AAR: Alone in the Snow [Spoiler Alert]
A Harpoon3 scenario for the PlayersDB
By Herman Hum




Rodrigo Flores was just finishing up a hard week's work when we linked up and decided on a game of ANW. We decided to try one of the latest scenario releases for the PlayersDB, "Alone in the Snow". The scenario depicts a Russian attack on "neutral" Sweden. Rodrigo played the Russians while I played the Swedes.

As the designer of this scenario, I had a slight advantage since I had an idea of the overall Order of Battle. Luckily, Rod chose the side that I would have deemed more powerful and thus evened out the match.



I had three operational airbases and numerous targets to protect. As is usual on the defensive, I had insufficient assets to cover them all. I decided to focus on Visby Island as it was the most likely target. Sure enough, enemy planes began their approach. I intercepted the first flight of four (Floggers?) with four Viggen at low level. They stayed at low altitude before climbing to the attack just as they came into range. It was the case of the classic ambush and all four bogies were splashed with no Swedish losses and Alpha flight congratulated themselves as they sped back to Visby to re-arm.

As is often the case in war, the hunters can quickly become the hunted. Beta flight came in to relieve the departing Viggen and got a wholly unpleasant reception. This time, all four were shot out of the air well beyond the range of their own SkyFlash missiles. They were quickly avenged by Delta flight, but it did not assuage the feeling of sadness from the loss of their comrades. Delta flight also lost two planes in the melee. The score was now 6:6. Unfortunately, I knew that the Russians had a LOT more planes in the barn.



As the bulk of my air patrols congregated around Visby Island, Karlskrona suddenly reported an inbound air raid! No interceptors were within range, so all I could do was grit my teeth and bear it. The air base was hammered violently. On their egress, a flight of 6 Viggen managed to catch the mixed group of Fulcrum and Fitters from Peenemunde and decimated them. The two survivors were able to exact a token of revenge, too. One Viggen caught an Aphid missile in the port side just as she was turning to flee after expending her missiles.

A lull ensued as both sides re-armed and re-fueled. I ordered my air patrols to stay at low altitude. Ground intercept radar could clearly see an A-50 Mainstay loitering over Kaliningrad and I didn't want to present any targets for the swarms of Flankers and Fulcrum circling over the Baltic unless I had to do so. Soon enough, I was forced to reveal my patrols as teams of Flankers and Fulcrum started edging nearer.



Several were ambushed without loss. As the interceptors raced back to base for re-armament and re-fueling, a veritable swarm of helicopters was spotted hugging the deck and approaching Visby. After dining on Fulcrum and Flanker as the main course, the pilots were ecstatic in their discovery of "dessert" and tore into the helpless transports with RB-74 Sidewinders and aerial gunnery passes. Nearby patrols of Flankers tried in vain to protect the helos, but they were just too far away. The entire assault force was cut to ribbons.

At this point, Rodrigo suggested that he was no longer able to achieve his victory conditions as he had no more ground attack assets. While this might have been reasonable if he was playing a computer opponent, the fact that he was playing a human allowed him to continue. A military maxim states that, "When you are no longer able to achieve victory, the definition of victory changes to the prevention of your enemy from achieving victory." Rod certainly had more than enough assets remaining to make my life miserable.

At this point, we decided to save the game in hopes of finishing it this weekend. Thanks to Rodrigo for a fun match to this point and to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

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Rodrigo and I managed to get in another round of combat over the Baltic. After suffering a few crashes while starting up the game, we finally managed to pick up where we left off.

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I was settling into a nice pace of defense over Visby. I thought that I had the situation well in hand. However, Rod had different ideas. I was able to shoot down the occasional interloper, but Rod discovered that he had an asset of which he was previously unaware - an A-50 Mainstay. Due to communications problems, the Russian AWACS crew had been unable to control the situation. Now that the problem was rectified, Rod started getting proper intercept vectors and there appeared to be no place that I could hide!

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Soon enough, Rod sent his Fulcrums and Flankers over into Swedish air space, once again. The significant difference being their Eye in the Sky was coaching them. I could no longer spring aerial ambushes from low level any longer and Rod got maximum use from his long-ranged Alamo weapons. My Gripen fighter-bombers tried in vain to close the distance to fire their own Sidewinders, but most were shot down before their release. The exchange ratio was dreadful as I began to lose 2 or more fighters for every Russian destroyed. And the swarms seemed endless.

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Wave, after wave, of Russian planes broke against the Visby Island defenders and each wave eroded the defences just a little more. The aerial losses were sickening enough, but the expenditure of weapons was extreme. I finally had to abandon Visby air base not due to damage, but due to the fact that all the weapons stored in her ammunition dump had been consumed. His Majesty's air force fell back upon the stores at Bravalla and quickly expended them, too. Only one base remained with any weapons, Soderhamn. I didn't know if I would run out of planes or missiles, first, and the Russian planes seemed endless in their procession.

At this point, we called for a second intermission. Maybe I should have taken the victory when it was first offered...

Rodrigo and I met up to see if we could finish this exciting PlayersDB scenario, "Alone in the Snow". Choowee decided to drop in and watch us fight it out. During our last session, Rod had beaten me back from Visby Island. It was not such a great loss as all the available ammo had already been depleted.

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As His Majesty's forces re-grouped around Bravalla, an uneasy standoff ensued. The Russian Floggers lacked sufficient range to effectively challenge me for aerial superiority over Bravalla and I had no planes armed with long-ranged missiles to challenge him over Visby Island. The odd Fulcrum ventured too far over the Swedish mainland and got jumped by flights of Gripen, but both sides were, apparently, catching their breath.

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However, Rodrigo turned out to be a cunning tactician. As he maintained his combat air patrols over Visby, several flights of helicopters were flown in behind his screens. As Sweden didn't have an airborne radar system, they were not detected until the last possible moment. Once detected, I was forced to throw all my available combat air patrols into the fray and try to intercept. The Helix B could do considerable damage if left unmolested.

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Unfortunately, Rod had laid out his plan quite masterfully. By sacrificing a pair of Floggers as the first screen, he depleted the SkyFlash loadouts on my Viggen. When they finally broke through the screen, they only had short-ranged Sidewinders left to face the Flankers and Fulcrum. Two Viggen were lost to long-ranged Alamo missiles with nothing in return. It was a masterful defensive setup.

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I really had no choice but to commit to an uneven battle. While facing incoming Alamo missiles, my Viggen exchanged SkyFlash with the Russians. Again, two Viggen were lost for no commensurate return. While they were engaged with the screens, they could not intercept the defenceless helicopters. Finally, after dreadful losses, one flight fought their way through to engage the ground assault elements. Sadly, they were only able to shoot down one helo and a defending fighter before they, themselves, were brought down by super lethal AA-11 Archer.

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After shooting down the remaining Helix B attack force at tremendous cost to themselves, the men of the Swedish air arm simply had no more to give. The Russian planes swarmed over the Baltic like a swarm of angry Yellow-Jacket hornets just outside of a screen door. Out of planes, ammo, and luck, the Swedes retired northward as the game ended in a draw. The severe mauling of the Swedish forces prevented Swedish victory and the lack of surviving ground attack assets prevented the Russians from sufficiently reducing Visby air base. A tremendous game was played by Rodrigo. Thanks for the match and thanks 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.

Rodrigo and I had another electronic showdown on the electronic seas, this weekend. This time, we clashed in the Norwegian Sea while playing "Nordkapp" by Freek Schepers. This scenario was written for the PlayersDB. Rod played as the Russians hunting for a small amphibious group and I took the Dutch side.

I was ordered to evacuate a small task group centred on the LPD Rotterdam after she had finished disembarking her Marines in Northern Norway. She was under escort by the FFGs Zeven de Provincien, de With, and PTM Orn.

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The first sign sign of the enemy was in the form of a helicopter's radar signature. Since I knew that these short-ranged aircraft had to operate from ships, I knew that there had to be a surface combatant hunting us. Fortunately, Rod underestimated the power and range of the Standard missiles carried aboard the Zeven. All it took was one to blind mine enemy's eyes. :p

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Stinging from the lost of his first helo, others followed more cautiously. Both sides launched their SSM attacks piecemeal and they were summarily brushed off by the powerful SAM defences from both sides. PTM Orn managed to close with the enemy and deliver her Penguin SSMs, but she was detected and summarily executed while making her dash for safety. The lousy missile performance by both sides resulted in each player violating his Rules of Engagement and we each killed a neutral vessel.

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However, my orders were not to destroy the enemy. Instead, I was to screen Rotterdam as she made her escape southwards. In this, I was successful and was awarded victory as Rotterdam managed to "slip out the back door" whilst everyone else was engaged.

Thanks to Freek for another fun PlayersDB scenario, Rod for being a willing and patient opponent, and 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.

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Here's an excellent After Action Report by Ralf Koelbach. It is re-printed here with at the request of the author.

Here's another excellent After-Action Report by Ralf Koelbach. It is re-printed here at the request of the author.


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MP has been somewhat quiet, but the community welcomed another member last night. JaTB (a.k.a. Norbert) came onto the Server looking for an opponent. Even though he bought the game last year, he hasn't had time to play it until now.

We started off with Dawn Patrol re-made for the PlayersDB. His baptism of fire as the Russians was short and brutal. JaTB revealed his position by radiating his radar and was rewarded by a salvo of Penguin SSMs. We switched sides and tried again. This time, he learned very quickly and we totally sank each other's forces.

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We then moved on to Power Sweep, by Dave Steinmeyer. Norbert is quite an experienced naval wargame player and has experience with Dangerous Waters, Fleet Command, and Janes and it showed. He certainly drove a mean submarine. His Victor II was pursued by 4 Spearfish torpedoes and he managed to dodge them all. Thank goodness I had a fifth one...

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All in all, it was a fine evening of combat on and under the seas. Thanks for some fun games, JaTB, 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.

JaTB (a.k.a. Norbert) is on vacation. How better to pass the time than playing Harpoon ANW head-to-head?

We finished off the previously saved scenario, Power Sweep re-made with the favorite database of Harpoon ANW, the PlayersDB.

When we last signed off, I had just sunk his SSN Victor II with a volley of Spearfish torpedoes. We were matched up with SSGN Charlie and Tango vs. SSN Superb and SSK Kunna. SSN Superb moved in to collect the Charlie when all of a sudden, my world turned upside down.

Sonar reported a transient from the Charlie and soon afterwards, SSN Superb just disappeared. Damn! I've just been on the receiving end of an SS-N-15 Starfish Nuke! When dealing with nukes, close is close enough. :cry:

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Now, I only had SSK Kunna against two Russian subs; short odds, indeed. However, luck did smile upon me when the Tango sped up and revealed her previously hidden location. This earned her a spread of Tp61 torpedoes which caught her as she tried to evade.

Although I was still facing a nuclear-armed Charlie, I was fairly confident that he had not been able to counter-detect me so I crept in close before launching a full salvo of every remaining torpedo in my tubes. If I was going to go up in a ball of nuclear fire, I wanted to be certain to take him with me! Luckily, he was too busy trying to evade to return fire and the torpedoes caught him at maximum depth. Another great end to another great scenario.

Thanks to HarpGamer for hosting the server and to Dave Steinmeyer for the scenario.

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.

JaTB (a.k.a. Norbert) and I decided to try a few more scenarios made with the favorite database of Harpoon ANW, the PlayersDB.

We tried to run Flaming Datum, but ANW is just too slow on the calculations. Even though the number of units was relatively small, the size of the map was the Gulf of Alaska.

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Instead, we decided to play a PlayersDB classic, Nordkapp with me as NATO against the Russians. I was trying to evacuate an amphibious force from Northern Norway and he was trying to stop me.

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My little flotilla fled under cover of darkness and EmCon. In a brilliant coup de main, JaTB fired a volley of Sunburn SSMs which caught me flat-footed as two of them slammed into FFG de With. She barely activated her SAM systems in time to shoot down the last two missiles. With half of her flotation destroyed, she was hurting badly. Worst of all, her own Harpoon SSM launcher had been damaged so she could not reply!

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FFG Zeven de Provincien responded for her by slamming a Harpoon salvo into FFG Neustrashimyy to even the score. The PhibRon successfully left the area, but the ViConds would not activate (looks like yet another ANW bug :OHNO: ).

With time remaining in the afternoon, we decided on one more PlayersDB scenario, Matrix Shield. I played the SSK Kilo being hunted by Swedish ASW forces. It was a long game (as most scenarios involving diesel submarines are), but once the action began, it was quite thrilling.

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Norbert had the undesirable task of locating and sinking my Kilo boat. I had a strong lock on his units throughout the game and picked off each hunter one at a time. Luckily, I managed to kill his most effective ASW units, first. FF Kaszub and an FSG Goteborg were the initial victims of my Type 53-65 Wake-Homing torpedoes. Without their sensors, his remaining PTM Hugin were virtually blind. However, the ANW weapons targeting bug kept me from completing my mission and winning the game as torpedo after torpedo ended up chasing after the wrong target when I was trying to claim one more Hugin and victory.

Thanks to Freek Schepers for some great scenarios and 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.

JaTB (a.k.a. Norbert) and I met up to put the ANW Server through her paces, again. We wanted to try a few more scenarios made with the favorite database of Harpoon ANW, the PlayersDB.

We chose to run Matrix Knight. This scenario has not yet been released, but anyone wanting to try it can find it on the HarpGamer ANW Server.

Matrix Knight is an SSBN exercise played from both sides. While hunting an enemy SSBN, you must also protect your own SSBN. I commanded SSN Hartford and SSBN L'Inflexible against similar forces controlled by Norbert.

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Hartford cruised across her patrol zone at a leisurely 10kts hoping to pick up the trail of her quarry while my SSBN crept around her launch area at minimum steerage. Hartford caught a whiff of her prey, first. After a series of course corrections designed to maximize the effiicacy of her Target Motion Analysis, she localized the simulated Delta IV SSBN closely enough that a pair of Mk 48 ADCAP torpedoes were launched. She sat back to await the explosions but was totally surprised when both of them missed! A second volley of 2 ADCAP fared better and the SSBN was caught at a depth of 400m.

The other half of the equation was the safe-keeping of the SSBN L'Inflexible. As she lurked within her launch zone, a transient was soon detected. It turned out to be an old SSN Valiant. As the Valiant appeared to be creeping in search of the SSBN, I decided to creep away in the other direction; hoping that this would preclude him from closing the distance.

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Not long afterwards, sonar reported another contact ahead of me. It turned out to be SSN Swiftsure. Once again, since discretion is the better part of valour, I crept off in a new direction. My launch area measured 50nm by 50nm, so there should be plenty of room to hide. Obviously, he must have caught my scent as the bloodhounds appeared to try and box me in. It was an eerie feeling knowing that my enemy probably detected me but was out of range, as yet.

I let my pursuers close in on me slightly. They had to make more noise than I did in doing so. At maximum torpedo range, I sent a volley of 2 F17 towards Swiftsure. I was hoping that they would have sufficient range, but would be happy if they forced my pursuers to keep their distance. Unfortunately, the sonar suite aboard Switftsure was very alert and detected the launch transients almost immediately. She ran at flank speed (28kts) with 40kt torpedoes in pursuit.

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JaTB also tried a wild new tactic that I had not seen before. He ordered his submarine to the surface in hopes of the torpedoes losing track of him in the surface clutter. I do not know if it worked, but both torpedoes missed. After the evasion, both submarine contacts returned, but at a much slower speed.

Valiant approached from the NE quadrant and got the same reception, a volley of F17 torpedoes in the face, and reacted similarly. He tried the same evasion technique of putting his boat on the surface. There might something to it since both weapons missed, also!

Now, with time running out in the exercise, I had the breathing room necessary. I only had to survive for twelve hours -- only had 30 minutes remained. Norbert's hunters did not get close enough for any further engagement before time expired.

A really fun scenario with a great opponent. Thanks to HarpGamer for the use of the server and JaTB for his cunning and wiles.

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.