(Unofficial) Mission Five: Balloon Challenge (Entente)

[steel_ratt]

I got together with my friend, Craig, for another solo mission challenge. We adapted Mission 5 of the OTT campaign, adding in one additional infantry trench and one additional German scout. It unfolded something like as follows...

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11 November, 1917
3200 meters behind the front line. Somewhere near St Caronne.

I climbed into the basket of the Ae800 at 15.05 hours and the balloon was raised to 875 meters. Cloud cover was at 1050 meters. Wind 15 kilometers per hour from the north-west. Visibility to the ground was good. I was joined on this occassion by Leutnant Mueller.

We began our observations of the Englisch trenches, calling down artillery fire on targets of opportunity. There was not much activity and so it was very dull work, and we were soon very cold. For a long time we were intent on observing a small working party carrying on a new excavation.

After nearly two hours engaged in this activity, I put down my binoculars to have a hot drink from the flask that we had brought up with us. It was then that I happened to notice a bright flash in the sky above the ballonzug forward defensive line. I quickly grabbed up my binoculars, observing two Sopwith biplanes diving on our forward trenches. Their fire was intense and concentrated and soon the return fire from the trench stopped. The two crates continued on towards the machine gun emplacement to our right.



I now scanned all around us looking for signs of the Albatros scouts that were supposed to defend us. I spotted them some distance off toward the south and east of us. They had apparently seen the Tommies and were closing quickly. Leutnant Mueller, having by now noticed the enemy scouts, checked that his parachute was attached properly and swung himself over the side of the basket. I decided to stay aloft to see if the enemy could be driven off before damaging the balloon.

The two Tommy crates kept clear of the fire of our MG08 until they had passed its arc of fire. They then sweep in from the flank, one at a time, each strafing the position as they had done with the forward defenses. They were somewhat less effective this time. Not only did the defenders keep returning their fire, but the second crate had its Vickers guns jam. This was good fortune for us since the balloon would surely have come under fire next if it had still been able to fire.



The first Tommy, carried on to the est, unleashed another hellish burst into the next MG08 position, silencing it and forcing the men to run for their lives.



By now our aircraft had arrived. The first into action was the D.Va that swept in from the east. It came across the first Tommy and exchanged fire with him. There was no immediate effect from this, but the second Tommy was not far behind. As the first Tommy pulled up into an Immelmann turn, the second found himself in the crossfire of the infantry trench and both of our Albatros scouts, as the D.III had also joined the fight. Under a deluge of fire the Englisch crate came apart in the air. The Tommy was not without success, though, and started a small fire on the wing of the D.Va with his incendiary ammunition.



Our gunners on the ground must have been quite confused by the maelstrom of aircraft and were now firing wildly at any aircraft that crossed within their range. The pilot of the D.Va paid for this mistake. Though I did not know it at the time, he suffered wound from rifle fire.



Now all attention was on the first Tommy. He had managed to turn his crate around. Returning to the fight, he ran straight into the D.III. In the exchange of fire, our pilot managed to score a hit on the Tommy's magazine igniting it all in one blast. For a moment I feared that the wreckage would land among the tethering cables of the balloon, but it landed well short.



One the Tommy pilots, a Lieutenant Vernon, survived and was taken prisoner. The other did not survive and is now a land owner.

At the end of all this excitement I was able to resume my duties for another 20 minutes until it became too dark to see.

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There you have it. That dreaded Explosion card! TWICE!! I've got to admit, I really didn't think that the D.Va was going to go "straight, straight, straight". Darned AI!!

[Blackronin]

Excellent AAR by all the way! The idea of telling the story from the balloon's observer point of view is inspired.
Did you used the advanced optional rules?

[steel_ratt]

We did use the 'new' AI. We didn't get a really good chance to see it in action since it was a short game. I was between a rock and a hard place on that last move - any way I went I would have been under fire AND my guns were jammed. I figured that I would gamble on the head-on pass, and would stick with my wingman who was leading the way. Turned out to be a bad choice!

[steel_ratt]

Another perspective:

The (all-too-honest) account of Leutnant J.R.Mueller:

I went aloft under the nulle against my better judgement, but the Hauptman had suggested that I "become more active" within the unit and I could think of no way to get out of it. It was cold and tremendously boring. I spent a considerable time leaning on the edge of the basket pretending to look through my binoculars. Mein gott, I was bored. Why was I here, I thought, instead of in a nice warm coffee house looking at Heidi instead.

I was roused from this daydream when Fritz jostled the basket and cried out for me to look at something. I looked up just in time to see two Tommy sardine cans set their sewing machines to work on an MG position nearby. Gottverdammt! That was enough. I checked my parachute attachment and heaved myself over the side of the basket.

There was a jerk as my parachute was pulled open and then there was the dreadful wait, hearing nothing but stuttering aunts and the growl of the sardine cans, as the ground rushed up to meet me. I hit the ground hard and fought with my parachute straps for longer than it should have taken to set myself free, and then I ran to the nearest trench. It was only after I dove into it that I realized that it was one that the Tommies had strafed. I found myself lying with the dead at the bottom of the trench.

From my position there I was, when I finally brought myself to look, able to see our defending crates had arrived, and were painting the Tommies with their Devil's paintbrushes. There seemed to be crates all over the sky and the few men near me who remained alive were firing their rifles at any that passed within range.

Very quickly we saw a second crate light up in a ball of fire as his ammunition exploded. My immediate thought was "Er ist aus" - he is gone. It became clear that the only crates left were ours. They quickly flew off leaving us alone again.

I shall have to see if I can find a nice job at a desk even further from the lines. This one is not far enough.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Nice extra bling, with the viewpoint of two observers.
A very well explained scenario all round.
Rob.