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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

AAR: Cuban Missile Crisis [Spoiler Alert]
By Freek Schepers

After reading and re-reading my orders and the accompanying Rules of Engagement [ROE] from SACLant, I immediately double-checked to make certain that all of my units had their weapons Weapons on Safe status and were locked down. I certainly didn't want to be the initiator of nuclear shooting war!

I realized that many of my vessels were a long distance from the line that the President had designated as the limit of the quarantine zone. Therefore, I ordered all vessels in Guantanamo Bay to sortie. As well, much of NavSurfLant was currently positioned near Florida and Cuba. I elected to gamble and meet the freighters in a show of force at the boundaries of the Exclusion zone. My orders were quite clear. Under no circumstances was I to allow them entry into the Quarantine Zone. All vessels were ordered to full speed and a Combat Air Patrol [CAP] was launched from Guantanamo Bay. If this turned out to be a shooting war, she could expect to be attacked within minutes of it starting. I was very concerned about TF Iwo Jima. She was deep in the Caribbean, far from support, and pretty much limited by the search range of her helos.

Sabre fighters were launched to escort my Voodoo recon planes from MacDill. Additional Sabres and Starfighters were also ordered aloft as Barrier CAPs [BarCAPs] from Key West and Homestead AFBs. Very specific orders were given to the flight leaders that they were to remain over international waters and not to fire unless fired upon. The disciplined men of Naval Aviation did not bat an eyelash in the face of these orders and I knew that they would follow them to the letter.

With fighters leading the way and, hopefully, clearing a path in front of any potential opposition, I launched my precious U-2 spy plane. Contrary to normal doctrine, I would try to make the ingress at low level and only climb to take photos when closer to the objective. I hoped that the high-flying fighter escorts and Voodoo reconnaissance planes would distract the enemy sufficiently so that the U-2 would be unmolested in her mission. I would also try to send her around the known air defences and through the back door.

Starfighters from Key West were the first to meet aircraft rising from the Ciudad de Libertad airbase. They were approached on an intercept profile, but my orders forbade early engagement. They would have to prove themselves hostile before I was allowed to take action. The fighters turned out be Fishbeds and my planes were soon to be on the receiving end of Atoll missiles! While one flight evaded, the second flight launched six Sidewinders with no effect. The pilots went to Afterburner and activated their internal cannon. In violent Air-Combat Manoeuvres [ACM], both Fishbeds were shredded by the M61 cannon fire. A Beagle patrol plane was detected. The fighters must have been the assigned escort for this asset. As one flight approached her, the radar warning receiver went wild. A Goa SAM had been fired! Again, the men undertook wild evasive manoeuvres. This was going to be the common theme throughout the day. The men were lucky this time as the SAMs ran out of fuel.

The Beagle appeared to be unprotected so one flight of 3 Starfighters approached her and set themselves up in her 'Six-O'clock' position. However, to their surprise, her gunners opened fire and killed two of the F-104s! The surviving fighter immediately returned fire and killed the Cuban, but it was small consolation for the loss of his two squadron mates.

Two more Fishbeds rose to challenge the F-104s and managed to kill two of them with only the single loss of a Fishbed before all belligerents were forced to break off combat and return to base. Thus far, Cuba was leading in the scoring race, 4:3. The Sabre pilots from Homestead AFB heard the sad report over their guard frequencies and vowed revenge. Now, if only the Cuban pilots would co-operate. They met CAPs launched from Sagua La Grande AB but were not fired upon. The enemy was not co-operating and this frustrated them. Finally, after a series of feints, one Cuban loosed his Atoll missiles. They were evaded and he was closed and killed by guns after a swirling dance of death.

Two more Fishbeds met my relief CAP from Key West. This time, both MiGs were downed for the loss of a Crusader. The score was now tied but the men wanted a win, not a tie.

The Great Game moved back to Sagua La Grande. More Goa SAMs rose in opposition only to fall back into the sea when out of fuel. The MiGs fared better with both sides exchanging planes and lives. The score would remain tied.

As hoped, the fighter pilots were distracting the air defences and allowing the U-2 pilot to make his run on Libertad unopposed. The cost was high in both men and planes. In the midst of the battle, my Skyraider Electronic Warfare [EW] bird suddenly blinked off of the screen! Curse all radar operators. A marauding Fresco fighter had evidently crept within range of her without anyone noticing and shot her down. Now all of my aircraft would be naked against the Cuban radar.

Once Libertad was photographed, the U-2 dove back into the weeds and headed for St. Julien Air Base [AB] on the western tip of the island. She was in good company with her escorts. After another swirling battle with Frescoes and more SAMs, the U-2 was able to photograph the IRBM sites and leave. The price was 4 more fighters. The air force was learning a very hard lesson; aerial gunnery was not obsolescent even in the age of AAMs.

In their turn, Sagua La Grande AB and Holguin AB were reconnoitred and photographed using the same swarming technique. Multiple flights of fighters would distract the defenders so that the U-2 was unmolested. The price of admission was paid by the fighters. After these orders were fulfilled, I chose to adopt a more defensive stance. Instead of aggressive Target CAPs [TarCAP], I re-assigned my fighters to Barrier CAPs [BarCAP] midway between Cuban bases and Florida. Only one further 'Incident' was encountered. A Beagle raid was detected by Gitmo originating from Holguin AB. I managed to scramble sufficient Phantom interceptors to crush the raiders, but elected not to retaliate against the base. The Russian and Cuban installations were so intermingled that I was worried about accidentally attacking a Russian installation and provoking a nuclear response. Today, discretion would definitely be the better part of valour.

On the high seas, I found myself in a quandry. The Quarantine zone was a large area and it was flooded with unknown contacts. I launched my Neptune Maritime Patrol Aircraft [MPA] to find and classify every ship. Unfortunately, radar can only tell me that a contact exists. It cannot tell you the nationality of the vessel. Thus, I had to overfly and positively identify each and every vessel; a long and arduous process.

As each of my groups raced to the edge of the Exclusion zone, the ASW co-ordinator aboard CVAN Enterprise reported, "Probable submarine contact in the Torpedo Danger Zone!" Somehow, a suspected submarine had managed to evade my escorts and ensconced herself between the CVAN and my destroyers! The battle group commander immediately ordered all ships to scatter at flank speed and launched 4 helos to prosecute this contact. It was not a minute too soon, either, as torpedo contacts were soon reported. The quick response prevented any damage. The confirmed hostility of the unknown submarine quickly ensured her destruction at the hands of the helo pilots.

As my MPA chased down vessels of all nationalities, they were able to positively identify six merchants flying the Hammer and Sickle. However, intelligence had reported seven such vessels leaving Soviet ports. A Golf-class SSG was even spotted running on the surface within the quarantine zone. I decided to give her a wide berth as her direction of travel was outward-bound.

Six merchants were intercepted before they could cross into the Quarantine zone and they were 'escorted' away from the area. I finally managed to find the elusive seventh merchant, but the Essex PhibRon was simply too far away to intercept her before she reached the barrier. Luckily, she did not cross the barrier as all merchants had apparently received orders to return. The world would not be destroyed in a nuclear nightmare this day, but I lost the game because I did not intercept her before she reached the zone.

This is a really neat scenario. Freek has done a good job simulating the ROE present during those 13 Days in October. Combat is possible and permitted, but the player must take extreme care in what and who he engages. Otherwise, the game crosses the nuclear threshold and into nuclear holocaust. An excellent job re-creating the Crisis on the High Seas. Thanks for putting it together.

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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

AAR: Cuban Missile Crisis (Cuba) [Spoiler Alert]
By Freek Schepers

Presidente Castro was in fine form, tonight. His six hour oration was just ending with, "Y los imperialistas no pondrán un pie en Cuba". << And the Imperialists shall never set foot on Cuba >> Those words were still ringing in my ears as I read my latest orders. My mission was clearly to protect our Soviet "guests" from the Yankee pirates.

I ordered Combat Air Patrols [CAPs] to be stationed over all airbases. Four patrol boats were off-shore from Guantanamo Bay. The fact that the Imperialists took every opportunity to trail their coats in front of us was too much for me to endure. My machismo would not allow me to sit quietly while it happened so I ordered the four patrol boats to make a pass across the bay to show the Yankees that we were not afraid of them.

As my CAPs climbed to patrol altitude, they found that the Gringos were not co-operating. They maintained their provocative air patrols over international waters so I ordered my CAPs to close and engage them. Who would be able to prove that the fight had not started over Cuban waters? I sent a pair of Farmers and another pair of Frescoes to scratch a couple of annoying fleas off of base Sagua La Grande's back. My Alkali SARH AAMs proved much more effective than the American Sidewinders. A Sabre and a Starfighter were killed outright. First blood to Aerea Fuerza Cubano!

A swarm of unidentified air contacts were reported over international waters and my men salivated at the thought of combat with the Americans, but I restrained them and only released them to engage those contacts in or near Cuban air space. I knew that Key West AB had long-ranged Nike-Hercules SAMs and did not want to give the enemy a chance to test them on us.

By a stroke of luck, a U-2 flew right into one of my MiG-21 CAPs over Libertad and was shot down. I needed to kill one more for my ViConds. My luck held as the same fighting pair managed to close upon a Skyraider EW platform that was wreaking havoc on my Ground Controlled Interception [GCI] radar. They loosed their Atoll missiles and were rewarded by watching it explode in mid-air. Score 4:0 for the home team.

Another pair of Fresco had been sent north to hunt a pair of Bogeys. However, imagine their surprise when they turned on their Fire-Control Radar [FCR] only to find that they were in the midst of five enemy aircraft! However, true to their fighter pilot aggressiveness, they turned into the attack instead of running. They exchanged missiles with a Sabre without either side getting hit and turned back to engage with aerial gunnery. The fighters were escorting a Voodoo recon plane. Hopefully, they would be able to kill the Sabres for the main course and still be able to enjoy their dessert, the Voodoo. They evaded the AAMs and then slid into the Six-O'Clock position behind the enemy. The Sabre died without ever knowing what killed her followed by the unarmed Voodoo. Score was now 6-love.

My missile and gunboats found the DD Charles Badger in Gitmo Bay and unleashed their four Styx SSMs and decided that they had done their duty for the revolution and retired westward. Unfortunately, no explosions were seen or heard. I kept my CAPs close to their home bases and successfully killed all enemy fighters that encroached with very light losses for the moment. I was beginning to worry that the enemy would not try to engage me under my own radar coverage and that I might have to venture into the Florida Strait to meet my ViCond of 50 aircraft kills. I wished that he would come south to do battle. The Chinese have sage advice regarding situations like this: "Be careful for what you wish." It was indeed prophetic.

As my pilots were rejoicing their victories and their planes were being re-armed and re-fueled, the air raid sirens wailed long and hard. I had very little left with which to oppose these new strikers. Libertad AB managed to scramble sufficient interceptors to kill most of her assailants and thus survived with minimal damage to the base. However, as most of Sagua's and Holguin's defenders were out of action on the tarmac, these bases were hammered mercilessly. Sagua was almost totally flattened with only a handful of planes surviving the onslaught from Sabres based in Florida. It seems as though wave attacks were not limited to the PRC as wave after wave of attackers crashed upon Cuban shores. Holguin was similarly pulverized by Skyhawks that could only have come from as yet undetected CVBGs offshore. These three-pronged attacks were exceptionally well-timed.

I had failed to protect my Soviet guests. During the attack, some strikers attacked the Soviet IRBM sites. Evidently, the Soviet commander elected to launch his missiles rather than risk losing them. Everyone watched helplessly as the ballistic missiles rose on pillars of flame towards ConUS. This war had now crossed the nuclear threshold as IRBM strikes wiped out MacDill AFB, Norfolk, and Jacksonville. However, I still had my orders so I continued to protect the Motherland as best I could.

My bases at San Julien and Libertad were relatively unscathed so I transferred some of their defenders to Sagua and Holguin in an attempt to provide them some protection. As they were about to land, more attacks were detected from US naval aviation. They had fortuitously arrived just in time to engage and defeat this latest round of attacks. However, my eastern bases were still unprotected so I transferred yet more assets. Again, I was "rewarded" by their timely arrival to have them face more inbound strikers from the carrier battle groups. This time, they turned out to be nuclear-capable Vigilantes! I could only assume that the Gringo commander had decided to retaliate-in-kind after learning of the Soviet attack on his country.

I could not afford to allow a single attacker to release its payload. One nuclear device could render Cuba uninhabitable. As my pilots intercepted each Vigilante, I kept my fingers crossed. There would be no second chance. Luck smiled upon me this day as I was able to destroy the entire wave of nuclear-armed bombers. Within hours, I was granted "victory" even as the firestorms continued to sweep through the Continental US [ConUS].

Another exceptional scenario. Thanks for sharing it. Thanks, also, to JM Serrano for his linguistic assistance in writing this AAR.

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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

Colonial Wars Scenarios

Author: Paul Bridge

First Scenario :- Dangerous Waters - AAR

This morning, off the coast of Cuba, a Soviet submarine fired a nuclear torpedo at the USS Ranger. The resulting explosion destroyed the carrier and damaged the escort group. The carrier group was enforcing the blockade around Cuba due to the Soviet missile sites there. At present, no further nuclear exchanges have taken place. The United States has retaliated by conducting conventional strikes on military targets only with the Soviets responding in kind. With most of the action taking place in the North Atlantic and Europe...the Pacific rim seems quite for the present. Soviet forces have surged there Pacific Fleet submarines in order to keep the US carrier groups from striking the Motherland. The United States has positioned its ASW Carrier Groups to defend the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific. Only one strike carrier is available, the Enterprise, to take the war to the Soviets in the Pacific....Good Shooting Guys.

Second Scenario :- Operation Dawarka - AAR

Operation Dawarka is one of the most significant events of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. The idea of the attack by Pakistan was to destroy the Radar site at Dawarka and Naval Installations. which would draw out the heavy Indian units based in Bombay. To this end, the only Pakistani submarine Ghazi, a converted US WW2 Guppy, was stationed outside Bombay harbour to intercept them. The bombardment of Dawarka was successful, but Ghazi was unable to engage units leaving Bombay.

Third Scenario :- Franco's Folly - AAR

In 1963, the question of Gibraltar's status came before the UN Special Committee on De-Colonisation and General Franco of Spain seized the opportunity to revive her claim for the reversion of the Rock to Spanish sovereignity. Spain increased her border restrictions with Gibraltar and eventually closed the frontier and all other means of communications with the mainland in 1969.
In the meantime, Spain decided to enforce the blockade and sailed the majority of her fleet to re-take Gibraltar by force by land and sea. The United Kingdom was caught by surprise with this and despatched HMS Eagle and Bulwark from Malta at maximum speed hoping to call Spain's bluff?

Fourth Scenario :- Return to Suez - AAR

All did not go well for Israel in the 6 Day War with her neighbours and she suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Arabs. Egypt has now re-taken her lost lands and has closed the Suez Canal to all traffic. At a press conference in Cairo Egypt threatened to use deadly force on any country trying to re-open the canal. The US has decided not to pursue this matter. With growing hate against the Vietnam War at home, all US forces have been pulled out of area. The United Kingdom and France have decided to re-take the Suez Canal by military means and have deployed a combined force of 3 Attack Carriers and 2 Amphib Groups with air and submarine support to the Region. The UK and France did the same operation 10 years earlier...but this time Egypt is now equipped with Soviet ships, submarines, aircraft and long-range air-launched anti-ship weapons.

Fifth Scenario :- Bedford Incident - AAR

A US Destroyer Captain chances upon a Soviet submarine operating inside the territorial waters of Greenland and intends to force the sub to the surface by any means possible. Both vessels are armed with nuclear weapons... and the question is who will fire first!

The USS Bedford is commanded by Captain Finlander who was passed over for promotion last year due to an incident with one of our submarines. He is a very aggressive Captain who will and has broken the rules and will do anything

This Scenario is based on the movie "The Bedford Incident was added units to both sides including the Canadian ASW Carrier and Escort Group.

Colonial Wars Indonesian Campaign
Author: Paul Bridge

First Scenario :- Gunboat Diplomacy - AAR

At one stage in the Borneo Confrontation, there was a force of some sixteen ships operating in and around the waters of Borneo, most of them coming from the 6th Minesweeping Squadron, whose tasks were to hunt, stop, and search small boat traffic . One incident, out of the normal humdrum patrolling , occurred in 1965 when three minesweepers intercepted and caught three armed sampans. All of them had been trying to get into southeast Johore and, during the fire fight, eight Indonesian soldiers were killed and 19 captured . This scen covers the engagement with added units for both sides .

Second Scenario :- First Strike - AAR

Following an failed attempted coup in Indonesia by anti-communist forces , the communist government put all blame onto the United Kingdom. Over the years, communist forces had infiltrated into Malaysia and Borneo; conducting terrorist attacks on the infastructure of these countries. The UK and Australian and New Zealand forces had been hard pushed to stop these incursions, but had played no part in the failed coup. Indonesia has threatened to attack any British-flagged ships in its area, but at the present time hostilities haven't broken out. The RMS Queen Mary, enroute from Hong Kong to Singapore, is a prime target and has been give escort to Singapore !

Third Scenario :- The Empire Strikes Back - AAR

After the outrageous attack on the RMS Queen Mary and her escorts in the South China Sea resulted in heavy loss of life on all the Ships involved in the engagement , UK and ANZAC Forces are now planning a response .... the problem is most of the UK Far East Fleet were deployed for the Annual Exercise with Australian and New Zealand Forces off North Western coast of Australia. Singapore's remaining forces have taken a "battering" over the last few days and are unable to mount a response . During the Annual Exercise the RAF had deployed most of their bomber assets to RAAF airbases on the western coast. These forces include Vulcan, Canberra bombers, and Recon aircraft. They are supported by Australian Canberras, Sabres, and Mirage fighter bomber aircraft. The Naval Forces in the area are HMS Ark Royal and HMAS Melbourne Task Groups.

In all it looks like the Indonesian Forces are in for a surprise of there own!.

Fourth Scenario :- Broadsides - AAR

At present, HMS Bulwark and her cover group (comprised of the WW2 Cruiser HMS Belfast) have sailed from Aden and have now entered the Andaman sea enroute to Singapore. Bulwark has embarked 45 Cdo Royal Marines and a full complement of Wessex helicopters for future operations and is a prime target. She is due to anchor near RAAF Butterworth to take on supplies and must be protected at all costs.

The position of the KRI Irian is unknown, but believed to be in the area. The air threat is light and the submarine threat is assessed as medium. Can HMS Belfast protect the Bulwark .....the choice is yours !

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emsoy · Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Posts: 66

The above scenario can only be downloaded from the HarpoonHQ, which hosts the greatest collection of quality scenarios for Harpoon 3 on the web:

http://www.harpoonhq.com/

Colonial Wars (1950-1964) scenarios:
http://www.harpoonhq.com/harpoon3/colonialwars/

1965-1979 scenarios:
http://www.harpoonhq.com/harpoon3/scenarios_1960-79/

1980-2005++ scenarios:
http://www.harpoonhq.com/harpoon3/scenarios/

__________________________________________________
The Harpoon HeadQuarters: By the Players, For the Players
http://www.harpoonhq.com

Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

Dr. Who's Harpoon Pages recently found a new home under the care of Tony Eischens. The site was founded by Ed Ladner and strives to follow the example Ed has set over the years. Going forward you will see many changes at this site.

Change your links to: http://www.harpoonpages.com/

Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

31st Scenario posted this year!

Freek Schepers has released his latest creation. This is scenario also uses the Colonial Wars database edited by Paul Bridge. Some players might actually still be able to remember the Indonesian crisis as the world held its breath.

OPERATION JAYA WIJAYA

When Indonesia became independent in 1949, The Netherlands held onto New Guinea, a vast island group in the east of the archipelago. The Netherlands maintained permanent army (KNIL), navy, and air force units on the islands. In the early 1960s, President Soekarno started guerrilla operations against the British in Malaysia and against the Dutch in New Guinea to force them to relinquish their colonies. Indonesia built up its military with modern Russian weapons and, in 1961, Indonesia had the strongest air force in the Southern Hemisphere while The Netherlands post-war economic position had allowed it only limited military investments.

A visit of the Dutch aircraft carrier "Karel Doorman" to the region in 1961 inflamed the situation and serious incidents started the next year. In March of 1962, Dutch patrol planes sank an Indonesian Schooner and, in July, Dutch destroyers sank the Indonesian torpedo-boat Matjan Tutul carrying soldiers to New Guinea. Dutch Neptunes intercepted and shot down some of the Mitchell bombers and Dakotas dropping paras in company strength in the jungle. During the summer, a bloody guerrilla war started between these para's and Dutch Marines in the jungle of New Guinea.

Politically, the Soviet Union was rattling its sabre in Cuba, Vietnam, and gave overt support to Indonesia (including supplying crews to Indonesia's newly built submarines). President Kennedy was very worried about the threat of Soviet influence in Indonesia with its strategic sea lanes. The Dutch Prime minister de Quai and his foreign minister Luns refused to negotiate with Soekarno and tried to make New Guinea a UN-protectorate only to face a Russian veto.

Finally, in August of 1962, Soekarno gave orders for the liberation of New Guinea by force through operation Jaya Wijaya. Merchant ships and the Indonesian navy formed up east of the Celebes and the Indonesian Air Force was deployed to forward bases. Still, the newly formed Indonesian navy faced a small, though battle-hardened Dutch navy. The operation was by no means a sure thing. This changed when Russia deployed Badger bombers and long-range submarines and dressed up their crews as Indonesian 'volunteers'. The Netherlands had good intelligence, Dutch submarines had crossed the Pacific, and, for the first time in decades, the Netherlands sent conscript troops to defend the colonies.

On August 18th, Prime Minister de Quai gave in under severe pressure from President Kennedy and agreed to hand over New Guinea to Indonesia later that year. This scenario investigates what would have happened if the Netherlands would have let the conflict erupt. Soekarno had already ordered his invasion fleet to sail from the Celebes and, although some sources maintain Soekarno had not yet achieved the 3:1 superiority in forces required, the Russian forces would have played a decisive role in the battle.

Author: Freek Schepers

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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

32nd Scenario posted this year!

Harold Hutchison has posted his latest creation.

Force Z

You are in command of four Australian frigates with orders to protect merchant shipping in an Indonesian exclusion zone.

Author: Harold Hutchison

This scenario uses the HutchDB and can be found in the StrategyZoneOnline File Archives

Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

34th Scenario posted this year!

See for yourself if history could have played out differently at the Bay of Pigs. This scenario uses the Colonial Wars database edited by Paul Bridge.

Bay of Pigs

On April 14th, 1961, six ships departed a Nicaraguan training camp where they had spent months training with CIA instructors. Brigade 2506 was to land at the Bay of Pigs in southern Cuba to overthrow Castro's regime. Sixteen B-26C Invader medium-range bombers were ready in Central America to support their invasion.

Cuba's army and militia, while numerically strong, were thought to be poorly motivated and likely to switch sides when the invasion took place. Cuba's air force was poorly equipped, had low servicability, and would be destroyed on the ground by the rebel B-26s and by US strikes on the main airbases. After all, it was the CIA who had organised the invasion.

In reality, President Kennedy had inherited the operation from his predecessors and, while unwilling to pull the plug, he severely limited the support that could be given and personally ordered a veto against air strikes on Cuban airbases.

This scenario starts on April 15th 1961 and lasts 24 hours. It uses Paul Bridge's Colonial Database (v1.5 July 6th, 2005). Thanks to Paul for many database updates.

ORDERS FOR CUBA

SITUATION

CIA remains committed to the removal of the Communist government of Cuba by any means possible. President Kennedy appears to be no different from his predecessors in advocating invasion and assassination plots against our country.

The Soviet Union has reacted enthusiastically to our requests for arms and, so far, 4 MiG-15s and some shipments of Czech submachine guns have been received. Most of our air force personnel are training on MiG-15, MiG-19 fighters, and the new SA-2 SAM rockets in Russia and Czechoslovakia. Only some trainee fighter pilots and the 4 captains piloting the Migs are available to support our B26 bombers in defending Cuba.

ORDERS

Your orders are to defend Cuba against potential aggression. The timing of such aggression is expected within the next day, but be wary of attempts to draw out our forces to reduce their effectiveness.

Intel reports that the CIA has used training camps in Florida, Nicaragua and Guatemala to train a unit known as Brigade 2506. They appear to have access to military aircraft and are thought to be planning a parachute or ship insertion somewhere in Cuba.

ORDERS FOR REBELS

"Men of Brigade 2506; the liberation of our country has begun!

We will invade Cuba! Our training has honed our small arms skills, taught us how to cooperate with our air power, and made us familiar with the Landing Ships from which we will unload our tanks, our infantry companies, and our supplies. Good Luck"

<<Eyes Only Commander Brigade 2506>>

President Kennedy has personally approved the operation. U-2 reconnaissance missions have been planned. The Amphibious Landing Ship USS San Marco with two escorting destroyers will support our invasion and escort us in.

The Essex Carrier group will be flying cover missions over the beachheads enabling our unescorted B-26C bombers to level the enemy.

Author: Freek Schepers

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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

35th Scenario this year!

Dave Steinmeyer has posted his second scenario, BALTIC TIDE. Thanks for sharing it with us.

World War III has been raging across the globe for three days already. Casualties have been high on both sides. Where the Soviets expected to make rapid gains on land, they have not. And where NATO expected to quickly gain control of the skies above Europe, the Pact has made more than a fight of it.

At sea, there are only the quick and the dead. What were supposed to be set piece battles turned into bloodbaths with the winner being whoever fired first. While no American carriers have been sunk, yet, three have been heavily damaged in the GIUK Gap alone. One of the few things going as planned is NATO's campaign against Soviet subs in the Atlantic and North Sea. With the combination of first-class sonar, excellent signals processing, and land and ship based aircraft, NATO has been able to smother almost any sub contact they run across.

Reinforcements are being rushed into the meat grinder that is the North Atlantic. Here, at least, NATO has the advantage of unrestricted access to the sea. Any Pact units in transit to the Atlantic must pass through restricted (and often NATO-controlled) seaways.

NATO Orders: The Soviets have already sustained very heavy losses to the naval forces they had pre-positioned in the North Sea and Atlantic prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Satellite reconnaissance indicates that a major Surface Action Group will attempt to surge through the Danish Straits. In order to support this breakout, East German airborne units and Polish Marines have landed on several Danish islands. And, while Pact losses in these landing have been high, they are still stubbornly holding their positions. We also have indications of a large number of Soviet cargo aircraft marshaling at Russian airfields as well as cargo ships leaving the port of Leningrad. We believe they are trying to push supplies and equipment forward to support their efforts on the central front.

Close the Danish Straits. Do not allow the SAG to complete its transit to the North Sea.

Soviet orders: NATO surface fleets in the North Sea and around Denmark have suffered great attrition from our naval air forces. Expect only light forces to oppose your transit. The threat of NATO subs is high, however. NATO air forces and ASW units pose the greatest danger to your mission.

Get the SAG through the Danish straits and into the North Sea for follow-on commerce raider operations against the UK and the French coast.

Author: Dave Steinmeyer

This scenario requires the latest release of the PlayersDB v5.9.7

Get it via: StrategyZoneOnline, HarpGamer, SimHQ, PlayersDB Depot, SubSim, CombatAce, or Frugal's World of Simulation.

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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

39th Scenario this year!

Dave Steinmeyer has posted his third scenario, Power Sweep. For a guy who just started designing this year, this promises to be yet another classic. Only a handful of units, but this scenario should by no means be considered easy. Take that attitude and you'll soon find yourself on the wrong end of a 533mm torpedo!

The war has not been kind to the Soviet navy; especially their submarine forces. In order to protect their remaining submarine units, the Soviets have been forced to begin escorting their less capable boats with first-line SSNs.

In this engagement, a Soviet SSN is guarding two other units as they proceed south through the Norwegian Sea. Once the group has reached the Atlantic, the SSN will perform its own mission while the SS and SSGN attack surface shipping.

First, though, NATO will try to stop them.

Author: Dave Steinmeyer

This scenario requires the latest release of the PlayersDB v5.9.7

Get it via: StrategyZoneOnline, HarpGamer, SimHQ, PlayersDB Depot, SubSim, CombatAce, or Frugal's World of Simulation.

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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

49th scenario posted this year!

Another superb effort from one of the community's masters. This is the seventh scenario in his 21st Century Ocean Wars battleset.

Malakka Strait

The NATO-Russian war is 4 weeks old. Russia's naval aviation forces and US Carriers have fought several bloody battles around Japan. Japan has defended its islands well, but is now very vulnerable to the closure of its SLOC's. The Chinese navy has left port but has stayed out of the battle. The US losses in the Pacific and Atlantic theatres have forced it to withdraw the Seventh Fleet from the IO. Only Diego Garcia remains as a stronghold there. The task of providing security for the Malakka Strait has been handed over to India, Thailand, and Singapore. India and Thailand will use their baby-carriers to escort tankers through the IO. The War in the Pacific has interrupted oil shipments to Japan and China for several weeks now and resumption of the oil trade has now become a strategic imperative.

Author: Freek Schepers

This scenario requires the latest release of the PlayersDB v5.9.7

Get it via: StrategyZoneOnline, HarpGamer, SimHQ, PlayersDB Depot, SubSim, CombatAce, or Frugal's World of Simulation.

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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

50th, 51st, and 52nd scenarios posted!

Well, we've done it! Christmas comes early. Three new scenarios by three different authors have been released into the Harpoon community - two for Harpoon 3 and one for Harpoon Classic enthusiasts. These are the 50th, 51st, and 52nd scenarios to be posted to StrategyZoneOnline, ScenShare, FilesOfScenShare, and HarpGamer. That means 50 new scenarios have been produced for Harpoon Classic and Harpoon 3 and the year is not even over yet. Bravo, boys, and keep it up!

Continuing on in his "Battle Ocean 90" series, Mark Gellis has posted his Hungry Lion [EC2003 NACV] scenario.
Freek Schepers has released, Indian, the 8th scenario in his "21st Century Ocean Wars" battleset.
Herman Hum has posted the fourth installment in the "New World Order - Cyprus Affair" battleset, Chastiser.

INDIAN OCEAN - Scenario #8 - 21st Century Ocean Wars battleset

The NATO-Russian war is 4 weeks old. Russia has suffered crippling losses to its long-range Naval aviation forces and to its submarines in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres. The US strategy of leaving the defence of the SLOCs in the IO to India, Thailand, and Singapore has failed when China, worried about its oil supply, claimed control over the Malakka Strait. The ensuing fight sank numerous oil tankers and crippled the Allied Navies in southeast Asia.

The White House and State Department are at odds whether the Chinese intervention signals an alliance between China, Russia, and several SE-Asia nations.The US Navy is rushing reserve forces into the IO to defend the critical approaches to the Persian Gulf oil fields. Reserve troop flown to SE-Asia and the Persian Gulf Region must be matched up with their pre-positioned equipment on Diego Garcia to stabilise the region.

The IO is in turmoil. Chinese naval forces have pushed through the Malakka Strait and destroyed the airbases and navy of Singapore. In a running fight, two of the escorting frigates of the Thai carrier Chakkri Nareubet have been sunk, but the carrier is still afloat and is heading for the IO. Chinese ships then entered harbour in Myanmar. India has withdrawn its forces from Port Blair after the sinking of the Viraat in the ten-degree channel by a torpedo.

Oil tanker traffic is in turmoil with many tanker destinations being changed due to the war. About 20 have been boarded by Chinese prize crews.

MISSION

Primary mission is to destroy any enemy units inside the IO. The secondary mission is to escort the AK and AKR Maritime Pre-positioned ships from Diego Garcia towards the Malakka Strait (3 ships), Persian Gulf (5 ships), and Suez Canal (4 ships).

Author: Freek Schepers

This scenario requires the latest release of the PlayersDB v5.9.7

Get it via: StrategyZoneOnline, HarpGamer, SimHQ, PlayersDB Depot, SubSim, CombatAce, or Frugal's World of Simulation.

CHASTISER - Scenario #4 - New World Order Campaign #2 [The Cyprus Affair]

When the NSC made good on its promise to deliver SA-10 Grumble SAM systems to the Greek Cypriots in the spring of 1995 despite Turkish protests, the stage was set for another conflict in Cyprus. The presence of the advanced weapons shifted the delicate balance of power as it put nearly all aircraft operating from the Turkish side of the island at risk.

NATO was embarrassed when regular Turkish forces stormed the island a few months later. It had not been aware of Turkey's intent to reclaim Cyprus once and for all. Hand-in-hand with the economic boom in the NSC came military modernization and revitalization; funding for which was fueled at least partly by an unprecedented level of arms exports. The NSC would no longer sit idly by while its national interests were decided by others. It launched a major attack against Turkey on June 3, 1995.

The NSC did not believe that NATO would intervene in the Cypriot affair after having been snubbed by its Turkish partner and after the beating it had received in the Baltic conflict a year earlier. The NSC was about to be proven wrong.

1. SitRep
The move to seize the Bosporous & Dardanelles was a mistake. The prospect of a modernized and ambitious New Soviet navy with a front yard on the eastern Mediterannean was too much for NATO to bear. The U.S. Sixth Fleet, standing off Italy and observing the conflict in Turkey from afar, has now been called into action. The task force will be entering an extremely hostile zone.

Yesterday, the NSC launched a major airborne assault upon the Turkish contingent in Cyprus and all indications are that the island will be firmly under NSC control by tomorrow.NSC amphibious forces have seized Turkish territory around the Bosporous & the Dardanelles. Istanbul is under siege. NSC airborne assault against Cyprus is underway and will likely be successful by tomorrow. The prospect of NSC control of these areas is unacceptable to NATO security concerns.

2. ORDERS
CVBG 5.5 - Flag Eisenhower - Proceed at best speed to Cypriot zone. Stand by for further operational orders upon arrival. A diplomatic solution is still possible but unlikely.
Author: Herman Hum, Brad Leyte

This scenario requires the latest release of the PlayersDB v5.9.7

Get it via: StrategyZoneOnline, HarpGamer, SimHQ, PlayersDB Depot, SubSim, CombatAce, or Frugal's World of Simulation.

HUNGRY LION – EC2003 NACV – CON90A1

It is 1990 and the world is at war. The Soviet Union has invaded and occupied Iran. The United States and its allies demanded that the Soviet Union remove its forces from Iran immediately and threatened to use force if necessary.

The Soviet Union responded with a series of lightning strikes that destroyed a large number of military bases in Europe. The Soviets then initiated a massive campaign of submarine warfare designed to cripple the West. Their goal does not appear to be to invade Europe but to leave the West so weak that it will be unable to force them out of Iran until their control of that country effectively becomes the status quo.

Blue Orders:

All other available surface and submarine units should patrol the sea lanes between the United States and the United Kingdom. Engage and destroy any enemy vessels or submarines you encounter.
Air assets should provide support to the convoys and the surface action groups. Intelligence reports that the Soviets may attempt to attack British and French bases with long-range bombers. Be prepared to defend these bases.

Author: Mark Gellis
Mark's Scenarios

This scenario requires the latest release of the HCDB that can be found on harpgamer.com

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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

53rd Scenario posted this year!

Another installment in the Harpoon 3 Battleset based upon Brad Leyte's "New World Order - Cyprus Affair" series, has been released. This is starting to look like a weekly TV Serial!

SCARECROW - Scenario #5 - New World Order Campaign #2 [The Cyprus Affair]

When the NSC made good on its promise to deliver SA-10 Grumble SAM systems to the Greek Cypriots in the spring of 1995 despite Turkish protests, the stage was set for another conflict in Cyprus. The presence of the advanced weapons shifted the delicate balance of power as it put nearly all aircraft operating from the Turkish side of the island at risk.

NATO was embarrassed when regular Turkish forces stormed the island a few months later. It had not been aware of Turkey's intent to reclaim Cyprus once and for all. Hand-in-hand with the economic boom in the NSC came military modernization and revitalization; funding for which was fueled at least partly by an unprecedented level of arms exports. The NSC would no longer sit idly by while its national interests were decided by others. It launched a major attack against Turkey on June 3, 1995.

The NSC did not believe that NATO would intervene in the Cypriot affair after having been snubbed by its Turkish partner and after the beating it had received in the Baltic conflict a year earlier. The NSC was about to be proven wrong.

The first mission of the NATO task force, now known as Task Force Scarecrow, upon arrival on station between Cyprus and Crete, is to secure air and surface supremacy. This will be difficult. By now, the Turkish military is essentially non-existent, and will not be able to provide much support.

SECRET - Flash Message 1605Z190695
Fr: CinC South
To: CVBG 5.5 - Flag Eisenhower
Comd Italy HQ Naples

Subj: Conflict in Turkey - Arrival of CVBG in Cypriot zone

1. SitRep - The situation in Turkey is critical. Turkish military forces have been totally defeated and are unable to support NATO operations. Many former Turkish bases are now under NSC control. An exclusion zone has been declared against all NSC units in the area along the south coast of Turkey.

2. ORDERS - Maintain your position between Cyprus and Crete. Eject NSC surface combatants within your area and repel all intruders within the declared Exclusion Zone. Stand by for new operational orders. WarPlan Liberation Turkey is in progress.

Author: Herman Hum, Brad Leyte

This scenario requires the latest release of the PlayersDB v5.9.7

Get it via: StrategyZoneOnline, HarpGamer, SimHQ, PlayersDB Depot, SubSim, CombatAce, or Frugal's World of Simulation.

SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB

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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

Blast from the Past

Ever wonder how difficult it might be to have a submarine creep up onto the beach for reconnaissance? Well, here's your chance to find out. This is the first Harpoon 3 scenario that I ever wrote. It's been damaged and unavailable for most of the year, but we've finally been able to repair it and now present it to you on StrategyZoneOnline for use with the PlayersDB.

Beach Reconnaissance

Soviet submarines have scored many successes in the Atlantic convoy lanes through the profligate expenditure of torpedoes and missiles. By the third week of the war, many submarines are suspected to be low on fuel and munitions. However, the number of submarines returning to ports in the Kola Peninsula is far lower than expected.

The level of subsurface activity in the Spitzbergen area is higher than expected. Investigate and see if these anomalies are coincidental or correlated. If the Soviets can replenish away from the Kola Peninsula, this would be a significant and strategic force multiplier.

Author: Herman Hum

This scenario requires the latest release of the PlayersDB v5.9.7
Get it via: StrategyZoneOnline, HarpGamer, SimHQ, PlayersDB Depot, SubSim, CombatAce, or Frugal's World of Simulation.

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Herman · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 153 Location: Canada

Convoy Raider

Try out this scenario and reprise the role of Captain Langsdorff (or at least the Russian version of him) and become the terror of all commercial vessels in the Indian Ocean. Freek Schepers has worked hard to add a new side to his latest scenario, Indian, so that it is now enjoyable from either perspective.

Indian_R

The war in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Barentz Sea has swung in favour of the Americans. Our long-range airpower has been destroyed and our remaining tactical fighter squadrons are barely sufficient for defense of the Motherland.

However, our alliance with China has brought good results; Thailand and Indonesia have been defeated and India has suffered terrible losses and has secretly opened Cease-fire negotiations with China and Russia.

MISSION OPERATION BRESHNJEV

Your mission is to permanently destroy the US influence in the IO. You are ordered to destroy the airbase and defensive installations on Diego Garcia. Secondly, you are ordered to sink the Maritime Prepositioning ships based at DG. These ships are pre-loaded with enough armour, artillery, and stores for 2 fighting divisions now being airlifted to the IO Theatre of war. They must be destroyed. Upon completion of your mission make your way towards Cochin, India, where repair facilities will be made available under our Cease-fire agreement.

Author: Freek Schepers

This scenario requires the latest release of the PlayersDB v5.9.7
Get it via: StrategyZoneOnline, HarpGamer, SimHQ, PlayersDB Depot, SubSim, CombatAce, or Frugal's World of Simulation.

SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB

FilesOfScenShare

HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.