This scenario is an interpretation of the account from Michael A. Palmer's, "The War that Never Was".
"Northern Fleet headquarters had closely monitored the movements of the Forrestal task force in the Norwegian Sea. Based on the Bakan's reports, Obnorsky's fleet command post at Severomorsk (KPF) vectored two submarines -- an Oscar II-class SSGN and a Victor II-class SSN -- from positions east of Iceland into contact with the Forrestal task force."
Just before the final surrender of Argentine troops in Port Stanley, Britain receives word of frantic activity at Argentina's nuclear facilities.
The US Air Force Space Command reports the test firing of a Condor II Argentine Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile has taken place with the missile passing over the Argentine tracking station in Kings Bay, Antarctica.
Britain decides that it must act to preempt desperate last-minute Argentine actions.
'The Soviets have laid thousands of mines to protect the SSBN bastion and to attack NATO submarines trying to sink Russian ships in home waters. A few minefields are laid out as "snorkeling-havens:" boxes with one way in and out, known only to the Russians. Since a snorkeling sub is noisy, it can attract unwelcome attention, but this way it can proceed to one of these havens, snorkel, then proceed back to its station. Friendly fighters overhead protect against ASW aircraft and surface ships. A British submarine is going to try and make one haven a little less safe.'
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.
The success of the invasion would depend largely on the British ability to re-supply the beachhead; dependant upon a supply line stretching 8000nm between the UK and the Falklands and maintained by 50 ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and a selection of leased merchant ships whose crew were being paid 150% danger pay.
The coast of Norway is made up of fjords and islands with high, rocky coasts. This is a perfect place for small surface craft to operate because the rock walls make them hard to spot on radar, and the short detection ranges make their smaller SSMs more useful than in the open ocean. Additionally, there are so many fjords and other places to hide such that no navy can afford enough large craft to do the job.
This scenario is an interpretation of the account from Michael A. Palmer's, "The War that Never Was".
"Codenamed RINOK-CAD, the Soviet plan was designed to break the Lyngen position by preventing NATO reinforcement of the Fortress region and enveloping the left flank of the Norwegian defenses. The RINOK forces included the 76th Guards Airborne division, the Leningrad Military District's Air Assault Brigade (LAAB), and the 63rd Marine Brigade. The drop of the 76th Guards at Bodo would prevent the movement of reinforcements north along the E6 from southern Norway. The LAAB would seize the airfield at Evenes and the bridge at Skanland which connected the mainland to Hinnoy Island. The five battalions of the 63rd Marine Brigade would land on Hinnoy and capture the port of Harstad, link up with the air assault brigade, and mount a division-sized drive that would threaten both the port of Narvik and the airbase at Bardufoss. Soviet frontal aviation assets would attack northern Norwegian airbases both to reduce the sortie rate of NATO interceptors and to prevent the movement of reinforcements by air into the Fortress region. The Soviet Northern Fleet, after escorting the Marine Brigade to Harstad, would establish at least temporary control in the northern Norwegian Sea and prevent the landing of NATO amphibious forces in north Norway."
During the early part of a Soviet-initiated naval war, Soviet submariners can be expected to declare open season against coastal shipping off the U.S. East Coast. U.S. ports, base, and airfields would also be subject to attack from these units. These attacks can tie up valuable NATO ASW resources which are badly needed elsewhere.
"StaNavForLant is NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic. With the creation of the FES, it was used as a test group for integrating the operations of the ships belonging to the individual FES navies. StaNavForLant normally consists of five to six frigates, one from each NATO country, and an auxiliary ship. As the Soviets mobilized, StaNavForLant was assigned to the North Sea in search of a reported submarine.
The Soviets have also decided to assign a unit to StaNavForLant."
This scenario was inspired by the situation described in the "Battles of the Third World War" compilation from Game Designers' Workshop.
This scenario is an interpretation of the account from Michael A. Palmer's, "The War that Never Was".
"Soviet anti-carrier doctrine called for coordinated strikes by surface groups, submarines, and land-based Soviet naval aviation forces. Badgers and Backfires would launch their air-to-surface missiles at maximum standoff range -- 100 to 250 miles. Soviet surface ships, in sensor contact with the American task force, would provide terminal guidance and direct the missiles to their targets. These surface ships, along with missile-armed Soviet submarines, would simultaneously launch attacks of their own. Combined action would thus flood American air, missile, and gun defenses, even the vaunted Aegis system, and destroy the targets.
Unfortunately, in the Eastern Mediterranean combined action was impossible. The Soviet Defense Council had decided, at the recommendation of the Ministry of Defense, that the war would start at 0300 hours, central European time (0400 in the eastern Mediterranean)."
"P-3s are used not only for ASW patrol, but also for detecting, tracking, and attacking surface contacts. They are the only platform with the range and sensors to track surface units in open ocean. In this engagement, a P-3 attacks a surface formation it has previously located."
This scenario was inspired by the situation described in the "Battles of the Third World War" compilation from Game Designers' Workshop.
This scenario is an interpretation of the account from Michael A. Palmer's, "The War that Never Was".
"For the Spanish Navy, the Third World War began at 1040, when five Descubierta-class frigates of the 21st Squadron from Cartegena detected a Tango-class diesel south of Majorca."
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 an interpretation of the account from Michael A. Palmer's, "The War that Never Was".
"At 2300 on 13 July, the Soviet intelligence ship Zond had reported the departure from Rota of V.Adm. Joaquin Luis Martin-Ortega Grupo Aeronaval Alfa -- a task force that included the carrier Principe de Asturias and three Santa Maria (Perry)-class frigates. The Black Sea KPF immediately vectored two Soviet submarines that were in the Atlantic about 200 miles west of Rota -- a Foxtrot-class diesel, and a nuclear-powered Charlie II -- into position for attacks on the Spanish force."
NATO's southern Atlantic sea lane enters the Mediterranean to provide reinforcements to southern NATO countries. Although this sea lane takes longer to travel than the direct route across the Atlantic, NATO considers its to be less prone to attack due to its greater distance from Soviet air and submarine bases.
"After the first two weeks of the war, NATO planners had begun to worry about the submarine exchange ratio. It was higher than expected, and there was very little difference between the loss rates of the first- and second-line subs. No new weapons or equipment had been discovered, so the planners assumed that Soviet tactics were the cause.
It has long been standard procedure for the Soviets to operate their boats in pairs. Several of the first-line boats that had been lost were last seen in an area where two Soviet boats were detected. As a test, two NATO submarines are being sent out together."
This scenario was inspired by the situation described in the "Battles of the Third World War" compilation from Game Designers' Workshop.
Soviet submarines are a grave threat to NATO plans to re-supply Europe. For Soviet submarines to get to the convoy routes, they must pass through the narrows around Iceland. It is here that NATO can concentrate its outnumbered ASW forces in an attempt to catch and kill Soviet submarines as they make their transit to and return from the convoy routes of the North Atlantic.
NATO forces in Norway require re-supply of war materials to continue resisting Soviet ground forces. These supplies can only be transported in sufficient quantity by sea. It is as important to NATO to get their merchant ships into port and unloaded as it is to the Soviets to sink the cargo before delivery.
On May 1, 1982 Exocet missiles fired by Argentine Air Force Super-Etendard aircraft sank HMS Sheffield and set fire to HMS Invincible. That same afternoon, a full squadron of Mirage IIIE overwhelmed Hermes' Sea Harriers (mostly by forcing them to Bingo) and 8 Navy Skyhawks from CV Veinticinco de Mayo carried out a mission for which they had been training months prior. Flying at very low altitude and using a makeshift datalink to a Russian Tu-142 Bear MPA circling the British TF, they knew that the Type 42's Sea Dart missiles cannot lock-on. Using modified Mk83 fuses that explode when dropped from as low as 30m, eight A4s made a devastating attack and put 3x 1000lb bombs through HMS Hermes' flight deck.
After burning for hours, HMS Hermes sank during the night and, with HMS Invincible damaged, the chance of a quick liberation of the Falklands was lost.
Follow-up attacks by Daggers were unopposed by Sea Harriers and damaged 4 more ships the next day. The British Task Force withdrew to the safety of Ascension Island and limited itself to a blockade of the Argentine ports and preventing Argentine re-supply of the Falklands through the nuclear submarines on patrol within the TEZ.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher maintained publicly that the Falklands would never be given up and swore to avenge the hundreds of British casualties. She ordered a crash program to re-commission HMS Bulwark or commission HMS Illustrious with RAF Harriers. To provide early warning and air defense, the UK started discussions with USA, Australia, and Brazil to lease a full-sized aircraft carrier and equip it with Harriers, Phantoms, and/or Gannets if pilots could be found with recent deck landing experience.
By the end of May, Britain presented evidence of the Russian Bear's role in the attack on HMS Hermes and announced the extension of the TEZ to include all Russian forces. In response, Russia started to strengthen their base in Luanda with long-range bombers and sent part of their Indian Ocean squadron to the South Atlantic
"During the weeks of crisis prior to the war's outbreak, British naval forces began assembling into task groups, "just in case the balloon goes up." As part of the process, intensive ASW exercises were held to shake down the units and get them used to working together. In peacetime, such surface forces are often trailed by hostile submarines. Both sides get to practice."
This scenario was inspired by the situation described in the "Battles of the Third World War" compilation from Game Designers' Workshop.
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