Herman Hum
02 Jul 05, 06:38
AAR: The Five-Pointed Star [Spoiler Alert]
By Quinton Van Zyl
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/8397/5staraegis5kg.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=5staraegis5kg.gif)
Wow, talk about walking into the lion's den. The Chief of Staff opined to the Admiral privately, "Pourquoi ne pas simplement les laisser prendre Djibouti?" << Why don't we just let them HAVE Djibouti? >> Of course, it was only in jest. He and the Admiral had expressed this same sentiment countless times before; on many different missions throughout the empire. The only response was the same response that had been given to him on every other occasion, "Pour l'honneur de la France." << For the Honour of France >>
From the air, the Gulf of Aden really did resemble the open maw of a lion and we were walking right down its throat. The Amphibs and the CVBG were ordered to remain radar silent except for the DD Surcouf who was assigned to radiate her radar in order to provide the Commander with a modest picture of the area. The bases to the south of the ships were known to be hostile, but the bases to the north were an open question mark.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/7874/skunks3lo.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=skunks3lo.gif)
Several unknown vessels were detected in our wake so an ASW helo was launched to classify them. Forces within the base began to take immediate casualties from the artillery bombardment. FF Balny and Minesweepers Antares and Aldebaran were ordered to support the city's defences with Naval Gunfire Support [NGFS]. The reaction force was also dispatched on the Puma helos. The last call received from the platoon commander of the armoured platoon was, "Get that damned artillery! It is murderi... [ssssssssss]".
A lone aircraft rose from Aden. The AAW officer believed that it was only a recon platform as it was only making 286 knots. A single F-8 Crusader was launched to intercept and classify this intruder. The contact turned out to be a Cub. As it exhibited no hostile behaviour, it was allowed to pass.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/5702/adenbogey1zm.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=adenbogey1zm.gif)
The infantry reaction force of three helos tried to take a circuitous route to the 105mm artillery battery that had just destroyed the only French armour unit. Unfortunately, the Somalis appeared to be well supplied with SA-7s and one of the helos was quickly blown from the sky. The survivors dove down into the weeds in hopes of evading the air defences. They were only partially successful. Another helo was shot down by a SAM before the last helo was able to carry out its attack on the artillery unit. However, it was unable to even distract the gunners from their murderous intent. This last helo was also destroyed as she fled for home. As she went down in flames, the soldiers on the ground thought to themselves, "Is this the beginning of another Dien Bien Phu?"
The ships nearest the relief force turned out to be neutral, but three bogeys were seen over Ethiopia. They were flying a very suspicious profile. The air base commander exclaimed, "If those aren't Somalis, I'll give up my wine ration for a year." One flight of three Mirage was ordered to intercept. On their way, the Mirage pilots reported muzzle flashes from another artillery group. The fighters were positively identified as MiG Frescoes and the pilots rolled in the attack with the sun at their backs.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/8865/initialintercept9ab.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=initialintercept9ab.gif)
FF Balny had just arrived and promptly began an artillery duel with the 105mm artillery unit. The Mirages closed up behind the Frescoes and kept their radar off in order not to reveal themselves. They engaged with guns first and caught the enemy totally by surprise thus killing one before they were even aware that they were under attack. Then the pilots re-engaged with Magic infrared-homing [IR] AAMs and shot down the two dazed survivors. Although the commander's wine ration was safe for the upcoming year, they had no time to rejoice as two more bogeys were detected over Ethiopia.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/222/ngfsdjibouti7fp.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=ngfsdjibouti7fp.gif)
The Balny gunners raised a cheer as a huge fireball rose over their target. Evidently, the ammunition stockpiles had been located. However, the forward ground units were still reporting artillery strikes on their position. The second, recently discovered artillery group must be the cause of their torment. The Captain of the Balny was very hesitant to engage this second battery. The enemy guns were 122mm and out-ranged his own guns by nearly 50%! However, the cries for help overrode his reluctance and he set a course to bring the enemy under the Iron Flail. It was a bad decision on his part as he soon began seeing artillery splashes all around his ships. He immediately ordered a withdrawal, but was unable to clear the area before his ship was hit and damaged. The damage was extensive and she was in serious danger of sinking. Instead, he decided to concentrate his artillery on the units that would not shoot back and let the air force prima donnas earn their pay. The resultant artillery barrage smashed all the surviving platoons of Somali tanks. The ground forces would fight on even terms; with bullets, grenades, and bayonet.
Two more bogeys were detected rising from Hargeisa and the second flight of Mirage interceptors were ordered to launch. After hearing his commander's tale of derring-do for the 17th time, flight leader Marcoux looked forward to the upcoming encounter. While not as exciting as his commander's venture, his flight easily brought down the two enemy fighters while the crew of the Balny furiously pumped water out of their ship. Captain Deladrier vowed that if his ship were to go down, it would not do so with any ammunition for her guns left unfired.
Two MiG Fishbeds (followed by two more) showed up. They were intent on contesting the airspace over Djibouti. Captain Marcoux quickly dispatched the Fishbeds with Magic AAMs, but this left him critically short for the second pair. In the tradition of Charles Guynemer, his flight went to afterburner to close for a gun kill. The enemy's flight leader was killed with the last of the missiles and now it 3:1 odds against the wingman. Marcoux admired his courage even if the African pilot lacked skill and élan; just as he pulled the trigger and shredded the cockpit with his 30mm DEFA cannon.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/7918/3vs101zp.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=3vs101zp.gif)
Ten more bogeys were coming in on the deck. Marcoux reported that his flight was 'winchester' [out of ammo]. His commander said, "Well, you still have gun ammo, don't you? We need 20 more minutes can you buy us 20 minutes?" All Marcoux could say was, "Mais oui, mon commandant."
The first two MiG Fagots were quickly dispatched. However, this still left 8 attackers. One more was brought down, but Lt. Didier was caught in a burst of return cannon fire. No chute was seen from his plane. All Marcoux could think was, "I certainly hope that it was worth it."
As the Fagots bore in, the AAA and SAM batteries and let loose with a huge barrage. Amazingly, all of the enemy strikers were shot down! Certainly, today, each branch of the French armed forces would be pulling their own weight. A flight of four Mirage bombers was sent to quell the artillery that had been wreaking havoc on French forces. A combination of Mirage bombs and rockets from helicopters destroyed the 122mm artillery battery and allowed the navy to get back into the game with its bombardment schedule. Freed from their bomb payloads, the Mirage pilots exulted in their newly found manoeuvrability when two more bogeys were detected approaching on the deck. In the heart of every bomber pilot lays a fighter pilot waiting to get out and these pilots were no different. They eagerly banked their aircraft and thundered after the intruders.
Both Fishbeds were destroyed with Magic AAMs, but the French pilots also learned a valuable lesson. MiGs have teeth, too, as Atoll missiles were flipped back at them. No losses were incurred, but the pilots each silently decided to leave the MiG-hunting to the fighter pilots.
Two Osa-class missile boats were spotted on a course to intercept the Amphibious group. A flight of Etendard from the Foch left them both ablaze from stem to stern and only a threat to navigation.
The aircraft concentrated on smashing the infantry in preparation to the landing their own troops. Several times, enemy infantry helicopters were detected trying to land re-enforcements to their forward elements, but they were simply meat on the table for the jet interceptors. Frescoes from Berabera airbase tried to disrupt the air-ground missions, but were easily killed by the Mirage interceptors. Two P6 patrol boats were quickly spotted and sunk with quick cannon bursts from passing fighters.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/8555/shaddock0ek.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=shaddock0ek.gif)
Six Fresco flew a sortie from Berabera in search of trouble in the Gulf of Aden. Four Crusaders rose from the deck of Foch and slew them before they had any idea that the enemy was even in the neighbourhood. Shortly thereafter, eight Shaddock missiles were seen enroute to Djibouti. Their early detection by the Foch group allowed sufficient fighters to launch from Djibouti and shoot them all down. As intelligence had not reported any Shaddock SSMs in the Somali order of battle, this had the distinct odor of Soviet intervention and they were likely launched from a submarine so that there would be 100% plausible deniability. Cute.
No sooner had the fighters turned for home when eight more missiles were detected along with more Frescoes approaching Djibouti from the south. Excellent timing for the enemy. Curse all talented foes. The SSMs would pass near the ships so the commander decided to try and cull a few in order to lend a hand to the beleaguered ground forces. The SAMs performed admirably and left only three for the air force to bring down. However, while occupied with the SSMs, the Fresco were given a free ride to their destination. This time, the AAA crews were only able to shoot down a lone bomber. The survivors easily sank the struggling Balny and the Aldebaran.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/4683/shipstrike9ur.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=shipstrike9ur.gif)
Four Beagle bombers were spotted coming out of Aden. The battle group commander was very suspicious of them as they were flying an attack profile; low down on the water. So, he had two Crusaders investigate and tail them. One of the gunners aboard the Beagles must have been anxious for he opened fire on the fighters. The fighters immediately declared the French equivalent of, "Tallyho!" and splashed the entire flight with missiles and aerial gunnery. The gunner did manage to destroy one of the interceptors before his plane exploded from an AAM close aboard. Two trailing Beagles were also intercepted and destroyed by the surviving fighter.
Even in death, the Beagles served a noble purpose. They had exhausted the aerial defences of the battle group so that when Styx SSMs were detected, little could be done to counter them. DD Vauqelin died in a wall of flame when two missiles struck her fore and aft. No sooner had the fireball died down than two more Beagles were detected inbound. A lone Crusader stood in their way. The pilot managed to kill both attackers with the last rounds of his gun ammunition and spared the battered force from further damage.
Two Kildin-class destroyers were detected steaming out of Aden harbour. These must have been the vessels that launched the Styx that killed our destroyer. And they had the sheer audacity to continue to fly neutral colours! A visit by four Etendard from the Foch quickly sank these high-seas bushwhackers after they opened fire on the aircraft.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/3007/surprisesag7xe.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=surprisesag7xe.gif)
An F-8 Crusader on patrol went to investigate a strange radar contact and stumbled upon the source of the Shaddock missiles. Two Soviet cruisers and two frigates were found trailing the CVBG. The pilot promptly shot down the Hormone search helicopter that had been supporting this group and then fled "the scene of the crime" on afterburner all the while being chased by SA-4 Goa missiles.
As the relief forces neared Djibouti, the Somalis tried one last surge to attack the transports. However, the Admiral had been anticipating such a move and had all his aircraft sitting at 'ready 5' status. Within minutes, he had flooded the air with interceptors. No attacker ever came within visual range of the ships.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/4323/finalthrust7rx.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=finalthrust7rx.gif)
The relief effort made landfall and disgorged their troops unopposed. The superior mobility of the French troops in their helicopters quickly convinced the Somalis to withdraw from the action. Although France had successfully defended Djibouti, she has received a major black eye in the view of the world since two minesweepers and a destroyer had been sunk. She held the battlefield, but had lost in the world of public opinion.
Thanks for sharing another exceptional scenario with action throughout. All it took was one wrong decision by me and it was game over.
Linguistic assistance provided by Robin Reeve.
Posted at hh (http://www.harpoonhq.com/harpoon3/scenarios_1960-79/).
By Quinton Van Zyl
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/8397/5staraegis5kg.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=5staraegis5kg.gif)
Wow, talk about walking into the lion's den. The Chief of Staff opined to the Admiral privately, "Pourquoi ne pas simplement les laisser prendre Djibouti?" << Why don't we just let them HAVE Djibouti? >> Of course, it was only in jest. He and the Admiral had expressed this same sentiment countless times before; on many different missions throughout the empire. The only response was the same response that had been given to him on every other occasion, "Pour l'honneur de la France." << For the Honour of France >>
From the air, the Gulf of Aden really did resemble the open maw of a lion and we were walking right down its throat. The Amphibs and the CVBG were ordered to remain radar silent except for the DD Surcouf who was assigned to radiate her radar in order to provide the Commander with a modest picture of the area. The bases to the south of the ships were known to be hostile, but the bases to the north were an open question mark.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/7874/skunks3lo.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=skunks3lo.gif)
Several unknown vessels were detected in our wake so an ASW helo was launched to classify them. Forces within the base began to take immediate casualties from the artillery bombardment. FF Balny and Minesweepers Antares and Aldebaran were ordered to support the city's defences with Naval Gunfire Support [NGFS]. The reaction force was also dispatched on the Puma helos. The last call received from the platoon commander of the armoured platoon was, "Get that damned artillery! It is murderi... [ssssssssss]".
A lone aircraft rose from Aden. The AAW officer believed that it was only a recon platform as it was only making 286 knots. A single F-8 Crusader was launched to intercept and classify this intruder. The contact turned out to be a Cub. As it exhibited no hostile behaviour, it was allowed to pass.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/5702/adenbogey1zm.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=adenbogey1zm.gif)
The infantry reaction force of three helos tried to take a circuitous route to the 105mm artillery battery that had just destroyed the only French armour unit. Unfortunately, the Somalis appeared to be well supplied with SA-7s and one of the helos was quickly blown from the sky. The survivors dove down into the weeds in hopes of evading the air defences. They were only partially successful. Another helo was shot down by a SAM before the last helo was able to carry out its attack on the artillery unit. However, it was unable to even distract the gunners from their murderous intent. This last helo was also destroyed as she fled for home. As she went down in flames, the soldiers on the ground thought to themselves, "Is this the beginning of another Dien Bien Phu?"
The ships nearest the relief force turned out to be neutral, but three bogeys were seen over Ethiopia. They were flying a very suspicious profile. The air base commander exclaimed, "If those aren't Somalis, I'll give up my wine ration for a year." One flight of three Mirage was ordered to intercept. On their way, the Mirage pilots reported muzzle flashes from another artillery group. The fighters were positively identified as MiG Frescoes and the pilots rolled in the attack with the sun at their backs.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/8865/initialintercept9ab.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=initialintercept9ab.gif)
FF Balny had just arrived and promptly began an artillery duel with the 105mm artillery unit. The Mirages closed up behind the Frescoes and kept their radar off in order not to reveal themselves. They engaged with guns first and caught the enemy totally by surprise thus killing one before they were even aware that they were under attack. Then the pilots re-engaged with Magic infrared-homing [IR] AAMs and shot down the two dazed survivors. Although the commander's wine ration was safe for the upcoming year, they had no time to rejoice as two more bogeys were detected over Ethiopia.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/222/ngfsdjibouti7fp.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=ngfsdjibouti7fp.gif)
The Balny gunners raised a cheer as a huge fireball rose over their target. Evidently, the ammunition stockpiles had been located. However, the forward ground units were still reporting artillery strikes on their position. The second, recently discovered artillery group must be the cause of their torment. The Captain of the Balny was very hesitant to engage this second battery. The enemy guns were 122mm and out-ranged his own guns by nearly 50%! However, the cries for help overrode his reluctance and he set a course to bring the enemy under the Iron Flail. It was a bad decision on his part as he soon began seeing artillery splashes all around his ships. He immediately ordered a withdrawal, but was unable to clear the area before his ship was hit and damaged. The damage was extensive and she was in serious danger of sinking. Instead, he decided to concentrate his artillery on the units that would not shoot back and let the air force prima donnas earn their pay. The resultant artillery barrage smashed all the surviving platoons of Somali tanks. The ground forces would fight on even terms; with bullets, grenades, and bayonet.
Two more bogeys were detected rising from Hargeisa and the second flight of Mirage interceptors were ordered to launch. After hearing his commander's tale of derring-do for the 17th time, flight leader Marcoux looked forward to the upcoming encounter. While not as exciting as his commander's venture, his flight easily brought down the two enemy fighters while the crew of the Balny furiously pumped water out of their ship. Captain Deladrier vowed that if his ship were to go down, it would not do so with any ammunition for her guns left unfired.
Two MiG Fishbeds (followed by two more) showed up. They were intent on contesting the airspace over Djibouti. Captain Marcoux quickly dispatched the Fishbeds with Magic AAMs, but this left him critically short for the second pair. In the tradition of Charles Guynemer, his flight went to afterburner to close for a gun kill. The enemy's flight leader was killed with the last of the missiles and now it 3:1 odds against the wingman. Marcoux admired his courage even if the African pilot lacked skill and élan; just as he pulled the trigger and shredded the cockpit with his 30mm DEFA cannon.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/7918/3vs101zp.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=3vs101zp.gif)
Ten more bogeys were coming in on the deck. Marcoux reported that his flight was 'winchester' [out of ammo]. His commander said, "Well, you still have gun ammo, don't you? We need 20 more minutes can you buy us 20 minutes?" All Marcoux could say was, "Mais oui, mon commandant."
The first two MiG Fagots were quickly dispatched. However, this still left 8 attackers. One more was brought down, but Lt. Didier was caught in a burst of return cannon fire. No chute was seen from his plane. All Marcoux could think was, "I certainly hope that it was worth it."
As the Fagots bore in, the AAA and SAM batteries and let loose with a huge barrage. Amazingly, all of the enemy strikers were shot down! Certainly, today, each branch of the French armed forces would be pulling their own weight. A flight of four Mirage bombers was sent to quell the artillery that had been wreaking havoc on French forces. A combination of Mirage bombs and rockets from helicopters destroyed the 122mm artillery battery and allowed the navy to get back into the game with its bombardment schedule. Freed from their bomb payloads, the Mirage pilots exulted in their newly found manoeuvrability when two more bogeys were detected approaching on the deck. In the heart of every bomber pilot lays a fighter pilot waiting to get out and these pilots were no different. They eagerly banked their aircraft and thundered after the intruders.
Both Fishbeds were destroyed with Magic AAMs, but the French pilots also learned a valuable lesson. MiGs have teeth, too, as Atoll missiles were flipped back at them. No losses were incurred, but the pilots each silently decided to leave the MiG-hunting to the fighter pilots.
Two Osa-class missile boats were spotted on a course to intercept the Amphibious group. A flight of Etendard from the Foch left them both ablaze from stem to stern and only a threat to navigation.
The aircraft concentrated on smashing the infantry in preparation to the landing their own troops. Several times, enemy infantry helicopters were detected trying to land re-enforcements to their forward elements, but they were simply meat on the table for the jet interceptors. Frescoes from Berabera airbase tried to disrupt the air-ground missions, but were easily killed by the Mirage interceptors. Two P6 patrol boats were quickly spotted and sunk with quick cannon bursts from passing fighters.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/8555/shaddock0ek.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=shaddock0ek.gif)
Six Fresco flew a sortie from Berabera in search of trouble in the Gulf of Aden. Four Crusaders rose from the deck of Foch and slew them before they had any idea that the enemy was even in the neighbourhood. Shortly thereafter, eight Shaddock missiles were seen enroute to Djibouti. Their early detection by the Foch group allowed sufficient fighters to launch from Djibouti and shoot them all down. As intelligence had not reported any Shaddock SSMs in the Somali order of battle, this had the distinct odor of Soviet intervention and they were likely launched from a submarine so that there would be 100% plausible deniability. Cute.
No sooner had the fighters turned for home when eight more missiles were detected along with more Frescoes approaching Djibouti from the south. Excellent timing for the enemy. Curse all talented foes. The SSMs would pass near the ships so the commander decided to try and cull a few in order to lend a hand to the beleaguered ground forces. The SAMs performed admirably and left only three for the air force to bring down. However, while occupied with the SSMs, the Fresco were given a free ride to their destination. This time, the AAA crews were only able to shoot down a lone bomber. The survivors easily sank the struggling Balny and the Aldebaran.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/4683/shipstrike9ur.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=shipstrike9ur.gif)
Four Beagle bombers were spotted coming out of Aden. The battle group commander was very suspicious of them as they were flying an attack profile; low down on the water. So, he had two Crusaders investigate and tail them. One of the gunners aboard the Beagles must have been anxious for he opened fire on the fighters. The fighters immediately declared the French equivalent of, "Tallyho!" and splashed the entire flight with missiles and aerial gunnery. The gunner did manage to destroy one of the interceptors before his plane exploded from an AAM close aboard. Two trailing Beagles were also intercepted and destroyed by the surviving fighter.
Even in death, the Beagles served a noble purpose. They had exhausted the aerial defences of the battle group so that when Styx SSMs were detected, little could be done to counter them. DD Vauqelin died in a wall of flame when two missiles struck her fore and aft. No sooner had the fireball died down than two more Beagles were detected inbound. A lone Crusader stood in their way. The pilot managed to kill both attackers with the last rounds of his gun ammunition and spared the battered force from further damage.
Two Kildin-class destroyers were detected steaming out of Aden harbour. These must have been the vessels that launched the Styx that killed our destroyer. And they had the sheer audacity to continue to fly neutral colours! A visit by four Etendard from the Foch quickly sank these high-seas bushwhackers after they opened fire on the aircraft.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/3007/surprisesag7xe.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=surprisesag7xe.gif)
An F-8 Crusader on patrol went to investigate a strange radar contact and stumbled upon the source of the Shaddock missiles. Two Soviet cruisers and two frigates were found trailing the CVBG. The pilot promptly shot down the Hormone search helicopter that had been supporting this group and then fled "the scene of the crime" on afterburner all the while being chased by SA-4 Goa missiles.
As the relief forces neared Djibouti, the Somalis tried one last surge to attack the transports. However, the Admiral had been anticipating such a move and had all his aircraft sitting at 'ready 5' status. Within minutes, he had flooded the air with interceptors. No attacker ever came within visual range of the ships.
http://img136.echo.cx/img136/4323/finalthrust7rx.th.gif (http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=finalthrust7rx.gif)
The relief effort made landfall and disgorged their troops unopposed. The superior mobility of the French troops in their helicopters quickly convinced the Somalis to withdraw from the action. Although France had successfully defended Djibouti, she has received a major black eye in the view of the world since two minesweepers and a destroyer had been sunk. She held the battlefield, but had lost in the world of public opinion.
Thanks for sharing another exceptional scenario with action throughout. All it took was one wrong decision by me and it was game over.
Linguistic assistance provided by Robin Reeve.
Posted at hh (http://www.harpoonhq.com/harpoon3/scenarios_1960-79/).