PDA

View Full Version : Hamburg Corridor MBX (WW3 1988)


Sunburn
12-18-05, 02:30 PM
Direct massive air & ground operations over Central Europe. Coordinate special forces with intelligence assets, deep strikes and classic mechanised manouver warfare. Stop the Red Tide from overcoming the thin NATO line on the North German Plain. Or take command of entire Soviet armies as you drive your tanks towards Hamburg and the English channel. All of this and much more in the new MBX "Mini-Battle 2: Hamburg Corridor".


What is MB-2: Hamburg Corridor?

Mini-Battle 2 is the second installment in the "Mini Battle" series of MBXs designed to put into test the mechanics and research of the Europe-88 project (http://www.harpoonhq.com/Europe88/. The series uses Harpoon 3, TOAW and SPMBT to model an integrated total-war environment.
The series started with “Mini-Battle 1: Highway to Frankfurt”, a small-scale tactical/operational battle in the Fulda-to-Frankfurt area (AAR here: http://www.harpoonhq.com/Europe88/Mini-Battles/Mini-Battle_1/AAR/aar.html.

Stepping on the success of MB-1, Mini-Battle 2 significantly expands both the scope and feature-set of the battle series, recreating an entire frontal clash in the Hamburg region.
For a detailed FAQ and changes between MB-1 and MB-2, look here: http://www.harpoonhq.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=787

What is the timeline?

The timeline is mid-late 1988.

What forces are included?

Mini Battle - 2 significantly expands the scale of conflict to Corps/Army level. NATO's Northern-most section of the Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) clashes with the Northern Front of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG). The BAOR 1st Corps, US 2nd Armored Division/3rd Brigade, West German 1st Corps plus the Schleswig-Holstein Territorial Command, and the 1st Dutch Corps are pitted against the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Army and East German 5th Army, with both sides receiving their pre-planned reinforcements from east and west. In-place air forces as well as rapid air reinforcements also participate. Both sides have full access to assets such as satellites, spies and other intelligence sources, airborne & air-assault forces, Special Forces, NBC weapons, logistics units etc.

How to join

The forums for the two sides are now active, at the Harpooner's Point forums (http://www.harpoonhq.com/phpBB2/. Players and lurkers can both join. Players are one-side only, lurkers may join only one side or both. But remember if you’re a lurker for both sides and a position comes open, you will not be able to participate. However if you’re a lurker for just one side and a position becomes available for that side you then can join as a player instead of a lurker.
Along with the two private forums there is also a public forum with the orbats, maps, news broadcasts detailing the progress of conflict, supplementary reading material etc.

Do I have to have all these games in order to participate?

No. The players control their forces by issuing orders to the umpires, and receive information on the battle status also from the umpires. Only the umpires actually use the games to simulate the battle.
That said, having Harpoon 3 or especially TOAW helps in having a “second look” for yourself at the situation presented, and making some what-if experiments before issuing your orders. It is, however, not necessary.

Back to the front!

Sunburn
12-18-05, 02:30 PM
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo.gif

MOSCOW, Thursday, July 14 - In what appears to be an unusual diplomatic incident, the Soviet government has openly accused western forces in general and NATO in particular of covertly interfering with its space program.

Although Moscow has repeatedly hinted that the US government has tried to catch up for the lost space ground after the Challenger tragedy through various shady means, it is the first time such convictions are being levelled as public accusations.

Today's statements center around last year's failed first launch of the new and massive "Energia" booster, designed to lift the Soviet space shuttle, itself scheduled to make its first flight later this year. The payload of the fated May 15th, 1987 launch was apparently a modified space module similar to the core component of the Mir space staion, though its exact purpose has not yet been identified. Apparently the payload failed to be correctly inserted into orbit after the launch, resulting in its immediate re-entry into the atmosphere and its destruction on the Pacific waters.

The Soviet Politburo first published a series of accusations earlier this morning directed at what it calls "overt and covert actions directed at disrupting the peaceful space program of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics". These statements were echoed later in the day on an unscheduled session of the Supreme Soviet.

The US administration has yet to issue a formal statement on the Soviet accusations, although unofficial remarks by White House sources claim that the Soviet statements are "a sham" and intended more for internal consumption rather than directed towards western media. British PM cicles indicate that a possible powerplay may be afoot inside the Politburo, giving rise to both claims of "external threats" and other rhetorical machinations intended to shift the balances between prominent members.

In any case, and according to NATO officials, the Soviet outburst has not been paired with any unusual military activity on the part of Soviet and/or Warsaw Pact armed forces, who apparently maintain their peacetime posture. The large joint "Peace '88" exercises in Poland and the GDR are scheduled to commence on late August as formerly planned and announced.

-ENDS

Sunburn
12-18-05, 02:31 PM
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo.gif

WASHINGTON DC, Thursday, July 21 - In a move consistent with NATO stance on the subject for days now, White House sources have again denied rumors of intense covert diplomatic negotiations with Moscow. Such talks are reportedly related to Soviet public accusations last week about supposed Western interference on the USSR's space program.

This public denial echoes previous statements issued by both Downing Street and the West German Chancellor's office which have claimed such rumors to be "based on no factual & reasonable information whatsoever, and thus of no real value".

The US DoD has declined to comment on the Soviet allegations on the record. However, informal sources inside the Pentagon describe the Soviet claims as "pure mythology". "We already have our hands full with the post-Challenger mess without having to jump into the programs of others - especially something as gigantic as the Soviet space industry complex", commented a retired USAF officer anonymously.

Nevertheless, the story continues to be offered front-seat coverage in the Soviet and WP media. Monday's edition of "Pravda" featured a special-report article on a list of alleged past western interference endeavors aimed against the Soviet space program, with supposed sabotage attempts going all the way back to some of the initial unsuccessful (and sometimes tragic) attempts of the late 1950s, 60s and 70s. While no western governments or agencies are fingered explicitly, comments such as "in the aftermath investigations of the R-16 launch pad explosion, traces of explosive substances manufactured exclusively in American & West German chemical factories were discovered" are clear enough in their intended purpose.

In related news, the Soviet Defence Council publicised some further details on the upcoming "Peace-88" military manouvers. As previously announced, the exercises will commence in late August, probably in the last week of the month. It has not yet been clarified whether NATO observers will be allowed to be present in the exercises, as has become customary in the late years.

The initial phase will cover the rapid movement of troops from the Baltic and Belorussian military districts to the GDR in order to reinforce the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG) in resisting a hypothetical OPFOR attack from the west. While the exact forces to be transferred have not yet been publicly stated, it is assumed that they will include at least 2-3 complete tank or combined-arms armies (over a dozen tank and motor-rifle divisions), and possibly more.

After the transfer is completed, some of the new forces will assume the role of the OPFOR and simulate an attack from the side of the IGB on the GSFG and its reinforcements. The defenders will repulse the attack and then attempt a counter-attack of their own to drive the assaulting OPFOR completely out of E.German territory. It is expected that this second phase will also include heavy air operations, as well as possible naval complements.

The final phase will demonstrate the orderly withdrawal of the reinforcements back to their peacetime locations, following the successful completion of the main exercise.

In other news, the reinforced carrier group that is the core of the US 6th Fleet was reported to be steaming towards the Suez canal in order to enter the Red Sea. It is believed that afterwards the group will enter the Persian Gulf and will relieve the standing US forces as well as assist the ongoing investigations into the Iran Air Flight 655 tragedy.

-ENDS

Sunburn
03-11-06, 04:53 PM
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo.gif

LONDON, Thursday July 28 - In a surprise move today, a British Ministry of Defence (MoD) official all but confirmed the existence of covert diplomatic talks between NATO and Soviet diplomatic representatives. While not referring to any specific meetings, the MoD spokesperson stated that certain communications channels between a number of NATO governments and the Soviet politburo have been "increasingly active" lately. He further commented on these talks being related to the recent Soviet allegations of Western intereference in the Soviet space program, and stated the MoD's confidence that the legitimacy of the Soviet claims has been thoroughly discredited. "We've shown both to the Soviets and the rest of the world that their accusations are completely without merit", he added. He declined to comment on the current state of these reported negotiations, although it is the BBC's understanding that they are in the concluding phase.

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/bomber/tu-22-blind_p1.jpg
Soviet reconnaisance aircraft such as this Tu-22RDM have reportedly increased their patrol patterns along the inner-German border

It is unclear whether the alleged talks are related to the reported step-up of unusual Warsaw Pact flights along the inter-German border, which was leaked by an anonymous source inside NATO headquarters in Brussels. The source claims that, during the last two weeks, numerous aircraft have been detected by NADGE radar stations while flying high along the border and without having submitted any flight plan to the relevant NATO authorities (as is customary for non-regular/civilian flights in close proximity to the border). Though no visual ID has been made on these aircraft, some of them have alledgedly been identified by their electronic emissions as radar-reconnaisance assets like the Tupolev Tu-22RD or the Sukhoi Su-24MR. The source declined to comment on whether NATO is taking any steps to counter such flights or on whether NATO itself is conducting such flights.

In other news, a German police raid on a suspected Red Army Faction safe house turned up a rather alarming cachet. The weapons found and confiscated ranged from the typical and expected H&K submachine guns, grenades and pistols to highly sophisticated man-portable surface-to-air missiles. Even more worrisome to German authorities is the fact that the missiles included both Soviet-made SA-14s and US-manufactured Stingers. German MoD officials claim that they have already consulted with American authorities to determine the possibility of the Stinger missiles being part of the assistance provided to Afghani guerrilas by the CIA. No mention has been made of the origins of the Soviet-made missiles.

The East German city of Neubrandenburg was shook on July 25th by a massive explosion at the city's northern outskirts, close to a barracks area where various East German and Soviet military units are housed. East German authorities swiftly cut-off the area of the event from any media or citizen access. Sporadic eyewitness reports indicate that at least one ammunition depot must have exploded for reasons that so far remain unknown.

http://www.flygplan.info/images/NATO%20E-3%20AWACS.jpg
A NATO E-3 AWACS aircraft similar to this one crashed yesterday at Geilenkirchen airbase

Finally, an E-3C AWACS airborne surveillance aircraft crashed yesterday evening at Geilenkirchen airbase. The aircraft was returning from a standard patrol mission and was on final approach when the crew reported fire and a possible explosion on engine #4. The crew was unable to compensate for the loss of the engine and the asymmetrical thrust in time to regain full control of the aircraft. As a result, the E-3 slammed at the runway threshold and, its landing hear having collapsed from the impact, cartwheeled all the way to the edge of the base before screeching to a halt and being engulfed in a raging fire. Immediate reaction by the base's standby firefighting teams prevented the fire from spending to other parked aircraft & installations but the E-3 itself was almost completely destroyed. A NATO representative stated that another E-3 aircraft will be loaned to NATO by the USAF force based at Tinker AFB as a temporary replacement.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mini-Battle 2: Hamburg Corridor is a theater-scale MBX using Harpoon 3, TOAW-ACOW and WinSPMBT. The place: Northen Germany. The time: 1988. The forces: All NATO & WP assets in the AO as well as their reinforcements & supports. Interested to join/lurk? Post at the recruitment center (http://www.harpoonhq.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2546) at the Harpooner's Point forums.

Sunburn
05-08-06, 10:02 AM
BRUSSELS, Belgium - NATO circles earlier this afternoon confirmed unofficial reports from yesterday that elements of Soviet front-line forces in the western USSR are being ferried westwards. According to the same sources, it appears that the Soviets are moving armored and mechanised forces organised into regimental-sized groupings and transported primarily through the extensive railroad network through the western USSR and Poland. Interestingly, no attempt has been made to conceal these activities; indeed, cleared western journalists have been allowed to witness and photograph the loading of army units on railroad cars at various rail stations in the western USSR, a process traditionally shrouded in great secrecy even when officially announced.


http://www.harpoonhq.com/E88_MB/MB2/1988_08_02/1.jpg

Soviet tanks and trucks being loaded onto railroad cars. Central railroad station, Kaunas, Lithuania.

When asked about the purpose of these actions, the Soviet representative in the UN mission explained that, due to recent agressive political signs by NATO (an obvious reference to the recently-revealed covert negotation talks), the political leaderships of the brother nations of the Warsaw Pact have considered it prudent to accelerate their preparations for the upcooming "Peace-88" military manouvers ahead of schedule. According to the representative, the forces being transferred are well within the volume of assets earmarked for the exercises and thus represent no threat to NATO. Unoffical alliance sources confirmed this latter claim, but added that SHAPE is nevertheless concerned about the shift of the forces balance in the region. When asked about the possibility of NATO also moving ahead its REFORGER plans for this year reciprocally, four different SHAPE officials promptly replied with a stern "no comment".

In other news, the W.German Polizei refused to comment on the recent RAF cell house raid, citing national security concerns. Local authorities, on the other hand, have rushed to classify the recent E-3 AWACS crash in Geilenkirchen as an "unfortunate accident", a rather curious development considering that the official investigation on the incident is still pending.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mini-Battle 2: Hamburg Corridor is a theater-scale MBX using Harpoon 3, TOAW-ACOW and WinSPMBT. The place: Northen Germany. The time: 1988. The forces: All NATO & WP assets in the AO as well as their reinforcements & supports. Interested to join/lurk? Post at the recruitment center (http://www.harpoonhq.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2546) at the Harpooner's Point forums.

Sunburn
06-13-06, 01:42 AM
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo.gif

BRUSSELS, Thursday August 4 - In an unscheduled press conference in SHAPE offices in Brussels today, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) outlined what he described as "worrisome" Soviet movements in East Germany. SACEUR referred mainly to the Soviet transferring of units westward in the context of the Peace-88 exercises.

"My staff and our European allies have been keeping an eye on Soviet transfers in eastern Europe for some time now, and we have reason to believe that they represent a potential upset to the established balance of forces in central Europe", he stated.

According to SHAPE officials also present at the conference, there are two troubling signs on the recent Soviet movements. First, they claim, the Soviets have stated that the Peace-88 exercises are supposed to cover in scope only the northernmost region of Germany. However, they are also moving elements from the western USSR's military districts to almost the entire frontage of the inner German border, although to a significantly smaller degree than the pre-announced transfers in the north. "They are not moving entire armies westward in the south like they do in the north, but they are definitely beefing up the composition of in-place units, tidying up maintenance, cancelling leaves, that sort of activity" one of the SACEUR subordinates stated. "It is not necessarily an offensive-minded posture, but it sure increases their readiness to perform offensive action if they are ordered to".

http://www.harpoonhq.com/E88_MB/MB2/1988_08_04/Image1.jpg
Soviet Self-propelled guns atop flat rail-cars being moved westwards for the Peace-88 exercises

Secondly, NATO observers claim that WP forces being marshalled for the exercises include an unusually large complement of artillery and engineer units. "They are moving entire artillery brigades and divisions westward", a brigadier general attached to SACEUR's staff noted. "They don't do this very often, and certainly not when they simply want to train their troops on how to defend from attack. Then there is the engineers, particularly the bridging units. Why use them in a defensive-oriented exercise? When you defend you tend to bring down bridges, not make them up, and you don't need engineers for that". According to NATO officials, the combination of strong artillery & engineer units accords a strongly offensive posture to the group of forces that will be stationed in the northern GDR for the duration of the Peace-88 exercises.

No express mention has been made of any transfers of air units to accompany the ground elements. When asked on this, a USAFE colonel plainly commented that "there is always the odd MiG-27 or Su-17 squadron or two getting moved just that bit closer to the border but that's small peanuts. The big hitters like their Su-24s or their heavyweight bombers seem to be roosting at home like always".

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/images/mig-27.jpg
Tactical ground-attack fighters like these MiG-27s are important in Soviet ground combat doctrine as support elements

When questioned whether NATO's political leaderships are planning on any reciprocative moves on these perceived threats, SACEUR was brief. "We have of course been consulting with both the White House, Number 10 and the West German Chancellorship as well as with the rest of our allies to formulate a proper response. Should any relevant measures be decided, we will of course inform the media." When asked if the alliance is going to increase its readiness or move the REFORGER exercises ahead of schedule, the only response was a stern "No comment".

"This is complete rubbish", a Soviet military representative commented in Berlin, speaking informally for the GSFG. "The only major military movements being performed throughout the GDR are those that have already been announced long ago", the Soviet colonel stated. "NATO has had strong artillery and engineer presence in western Germany for decades now, including the world's largest engineer corps in Frankfurt. I don't remember anyone complaining about that. Now that we put a few more guns and spades for a few weeks in northern Germany to support our defensive exercises, they suddenly feel threatened? That's insane. NATO's political and military leadership has really outdone itself in terms of double standards and hipocricy this time."

In other news, long-standing plane-spotters are complaining of a sudden recent tightening of security around RAF bases in Germany that is severely inhibiting their hobbyist activities. "It was never picnic getting good shots out of, say, Gutersloh or Bruggen, but the last two days they've really gone out of their way", the head of a major British plane-spotting club and a veteran aviation watcher himself commented. "They've even gone so far as to actually confiscate some cameras out of some of our guys over at Laarbruch! This hasn't happened ever since the mid-60s as far as I can recall. Those boys at the guard gates should get their act together and watch who they're pointing their rifles at. After all, we're on their side!". When asked if similar restrictive measures are being practiced in UK bases, he said that "We haven't heard anything irregular from the home bases. In fact, I was down at RNAS Yeovilton just yesterday and it was business as usual; friendly guards and all. Dunno what might be happening in the USAFE bases though, we don't frequently visit those as the Yanks are a bit paranoid on that stuff".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mini-Battle 2: Hamburg Corridor is a theater-scale MBX using Harpoon 3, TOAW-ACOW and WinSPMBT. The place: Northen Germany. The time: 1988. The forces: All NATO & WP assets in the AO as well as their reinforcements & supports. Interested to join/lurk? Post at the recruitment center (http://www.harpoonhq.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2546) at the Harpooner's Point forums.