Played this one through this afternoon/night.

 

US force had to withstand a massive airstrikes from airbases on the Indian mainland early on, which are off limits to counter attack. Once the Bears and Backfires are dealt with there is low to medium air activity from then on until you come into contact with the Indian SAG. Then Su-33 from the carrier air wing keep you on your toes.

 

The SAG was bigger than anticipated, with gear you can expect from an enormous Indian naval build-up. Think wish-list.

 

Indian subs are active and even with me looking for them, I lost one ship for each sub, a Kilo and a Victor III.

 

Indian SAG at that point took off at max speed and I could only hope to keep up. I was continually launching strikes at the very limit of the strikers endurance. Re-fueling operations were weak at best as I forgot the alt-r combination when I needed it most.

 

My sub, USS San Juan was also pedal to the metal trying to get into position all game long. I need to get a grip on HCE sub operations, I have yet to break the code on this in my years of off and on play. Basically I suck.

 

In the end, the SAG trapped itself between my sub, my CVBG, and the pakistani coast off of Karachi. Eventally they turned toward me (south) launched a massive Sunburn strike taking out Olendorf, and then taking their body blows, losing everyone in succession.

 

I will try and fill in more details tomorrow as it is late and I have the log with me tomorrow.

 

Final Tally:

3 US Ships lost (Donald Cook Burke Class DD to a Kilo Class sub, Bunker Hill CG to Victor III, Olendorf an Improved Spruance by 2 Sunburns)

27 Aircraft - a combination of fighters fighting off the hordes early on vs Bears, Backfires, MiG-29s and Su-33's, and attrition during the many long ranged strikes.

6 helo - luckless souls carrying out ASW ops, wrong place at wrong time.

 

1 Indian Carrier Lost (Charles de Gaulle by 10 harpoon missiles)

7 other Indian ships lost (Godavari by harpoons, Taragiri a Modified Leander by harpoons, Rajput a Kashin II by harpoons, Sovremenny 4 harpoons, Rana a Kashin II by 4 harpoons, Delhi by 6 harpoons, and a Neustrashimmy by a lone harpoon.

2 submarines (Kilo and Victor III lost to an S-3A)

91 aircraft

23 helo

 

Good scenario Fred G.

My sub, USS San Juan was also pedal to the metal trying to get into position all game long. I need to get a grip on HCE sub operations, I have yet to break the code on this in my years of off and on play. Basically I suck.

 

The basic rule would be stay deep at creep and let the bad guys come to you. It's pretty rare playing blue to have a target that you have to kill with a sub, usually it's possible to get it with air. Torpedoes on western subs are the weapon of choice, you can't usually shoot enough missiles to crack a target's point defenses. Soviet subs have better weapons but are usually noisier, and western ASW is *much* tougher to crack if it's done right. An American carrier group with S-3s is almost invulnerable to subs if it's played properly.

An American carrier group with S-3s is almost invulnerable to subs if it's played properly.

 

A tough nut to crack, for sure. 'Invulnerable', not at all.

...My sub, USS San Juan was also pedal to the metal trying to get into position all game long...

 

....The basic rule would be stay deep at creep and let the bad guys come to you...

 

Warhorse, in this case, the Indian group was steaming at 28-29kts directly away from San Juan. San Juan was about midway between the Indian SAG and my CVBG. San Juan and the CVBG could barely keep up.

 

It was only towards the very end of the scenario when the Indian group approached coastline to their north that they made their fateful decision to turn eastward twoard the Pakistani port of Karachi and was then forced to turn back into the US force, allowing the sub to take a shot or two with torpedos, still missed , and the CVBG to close within a more comfortable strike range. It was also turning into the US force that I guess the AI realized its fatal error and unleashed a killer of a sunburn missile strike, before succumbing to multiple strike packages.

 

I used up slightly less than one day of the five day time allowance. I suppose I could have been more patient.

 

Definitely a fun scenario.

An American carrier group with S-3s is almost invulnerable to subs if it's played properly.

 

A tough nut to crack, for sure. 'Invulnerable', not at all.

 

You'll note that I did include two caveats ...

You'll note that I did include two caveats ...

 

By all means, feel free to expound.

Warhorse, in this case, the Indian group was steaming at 28-29kts directly away from San Juan. San Juan was about midway between the Indian SAG and my CVBG. San Juan and the CVBG could barely keep up.

 

It was only towards the very end of the scenario when the Indian group approached coastline to their north that they made their fateful decision to turn eastward twoard the Pakistani port of Karachi and was then forced to turn back into the US force, allowing the sub to take a shot or two with torpedos, still missed , and the CVBG to close within a more comfortable strike range. It was also turning into the US force that I guess the AI realized its fatal error and unleashed a killer of a sunburn missile strike, before succumbing to multiple strike packages.

 

I used up slightly less than one day of the five day time allowance. I suppose I could have been more patient.

 

Definitely a fun scenario.

 

 

Patience is a very good thing in this game. Scenario designers usually give you more time than you really need. In this case, The Indian group is essentially trapped against the surrounding land by your carrier group. If they want to dash around, let them. They'll have to come into your reach eventually ...