Mediterranean Fury 7 - Under Pressure 22/2/94

[fitzpatv]

The Situation
Nine days into WW3, the Warsaw Pact have overrun much of Greek and Turkish Thrace, save for enclaves at Gallipoli and at Yazir, on the border by the Aegean. Istanbul is partly occupied and under bombardment, with Soviet airborne and naval infantry holding a bridgehead E of the Straits. Greek forces have halted the enemy push to the West at blocking positions around Kavala and the Drama/Paranestion Valley. At sea, the Soviets have total domination of the Black Sea, but have not penetrated into the Sea of Marmara or the Aegean with surface warships.

As NATO regional supremo, you are charged with degrading the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and preventing seaborne reinforcement of their forces around Istanbul. Another objective is to neutralise Bulgaria’s air defence network and air force as well as the SAMs the Pact have installed around the Bosphorus. Unfortunately, you have only limited forces with which to achieve this, with munitions in short supply. Moreover, the Nimitz CVBG needs to move to a new deployment area within 36 hours in order to mount strikes on Libya. You also need to get the oiler Cimarron to the Brindisi area to take-on more fuel.

Some NATO air units, based in Turkey and Greece, are tasked with ground support of those countries’ armies and start Unavailable. They can be transferred to your command via a set of Special Actions within the first hour (only) at a hefty cost in VP (20 per F-16, 10 per F-4 or Mirage and 5 per Freedom Fighter).

Balance of Forces
Nimitz, escorted by three cruisers, two destroyers and a frigate, starts 40nm E of Crete and 385nm away from her Libyan re-deployment zone. She effectively has a dozen Hornets for strike duties and these will take around six hours to ready.

The newly-arrived British Ark Royal task group is 60nm further S, the carrier accompanied by two destroyers, two frigates and two auxiliaries. While decent at ASW, their striking power is negligible. Some 75nm to their W, the former carrier Argus and an escorting frigate are moving to rendezvous with some extra support aircraft, while the remains of the Illustrious escort (two destroyers and two frigates) have just left Souda Bay with the intention of joining Ark Royal off NE Crete.

Cimarron has a single frigate for escort some 35nm S of the W tip of Crete and has 420nm to go to the Brindisi replenishment zone.

In the Central Aegean, the battleship Iowa is en route for a bombardment mission at the Dardanelles, escorted by a cruiser and two frigates (one of which, the German Emden, seems to have teleported from the Adriatic, where we last saw her in Scenario 5!). To her S, the helicopter carrier Kearsarge, with one destroyer, is tasked with providing air cover, having detached her Knox frigate and four amphibs to wait for her near Mykonos. Also in the Aegean are two Greek and three Turkish frigates and destroyers on ASW patrols.

Six NATO submarines are on patrol. Three are in the Aegean, two in the Sea of Marmara and one, the Turkish SSK Saldiray, is cut-off in the Black Sea, with the Straits blocked by Soviet ASW choppers and her base at Bartin, E of Istanbul, inoperable due to enemy bombing. There are seven other Turkish diesel subs trapped in the base, which could potentially cost you a lot of VP if it were bombed again.

Land-based air is a mixed bag. The survivors of the Illustrious air group have moved to Heraklion in Crete, but lack the range and striking power to be of much use. At Souda Bay, a dozen Hornets are set-up as HARM or TALD carriers, with another four armed with Mavericks. They are supported by five Orions, two of which are readying with Harpoons, some tankers, EW and ELINT planes.

Two Sentries and two KC-135s are based at Aktion in W Greece. Otherwise, the Royal Hellenic Air Force has a good number of Phantoms, Mirages, Corsairs, Starfighters and Freedom Fighters on hand (in addition to those on ground support duty) but they mostly have old-model Sparrows or Sidewinders for air combat and iron bombs for strikes.

Similarly, the Turk Hava Kuvetleri has numerous Sidewinder F-16s, plus some F-4s and F-5s and two tankers are based at Konya in the centre of the country.

Supplies of TLAMs are limited. Iowa has four and the destroyer John Paul Jones (with Nimitz) another nine, but four of the latter are reserved for operations against Libya and, if you use them in Scenario 7, you should refrain from doing so in Scenario 8.

As for the enemy, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet is estimated to have five cruisers, with supporting destroyers, frigates and PCFGs, some amphibs, patrol craft, AGIs and subs, along with a few Bulgarian patrol vessels. The threat of diesel subs in the Mediterranean can’t be ruled-out, despite their recent losses in the region.

In the air, the USSR, Bulgaria and Romania can muster plenty of Fulcrums, plus Floggers, Foxbats and Fishbeds for air combat, with some Backfires on hand for long-ranged missile strikes (though it is possible that they still suffer from the munitions shortages that afflicted them in Scenario 1). The Bulgarians have Fitters and Frogfeet with which to mount strikes.

There are plenty of fixed SAM sites visible, with four Gammons, ten Goas and three Guidelines in Bulgaria, as well as unknown numbers of mobile Grumbles, Gadflies, Gainfuls, Geckoes and MANPADs. The scenario also introduces the elderly Ganef, several batteries of which have been moved into Thrace. Batteries of Sepal and Styx anti-shipping missiles provide coast defence, but you should not run much risk of straying into their range.

Assessment
It was clear that there was only so much we could hope to achieve with the resources and time available. Trying to do everything would probably lead to succeeding at nothing. Given that the Soviet Black Sea Fleet was listed as top-priority, I decided to focus on giving it a hard time and ignore Bulgaria. Doing the reverse would likely lead to a very different game to the one that unfolded.

Nimitz could mount strikes while sailing in an arc N of Crete at 20 knots, continuing to her deployment zone off Libya. Cimarron would, meanwhile, steer for Brindisi at a similar speed with escort from Souda’s Orions, which could switch base to Aktion as the oiler moved further from Crete.

Some recon would be needed to identify targets over the Black Sea. To this end, there were some Turkish RF-4 Phantoms at Eskisehir, SE of Istanbul, while their Sidewinder F-16s could probably do a decent job, too. A Sentry could be flown from Aktion over Central Turkey to improve coverage.

Iowa’s mission looked like a disaster waiting to happen. It probably involved bombarding enemy positions around the Dardanelles, but would put the battleship within range of air strikes, while Styxes and even 203mm artillery could outrange her and were almost certainly more accurate as well. I took the decision to abandon any such plans and moved Iowa, Kearsarge and the Greco-Turkish patrols South, retreating the amphibs at Mykonos to Souda for good measure.

It seemed wise to make plans to defend Bartin submarine base against any enemy air strikes. Attacks on Turkish air bases and the Greek one at Thessaloniki were also a concern. The Turkish submarine Cerbe, at the SW end of the Bosphorus, looked vulnerable to Russian helicopters from the bridgehead heliport, so I moved her cautiously back as well.

The Action
22/2/94 06:00Z (08:00L): A strong Soviet naval squadron, centred on a Slava CG, was soon detected N of the Bosphorus, so Souda promptly launched the readied HARM and TALD strike. There were plenty of Gadfly and Gecko battalions in the Bosphorus bridgehead and in Thrace.

At 06:30Z, the briefing on Iowa’s mission arrived. As expected, she was expected to dig-out a battery of Soviet 203mm guns that was bombarding the defenders of Gallipoli – and by 18:00Z at the latest. It was well-defended by SAMs and its exact position was not pinpointed. Incidentally, Iowa had no Pioneer UAVs left for recon, all having been destroyed or broken-down in earlier operations. Perhaps there was a better way to achieve this objective?. Iowa kept steaming South.

The Russian squadron was defined as a Slava, two Sovremennys, three Kresta or Kara cruisers, two Kashin DDGs and six Tarantul PCFGs. More Soviet ships were further North in the Black Sea. As yet, there was no sign of a troop convoy from Sevastopol conveying the 28th Motor Rifle Division to Turkey.

The cost of requisitioning extra aircraft was prohibitive in a scenario where the points scale ran to 750, so I chose not to do so.

Opening hostilities, a Turkish F-16 from Ankara intruded over the Black Sea and downed two incautious Fencer Es, which were ‘high value aircraft’ and scored 8VP each.

07:00Z: The same F-16 whacked a Mail ASW plane (3VP) before being chased-off by Fulcrums.

Four TALD and eight HARM F/A-18s hit the Soviet squadron. The TALDs were unusually useful and soaked-up a lot of SAMs from the ships (including 45 Grumbles) as they circled around, also distracting four patrolling Fulcrums. HARMs hit the Kara-class CG Komsomolets Ukrainy and the two Kashins (the Kerch and Krasny Kavkaz).

A Greek RF-4 located the 203mm battery, though it only succeeded while diving to evade a Bulgarian Gammon fired at it at long range. I launched Iowa’s four TLAMs and the five I was sanctioned to use from the rather more distant John Paul Jones, trying to use terrain to mask their approach over the hills NW of the guns. Despite this, Iowa’s salvo were all destroyed by a hail of Geckoes and Gimlets from the defenders.

Recon had detected a lone Ropucha, escorted by a corvette, crossing the Black Sea. Two Turkish F-16s with iron bombs went after it. Approaching, they realised in time that the escort was a Gecko-armed Grisha III. A quick check of the database showed that the corvette had a blind spot to the rear, so the Falcons circled round. Unfortunately, this gave time for a half-dozen Fulcrums to howl-in at Afterburner and they downed one of the Turkish planes. The other carried-out its attack, hitting but not sinking the amphib. Turning to flee, it failed to escape the MiG-29s and was lost, the raid costing us 10VP in all.

Meanwhile, another F-16 intercepted and downed a Curl transport en route for the Bosphorus for 5VP. It then engaged two Fencer Es, had some awful luck, right down to cannon fire and only destroyed one before running out of ammo.
John Paul Jones’s five TLAMs arrived at the Dardanelles and, to general astonishment, attracted no fire at all, obliterating the 203mm battery for a handy 50VP. At +72, it was down to a Minor Defeat.

08:00Z: A Turkish F-16 downed two Mails, then went after the lucky Fencer from the previous encounter, missing it twice with Sidewinders and having to RTB.

Another F-16 went after the damaged Ropucha, which had been abandoned by the Grisha as it tried to RTB. The Falcon sank the amphib for 25VP but was then lost to the Fulcrums for 5.

A third F-16 exhibited a most unusual ability to shoot straight, getting a Fencer F, THAT Fencer E and three Curls for 31VP total. There was a sweet spot in the Black Sea where intercepts could be made with decent chances of evading the retaliatory Fulcrum sprint.

The Kashin, Kerch, died of its wounds for 25 more VP.

09:00Z: The Turkish fighters accounted for a Fencer F, two Curls and a Mail, though one was caught and downed by the MiGs due to being too casual while returning to base.

Two F-16s with bombs hit the Primorye-class AGI Krym, leaving it dead in the water.

10:00Z: The F-16 activity continued, one needing four Sidewinders to deal with a Mail and another five to destroy another ASW plane and a Curl. Perfectly good odds, lousy virtual dice…

11:00Z: An F-16 got another Curl, but couldn’t resist the lure of more and underestimated the ability of Fulcrums to sustain Afterburner. With five lost now, I resolved to be more careful, settling for one victim per sortie. On this basis, a further Mail and Curl were downed without loss.

The crippled AGI sank for 5VP.

12:00Z: Nimitz was finally ready to launch a strike.

A Turkish F-16 bagged a Curl, hit another twice without downing it and was caught by the Fulcrums before it could flee. You can’t be careful enough.

13:00Z: Four HARM and eight Harpoon Hornets from Nimitz attacked the Black Sea Fleet. The Kashin Krasny Kavkaz, limping home detached, was finished-off for 25VP, but enemy naval SAMs and Fulcrums stopped the other missiles. The score was now +224 and Average.

14:00Z: F-16 activity resumed, with two Curls and a Mail destroyed without loss.

Possibly because he was out of SAMs, the Slava Admiral Gorshkov detached without an escort and headed for Sevastopol. Saldiray couldn’t resist the opportunity, however risky and moved to intercept.

15:00Z: Saldiray made the rendezvous with the Slava, but the cruiser outran her Seeaals and turned at bay.
Meanwhile, Souda’s Hornets returned with HARMs and Harpoons, scoring at least one hit on the main enemy squadron and a Harpoon strike on the Slava.

16:00Z: With the Gorshkov slowed, Saldiray returned to the attack and the consequent exchange of torpedoes saw both vessels destroyed, our 100VP for the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship offset by 50 for losing the SSK.

An F-16 nailed another Curl.

Two Orions from Souda arrived late and pragmatically went after the Kara CG Komsomolets Ukrainy, which was limping Northwards. Eight Harpoons got the job done for 50VP, though I only really needed four. At +342, it was still Average.

17:00Z: The two Sovremennys similarly detached from the enemy squadron (now reinforced by two cruisers, two destroyers, a frigate and an AGI from the north) and headed for base to re-stock. By now, it was night and I had nothing to attack them with.

Yet another Curl flew into a Turkish Sidewinder. The AI is so mindless sometimes...

18:00Z: Munitions were running low at Souda, where we were limited to a four-plane Walleye strike once dawn allowed the use of these electro-optical guided weapons.

Two more Curls were eliminated, but the score was still Average at +352.

22:00Z: With a complex strike/refuelling operation in progress, a Kilo chose that moment to appear close to the the SSN Superb in the Northern Aegean!. With just two Spearfish left on her manifest, the British boat fired first and sank the B-354 for 25VP.

Two HARM and ten Harpoon Hornets from Nimitz struck the Black Sea Fleet, sinking the Krivak FFG Retivyy for 15VP, a Ropucha moored off Istanbul for 25 and three Tarantul IIIs for 5 each. A Kresta CG took medium damage and was probably saved by PCFGs getting in the way of Harpoons. At +431, it was still only Average.

23/2/94 00:00Z: By now, the Curl flights had ceased and the targets for the Ankara F-16s were limited to choppers. One downed an AEW Helix for 3VP and escaped the Fulcrums.

The damaged Kresta sank for 50VP, plus 6 more for two choppers. At +490, it was finally a Minor Victory.

01:00Z: An F-16 bagged a Helix A for 3VP.

03:00Z: Cimarron reached the Brindisi area for 50VP. No sign of any lurking subs, but I kept-up the Orion escort for the rest of the game, just in case.

04:00Z: The F-16s got an AEW Helix.

06:00Z: Four Hornets from Souda, with tanker support, attacked the Black Sea Fleet with Walleyes. Four Turkish Phantoms from Eskisehir cleared away the four patrolling Fulcrums, each side losing two fighters before withdrawing. However, none of the eight Walleyes penetrated the curtain of naval SAMs and the strike was a failure, with a net loss of 4VP.

09:00Z: Nimitz reached her Re-deployment Zone off Libya for 100VP, taking the score to +642 and a Major Victory.

18:00Z: With Nimitz too far away to participate, I could have mounted another Walleye strike from Souda, but the Hornets would have arrived close to or after nightfall, so I opted not to.

NATO lost an SSK, 6 fighters and 2 attack planes.

The USSR lost 3 cruisers, 2 destroyers, a frigate, 3 PCFGs, an AGI, 2 amphibs, an SSK, 2 fighters, 17 transport planes, 8 Mails, 6 support Fencers, 5 choppers and a battery of artillery.

Overall, a pretty good and bug-free scenario. It has replayability, as the option of concentrating on Bulgaria would produce a rather different game. Not sure that this would be a good choice, though.

I’ve downloaded v.1567.6 and the latest Community Scenario Pack, which confirmed that that’s it for Mediterranean Fury until Bart has time to deliver any more scenarios. The module was a considerable improvement on Indian Ocean Fury, perhaps because it covered a smaller geographical area, had a better-balanced scoring system and fewer bugs and I played it when the game itself was in a more stable state.

Before returning to Northern Fury, that leaves the six scenarios (so far) of Pacific Fury (bit of a contradiction in terms, really), so they will be next. By all accounts, the first one is unwinnable, but I guess I should play it anyway.

[Gunner98]

Thanks Vince

Nice wirte up.

I have been delinquent in my scenario development the past couple of years. There is one other that I built but have not adjusted since the initial tests

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... y#p5145394

It is small and follows the same convoy that formed in the IO through an event in the Med. But I need to get back on board and tidy it up.

PF #1 has been beaten, but it is not easy. As in all the '#1' scenarios, NATO is caught flat-footed.

Bart