BOTA 17 – Day of Days

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Author: IlDuce-17

Last revision: 28 Feb at 10:16 UTC (1)

File size: 10.04 MB

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BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC PART 17 – DAY OF DAYS:
The opportunistic sinking of the Kirov has stunned the Soviets. Once hailed as the most powerful surface combatant afloat—invincible, unsinkable, or so the myths claimed—the Kirov now lies on the ocean floor. In the cold light of dawn, Marshal Ogarkov and Admiral Chernavin face the truth: in the Battle of the Atlantic, they are hanging on by a thread. Fortress Norway still stands, but it will not be long before the barbarians are at the gate.

Across the Atlantic theatre, TF VALKYRIE and TF LION prowl the North Sea, holding the line east of Norway and keeping the constant threat of Soviet aircraft and submarines at bay. TF TRIDENT and TF BRUISER push patrols into the Skagerrak, picketing the approaches to the North Sea. The Atlantic lifeline has held. Task Force GREYHOUND continues to escort convoys, keeping Chernavin’s submarines in check and delivering vital supplies and reinforcements to the Western European front.

In the Norwegian Sea, TF DRAKEN, now joined by TF IRONCLAD, reinforces the GIUK Gap and pushes deeper into Soviet-dominated waters, waging a relentless war of attrition against Chernavin’s dwindling forces. For Ogarkov, the situation is grim. Like the generals of old, he knows that only a spring offensive—a decisive counter-stroke—might turn the tide. He orders Chernavin to execute Operatsiya Krasnyy Rassvet—Operation Red Dawn.

Seven days later, Red Dawn ignites. Soviet Tu-22M Backfires and Tu-16 Badgers unleash round-the-clock bombing raids against RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Kinloss, Keflavík Naval Air Station, and other NATO bases and radar posts. Chernavin’s orders are clear: shatter NATO’s air umbrella. As runways are cratered and hangars burn, F-15 Eagles, F-4 Phantoms, and Tornados still scramble from damaged strips, clawing Soviet bombers from the sky in brutal attrition battles. For every NATO aircraft lost, another rises from reserve squadrons. The seas around Scotland and Iceland are littered with wreckage, but NATO refuses to yield.

MISSION:
Against this backdrop, Task Force DRAKEN—centred on HMS Invincible—has taken up station 500 nautical miles northwest of Ålesund, Norway. Invincible pushes north into the infested seas, her Sea Harriers intercepting Soviet bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, while Sea Kings and Lynx helicopters scour the depths for submarines. For twenty-four hours, DRAKEN has played cat and mouse with unseen foes—submarines stalking from the deep, bombers probing the screen, and Tu-95 Bears shadowing every NATO move. Each contact could be the prelude to a strike. Each quiet hour is merely the pause before the next assault.

The strain on the crews is relentless. Flight decks churn with constant CAP launches, AEW pickets orbit in tight racetracks, and destroyer crews stand watch at sonar consoles for days without rest. Submariners aboard HMS Sovereign, HMS Churchill, and HMS Spartan prowl ahead of the formation, hunting Red Banner boats in the black water, while HMS Swiftsure guards the southeastern flank. Every contact risks annihilation, every success keeps NATO’s grip on the GIUK Gap intact.

Marshal Ogarkov’s desperation has hardened into fury. Under the Red Dawn offensive, submarines surge into the GIUK Gap, bombers strike in relentless waves, and reconnaissance aircraft comb the sea lanes. NATO intelligence now fears an invasion of Scotland—or Iceland—is imminent. Every signal points to a final Soviet gamble: an all-out bid to sever the Atlantic lifeline once and for all.

Task Force IRONCLAD steams south at flank speed to reinforce Iceland, the bastion whose survival underpins NATO’s northern flank. But the seas are treacherous. During the early hours of 28 March, flash signals crackle across the fleet: IRONCLAD has been ambushed by a Soviet carrier group, 1,200 nautical miles north of Iceland, and is under heavy attack. For NATO commanders, the meaning is clear. This is the crisis they feared—the Day of Days has arrived.

Even as DRAKEN fights for survival off Norway’s coast, reports flood in: Soviet amphibious elements are moving through the Denmark Strait. Their course can mean only one thing—a landing at Reykjavík. NATO’s northern bastion is in the crosshairs, just as its carrier shield is locked in battle elsewhere.

The war has reached its hinge point. For Ogarkov, it is the last chance to force a decisive outcome. For NATO, it is a test of endurance, unity, and will. On this Day of Days, Ogarkov strikes at NATO’s jugular—the battle for the North Atlantic erupts, and the fate of the war will be decided on these cold, unforgiving seas.

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 CAMPAIGN MOD COLLECTION: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3718111590

Thank you to @Hogthunder, @Fall Risk, @Nikethegreat1 for testing the mission.