AAR: Opening Moves [spoiler Alert]

Harpoon ANW scenario for the PlayersDB

 

Eds and I decided to try this original H2 scenario that had been re-made with ANW's most functional database, the PlayersDB. I commanded the Russians while Ed played as NATO. My forces Baltic forces had overrun Bornholm island and were now concentrating their efforts on an invasion of the Sjaelland islands.

 

 

I had the area well covered by combat air patrols consisting of Fulcrums and Flankers, or so I thought. Il-38 May Maritime Patrol Aircraft [MPA] were accompanying and escorting the Amphibious forces. Their long-range radar soon detected a NATO blocking force in the Kattegat consisting of 2 Nils Juel-class frigates, a Perry-class frigate, and a Brandenburg-class frigate.

 

 

My Fulcrums were only armed with AS-12 Kegler anti-radiation missions and the NATO ships did not have their radar active. I trusted that if they detected me, they would accommodate and turn on their systems and give me a nice, bright aiming point. I was not to be disappointed. After making the approach, my Fulcrums popped up to launch altitude and were promptly engaged by SAMs. The returned fire and specifically aimed their missiles at the enemy's fire-control radar [FCR] before fleeing on afterburner. Each ship was struck several times thereby destroying their FCR. Hopefully, this would reduce NATO radar coverage while I made my approach.

 

 

Unfortunately, NATO had other plans for me. Ed was very crafty with his fighter and strike aircraft. Unable to challenge me directly at high altitude since my aircraft carried AA-10 Alamo missiles that out-ranged his own Skyflash and Sidewinder missiles, he thundered in a low-level on afterburner. Although he was eventually detected and engaged, the tactic worked much better than I liked with several Flankers and Fulcrum being shot down before the enemy planes were, themselves, destroyed. One sea-skimming flight of Tornadoes even managed to elude detection until they were able to deliver their load of Kormoran Anti-ship missiles on target. Only a desperate point-blank SAM defence prevented loss.

 

 

As the air battle raged, a submarine periscope was detected. The Il-38 May swooped down expecting to find easy prey only to (re-)discover the "torpedoes won't launch in shallow waters" bug.

 

Other than that glitch, this is shaping up to be one heckuva battle and I look forward to finishing it. Thanks to Ed for a great opening session and thanks to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Misha loves to play the Russians in all our engagements. Unfortunately, most of the scenarios invariably end in crashes due to their size. After crashing The Merge, Okhotsk, Linchpin from size, we chose 2nd Battle of Tsushima Strait, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

Misha commanded a force of surface ships desperately trying to return home to Vladivostok via the Tsushima Strait while I controlled the Japanese squadron detailed to close that very same Strait.

 

 

I didn't know what Misha had up his sleeve. I ordered the P-3 Orion and F-15J Eagle fighters aloft to ascertain the situation. The moment they detected MiG-31 Foxhound radar, they fled the scene and landed. There was no way that the Eagles could begin to challenge for aerial superiority with the Foxhounds and I wasn't intent on simply sacrificing them. Misha then launched his Bear recon aircraft and it just sat there outside of range of my destroyer flotilla; reporting its every move to headquarters. There would be a day of reckoning, my friend, but, until that time, I would simply have to grin and bear this snooper.

 

 

Further south, I suspected that his surface strike group must be close to the Tsushima Strait so I decided to try a surprise attack on the group with my AGM-130-armed Eagles in hopes of possibly killing one ship before he realized that he had been detected. They crept in at low altitude and were not detected until they rose to minimum release altitude for their weapons (1000m). At that point, they quickly energized their radar, shot down a Ka-29 Helix surveillance helo, and released their AGM-130 missiles. As they turned to flee, they dove to the deck and lit their afterburners. Their speed managed to save half of them from destruction as they were chased all the way home by the Foxhounds.

 

 

At this point, I decided that there was no way I could win under the current conditions. I could not challenge the Foxhounds since their AA-9 Amos missiles had more than double my own AIM-7 Sparrow range. So long as they and the Bears were present, I could not attack the Russian fleet as it bristled with over 30 long-ranged Sandbox and Shipwreck missiles, each with a range of over 300nm. My own Harpoons were a pitiful 75nm in range.

 

There was only one choice -- close down Vladivostok. I ordered the Escort flotilla northward for an old-fashioned bombardment mission. Under the protective SAM umbrella provided by the AEgis destroyer Kongo, they were molested by MiG-29 fighter-bombers, but were undamaged as they entered the bay. 30 minutes of naval artillery fire was sufficient to smash the hangars and revetments of the base along with several batteries of SA-12 SAMs.

 

Once the protective air cover was gone, it was an easy mission to shoot down the Recon Bears. At that point, I ordered the destroyers to shut down their radar in hopes of Russians losing them in the background noise. This would be my only chance of delivering a successful SSM strike before being annihilated by the return fire.

 

 

Meanwhile, the surviving Strike Eagles had re-armed and launched to try and pick off a ship from the Russians. Even if they were not successful, it was hoped that the AGM-130s would at least force the Russians to expend more of their SAMs. I was facing very long odds and I had to play every card I had.

 

 

The Eagles managed to make their ingress undetected. Once again, when they rose to 40nm, they were engaged. With a pair of Sparrows aimed at each of the two hovering helicopters and all AGM-130 released towards the DD Udaloy, they turned to flee the scene of the crime. This time, they took no losses, but inflicted none, either. The SAM defences of a Russian battlefleet are simply awesome.

 

At this time, we decided to call it a night. A superb game, Misha. Looking forward to its completion, soon. Thanks to HarpGamer for the user of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Misha and I met up in hopes of finishing the 2nd Battle of Tsushima Strait, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

With Vladvistok in flames, I denied Misha any aerial reconnaissance. I positioned flights of Eagles near his SAG and shot down every helo that tried to rise from his decks. With him essentially blinded, I order my Destroyer Flotilla to make their approach.

 

 

What I didn't realize was the number of submarines that Misha still had in his Order of Battle. A Victor II-class boat was detected on the towed array sonar from the oncoming strike fleet. A nearby P-3 Orion was ordered to intercept and destroy it. Hopefully, it would not have counter-detected my own ships. I immediately ordered the ships to a dead stop.

 

The Orion successfully destroyed the submarine, but the question remained in my mind: Had I been counter-detected? Was there a cloud of Shipwreck and Sandbox SSMs on their way? I decided to re-position my Eagles as a stop-gap measure between my ships and the Russian fleet. This would prove to be fortuitous.

 

 

Not long afterwards, another submarine was detected. Before the Orions could pounce on her, sonar reported "Transient, Transient! Missile tube firing!" I was too late. My position had been revealed. Sure enough, a second barrage of Shipwreck and Sandbox SSMs were detected rising from the Russian fleet. Damn. A multi-axis attack is truly a beautiful sight (except if you happen to be sitting on the bullseye!)

 

The Eagle flights managed to get a few. Thank goodness for that. The DDG Kongo then engaged with her SAMs and got the rest. Unfortunately, she used up her entire SAM magazine in the defense, but it allowed the flotilla to survive the onslaught. The fact that the Soviets had attacked in 3 separate waves also allowed the flotilla to escape without loss. I would not make the same mistake. I would engage with one massive strike.

 

After soaking up my defensive SAMs, the Charlie had outlived her purpose and the Orion obligingly terminated her with a Mk 46 torpedo. Now, I had the Soviet fleet hemmed in against the coast near Kyoto. However, as everyone knows, a cornered animal is the most dangerous kind, of all. This Bear still had Sunburn SSMs on his DDG Sovremennyy and a ton of SA-6 Grumbles that would be effective anti-ship weapons, too.

 

 

At this time, we called it a night. Another superb session. Looking forward to its completion this weekend. Many thanks to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Tonight, Misha and I were determined to finish the titanic 2nd Battle of Tsushima Strait, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

After the second intermission, the situation stood as follows:

 

My Destroyer flotilla was closing on the Soviet SAG [surface Action Group] after the Soviets had expended their long-ranged SSMs for no hits. My Harpoons had a range of 75m, but the Soviet SAM defences were nothing short of awesome. DDG Sovremennyy still had her full complement of Sunburn SSMs with a range of 80nm. Along with her 130mm naval gun, she was the most dangerous of the Soviet ships since that gun had greater range than the 127mm guns aboard my own ships. Although the BCGN and carriers were more tempting targets, she would be the prime target. Even with its offensive striking power mostly expended, this Soviet force would still be a hard nut to crack.

 

 

The Soviets were well screened by submarines. As the flotilla made its attack run, sonar suddenly reported an incoming torpedo. Damn! My sonar was virtually blind during the high speed attack manoeuvres and now I was paying the price. A Victor-III class sub had been laying for the group and loosed a single Type 65 torpedo. To make matters worse, the Sovremennyy added a few Sunburn SSMs to the party. The SSMs were shot down by Standard SAMS while all the ships turned to run, but the phenomenal range of the torpedo easily chased down and killed DD Hatakaze. Her 127mm guns were going to be sorely missed along with the eight Harpoons in her mounts.

 

 

The flotilla had split into two groups due to their speed differential, but both made a simultaneous attack on the Soviet squadron. I had 48 Harpoons at my disposal. I elected to fire 28 at the Sovremennyy and 12 at the BCGN. I didn't expect any to actually hit the BCGN, but I needed to soak up her potent SA-N-6 Grumble SAMs. Originally, I thought that 36 missiles should be plenty to sink the lone destroyer (I forgot that 8 sank with the Hatakaze). I could not be more wrong. Of the entire attack, the destroyer suffered a single hit. Later, I would pay dearly for my divided fire allocation later.

 

 

Once the SSMs were expended, it came down to a naval gun battle, like it did in 1905 -- nearly 90 years earlier. Misha threw everything he had at me in order to soak up my Standard SAMs and he did admirably. Upon reaching 20nm range, I fired the entire remaining inventory at his DDG Sovremennyy. Once again, the defensive SAM fire from the DDG was phenomenal and only a few struck home. Unable to destroy the enemy group, I ordered the flotilla to close for direct gunfire.

 

 

At this point, my failure to destroy the Sovremennyy came back to haunt me as she managed to sink one of my destroyers and cripple another before finally succumbing to a massed barrage from the surviving 5 destroyers. With only the CV Kuznetsov and CVH Kiev remaining, the JMSDF closed to administer the coup de grace (or so they thought).

 

 

As they came into gun range, the Kiev still sported torpedo mounts for the USET-80 and several were fired back in my direction. My ships turned to flee this new threat. I think that they would have claimed the crippled destroyer, had they been able to run to completion, but I was awarded victory for sinking 3 Soviet ships and the game ended.

 

 

What a monumental battle. It was quite surprising and exhilarating to actually re-fight Tsushima and end it, once again, with a gunnery duel. Thanks for a fantastic fight, Misha, and thanks to HarpGamer hosting it on their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Keep in mind that:

TonyE: HUD server is backed up Sun, Tue, Thu starts 6pm my time (Minnesota)

TonyE: the Sunday and Monday backups take longer since they are full backups

 

have fun,

 

Jan

After pitting his wits against the computer opponent for months, John (z1812) finally decided to try his luck against a human opponent, tonight. We decided to play the tried and true favourite, Dawn Patrol, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

 

John played the Russians and started off aggressively searching for my ships with all his radar active. Unfortunately, this revealed his general location so I just sat back and observed while my ships crept closer.

 

Once I was close enough, I sent a barrage of SSM Penguin in his general direction. As soon as his radar picked up the missiles and open fired on them, I was able to pinpoint his ships and deliver a second barrage. His anti-missile fire was quite admirable, but the second flight of SSMs sank 2 of his three Nanuchka boats.

 

 

John saw the folly of his decision to radiate his radar systems and he quickly turned them off. However, now I was close enough to activate my own. Once he was locked down, a third salvo of missiles finished him off, but not before he managed to exact a price. His return salvo of SS-N-9 Sirens sank two of my Hugin missile boats before I was awarded victory.

 

Good first game, John. Looking forward to many more in the future.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Over the past two months, Ed and I have been playing, Opening Moves, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. We were finally able to finish this past weekend!

 

Instead, she was forced to attack with depth charges. Even though they were less accurate, I managed to sink the sub by expending every DC I had.

 

 

Ed had learned from his earlier error and was making his approaches at low altitude and on afterburner in order to decimate numerous combat air patrols. Although not many of his interceptors survived their ordeal, he managed to take my defenders with him.

 

 

Just as importantly, his Tornado IDS strike aircraft were starting to enjoy the same success as his fighters. Quite often, they just materialized in front of my escorts to release HARMs and Kormoran AShMs before retiring on afterburners. Although they were usually killed on their egress, they managed to exact a toll with their missiles. No ships were lost, but a few destroyers did lose systems from HARM strikes. Unfortunately, these ships were not the mission-essential landing ships. Although brave, the Falcons managed to close and deliver Mk82 bombs across the bow of a Sovremennyy destroyer before they fell victim to SA-N-9 Grinch SAMs.

 

 

Although the attacks were conducted piecemeal, they were nonetheless effective in soaking up SAMs and AAMs. Unfortunately, a Known Game Bug just kept giving me unlimited weapons at the airfield so I voluntarily started taking fighters out of circulation so as not to take advantage of the situation, but it may have been a matter of too little, too late, as most of the NATO planes were already destroyed.

 

 

As my amphibs made their way past Bornholm Island, radar detected a flock of ships hiding behind the islands. There was no way to avoid them in the narrows of the Baltic since they were virtually sitting on my landing zones. Ed had craftily husbanded his remaining assets for a final stand and he did it very well. Combined with his surface strike assets, several more Tornado IDS successfully launched Kormoran and HARM missiles. However, Russians are no slouches in the SAM department. The number of SA-N-7 and SA-N-9 systems congregated in that tiny area was phenomenal and easily defeated each pair of strike aircraft as they made their approach. Had they come as a large group, I would have undoubtedly lost some ships.

 

 

Once the air attacks were repulsed, the DDG Sovremennyy-class destroyers turned their attention to the pesky flotilla of German missile boats. As their Sunburn SSMs far out-ranged the German missiles, they easily sank the blockade force.

 

 

Just then, a sub contact was detected on the Flank by the Amphibs. As luck would have it, they had changed course earlier and, therefore, just missed falling into the attack area of a German diesel sub and the sub was running at high speed in hopes of delivering an attack. A barrage of SS-N-14 Silex was sent in his direct, but they malfunctioned according to the Known Game Bug. Well, if I couldn't attack him, at least he couldn't attack me, either.

 

 

More dangerous, though, was the sub contact detected on the starboard bow. It was moving like Horatio at the Bridge and would be able to intercept the onrushing mass of landing vessels. The two Sovremennyy one Udaloy destroyers in the area were immediately ordered to deliver a surface torpedo attack. This was an extremely risky venture since it followed the axiom, "If I can shoot at him, he can shoot at me!" The DD Udaloy ran in at flank speed and ate a torpedo for her efforts. The follow-up Sovremennyy-class destroyers managed to get close enough to release a broadside of SET-65 torpedoes before retiring at high speed. One of these torpedoes managed to successfully track and destroy the target and left the coast clear for the Amphibious landing.

 

After the ships arrived in the landing zone, Ed conceded since another known bug in the Victory Conditions refused to trigger. Really an epic adventure. Thanks for not giving up on it! and thanks, again, to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

AlvinS has been a player for years, right back to the days of the Amiga and H2 versions. He decided to try his luck against a human opponent for the first time, tonight. We chose the tried and true favourite, Dawn Patrol, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

 

Soon after starting, a lone Hugin-class missile boat detected radar emissions and they were within missile range so I tried to 'sneak in' a first salvo and try to bag one of them before they knew I was there. I was very surprised, indeed, when he quickly and capably shot down all 6 missile and follow-up barrage of 8 more! To add insult to injury, he promptly sank the Hugin boat.

 

I had to bring in the rest of my boats in to finish the job. A second exchange went pretty much the same way. Phenomenal SAM shooting! However, enough managed to leak through to kill 2 boats and give me victory.

 

Good first game, Alvin. Superb missile shooting. Thanks for the game and to HarpGamer for hosting it.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Jerome (a.k.a. Angle of Attack), a native of Argentina, and I had played Malvinas II several times. Each time, AoA played the Argentines while I played the UK. After several losses, we switched sides to see if I could do better. Malvinas II, has been made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

We began, as usual, with a round of scouting and counter-scouting. AoA had his AEW helos airborne in hopes of locating my surface fleet. I immediately activated the jamming suite on DD Hercules to counter his efforts. While his helos were brightly radiating their position, I ordered my Mirage fighters to creep in and shoot them down from low level.

 

Once the UK was effectively blinded, I focused on his Harrier CAP, next. The Harriers were much slower than the supersonic Mirage, but they carried the lethal Sidewinder AAMs that far out-ranged my own Magic missiles. It was quite a tricky task to engage them. Luckily, he flew his CAP at high altitude so they were clearly seen by my own radar stations on Malvinas and the Hercules. Several were caught from behind and shot down before they even knew I was in the neighbourhood by using Ground-Controlled Intercept solutions. However, revenge was swift. In the end, I managed to kill 8 Harriers for the lost of all 12 of my Mirage. It was a steep price, but it had to be paid.

 

Generally free from Harrier depredation, my Trackers roamed the skies. I had grouped my surface forces near Port Stanley to await the invasion force. A sudden missile attack on them was repulsed after using up nearly all my SAMs. However, the attack suggested the presence of a submarine so a search was conducted by Tracker.

 

 

Sure enough, a sub was detected 6nm away from the ships. As the Alouette and Trackers began their attack, the submarine showed here teeth by firing a spread of torpedoes back at me. My blood froze when I detected these phenomenal weapons. With a top speed of 70 knots, there simply would be no escape from them in a straight chase situation. The only defense would be to put a wall of earth between my ships and the torpedoes. The Trafalgar died quickly, but she would have been quite surprised to see my ships dart behind the bay. When they reached their Pre-planned Activation Points [PAP], they promptly slammed into the shore. Whew, that was close. However the tactic was not without cost. DD Sarandi somehow managed to beach herself (another stupid game bug) and thus ended up as a partial mission kill.

 

 

I used the trackers to generally locate the enemy amphibious forces and sent in my Exocet-armed Super Etendards. Although the positions were very hazy, they were sufficient for the Exocets. I needed to soak up some of the dangersous Sea Dart SAMs the enemy carried.

 

 

The enemy was no slouch, either. Once I carried out my AShM attack, he replied with an AShM strike of his own delivered by Sea King helos. I had re-positioned my ships into a bay in hopes of the tall valley walls providing some semblance of protection from missile strikes as my own SAMs were severely depleted. A second strike was also repulsed, but DDG La Argentina took a missile strike that left her limping along at 8 knots. I was in fear of losing her, but her valiant crew managed to limit the flooding to 50% and she sailed onward. Unfortunately, the ships were now virtually naked as nearly all SAMs had been expended.

 

 

A final round of SSM attack was mixture of Harpoons from the destroyer escorts combined with the remaining Sea Eagle from the Sea Kings. It felt like Ft. Apache with missiles coming in from all directions. Without any SAMs to counter the threat, several ships were struck and destroyed. However, some did survive.

 

At this point, I decided to throw the dice and gamble the game on one stroke. The five Etendard were re-launched along with 12 Skyhawks from Port Stanley. With the enemy SAM shooters closing on the base, air operations would soon be too dangerous to conduct since they would be launching and landing under the enemy's SAM umbrella.

 

 

The Trackers had located the Amphibious vessels thus allowing my strike elements to make their long circuitous journey around the enemy CAP and knocking directly on his back door. Unfortunately, the surprise party was prematurely detected by a roving Harrier. It shot down one of the Etendard before the release point. All hope of further surprise went down in flames with the unlucky plane and the strike leader decided to initiate the attack immediately. (This was probably the best point in the game. AoA nearly wet his pants when he saw the mass of Skyhawks appear next to his Amphibs and said, "That's it. I'm dead. Game over" on the mIRC channel )

 

The four surviving Super Etendard released their Exocet at the nearest DDG. They held no expectation of actually getting a hit, but they hoped that the salvo would occupy the DDG long enough for the Skyhawks to slip past the defenses.

 

 

The Skyhawks hugged the waters and drove in their attack at 30m altitude. The SAMs got a few and four of them decided to suppress the DDG on their ingress. They dropped their loads of Mk82 bombs and emptied their 20mm cannon on her to leave her a mass of flames as the strike split up to pass east and west of her to bore in on the Sir Galahad.

 

The western element died when it was shot to ribbons by Sea Wolves as it tried to split the defences between two Broadsword frigates. The eastern element took losses, too, but 3 survived long enough to deliver their bombs on target. Unfortunately, this was insufficient to sink the vessel. The damage was significant, but the flooding was eventually stopped at 30%. (I'll never know if the four bombers that took out the DDG Birmingham would have made the difference if they had survived long enough to bomb the Galahad. )

 

With no surviving strike assets, AoA merrily continued his parade to the beach. I had 3 diesel subs waiting for him, but with a surfeit of ASW helos to conduct a thorough search of the waters, they were soon located and killed by aerial torpedoes.

 

Thanks for yet another superb game, AoO. Games that are fought to the last round of ammunition are the best. Thanks also to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Alan Lewis (a.k.a. McInLew) has played Harpoon since 1994 and has been waiting for the day when he could go head-to-head with another opponent. Today was that day. We met up on HarpGamer and played Dawn Patrol and Power Sweep back-to-back and switched sides and then played them, again. Both selections are made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

In Power Sweep we had a truly challenging experience. I controlled 3 Soviet submarines trying to break past 2 NATO boats charged with stopping them.

 

 

As my boats cruised along to their destination, the first hint of enemy activity was the sudden announcement of "Torpedoes in the water!" from my SSGN Charlie II. These were Type61 from the SSK Kobben. Hurriedly, the Charlie turned around and fled the scene at flank speed while her two companions quickly dropped an SS-N-15 Starfish atop the newly discovered contact. The Charlie was VERY lucky. The expenditure of two decoys saved her life. Luck was not on the side of the Kobben as the torpedo delivered by the Starfish caught her and sent her to the bottom.

 

 

With the enemy apparently vanquished, my subs continued on to their destination. Once more, torpedoes were detected. SSN Spartan had launched fearsome Spearfish torpedoes at both the Charlie and her Victor II escort. There was no way to outrun these phenomenal weapons with 80kt+ speed. The Victor II succumbed to one but, once again, the Charlie miraculously escaped destruction by firing off a second salvo of decoys.

 

Before her death, the Victor II managed to drop an SS-N-16 Stallion into the vicinity of the Spartan. I assumed that the Stallion had caught the NATO submarine and the coast was clear for my Charlie and Tango to complete their mission. No sooner had they closed on their final waypoint when the Spartan was re-detected once again at point-blank range!

 

This time, SS Tango was quicker on the draw and loosed 3x SET-65 torpedoes at her. The range was so short that the run time was measured in seconds and not minutes. The death of SSN Spartan was sufficient to grant me victory.

 

A really great game. The last 13 years that Alan has spent in 'training' could be seen in the way he drove his boat. If not for the incredible luck of the Charlie and her decoys, victory would surely have been on the other foot. Thanks for a superb game and thanks to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

AlvinS came looking for another match, today. The last time we clashed, we did ASuW so this time, he wanted some ASW. We selected the ever popular Power Sweep, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

We each took a turn playing both sides.

 

 

The most memorable part of the session was when I was playing NATO and stalking his Russian subs. SSN Swiftsure got a sonar conact near her baffles and panicked. She fired a pair of Spearfish at the contact she believed to be tracking her before evading. Unfortunately, the sonar contact proved to be a false one. And, in running away, she had made enough noise to be counter-detected by a Tango-class boat which promptly dropped a nuke on her head!

 

However, my SSK Kobben managed to save the day as she crept up on the surviving SSGN Charlie and Tango boats to sink both of them with a single volley of 3 Tp 61 torpedoes, each.

 

A really good game, Alvin. Thanks for the match and to HarpGamer for hosting it.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Today, we welcomed the SeaQueen into the MP community. We wanted a quick introductory ASuW game so selected the ever popular Dawn Patrol, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

SeaQueen took the Russians while I took the Norwegians.

 

 

We took most of our time stalking each other's missile boats with the radar off. It was a very suspenseful experience. I stumbled across one Nanuchka with PTM Hugin and immediately activated my radar while releasing a full salvo of Penguin at her. My Penguins struck home, but her return fire also claimed the Hugin. To add insult to injury, she had discovered PTM Vidar and Mysing, too. Unbeknownst to me, SS-N-9 Sirens were inbound for them, too. All three boats were lost and the game was very much in flux. I had to kill one more Nanuchka without losing 2 of my boats or I would lose.

 

 

As I combed the waters for the other missile boats, sonar detected one. Instead of turning on my radar for a second Penguin missile salvo, I elected to engage with guns. I smashed the second boat and was soon awarded victory.

 

A really good game, SeaQueen. Thanks for the match and to HarpGamer for hosting it.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Eds came looking for another NATO vs Warsaw Pact matchup, tonight. We decided upon The Duel, from the Harpoon Classic GIUK Battleset and made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

 

The fighting over Keflavik has been so heavy that what remains of the airfield, currently held by NATO, is unusable. At the same time, the fighting in Europe has placed demands upon available resources that preclude either side sending long-range aircraft to attack or defend Iceland. The fate of Iceland will, therefore, be decided by a decisive surface battle.

 

 

Two Surface Action Groups seeking each other for battle in the Norwegian Sea is a pretty tall order as there is a lot of water to hide in. SSN Splendid made the first detection on the Russian group and closed with it. She thought that she had found a hole in the screen so tried to move in between a pair of escorts. Although she appeared to have successfully penetrated the outer ASW screen, she was detected before she got in range of the high value units like BCGN Kirov and CG Slava.

 

 

Hearing a torpedo in the water chasing her, she elected to fire on the solutions she had rather than the perfect targets she desired. Her Mk24 Tigerfish torpedoes were fired on the two destroyers as she tried to make her escape. Unfortunately, luck was not with her as the torpedo caught her at a depth of 500 meters. It was small consolation to learn that her torpedo also managed to sink one of the destroyer escorts.

 

 

SSN Topeka, having been notified of the general location for the Russian SAG tried to circle around the escort screen and attack from the rear. She thought that she had gotten around it and changed course to move in on the heavies. Unfortunately, I had mis-calculated and, in my haste to execute the attack I had cut the corner and was detected at a range of 15nm -- tantalizingly out of range. She fired her torpedoes on Bearing-Only Launch [bOL] and vainly tried to evade. With a swarm of helos hovering over her and BCGN Frunze firing SS-N-14 Silex after her, it was only a matter of time before one tagged her. Sadly, her Mk48 torpedoes did not exact revenge on the Russians.

 

 

I had been hope that the subs would be able to whittle down the phenomenal SSM strength of the opposition before I engaged with my own SAG. However, luck was not with me, tonight. I would have to do it the hard way. My SAG set an intercept course and soon came under fire from the much longer-ranged SS-N-10 Shipwreck and SS-N-12 Sandbox SSMs. It was like sitting on the bull's-eye of an archery contest with the enemy raining SSMs down on my head. It could have been described as, "beautiful", if I hadn't been so busy trying shooting down all the arrows.

 

 

The AEgis cruiser did a superb job fending off the SSMs, but there always seemed to be more. The number of missiles shot at me was sickening. Soon, enough leakers managed to get through to sink 5 frigates. Just as I was getting into range of the Russians, the game awarded victory to Ed. So close, yet so far. That'll teach me to rush a submarine into attack position.

 

Thanks for a fun afternoon of Harpoon war and the first MP game of the new year. Here's to many more matches to come. Thanks also to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Gloating from his victory yesterday, Eds came back looking for a repeat performance. We wanted something quick, so we chose Fish Stick Theory, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

 

As the grand facade of global borders changes in the light of new reformations, so too are changes being wrought on many smaller scale national boundaries. Plans for change and the conflicts bringing about this change are not limited to the high profile scenarios unfolding in Russia and the Middle East.

 

Thailand, seeing the large island on the extreme southern edge of their territorial waters as an attractive opportunity for expansion, decided to invade and expand their borders in the process. The Lang Kawi International Airport offered a valuable potential for increased air traffic with countries to the south. Thailand's claims to rights regarding shipping traffic and fishing in the area would be greatly enhanced. There was just one problem... Malaysia.

 

For whatever reasons that Thailand may wish to acquire the island, the same could be said of Malaysia by way of explaining why they may want to keep it.

 

Bypassing the possible channels of negotiation and commerce, the Thai government decides to use a surprise lightning attack to take the island. The Thai forces count on the fact that retaking the island would be very costly. Here, in this battle, the future of the Thailand-Malaysia border will be decided. The time is now.

 

 

I played the Malays. I knew that he had to be in the general vicinity of my island airport, so I tried to get in sneaky first attack. I sent all my A-4 Skyhawks out under the escort of 4 Hawks. Radar and FLIR picked up my targets and soon had them classified. I was going to take out the Harpoon-armed ships since they had a longer range than my own Exocet armed vessels. I fired 9 Maverick at one frigate and was rewarded by a tremendous explosion. Unfortunately, the surviving vessels managed to shoot down one Skyhawk on their egress.

 

Meanwhile, the escorting Hawks were playing their own game with the F-16 Falcons sent aloft to defend the ships. Luckily, they managed to bring down an entire flight of 3 without any loss. When they tried to attack a second flight, they got not a single hit and were lucky to escape with their lives. Unfortunately, this meant that the Skyhawks were undefended and four were shot down in quick succession.

 

 

As they approached a second group of ships, they were taken under AAA fire, once again. The lead Skyhawk took a near miss. However, when flying only metres above the ocean, there are only seconds in which to respond. The Skyhawk's port wing touched the water and the plane cartwheeled to its destruction. The surviving four planes released their Mavericks and ran for home. All four missiles struck home, but could not kill the ship outright. I was not totally without luck as the burning vessel sank of her own accord not long after and took another load of lethal Harpoon missiles down with her.

 

 

As a second flight of Hawks appeared for CAP duty, they tried to approach a flight of Falcons that seemed to be circling lazily. They turned off their radar and ran in at high speed and on the deck, hoping to surprise the high performance jets. Instead, they got the surprise of their lives! Suddenly, Hawks just started exploding around them and all four were shot down before any type of response could be made.

 

 

After that disastrous aerial encounter, the naval tried to attack the surviving Thai gunboats. There was still a missile boat armed with CSS-N-4 Sardines so she was attacked with 4 Exocets. As my luck was running definitely cold today, the 4 missiles locked onto and sank the two accompanying gunboats instead of the infinitely more lethal missile boat who, soon enough, loosed her salvo of Sardines. Only by the grace of God (and the piecemeal allocation of missiles) did my little groups survive the barrage.

 

At this time, we decided to call it a night in hopes of completing this scenario next week. Thanks for a fun opening and looking forward to the conclusion. Thanks also to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

The Harpoon ANW community welcomed a new member, tonight. Ed (Higgins742) has been playing since the paper rules first came out and never tried MP. We met up for his first session and he asked me to take it easy on him... just before he proceeded to nearly clean my clock! :clown: We looked through the list of scenarios distributed by Matrix, but couldn't find anything that was even remotely functional. So, we chose Dawn Patrol, Whose Islands are These?, and Matrix Siege, all made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

 

In both "Dawn Patrol" and "Whose Islands are These?", we played great games of cat and mouse. Only by the sheerest luck did I energize my radar systems at the right time to detect Ed's ships and get off the first salvo. Even then, Ed returned very effective fire. Only pure chance allowed enough of my ships to survive thus awarding me victories in both games.

 

 

The last game of the night was truly the best. Ed learned very quickly. (Too damned quickly, if you ask me...)

 

 

We played Matrix Siege and it matched his USN FFG and DDG against a polyglot force of European missile boats. Ed manoueuvred expertly and kept my forces at arm's length as he proceed to pick off my missile boats one at a time. His ships danced and wove in between my forces and hid behind neutral ships as I tried to close the jaws of a trap on him, but he kept his distance until the very end all the while whittling down my attacking ships.

 

Finally, I managed to get close enough for a full salvo of Penguin, Harpoon, and Exocet missiles. Most were plucked from the air, but one managed to strike his Burke destroyer. The ensuant flooding doomed the vessel and granted me another victory, but my poor missile and torpedo marksmanship ended with me sinking 4 neutral fishing vessels. Thus, victory truly and justly belongs to Ed.

 

A superb lesson in seamanship. Thanks for a great bunch of games and thanks to HarpGamer for hosting it on their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.