File - Middle East - First Lightning

[CV32]

File Name: First Lightning

File Submitter: CV32

File Submitted: 13 Oct 2010

File Updated: 13 Oct 2010

File Category: Middle East

DB Used: HCDB-100930

Authors: Brad Leyte

Battleset-Middle East: .scv - CDB - CDB

 

First Lightning

 

A Harpoon Commander's Edition (HCE) scenario for the Middle East Battleset and the official HCE Database (HCDB).

 

This scenario is designed for play by the RED side only.

 

It is October 1984. A financial crisis in Latin America has led to huge loan defaults in Argentina, Brazil and Chile. American banks, who had heavily financed the development efforts in Latin America, have been caught by surprise and are now in a serious slide. Washington took drastic steps and imposed a freeze upon banking transactions across the nation.

 

Then, a week ago, a terrorist bomb in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, claimed the life of the US ambassador and numerous civilians. At the same time, a guerrilla movement believed to have ties to that terror attack and backed by the Soviet Union, toppled the Omani government in the wake of massive financial losses in its banking sector.

 

American peacekeepers have moved into Saudi Arabia after rebellious elements of the Saudi army moved to occupy the holy city of Mecca. It is the largest commitment of American troops since the Vietnam war. Moscow has bitterly criticised the American presence in the Persian Gulf, calling it a grave act of provocation.

 

Three days ago, the new regime in Oman allied with Tehran to impose a toll on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. All tanker traffic in the Gulf has now come to a stop.

 

NOTE: This scenario is loosely based on the October 1984 television movie Countdown to Looking Glass. Note as well that you play RED in this scenario, i.e. the Soviet, Iranian and Omanian side.

 

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[Silent Hunter UK]

Never heard of that movie before; interesting scenario.

[CV32]

Never heard of that movie before; interesting scenario.

 

You can find the movie hosted online at Google Videos.

[broncepulido]

Played yesterday, but very tired after a hard work day. Defeat after 24 planes shoot-down. I will be a lot more cautious with the planes, as usual on me, the next time

Between my little gains, a FFG Perry, a Supertanker and 8xA-6E Intruder shoot-down.

[MIM104]

Got a minimum victory after a few hours. I think it might be possible within the realms of gaming to get a total kill on the US Carrier group by luring the AI's F14's out and killing them with OPFOR F14As. I think the minimum victory stemmed from my deploying the A-50 Mainstay into the gulf and then proceeding to kill all of the merchies I found there. The Akula/Charlie sub group scored at least one kill before the end of the game on a Charles F. Adams DDG. I was also able to test tactics with the F14s.

[CV32]

Got a minimum victory after a few hours. I think it might be possible within the realms of gaming to get a total kill on the US Carrier group by luring the AI's F14's out and killing them with OPFOR F14As. I think the minimum victory stemmed from my deploying the A-50 Mainstay into the gulf and then proceeding to kill all of the merchies I found there. The Akula/Charlie sub group scored at least one kill before the end of the game on a Charles F. Adams DDG. I was also able to test tactics with the F14s.

 

Thanks for telling us a bit about how you went about staving off the 'Great Satan'.

 

You have the basic premise of an after action report here. Hope to see more from you in the future.

[MIM104]

Got a minimum victory after a few hours. I think it might be possible within the realms of gaming to get a total kill on the US Carrier group by luring the AI's F14's out and killing them with OPFOR F14As. I think the minimum victory stemmed from my deploying the A-50 Mainstay into the gulf and then proceeding to kill all of the merchies I found there. The Akula/Charlie sub group scored at least one kill before the end of the game on a Charles F. Adams DDG. I was also able to test tactics with the F14s.

 

Thanks for telling us a bit about how you went about staving off the 'Great Satan'.

 

You have the basic premise of an after action report here. Hope to see more from you in the future.

 

Ok, well I'll be testing my idea tonight. What I noticed is that the US group launches it's tomcats as individuals, meaning at most they might carry four phoenix missiles which are deadly to any red player. Using the numerous F-5s and F-4s in singles or pairs operating near their own airbase you lure the tomcats into shooting its long range AAMs. The target 'drones' then return at afterburn to their own airbase for safety. The Iranian F-14s then have an opportunity to jump in with relative long range immunity to kill of the US aircraft. Done enough times you might get an opportunity to launch long range ASMs at the carrier group, or even establish relative air superiority over the Gulf of Oman. The two-unit sub group may survive long enough to take down some ships in the group with torpedoes, preferably the carrier itself or any AEGIS escorts. To do this I expect that the two Red airbases nearest the Carrier group will have to be abandoned since they'll be completely indefensible early in the game against the F-14 threat.

 

Of course unless this is set early in the 1980s; the Iranians couldn't possibly have this many F-14s of their own still in service, or that many operational Phoenix AAMs.

[CV32]

Of course unless this is set early in the 1980s; the Iranians couldn't possibly have this many F-14s of their own still in service, or that many operational Phoenix AAMs.

 

First Lightning

 

A Harpoon Commander's Edition (HCE) scenario for the Middle East Battleset and the official HCE Database (HCDB) ... It is October 1984.

[emphasis mine]

[MIM104]

Of course unless this is set early in the 1980s; the Iranians couldn't possibly have this many F-14s of their own still in service, or that many operational Phoenix AAMs.

 

First Lightning

 

A Harpoon Commander's Edition (HCE) scenario for the Middle East Battleset and the official HCE Database (HCDB) ... It is October 1984.

[emphasis mine]

 

Yes. I noticed that immediately when I read the orders again. Well, Talleyho with numerical parity!

[MIM104]

Well, several interesting things happened. With a nice twist at the end, don't read the last part if you don't want to know the twist.

 

1. I neutralized Dahran. Using a combination of SEAD heavy air attacks followed by SCUD-Cs and fighter-bombers.

2. I killed all American/GCC surface warfare groups in the gulf including a the Kidd, which was a problem because of its SM2 missiles.

3. I killed the Bainbridge, the primary AAW ship in the Carrier battle group. My two subs were both intercepted and destroyed after they went winchester on munitions.

4. I began to destroy the American F-14 and F-15 squadrons operating over water in the gulf and the Gulf of Oman, preparing for a drive on the carrier.

 

This ended with a total defeat of the Iranian forces by the Americans. Unfortunately cunning by the underdog was outdone by sheer force by the aggressor.

 

Anyways, AAR on my simple air ambush tactic, it worked about 50% of the time with no losses and a kill on the American F-14. I tried several variations including IRI F-14 only, using two groups of two, one bait and one hunter (one group flies out of kill zone at afterburn, the other attacks in on afterburn after the feared AIM-54Cs were all launched. Or using different groups of IRI F-4s and F-5s, again with an IRI F-14 as the hunter.

 

The Bainbridge was unlucky, it somehow didn't intercept all of the AS-4/AS-6 missiles shot at the group and took a few hits. The group's AAW range decreased by half due to this loss.

 

I ended up losing a great majority of my coastal air/surface search radar stations and ADA emplacements because I wasn't able to detect incoming raids quickly enough. It would probably be possible to stave off some of their Wild Weasel attacks, but I had very low success in killing any of these groups, perhaps 1 of 3 A/C in the group were ever successfully intercepted.

 

***

 

5. And I really did not see this one coming. Realizing that defeat was inevitable, the cowardly American President (or a rogue SAC commander) authorized a nuclear strike on Mashad, Iran using AGM-69 SRAMs. After absorbing several (8?) hits, Mashad was completely destroyed.

 

I was successful early on in intercepting a large number of FB-111s, but I noticed much too late that I missed two groups of two aircraft, either more FB-111s or B-52s, and these made the successful penetration.