A placeholder for my Central Powers AAR.
Two Eindeckers versus three Entente machines on a recon mission.
Wings of Glory: Dawn of the Fighters, Central Powers, Scenario 1
A placeholder for my Central Powers AAR.
Two Eindeckers versus three Entente machines on a recon mission.
Last edited by jbmacek; 03-21-2014 at 09:30.
A prelude to next month at Family Game Store?
No, not exactly. Next month will be Bloody April, so it will be BE2cs getting shot down by Alb D.IIIs. Here, I had to use the RE8s as stand-ins for the BE2s. And a couple of Eindeckers aren't as nasty as a couple of D.IIIs.
The sad thing is, I can't for the life of me remember the names of my two German pilots for this campaign. Otherwise, I'd have this AAR finished. Instead, I'll have find their names once I get home.
13 August 1915, 0700, over German-held territory.
Oberleutnant Tobias Schrek was casually scanning the clear blue skies for signs of enemy aircraft. He wasn't worried, as this sector had been silent for some time. Off his starboard wing was Leutnant Gunter Lehmann, a newcomer to this mad world of aerial combat. Lehmann was on his second patrol, and was told to stick tight to Schrek, and follow his lead.
Schrek checked his wingman, than scanned forward. "How did I miss them?" There, almost dead ahead, and within easy reach, were three enemy observation machines. He signaled to Lehmann, and opened fire. His bullets tore into the first enemy craft, as did Lehmann's, but they seemed to do little harm.
Fortunately, they caught the enemy unawares, and being in the blind-spots the two took no return fire. Unfortunately, their speed was so great they overshot their first target, so their next volley caught the center of the three aircraft.
More to follow...
Oh... what shall be the fate of ol' "Harry Tate"?
Thanks for the the opening salvos...
It's always good to get a freebie in when you are outnumbered.
It may not seem very good shooting now, but those four ones may make all the difference at the end of the game.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
"Passing behind them brings us into their line of..." his Fokker buckled as it was hit by fire from the two closest enemy ships. A quick glance around showed no enemy scouts in the vicinity, but his wingman Lehmann's shot was blocked both by distance and by Tobias' machine. Cursing, Schrek again turned his guns toward the middle of the three, and was satisfied to see the BE2 pilot lurch in his seat.
Schrek turned toward the flight of BE2s. Lehmann, told to stick close by his Oberleutnant, followed the turn of his commander, and was blocked again!
Believing in the superiority of his machine, the Oberleutnant fired... but his bullets did nothing. Again, his machine was rattled by the BE2s, and black smoke belched forth from the engine.
"Lehmann! Get out from behind me!" he shouted, but he knew his wingman could not hear him. The anger and frustration would not carry through the noise of the cold air and engines. Enemy bullets hissed through the sky around him. His Fokker groaned as the fabric was riddled from the third BE2. His return fire was ineffective.
That last hit proved to much for Oberleutnant Schrek's Fokker. The ship went into a steep dived, and plowed into the earth below. Lehmann was now alone.
His machine crashed into the ground, flipping in the process. Schrek was thrown from the crash, not in the least bit injured. He watched as his kite burst into flames, and then Tobias fished his good luck charm from his pocket, looked at it, and smiled.
(Explosions and fire from Litko, makers of fine markers and tokens.)
In the sky above, he watched at the enemy flight converged over a building in the distance, with Lehmann on their tails. Lehmann fired, hitting the first kite. Then the machine which had just brought him down turned its guns toward his wingman and fired, sending bits of fabric flying from the plane's empennage.
(pulling up a chair and opening a beverage)
Awesome pics! Please continue....
Through some twisted miracle of fate, the brown and green ball of enemy machines did not become a twisted collection of tangled and torn aeroplanes. As if they had been practicing this maneuver for weeks, the enemy converged over the field and building below, and then separated without every coming in contact with one another. Shreck saluted the daring move, but still held out hope that Lehmann would prevail. He saw Lehmann open fire on the third machine, and more pieces fly from the canvas colored empennage as Lehmann's Fokker took return fire.
Lehmann, high above, pulled the Fokker's stick left, then right, but nothing happened.
As he flew over the third BE2, the air about him filled with flying lead. Then flame leaped from his engine compartment, and Lehmann knew his time had come.
The fire quickly engulfed his fragile canvas kite, sending Lehmann plummeting to the ground below.
Schrek watched from far below as his companion's plane burst into flame. With good luck charm in hand he sprinted through farmland and fields, and bounded over hedges, watching as Lehmann's plane twisted and turned in a smoky spiral earthward. He reached Lehmann's wreck not more than a minute after it hit, and pulled his comrade from the ruins of his machine. Lehmann was not dead, but his wounds were severe. Schrek knew Lehmann would not be returning to combat any time soon. And, as he watched the trio of BE2s disappear into the distance, he vowed he would get revenge.
Last edited by jbmacek; 03-23-2014 at 08:36.
Masquerading as two of the BE2s in this mission... a couple of Harry Tates. Blast them!
The Butcher's Tally:
Oblt. Tobias Schrek / SD RTB / - / 0 Victories
Lt. Gunter Lehmann / FLM / WIA / 0 Victories
Last edited by jbmacek; 03-23-2014 at 08:46.
Tough day for Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches! Fortunate that, although the machines themselves are lost, the valuable experience embodied in the jagdflier will again see action!
Thanks for the AAR, John. Building interest in the upcoming EWC...
Nice Early War dogfight John! You've whetted my appetite for more.Those Litko markers are very nice looking & quite convincing! So, seems like those Be2's aren't quite the "cold meat" we'd been hearing...
Thanks!
I need practice writing these for the upcoming big campaign, so if anyone has any suggestions...
I thought your narrative was spot on. Just the sort of thing that makes for an enjoyable read.Originally Posted by jbmacek
Agreed. A good balance of text and photos.I thought your narrative was spot on. Just the sort of thing that makes for an enjoyable read.
Everyone has their own style, which evolves the more times you put one together... my rule of thumb? Go with what you think looks good!
We're a very appreciative audience.
They are pretty good as they stand John. The only thing that I would suggest is that if you don't want to write the whole story in one go, you bookmark the pages in advance so that comments from us don't interject and spoil the flow of your story.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Very good action John. I haven't done many of these myself but I agree that it was intriguing the whole way through. It's a shame the damage was concentrated on one plane at a time, might have turned out differently!
Wes
Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I'm looking forward to doing more, not only because the game is such fun, but also because I see this as an exercise in creative writing, something I rarely get to do these days.
The set of pics for the next scenario are in the can, waiting to get "developed".
You are a natural.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Simply an awesome AAR! I loved the special effects!
Outstanding John - like your style !
My tip is to create an album, write your story in Word noting where you want the pics, cut & paste from Word into your created thread and add then add your pics using the attachments button. All gets done in one hit rather than several posts - you could of course just go in and edit the initial post & add the next bit on !
Sapiens qui vigilat... "He is wise who watches"
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