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BOTA 05 - Eisenhower's Watch

PART 5 - EISENHOWER'S WATCH:
Following NATO’s hard-fought victory at the Battle of Jutland, Soviet naval forces in the North Sea have been severely degraded. The destruction of two Soviet Surface Action Groups has disrupted Marshal Ogarkov’s plan to encircle Denmark and press into West Germany from the sea. With NATO forces stabilizing along the Central European front, attention now turns west—to the open waters of the North Atlantic.

Task Force 24.8 “IRONCLAD,” centered on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), has sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, to assert control over the mid-North Atlantic. Intelligence reports suggest that Soviet elements from the Black Sea Fleet have transited the Mediterranean and entered the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar. Their objective remains unclear, but their presence poses a potential threat to NATO's sea lanes and strategic logistics routes between North America and Europe.

IRONCLAD is one of the most powerful carrier groups currently deployed by the U.S. Navy. It includes a mix of nuclear-powered and conventionally armed surface combatants—Ticonderoga-class AEGIS cruisers, Kidd and Spruance-class destroyers, and modern guided missile frigates. Backed by the strike capabilities of Eisenhower’s carrier air wing and supported by the Virginia-class nuclear-powered cruiser USS Arkansas, the task force combines long-range strike, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, and electronic warfare into a highly coordinated force. COMLANTFLT has tasked IRONCLAD to hunt down and neutralize the Soviet Navy.

MISSION:
As IRONCLAD patrols near the Azores, a high-priority flash signal arrives from U.S. Atlantic Command. A Soviet merchant convoy, designated COURIER, was detected passing through the Strait of Gibraltar three days earlier. The convoy has since rendezvoused with a well-equipped escort group and is now moving west. Naval Intelligence assesses the convoy may be transporting sensitive or strategic cargo, possibly related to long-range missile capabilities or support equipment for forward-deployed Soviet units.

There is growing suspicion that the convoy’s destination is Cuba. The parallels to the 1961 Bay of Pigs crisis are not lost on planners at COMLANTFLT. The possibility that the Soviets are preparing to establish a strategic strike or surveillance capability at America’s back door has raised alarm at the highest levels of U.S. and NATO command.

COMLANTFLT has issued direct orders: locate and intercept the convoy before it exits the area of operations. IRONCLAD is to identify and eliminate the threat with all available means.

The Soviet escort group is assessed to include multiple guided missile destroyers and frigates, as well as a submarine screen forward of the main formation. These forces are expected to resist any approach with significant surface-to-air and anti-submarine capability.

Carrier Air Wing elements embarked aboard Eisenhower will spearhead the operation. Strike aircraft will be tasked with engaging the surface group, while S-3 Vikings and SH-3 Sea Kings conduct coordinated ASW operations. The task force must maintain aggressive tempo and control of the battlespace to prevent the convoy from reaching Cuban or other hostile ports.

This operation is a critical step in maintaining NATO control of the Atlantic. A successful Soviet penetration into the Western Hemisphere could open a new and dangerous front in the conflict. Task Force IRONCLAD has the resources, intelligence, and authority to stop it.

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 mobilize 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 defense 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. This is my first attempt at developing missions and a campaign. Please let me know in the comments about any bugs or suggestions.