BOTA 16 – Trondheim
BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC PART 16 – TRONDHEIM:
16 March 1985. The USS Eisenhower and TF 24.8 IRONCLAD push north into a brutal Norwegian Sea storm, 250 nautical miles southwest of Trondheim. A deep polar low has built a long northwest fetch generating Sea State 7 waves, with sustained gales, driving rain and heavy fog and squalls. This is not routine weather. It is the kind of late winter blow that brings respite to weary troops who batten down the hatches and ride the storm out. Flight operations are suspended, aircraft are lashed down, and the ship heaves between the smashing waves.
Strategically, the last month has shifted the map. NATO has pushed further into the Norwegian and North Seas and the Christmas Day strikes on Stavanger and Sola have opened holes in Fortress Norway. Ogarkov answered with fury and Admiral Chernavin responded with cold calculation. Chernavin is positioning his chess pieces for a Spring offensive, moving his forces to exploit sheltered geography, pushing valuable units into fjords and under the umbrella of shore radars and SAM belts. Like Doenitz in World War 2, a capital ship sheltered in a fjord forces the alliance to dilute assets or to accept a permanent threat to convoys and patrol lanes.
One ship continues to be conspicuous by its absence: the might of the Soviet Navy, the Kirov. NATO analysts have watched satellite tracks and convoy movements for weeks with nothing conclusive on the Kirov’s whereabouts.
As the storm over the Norwegian Sea intensifies, intelligence signals begin to buzz. Norwegian Resistance fighters have observed a huge warship and escorts entering the approaches to Trondheimsfjorden. Could this be the mighty Kirov and its escorts sheltering in the protection of Trondheim’s fjords?
MISSION:
COMLANT issues priority orders to Eisenhower and TF IRONCLAD: hunt down the Kirov and send it to the bottom of the fjords.
Tactically, this will be demanding. Trondheimsfjorden is a maze of narrows, islands and choke points. Land based SAMs sited on the fjord flanks will overlap coverage with ship radars to create dense engagement corridors. Fighter wings can be launched from the captured Værnes Air Station on short notice and maintain presence over the approaches. The Kirov and its escorts will hug the littoral and use terrain masking to hide from radar and complicate weapons geometry. Any strike will have to negotiate multiple layers of defences while operating in a storm that degrades sensors and limits options. The weather narrows every margin for error and turns timing into the decisive variable.
Amid such a violent storm, the Soviets will be caught unaware: who in their right mind would fly a mission on a night like this? The operational plan will lean on surprise, EMCON discipline and surgical timing.
An RA-5C scout has confirmed four large hulls moving up the channel under a significant radar net. Execution must be surgical and unforgiving. Every strike package must be coordinated and synchronised tightly.
F-14s will fly CAP, EA-6Bs will fly EW and SEAD support, while A-7s launch SEAD strike packages to open the way for A-6s to launch low-altitude ASuW packages. Aircraft will ingress in small elements, hug ridgelines and use the storm to compress enemy reaction time. SEAD strikes will be brutal and synchronised to the second with ASuW attacks. EMCON must be maintained to preserve stealth and surprise – commanders must accept risk in sensor gaps for the payoff of blind strikes. The margin for error is thin and mistakes will be exploited immediately by layered Soviet defences.
This is a Tirpitz hunt for the jet age. Like Doenitz and the mighty Tirpitz in World War Two, Chernavin now exploits the Norwegian fjords to hide a modern battlecruiser and its escorts. NATO planners remember how early attacks failed against Trondheimsfjorden’s maze of narrows, smoke screens and cliff batteries. They are betting that Eisenhower’s air wings, guided weapons and coordinated SEAD can do what carrier and bomber work could not and deliver a single, surgical strike to end the threat.
Task Force IRONCLAD must be patient, surgical and ruthless. Find the Kirov, deny it anchorage and make the fjord a tomb rather than a refuge. Strike with precision, close when the weather provides cover, and withdraw before the enemy can gather strength. The storm will not wait and neither will the chance to remove a ship whose survival could decide the campaign.
CAMPAIGN:
The Battle of the Atlantic campaign unfolds in a dark reimagining of 1984, where Cold War tensions erupt into full-scale war. After seizing power in the Kremlin, Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov launches a lightning invasion of Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Soviet forces pour across Scandinavia and surge into the Norwegian Sea, threatening to sever NATO’s transatlantic lifeline and dominate the GIUK Gap. In response, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and allied NATO naval forces mobilise for a desperate stand to preserve control of the seas.
From the fog-choked Baltic to the windswept North Atlantic, players will command Task Forces through a series of missions: from the defence of Gotland and interdiction of Soviet amphibious landings, to high-stakes carrier battles in the mid-Atlantic and convoy escorts across submarine-infested waters, to full-scale amphibious warfare. In this struggle for maritime supremacy, every decision counts—and the future of Europe hangs in the balance.
A 25+ mission linear campaign, The Battle of the Atlantic, is inspired by famous naval battles of WWI and WWII.
Full credit to @PushbackApproved for the mission playthrough video.
Revisions:
Old revisions of this mod are available below. Click the link to download.
