Slitherine

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Starting from 1878 back when the Treaty of Berlin offered it to Romania and until today, this piece of rock has played various roles that have reflected the interests of the countries in the region. After being a simple location for a lighthouse used for guiding navigation, it became a strategic point for the USSR, the latter annexing it in 1948 through a simple handing over minute, out of the desire to complete its control of the Danube by taking advantage of the military and strategic context of that time. After the fall of the Soviet Empire when it became part of Ukraine, the latter being USSR's successor state, the island has changed its nature and even its importance, with its statute now having major implications in establishing and delimitating [sic] Romania's and Ukraine's territorial seas and continental shelf. And those implications stem from the perspective and goal of exploiting the area's reserves of more than ten million tones of oil and 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The basic treaty between the two countries, a treaty that Romania signed on June 2, 1997 under pressure to fulfil the border stability criteria needed to join NATO, has re-opened the issue in the context of subsequent border delimitation [sic] negotiations.

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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.

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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.

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ORIGINAL: hermanhum

Nice AAR.  Always good to know the view from an impartial observer.  

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Halfway through 2008, Europe started to realize that the Asian nations' sustained economic growth would eventually lead to a strong new powerhouse. Asian countries already built or bought several very effective carriers and, with China laying down both a 45000 ton and a 96000 ton aircraft carrier, Europe decided that carriers would become critical in the future.
While England's 2 new carriers are still years away, the time was ripe for some serious exercise.

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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.

Although war at sea has been raging for several days, many merchant ships have not yet made it to safe haven. Additionally, many NATO warships have not yet organized themselves into task forces. There is a race between NATO combatants to shepherd the scattered merchantmen to port and Soviet submarines to sink as many of these merchantmen as possible.

During the night of May 14th, 1982, SAS commandoes intended to attack the airfield on Pebble Island. The raid was to be carried out via helicopter from HMS Hermes, which had detached from the CVBG during the night to steam towards Pebble Island with a small escort.

While the force was still 6 hours away from their attack, American SIGINT was received which indicated that the Argentine aircraft carrier "de Mayo" had evaded British submarines and entered the 200nm exclusion zone.

A unique carrier battle was now brewing....

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A British ASW group, operating to the north of Iceland, is being attacked by a Soviet anti-surface group.

This scenario was inspired by the situation described in the Harpoon scenarios for miniatures (version 3) from Game Designers' Workshop.

This scenario has not been publicly released, but is available on AoA’s ANW MP server.

From: CinCLant
To: Capt, USS Stark
Info: Capt, USS Stout
Subj: Allied Training Exercise - Matrix Siege

1. Commence exercise receipt this message. Observe the time limit strictly.

2. Objective: Safe transit of your group past island of Laeso.

3. OpFor Estimated as:

3.1 Up to fifteen small vessels (PT and FFL classs) arrayed to opposed your transit. The majority are assets of Germany and Kingdom of Denmark.

3.2 OpFor is armed with Exocet and and Penguin.

After the surprise Argentine invasion of the Falklands Islands, the British Defence ministry urgently ordered available Royal Navy units to the area.A mixed destroyer/frigate squadron with attached support ships had just finished operation Springtrain around Gibraltar.

On April 16th, this group was the first to enter the waters around the Falklands.Argentina, meanwhile, was using her navy to reinforce the garrison in the Malvinas and to establish a blocking force for any early British units.

The theme is a historical fictional World War III set about 1990. The forces of the post-Soviet post-capitalist states, which formerly made up the Soviet Union, in conjunction with SE Asian allies, are attempting to influence the world by force.

The Soviets have successfully captured ports along the coast of Norway and neutralized Iceland. Now, they are attempting to reinforce their new possessions in order to weather the inevitable NATO storm. NATO is trying to make their efforts a little less successful.

The GIUK gap is one of the most important pieces of naval real estate in the world. These straits connect the Norwegian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Because NATO owns it, Soviet forces will have to run through a barrier of ASW defenses before they can reach their targets in the Atlantic. At the beginning of the war, the Soviets are surging large numbers of submarines through the GIUK gap. It is vital to the Soviet that they get through to attack NATO convoys and naval forces operating in the Atlantic. It is easier for NATO to find and destroy these subs before they reach the open ocean. If NATO can erect a barrier of units here, they can catch some of the Soviet subs trying to get into the Atlantic to attack the units operating there. NATO will use submarines, maritime patrol aircraft, and surface ships to destroy these subs. Some Soviet subs, possibly damaged or with their torpedoes and missiles expended, will be moving north. These units are valuable to the Soviets, but not as valuable as the combat-ready subs moving south.

During the night of May 14th, 1982, SAS commandoes intended to attack the airfield on Pebble Island. The raid was to be carried out via helicopter from HMS Hermes, which had detached from the CVBG during the night to steam towards Pebble Island with a small escort.

While the force was still 6 hours away from their attack, American SIGINT was received which indicated that the Argentinean aircraft carrier Veinticinco de Mayo had evaded British submarines and entered the 200nm exclusion zone.

A unique carrier battle was now brewing....

Iceland is a vital base for NATO anti-submarine and air defense operations. Soviet bombers operating in the Norwegian Sea or trying to reach the Atlantic can be attacked by patrol planes based at Keflavik. It is critical to the Soviets to stop these operations against them by the NATO forces based in Iceland. They will do this either by using bomber raids to reduce the effectiveness of these forces or attempting to take control of the island. Since Iceland has no armed forces of its own, and strictly limits the armed forces of the NATO countries that occupy Keflavik, an assault by Soviet forces is probable.

LOCATION : NW PACIFIC, COASTAL SEATTLE
DATE/TIME: 12 FEBRUARY 1985, 06:00:00 ZULU

With the first war shots, DEFCON ONE status was automatic. Every submarine in the inventory that was capable of getting underway left port for the greater safety of the open sea. Only those boats with mechanical deficiencies remained docked, to leave when their problems were fixed. As a part of standing plans, all the assets of the United States Coast Guard were folded into the Navy's TOE, to be employed in such a way as to free regular Navy assets for higher priority missions. Their mission: sanitize the area around the sub bases, allowing the remaining subs to get to open water.