Operational Name for the Summer Offensive

[natehale1971]

I can't remember if we talked about this already... but has anyone come up with the Operational Names of the various offesnsives during the Twilight War?

I had been using the operational name Operation Butterfly for the NATO Summer Offensive... with each of the smaller compoent operations being named after the many different types of butterflies (example, Operation Swallowtail, Operation Fritillary, Operation Tortoiseshell and Operation Monarch).

[Adm.Lee]

Originally Posted by natehale1971

I can't remember if we talked about this already... but has anyone come up with the Operational Names of the various offesnsives during the Twilight War?

I had been using the operational name Operation Butterfly for the NATO Summer Offensive... with each of the smaller compoent operations being named after the many different types of butterflies (example, Operation Swallowtail, Operation Fritillary, Operation Tortoiseshell and Operation Monarch).

Isn't a two-word name NATO standard, or is that just the US? I'm pretty sure Advent Crown was the 1997 offensive, I think I read that in Black Madonna.

Also, Butterfly might sound too peaceful? Churchill long ago called for code names to neither be too rough nor too soft, he didn't want to have to tell a widow her man died during Operation Bunnyhug.

I used to pull out a dictionary, and open it at random for code names.

[natehale1971]

Originally Posted by Adm.Lee

Isn't a two-word name NATO standard, or is that just the US? I'm pretty sure Advent Crown was the 1997 offensive, I think I read that in Black Madonna.

Also, Butterfly might sound too peaceful? Churchill long ago called for code names to neither be too rough nor too soft, he didn't want to have to tell a widow her man died during Operation Bunnyhug.

I used to pull out a dictionary, and open it at random for code names.

I used the name Butterfly to go with "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" quote. And the officer who was involved in the planning collected butterflies... and he regularlly used the various names for different butterflies as placeholders for operational names (kind of like how some authors use stock names like "Dylan Hunt" as the name of their main heroes when they write their books until they can come up with a better, more fitting name for said heroes). And the name just stuck. To be honest if i had named Operation Omega, i'd have gone with naming it after Eric Cartman (mainly due to the quote "Screw you guys, I'm going Home").

If i can find the 'official' name for the Summer Offensive I'll be able to put that in the writing i'm doing... and one of the reasons I asked.

[Rainbow Six]

As far as British forces are concerned two word code names are used for excercises and one word names are used for actual operations (e.g. Granby, Corporate, Telic, etc). The names are chosen at random by computer.

There is an account in Dan Mills' excellent Sniper One about commanders using London Underground stations as codenames.

[Sanjuro]

Mornington Crescent?
For the non British: Mornington Crescent is the mini-"game" played on the long running radio quiz show, I'm sorry, I haven't a clue. The game appears to be a route around the London Underground, the object being to avoid being trapped at Mornington Crescent. In fact, the real object is to introduce meaningless rules and precedents, challenge others' such rules and generally think on your feet.

[James Langham]

Originally Posted by Sanjuro

Mornington Crescent?
For the non British: Mornington Crescent is the mini-"game" played on the long running radio quiz show, I'm sorry, I haven't a clue. The game appears to be a route around the London Underground, the object being to avoid being trapped at Mornington Crescent. In fact, the real object is to introduce meaningless rules and precedents, challenge others' such rules and generally think on your feet.

I though the last part was GURPs or D&D :-)

As a point of trivia, ISIHAC was one of the programmes stored ready to be broadcast in WW3. As computers break down commanders must choose their own names, it might well get used... I'll incorporate it into my history as I needed a two part name (along the lines of WW2 Market Garden) for an operation.