Herman Hum
20 Dec 05, 23:49
AAR: Baltic Bottleneck [Spoiler Alert]
By Stephen Mills
It is 1988 and Mayhem has broken out on the Central Front. This scenario is set primarily within the confinements of the Baltic. NATO forces drawn mostly from Denmark and West Germany stand in the way of considerable forces from Poland, East Germany and the Baltic Fleet.
The situation in the Baltic is difficult, with notoriously poor sonar conditions and the close proximity of opposition forces. Both Sweden and Finland are maintaining a policy of strict neutrality. Most front line aviation units are unavailable to you being tasked with operations on the Central front itself. Various wargames attempting to model this area of conflict have found the role of Denmark to be critical while the casualty rate has invariably been high...
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/4979/balticaegisstart8nt.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=balticaegisstart8nt.gif)
“You’re not going to fight a war with what you want. You’re going to fight it with what you have.†More prophetic words could not describe the situation as NATO’s Baltic command scrambled in response to the nightmare unfolding. They were expecting an attempt by the Soviet to break out of the Baltic Sea. Unfortunately, many vessels of the Bundesmarine were still at their North Sea ports. All forces immediately set sail in hopes of keeping the Kattegat and Skaggerak sealed off to the Soviets.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2719/denmark4wd.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=denmark4wd.gif)
As with the other forces, many aircraft were unprepared. The Danish Draken were all re-loaded all with bombs instead of previously assigned rockets. This was not much of a problem since they wouldn't be ready for another six hours at least and the commander wanted the heaviest punch possible. All of the missile boats went to full speed in hopes of keeping the enemy bottled up inside the Baltic. Most of their crews preferred a quick and glorious death rather than be caught at pier's side. As they sailed from Flensburg and Kiel, they chose to stay hidden amongst the Danish islands rather than venture near the GDR’s shore defences.
The instant that planes became available, Skydstrup and Aalborg launched Combat Air Patrols [CAP] to protect the PGFGs and Vaerlose NAS. MiG-23 Floggers and MiG-29 Fulcrums were soon detected rising from GDR bases. Most of the Falcons stayed at low altitude with their radar silent in hopes of spoofing them. They were trying out a new tactic.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/3475/baitandswitch8gz.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=baitandswitch8gz.gif)
Working in fighting pairs, the first flight would try to hold the attention of the Floggers while the second flight climbed to the attack from their flank. It was a very hair-raising experience to act as bait. Often, the AA-10 Alamo fired and the Floggers were killed just before the missiles intercepted the Bait. Without radar guidance, the missiles then fell into the water. It worked for the most part, but sometimes, the attacking flight was delayed and unable to engage before the AA-10s engaged the bait. Life as bait was hard.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/4268/vaerlose3qf.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vaerlose3qf.gif)
Four pairs engaged a single pair of Fulcrum over Vaerlose. The leader was focused on flight AG43 and got separated from his wingman who was quickly set upon by another pair of Falcons. It certainly wasn't a fair fight. But the Danes had a saying for this: "Ædel kamp er for tabere.†[Fair fights are for losers.] Both Fulcrums were killed without loss.
I-HAWK SAM battery Eskadriller 543 reported a flight of missiles inbound and headed directly for them. These had to be ARMs [Anti-Radiation Missiles]. An alert immediately went out and that section of the radar network was quickly shut down until the Falcons could deal with the SEAD planes. Luckily, two flights of Falcons were on hand and managed to shoot down the ARMs, but the missile shooters made good their escape.
Meanwhile, off Laeso Island, missile boat Krieger suddenly exploded in a fireball. There had been no indication of attack. A submarine was suspected, but since missile boats have no inherent sonar, this suspicion could not be confirmed. All that the other boats in the group could do was increase speed and hope to get out of firing range as soon as possible.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/676/kattegatsub6lc.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kattegatsub6lc.gif)
Soon afterwards, PGFG Bredal exploded near the same place as the Krieger died. Obviously, there was something "baaaad" in the water. [Cue Jaws soundtrack.] With an Atlantique on patrol directly overhead, it was unlikely that a plane or ship had found its way through the tight radar coverage. The Atlantique immediately began dropping sonobuoys and made a quick sub detection. An impromptu attack by the Atlantique saved the nearby PGFG Hammer from sharing the same fate as the Krieger and Breidel.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/8471/aseafullofships4sm.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aseafullofships4sm.gif)
Two Osas missile boats were spotted so the call went out to the Marineflieger squadrons at Jagel. The Atlantique moved in to investigate and found a plethora of groups steaming in nice straight lines. The sea was literally crawling with Warsaw Pact vessels.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/5060/flamingdatum7xe.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=flamingdatum7xe.gif)
While evaluating this new situation, missiles were suddenly detected erupting from the waters off Aarhus. The Tactical Action Officers aboard the Atlantique immediately plotted the vectors and tracked them back to an estimated launch position. They had a flaming datum point, but that did little good for PGFG Geier & Komoran who were killed by the SS-N-3 Shaddock missiles. Vengeance would be swift. Three Atlantique MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] immediately set off for the launch point. They swarmed and dropped a mixture of passive and active sonobuoys. With so many assets in the hunt, a submarine detection was inevitable. Torpedoes were dropped on a Juliett-class sub that tried to evade in vain. The sonobuoys detected an explosion and an oil slick soon appeared. It was cold consolation to the crews of the two missile boats.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2861/tornadovisit9zx.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tornadovisit9zx.gif)
The Marineflieger crews from Jagel were simply amazed at the number of targets on the Baltic. It was almost sensory overload. The raid commander decided to attack the air-defence ships first and concentrated on a Kresta II cruiser. She was overwhelmed by six Komoran AshM [Anti-Ship Missiles]. However, the commander immediately recognized his error. By concentrating on the most threatening vessel to his aircrews, he had neglected attacking the far more dangerous Tarantul- and Osa-class missile boats. The Styx and Sunburn missiles on those ships were far more capable than the missiles aboard the ships of the Bundesmarine. Arggh! Hopefully, he would be able to correct his error when he returned in six hours time. Meanwhile, the Bundesmarine would simply not be able to approach until the longer-ranged missile platforms were silenced.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/5355/migsmigsandmoremigs0ou.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=migsmigsandmoremigs0ou.gif)
The air battle over Lubeck Bay was fast and furious. One Falcon pilot reported, “MiGs coming out of every orifice!†He was partially right. There were MiGs and Sukhois ground attack fighter-bombers intermixed, but few fighters were present. Finally, the pilot thought, and easy mission. The Fitters and Floggers were meat on the table and easily slaughtered, but it was like stamping on bugs. It seemed that no matter how many were shot down, more managed to appear.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/3338/theyshallnotpass3ir.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=theyshallnotpass3ir.gif)
Once the Marineflieger squadrons were re-armed, they, along with the Danish Draken, proceeded to strip away the Osas, Nanuchkas, Tarantuls so that the Bundesmarine missile boats could penetrate. Once the screening forces were swept away, the speedy German missile boats raced in and delivered their deadly wares against the ASW screen. As holes were opened in the defences, the diesel submarines silently crept into the formations and ravaged the transports from within. Thousands of soldiers died as torpedoes ripped in the Frosch and Polnocny transports. Wolf pack tactics would prove, once again, successful.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2026/bloodybornholm0dd.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bloodybornholm0dd.gif)
The Warsaw Pact forces were decimated. Later, the historians would call it “The Battle of Bloody Bornholmâ€. Bodies would wash up on her shores for weeks afterwards. However, although severely bloodied, the Danish and German forces would deny the Warsaw Pact access to the North Sea.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/9471/modernwolfpack6fv.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=modernwolfpack6fv.gif)
Many thanks for an interesting and challenging scenario.
Danish linguistic assistance for this provided by Rasmus.
Posted at hh (http://www.harpoonhq.com/harpoon3/scenarios_1960-79/).
By Stephen Mills
It is 1988 and Mayhem has broken out on the Central Front. This scenario is set primarily within the confinements of the Baltic. NATO forces drawn mostly from Denmark and West Germany stand in the way of considerable forces from Poland, East Germany and the Baltic Fleet.
The situation in the Baltic is difficult, with notoriously poor sonar conditions and the close proximity of opposition forces. Both Sweden and Finland are maintaining a policy of strict neutrality. Most front line aviation units are unavailable to you being tasked with operations on the Central front itself. Various wargames attempting to model this area of conflict have found the role of Denmark to be critical while the casualty rate has invariably been high...
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/4979/balticaegisstart8nt.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=balticaegisstart8nt.gif)
“You’re not going to fight a war with what you want. You’re going to fight it with what you have.†More prophetic words could not describe the situation as NATO’s Baltic command scrambled in response to the nightmare unfolding. They were expecting an attempt by the Soviet to break out of the Baltic Sea. Unfortunately, many vessels of the Bundesmarine were still at their North Sea ports. All forces immediately set sail in hopes of keeping the Kattegat and Skaggerak sealed off to the Soviets.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2719/denmark4wd.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=denmark4wd.gif)
As with the other forces, many aircraft were unprepared. The Danish Draken were all re-loaded all with bombs instead of previously assigned rockets. This was not much of a problem since they wouldn't be ready for another six hours at least and the commander wanted the heaviest punch possible. All of the missile boats went to full speed in hopes of keeping the enemy bottled up inside the Baltic. Most of their crews preferred a quick and glorious death rather than be caught at pier's side. As they sailed from Flensburg and Kiel, they chose to stay hidden amongst the Danish islands rather than venture near the GDR’s shore defences.
The instant that planes became available, Skydstrup and Aalborg launched Combat Air Patrols [CAP] to protect the PGFGs and Vaerlose NAS. MiG-23 Floggers and MiG-29 Fulcrums were soon detected rising from GDR bases. Most of the Falcons stayed at low altitude with their radar silent in hopes of spoofing them. They were trying out a new tactic.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/3475/baitandswitch8gz.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=baitandswitch8gz.gif)
Working in fighting pairs, the first flight would try to hold the attention of the Floggers while the second flight climbed to the attack from their flank. It was a very hair-raising experience to act as bait. Often, the AA-10 Alamo fired and the Floggers were killed just before the missiles intercepted the Bait. Without radar guidance, the missiles then fell into the water. It worked for the most part, but sometimes, the attacking flight was delayed and unable to engage before the AA-10s engaged the bait. Life as bait was hard.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/4268/vaerlose3qf.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vaerlose3qf.gif)
Four pairs engaged a single pair of Fulcrum over Vaerlose. The leader was focused on flight AG43 and got separated from his wingman who was quickly set upon by another pair of Falcons. It certainly wasn't a fair fight. But the Danes had a saying for this: "Ædel kamp er for tabere.†[Fair fights are for losers.] Both Fulcrums were killed without loss.
I-HAWK SAM battery Eskadriller 543 reported a flight of missiles inbound and headed directly for them. These had to be ARMs [Anti-Radiation Missiles]. An alert immediately went out and that section of the radar network was quickly shut down until the Falcons could deal with the SEAD planes. Luckily, two flights of Falcons were on hand and managed to shoot down the ARMs, but the missile shooters made good their escape.
Meanwhile, off Laeso Island, missile boat Krieger suddenly exploded in a fireball. There had been no indication of attack. A submarine was suspected, but since missile boats have no inherent sonar, this suspicion could not be confirmed. All that the other boats in the group could do was increase speed and hope to get out of firing range as soon as possible.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/676/kattegatsub6lc.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kattegatsub6lc.gif)
Soon afterwards, PGFG Bredal exploded near the same place as the Krieger died. Obviously, there was something "baaaad" in the water. [Cue Jaws soundtrack.] With an Atlantique on patrol directly overhead, it was unlikely that a plane or ship had found its way through the tight radar coverage. The Atlantique immediately began dropping sonobuoys and made a quick sub detection. An impromptu attack by the Atlantique saved the nearby PGFG Hammer from sharing the same fate as the Krieger and Breidel.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/8471/aseafullofships4sm.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aseafullofships4sm.gif)
Two Osas missile boats were spotted so the call went out to the Marineflieger squadrons at Jagel. The Atlantique moved in to investigate and found a plethora of groups steaming in nice straight lines. The sea was literally crawling with Warsaw Pact vessels.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/5060/flamingdatum7xe.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=flamingdatum7xe.gif)
While evaluating this new situation, missiles were suddenly detected erupting from the waters off Aarhus. The Tactical Action Officers aboard the Atlantique immediately plotted the vectors and tracked them back to an estimated launch position. They had a flaming datum point, but that did little good for PGFG Geier & Komoran who were killed by the SS-N-3 Shaddock missiles. Vengeance would be swift. Three Atlantique MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] immediately set off for the launch point. They swarmed and dropped a mixture of passive and active sonobuoys. With so many assets in the hunt, a submarine detection was inevitable. Torpedoes were dropped on a Juliett-class sub that tried to evade in vain. The sonobuoys detected an explosion and an oil slick soon appeared. It was cold consolation to the crews of the two missile boats.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2861/tornadovisit9zx.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tornadovisit9zx.gif)
The Marineflieger crews from Jagel were simply amazed at the number of targets on the Baltic. It was almost sensory overload. The raid commander decided to attack the air-defence ships first and concentrated on a Kresta II cruiser. She was overwhelmed by six Komoran AshM [Anti-Ship Missiles]. However, the commander immediately recognized his error. By concentrating on the most threatening vessel to his aircrews, he had neglected attacking the far more dangerous Tarantul- and Osa-class missile boats. The Styx and Sunburn missiles on those ships were far more capable than the missiles aboard the ships of the Bundesmarine. Arggh! Hopefully, he would be able to correct his error when he returned in six hours time. Meanwhile, the Bundesmarine would simply not be able to approach until the longer-ranged missile platforms were silenced.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/5355/migsmigsandmoremigs0ou.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=migsmigsandmoremigs0ou.gif)
The air battle over Lubeck Bay was fast and furious. One Falcon pilot reported, “MiGs coming out of every orifice!†He was partially right. There were MiGs and Sukhois ground attack fighter-bombers intermixed, but few fighters were present. Finally, the pilot thought, and easy mission. The Fitters and Floggers were meat on the table and easily slaughtered, but it was like stamping on bugs. It seemed that no matter how many were shot down, more managed to appear.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/3338/theyshallnotpass3ir.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=theyshallnotpass3ir.gif)
Once the Marineflieger squadrons were re-armed, they, along with the Danish Draken, proceeded to strip away the Osas, Nanuchkas, Tarantuls so that the Bundesmarine missile boats could penetrate. Once the screening forces were swept away, the speedy German missile boats raced in and delivered their deadly wares against the ASW screen. As holes were opened in the defences, the diesel submarines silently crept into the formations and ravaged the transports from within. Thousands of soldiers died as torpedoes ripped in the Frosch and Polnocny transports. Wolf pack tactics would prove, once again, successful.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2026/bloodybornholm0dd.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bloodybornholm0dd.gif)
The Warsaw Pact forces were decimated. Later, the historians would call it “The Battle of Bloody Bornholmâ€. Bodies would wash up on her shores for weeks afterwards. However, although severely bloodied, the Danish and German forces would deny the Warsaw Pact access to the North Sea.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/9471/modernwolfpack6fv.th.gif (http://img471.imageshack.us/my.php?image=modernwolfpack6fv.gif)
Many thanks for an interesting and challenging scenario.
Danish linguistic assistance for this provided by Rasmus.
Posted at hh (http://www.harpoonhq.com/harpoon3/scenarios_1960-79/).