Mission 10: The Train-Busters
Mission briefing:
Central units involved:
1 Aviatik D.I (pilot Tobias Klein)
1 Fokker DVII (pilot Georg Steinbecker)
2 Albatross D.IIIs (pilots Adolf Rosenthal, Kristof Belheim)
Allied units involved:
2 Se5as (pilots Joseph Montgomery, Jackson Black)
1 Hanriot HD.1 (pilot Cover El Lavan)
1 Steam engine carrying 1 cargo car and 1 AA car
The mission began with the DVII and Aviatik engaged with the 2 Se5as. At the same time, over on the other end of the table, the 2 Alby D.IIIs got the dirty work of strafing the train. The Hanriot was the closest fighter to stop them.
Joining us once again for this mission were cousins Wyatt and Riley and brother Shaw. Wyatt flew Joseph Montgomery's Se5a. Riley flew Jackson Black's Se5a. Shaw flew Georg Steinbecker's DVII.
We kept the rules for the train simple. At the beginning of every 3-card turn, the train would move one track segment ahead. Both train cars could take 5 damage points while the train engine could take 10. The rear-most car was the AA car. It could hit any plane within a ruler's distance with 1 card of A damage.
The Albatrosses bear down on the steamer, low and slow.
From the cockpit of his Hanriot, Cover El Lavan watched the two Albatrosses glide towards the cargo train. They attacked in single file, first one firing and then the other. The results were devastating. Both cars unhinged from the train. The cargo car collapsed into pieces; the AA car actually exploded. Cover cringed. There went the train's valuable cargo. And he still had ground to make before he could attack the fighters. Cover set his jaw, enriched the Hanriot's mixture and firewalled the throttle. He just hoped he would arrive before they got to the engine.
The AA car succumbed to Kristof Belheim's bullets with a loud blast. Kristof whooped and pumped his fist in total exhilaration. That had been his first victory. He felt almost giddy. Then he saw the steam engine. It was puffing hurriedly away, hoping not to be noticed. But such was not the case. Kristof saw his leader, Adolf Rosenthal, sneaking up behind the steamer at almost stalling speed. Kristof kicked rudder and slid into a head on firing angle on the steamer. He mashed the trigger, arms shaking with excitement. Adolf was firing too now, and the steam engine was riddled with holes from behind and in front. Escaping steam hissed from the punctured boiler and the train ground to a halt.
In the meantime, to the West...
Steinbecker wrestled with the stick of his DVII. He turned tighter and tighter, pushing it to the limit. Blood slowly drained from his head. He could hear the airframe creak and groan.
The Se5as came in again, diving from above. The powerful Se5a roar combined with the sharp crackling of machine guns filled his senses. Instinctively, Steinbecker did a half roll to throw their aim. Then quickly rolling the opposite way, he tried to turn onto their tails. Blast it though, they were too quick! That was when he noticed Tobias Klein's Aviatik had started to trail smoke. They may have missed him, but they had hit poor Toby.
Joseph Montgomery climbed steeply after his last diving pass on the Central fighters. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see Jackson Black was still behind him.Good lad, Joseph thought. Way to stick with your leader.
Joseph stared through his windscreen. Things looked pretty bad over to the East. He could see the train had stopped dead and he was almost sure he could see two Albys ganging up on a Hanriot. He swiveled and looked behind him again. The DVII and that Aviatik he had hit last pass were milling about rather dazedly. At least they weren't on the offensive right now. This would be the perfect time to break off and help that Hanriot pilot.
Joseph caught Jackson's eye and motioned to the East. Jackson nodded, signaling he understood and then made an "after you" gesture. Joseph chuckled and set his bearing for the distant fracas.
At this same time to the East...
After the steam engine stopped, Adolf Rosenthal increased throttle and lifted his plane's nose, bringing it into a gentle climb. He did a quick area scan and was soon glad he did. At his 3 o'clock position, a bright-blue Hanriot was closing fast. Adolf turned to engage, hoping Kristof would notice and do likewise. As the distance between him and his enemy grew shorter, Adolf squeezed off a few rounds and saw them impact the Hanriot. But the pilot didn't pull away. Instead, he came right at Adolf, shooting with deadly accuracy. A white-hot heat wave scorched Adolf, followed by a sinister flickering sound. His cockpit glowed strangely orange around him. Fire! He was on fire!
As the fighters closed, Cover cooly put his sight on the leading Albatross. Bullets popped all around him, but he calmly waited until the last possible second. Then he fired! Cover saw a brilliant flash of flame as they sped past each other. Cover wasn't taking any chances though. He banked sharply to pursue his target. The Albatross pilot, though still flaming, did a hard reversal to meet him. Cover had to hand it to that guy, he was brave if not nuts. But that didn't stop him from pulling the trigger. The Albatross fell from the sky and crashed ungracefully in the snow.
Kristof watched in horror as his leader spiraled to the ground. Suddenly he felt very angry. He was about to do something reckless and he knew it. He yanked the stick and went head on with the nearest enemy fighter, an Se5a. He fired blindly, spraying bullets everywhere. But anger and emotion is not a good substitute for experience. Return fire from the Se5a ripped through Kristof's plane...and his body. Kristof yelled in pain and despair as his plane nosed over and hit the ground. He did not see, however that the Se5a was falling from the sky as well.
Tobias Klein pushed his smoking Aviatik as fast as he dared until he and Steinbecker caught up to the fight. Things hadn't gone well for Tobias from the start, but now, as he circled into the fray, he hoped his luck would change. Yet he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something bad was about to happen...
Jackson Black swiveled his head back and forth, trying to find his leader. Planes swirled all around him; it was impossible to tell who was who. Then one of the flew right in front of him. He blinked. Black crosses on the wings...a Hun! Jackson gently applied rudder, perfecting his aim and then let the Hun have it. The already-smoking plane gasped and fell earthwards. Jackson felt better. Maybe getting a kill would justify losing Joseph. A vivid picture of Joseph with a stern look on his face flashed unbidden to his mind. Ok...maybe not.
It didn't take Steinbecker long to realize he was alone against two Allied fighters. Grimacing, the veteran pilot turned about, choosing to head at the enemy rather than present his tail to them.
Steinbecker fired at the Se5a as it blew by and then focused his sights on the trailing Hanriot. He let loose a lethal burst of concentrated fire as they closed. The Hanriot's wings folded, their support wires snapping discordantly as the fighter dropped into a snowbank. Steinbecker did not take time to gaze at his victory though. The fight wasn't over yet.
The remaining Se5a banked and came at Steinbecker again. The now-familiar sound of machine guns crackling filled the sky once more. The two aircraft closed and roared past each other in the blink of an eye. Steinbecker looked back and saw with relief that his adversary had lost an aileron and was spinning out of control. But then he also felt the flames licking from his own engine. Things just never end easily. Steinbecker laughed grimly. The trip home would be interesting to say the least.
Debreifing:
Central pilot Adolf Rosenthal destroys a train car and shares credit for destroying a steam engine with Kristof Belheim. But he is himself shot down by Hanriot HD.1 piloted by Cover El Lavan; 2 kill confirmations requested; POW.
(Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of his damage!
)
Central pilot Kristof Belheim destroys a train car, shoots down an Se5a piloted by Joseph Montgomery and shares credit for destroying a steam engine with Adolf Rosenthal. But he is himself shot down by Se5a piloted by Joseph Montgomery; 3 kill confirmations requested; POW.
Central pilot Tobias Klein is shot down by Se5a piloted by Jackson Black; POW.
Central pilot Georg Steinbecker shoots down an Se5a piloted by Jackson Black and a Hanriot HD.1 piloted by Cover El Lavan. But he is forced to crash land in German territory due to flame; 2 kill confirmations requested; WIA.
Allied pilot Cover El Lavan shoots down an Albatross D.III piloted by Adolf Rosenthal but is himself shot down by a Fokker DVII piloted by Georg Steinbecker; 1 kill confirmation requested; WIA.
Allied pilot Joseph Montgomery shoots down an Albatross D.III piloted by Kristof Belheim but is himself shot down by Kristof Belheim; 1 kill confirmation requested; WIA.
Allied pilot Jackson Black shoots down an Aviatik D.I piloted by Tobias Klein and also forces a Fokker DVII piloted by Georg Steinbecker to crash land. But he is himself shot down by Georg Steinbecker; 1 kill confirmation and 1 victory confirmation requested; WIA.
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Originally Posted by Barkmann
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