NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC and interest thread here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=529621&highlight=Kahanistan).

Map here (http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j157/Caliyen/Nationstates/TrettonIsland.png).

****

Tretton Island, some fifty square miles in area and fifty miles from the Naashan mainland, was an odd place for such a collection of facilities, both military and civilian, and people. But its strategic position in the Mediterranean, close to the Middle East had always been of great importance to Naashan influence in the region.

Now, troops from the regiments that had garrisoned this bastion of Naashan power for over a hundred years were withdrawing. They boarded transport and donned civilian clothing, preparing for a months rest and relaxation as a foreign force occupied their island.

Tretton was fairly ideal for the wargames which Naasha had agreed to participate in, not too small, not too large and with a populace that stayed mainly within the settled areas. The Kahanistani troops and air forces that would be taking over the island for the games would likely be given a curious but warm welcome by the hospitable islanders.

The Naashan navy and air force wouldn't be as keen to offer a welcome to the newcomers, in a few days they would become 'the enemy', the hated foe who had snatched a Naashan island and held it, daring them to take it back.

This was a game of course, and the scenario was aerial defense, or aerial invasion if you were Naashan. The Kahanistani occupiers would find a collection of military facilities of fairly modern standard and in good working order, ready to defend their new owners.

The keystone of the defence would revolve around the Samton airforce base, situated in the central area of the island and able to hold plenty of squadrons of Kahanistani planes. Two highway strips, one in the north-west and one in the south-east, had been cleared and temporary hangars placed, providing more launch and recovery capabilities for the occupiers, although slightly more rudimentary ones.

A variety of 'targets' were scattered about the island, requiring an organised defence from the Kahanistani force. From the defence command centre in the south to the military shipyards and the Nova Europan Alliance base in the north. The shipyards and the island's deep water harbour on the south end of the island would provide the base for whatever fleet the enemy saw fit to provide.

Although the Naashan missile and gun emplacements had been replaced, the radar sites scattered across the island had been left intact, ready for whatever technologies the Kahanistani decided to employ to defend their newly acquired territoy.

All in all, the scenario provided a tough challenge for both attacker and defender, with a wide and scattered variety of targets to strike and defend.

OOC: Equipment stats available upon request.

Kahanistanian Forces

Combatants: Task Forces Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, and Theta
Epsilon:
1x Emmanuel Goldstein-class heavy battleship
2x Royal Holly-class carrier (each with 75 GLI-76 Falcons and 5 E-2 Sentries
8x Sianach-class destroyer

Zeta:

1x Union-class carrier (200 GLI-76 Falcons)
10x Sianach-class destroyer

Eta:

2x Castle-class missile cruiser
10x Sianach-class destroyer

Theta:

12x Tichy-class nuclear attack submarine

14th Division
141st Brigade
3,000 infantry
500 M-7 Spartacus MBT
50 Z-38 Panther 155mm SPG
10 Praetorian II SAM launchers
142nd Brigade
1,000 infantry
500 M-7 Spartacus MBT
100 Z-38 Panther 155mm SPG
10 Praetorian II SAM launchers
143rd Brigade
1,000 infantry
1,000 M-7 Spartacus MBT
50 Z-38 Panther 155mm SPG
10 Praetorian II SAM launchers
144th Brigade
3,000 infantry
300 M-7 Spartacus MBT
300 Z-38 Panther 155mm SPG
50 Praetorian II SAM launchers
145th Brigade
1,000 infantry
300 M-7 Spartacus MBT
100 Z-40 T-Rex 280mm SPG
10 Praetorian II SAM launchers
15th Division
151st Brigade
3,000 infantry
500 M-7 Spartacus MBT
50 Z-38 Panther 155mm SPG
10 Praetorian II SAM launchers
152nd Brigade
1,000 infantry
500 M-7 Spartacus MBT
100 Z-38 Panther 155mm SPG
10 Praetorian II SAM launchers
153rd Brigade
1,000 infantry
1,000 M-7 Spartacus MBT
50 Z-38 Panther 155mm SPG
10 Praetorian II SAM launchers
154th Brigade
3,000 infantry
300 M-7 Spartacus MBT
300 Z-38 Panther 155mm SPG
50 Praetorian II SAM launchers
155th Brigade
1,000 infantry
300 M-7 Spartacus MBT
100 Z-40 T-Rex 280mm SPG
10 Praetorian II SAM launchers
36th Fighter Fleet
100x GLI-76 VTOL multirole fighter
38th Fighter Fleet
100x F-2 Insurgent VTOL ASF

Commanders:

Vice Admiral Victor Jackson (sea forces, command vessel RKS Theseus of Task Force Epsilon
Major General Ahmed al-Qodiki (ground troops)
Lieutenant General Mustafa Lavalle (air forces)

Strength:

34 warships
12 submarines
(~25,000 naval personnel)
50,000 ground troops
500 fighters
Total: Roughly 100,000 troops

Kahanistanian scenario:

The Havenic Republic has managed to seize an island it believed abandoned in order to establish a naval presence to threaten the Imperium Doomanum.

Kahanistanian forces have observed hostile forces nearby. They do not appear to be Doomani, but they have shown they have no intention of leaving. Standing orders are to adopt a defensive posture, but take no aggressive action.

The 144th Brigade would fortify the air base as well as it could, well-defended against air assaults and carrying ground troops as well. Supporting would be the 141st, whose substantial infantry presence would ideally deter a ground attack as well.

If the airfield fell, the enemy would possess air supremacy. Kahanistan could not allow that.

Expecting the enemy to attack from the north, Task Forces Zeta, Eta, and Theta patrolled the waters in that direction, while Task Force Epsilon stayed in the south, in case of a surprise attack from that direction. Its carrier capacity meant it could help forces in the north on short notice, while the Admiral's command battleship and destroyer escort would make life hell for the enemy in the event of a surprise attack until reinforcements could arrive.

In response to the invasion and occupation of Tretton Island by Kahanistani forces, a counter-offensive is being launched in order to retake the island. Priority targets will include key Kahanistani naval assets as well as the Samton airbase, civilian casualties must be limited to as few as possible.

Counter-invasion force:

Naval assets
Admiral Nathaniel Green commanding

1st Carrier Group:
2 Nimitz Class Carriers
2 Dauntless Class Heavy Battleships
11 Duke Class Air Defence Frigates
13 Arleigh Burke Class Missile Destroyers
8 Ticonderoga Class Missile Cruisers
Fleet air arm:
80 F-18E Super Hornets
10 EA-6B Prowlers
70 F-14 Tomcats
4 E-2 Hawkeyes

2nd Carrier Group
2 Nimitz Class Carriers
2 Dauntless Class Heavy Battleships
11 Duke Class Air Defence Frigates
13 Arleigh Burke Class Missile Destroyers
8 Ticonderoga Class Missile Cruisers
Fleet air arm:
80 F-18E Super Hornets
10 EA-6B Prowlers
70 F-14 Tomcats
4 E-2 Hawkeyes

1st Submarine Fleet
8 Seawolf Class attack submarines
2 IQ-1 Class Ballistic Missile Submarines

1st Amphibious Assault Group
10 Wasp Class Amphibious Assault Ships
10 San Antonio Class Amphibious Assault Ships
20 Littoral Class Combat Ships
40 Jolly Roger Class Combat Ships
20 LCU-2000 Utility Landing Crafts
20 LCAC’s Air Cushioned Landing Crafts
2 AAVC7A1 Amphibious Assault Command and Control Vehicles
138 M-411 Terrier/EFV Amphibious Assault Vehicles
40 MV-22 Ospreys
60 Seahawk Helicopters (Blackhawk naval variant)
80 AH-1W Super Cobra Helicopters
420 Sea Knight Helicopters
200 AV-8B Harrier II’s

Air assets
Marshal Frederick Rosincky commanding.

1st Tactical Bomber Squadron
10 EB-180 Stargazers (Gyrendis AFB)

3rd Tactical Bomber Squadron
20 SB-22 Sariels (Gyrendis AFB)

4th Tactical Bomber Squadron
20 SB-22 Sariels (NEAMC Jaevre)

Ground Forces
General William Kenbull commanding
2nd Army

8th Brigade-
2500 troops
50 Warrior LAVs
40 Bradley IFVs
30 M1A2 Abrams MBTs
9th Brigade-
2500 troops
50 Warrior LAVs
40 Bradley IFVs
30 M1A2 Abrams MBTs
10th Brigade-
2500 troops
50 Warrior LAVs
40 Bradley IFVs
30 M1A2 Abrams MBTs
11th Brigade-
2500 troops
50 Warrior LAVs
40 Bradley IFVs
30 M1A2 Abrams MBTs
32nd Heavy Brigade-
3000 troops
100 M1A2 Abrams MBTs
50 Avenger Anti Aircraft Systems
20 Paladin self-propelled artillery pieces
100 Stryker APCs
33rd Heavy Brigade-
3000 troops
100 M1A2 Abrams MBTs
50 Avenger Anti Aircraft Systems
20 Paladin self-propelled artillery pieces
100 Stryker APCs
34th Heavy Brigade-
3000 troops
100 M1A2 Abrams MBTs
50 Avenger Anti Aircraft Systems
20 Paladin self-propelled artillery pieces
100 Stryker APCs
35th Heavy Brigade-
3000 troops
100 M1A2 Abrams MBTs
50 Avenger Anti Aircraft Systems
20 Paladin self-propelled artillery pieces
100 Stryker APCs
36th Heavy Brigade-
3000 troops
100 M1A2 Abrams MBTs
50 Avenger Anti Aircraft Systems
20 Paladin self-propelled artillery pieces
100 Stryker APCs
54th Airborne Brigade-
2000 troops
200 Humvee wheeled vehicles
55th Airborne Brigade-
2000 troops
200 Humvee wheeled vehicles
56th Airborne Brigade-
2000 troops
200 Humvee wheeled vehicles
57th Airborne Brigade-
2000 troops
200 Humvee wheeled vehicles
58th Airborne Brigade-
2000 troops
200 Humvee wheeled vehicles
1st Helicopter Support Brigade-
50 AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopters
20 CH-47 Supply Helicopters
2nd Helicopter Support Brigade-
50 AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopters
20 CH-47 Supply Helicopters

Summary strength:
4 Nimitz Class Carriers
68 Other Warships
240 Landing and transport vessels
10 Submarines
500 Fighters
50 Bombers
40,000 Ground troops

North of Tretton City, the 151st Brigade dug in to repel an invasion of the island. Tank traps were laid down as well as anti-tank mines, and a vast rut was being dug ten kilometers inland, into which the fifty 155mm guns and three hundred tanks with 105mm guns could be rolled. This would afford some protection from enemy fire while allowing the tanks to roll forward to attack anything that got past the tank traps and mines.

On the beach, three thousand infantry in pits and pillboxes armed with Javelin top-attack ATGM's and surface-to-air missiles prepared for an enemy attack. Machine gun nests lined the trenches, ready to open fire on landing ships, while the 155mm guns and radio reach of naval and air support meant that the defensive line would be safe.

A line from Tretton Military Shipyards to Broster was similarly fortified by the 154th and 155th Brigades. Around Tretton Defense Command, the 142nd, 143rd, and 145th Brigades set up a defensive perimeter to protect their most vital objective (from a military standpoint, though civilian-looking areas received higher priority.)

The 152nd and 153rd dug in at NEAMC HQ and Water's Edge respectively. These were the weakest elements of the Kahanistanian military, and furthest from their comrades. They were merely to slow the enemy's advance as long as they could and call in air and naval support if needed.

The soldiers of the Republic waited for their enemy to make the first move; they would not be the aggressors in this battle.

Intelligence suggested that the enemy would be holding the northern section of the island as a priority and would be expecting a landing on the sandy beaches north of Tretton City. The Naashan force was faced with a difficult quandary, if they landed on the south or mid section of the island then they would face a march across difficult terrain into a well prepared enemy. If they landed in the north then they would be forced to brave the entrenched positions of the defenders and would face a sustained air threat from the airbase in that area.

The deep water harbour, west of Water's Edge, would provide a third alternative. If the area could be secured then it would provide an excellent staging ground for Naashan tanks and heavy divisions coming ashore while threatening both Water's Edge and the Defence Command centre.

For now, the armed ships of the fleet would approach the island from the north and probe the Kahanistani defences there, hopefully allowing the convoy of transports and landing craft to pass by farther to the north and take station to the north east of the island.

****

A flight of twelve F-18E Super Hornets and six F-14 Tomcats preceded the carrier group, looking to clear the path of any loitering enemy aircraft and perhaps entice some of their naval and air assets away from the relative safety of the coastal waters.

The transport convoy was protected by a huge complement of harriers and three Seawolf attack submarines as it headed east and parted with the fleet of warships.

A further two Seawolf submarines would head south and around the northern tip of the island, looking to pick off any lone ships of the enemy fleet. The remaining five kept station ahead of the battle fleet, sweeping the water for their counterparts.

(My post is in the OOC thread BTW)

Responding to the Kahanistani invasion of Tretton Island, Antigr will send in one division of ACRF (Antigran Crisis Reaction Force) to be deployed immediately (The 52 Armoured). This will be followed by the fastest practical divisional deployment possible over two weeks of two more divisions and supplies.
Although a TOE of the land forces connot be given, the naval landing and support fleets will consist of:

Task Force Breconda

Led by Vice-Admiral Jerome H. Breconda

1xDakeri Class Heavy Fire-Support Ship (Battleship) S.F.F. Delaroy
4xKreiska Class Carriers S.F.F. Harka, Dakeri, Delsaw, Burra
7xArleiy Class Landing Ships S.F.F. Arleiy, Deim, Corrolla, Vix, Dorean, Karley, Syris
3xCarris Class Cruisers, S.F.F. Marca, Bix, Merlay
8xOkara Class Destroyers, S.F.F. Okara, Darli, Xafire, SanMark, Gerra, Syrica, Haromi, Drix
3xKayley Class Destroyers, S.F.F. Kayley, Kistra, Harron
2xAkeira Class Destroyers, S.F.F Ascenda, Cori
5xVarious Transport Ships, S.F.F Yedley, Carrona, Dirka, Orley, Hammersk
23xFast Patrol Boats, P34, P37, P42, P78, P80, P91, P101, P121, P122, P123, P124, P150, P151, P152, P155, P170, P175, P203, P225, P240, P243, P254, P256

Landing at south-west corner of island

General Lavalle ordered the combat air patrols on the carriers not pursue enemy fighters or planes, but to fire on any that came within missile range. He wasn't going to let his forces be pulled away on a hit and run move.

Realizing the danger of allowing the harbor to be lost, he also detached 10 F-2's and 40 GLI-76's to patrol the skies around the harbor until TF Eta could arrive and secure it with two missile cruisers and ten destroyers. He also asked Admiral Jackson to detach four submarines from TF Theta to provide an undersea screen for the forces that were needed for the defense of the harbor.

Now, Admiral Jackson had another thing to worry about. He requested another four submarines to circle the island to protect his fleet (one heavy battleship - his command vessel, two medium carriers and eight destroyers); he had spotted on satellite a force gathering to the southwest. While the destroyer escort could protect against enemy submarines, subs of their own were highly valuable.

With the Kahanistani naval forces split in an attempt to cover as much of the coast as possible, it was time to take steps to remove them from the equation all together. Task Force Zeta, and whatever submarine complement that the Kahanistani invaders had left to the north of the island could be dealt with, now that the twelve ships of Eta had sailed southeast.

It was a part of the doctrine of Naasha, and almost every military in the world to strike the enemies weakest point with your strongest, and this was what they would do. The combined ships of the 1st and 2nd Carrier Groups, including four Nimitz Class vessels, continued southwards to the northern tip of the island to engage the one carrier and eleven escorts of task force Zeta.

Preceding the fleet were five Seawolf attack submarines, these mainly concentrated on their own ASW missions in order to free up some of the surface escorts from these duties.

The first wave of aircraft to test the Kahanistani defences would be forty F-18E Super Hornets armed with AGM-84 Harpoon anti-shipping missiles, as well as AIM-9 Sidewinders and AIM-120C AMRAAMS. These would be escorted by a flight of thirty F-14 Tomcats cruising at a higher altitude of 40,000 feet, the long range AIM-54 Phoenix missiles mounted on these, coupled with the F-14's advanced radar which could track and fire upon several targets at once made for a deadly aerial threat.

The TF Zeta commander knew that if the enemy were like him, they would put their subs first, and detailed two of his ten destroyers specifically to hunt for enemy submarines.

The carriers were another problem; his aircraft were all attached to his command ship, whereas the enemy aircraft were split among four carriers that had to be removed one at a time, and he had not brought runway-cratering munitions for this operation, but the planes themselves could still be shot down.

The CAP consisted of forty GLI-76 Falcon VTOL multi-role fighters, but the 170 pilots still aboard the carrier were in their planes, ready to take off the instant the siren sounded to warn that the carrier was in danger. The CAP's orders were, as always, not to pursue enemy fighters in retreat. Therefore, another wing of twenty fighters took off with express orders to pursue the fighters... those who survived the launch of the RIM-116 SAM's, that is... six from each of the ten destroyers.

The preceding TARCAP flight of F-14's was fortunate enough to detect the enemy CAP aircraft almost directly ahead of them, although still over the enemy destroyers. Signalling the F-18E's to slow down, they used the extreme range of the AIM-54 Phoenix missile to (hopefully) get the first shots in, each craft in the leading element of ten launching one missile each. At fifty kilometres out, the enemy pilots would have plenty of room to manevoure and avoid the missiles, but they would serve to break up the flight as the Naashan aircraft moved in.

On the surface of the ocean, and beneath it, other Naashan vessels were advancing too. As the aircraft carriers and the majority of escorts hung back, the submarines forged ahead toward the enemy fleet. These were followed by the four Dauntless Class Heavy Battleships and a small escort of two Duke Class air defence destroyers, four Arleigh Burke Class destroyers and four Ticonderoga Class destroyers. All of these would close to the forty kilometre range of the huge sixteen inch guns on the battleships and lay a good old fashioned bombardment on the enemy destroyers.

The first of a flight of various aircraft shot off the ski-jump ramp at the front of the S.F.F. Dakeri, their purpose to keep a close watch for Kahanistani aircraft and shoot any they saw into the sea.
Every ship in the Task Force had every suitable AA weapon pointing skyward, from the 5.56mm carbines to the 203mm MP guns, always on the watch.
One thing not included on the Task force list of ships were the subs-all nine of them.
They were average-sized, but armed to (And above) the teeth with anti-aircraft, anti-sub, and anti-land weapons.
However, Admiral Breconda, commander of the Antigran task force, knew full well the weaknesses of his fleet and hoped the enemy didn't.
Otherwise, half the fleet would be down in seconds.
However, this was highly unlikely, and the big ship's strengths made up for most of the little ship's weaknesses. And vice versa.
However, the fleet was still deploying into a battle position, and the last thing he needed now was an air attack.
If one did come, he sure as hell hoped various guns making impressive sounds would be enough.

The TF Zeta commander did not have any guns with nearly the range of the sixteen-inchers of the Dauntlesses - the 203mm ETC guns had nearly that range, but the Praetonian-designed Lance ASHM's used as the main anti-shipping missile in Kahanistan far exceeded it at 255 kilometers.

Put simply, these beasts drove a tungsten spike into the enemy ship's armor at Mach 3.2, then exploded and sent chunks of the hull behind the blast, shredding crew - if the missile didn't penetrate the entire ship. It was a bit cowardly, yes, but the Republic Navy was sorely outnumbered by their enemy.

Each destroyer launched a volley of five of these abominations, spread out - missile swarms were frowned upon in the Republic Navy as a "Pwnage" tactic. They then held their ground, awaiting the submarine threat.

In the air, the small number of missiles fired at the large CAP were immediately seen as a diversion by the experienced wing commanders, who simply moved their entire formations in the same evasive maneuver, or deployed chaff if a missile got too close; however, one did simulate a shootdown, returning to its carrier and its pilot tagging it as shot down.

TF Epsilon, under Admiral Jackson himself, decided to intimidate the Antigrans by moving the massive Emmanuel Goldstein-class heavy battleship onto point, as the submarines were nearing. This 800,000-ton beast of a warship sported nine 25" and twelve 6" guns, and wasn't helpless against air or submarine attack either. It also measured six hundred meters long, and hopefully it would draw most of the enemy fire while the destroyers set up formations to protect the carriers.

The CAP of TF Epsilon was only twenty GLI-76's, but they had AWACS as well, and knew exactly what the enemy's weaknesses were. However, they acted as if they didn't, for in battle their AWACS were historically shot down before they could do anything.

With the enemy CAP flights breaking like shoals of fish, albeit well disciplined ones, it was time to press home a concerted attack. The F-14 squadrons throttled up and raced toward the enemy aircraft at high altitude to complicate things for the SAMs on the enemy destroyers. Once the enemy aircraft were suitably occupied the F-18E's could get to work, each employing their two AGM-84 Harpoon sea-skimming missiles against the outer destroyers of the enemy task force, no point in trying to penetrate a wall of AA fire when in a few moments it would be considerably lessened. Once the anti-ship munitions had been 'expended', the leading Super Hornets would cover the remainder of their flights with the use of AMRAAMS and Sidewinders in what would become vicious dogfighting.

The captains aboard the advance fleet found it slightly odd that the Kahanistani foe seemed to be launching missile waves rather than swarms, although it was an honourable tactic at least. The incoming missiles would meet with a hail of CIWS fire, those that made it through the barrage would also be confronted with Sea Wolf missiles, which had proved to be rather more effective in service with Naasha than with many modern navies. Still, three missiles in total got through the net, two of which struck Duke Class Air Defence Destroyers, ironically the very ships best equipped to shoot them down. Both ships were most definately penetrated and classed as sunk, the final missile slammed into the armour of the Dauntless Class Battleship NNS Victorious and was classed as a mission kill, although the battleship wasn't going to sink from just one hit.

The fleet retaliated with a rippled launch of Harpoon missiles, the surface launch variant this time, the total of sixty missiles would arrive in groups of around ten a time, precisely twenty seconds apart. The remaining Dauntless Class ships cleared their decks to fire the main guns, although this meant no more missiles from them for the time being.

Sixty missiles against two destroyers = Bad. Very bad.

The two lead Sianach class destroyers opened fire with their 35mm autocannon and CIWS, and determined to throw everything they had out before the ships went down; however, they could only get off a total of fifteen more Lances before one tagged as sunk and the other lost its radar decoy and its 8" guns to a Dauntless shell. Its helm was instructed to reduce maximum speed to 32 kilometers an hour to simulate engine damage.

The outer picket line was now just one destroyer with its SAM battery about half expended. If this were a battle with the Doomani, this would be about the time the crew decided most of them would go down with the ship and keep fighting as long as there were missiles above water rather than suffer the dreadful treatments of their hated foes. Against any other enemy, this might be the time to retreat. But Captain Lang, the commander of the remaining destroyer, was determined to win, dammit, win! He ordered his crew to take out that air swarm even as the non-essentials were abandoning ship.

General Lavalle knew that the enemy air force was the single greatest threat to any enemy navy. They often carried anti-radiation missiles to blind a ship, tarmac shredders to ruin carriers, and heavy bombers could even carry anti-dreadnaught missiles, or, God help them, Khans. (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index/php/Khan_Class_Missile)

Therefore, he radioed the carrier of TF Zeta, ordering it to disgorge all of its 200 fighters as soon as it could. VTOL fighters did not need to wait for the planes in front of them to take off, so they simply rocketed into the air upon the general's order. The carrier could fall back to a less threatened position; with the lead destroyers defeated or soon to be, the carrier was in a very dangerous position.

The Naashan airforce was no exception to the rule, although they didn't carry Khans or any other anti super-capital missiles for this mission. With the outer ring of destroyers wavering in the face of concentrated naval fire, the F-18E Super Hornets were able to penetrate the formation and launch their own Harpoon missiles against the inner destroyers. Four F-18E's had already tagged as shoot downs to enemy SAM batteries and dropped to low altitude and headed home to signify this.

At higher altitude, the F-14 Tomcats were occupying the enemy GLI-76's although they were running low on the AIM-54 long range missiles and were forced to close to dogfighting range and engage with their Sidewinders. Six F-14's had already been 'shot down' by the enemy fighters, proving that the VTOL aircraft could be just as effective, although they had the disadvantage of having to close the range quickly on the Tomcats to avoid the Phoenix missiles. Once the Super Hornets had launched all of their AGM-84 Harpoon missiles both flights would withdraw, covering each other as they went. These aircraft would take station over the forward battleships and fly CAP for as long as they had fuel and missiles while a second wave of the same size was readied.

The fifteen Lances were once again engaged by the Naashan CIWS and Sea Wolf missiles, one more missile striking a Ticonderoga Class destroyer.

The inner line of destroyers had been warned when the front line was hammered, and prepared its CIWS and missile defenses accordingly; however, many got through, severely damaging one destroyer and moderately damaging another. One had gotten away with the loss of its guns, but the other was basically missile bait now.

The CAP around the outer destroyers fell back to protect the inner line, as fighters from the retreating carrier advanced on their enemy, closing gaps quickly to avoid missile hits and attempting to engage with their cannons.

Against any other enemy, engaging modern jet fighters with cannons was going to be a very bad tactic. Against F-14's armed primarily with long range missiles however, it was effective as the interceptors couldn't match the maneuverability of the GLI-76's. Five more Tomcats were hit before the remainder were able to accelerate away and show a clean pair of heels to the Kahanistani planes. The returning Super Hornets covered the retreat with their AIM-9 Sidewinders and spectacular 'over the shoulder' launches of the AIM-120C AMRAAM, a tactic made available by the launch of an E-2 to provide radar support.

Both the forward group of ships and the carriers began to edge closer to the enemy formation, confident they could maintain local air superiority to defend their own ships at least. Meanwhile, beneath the waves, two of the Seawolf attack submarines had used the chaos amongst the enemy pickets and the sonar-defeating sounds of the naval engagement to draw ever closer to the enemy line. One closed in on the damaged destroyer of the outer picket while its partner crept closer in, trying to locate the carrier whose withdrawal was of course, unknown to the captain.

General Lavalle allowed the F-14's and F-18's to retreat. They could have air superiority over their own ships as far as he was concerned; it was his own ships he was worried about protecting, as they were severely outnumbered and taking losses. He'd lost four GLI-76's in the last engagement, which were returning to land as they weren't going to spend time looking for the carrier when it wasn't in its expected location and run out of fuel.

Speaking of losses, there was that damaged destroyer to protect, but the ships to protect it simply weren't there - that was how it had gotten into its present predicament. He ordered it to retreat, hoping that it could get away in time.

Breconda could faintly see the Kahanistani battleship through the mist.
He decided to move the Delaroy in a position just behind the foremost two ships, the Xafire and Merlay.
That way it could provide covering fire with it's 415mm guns, missiles, and newly-fitted experimental railgun, of 1200mm calibre.
Indeed, the Delaroy was a huge ship, measuring half a kilometer and very well armoured, yet still able to acheive 31.2 knots.
Breconda's Task Force was one of the toughest Antigran naval formations at present times, and the sailors reflected this. Few were intimidated as they ran toward their posts.
The Admiral had also decided to move the fleet at full speed in such a direction as to pass the entire Kahanstani fleet diagonally just within firng range.
The first weapon to be readied was the 120cm railgun.
In ten minutes the breech was closed and the weapon in firing position.
Breconda doubted that even the Kahanistani battleship's guns could not fire that accurately at this range while the fleet was at full speed, but the railgun could launch a projectile at 100,000 meters a second.
An electronic fizz was heard and a gushing of wind and the round flew out of the steel barrel and hit the Kahanistani battleship.
After some smoke it looked like a very large hole had being torn in the hull.
The fleet was now travelling at a pace of 31 knots, and all the AA guns were readied in case of air attack.

OOC: I'll leave it for Kahanistan to decide but I'm not really comfortable with the use of a railgun in an MT rp. You'll probably have noticed that my own forces are almost entirely RL tech and a little dated at that, so I'm really not sure what is permissible as NS MT but I've never heard of railguns even in development right now.

IC: The swish of the propellor of the damaged destroyer, alone and withdrawing, was saddeningly akin to the splashing of a tired swimmer's feet in shark infested waters. It certainly drew some unwanted attention, the sonars of the NS 10E, a Seawolf attack submarine, tracking it through the water.

The captain of the submarine barely had to order a speed increase to catch the enemy vessel as it came about, intending to run for the safety of the formation. He waited until they were as close as he dared before giving the order to fire, hopefully giving the crew less time to react to the attack, if they were even in a position to do so.

Two torpedoes sailed serenely out of the sub's forward tubes, aiming for the mid-section of the Kahanistani destroyer in an attempt to split the ship in two. Theoretically of course, although in the dangerous world beneath the waves, a simulation could turn into deadly reality in a matter of moments.

[OOC: All they have to do is find a material that can stand up to the stresses of the railgun, or replace the rails every few shots. Railguns are perfectly feasible, but they will only fire at 3,500 meters (http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/battleships-forum/39167-railguns-future-battleships.html) per second, not 100,000 meters per second unless you're dealing with hardcore PMT if not FT. With NSWank™, I'd recognize up to 6,000 meters / second as late MT.]

The destroyer tagged itself as sunk. Some of the more enthusiastic crew members threw themselves overboard, although this was not a sinking ship drill. They would be pulled aboard and chewed out by their commanders.

The inner line of destroyers had, of course, lost communication with the two lead destroyers. They began scanning for submarines as well as aircraft.

The 800,000-ton Emmanuel Goldstein class warship would not sink from one railgun shell - what kind of battleship goes to sea these days that can be taken down in one shot? However, the 'hole' in the ship was some way above the waterline, and would not cause the ship to take on water. It would, however, render the middle 640mm turret unusable as it struck the ammunition stock.

The ship returned fire with its two remaining three-gun 640mm ETC cannons and a wave of ten ASHM's against the source of the enemy fire. Even the battleship would not be able to stand against that indefinitely..

Sorry, my research was wrong.

IC:

The JHD-67FG Radar systems picked up the missiles almost immediately.
Within 1.1 seconds, the CIWS systems were aimed and firing, such was the ingenious behind the design.
20mm and 40mm shells were soon streaking towards the missiles.
(OOC tech question: How are these missiles going to be 'destroyed' with laser-blank shells?)
These missiles were probably as deadly as the railgun, and Breconda was forced to take evasive measures.
The destroyers were moved into a position where they could provide additional support.
The carriers deployed their countermeasures aircraft while an emergency fighter-bomber sortie was organised against the Kahanistanis.
Breconda thought.
Those railgun design boys better get an 80cm gun on this thing...

[OOC: I'd assume the missiles were duds and active CIWS were being fired. The odds of hitting a crewmember of another ship with a CIWS round are next to nil, most of the crew are below decks and/or out of range of the CIWS.]

Aboard the heavy battleship, surface-to-air missiles launched as signals were hurriedly sent to the two Royal Holly class carriers to send a sortie of two wings of GLI-76's, or 40 fighters, to chase the fighter-bombers away, or better yet, shoot them down, once the CAP engaged them.

The heavy shells of the Emmanuel Goldstein class battleship were not nearly as vulnerable to CIWS rounds as the missiles. However, they were considerably less accurate and had shorter ranges, but a 640mm ETC slug hits very hard when it does connect.

With the enemy task force in retreat, it was time to take steps to eliminate the threat from the airbase on the island. A strike force of forty F-18E's and thirty F-14's was assembled and launched from the carriers, accompanied by three EA-6B Prowlers to provide constant jamming and ECM support to the package.

The F-14's would sweep the path to the airbase clean of enemy fighters while a leading element of twenty Super Hornets flew a SEAD mission to destroy or suppress the enemy SAM threat. Once the package reached the airbase, the remaining F-18E's would attack with runway cratering munitions, as well as targeting the fuel and ammo dumps while the F-14's and SEAD F-18E's flew TARCAP.

General Mustafa Lavalle was in the airbase. He had been commanding his air forces from there the whole time, apprised of the situation via constant communication with the captains of the aircraft carriers and the fighter wing commanders.

The Naashans had apparently forgotten that the air cover was not retreating, at least not at the same rate as the ships, which continued to fire SAM's as long as the hostile aircraft remained within range. A wing of twenty GLI-76's pursued their SEAD unit while air defense battery commanders began shutting down radars, leaving only a few active to detect the enemy.