hermanhum
Posts: 2209
Joined: 9/21/2005 Status: offline
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Jeronimo Chiecchio (a.k.a. AoA) and I met up for another epic battle. We selected Gatekeeper, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. 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. AoA switched roles from last time and played as NATO while I commanded the Red Banner Fleet forces. I had a whole lotta old Foxtrot diesel subs, a few Victor I-class boats, and a sprinkling of modern vessels like Sierra and Akula. My orders were to debouch into the deep Atlantic basin. I wanted to try and creep into the N. Atlantic, but the time limit would not allow for that so I had to increase speed of most vessels to 10kts. The Foxtrots with their extremely limited underwater range had to snort every few hours. This easily turned them into targets. As soon as they tried to re-charge their batteries in the Denmark Strait, they were set upon by swarms of Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft [MPA] and Sea King helicopters. In quick succession, 3 Foxtrots met their demise followed by a Victor I and then an Echo II missile boat. To say that things sucked would be an understatement. The Denmark Strait turned in to a veritable graveyard for Red Banner boats with only two Foxtrot diesel subs squeaking through to the Atlantic. The Faeroes Gap would start better, but also end with the same result. I thought that I had found a relatively weakly defended point to pass into the Atlantic. So, I sent a number Victors, Akula, and Echo boats through. Once through, I let down my guard and immediately lost boats when they stumbled across a British Oberon-class diesel boat. We exchanged fire and I killed the boat, but it also revealed my presence. Luckily, there appeared to be no MPA nearby to pounce upon my subs. A second group of submarines were passing near Vagar and quickly came to a halt as the leading Victor II attack submarine detected CV Ark Royal in its path. Since it was only 10nm away, I assumed that it had been detected and thus decided to try and destroy this formidable ASW platform. I had already lost too many submarines making it impossible for me to fulfill my orders. Following a few miles behind the Victor was an Oscar SSGN. Both submarines opened fire with a full salvo hoping to knock out the carrier. The British SAM defence was superb and not a single Shipwreck missile hit. The Type-65 torpedoes fired by the Victor chased, but fell short. The British response was swift and deadly. The Victor ran for her life, but was caught and killed shortly thereafter. Luckily, the Oscar was more distant and had more time for evasion. She was attacked by three torpedoes, but managed to elude them all. The rest of my boats managed to sneak into the Atlantic, but I had lost too many and could not achieve my Victory conditions. AoA also failed to destroy sufficient targets to achieve his and the game ended in a draw. Thanks to AoA for a very enjoyable game and for the use of his server. Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ
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