I must say, if it was ever possible for an air force to be routed, it was this incident.
After the coin toss, I got Argentina, and my opponent the UK. He went for 8 Harriers, 1 Vulcan and 2 helicopters, which meant a victory target of 12 (hits on surface targets + planes shot down), whilst I went with a mix of planes – 6 Mirages (with missiles), 4 Daggers, 4 Skyhawks, 2 Super Etendards (with Exocets), 2 MB.339s and 2 Pucaras for a victory target of 13.
Turn 1 seemed to go well for me – the Vulcan missed the airfield, so my 339s and Pucaras could take off immediately. A couple of Harriers were making a beeline for the airfield, but wouldn't make it in time to catch any stragglers on the taxiway. My Daggers and Skyhawks aimed straight for San Carlos whilst the Super Etendards came in from the south and aimed to go around the bay in order to stay as far away from the Harriers as possible. The MB.339s were sent to San Carlos on chopper hunting duty. All was well.
Turn 2 seemed to go well. The Sea Harriers came in, but couldn't get a clear shot. The jet-powered Argentinian death wave prepared to rain its explosive payload on the unsuspecting ships ahead. Mirage escorts tried to get behind the Harriers, but were just short. No matter – the bombing run would secure an Argentinian victory.
Turn 3 was where it all went wrong. One flight of Sea Harriers scored two missile hits on the four Daggers, whilst another took down one of the Super Etendards. 4 points go to the UK (Super Etendards are worth double when shot down). The Harriers also scored a hit each on the airfield, netting another 4 points (Harriers score double on ground hits). Fortunately, the Sea Harriers could advance no further.
My phase began, and the remaining 2 Daggers dove on San Carlos. This was it! A double hit would make the scores even… but one was shot down by AA and the other was damaged without hitting its target. Blast! 1 more point for the UK. Still, I had a potential 8 points from the Skyhawks, 2 from the Pucaras (who were by now approaching a secondary ground target) and 2 from the remaining Exocet. In addition, the Mirages were in position to get one or two of the Sea Harriers. With a bit of luck, victory could be achieved in just 1 turn!
I decided the Skyhawks were the safest bet to start off with. First roll – 6! 2 points to me! Second roll – 1! UK gets another point. Third roll – 1 again! UK gets another point, and was now only 1 point off from the target. Fourth roll – 1! ARGH! As the third of four Skyhawks is downed by a Rapier missile, the Junta's hopes of a victory descend along with it.
The game ended in just 3 roughly 15-minute turns, with the UK scoring 12 out of the necessary 12 points with no casualties, whilst the Argentinians lost 7 aircraft – 40% of the deployed force – for a paltry 2 out of 13!
Below is a (somewhat convoluted) map of the massacre to make up for the lack of actual images: