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My first game against a human opponent ended in victory for the forces of right and goodness. While I got my main-body patrol boats single file in front of my flagship, a lone boat in a northern fjord sped into the open with radars blazing. Closing on two unidentified surface contacts for a positive ID, he was suddenly obliterated. Not soon enough. The main body, now formed up and skirting the coast at flank speed with radars on, launched a bearing-only attack with its longest-range missiles, sinking both enemy boats. Immediately, Sirens found my group and took my two lead boats, but not before the frontrunner had launched all its missiles at the third enemy boat that had just appeared off to the northwest. Still the most exciting scenario is Dawn Patrol, the simplest confrontation and the surest test of doctrine.

Today, AoA wanted one final match before celebrating Christmas. We selected North of Iceland , made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

A British ASW group, operating to the north of Iceland, is being attacked by a Soviet anti-surface group.

This scenario was inspired by the situation described in the Harpoon scenarios for miniatures (version 3) from Game Designers' Workshop.

This scenario has not been publicly released, but is available on AoA’s ANW MP server.

AoA commanded the NATO ASW group while I controlled the Soviet KUG (Anti-surface group). Both groups entered the area north of Iceland stealthily under full EmCon [Emissions Control]. With neither side willing to emit any energy in the electromagnetic spectrum, a long search was expected.

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Surprisingly, AoA took the first aggressive move by turning on the search radar of AEW [Airborne Early Warning] Sea King helo. I also had a Helix ASW helo airborne and detected the British helo. I did not know if I had been counter-detected, but took no chances and had the helo dive to sea level before running back to refuel.

A second helo was launched to try and localize the Sea King. I took an oblique course towards the contact in hopes of not revealing the position of my task group. On a hunch, I ordered the Hormone to maximum altitude and turn on her radar. I was soon rewarded by several surface contacts to the West. Once localized, the helo dove for the deck and safety. Unfortunately, luck was not with her as she was pounced upon and killed by something invisible – a Sea Harrier. Accurate intelligence is a costly product to acquire.

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Assuming that the Sea King had counter-detected my ships, I ordered CG Kerch, my Kara-class cruiser, to radiate her jamming systems and radar while the others kept silent; masked by her activities.

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Not long afterwards, unwanted company appeared. A lone Sea Harrier had crept into range. I thought that AoA wanted to blind me by shooting down my helo so I pulled it back over the task force. Just as the Air Warfare Officer on Kerch released a salvo of SA-N-3b SAMs towards the bandit, radar reported two contacts breaking free from the bandit. Sea Eagle missiles were inbound! The SAMs shot the intruder out of the sky before downing the missiles with a second salvo.

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AoA then tried to blind me by having his Harriers creep in slowly just above the waves. Two fighters got close, but were engaged and shot down by SAMs from the Kerch just before they reached release range for their Sidewinders.

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The KUG finally got within range of the British carrier group. The ECM was so intense on both sides that firm data was hard to get. Finally, a hard contact was confirmed. It was only the frigate Amazon, but one hard target is better than no target. I was hoping that the rest of the British CVHG would reveal it self when they countered the first SSM attack consisting of 8x SS-N-3 Shaddock and a pair of SS-N-22 Sunburn missiles.

The British AAW officer also knew his stuff and shot down all the missiles, but one got within 100 yards before being shot down by SeaCat SAM. The second salvo was a trio of SS-N-22 Sunburn and were followed by a third salvo of three more missiles. The SAM defences expertly shot down most of the missiles and allowed a single strike. It was nearly enough to sink the Arrow, which had 70% damage and flooded to 86% before stabilizing.

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Thinking that I had exhausted my missile batteries, I decided to retire and live to fight another day. While running, the British managed to launch a daring and well-timed helo strike with Sea Skua ASMs. Several volleys of SS-N-3b SAMs were fired, but unsuccessfully intercepted the strikers. Only after the Skuas had been released by the helos did two SAMs bring down their targets. The swarm of Skuas tracked a Krivak-class frigate and many were brought down or spoofed by chaff and flares. Only one hit was registered.

At this time, I realized that CG Grozny had re-loaded her Shaddock missiles from her magazines. I gambled and launched a salvo of missiles on Bearing-Only-Launch by back-tracking the return path of the British Sea Harriers. Luck was not with me today as NATO SAMs easily brought them down.

The game ended in a draw, but AoA should have won due to my totally inept attack(s). By firing my SSMs in salvos instead of one massive attack (and totally forgetting about my extra magazines!), I would have faced a court-martial upon return to base.

Thanks to AoA for a fun match and the use of his server.

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Jeppe Bloch (a.k.a. Awac835) was introduced to the MP community. Jeppe's been an H3 player for many years, but has never played head-to-head before today. To welcome him to the community, we selected a scenario with naval units from his home country of Denmark in Matrix Siege, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

[blockquote]From: CinCLant
To: Capt, USS Stark
Info: Capt, USS Stout
Subj: Allied Training Exercise - Matrix Siege

1. Commence exercise receipt this message. Observe the time limit strictly.

2. Objective: Safe transit of your group past island of Laeso.

3. OpFor Estimated as:

3.1 Up to fifteen small vessels (PT and FFL classs) arrayed to opposed your transit. The majority are assets of Germany and Kingdom of Denmark.

3.2 OpFor is armed with Exocet and and Penguin.[/blockquote]
I commanded the USN while Jeppe controlled the European forces.

From the start, I launched my lone SH-60 SeaHawk helicopter for a little aerial surveillance. Once away from the base platform, she turned on her radar and was immediately rewarded by surface detections throughout the Kattegat Strait. However, some of them were trying to jam the radar and thus could only come from warships.

I launched my AH-1 Sea Cobra to prosecute some German missile boats to the north of my task group. It crept in at Very Low altitude. Just as she got into range, I got a message over the radio asking, "Is that your helo?" and I knew that she had been detected. So, I opened fire on the nearest missile boat with all that I had. I only managed to release 3x TOW missiles before she was blotted from the sky. Her weapons did hit the ship and forced it to drop out of formation (and eventually sink).

As my DDG and FFG sailed southward, more ECM emissions were detected. With the SeaHawk maintaining surveillance, I decided to gamble and try to take out one of the Danish corvettes armed with Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles [ESSM]. They were self-defense weapons, but they had a 17nm range. Not much on the open ocean, but plenty to cover the narrow confines of the Kattegat.

I launched 8x Harpoons at her and 4 more at another corvette. Both of the targets might be carrying Harpoons, too. Hopefully, I could kill them before they launched their own weapons. Luck was with me as the salvo obliterated the two small ships.

With my Medium/Long-ranged weapons expended, I was left with my short-ranged SAMs to be used in ASuW mode. Nearing Laeso Island, a Norwegian missile boat was detected. I decided to engage with the less capable Perry frigate and turned on her radar. She detected a Hugin- and a Parchim-class attack boat. Each was destroyed in a salvo of 4x SM-1 Standard missiles.

Another group of missile boats was detected coming around Laeso Island. Evidently, they had been using the island to shield themselves from the radar and were only detected as they came into range. The Perry engaged them, too. Unfortunately, they were already within missile range and managed to launch their own weapons before being destroyed. The salvo was well timed and at least one leaker got through the AEgis destroyer's defences leaving her with 64% damage and only able to make 8 knots.

As she ran for the finish line, the flooding kept going up to 67%, 70%, 74%,... And she was chased from behind by a group of German missile boats; not unlike a pack of wolves. She managed to kill the German attack squadron, but could not make it to Laeso Island before time expired on the exercise; thus leaving the game as a draw.

Thanks to Jeppe for a fun match and to AoA for the use of his server.

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Jeppe Bloch (a.k.a. Awac835) came back for another battle, today. We elected to try Advance Guards, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

[blockquote]After the surprise Argentine invasion of the Falklands Islands, the British Defence ministry urgently ordered available Royal Navy units to the area.A mixed destroyer/frigate squadron with attached support ships had just finished operation Springtrain around Gibraltar.

On April 16th, this group was the first to enter the waters around the Falklands.Argentina, meanwhile, was using her navy to reinforce the garrison in the Malvinas and to establish a blocking force for any early British units.[/blockquote]
I commanded the Argentines while Jeppe controlled the British forces. Both sides started cautiously with neither emitting anything on the electromagnetic spectrum. I ordered my two separated task groups to close on one another for, hopefully, additional mutual protection and sent my Alouette helicopters aloft for some passive scouting. They swept back and forth fruitlessly until one of them simply disappeared from the plot. Although she reported nothing before her disappearance, her destruction, nonetheless, was a datum point and the Escort ASuW task group set off on her last point of contact.

As they neared the last reported position, ESM [Electronic Support Measures] reported radar emissions nearby. Frigate FFL Drummond was ordered to activate her radar systems and act as a picket. Soon, two Birmingham-class destroyers were detected along with a third vessel and classified by their transmissions. The ASuW group closed on the them.

Once in range, a volley of four Exocet was fired at the first destroyer. They failed to get a hit. A second and third salvo were just as unsuccessful. I should have launched them in one barrage. My opponent did not fail where I did and returned fire from three ships that quickly overwhelmed DDG Santisima Trinidad. DDG Hercules responded by slamming several Sea Dart missiles into the nearest Birmingham destroyer and left her creeping along at 3kts before a second barrage put her under. However, both sides had Sea Dart missiles and soon Hercules and frigate Granville were sunk.

I detached the two escorts for the Amphibious group to intercept. Frigate Drummond drew attention and fire while destroyer Sequi closed the range. Drummond died, but Segui pummelled the British frigate and second Birmingham destroyer into silence. Once the computer decided that the ship was a "Probable Kill", the game would not allow me to fire on the destroyer any longer so I decided to move on the newly detected British UnRep group. The Segui was damaged to 40% and might still be able to do some damage to the Brits. As she sailed past the "dead" Birmingham, it suddenly lit up with additional gun flashes to sink the Segui. With both sides severely mauled, the support vessels retired. Neither side was able to accomplish its Victory Conditions.

Thanks to Jeppe for another fun match and to AoA for the use of his server.

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Jeronimo Chiecchio (a.k.a. AoA) was into the Olympic spirit of competition and wanted a match. We selected Hidden Soldiers, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.
[blockquote]The theme is a historical fictional World War III set about 1990. The forces of the post-Soviet post-capitalist states, which formerly made up the Soviet Union, in conjunction with SE Asian allies, are attempting to influence the world by force.

The Soviets have successfully captured ports along the coast of Norway and neutralized Iceland. Now, they are attempting to reinforce their new possessions in order to weather the inevitable NATO storm. NATO is trying to make their efforts a little less successful.[/blockquote]AoA played as the USSR while I commanded the NATO forces. Things started off badly for me and kept getting worse as the game progressed. USS Boston was in the Denmark Strait and encountered a surface group centred around BCGN Kalinin. She tried desperately to evade contact, but was localized and sunk.

SSNs Norfolk and Atlanta were lurking around Jan Mayen Island and decided to take a chance with a TLAM attack to knock out the island's ammo dump. Since the base could not be destroyed outright, this would be the best way to (hopefully) reduce the number of available sorties from the Maritime Patrol Aircraft and helos thought to be on the island. A similar strike was planned against Severomorsk and Andoya. Results were positive as only Andoya's ammunition dump survived.

SSN Atlanta was pounced upon by an MPA shortly afterwards. I don't know how he found her, but he might have had a submarine or plane nearby and back-tracked the TLAM in hopes of finding something interesting. She had to work very hard to escape the Flaming Datum and disappear into the open ocean. Nothing disconcerts a submariner more than a line of active sonobuoys appearing out of nowhere.

SSN Conqueror detected an inbound re-supply convoy and moved in to attack. After localizing and identifying the escorts, she tried to roll back the defences by attacking the escorts first. Four Harpoons were assigned to each of two Krivak-class frigates. One was severely damaged and making a few knots speed but the other one seemed to survive. The plucky frigates got their revenge as they detected the SSN moving in to close the range for her Mk24 Tigerfish torpedoes. She was counter-detected at a range of 15nm and had to fire her torpedoes on Bearing-Only-Launch mode before trying to escape. She died from a hail of torpedoes and her torpedoes ran out of fuel in futile pursuit.

Cued by the contact report from the Conqueror, SSNs Grayling and Buffalo moved to intercept the same convoy. Unfortunately, they ran afoul of Soviet ASW patrols. One died quickly from an aerially delivered torpedo while SSN Buffalo ran into a lurking submarine. At close range, both submarines exchanged torpedo fire. The pair of Mk48s failed to hit the Soviet boat while the Buffalo died from the return fire. Things were sucking from the NATO perspective with 4 boats sunk for one corvette in return.

Atlanta and Norfolk moved to intercept an UnRep group near Jan Mayen. Both subs lofted long-ranged TASM and Harpoons in an attempt to whittle down the escorts with no success. After extended evasive manoeuvres, Norfolk moved in to try with her torpedoes. She was detected at 12nm range and had to attack on Bearing-only-launch mode after taking damage from a near hit. She managed to launch her torpedoes before a second torpedo sank her. No hits were registered.

With only one boat remaining, I had to play it very cautiously. I did not believe that I could accomplish my victory conditions as that single boat lacked the firepower to sink 14 ships. She crept all around the UnRep group looking for an opening. The UnRep group had met up with the Kuznetsov battle group thereby doubling the lethality of the patrols.

The plucky submarine did not give up nor did she give away her greatest weapon, stealth. She kept looking for an opening and found one after skulking for 30 hours. She was following the group and patiently waiting/hoping for it to turn back in her direction. Her patience was rewarded as the group reversed direction and she was already in behind the outer screen.

She increased speed and moved in from the starboard flank at 8kts to the oblivious Soviets and crept in behind the inner screen of Krivak frigates. Only when she was able to lock onto the CV Kuznetsov did she reveal herself with a salvo of 4x Mk48 AdCap torpedoes.

Once her presence was known, she increased speed to close with the targets and continued firing torpedoes as fast as her crew could re-load them. The Soviets returned fire and she decoyed two inbound weapons while she fired off all her remaining weapons. As she attempted to withdraw from the scene, a final weapon caught her and sank her on egress. Her weapons were lethal and claimed Kuznetsov, AOs Dubna and Uda, and AE Venta. In his panic to prosecute the submarine, AoA accidentally launched an SS-N-12 Sunburn missile into his own Krivak frigate!

With the demise of my last unit, the game ended. I was unable to accomplish my victory conditions, but was also unable to prevent AoA from accomplishing his.

Thanks to AoA for a great match and the use of his server.

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Jeronimo Chiecchio (a.k.a. AoA) and I met up for another epic battle. We selected Gatekeeper, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

[blockquote]The GIUK gap is one of the most important pieces of naval real estate in the world. These straits connect the Norwegian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Because NATO owns it, Soviet forces will have to run through a barrier of ASW defenses before they can reach their targets in the Atlantic. At the beginning of the war, the Soviets are surging large numbers of submarines through the GIUK gap. It is vital to the Soviet that they get through to attack NATO convoys and naval forces operating in the Atlantic. It is easier for NATO to find and destroy these subs before they reach the open ocean. If NATO can erect a barrier of units here, they can catch some of the Soviet subs trying to get into the Atlantic to attack the units operating there. NATO will use submarines, maritime patrol aircraft, and surface ships to destroy these subs. Some Soviet subs, possibly damaged or with their torpedoes and missiles expended, will be moving north. These units are valuable to the Soviets, but not as valuable as the combat-ready subs moving south.[/blockquote]

AoA switched roles from last time and played as NATO while I commanded the Red Banner Fleet forces. I had a whole lotta old Foxtrot diesel subs, a few Victor I-class boats, and a sprinkling of modern vessels like Sierra and Akula. My orders were to debouch into the deep Atlantic basin.

I wanted to try and creep into the N. Atlantic, but the time limit would not allow for that so I had to increase speed of most vessels to 10kts. The Foxtrots with their extremely limited underwater range had to snort every few hours. This easily turned them into targets. As soon as they tried to re-charge their batteries in the Denmark Strait, they were set upon by swarms of Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft [MPA] and Sea King helicopters. In quick succession, 3 Foxtrots met their demise followed by a Victor I and then an Echo II missile boat. To say that things sucked would be an understatement. The Denmark Strait turned in to a veritable graveyard for Red Banner boats with only two Foxtrot diesel subs squeaking through to the Atlantic.

The Faeroes Gap would start better, but also end with the same result. I thought that I had found a relatively weakly defended point to pass into the Atlantic. So, I sent a number Victors, Akula, and Echo boats through. Once through, I let down my guard and immediately lost boats when they stumbled across a British Oberon-class diesel boat. We exchanged fire and I killed the boat, but it also revealed my presence. Luckily, there appeared to be no MPA nearby to pounce upon my subs.

A second group of submarines were passing near Vagar and quickly came to a halt as the leading Victor II attack submarine detected CV Ark Royal in its path. Since it was only 10nm away, I assumed that it had been detected and thus decided to try and destroy this formidable ASW platform. I had already lost too many submarines making it impossible for me to fulfill my orders. Following a few miles behind the Victor was an Oscar SSGN. Both submarines opened fire with a full salvo hoping to knock out the carrier. The British SAM defence was superb and not a single Shipwreck missile hit. The Type-65 torpedoes fired by the Victor chased, but fell short.

The British response was swift and deadly. The Victor ran for her life, but was caught and killed shortly thereafter. Luckily, the Oscar was more distant and had more time for evasion. She was attacked by three torpedoes, but managed to elude them all.

The rest of my boats managed to sneak into the Atlantic, but I had lost too many and could not achieve my Victory conditions. AoA also failed to destroy sufficient targets to achieve his and the game ended in a draw.

Thanks to AoA for a very enjoyable game and for the use of his server.

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Jeppe Bloch (a.k.a. AWAC835) and I met up for another meeting engagement. We selected Pebble Island, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.
[blockquote]During the night of May 14th, 1982, SAS commandoes intended to attack the airfield on Pebble Island. The raid was to be carried out via helicopter from HMS Hermes, which had detached from the CVBG during the night to steam towards Pebble Island with a small escort.

While the force was still 6 hours away from their attack, American SIGINT was received which indicated that the Argentinean aircraft carrier Veinticinco de Mayo had evaded British submarines and entered the 200nm exclusion zone.

A unique carrier battle was now brewing....[/blockquote]Jeppe chose the British side and left me in command of the Argentines.

This battle starts out like most engagements do; as a battle of reconnaissance. I launched my recon assets as soon as possible and had them widely spaced around the map. I maintained EmCon and only used visual sensors and ESM to remain hidden. Jeppe launched two Harriers to act as top cover. Luck would favour me first as a Sea King helo managed to get a visual contact on a ship without being counter-detected. Immediately pulled back so as not to allow the enemy to know that his general position had been detected.

Not long afterwards, he managed to locate and destroy one of my S-2 Tracker planes and then a Sea King helo. However, I also had some tricks up my sleeve in the form of 2 Super Etendard fighter-bombers armed with Magic 2 missiles. As his concentration was focused on killing the defenceless recon planes, the Super Etendards bore in just above the waves. They exchanged missiles and both Harriers fell for the lost of a Super Etendard.

Both sides remained relatively quiet as we prepared our strike assets. Just before they were ready for launch, I ordered the reconnaissance platforms already airborne to close on the estimated enemy position and to energize their radar. For strike purposes, general information was insufficient. For the cost of another helo and Tracker, his carrier group was pin-pointed. The strike group launched and planned a long circuitous route to the target. Hopefully, this would allow them to strike from an unexpected axis and thus evade more of the fighters.

Jeppe had also launched his own strike platforms even though he had no knowledge of my carrier's position. Instead, he concentrated on blasting the Pebble Island airfield. Tough luck for them, but better them than me on my carrier.

The strike group of A-4 Skyhawks curved around the British group and made their ingress on the deck from the northeast. Things seemed to be going well as they did not appear to have been detected. (Only afterwards did Jeppe tell me that he had watched the strike planes for most of their entire flight due to my mis-calculation of the radar horizon!)

Six Skyhawks were armed with bombs while two more flew as escorts. This measly group did not expect to survive, but would do their best. They closed and were not engaged. Jeppe realized the threat too late. The planes had flown in close formation to appear as a single blip and thus Jeppe had not evaluated them as a major threat. Only when they dispersed on their final approach did he recognize them for the danger they were. It was too late.

Two Harriers scrambled and were able to shoot down a bomber before dying from return missile fire. The entire strike group unloaded their bomb racks and riddled the carrier with gunfire before desperately running for their lives. Three more Skyhawks would fall to gunfire and SAMs before the rest safely returned to the carrier. They had done a magnificent job damaging the British carrier by 24% which was quite sufficient for victory.

Thanks to Awac835 for a nice game and to AoA for the use of his server.

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Great attack! I read that in real life Veinticento de Mayo had an 8-plane A4 strike on the deck and had detected the British Carriers yet could not launch due to too little wind over the deck. Don't discount old carriers and planes (especially old Dutch carriers). Freek

Jeronimo Chiecchio (a.k.a. AoA) and I decided to try another Cold War battle. We selected Fortress Keflavik, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.
[blockquote]Iceland is a vital base for NATO anti-submarine and air defense operations. Soviet bombers operating in the Norwegian Sea or trying to reach the Atlantic can be attacked by patrol planes based at Keflavik. It is critical to the Soviets to stop these operations against them by the NATO forces based in Iceland. They will do this either by using bomber raids to reduce the effectiveness of these forces or attempting to take control of the island. Since Iceland has no armed forces of its own, and strictly limits the armed forces of the NATO countries that occupy Keflavik, an assault by Soviet forces is probable.[/blockquote]
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AoA commanded the NATO forces in defense of Iceland and the GIUK gap. I was in charge of the Red Banner Fleet units assigned to make an amphibious assault in order to neutralize Keflavik. My amphibious group was centred on the CVHG Minsk. I ordered it to radar silence and only allowed a single Udaloy destroyer to radiate its radar as a picket as the group approached Iceland. The longer I kept AoA in the dark as to the composition of the landing force, the better chance I had of survival since he could not pick out the high value targets for destruction. I also needed to silence Stornoway as it acted as a gatekeeper for access to Iceland by my bomber regiments. Two full regiments of Tu-95 Bears and Tu-22 Backfires were assigned this task and launched immediately.

Sure enough, AoA detected the jamming and radar emissions from the destroyer and moved in to investigate. He had positioned a number of F-15 Eagle fighters in Barrier Combat Air Patrol [BarCAP] positions between my ships and a Sentry. I assigned two pairs of long-ranged Flanker fighters as CAP for the ships.

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AoA was cautious on his approach, but I kept a poker face and did not reveal my ships' identities by activating their radar systems. Once his fighters were close enough, they opened fire on an orbiting helicopter I had assigned for early warning. The CG Slava unmasked her batteries and radiated her radar systems. The helo died to Sparrow missiles, but return fire from the SA-N-6 rotary launchers caught all six of the Eagles as they vainly tried to flee the scene of their crime.

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A golden opportunity presented itself to me. With the three BarCAP pairs down, there was virtually nothing standing between my Flankers and the circling E-3 Sentry. I seized upon the moment and ordered the fighters to intercept. The chance of bagging an AWACs was too good to pass up. Both Flanker flights went to afterburner and set off in pursuit of the big bird. Two Eagles tried to interfere, but both died after exchanging missile fire. The cost was three Flankers, but the survivor managed to close with the Sentry as it desperately tried to dive and lose itself in the surface clutter. At a range of ten miles, an AA-11 Archer was fired that turned the plane into a fireball. The surviving Flanker was shot down as it tried to return to its Norwegian base. For the price of four Flankers, nine Eagles had been destroyed along with a precious Sentry.

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The Backfires arrived at their Stornoway target long before the lumbering Bears and released their ordnance. Eighty-one AS-4 Kitchen missiles streaked into Stornoway base and flattened it. Stornoway would be out of action for the remainder of the scenario. At this point, we decided to save the game for completion another night.

Thanks to AoA for a fun session and for the use of his server.

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

http://www.harplonkhq.com/images/mainpic.gif

Ryan Anderson (a.k.a. Wolff) has been aching to play some MP for awhile. Now that the Olympics are over, we finally got our chance. We selected Watch that First Step, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

[blockquote]LOCATION : NW PACIFIC, COASTAL SEATTLE
DATE/TIME: 12 FEBRUARY 1985, 06:00:00 ZULU

With the first war shots, DEFCON ONE status was automatic. Every submarine in the inventory that was capable of getting underway left port for the greater safety of the open sea. Only those boats with mechanical deficiencies remained docked, to leave when their problems were fixed. As a part of standing plans, all the assets of the United States Coast Guard were folded into the Navy's TOE, to be employed in such a way as to free regular Navy assets for higher priority missions. Their mission: sanitize the area around the sub bases, allowing the remaining subs to get to open water.[/blockquote]

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Ryan is a resident of Oregon so he selected this scenario and chose the USN side. I commanded the 32nd Sub Brigade given the task of finding and killing his boomers. We both started off at creep speed to gauge the situation. Not long afterwards, I had long-range sonar contact with several surface ships; a pair of Coast Guard cutters and a Canadian destroyer, Algonquin.

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My Alfa-class boat was the first to make an attack on a cutter. Thinking that she would be an easy target, I let loose with a full salvo of SET-65 torpedoes only to watch in horror as they missed! The cutter returned fire with a Mk46 torpedo that did not mix. A helluva way to start a war.

My Sierra II had better luck as she crept up on the Canuck destroyer. A salvo of Type 65-76 torpedoes caught and sank the Algonquin after a 30 mile chase.

I really had no idea where the ultra-quiet Ohio subs were, so I just staked out a few patrol zones and prayed like hell that they would stumble across one of them. As I was criss-crossing my four patrol zones, one of the Victor III-class subs was attacked from the air with Mk 46 torps. She died quickly, but was able to release her rescue buoy before her pressure hull imploded. Thus, I had a reference point for her death. I gambled that Wolff was not randomly searching the ocean for my subs and that he must have his own SSBNs nearby and that he was trying to clear a path for them. Therefore, I ordered my surviving attack submarines to converge on the last known position of the Victor III.

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As my Sierra II closed in, she was attacked by torpedoes with 65 knot speed. I (mistakenly) thought that these were Mk 48 AdCAP torpedoes from the SSBN so I counter-fired torpedoes down the incoming bearing and ordered the sub to go active with its sonar. Unfortunately, they were aerially delivered Mk 50 Barracuda. The Sierra dodged several torpedoes and expended over 10 decoys but her luck eventually ran out. She was hit with one torpedo and survived. However, a second one caught her low on decoys and torpedoes. She never knew that her torpedoes actually forced the SSBN to manoeuvre at high speed to avoid them and no other submarine was close enough to hear the Ohio at flank speed. The situation was really sucking for me.

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I only had two surviving subs but I was convinced that the SSBN(s) were nearby. I could just smell Yankee sailor in the air. My Akula and Victor III kept trawling back and forth waiting for a break. Luck is only perseverance meeting opportunity and my "luck" did change. The Victor III suddenly reported inbound torps! They were quickly classified as Mk 48s so I ordered the sub to go active in hopes of killing her attacker before she died. She quickly found a sub contact and counter-fired a pair of SET-65 torpedoes before running in the opposite direction at flank speed. The Mk 48s found their target, but so did the SET-65s.

With the loss of the Ohio, Ryan could not win. However, with the near annihilation of my command, neither could I. The surviving Akula left the area to report that one SSBN had been sunk and the game ended in a draw.

Thanks to Wolff for a really great session and thanks to AoA for the use of his server. Wolff may say that he's a noob, but he's a noob in sheep's clothing.

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Mike Sprague (a.k.a. =FC=Gorgon) has working his way through the Falklands battleset. Tonight, he wanted to try the third scenario in the series and selected South Georgia, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

[blockquote]One of the first tasks of the Falkland Task Force was the liberation of South Georgia. This was considered both a practice step for the Falklands liberation, and an essential first goal to secure safe anchorages for the many support ships that were needed by the Task force.[/blockquote]

Mike played as the British while I commanded the Argentines. I didn't have much in the way of mobile assets. With only one sub and one gunboat at my command, most of my actions were going to be reactions to British plans.

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My lone sub, Sante Fe, picked up a long-ranged detection nearly right away. Within minutes, it was classified as a Royal Fleet Auxiliary. I suspected that this would be a very juicy target as her destruction would force the accompanying Royal Navy warships to withdraw from lack of fuel. So, I plotted a course in hopes of intercepting her. Instead, as I crept forward, I detected a cluster of ships coming the opposite direction and nearly right at me.

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I immediately slowed down and allowed the prey to come to me. The acoustic signatures for two were soon categorized as a County-class destroyer and the frigate, Plymouth. The third was not classified. As soon as all three were within torpedo range, four torpedoes were fired at each in three separate salvos. Knowing the ANW inability to hit specified targets, it was hoped that individual salvos would allow the fish to re-target themselves onto surviving vessels if the loudest target was already destroyed.

As suspected, as soon as the torpedoes left their tubes, they immediately ignored their assigned targets and sped towards the loudest ship, the destroyer. Not long afterwards, I heard an "Ouch!" over the chat window and knew that I had drawn first blood. My plan worked and the subsequent salvoes re-targeted themselves on the surviving ships. Not long afterwards, another explosion was detected. It turned out to be the IPS Endurance. The third ship was only able to attract a single torpedo which missed.

SS Santa Fe was having problems of her own. Upon detection of the attack, Mike had counter-fired a pair of Mk 46 on Bearing-Only-Launch and they were closing on the sub. They were running at 46 knots while the sub was making only 12 knots, full speed. They caught the daring little sub at a depth of 100m and sank her unceremoniously.

With no further offensive assets, I had to sit back and await the British attack. The surviving frigate, Plymouth, cautiously approached South Georgia but stumbled into range of an Argentine infantry platoon. Although limited in ammunition, the heavy weapons squad acquitted themselves well. Their 81mm mortars landed several hits on the frigate and set it afire.

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After retreating and re-grouping with another frigate, Brilliant, the British came back. This time, they stumbled across a second infantry platoon on the other side of the bay and Brilliant received the same treatment. Unfortunately, neither vessel was in danger of sinking. Both ships proceeded to bombard the Argentine positions. They would score hits, the damage level would rise to nearly 20%, then, as they re-loaded their guns, the damage would miraculously repair itself and they would have to start anew.

After a few rounds of this behaviour, Mike realized that the game could never be won so long as the game exhibited this auto-repair process and we decided to call this game a draw (even though Mike should have won).

Thanks to Mike for a great game and thanks to AoA for the use of his server.

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Nice AAR hermanhum [;)]

I would like to chime in and offer my own insights since Herman beat me to AAR.

First, thanks Herman for a interesting game and all of the pointers. Second, there is no doubt that Herman won this outright despite the VC for this scenario.

My mission as the UK was to bring the Tidespring to a zone well North of its current position. Second, sink the Santa Fe and 3rd, destroy some land targets for future Royal Marine engagements. After studying the map, I assume the Santa Fe would already be North of my position as it would want to sink the Tidespring. The UK's best ASW surface asset is the Brilliant. Her sonar is way better than anyone else's. Plus, she has 2 Lynx on board to help prosecute any long range contacts. So my plan of attack came to mind.

I would send the Tidespring and the Brilliant north to the zone. The Antrim, Endurance and Plymouth would head south to South Georgia for some shore bombardment. Based on my assumption, I did not expect sub activity to be near the island. Rather I figured some Argentine surface assets would show up and that the land based units would be bigger than I could see on the map. I was 1/2 right.

So, I steamed along with my SAG force and as Herman already explained, ran right into the Santa Fe. The first ship sunk was the Endurance (that was the 'ouch'). With a top speed of 15 knots, she had no way to outrun the torps. The Antrim tried real hard, but even at 32 knots, she couldn't do it either. She fired the Mk46's back along the bearing but at the time I did not think they would score a hit.

Now I only have the Plymouth left in my SAG. I send her to the island but still think the Santa Fe is out there. I try shelling some units but then get informed of an ANW bug in which is will be impossible for her to kill most anything on her own. So I take a gamble (in my mind) and send the Brilliant down to help. I didn't like leaving the Tidespring defenseless, but I didn't see much of a choice since a) I needed help attacking the land targets and b) the Santa Fe was down there somewhere and only the Brilliant could find it.

With 2 FFs, I was still not able to damage the shore facilities enough to kill them. Meanwhile, the Tidespring reaches the zone and starts patrolling as quietly as possible. After a while though, I give up since I figure out I cannot win since I cannot hurt any of the shore facilities.

It is only afterwards that Herman says it is technically a draw since I had accomplished 2 of my objectives and he 1 of his.

This ANW bug is really a major bummer. However, without it, the Plymouth alone probably could have done enough damage and thus won the scenario for the UK. So 'sans bug', I would have called the scenario imbalanced in favor of the Brits. But with the bug, the UK tactics have to change a lot and the loss of the Antrim and her guns and the Endurance and her helos, made it impossible for the Brits to win and a draw was the best we could get.

Once again, thanks to FreekS for the scenario. Also, cheers for the big head fake. Just as I thought I was starting to read his mind, he's throws a huge curve ball and does not have any subs in the path of the Tidespring. Of course, I could be wrong and there were subs up there; they just didn't find the Tidespring. But if I'm correct, she did not need any escort and I could have had the Brilliant in the SAG. Then I might have detected the Santa Fe before she went Death Blossom on me. Thanks FreekS!

M

ORIGINAL: =FC=Gorgon

With 2 FFs, I was still not able to damage the shore facilities enough to kill them. Meanwhile, the Tidespring reaches the zone and starts patrolling as quietly as possible. After a while though, I give up since I figure out I cannot win since I cannot hurt any of the shore facilities.

It is only afterwards that Herman says it is technically a draw since I had accomplished 2 of my objectives and he 1 of his.

This ANW bug is really a major bummer. However, without it, the Plymouth alone probably could have done enough damage and thus won the scenario for the UK. So 'sans bug', I would have called the scenario imbalanced in favor of the Brits. But with the bug, the UK tactics have to change a lot and the loss of the Antrim and her guns and the Endurance and her helos, made it impossible for the Brits to win and a draw was the best we could get.

Technically, this abominable regeneration behaviour is not a bug because it is a deliberate implementation by AGSI (if you can imagine that). Thankfully, AGSI claims that this problematic feature will be changed when 3.10 patch is released. As with all claims made by AGSI, I will believe it when I can actually test for it since so many other claims are unfounded and false.

Other than the torpedo targeting problems affecting me and the ground unit regeneration problems affecting you, it was a great game. It is important to note that this scenario runs flawlessly in H3 (the torpedoes hit their intended targets and the ground units actually die under artillery bombardment.) [:)]

Hi both Falklanders,

You are right about the regeneration bug really impacting this scen. The scen was designed for 3.6 and when I tested in 394 I saw this issue. I discussed with AGSI and they did put a fix into 310 (and I did tests one of the earlier Release candidtes of 310 for this bug and it seemed to be fixed).

Wrt where I put the sub: I believe I gave it many alternate starting points, so sometimes its easier for the brits to make their attacks, sometimes they have to play catchup. The scen may well not be perfectly balanced, this was one in the Falkland series where I tried to match the real OOB.

Still glad that you enjoyed it, and hope it runs flawless when 310 comes out (though seeing is believing, and AGSI certainly make no claim that older scens work with new GE releases).
Freek

ORIGINAL: FreekS

AGSI certainly make no claim that older scens work with new GE releases).

Heck, they cannot even promise that scenarios written in ANW will work in ANW. [:(]

Mike Sprague (a.k.a. =FC=Gorgon) is still working his way through the Falklands battleset.  Tonight, we decided to try the fifth scenario in the series Between Ascension & San Carlos, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

"This is a hypothetical encounter between Argentine and British Surface Action Groups (SAGs) during the Falklands War.  To demonstrate the vulnerability of the UK supply line, an Argentine SAG is going to intercept a British reinforcement group en route from Ascension to the Falklands.  The UK group is well to the north of the war zone and can expect no help from the forces there."

Mike played as the British while I commanded the Argentines.  My forces were the cruiser General Belgrano, destroyers Santisima Trinidad, Segui, and Hipolito Bouchard.  The only datum I had on the British force was 12 hours old and this was a very big piece of ocean I had to search.  If I was successful, I could bring the British to their knees under the guns of the Belgrano.

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I headed towards the last known position of the UK task force with my helicopters searching earnestly on both sides of my track.  After many hours of futile efforts, I was getting disheartened and frustrated.  I decided to break up my group in order to widen my search area and to activate my radar intermittently in hopes of getting lucky.  If some luck did not break my way soon, I was going home empty-handed.  Just then, some luck did come my way as a helo was detected heading SE.  I could not know if it was inbound or outbound from its base, but at least it told me that I was in the right part of ocean!

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Attempting to track the helo, another piece of luck fell into my lap.  DD Segui detected a pair of ships launching a helo.  I suspected that the enemy counter-detected her radar emissions so I elected to try a quick attack with her Exocet missiles.  She fired them at the County-class destroyer and the accompanying Leander frigate before turning tail to run towards the other Argentine ships.  She had some luck as fireballs were detected on the horizon.  Unfortunately, the enemy had some luck, too.  Segui was hit by return Exocet fire that left her sinking.

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Contact was maintained from a distance by radar.  Hipolito Bouchard raced in to shadow the enemy.  Once she was in range, she also launched her Exocet in a salvo.  Unfortunately, the enemy was already alert and easily shot down the missiles while returning fire and leaving the Bouchard flooding and afire with 84% of her flotation destroyed.  With her speed reduced to 8 knots, she fell out of the chase.  The enemy fled at 32 knots but the Leander must have flooded badly as she soon sank under pursuit.

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An Alouette helicopter soon spotted another frigate coming to the aid of the destroyer.  She exchanged missile fire with the Trinidad, but neither side was able to score a hit.  The Belgrano was moving in to engage with her guns when time expired and the game ended in a draw.

Thanks to Mike for a great game and thanks to AoA for the use of his server.

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here.  For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Sounds like a fun game! Freek