Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Herman Hum

Ed Higgins, Jeronimo, and I finally got together for a game last night. There aren't that many 3-sided games, so we elected to try Eric Weincam's EU-5 Tin Canary scenario made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

The Canary Islands are located just South of the Atlantic entrance into the Med. Owned by Spain, they have represented a strategic control point since the days of ancient Rome.

One of the islands, Grand Canaria, hosts a large Spanish military base complete with hardened aircraft shelters and underground bunkers. From this base, the EU can interdict any shipping moving in, or out of the Med. As long as Gran Canaria is functional, the US can not re-establish their LoC through the Med.

Russia has officially sided with the EU and has committed substantial surface forces to complement the French units already in the theater. Together they are prepared to oppose a pair of American carrier groups.

The strongest side was probably the USN so Ed commanded it while Jerome controlled the Russian CVBG leaving me the EU forces. This was quite a large scenario and would test the limits of the ANW server.

We started the battle and Jerome's submarines immediately detected unknown ships from their towed sonar arrays. Although no precise locations were available, we at least had a general idea where they might be and decided to throw the dice and gamble everything on a lightning-quick strike. A Carrier Battle group is phenomenally capable of defense and I had only a single squadron of Backfire. A coordinated SSM strike from the Russian CVBG and SSGN might be sufficient to overwhelm the defences of a single CVBG. We held no hopes of defeating both CVBG.



The bombers launched from the mainland while AEW helos and the E-2 Hawkeye rose from the ships at sea. The ECM environment was phenomenal with most of the radar screens turned to hash from the powerful Prowlers. We planned to roll back the CVBG defences with a series of SSM attacks to draw out the AMRAAM fire from the CAP and then kill the Hornets with Flankers from the Kuznetsov. Once the Hornet 'sheepdogs' were out of AMRAAM, then we would strike with the AS-6 Kingfish from the Backfire. We had an ace up our sleeve in the form of a Bear reconnaissance aircraft that had managed to creep into range north of the CVBG. Once the Backfire came into range, she would climb and designate targets for the Backfire. That was the plan, at least. However, the best laid plans of men and mice...

All was going well with the launch of the strikes. As the bombers passed over the Russian CVBG enroute to the USN CVBG (now identified as the George Washington), Flankers and Rafale fighters launched from the De Gaulle. Some were armed with ANS, some with ARMAT, and the rest were with MICA AAMs for escort. It was an impressive wall of aircraft, but the power of a US carrier air wing cannot be underestimated.



As the Backfire passed over, the Slava, BCGN, and Kuznetsov began to loosing Shipwreck and Sandbox SSMs on Bearing-only Launch. The odds of them hitting anything worthwhile were slim to none in the face of at least three AEgis-equipped escort vessels that had already been detected by ESM. However, they hoped to occupy the SAM defenses while the true ship-killing AS-6 Kingfish would follow behind them. This was quite appropriate for this was the land of the Azores and home of bullfighting; where the matador distracts the bull with a cape before issuing the killing blow.

The plane was proceeding well with Ed's CAP concentrating on the incoming Sandbox. After they had used up their AMRAAMs, Jerome's Flankers ate them up with Alamo missiles. In the fierce ECM environment, targets were hard to lock up for the SARH missiles that needed radar guidance to home on their targets. Still, the Hornets fought back and managed to exact revenge on the inbound Rafales and Flankers. The SAMs were doing a fantastic job on the SSMs. The Rafale ASCMs [Anti-Ship Cruise missiles] were likely going to be needed. The Backfire released their Kingfish and timed them so that the CAP would be too busily engaged with them to worry about the Rafale and Hornets approaching on the deck.

The inbound strikes got a slight respite when they finally managed to burn through the jamming from a Prowler that had been positioned far forward of the CAP. She was immediately killed by a volley of missiles and the radar picture cleared momentarily. It was long enough to splash 6 Hornets in quick succession for the lost of a single Flanker.

The AS-6 Kingfish were just a little bit late. This allowed Ed to nearly slaughter a flight of ANS-armed Rafale before they could release their missiles. The surviving Rafale immediately loosed his ANS missile on BOL in a "use'm or lose'm" gesture.

With over 40+ ASCM approaching the GW CVBG, things were just getting interesting when we had to call an end to the game. Ed conceded that he didn't think that he could win any longer even though none of his ships had even been hit, yet. Alas, we were unable to continue the saved game after the server was updated. Still, we had a heckuva good time while it lasted and can't wait to try it again.

Thanks for a very nice game, gentlemen, and thanks, to Harpgamer for hosting the server.

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

Hehe, so here's my lost thread [:)]
 
Anyway, HUD3 server has been updated to H3 ANW 3.9.2, see first post in the thread for connection details.

Jeronimo (AoA) and I got together for another round in our ongoing battle over the Falklands, last night. We finished MayDay and moved onto San Carlos, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=21879&stc=1&d=1210824755

By the 20th of May, there were strong indications that invasion was imminent. Destroyers had shelled Argentine coastal garrisons and rumours were rampant that SAS troops were on the ground. During the night, an Argentine freighter was shelled by an unknown British warship in Falkland Sound.
By daybreak, Argentinean observation posts saw the amphibious force steam into San Carlos waters.

I had some pretty challenging objectives. The amphibious ships were landing troops at San Carlos Sound while their air cover was located quite some distance from them. Also, I had to protect not only the carrier, but also the two separate groups of valuable logistics support vessels.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=21880&stc=1&d=1210824809

I stationed 2 Combat Air Patrols [CAP] near San Carlos to give the Marines some air cover. On their approach, they noted that the surveillance radar near Port Stanley was still active. I didn't want my aerial activities revealed to the Argentines, so one CAP strafed the installation into oblivion.

At this point, Jeronimo quipped, "What out for my Pucaras" and I got cautious. I didn't know if he had launched planes from Port Stanley or not so I turned around to investigate and stumbled over two supply vessels hiding in the harbour that I would have missed otherwise. Both of these light craft were also strafed until they sank. (Thanks for the tip, AoA )

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=21881&stc=1&d=1210824822

Not long afterward, he really did send out a surge from Port Stanley that drew off my two lone CAP flights. It was a beautiful move. As I was hunting down the planes from Port Stanley, a surge of aircraft rose from the Goose Green dispersial field!

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=21882&stc=1&d=1210824845

The Goose Green Pucara were the real dagger hidden behind the surge from the East and they drew in close to HMS Ardent who was on her way to bombard the airfield. All four of the Pucara were able to deliver their loads of rockets onto the little frigate and left her sinking with 44% of her flotation destroyed and on fire. After pulling up from their attack, the Pucara decided to pursue my reconnaissance helicopters instead of finishing off the striken ship. Several Lynx and Gazelle helos were down by gunfire before the combined AAA of the landing force brought down the Argentine Banzai charge.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=21883&stc=1&d=1210824856

The Harrier relief arrived just a little bit too late to help. At this point, we saved the game and hope to pick it up tomorrow.

Thanks for a very nice start. I'm looking forward to finishing this one.

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

Jeronimo (AoA) and I were determined to finish our fight from last night over San Carlos, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=21884&stc=1&d=1210909113

After pummelling HMS Ardent under a hail of rockets and gunfire, the battle entered a lull. Ardent sank under her weight of damage and HMS Yarmouth completed her mission by blasting Goose Green. I postioned 5 CAP [Combat Air Patrols] over the landing forces and hoped that they would deter further Argentine attacks.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=21885&stc=1&d=1210909124

As the waiting grew long, the pilots on CAP grew tired and had to be replenished. It was at this specific moment that AoA decided to launch a massive attack. Evidently, he had been timing my patrol rotation pattern and managed to catch me with only 3 CAP flights over the Marines. Only one plane appeared on radar, so a flight went to investigate. As they closed, they activated the radar and found an entire swarm of inbound Skyhawks, Nesher, and Mirage bombers. After sounding the alarm, they closed to engage with Sidewinders. They claimed 2, but both Harriers were lost in the return fire from Magic and Sidewinder missiles.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=21886&stc=1&d=1210909143

The first wave was beaten back with only two bombers slipping through the defensive wall of SeaCat and SeaWolf SAMs to deliver their bombs onto HMS Brilliant. But then there was a second wave...

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=21887&stc=1&d=1210909166

And then a third wave. The Argentine tide broke over the beachhead with a veritable horde of bombers releasing bombs throughout San Carlos Bay. HMS Plymouth had nearly 30 bombs dropped on her and escaped without a scratch. HMS Brilliant was less lucky and exploded after a string of bombs straddled her. Bombs penetrated the deck of LST Sir Tristram and left her ablaze along with LPD Intrepid. Frigates Yarmouth, Broadsword, and Argonaut were left in serious danger of sinking.

Luckily, the game ended at that point and victory was awarded. "Close" is the only word to describe this victory.

Thanks to Jerome for another fantastic game and to HarpGamer for hosting it.

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

Silent Hunter UK is new to the ANW MP community so we met up to initiate him to the finer points of head-to-head play. He's played some ANW SP, but never had the opportunity for MP so we chose Dawn Patrol, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

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SH had played this one from the Norwegian side, before, so he wanted to try his luck as the Russians. I obliged.

We approached one another cautiously, but with systems off. However, curiosity seemed to get the best of SH as he flipped his Radar onto active for a quick peek. It was enough for me to get an ESM contact from him and send a barrage of Penguin missiles back down his proverbial throat.

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He was quick to react and slam SS-N-9 Sirens into two of my boats before his two Nanuchkas went under. One last Hugin unleashed her Penguins before succumbing to a salvo of Sirens. In the end, I lost 3 missile boats in exchange for his three Nanuchkas, but I was awarded victory.

Thanks to SH for a fun game and to HarpGamer for hosting it.

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

Silent Hunter UK came back early this morning and in the mood for revenge, sweet revenge. He had been reading the multiple AARs posted for Power Sweep, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB, and he wanted to try his luck at it. I was more than happy to oblige.

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We started off lazily enough with me in control of the Russians and SH in command of the NATO forces. Cruising along, I soon got a contact report from my Victor II escort. Everyone slowed down as we proceeded to lock down this sub. I was quite surprised to learn that it was SSK Kobben as it is normally very difficult to detected. I only later learned that it was on Intermittent active sonar.

The Victor II closed in to bag her when she suddenly turned on her engines and approached at full speed. I didn't want to take unnecessary chances, so I started dropping SS-N-15 Starfish on her. Amazingly enough, she survived 2 torpedoes before the third one finally penetrated her hull before she reached launch range. I was pretty surprised by this somewhat unorthodox tactic and thought that I had the game nearly in the bag since the quieter of my two opponents had already been vanquished. Oh, how wrong I was going to be proven...

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My subs resumed cruise speed towards their objective. The next contact I made was in the form of a torpedo warning! The launch transient also revealed the submarine so I dropped my last SS-N-15 Starfish on the contact only to find that it was also decoyed. A brace of ET-80 torpedoes towards the contact was fruitless as the Spearfish caught my sub dodging vainly. The score was now tied and I was out of long-ranged weapons.

SH was to pull another unorthodox attack. He launched his Spearfish on Bearing-Only Launch and they picked up my surviving Charlie and Tango subs. At that point, I decided that I, too, could use some wild tactics and launched a nuclear-tipped Starfish at the last bearing I had for his submarine. Just as the Spearfish sank my Charlie, the detonation caught his SSN Spartan. But, there was still one more fish in the water.

SSK Tango ran as fast as her little propellers could push her, but she was just a diesel-electric boat capable of 17kts and the Spearfish was coming in at 48kts. It was no contest as she imploded at maximum depth. The game was officially a draw in this Pyrrhic victory/loss.

A truly fabulous game was played with neither side giving the other a inch. Thanks to SH for a great match and to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

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

Silent Hunter UK is really getting into the spirit of MP. He came back for another round. With only an hour to play, we chose Whose Islands are These?, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1211836767

SH commanded the PLAN forces while I had the Vietnamese. I sent my landing forces to the island while my screening missile boats searched for the PLAN to the northwest. I suspected him to approach from that direction. To my sheer and utter surprise, I detected radar signals from the East!

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After re-calling all my forces to deal with these new contacts, I also detected radar from the North. This guy was everywhere. I maintained Emissions Control [EmCon] and crept closer hoping to surprise him. I managed to get into visual range of the first contact only to find that it was the LST Dajiang and her escort. I immediately opened fire on the LST. I was tempted to kill the escort, but the needs of the mission have to come first even before the survival of my own ships. The LST could land Marines on the islands and take control from me. The PLAN could not.

After turning on the radar, I pounded the LST into a pyre. Also, I unleashed a salvo of 8x Styx SSMs towards the Luda destroyer to the north.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1211836809

SH also fired back to target all four of my screening missile boats, however they had already fired their weapons. Eventually, he sank all my escorts, but I won the day for I had destroyed his landing force and thus was awarded victory.

Another great game, SH. Thanks for an excellent session and to HarpGamer for hosting it on their server.

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

AAR: Sea King to Chile Incident [Spoiler Alert]
A Harpoon ANW scenario
Author: Freek Schepers

Jerome Chiecchio (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I elected to try out this hypothetical scenario set in the Falklands.

One of the most mysterious events of the war happened on May 16th, when a Sea King was found burning and abandoned near Punta Arenas airbase. The British claimed a 500nm navigation error but, after the war, it became clear that SAS Special Forces had been planning a raid to take out the Exocet-armed Super Etendard aircraft which had sunk Sheffield and Atlantic Conveyor. Speculation on the nature of this operation still ranges from SAS-Hercules aircraft landing on Rio Grande airbase in order to destroy the planes on the ground to the setting up of covert radar facilities to provide early warning for the fleet.

Fact is that Chile felt it was the next target of the Argentine junta and, therefore, open to cooperation with the British.

With most of my ships off replenishing their stores, I only had Invincible and a lone escort with which to accomplish my mission. My orders were to transfer two Sea King helicopters with SAS forces to Chile and take out the Super Etendard aircraft that had been a plague on Her Majesty's forces thus far.



I decided to gamble and ferry my two available Harriers and the Sea Kings to the ad hoc RAF base in Chile. I hoped to provide my vulnerable helos with a modicum of escort at least part of the way. They took a long round-about path to Punta Arenas by flying around Tierra del Fuego and off the coast of Chile in order to stay below the radar horizon of Rio Grande air base. It was a long and tense journey as I had no airborne early warning capability. The first sign of an enemy presence might very well be tracer rounds or the smoke trail of an in coming missile. However, no of this came to pass as all the aircraft landed safely in Chile. Part one of the mission was complete.

The second phase of the operation was the tricky part. I had to locate the enemy Etendard unit before I could send in the air strike. There were four possible locations for the unit: Rio Grande, Rio Gallegos, San Julian, and Comodoro Rivadavia. I only had a few unarmed PR.9 Canberra reconnaissance aircraft at Punta Arenas and a few aircraft along with an SAS unit on San Felix in the Pacific. It was a difficult order, but I decided to send in single aircraft on virtual suicide missions to photograph the four bases. I would lose the asset, but at least I would be certain of the Etendard aircraft. One flight from Punta Arenas would at least have the benefit of an armed escort in the form of the two recently arrived Harriers.



One PR.9 Canberra took off for Rio Grande accompanied by the two Harriers. They hugged the deck and hoped not to be detected. As they climbed to cross over the island and approach Rio Grande from the landward side, they must have been detected. I saw no indication of it until an F-86 Sabre suddenly appeared in visual range! Both Harrier pilots quickly loosed a single AIM-9 Sidewinder at the target and began evasive manoeuvres fearing return fire. The Argentines also had the Sidewinder.

The F-86 exploded in a ball of flame with no loss to my UK forces. However, the element of surprise was lost and the Canberra was much too far from the base to continue the mission so it was aborted. The best part of this encounter was the repeated inquiries from AoA, "Was that your aircraft? Was that Chilean? Are you in control of the Chilean forces?..." He really had no idea what had transpired as he was unable to make visual confirmation of the attack. He never even knew it was delivered by Harriers since the Chileans also used a version of the Sidewinder. I just stayed mum over the whole affair and replied with my usual, "No Free Intell" response. It was to pay significant dividends in the long run.



After my shaken crews returned to Punta Arenas, they planned for a second mission. This time, they would try to approach Rio Gallegos. Since there were no Sidewinders available at the ad hoc base in Punta Arenas, they would have to do so with only 6 available missiles. Soon after launch, an unknown contact came zooming in a low level on an intercept course! A thousand thoughts raced through the minds of the pilots. "Had the Argentines figured out where that last mission launched from? Did they know that RN forces had deployed to Chile? Was this the payback they had been fearing?" With nervous trigger fingers, they watched it come closer and closer. It was well inside Sidewinder range, but still outside visual range. If it was hostile, the Harrier pilots decided that we would both go down in a blaze of glory since neither side could escape the other's Sidewinder missiles. Finally, at a range of 1 mile, it was confirmed to be a Chilean Hawker Hunter. With a huge sigh of relief, the Harrier pilots re-engaged the Master Arm safety switches for their weapons. An international incident with the country covertly aiding them was avoided this time.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, the exact same thing was happening over at Rio Grande air base. Evidently, a Chilean flight was near the border when it was intercepted by Argentine patrols. In the ensuing confusion, the Argentines must have fired upon the Chileans which in turn put the Chileans automatically into a state of war with the Argentines! My little reconnaissance mission on Rio Grande had reaped untold rewards. As a direct result of my clandestine activities, I had managed to provoke a war between my opponent and a neutral country.



Once again, as my Canberra and Harrier escorts crept towards Rio Gallegos, they were detected. I tried to push the matter by making a high speed photo pass at the base to see if the Etendards were there, but the Argentine combat air patrol stood their ground and firmly blocked any possibility of breaking past them with my lumbering Canberra. All thoughts turned to escape. I engaged the fighters with my remaining Sidewinders and dove to the deck to evade. Again, both Argentine pilots died in fireballs. However, I was now defenceless as the Harriers and ran for the border. Another Argentine interceptor was detected closing on the fleeing Harriers and I thought that the game was over for them since they had only their 30mm Aden cannon to fight back with. Closer and closer it came until it inexplicably turned away without ever opening fire. I guess the pilot just lost his nerve and didn't want to end up with a missile shot in the face.

I was to learn that AoA was having other Chilean problems at Rio Grande. Once enraged, the Chilean Air Force had mounted an air raid on the base and destroyed the very Etendard planes that I had been searching for! What a truly macabre set of circumstances. I managed to get my opponent to fire on a neutral country which in turn returned fire and accomplished my mission goals for me. At this point, AoA realized that he had lost the game and conceded defeat.

A truly magnificent game with all the flavour of real world brinkmanship. Thanks to AoA for a fabulous match and to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

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

Great AAR!
I did design the 'punishment' airstrike in case you kill a neutral target! Great to see that MP games tend to be played very differently than player vs AI ones! I'll consider if anything needs to change in the scen as a result of this game! I guess AoA and Herman have now played the complete Falklands battleset against each other; any suggestions for improvement are welcome! So are other players!
Freek
 

Jeronimo (a.k.a. AngleOfAttack) and Tracy Vierra both came looking for matches today. Both wanted something quick so we decided to try out a scenario that is just about to be released and tested it for MP play, Hemphill's Ordeal, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

This scenario has not yet been published, but is available from the HarpGamer MP server. Here is an account of the battle with AoA.

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/6742/hemphillsordealoj4.th.gif

This scenario is an interpretation of the account from Michael A. Palmer's, "The War that Never Was".

"About a dozen Soviet submarines of various types, both diesel and nuclear-powered, lay athwart the sea lanes leading toward the Norwegian Sea. The Soviet Northern Fleet staff had charged its submarines with three tasks: reconnaissance for long-range SNA strikes, delaying the movement north of key American convoys and task forces, and attacking NATO ships and installations with torpedoes and missiles.

The Soviets had far better success with more traditional attacks. In the first twenty-four hours of the war, Soviet submarines and strike aircraft sank nearly half of the twenty-five ships in four convoys steaming for north Norway. By the evening of the 14th, one American destroyer, five frigates, and five freighters were at the bottom of the North Atlantic."

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I played the Soviets while AoA acted as Hemphill. One of my Foxtrot diesel submarines immediately detected the convoy once the game started. After taking a quick periscope fix, she found herself at point-blank range with FF Trippe and immediately loosed a full volley of wake-homing and acoustic torpedoes at the convoy. The Trippe counter-detected the attack and immediately launched her own response in the form of an ASRoc torpedo. Moments later, an ET-80 torpedo slammed into the Trippe and broke her keel. The celebration aboard the Foxtrot was short-lived as the return shot from the frigate caught her desperately diving to escape. The score was tied at 1:1.

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The NATO convoy continued towards Iceland and directly into the path of a second Foxtrot. The sub crept in past the escort and was in range of the freighters before loosing a single torpedo. This failure to engage with overwhelming force would prove to be her undoing. After revealing herself, she was destroyed by another ASRoc-deployed torpedo before she had a chance to fire her remaining weapons. The torpedo missed.

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My two surviving assets were a Charlie- and an Echo-class missile-guided submarine. Both set off to engage the enemy with torpedoes. However, the enemy was not cooperating and had taken a rather circuitous route around them (almost as though they knew the position of my subs). They tried to engage with SLCMs, but all missiles were efficiently shot down by the surviving Underwood frigate. They tried to thread their way in between the sonobuoys the enemy was deploying. Unfortunately, the Echo II was caught near the surface while still in the process of firing her Shaddock missiles. A Mk 46 torpedo interrupted the firing sequence with 2 weapons still unfired.

The Charlie managed to close the range to the convoy, but was unable to engage with torpedoes before she was caught moving at high speed to intercept. Another Mk 46 torpedo ended her career just outside of torpedo range. Although my command had been destroyed, the enemy spent so much effort trying to evade them that he was unable to accomplish his own victory conditions and the game ended as a draw.

Thanks to AoA for a really fun game and to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

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

Joe Baxter is a real life sailor just getting off the CVN Nimitz. He's never had an MP game of ANW even though he's bought and played every version of Harpoon since 1989. Today, he got his baptism of fire. We elected to play Dawn Patrol, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

Both Joe and I had played Dawn Patrol so it offered no surprises to either party. However, instead of the crippled ANW AI, we were now each facing an experienced and cunning opponent. I played the Norwegians while Joe commanded the Russians.

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Not long after startup, my ESM detected distinctive radar emissions from Nanuchka-class missile boats. I decided to try and creep towards my targets behind a group of Neutral fishing boats. As they were only making 12kts, I slowed my Hugin missile boats down to match their pace. Once in approximate range to the fuzzy radar contacts, I decided to let loose a salvo of Penguin SSMs. One Hugin boat concentrated on each of the 3 Nanuchka contacts with full barrage of 6 Penguins.

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Joe was no slouch and quickly detected the inbound missiles and returned fire. All three Hugin and a local fisherman were soon sinking. However, 18 Penguins were sufficient to overwhelm the defences of at least two of their targets as I was granted victory a few minutes later. A well played match.

Thanks to Joe for the session and to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

Tomorrow, June 29, 2008, a 3-sided session has been scheduled between Joe, Tracy Vierra, and myself for 1700 PST. Anyone interested in playing or watching is most welcome to attend.

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

Joe Baxter, Tracy Vierra and I decided to bid farewell to the ANW server with a real bang by playing Freek Scheper's new 3-sided scenario, Shadow the Boomer, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

After several vicious carrier battles in the Barents Sea and with the ground war stalemated in the Nordic winter, negotiations started to end the war. Both parties observed a cease-fire, which held surprisingly well in the first week.

However, NATO feared Putin would make use of the cease-fire to bring his boomers to bastions prepared in the Barentz Sea. USN and Royal Navy hunter-killer subs were sent to stake out Severomorsk and be prepared to shadow SSBNs exiting the harbour.

[center]http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/788/shadowga1.th.gif[/center]

We each had a command of a single submarine unit. My boat was an SSBN trying to break past a Trafalgar- and a Los Angeles-class SSN for a deterrent patrol.

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From the very start, there were numerous contacts throughout the Barents. I had a very strict timetable to keep and was traveling on the surface in the company of an icebreaker.

The SSBN arrived at the separation point and all was going well. The Trafalgar had been detected over 40nm distant and was not expected to interfere. The problem was that the Los Angeles was nowhere to be found. Only later did we learn that she had been sunk.

After diving and proceeding on course to the patrol position, several interesting things happened. Several distant torpedo contacts were reported from my sonar room, but I had no clear indication of what had happened. Evidently, the Los Angeles had run across one of the ASW patrols, but no word had been received about the outcome.

In order to adhere to the schedule, the SSBN had to move at a higher speed than I would have liked. Unfortunately, this generated more noise and it was subsequently detected by the Trafalgar who then moved in to trail the boomer. I was under orders not to allow this to happen. When I felt that Trafalgar was within torpedo range, I fired two USET-80 torpedoes on Bearing-Only-Launch and took off like a racehorse. (Well, like an aging racehorse.)

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The Trafalgar counter-detected the torpedoes and returned the favour in-kind with a pair of Spearfish torpedoes in my direction. Both my USET-80s missed, but they had spooked the Trafalgar into running at high speed. A helicopter had detected the commotion and dropped a pair of torpedoes on her. The Trafalgar died just moments before the Spearfish caught up with the boomer.

The first one was decoyed by a noisemaker, but the second one exploded against the hull next to the reactor vessel. Without power, the SSBN was doomed.

The game ended in a draw since all three players had been sunk without accomplishing their victory conditions. A truly fitting end to a very enjoyable scenario.

Thanks to Tracy Vierra and Joe Baxter for the game and to HarpGamer for the use of the server.

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

In a few weeks I will (almost certainly) stop running the two Stratsims ANW MP Servers.  This is your fair warning to take advantage of them now while they are still running.  It appears some others in the community are putting effort into getting a server up and running which would be excellent.
 
It has been fun to play some MP games with you and to watch even more of them being played. 

The HUD3 server has been updated to H3 ANW 3.9.3

The PDB server has been updated to H3 ANW 3.9.3

Jerome (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I wanted to get the most out of the server while it is still available so we decided to try out Gauntlet, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

The Soviets will attempt to seize Norwegian bases in any all-out war. This will be done by physically seizing some bases and cutting off others from the rest of NATO. NATO must re-supply these bases using naval convoys. The success or failure of the convoys will be of paramount importance to both NATO and Soviet commanders.

This scenario is a re-make of a Harpoon Classic scenario from the original GIUK battleset and has yet been released. It is available only from the ANW MP server.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1214935373

I commanded the Soviets while Jerome played as NATO. We both conducted intelligence and counter-intelligence. Jerome launched his ASW helos to get an idea of his opposition while I sent in a flight of Floggers to knock out his only available land radar at Narvik. Both of us were successful in our operations.

Once Narvik was down and blind, I decided to send my Floggers to blind him further by shooting down his helos. As they got close, they suddenly lost contact with the helos as they dove down low to evade my interceptors' radar. The Floggers were operating at maximum range and could not afford to conduct a thorough search of the area. The helo pilots never knew how lucky they were.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1214935383

My Victor-class submarine detected a pair of merchantmen moving at very high speed and set a course to intercept. Soon, a four ship convoy was detected and localized. Two frigates were screening the freighters. I moved some missile boats in to assist in the attack. They had been detected by the ASW helos, but I did not believe that they had been properly identified and classified. Most likely, they had only shown up on the enemy's radar screen as unknown blips.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1214935400

The Victor moved in ahead of the convoy and stayed hidden at creep speed. Once within range, four massive Type 65-76 torpedoes were fired at the heart of the formation since killing escorts was not the objective. A single hit on each of the freighters proved sufficient to sink them and victory was awarded.

We had such a good time that we immediately wanted to try this scenario, again. The second time, however, proved to be much different since Jerome now knew that there were submarines in the area. After sweeping aside my meagre air, surface, and subsurface forces, AoA was able to make landfall at Narvik and achieve victory.

Thanks to Jerome for the challenging games and to HarpGamer for hosting it.

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

Joe Baxter was reading up on our AAR and also wanted to try out Gauntlet, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

The Soviets will attempt to seize Norwegian bases in any all-out war. This will be done by physically seizing some bases and cutting off others from the rest of NATO. NATO must re-supply these bases using naval convoys. The success or failure of the convoys will be of paramount importance to both NATO and Soviet commanders.

This scenario is a re-make of a Harpoon Classic scenario from the original GIUK battleset and has yet been released. It is available only from the ANW MP server.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1214935373

I commanded the Soviets while Joe played as NATO. Since Joe had already read the AAR, I had to assume that he had a pretty good idea of my OoB (Order of Battle). I decided to throw a "change-up" pitch.

As were felt each other out during the reconnaissance phase, I ordered my Floggers to act as combat air patrol over my Nanuchka missile boats. I planned to protect them from Harpoon attack while shooting down NATO helos.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1214965960

This tactic worked very well and the missile boats managed to get close enough to launch their 12x SS-N-9 Sirens at the FFG Underwood. The self-defense was superb and 6 were shot down, but the survivors turned her into a pyre.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1214965970

With the most dangerous part of the screen eliminated, the Victor II crept in and launched Type 65 torpedoes at the freighters. Both targets were killed within minutes of each other and victory was awarded.

Thanks to Joe for a great game and to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

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

Noxious (a.k.a "Ob") came looking for his initiation into the world of Harpoon MP. We played the obligatory Dawn Patrol scenario, but were unsatisfied since neither managed to achieve victory conditions. So, we decided to play Freek Schepers', Nordkapp scenario, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

Prior to war breaking out, a small Dutch Task force of frigates delivered the Dutch Marines to Finnmark. Having trained there for years, several companies of Marines have joined their Norwegian and British counterparts to await the expected Russian attack into Finnmark.

I took the Russian side to hunt for the Dutch PhibRon while Ob played the NATO ships attempting to leave the area.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1215145407

I had a pretty good idea of NATO disposition from the Helix radar. I noticed that the enemy had chosen not to radiate his radar so I launched a surprise attack on his Heemskerck-class frigate with Sunburn and Switchblade SSMs. It was pure overkill as the Sunburns arrived first and slammed into the ship. The 1600kt+ missiles struck so swiftly that Ob had no warning whatsoever. 8x Harpoons and the entire load of Standard SAMs were lost to my opponent in the blink of an eye.

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1215145419

However, the target of the operation was not the escorts. The enemy's LPD Rotterdam was the goal and she would be a far tough nut to crack since she was under escort from Zeven de Provincien. I tried to manoeuvre a Tango-class sub into her path, but she was caught and sunk by a Lynx helo just outside torpedo range. Damn, that was my supposed ace-in-the-hole!

With only a few other assets remaining, I had to press them into some kind of attack. The Zeven was a very dangerous opponent with her full inventory of Standard SAMs and a huge gun that out-ranged my own weapons. I approached with great caution (and trepidation).

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/attachm ... 1215145443

The Standards were easy enough to engage, but there were just so many of them that some eventually leaked through to slam into my Krivak and Neustrashimyy frigates. Although slowed, they were still able to chase down the LPD. Like a pack of wolves circling an elk, I had to be very cautious. One wrong move would put me within gunnery range of Zeven and that would be game over.

After surrounding the Dutch ships, DDG Chebanenko managed to approach the LPD from the far side and pounded her with 130mm shells before the Zeven could react. She had just enough ammo to do the job before being forced to retire from the area as the Zeven turned to face her. As the LPD sank beneath the waves, victory was awarded.

A really great battle. Thanks to Ob (Noxious) for the game and to HarpGamer for hosting it.

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

Weird, I never had so many fishing vessels on screen as you did, who would have thought
You forgot to say that out of how many torpedoes you launched (including the asrocs), at most one hit, on an already sinking ship, hehehe.  I brilliantly evaded the rest.... (well, part of the brilliance was the torpedoes trying to hit flying helos on ASW patrol....)
I fired ONE torpedo, killed ONE sub with it
I wasted some of my SSMs firing from too far, giving you too much time to mount a defense.
Should have done with that volley, the same I did with the next one, get close enough (nearly gun range) so you have no chance to react, and that worked. Imagine that volley of 24+ SSMs had hit you from that close...
Another mistake was once I killed your sub, even though I wasn't 100% sure, I was pretty certain you didn't have another, and I should have switched my helos to ASuW patrol, which might have made a difference later on...
But my worse mistake : downing a neutral vessel, which set a Neutral Power against me, thinking it was the Bear closing in for a kill... (if memory serves right, it was just a big fissing vessel...LOL)
We even had a sort of "alliance' between Red and Blue as to whom would shoot down those "neutral" F-16s, Orions, etc.
All in all , a pretty cool scenario which I look forward to playing again.

Thanks! That scenario was rebuilt several times and I'm glad to hear it works as intended! Freek