Turn Two
Objectives
The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was hard pressed in sector Bravo. They were facing the brunt of the Soviet attack, with by far the strongest armed force in their region. BAOR Command wanted to counterattack, but could not do so effectively without close air support. Commander NORTHAG, which commanded the BAOR, called for 3 close air support hits.
Simultaneously, a request came in from CENTAG in sector Foxtrot. Having bloodied the Soviet’s nose, CENTAG wanted to have the West German II Corps counterattack and further reduce the Soviet Forces. CENTAG called for 2 close air support hits to further this mission.
Planning
General Kane believed that it was possible to accomplish the objectives set forth by NORTHAG and CENTAG, with some air wings to spare for other priorities. To maximize the effectiveness of his air wings, Kane would focus on further reducing enemy air defenses. This would free up aircraft to escort Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses missions and other efforts.
General Kane’s recon efforts were again frustrated by aggressive Soviet pursuit of reconnaissance aircraft. That took Follow-on Forces Attacks (FOFAs) and Decapitation Strikes off the table.
Now that NATO was able to bring its forces to bear, it had a new capability to offer General Kane. United States Offensive Electronic Warfare (OEW) aircraft were available, and could jam Soviet communications, harming their ability to effectively intercept NATO attacks. Kane directed the reduced wing of Canadian F-18s, accompanied by a wing of F-16s, to relatively low-risk mission to escort the OEW aircraft. (Automatically successful).
Once the OEW aircraft was in the sky, Kane ordered an Offensive Counter Air raid by a wing of F-111Fs, carrying some of the precious few remaining precision guided munitions. They would be escorted by two wings of F-16s, a wing of Harriers, and a wing of Tornados. (Air Escort: 10, SEAD: 8, Primary (Strike): 8×2 (PGMs)).
Following up on the OCA raid, Kane ordered his wing of F-117A stealth fighters to engage in an effort to destroy enemy air defenses. This would likely do little immediate damage, but would soften up the air defenses for future strikes. (Primary (Strike): 6).
Once the OCA and DEAD raids had been launched, Kane planned to launch CAS raids in Bravo, Foxtrot, and Charlie sectors. The Bravo raid would include two wings of A-10 Warthogs, one of which would be equipped with precision guided munitions. The A-10s would be escorted by an F-15 wing, a Harrier wing, and an F-4F wing. (Air Escort: 8, SEAD: 9, Primary (Ground Attack): 21).
Foxtrot CAS would include a wing of Jaguars and a wing of F-4Fs as primary, supported by an F-15 wing, a Harrier wing, and a Tornado wing. (Air Escort: 8, SEAD: 8, Primary (Ground Attack): 11).
Charlie CAS was the biggest risk. It would be flown by a single reduced wing of Alphas. Air escort would be a single wing of F-16s, and SEAD would be provided by a wing of F-111Es and a wing of Tornados. (Air Escort: 5, SEAD: 6, Primary (Ground Attack): 2).
Resolution
Raids 1, OEW, and 2, OCA: Kane’s OEW efforts supported his OCA raid, which met limited opposition in the air, brushing off a single squadron of SU-27s. Ground defenses were also easily suppressed. The F-111Fs were able to deliver their payload, resulting in extensive damage to the Soviet’s air logistics, including the destruction of a number of fighters on the ground. (3 hits, OCA track moved up to 4).
Raid 3, DEAD: Kane’s F-117As penetrated Soviet radar coverage undetected (again) resulting in limited damage to Soviet air defenses (1 hit, DEAD track still at 0).
Raid 4, Bravo CAS: Bravo CAS launched just before dawn, in an effort to get into position to effectively support the BAOR’s counterattack on the Soviet forces in Hannover. The Soviets managed to detect the incoming fighters, but damage from Kane’s OCA raids limited their ability to get planes in the air. Kane’s F-15s were easily able to handle the aircraft that launched. (Air Escort of 8 vs. Air Intercept 10, -4 for OCA). The strike craft caught Soviet ground based air defenses on the move, and were able to quickly strike Soviet tank columns and artillery before the ground-based air defense cover was fully operational. (SEAD 9 vs. Ground Defense 2). The A-10s were able to unload their PGMs, doing substantial damage to Soviet Ground forces. (4 CAS hits).
Raid 5, Foxtrot CAS: NATO OCA efforts came through again on the Foxtrot CAS raid. While the Soviets had detected the incoming aircraft, they were not able to scramble enough MiG-29s and SU-27s to drive off the raid. (Air Escort 8 vs. Air Intercept 10, -4 for OCA). Ground defenses again posed little threat, and were easily suppressed by the British Harriers. (SEAD 8 vs. Ground Defense 5). The Jaguars and F-4Fs were able to strike Soviet rocket artillery, helping the coming counterattack. (2 CAS hits).
Raid 6, Charlie CAS: The Charlie CAS raid was ill-fated from the start. Poor navigation by the pilots of the Alphas leading the strike team diverted the wings from the mission. By the time they were back on track, the Soviets were aware of the incoming raid. While air defenses were sufficiently suppressed to make little difference, Soviet Ground defenses proved to be too much for the F-111Es and Tornados to suppress. (SEAD 6 vs. Ground Defense 8). The wing of F-16s escorting the strike suffered damage from Soviet SAMs, and the raid was diverted.
Kane’s aircraft accomplished both objectives, resulting in a gain of resources, likely in the form of additional precision guided munitions. (+5 RPs).
Ground Combat
Soviets in Sectors Alpha and Charlie were able to push forward. The Soviet Army in Alpha sector occupied Hamburg, while the Soviet Army in Charlie pushed through the Fulda gap, threatening Frankfurt.
The Soviet Army in Bravo sector, facing heavy CAS attacks by NATO aircraft, was held off by the BAOR, and then forced to retreat after additional CAS strikes. The BAOR retook Hannover, offsetting in some small way the loss of Frankfurt.
NATO armies in Delta and Echo were able to hold off Soviet advances. The West German II Corps in sector Foxtrot saw the most success in CENTAG, as they managed to Counterattack and nearly eliminate the Soviet presence there.
Reinforcements
The Soviet Union effectively abandoned Sector Foxtrot after the successful NATO counter attack. (Shuffle card, no reinforcements, leaving them at cohesion 1). Instead, the Soviets poured resources into the Fulda Gap (Sector Charlie, Cohesion 8), and Sectors Alpha and Bravo (Cohesion 7). Delta and Echo also saw reinforcements, making them relatively formidable (Cohesion 6).
NATO, having mobilized more of its reserves, was able to substantially reinforce the units defending Frankfurt (+6, to cohesion 8), hoping to repel the Soviet’s strong center. The armies in Alpha and Bravo sector also received more limited reinforcements. (Each +1 cohesion, to 4).
The final reserve air wing, a unit of American A-10s, arrived at headquarters. General Kane now possessed a formidable force with which to strike the Soviet Armies.
Events, RPs, and Turn End
The Soviet Union, whose forces had moved to occupy Hamburg, did not expect the organized “stay behind” resistance forces that NATO had seeded Hamburg with. The guerrillas were able to push the Soviet Union out of Hamburg, though it was unlikely that they would be able to hold it for long against a new Soviet Push. (Operation Gladio event retreats one Soviet Force and puts a 1 cohesion NATO unit in its place).
Kane received the full complement of resources from the NATO member nations, and specifically requested additional precision guided munitions (+3 PGMs, costing 9 of 10 RPs).
Kane diverted the damaged Belgian F-16s to be repaired, but kept the reduced Canadian F-18s and Alphas in the line. Soviet efforts to rebuild their logistical network served to reduce NATO progress at eliminating ground and air defenses (DEAD and OCA tracks reduced by 1, to 0 and 2, respectively).
C. F. Kane's Solitaire Games 