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Thread: Mission 6: "Oh Canada"--the Battle of Mount Sorrel - 8th June 1916

  1. #1

    Default Mission 6: "Oh Canada"--the Battle of Mount Sorrel - 8th June 1916

    It is June 1916. The meatgrinder that is Verdun is beginning to get steadily consume the young men of Germany and France. The Battle of Jutland just took place and while it ended up in a draw, it essentially neutralizes the German High Seas fleet for the rest of the war. In the east, General Brusilov’s Russians have started an offensive against the Austrians and are pushing them back at a rate of miles per day, which will soon require the German high command to move troops from the Western Front to support the collapsing Austrians.

    But German high command has a plan. In the Ypres salient, the Entente’s line are held by Canadian troops. German positions overlook the Canadian positions known as Mont Sorrel and Tor Top, and they prepared an assault to carry the Canadian lines. In preparation, the Germans prepared practice trenches resembling some of the Canadian postions, to rehearse the assault well behind their own lines. Some RFC observers actually noted these trenches, which curiously seemed to look very much like the Canadian positions. They also noted some sap trenches, so the Canadians had an inkling what was coming. However, Lieutenant-General Julian Byng, who had recently been appointed as Inspector General of Canadian Forces in England, had inspected the Canadian Corps positions and noted that the Canadian troops were overlooked by German positions and under constant danger of enemy fire. He ordered the commander of the 3rd Canadian Division to draw up a plan to overrun the more dangerous German positions in a local attack.

    (All of this information comes from the wiki page at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mont_Sorrel)

    However, while the Canadians are making their preparations, the XIII (Royal Wurttemberg) Corps began its attack on June 2 in an early-morning massive artillery bombardment of heavy caliber shells against the Canadian positions. Nine-tenths of the Canadian forward reconnaissance battalion became casualties during the bombardment. The commander of the 3rd Canadian Division, Major-General Malcolm Mercer, the commander of the 8th Canadian Brigade, and Brigadier-General Arthur Victor Seymor Williams had been conducting an inspection of the front line on 2 June when the shelling began. Mercer was wounded three times and died; Williams was wounded in the face and head and taken prisoner. For several critical hours both the 3rd Canadian Division and the 8th Canadian Brigade were leaderless, and their level of defense suffered accordingly. Brigadier-General Edward Spencer Hoare Nairne, of the Lahore Divisional Artillery eventually assumed temporary command of the 3rd Canadian Division. However, German forces were still able to capture Mont Sorrel and Hill 61. After advancing up to 1,200 yards, the XIII Corps dug in. Although the road to Ypres was open and undefended, no German officer took the initiative to exceed instructions and capitalize on the success experienced by the German forces.

    Lieutenant-General Byng assembled a hastily organized counterattack in the early hours of 3 June with four battalions thrown together. Owing to the heavy losses from the previous day, distances involved and unsettled leadership resulting formt he losses of Mercer and Williams, the counterattackdid not succeed in regaining the lost territory, but managed to close a 600 yards (550 m) gap in the line and advance the Canadian front about 1,000 yards (910 m) from the positions it had retreated to after the German assault. A second German surprise attack led by exploding four large mines under trenches of the 2nd Canadian Division covering the spur at the eastern outskirts of the ruins of Hooge wiped out company of the Canadian 28th (North West) Battalion. Though the Canadians managed to hold their position and prevent the Germans from reaching their support line, General Byng ultimately decided to leave the Hooge trenches in German hands and to concentrate on regaining Mont Sorrel and Tor Top.

    The Canadians are making plans to regain the positions of Mount Sorrel and Tor Top, but the Entente high command is preparing for the Somme offensive, so no new troops are available to the Canadian commanders. To make up for the lack of infantry, the Canadian command will use more artillery barrages to soften up the German positions. In order to do that, large supplies of shells are stocked in a number of central depots in the rear. These depots have been spotted by German reconnaissance, and the general opinion is that destroying even one of these depots could significantly change the outcome of what is to come…

    Mission:

    Germans: destroy the munitions depot, which will require two bomb hits.

    British: prevent destruction of munitions depot, shoot down German planes.

    The setup is an area the size of two standard WoW maps, creating a large rectangle. One of the long sides of the rectangle is north. The munitions depot is placed right in the center of the western map, that is, in the middle of the WoW map that comprises the western half of the playing area. [Note that this is a change from the original scenario, in which the depot was in the middle of the playing area. I moved it to the middle of the western map (i.e., 3/4 of the playing area to the west) to make the Germans fly a bit further and make it more even--the original scenario was too slanted to the German side.] It is guarded by four MG installations, each one ruler away from the depot. All of them face to the German side of the map, i.e., east. There are no MG installations pointing towards the rear (i.e., west) but it is permissible to put an MG installation on the western side of the depot but facing east. If you don’t like the Germans, you can add a trench line, but no anti-aircraft guns will be available.

    The depot is very large, so it is the size of two WoW target cards put down so they touch each other on the long side of the card. Because of the explosive nature of the target, as long as the bomb card touches any part of the target card, it is a hit (i.e., the bomb does not need to cover the red dot on the card).

    Germans enter on the east edge, Entente are positioned on the western half of the map, one ruler from the depot.

    German planes:

    There are two options to play this scenario, the “historical” one and the “fictional” one.

    Historical:

    The Germans have pressed into service an Albatross C.I to act as bomber (the Roland C.II was ruled out since the observer had limited visibility below). It has four bombs, released by hand by the observer. This means that the observer cannot fire for three cards when bombing: the card before a bomb is released, the card when the bomb is released, and the card after a bomb is released. Only one bomb can be released at a time. It takes two hits to destroy a depot, meaning that the Albatross needs to hit the target at least twice.

    I don’t assume anyone has an Alb. C.I, but you can use any two seater model in its stead. It has no front gun but a rear gun in the standard arc.

    The Alb. C. I stats are as follows: XD, -/B, 13 hit points, ceiling 8, climb rate 7.

    If you are flying the C.I on AI, when in bombing range, take over the plane to enable bombing.

    As escort, the C.I has one German scout (choose any that are available but I suggest an Eindecker).

    Fictional:

    One of the first of the German “Riesen” (giant) aircraft was the Siemens Schuckert R.I. It never saw service on the Western front, and never really became operational in the East either because of technical issues, but that’s why this is called “fictional”. It was however available in June 1916, so that part works.

    Scenario is same as above, except that since there are three crew members, the plane can fire one of the arcs (either front and rear) and drop bombs at the same time, but it cannot fire in both arcs and drop bombs at the same time. There is no German escort.

    The SSR.I stats are XC, B/B, 24 hits, ceiling 8, climb 8. You should use a large base such as the Gotha or Caproni models or a medium base from Flights of the Giants (as opposed to a large one like the one for a Zeppelin Staaken).

    If you are as crazy as me and want to have a model on the table, Kampfflieger has a paper model available at http://www.wargamevault.com/product/...nsSchuckert-RI.

    British planes:

    Historical scenario:

    One good or two weak scouts. I leave it up to your conscience what you choose.

    Fictional scenario:
    Two scouts.
    Last edited by tusekine; 10-07-2014 at 11:27. Reason: Date added

  2. #2

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    Looks to be an interesting scenario; I will definitely play the historical version as is, but will play the fictional one using a Gotha I think. Thank you for the scenario(s)...

  3. #3

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    Thanks for this Anthony, by good scouts do you mean dh-2, n11/17 an weak you mean?

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    Looks very interesting to me Anthony. Not your usual bombing run with spot on targeting so the attack force should not find it too hard to hit if they come in low.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Twisted_terrain View Post
    Thanks for this Anthony, by good scouts do you mean dh-2, n11/17 an weak you mean?
    Si, I leave that up to you, but yes, I would view DH-2 and Bristol Scout as strong and Nieuport 11 as week. If you want to be really adventurous, pick Be2s... though it may take three or four to make a difference

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte View Post
    Looks very interesting to me Anthony. Not your usual bombing run with spot on targeting so the attack force should not find it too hard to hit if they come in low.
    Rob.
    That's why I set it up so that the attackers must come around twice...hopefully that will make a difference.
    Last edited by tusekine; 09-28-2014 at 14:18.

  7. #7

    Thumbs up

    That looks very interesting Anthony.

    Got to fly the Zep mission first so will be towards the end of October for this one.

  8. #8

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    Nice one Anthony - an excuse to wheel out my Alb C.I again !
    And a note for all, RFC should not be using the N.17 yet (Jul16); the Huns can use them as French opposition though.

    "He is wise who watches"

  9. #9

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    You put a lot of research into this one Anthony and it shows. Look forward to flying this one later this month when I get back to base.


    I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
    Coming down is the hardest thing

  10. #10

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    This looks like fun Anthony - will fly this in a couple of weeks (bit busy with building works at present )

  11. #11

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    It turned out to be a very nice scenario. Thank you.

    For those interested my AAR is posted in the campaigns discussion...

  12. #12

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    Wait, don't tell me, fire, boom, two kills for Cowboy ?

  13. #13

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    Yes, yes, YES! Cool huh!

    41 posted sorties
    80 victories scored by RFC pilots (balloons not included)
    6 Hun aircraft brought down by boom card
    1 Hun aircraft brought down by fire although many caught fire at one point in the games and several were in flames when shot down
    2 Hun aircraft brought down by collision

    Cowboy was "forced to land" four times - three by fire and once by engine - or approximately 1/10 of sorties flown.
    41 sorties
    58 victories

    10 RFC aircraft lost in the same scenarios
    1 lost by collision
    1 lost by boom card
    Last edited by WWIflyingace; 10-05-2014 at 09:50.

  14. #14

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    Perhaps Chuck should have the anachronism, "Boom, boom, boom, boom, Huh, huh, huh huh' in honour of his J.L. Hooker style victories.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  15. #15

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    :lol;


    I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
    Coming down is the hardest thing

  16. #16

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by Skafloc View Post
    Perhaps Chuck should have the anachronism, "Boom, boom, boom, boom, Huh, huh, huh huh' in honour of his J.L. Hooker style victories.

  17. #17

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    No idea who this hooker fellow is, but you guys remind me of the girls at the bus stop...

  18. #18


    I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
    Coming down is the hardest thing

  19. #19

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by WWIflyingace View Post
    No idea who this hooker fellow is, but you guys remind me of the girls at the bus stop...
    Girls at the Bus Stop? Not heard that one.
    You are obviously not into Blues Music Chuck!

  20. #20

    Default Note Changes to Scenario

    I have copied the set up change in the scenario into the sticky version Anthony. I'm still playing it out; I started the Entente one ruler east of the depot so that they still engaged after a couple of turns but have a couple of turns to get back on the bomber after the first pass before it drops its first load - which it would have done if I hadn't just nailed both the crew with wounds; I will play the wounded observer option and see if they can pull themselves together & get the bombs on target, they should be OK as their tormentor has to reload !
    Last edited by flash; 10-07-2014 at 22:51.

    "He is wise who watches"

  21. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by gully_raker View Post
    Girls at the Bus Stop? Not heard that one.
    You are obviously not into Blues Music Chuck!
    Yeah, not into blues. I went to the link but still don't know the guy. Should have elaborated with the 'girls' comment. There are these girls who always seem to come up with some obscure comment that only they seem to know anything about and then the all laugh at the same time leaving the rest of us with ah... okay that was nice... That was the feeling I had about hooker and everyone LOLing...

    There you have it.

  22. #22

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    Well the gunner got back up but they were savaged by ground fire and then blasted out of the sky by a tailing N.16 in their blind spot. Maybe a couple of AAMG may be an option - can't have these ground pounders taking all the credit !

  23. #23

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Well the gunner got back up but they were savaged by ground fire and then blasted out of the sky by a tailing N.16 in their blind spot. Maybe a couple of AAMG may be an option - can't have these ground pounders taking all the credit !
    G'day Dave & others!
    Yes I thought that 4 M/gun emplacements was a bit too strong so intend to play this one with just 2 M/G's with a Morane plus the N 11 from the Balloon busters set converted to carry British roundels. (wont be firing the rockets though!)

  24. #24

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    Well shouldn't I pay more attention. Just followed up the thread on this battle and read up on it. Birth of a regiment. Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, or to us Fusiliers as PPCLI, our sister regiment in Canada.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  25. #25

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    Would I be allowed to add an additional scout to either side?

    3x DH.2 vs 2x Fokker D.I/Eindecker E.III + 1 x Alb. C. I ???

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    Don't think anyone would stop you James !

  27. #27

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    Go for it James. If we get another story line like the last one out of it, you can fly a Pink Elephant with ginger spots on it for me.
    (I never said that, honest)
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  28. #28

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    Annnnnnnnd Breeeeath!

    Ye gods, I just finished playing (Sorry couldn't wait for a response so flew with additional scouts for each side + 1 DH.2 and +1 Eindecker)

    I will post 1 photo from the game that portrays the entire mission..... I had to take a 1 hour break with alcohol to calm the nerves (pure medicinal!) halfway through! Amazing luck, Amazing bad luck, Fantatic skill and total flukes!

    Click image for larger version. 

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  29. #29

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    Aha, a typical game of 'chasey' over the trenches, or 'following the leader'. Looks interesting can't wait for the AAR.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  30. #30

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    Neil, it was one big hairball of a scrap.

  31. #31

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte View Post
    Go for it James. If we get another story line like the last one out of it, you can fly a Pink Elephant with ginger spots on it for me.
    (I never said that, honest)
    Rob.
    You havent been seeing those Elephants again have you Rob?

    Remember what the Doc said about all that Gin!

  32. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by gully_raker View Post
    You haven't been seeing those Elephants again have you Rob?

    Remember what the Doc said about all that Gin!
    He just told me to keep away from the Gin, so now I use a long straw.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  33. #33

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte View Post
    He just told me to keep away from the Gin, so now I use a long straw.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Rob.

  34. #34

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    Not sure about the Bristol Scout being a strong aircraft, they are quite monouverable but low hit points, same as the N11
    Once I get this played, (and the next two) I want to try a RNAS version.
    2x Caudron G4 + 1 or 2 Stutter 2 seat versus 2x Roland CII over the Hydrogen plant at Friedrichshafen

  35. #35

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    Well that was interesting.
    back to normal, 4 men took to the air, one flew home, one walked, and two were carried.
    (I have yet to roll the dice for full personel damage)
    I will be posting in the next couple of days touch wood.

  36. #36

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    Sounds rough John. I am not looking forward to this with Kyte still recovering from his Blighty.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  37. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by johnbiggles View Post
    back to normal, 4 men took to the air, one flew home, one walked, and two were carried.
    Normal service resumed - I look forward to reading of their exploits John !



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