AUTHORIZATION CONFIRMED: TRANSMISSION BEGINS

Scenario 1: Vampire!

Background:During the Third Solar War, the NAC held a distinct advantage over the ESU when it came to carrier operations. To compensate for this, the ESU relied on saturation missle attacks to strike at the NAC's carrier fleets. ESU missle ships would race in, launch their missles, and run away, hopefully destroying or damaging enough ships for the follow-on group of beam and torpedo-armed ships to be successful in finishing off the Anglian task force.

In March of 2177, the NAC was embroiled in a bitter struggle for the New Birmingham system. NAC and ESU units had been fighting a bloody battle of attrition in and around the system for almost six months. As things stabilized on other fronts, the NAC was able to dispatch the carrier Bennington and her escorts (Task Force 83.7) to reenforce the defenders of New Birmingham. Realizing the NAC's need for carriers in the area (the fleet carrier Glorious had been severely damaged in a torpedo attack the previous week, leaving just two light carriers, the Ocean and the Princeton in-system), the ESU put together a potent force of missle-cruisers and other combatants to intercept and destroy (or at least drive-off) TF 83.7.

Forces:New Anglian Confederation:

Task Force 83.7, Rear Admiral Sir Germaine Williams commanding

HMS Bennington ,Ark Royal class CV w/2 Interceptor and 5 Attack fighter groups.

HMS Agamemnon,Victoria class BB

HMS San Jacinto ,Aegis class CA

HMS Waterloo,Aegis class CA

HMS Cleopatra,Dido class CLAA

HMS Suffolk,Vandenburg class CA

HMS The Sullivans,Burke class DD

HMS Battleaxe,Ticonderoga I class DD

HMS Ingersoll, Ticonderoga I class DD

HMS Fitch, Perry class FF

HMS Halifax, Perry class FF

Eurasian Solar Union:

Eighteenth Rocket Squadron, Rear-Admiral Vasily Ivanov commanding

Deng Xiaopeng,Deng Xiaopeng class BBG

Vitse Admiral Drozd, Kynda class CG

Shanghai, Kresta class CG

Ochakov, Kresta class CG

Burnny, Sovremenny class DDAA

Marshal Rochenko, Sovremenny class DDAA

Third Battle Squadron, Vice-Admiral Li Zhaouteng commanding

Kirov, Kirov class BCG

Suwon, Kirov class BCG

Talinnin, Gorshkov class CA

Pyongyang, Gorshkov class CA

Grozny,Beijing class CE

Rasputin, Warsaw B class DD

Volga, Novgorod class FF

Krazny Krim, Novgorod class FF

Setup:This a big scenario, and it will need a large table. Set the fleets up at opposite ends (or corners). The ESU missle ships shold be at least 6", but no more than 12" in front of the other ESU ships. Starting velocities are up to the players, but should be between 4-8 for the NAC player, 8-12 for the ESU missle ships, and 6-10 for the rest of the ESU force

Formations are up to the players, but the NAC will probably pack escorts very tightly around the Bennington, especially those with ADAF's.

Special Rules:The NAC has very advanced point and area defense systems (mainly due to the ESU reliance on missles). To simulate this, all NAC area defense systems have a range of 12" instead of 6", and can defend ships up to 8" away instead of 6". They also destroy missles on a roll of 4,5, or 6. NAC point defense systems can attack any target within 6" of the ship they are mounted on, as can C-batteries in anti-fighter mode. PDAF's can also destroy missles on a roll of 5 or 6. C-batteries must still roll a 6. Also, NAC fighter pilots are trained to shoot down missles as they are inbound. Interceptor fighters can attack and destroy missles within 6" in the fighter attack phase. Treat the missles as unscreened for to-hit purposes. A single hit destroys the missle.

Victory Conditions:The NAC must successfully exit Bennington off the opposite edge of the board. If they do this, than they win a decisive victory. However, if Bennington has to take a threshold check, the NAC wins a marginal victory. If she has to take a second threshold check, the game is a draw. If Bennington takes three threshold checks, then the game is a marginal defeat for the NAC (she will have to spend valuable time in the yard before she can see action). If Bennington is destroyed, then it is a decisive defeat for the NAC.

The Real Outcome:The Eighteenth Rocket Squadron misjudged its approach vector and closed with TF 83.7 too slowly, allowing Bennington to launch her fighters. Both of the Krestas were killed by the carrier's fighters early in the engagment, while the Xiaopeng was seriously mauled. The majority of the missles that the Eighteenth did launch were intercepted by TF 83.7's defenses, although three did find Cleopatra, destroying her with all hands.

When the remainder of Bennington's attack squadrons began swarming over the Third Battle Squadron, Vice-Admiral Zhaouteng gave the order to withdraw, but not before losing one of his heavy cruisers to fighters, and a frigate to Agamemnon's AA Batteries.

Admiral Ivanov was stripped of rank and executed after the incident, although Vice-Admiral Zhaouteng was allowed to keep his position for another month. Unfortunately for him, his force was virtually annihilated by the combined air groups of Bennington,Ocean, and Princeton in April. Zhaouteng survived the rout, only to be executed three months later after a public trial for dereliction of duty.

If you have any other engagements that you believe would enhance this center, please contact the commmander of the 31st OS, Rear Admiral James Moore