Hidden and Dangerous 2 After Action Report

Operation Sea Wolf - Steam Piping



After a long and challenging mission in Africa, my SAS team and I are immediately called upon to carry out a new assignment. Unlike our past missions, this one is to be a totally clandestine action. We are headed for Norway. Apparently a German battleship as well as her minesweeper escort have settled into a small, secluded inlet. The battleship has been identified as the Tirpitz, a German warship that has been causing nothing but trouble for the allies. We have been given three main objectives to complete for this night time mission.

-plant magnetic mines on the Tirpitz's and the minesweeper ship's hull
-recover a German "Enigma" machine
-do not alert the Tirpitz's crew

The first objective is fairly straight forward. However, we are in Norway in the middle of winter, its night, and we'll be starting this mission from the inlet's frigid waters. Therefore, the simplest of tasks are potentially fatal when accompanied by these conditions. We must not let our guard down for one moment.

The second objective is a bit more interesting. We have orders to board the minesweeper and then begin a search for an encoding machine that intelligence has confirmed is on board the vessel. What's more, we absolutely must not alert the crew of the Tirpitz lying adjacent to the minesweeper. If the crew of the minesweeper is able to set off a warning siren or to send out a message to the Tirpitz, our mission is a failure. Locating and retrieving that Enigma machine is of the greatest importance. So stealth is priority in this operation.

Once we've recovered the Enigma, we are to proceed to extraction and escape on the disguised Norweigan fishing boat that dropped us off.

Commander's Comments: I have just recieved Lieutenant Basil Elliott's team selection requests. Though I expressed to him my concerns, (Basil and the men he has chosen for this mission are long over due for a much deserved respit) Basil insisted that Second Lieutenants Broadhurst, Dean, and Harris join him for Operation Sea Wolf. Reluctantly but relieved, I accepted his request. This team has already made our Artic and African operations a success. I knew that they would be the best group for this highly sensative mission.

We are in position and we've just been given the green light. We know the plan and we know our objectives. Lets get to it. Good luck men and God bless!

Once we hit the water, we check eachother's equiptment and gear and everyone is a go.



We then proceed to the minisubs that were provided to us for this mission. These little subs will conserve our much needed energy. We could swim it, but its actually a greater distance than it appears. Besides, we need every ounce of our energy and concentration once we infiltrate the minesweeper.

We waste no time, and in a matter of minutes, we set all required magnetic mines not only on the Tirpitz's hull, but also onto the hull of the minesweeper.



Okay. We are in postion at the minesweeper ship and are ready for boarding. I take a deep breath to clear my mind and then carefully begin my ascent up the ship's crew ladder.

Okay, we have our first contacts. I watch as an officer and sentry exchange words. Amongst the darkness that shrouds the officer's face, I can just barely make out a tiny, bright orange point of light. I assume he's on a smoke break. Though because of the temperature out here, I can't tell when its smoke or breath as he exhales.



With the two now finished with their conversation and moving on, I see my window of oportunity. I quickly scale the rest of the ladder and onto the deck. Before I could gather my bearings, I spot another sentry off to my right. Just as he became aware of my presence and started for his weapon, I hastily draw a bead on him and kill him. That was too close.



I quickly dispose of the body and gather my team on the ship's stern. I will leave Dean and Harris here at this position to provide covering fire and observation. From here, they will be able to watch any activity on the upper decks. Plus their rifles have better range to be able to dispatch any targets that might emerge from the ship's upper levels. Off the ship's starboard is our constant reminder that stealth is a must.



Me and Broadhurst ditch our aqualungs and flippers so that we can move more quickly. I make the first move towards the upper decks. I can see more guards on the ship's bow but my plan is to start topside and work my way down.



As I sneak to the middle deck, starboard side just avoiding another guard, I hear an unusual muffled sound. Instantly I hear another sound of something coming down the steps. To my suprise, its the body of a guard falling down the stairs. Either Dean or Harris must have seen my position and saw that I was about to have company. I'm fortunate to have such skilled team members with me.




After dispatching yet another guard, I signal Broadhurst to enter the middle deck cabin from the right side as I enter from the left. The hatch is open. This is the door that I saw that first officer appear from and then dissappear into. We approach cautiously.



With both of us inside the cabin, we shut the hatches. I don't want anyone who might be in here having a chance to get out. No matter what, anything that happens in this room will stay in this room. Though at times it seems that our nerves are hanging by a thread and that they might get the better of us, I'm confident in knowing that our training keeps that thread from coming undone. I approach a room and have a look while Broadhurst covers me.



Okay. We have one contact, I repeat, one contact in the room. Its that officer that I saw earlier. Thankfully he's by himself studying over some charts. Broadhurst and I enter........ I cover the door and give Broadhurst the signal to take out the officer quietly........







Broadhurst was able to carry out my order without much struggle. With this room cleared, I opened the last hatch in this room which apparently leads to the outside and bow of the ship. I spotted and dispatched one guard on the bow's lower deck and one more guard that was just outside my doorway. I heard another muffled sound as, once again, Dean or Harris eliminated the last of the lower deck sentries. With this level cleared, Broadhurst and I head downstairs to the lower deck hatches. We entered another series of rooms that were clear of threats. But still no sign of the Enigma. We must persevere and check every cabin on this ship if needs be.....

I think we're getting close. We are approaching the last hatches, and as I check the door, Broadhurst covers me. I open the door only to discover a hallway and another set of doors. Almost as soon as I entered the hallway, I saw a shadow approaching from my right. Another guard! As he rounds the corner I raise my weapon and quickly dispatch him. Quick and silent, he never knew what hit him. The stealth required by this mission would be impossible without these silenced Sten guns that we have in our inventory. They proved themselves useful back in Operation Snowball, but in this operation, they are proving themselves to be invaluable.




With that threat down, we approach an officer's cabin. Its empty save for an unfinished game of chess.

My German isn't up to snuff, but this looks to be the general mechanics' room? I opened the door only to find who I assume is the head mechanic for the ship. Either he's had one to many nips this cold night or he's exhausted. I silently enter, keeping both eyes trained on the contact. We have a task to do and I can't leave loose ends. While Broadhurst keeps watch, I take him out. We move on. The Enigma must be close.





Okay I think we have something here. The captain's quarters. We both approach cautiously.



I open the door which then leads to another door. Through the crack I can see wood paneling. I slowly open the door all the way.



I walk through the doorway being careful not to make a sound. But its no use. The ship's captain is sitting right in front of me reading his paper. I point my weapon and shout what little German I can. "Hände oben"!! I think...I hope I just told him "hands up". Even if I said the wrong thing, my tone should have told him what I meant. Unfortunately he resisted, flipping his desk over for cover. Not a good position for me as there is only one way into and out of this room and I don't have any sort of cover now that I am standing in the room's entrance. The only thing I can do is quickly unload a clip in his direction. I'm lucky once again, eliminating the captain in a spray of lead. With one less obstacle in my search for the Enigma, I press into the room.







I find the captain's stateroom and open the door. There to greet me is the elusive "Enigma" machine. We've been on this ship too long as it is so I grab the encoding machine and swiftly leave the captain's room behind.



Broadhurst and I retrace our steps out of the belly of the ship and its cramped labyrinth of metalic caves. As rude as it was having our faces bitten by the piercing Norweigen winter, Broadhurst and I are happy to be topside again. Dean and Harris were still faithfully in position keeping watch as Broadhurst handed me my aqualung and flippers. Refitted, we both, along with Dean and Harris, depart the ship the same way we had arrived. The mission has almost come full circle now. However, this for me is probably the most nerve wracking part of a mission. We've met our objectives to the best of our abilities, we've done our best to fullfill our duties, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, yet mission failure can be but a whisper away. Its all to easy to let your guard down especially as this stage in the mission. So I forced my mind back into the state that it was in when I climbed the first rung of this ladder at the start of the operation.



We drive the minisubs back to the disguised fishing boat we came in on and climb aboard. All of us are severly exhausted but we stay disciplined...we stay attentive.



As our transport steamed out of the inlet, I nodded to the demolitions man we had onboard and he dissappeared into the fishing boats' cabin. A few moments later, explotions could be heard as the magnetic mines we had set earlier were detonated.





Mission Success

Broadhurst keeps sort of a journal of our mission experiences. He started it way back when our little gang was in SAS training together. The other fellas kid him all the time about it. They like telling other operatives that Broadhurst hides a diary under his pillow. Broadhurst plays along with the other's joking, but in all seriousness, the four of us have an understanding. I guess you could call it a ritual, but every now and then, Broadhurst will bring out his journal. He'll start from the beginning and read through to the last entry. He'll then hand it over to Dean or Harris the very next night and they'll do the same. Then they'll give it to me and I likewise will do the same. If we complete another mission and Broadhurst writes an entry for it, we will repeat this cycle again, starting from the beginning and reading through to the last entry. Its our way of silently reflecting on where we've been and what we've seen and done together as brothers in arms. Its also our humble reminder of how the hand of Providence has carried us through time and time again and how He has kept us safe.
Until the next entry my friends.......

That's a great mission!!

Have you been able to get frequent kills with the knife in the game? I've found it to be damn difficult.

Nice AAR! One of those games I have but never got around to finishing.

Thanks fellas. Didn't realize doing the AAR would take so long. Must have spent 4 or 5 hrs on it. I also don't have a real Word program on the pc right now so please forgive any spelling errors. I know they are there.

Yes Panzer I agree this is a great mission. Its probably one of my favorites. Just the whole setting and the way the mission is set up is neat. I wish someone would make a Navy SEAL game full of these types of missions. I think one of the things that makes H&D2 such a great game are all the details. One of those being sounds. The sounds in this game have always been great and somehow unique compared to other games, from the sound of reloading your weapon to the sound of your clothing and equiptment.

Hey Panzer, yes I've had trouble to in the past setting up knife kills. It took me some time to figure it out. In past attempts, I would sneak up on someone, thinking I was good to go, only to find my character only slashing at the bad guys back which would only alert them. I'm pretty sure the trick is you have to: One-sneak up on them at the absolute slowest speed you can move and Two-hold down the fire button and it completes the kill as sort of an action.

Wonderful AAR. Enjoyed it very much.

Excellent game. I have never been able to get through the "Spaghetti Airport" mission. I'd enjoy a AAR of that.

Cool, I've never heard of this title. Looks kind of similar to Splinter Cell. I'll have to check it out.

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Hidden & Dangerous 2 is an EXCELLENT game and its probably the finest military tactical squad shooter I've ever played. I highly recommend it.

I think Coot has made me want to reinstall H&D 2 so when I play that mission, I'll be sure to post an AAR.