Spoilers apply!

 

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After Action Report : Eviction Notice

 

This new scenario by Patrick Howard (aka rainman), for the EC2003 Battle of the Atlantic battleset, has a great and altogether familiar premise.

 

The timeless battlesets of Harpoon Classic are chock full of scenarios centered on the North Atlantic - and Iceland in particular. Many of them also depict player controlled Soviet forces in control of Iceland.

 

This time around, as commander of modern day Russian forces who have seized a firm grip on Iceland - and moved in substantial forces - you must hold your position while threatened by American and British forces bent on serving your 'eviction notice'.

 

There are lots of new toys to play with - including the very capable Su-30 and Su-35 series Flankers, the Kuznetsov carrier group with a futuristic air wing, and the Pyotr Velikiy battlecruiser. There are also a handful of Tu-22M3 Backfires available, but with the AS-4 Kitchen missile gone from inventory, these are not nearly as fearsome as they once were.

 

Unfortunately for you, the enemy also has new toys, including the F-35 and stealthy weaponry. And gobs and gobs of cruise missiles.

 

Once the scenario began, my immediate priority was preparing my forces for the defence of Iceland. A few aircraft had obviously just recently arrived from the Kola, and weren't ready for battle. Others still needed to be ferried over. AEW&C coverage had to be established pronto, but there were only a handful of these available and a lot of battlespace to oversee.

 

Both the Kuznetsov and Velikiy were just exiting the Denmark Strait, and I hoped to put them in a blocking position between Iceland and the open Atlantic. Dangerous but necessary. A trio of submarines further south would have to help shield them. Meanwhile, a resupply force was still north of the island and needed to be herded to safety.

 

There seemed to be time do all of this ... but only just. It wasn't long before hordes of cruise missiles began appearing (typically at critically short range), hell bent on destroying my ability to operate out of Iceland's limited number of airfields. Trying to stop them - they appeared to be arriving in multiple streams from multiple directions - was quite the task.

 

I was trying to keep my naval groups quiet but at some point it became necessary to involve them in the cruise missile defence.

 

This proved to be my downfall. The cruise missile attack against my airfields was defeated, but a group of F-35s sneaked their way into SDB range of the Kuznetsov ... and obliterated her. Game over.

 

I continued to play - and there was plenty of entertainment still remaining to be extracted from this scenario - and perhaps I will add some account of that later.

 

Great scenario by rainman. It was fun to return to old haunts with new technology, even if it was unsuccessfully.

Great and balanced scenario, thanks Patrick!

 

SPOILER ALERT:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 days, 11 hours, 42 minutes remaining: at last I sink my first NATO warship, Canadian frigate Halifax FELEX Charlottetown (depleting all the Yasen-M and Oscar missiles, targeting to the CVN Ford). But hopefully one of the first red/NATO losses was the Los Angeles-class SSN Norfolk, with a single UGST heavyweight torpedo launched by the Lada-class (Project 677) diesel-electric submarine Kronshtadt (I hope it was the only one SSN escorting the carrier group).

Thule is reduced to 24% of three Kh-101 missile attacks, launches by Tu-160M.

Very early in the scenario some 300 cruise missiles were launched against South and North Iceland bases, but all were shoot-down, none reaching his target, thanks to continuous air patrols from the start)

29 red/NATO planes shoot-down, included some 4xF-35B.

Also were destroyed 2xESM post in Iceland, 1xFARP base in the East coast of Greenland, and some Stinger MANPADS teams defending them (all these targets were detected initially by planes casually overflighting them.

25 blue/Russia planes shoot-down, many high-value Su-33/M, 1xTU-22M3R, and at last, 4xSu-34 Fullback in a surprise attack near Ireland, probably by F-35A detected late by ESM of other units (a great surprise, indeed!).

Game in progress...

 

3 days, 8 hours, 7 minutes remaining: The Gerald R. Ford-class JKF CVN is sunk by some 8xUGST heavyweight torpedos launched by Oscar II-class SSGN K-266 Orel, with 53 warplanes and 10 helicopters on board! (sustraction of the aircraft losses after and previously to the sinking).

USS Zumwalt was detected by ESM of a Tu-22M3R near Cape Farewell (Southern Greenland) some 30 minutes ago, 15% damaged and aground!

 

Minimum victory conditions triggered at 3 days, 8 hours, 5 minutes remaining (sinking of JFK, obviously).

Orel has only 6xUGST torpedoes remaining, but now she and Yasen-M should search for the amphibious groups, some 226 nm SE and sailing at 24 knots, and apparently yet defended by F-35B.

In the CVBG approach were sunk also 2xBurke-class DDG and 1xBunker Hill-class CG, remaining at least 1xBurke.

 

3 days, 1 hours, 31 minutes remaining: LHA-R America-class USS Tripoli sunk by 2xUGST torpedos launched by SSGN Orel, 11xplanes and 8xhelicopters going to the bottom with she!

At last Orel did sunk USS Makin Island with her last torpedo, but forced to surfacing with VLS ASROC carrying lightweight ASW torpedoes, and finished in surface with missiles fired from the amphibious force!

 

2 days, 18 hours, 58 minutes remaining: total victory triggered, after Yaseni-M class did sunk 3xSan Antonio-class LPD remaining in the amphibious group (total victory trigered with Tripoli, Makin Island and only 2xSan Antonio sunk), now only remain 1xDDG Burke-class in the ex-carrier and ex-amphibious groups.

Thule AFB is reduced to 75% damage, and RAF Aldergrove to 26%, after repeated cruise missile attacks by Tu-160M and AS-18 Kazoo attacks by Su-34.

32xaircraft, 1xhelicopter, 1xSSGN are at this moment the major blue/Russian losses.

145xaircraft, 45xhelicopter, 1xSSN, 12xships (including 1xsmall US patrol boat discovered near Reikyavik at the scenario start), 1xCVN, 2xdamaged bases are at this moment the major red/NATO losses.

 

2 days, 11 hours, 28 minutes remaining: At last, the USS Curtis Wilbur (Arleigh Burke IIA-class DDG) is sunk by conventional 500 Kg bombs by 4xBackfires, when was only 167 nm SW of Reikyavik, apparently the only major NATO unit menacing Iceland.

34xaircraft (1xSu-35S defending Iceland from 2xF-15E recurrent attack, and 1xIl-38 shoot-down by USS Curtis Wilbur SAMs are the new losses), 1xhelicopter, 1xSSGN are at this moment the major blue/Russian losses.

148xaircraft, 51xhelicopter, 1xSSN, 14xships (including 1xsmall US patrol boat discovered near Reikyavik at the scenario start, the new losses are the two remaining Burkes South of Iceland, of the previous carrier and amphibious groups), 1xCVN, 2xdamaged bases are at this moment the major red/NATO losses.

Zumwalt is displaced a few dozen of nm southern of the previous position, but is aground another time and damaged 32%!

 

Some action after triggered the total victory conditions:

2 days, 2 hours, 11 minutes remaining: a submarine detected very near to the CVBG Kutznesov, just when detected fired some three torpedoes to the CVBG sinking DD Udaloy (Udaloy-class), but the SSN is sunk by Il-38 and embarked helicopters (she was Delaware, a Virginia Flight III-class).

Some 30 minutes earlier an Ohio-class modified SSGN was detected by Key Hole some 300 nm N of Iceland, 1xIl-38 was dispatched to intercept she, but contact was lost (that explained the torrent of incoming missiles against the Northern Iceland bases at the scenario start).

0 days, 6 hours, 25 minutes remaining: 2xImproved Los Angeles were detected near the Kuznetsov CVBG, more or less when firing torpedoes, 1xUdaloy and 1xSovrenmenny were sunk, but also the 2xLos Angeles by action of embarked helicopters.

Also the Tu-160M executed attacks against the Canadian bases, damaging them.

At last, overall losses were something as:

Russian/Blue major losses: 40xaircraft (the new losses mainly fighters defending Iceland of timely incoming F-15E, but all the AEW planes were shoot-down, two Mainstay were lost almost starting the scenario, and the last almost ending it), 4xhelicopters (losed in sunked ships), 3xescort ships of the CVBG sunk by SSN, 1xSSGN Oscar II.

NATO/Red major losses: 178xaircraft (the new loses mainly attacking F-15E and Triton UAV), 51xhelicopter, 4xSSN (3xLos Angeles, 1xVirginia), 14xships (including 1xsmall US patrol boat discovered near Reikyavik at the scenario start, all the ships of the previous carrier and amphibious groups), 1xCVN JFK, one base destroyed, Thule in Greenland, and 3xdamaged bases (RAF Aldergrove 32%, CFB Goose Bay 10%, CFB Gander 24%).

As stated previously, Zumwalt is displaced a few dozen of nm southern of the previous position, aground another time and damaged 32% against Greenland.

 

 

 

Very amusing and realistic scenario.