I'm starting this thread to consolidate information and ideas I have about a multi-theater campaign for the existing PMC theaters.
Summarized very quickly, my idea is to create series of campaigns, one per theater, that all encompass a global hypothetical world war between the Warsaw Pact, NATO, and various neutrals, set during the 1988-1989 timeframe. Each existing PMC theater would have a campaign created, centered around the story we create, examining a portion of the war in isolation. The campaigns would each stand alone, but the player would have the opportunity to experience the war on multiple fronts through PMC theaters by playing through them, preferably in order.
The precedence for this idea has been established in multiple computer and board wargames. The most obvious one I can think of is the Harpoon series. The Harpoon "campaign" is actually a series of individual battles that, in game terms, don't influence one another; but the scenarios are linked to tell a story regardless of the player's individual results. That's the idea here: we present a portion of the conflict to tell a story. The player should strive to win each campaign; but victory or loss doesn't actually (unfortunately, maybe in a sim in another lifetime) influence the OOB or results in the other theaters/campaigns.
The idea of linking the various PMC theaters in this manner comes from a board wargame entitled "The Third World War" published by GDW. Before you all decide to buy a copy, it is out of print and the modules routinely go for over $100 each on Ebay.
As I mentioned in other threads, I have several sources that suggest how a WW3 might start and how the war might be waged. In searching on the boardgamegeek database today, I found the following AAR from a Third World War boardgame session played out at a game convention. While it doesn't pertain to the Falcon 4 sim specifically, I believe it provides enough background info for us to use as a basis for Falcon campaign creation.
Finally, to very quickly summarize the AAR and how I envision campaign creation to proceed: The AAR below starts with an Iranian revolution. The revolution sparks a confrontation between NATO and the WP that escalates into a full-blown war. The Middle Eastern conflict actually takes place before the European conflict, and takes about a month of play time to game out.
For PMC purposes, I would see a Full Campaign that begins using the ODS theater. A hypothetical campaign would be generated that has WP forces invading Iran opposed by NATO's Rapid Deployment Force and Middle Eastern friendly allies. The campaign would contain victory conditions dependent on the WP capturing several Iranian cities, and perhaps one or two in Iraq/Kuwait. The campaign would last 30 days and would have NATO reinforcements arriving on a staggered schedule.
The second theater would encompass the European theater, building upon the lessons we learn from constructing the ODS campaign. It may need to be broken into several fronts in order to keep the unit concentration manageable. It could be broken into time chunks rather than terrain chunks; 3 campaigns could be for a start, middle, and end of the conflict; or the could be broken into a 30 day north, central, south campaign. Both have advantages and disadvantages.
A timeframe chunked campaign would allow for modest ground movement, but still be quite playable since time, and not ground captured, determines victory conditions; the campaign will end on day 10 (for example) regardless of cities captured.
The third theater would encompass Taiwan, which is largely done given that Derstef has 80%+ of the work complete. The OOB needs to conform with 1989.
Fourth could be Korea, which required little work by PMC
Fifth could be Vietnam.
[edit: Kuriles would fit very well at 3, 4, or 5...]
Sixth could be Panama.
Of course, additional campaigns can be built for Nordic or wherever as additional terrains are created. By the time we've gotten 1 and 2 done, we will be campaign creation experts I'm sure.
Ok, I turn you over to the AAR that starts with a basis for creation of the story behind the Grand Campaign.
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The 2008 WBC saw the start of a dedicated space for monster-sized gaming. Mike Cardwell, Jeff Schulte, Bob Titran, and Chris Orszak took advantage of this opportunity to play GDW’s Third World War series games. The four games in the series combine for a large campaign covering a (at the time) hypothetical clash between the forces of the Warsaw Pact and NATO across Europe and the Persian Gulf. Mike and Bob led the forces of NATO, while Jeff and Chris commanded the Warsaw Pact.
Setting: In May of 1989, the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran sparks infighting within the power structures of the Iranian government. On the verge of civil war, both the United States and Soviet Union are anxious to see the establishment of a friendly government along the shores of the Persian Gulf. Various factions including western leaning Iranian centrists, Army leaders, Islamic Republic leaders, Revolutionary Guards, as well as Soviet backed communists are all vying for power. To make matters worse, the Soviet General Secretary Vladimir Kryuchkov, who had deposed Mikhail Gorbachev in the Christmas Coup of 1988 with CPSU hardliners, was determined to reassert Soviet power on the world stage.
Pre-Game Diplomacy: The game starts with a diplomacy game in which each side try to gain control of the factions within Iran and nations within the Persian Gulf region. The diplomacy quickly went in NATO’s favor as they gained control of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian Centrists. The Soviets gained Syria, and some Iranian communists. Seeing the writing on the wall, the Soviets quickly moved to mobilize their southern military districts, and invaded Iran to install a friendly government. This move pushed the Iranians into the NATO camp.
The Invasion of Iran: Soviet forces moved into northern Iran with one army invading on each side of the Caspian Sea. The first target was the northern city of Tabriz. Tabriz proved to be a tough nut to crack. The Soviet assaults were rebuffed at first and reinforcements were brought in causing the city to fall after two weeks of hard fighting.
In the meantime, another Soviet army swept in east of the Caspian to attack Tehran. The speed of the Soviet assault surprised the Iranians and Tehran fell quickly. The Iranians fell back to the south towards Esfahan. In reaction, the United States alerted its Rapid Deployment Force and moved troops in answer to Iran’s calls for assistance. The first ashore were the Marines landing in the southwest of the country.
The Soviet offensive continued for a third week in spite of US intervention. After clearing out remnants of Iranian resistance in the mountains, the Soviet tanks hit Esfahan and through the Iranians out. US reinforcements continued to funnel in, and a redoubt position was built up in the southwest corner.
On the diplomatic front, the Soviet attack did stabilize the situation. Iraq leaned heavily in favor of the USSR, but would not tip over into active participation. Syria also stayed on the sidelines. On the US side, Israel offered to send military assistance but was rebuffed in fear of triggering Iraqi intervention. The Soviets though saw the growing power of the United States with the arrival of each air squadron and carrier battle group. Already, the generals were reporting that they could not subdue Iran without escalation. American air power was making itself felt and progress was slow. With the Soviets now isolated in the international arena affecting imports, and needed trade, Kryuchkov decided to roll the dice and declared full mobilization of the Warsaw Pact.
War Begins, August 1989: With the mobilization of the Warsaw pact, both sides knew that war imminent. Fighting continued in a bloody stalemate in Iran, but stayed quiet as both sides readied themselves in Europe. With centralized control, the Soviet General Staff was able move mobilization along like clockwork throughout it’s Warsaw Pact allies. For NATO though, it was much different. Each government in the alliance needed consulting, and the gears of bureaucracy and politics among the Atlantic Alliance moved slowly at first. As a result, when war came, many NATO units in West Germany had not completed their movement to assigned war positions (Mike rolled very poorly for NATO forward movement for units in West Germany). This meant that gaps were left in some portions of the NATO lines.
Turn 1: The war began with a surge of Warsaw Pact planes darting across the Iron Curtain to attack NATO airbases. Shear numbers allow the Pact to maintain air superiority along the front. Pact planes manage to get 4 hits on NATO airbases with 1 grounded result and 3 destroyed on the runway. Air combat results in heavy losses with each side losing over 600+ aircraft in the first week. Behind this air surge, the Pact also lands airborne units in Düsseldorf and in the area by Saarbrucken. The landing in Saarbrucken succeeds in destroying pre-positioned equipment at POMCUS sites for American reinforcements (delaying two divisions 3 turns each.
Norway: In the far north of the Arctic, the Soviets cross into Norway attacking one brigade, and also passing through neutral Finland. Finland reacts with only local defense. A couple ports and airfields are taken but the going is slow. By the end of the week, all Soviet air support is withdrawn for other theaters.
Germany: The main weight of attack falls in the north. The Third Shock Army and First Guards Tank Army lead the way with attacks in the vicinity of Brawnschweig. In the first few days of fighting the Pact takes Kassel and Hamburg, while advancing into the Fulda Gap. On the Baltic coast though, Lubeck holds out. West Berlin falls to two Polish Armies and the 4th Guards tank. NATO casualties are heaviest among the Germans and British. By the end of the first week, Hanover is encircled and reduced. In the south, the Czechs are fighting south of Regensburg.
NATO forces strive to form a line along the Ems River. Two German divisions are also trapped in Schleswig-Holstein. The paras in the Ruhr are forced out , while French forces battle those in the Saarland. Between Fulda and Regensburg the American V and VII Corps maintain a strong line. German reinforcements move toward Munich and Augsburg. Dutch morale becomes Shaken due to the loss of air and ground units.
The Balkans: At the start of hostilities Yugoslavia declares neutrality to avoid the destructive conflict which has engulfed the continent. This frees up reserves for both sides. For NATO, Italian forces begin moving to reinforce Germans and Turkey, while the Pact moves forces out of Hungary as well.
The Pact opens its attacks on NATO’s southern flank by driving Bulgarian troops against Turkey and landing Soviet marines (2 divisions) on the south bank of the Bosporus. Air strikes against Istanbul are repelled. The Bulgarians are able to make slow and steady progress against the Turks and are reinforced by the Rumanians.
The Turks move troops to block off the Soviet marines, and the Greeks move troops to attack the right flank of the Bulgarians. No attacks are very successful, resulting in disruptions for both sides.
The Persian Gulf: With the outbreak of war in Europe, the fighting in Iran maintains the lull achieved last week. With neither side having an edge, the only action is the Soviet clean up of the south eastern corner of Iran. NATO, faced with superior numbers on the ground, remain in the mountain passes of their southwestern redoubt. One problem facing the Americans though is that the heavy use of their B-52 bombers has reduced their serviceability and further strikes are suspended (Bob rolls a 6 for serviceability meaning the unit is out of action next turn).
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Turn 2: in the second week of the war, storms roll across Central Europe reducing the ability of both sides’ air forces to impact the battles then raging. This is a major setback for NATO which depends much more heavily upon air support. This means no missions without all weather capability, and no close ground support.
Norway: the Soviets are satisfied with their small toehold in northern Norway and settle down a stalemate for the duration.
Germany: With only cloud cover overhead, the tank armies of the Warsaw Pact smash into the Ems River defense and break through Belgian positions. The British in the area of Osnabruck are also hit hard, losing one division and a helicopter brigade. Second echelon forces exploit the holes created and overrun the Netherlands. Polish forces move north after the battle for Berlin and take Lubeck. Further attacks destroy a weakened German division and the Danish Jutland division. In the south Regensburg falls and forces advance on Munich and Augsburg. After NATO forces start withdrawing, Stuttgart is also seized.
With defenses collapsing on both flanks of the central front, NATO begins to withdraw the bulk of its forces behind the Rhine with a strong bridgehead formed in the Ruhr. Having been given release for their use, NATO forces employ tactical nuclear weapons, but are still not able to hold back the red tide.
The Balkans: Istanbul falls to Pact forces after an intense nuclear barrage from Soviet units. French expeditionary forces retaliate in kind with their own nuclear attacks. With the fall of Istanbul, Pact forces follow through attempting to push farther on the south bank of the Bosporus. Forces are also released to counterattack Greek forces.
Persian Gulf: The opposing forces continue to stare each other down in stalemate. American air strikes hit Esfahan and harass Soviet ground forces. The Soviets finish cleaning up opposition outside the US redoubt. NATO forces in Iran consist of about only 4 Iranian divisions, plus US expeditionary forces of heavy division, the 82nd Airborne, an attack helicopter brigade, and several Marine brigades. The Soviets have about 10 divisions plus an air assault division. NATO maintains air superiority over both the Persian Gulf and Western Asia air theaters.
End Phase: NATO commanders plead for the release of more nuclear weapons to bolster the defenses of Europe. In particular, the CinC of NorthAG believes that only the use of nuclear battlefield interdiction by Allied air forces can stem the tide. He argues that the use of the short ranged battlefield nukes currently in use, are not enough. The civilian governments refuse further escalation. The Soviets, in a propaganda move, announce that they will use restraint in nuclear weapons.
Turn 3: The weather remains poor in central Europe but air power is able to make its presence felt even if not at full power due to the overcast conditions. Not only did the Pact ground forces get relief from air attacks in the prior week to storms, it also allowed the Pact air forces to catch up by putting back into service many aircraft that were grounded due to maintenance. Although possessing inferior aircraft, numbers once again prove to have a quality all their own by giving the WP air superiority once again.
Pact commanders of the Western Strategic Direction buoyed by their success against NATO’s central front allow the diversion of Category B divisions just arriving from the Soviet Union. A total of 4 tank armies are diverted to reinforce the Balkan and Persian Gulf theaters. On the NATO side, Italian and Spanish troops arrive in Germany to bolster flagging defenses.
Norway: All is quiet
Germany: With the NATO withdrawal, the Pact forces advance to occupy the east bank of the Rhine River. Pact forces of the 28th and 3rd Shock Armies fight their way into Wiesbaden. The reduction of the Ruhr Salient also begins with the 8th Guards Army and 1st Guards Tank Army assaulting Dortmund and overwhelming the German Heimatschutztruppen with masses of artillery and armor. To the north, the pact advances across the Rhine into Belgium and then turns southward meeting Spanish, British, and Belgian troops. British Tornadoes hit Pact tanks with air strikes and close ground support of defending forces. The Germans hold the line along the west bank of the Rhine as the 10th panzer division holds off the 26th and 8th Guards Armies at Monchen Gladbach. Desperate fighting continues for a week as both sides end up using battlefield nukes.
Italian forces occupy the banks of the upper Rhine allowing American heavy divisions to move northward to stop the Soviet spearheads. With it completely occupied, the Netherlands surrenders its remaining forces. After heavy fighting, Antwerp also falls to the WP, and Belgian forces have become Demoralized. At this point about 5 Pact armies have crossed to the west of the Rhine. NATO’s situation in central Europe is desperate.
The Balkans: With the help of Hungarian forces, the Pact pushes the Greeks at Salonika destroying an armored division. Heavy combat continues on the south bank of the Bosporus, but the pact succeeds in clearing the waterway. Now only the Dardanelles remains to be cleared for the Soviet fleet. The Bulgarian offensive grinds slowly towards this goal. Only the assistance of French forces has really been able to hold up this attack. By the end of the week though, Greek morale has become Shaken.
The Persian Gulf: in comparison to the bloodbath in Europe, the fighting is limited in this theater. Soviet forces, reinforced with another tank army begin squeeze the American redoubt by advancing along the coast. The aim is to outflank the Americans and trap them in the mountain passes. Air strikes continue to harass Soviet units, and hit Esfahan as well.
End Phase: Once again NATO ground commanders demand escalation to staunch the bleeding, but the governments; fearful of the consequences, withhold authority. With losses mounting in both Turkey and Germany, French morale is nearly Shaken (30 brigades). Turkey’s morale is also waning in spite of the tough fighting. Spain quietly withhold further support as its morale also fails.
Turn 4: The skies over central Europe are finally clearing, but the advent of the full effect of Allied air power appears to have arrived too late. Soviet forces have crumbled the NATO left flank and are on the verge of driving across the open fields of Flanders. Fighting has quieted along the Rhine front, but the line has been irrevocably turned. After consultations among Allied governments, NATO asks for an armistice in place with the Warsaw Pact.
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just jocking.