, though small in scale, and unsuccessful in nature, caused a huge political crisis for Britain. The Malaysian government was infuriated, and accused the Indonesians of "blatant aggression," threatening to strike (through Britain) at their bases in Sumatra, simultaneously putting immense pressure on London to act. Though Sukarno had suffered a minor defeat, he had still managed to put the British in an extremely awkward position: if they did not retaliate, they would be seen to have lost face and to lack enough resolve to risk escalating the crisis. Retaliation, however, might bring the Confrontation towards open war, which the British were understandably unwilling to consider. The debate whether or not to act raged on in Cabinet backrooms. Lord Anthony Head proved an influential voice in the conversation, stating that interrogation had shown that more raids were impending, which would stretch British forces between the Malaysian Peninsula and Borneo, forcing an unwanted reinforcement of Southeast Asia. Head advocated preventative strikes against Indonesian bases should another raid occur.

Before the British could decide upon a policy, however, Sukarno struck again, making an airborne assault Labis in the night of 1-2 September. Though the raid was a catastrophic failure, with one of the transport planes crashing en route, and the remainder of the troops arriving scattered with little food and battered morale, the move further infuriated the Malaysians, who in turn put pressure upon the British to act. The next day, colonial secretary Duncan Sandys authorized on-site naval commander Admiral Varyl Begg to plan for strikes against Indonesian bases in Sumatra.

In this scenario the British begin their actions of retaliation in Sumatra without waiting for further Indonesian attacks.