OTT ED Mission 12 - Flashes Assault at Verdun - 15th December 1916
Uncle gathered the men he'd selected in the briefing room late in the evening -
"Rally round chaps" He started, "As you know the French chaps have been shelling the Huns for the last week in preparation for the next big push. Now, as I expect you know, most of this fire has been directed by their boys in the air but they've taken such a hell of a shellacking at the hands of the local Jastas that they simply don't have enough serviceable aircraft for tomorrow mornings final sortie which neatly brings me to why we are gathered here tonight"
A barely audible groan emanated from the gathered pilots and crew, 2Lt Brad Hammer glanced at Lt Ben Downe who had chosen him as a wingman to escort the pair of new Royal Aircraft Factory RE8's being flown by 2Lt Bill Board and Cpl Jack Pott, and Lt Don Keye and Cpl Tommy Gunn.
Uncle went on and fleshed out the mission details finishing up with a warning for all of them.
"Well that's all I have to say other than I've received information from the French that you can expect to see a new type of Hun single seater up there - they believe it is a new version of the Albatros so you can expect it to be good and to have twin machine guns. Apparently it has a sesquiplane wing arrangement and V struts" at which point he proffered two fingers to the assembled men.
"Don't that just say it all" quipped Tommy Gunn.
"Yes, well, you shouldn't miss it" said Uncle quickly putting his hand down
"I'll aim not to" smirked Tommy as he winked at Jack Pott beside him at the back of the room.
"Quite so" responded Uncle with a smile "Dawn tomorrow then gentlemen, good luck".
And so it was that shortly after dawn the next morning Brad was escorting Don Keye & Tommy Gunn as they circled over their target of enemy redoubts and underground bunker entrances...
A short distance away to the south of them Ben Downe was doing the same for Bill Board and Jack Pott when the Germans came looking for them .
The Germans must have been a little surprised to see RFC aircraft and not French ones but that made little difference to the task in front of them - drive the enemy from the skies ! They were onto the Tommi's fast, Brad just had time to straighten up and go head to head with the onrushing Albatrii - one the new type he noted - he traded shots with a D.II type his rounds having no affect but the return fire panged through his rotary engine and it coughed flame and smoke.
Blowing past the now flaming Nieuport Ltn Christian Koch set about Don Keyes new RE8 as it circled the northern target - Tommy Gunn busy transmitting gco-ordinates in the back.
Over the southern target things were going equally badly for Bill Board as Vzfwbl Herman Bona (students D.II) gets past Lt Downe as he Immels and attacks Bill Boards RE8
Jack Pott is forced to stop transmitting and has a crack back at Bona but his Lewis gun stutters to a stop !
Ben Downe bleeds off some speed then turns in on Bona's Albatros, his close range burst leaving the Hun kite trailing smoke.
To the north Tommy Gunn takes an opportunity and sets the new D.III on fire - much to Herr Oberleutnants frustration !
Adding insult to injury Brad Hammer, turning to avoid his own fire blowing over the cockpit, peppers Kunzs' D.III as well !
The engagement nearly ends in tragedy as both protagonists collide ! The flimsier Nieuport coming off second best against the more robustly constructed Albatros; enough damaged caused to force brad to leave the field.
Having just survived that Obltn Kunz is then raked by Don Keye as he lifts his nose whilst he turns over the target - that is enough for the Obltn, with his brand new kite burning and shot to ribbons he is once again forced to head for home.
As he celebrates catching the D.III with a good shot Don is blind sided by Koch's D.II as it swoops back into the action - its long range effort punishes Don Keyes' kite and his world dissolves into splinters and broken glass as rounds from the D.II smash through his cockpit - a heavy blow driving the breath from his body.
Over the southern target area Bill Boards kite is heavily punished by Bona's kite with an accurate long range effort
Ben Downe shows he too can hand it out too by raking Strünklenberg's 'deaths head' D.II as he passes
Board continues to circle his target with Downe in close proximity when Bona gets back into the fight damaging Board's rudder as he does so.
Downe gets a shot off at Strünklenberg's D.II as they turn toward each other but even as he does so the wily Bona riddles his aircraft at close range and he feels a heavy blow to his body. Tommy Gunn exacts a measure of close range revenge damaging Bona's tail before his gun jams.
Disaster strikes the German fliers as they collide causing both significant damage
Don Keye and Koch circle each other warily waiting to see who will blink first
Bill Board keeps on target as the Huns look to cause him further damage - Ben Downe, semi-concious circles away from the action - when he comes to he heads for home
Koch charges in for a pass on the RE8 with his guns blazing but Don Keye, already buoyed by his previous success in driving off the D.III, has anticipated the assault and meets fire with devastating fire !
Downe, weak from his wound heads for the barn as Bill Board stays on his target - The Huns head to cut him off
As Koch's D.II spins away Tommy Gunn indicates mission complete as the French guns, now dialled in on the target below, begin to fire for effect. Don Keye heads their RE8 toward Bill Board to see if he can assist
It's already too Late ! Bona closes the gap and at close range his twin spandau's prove deadly !
Bona & Strünklenberg pass victorious over the falling RE8 and look for a fresh target
As the Germans make a bee line for him... with a heavy heart Don Keye does the same for home !
Vzfwbl Herman Bona (students D.II): RTB / 1 kill
Ltn Konrad Strünklenberg (Deaths Head D.II): RTB / 0 Kill
Obltn Paul Kunz (Alb D.III): RTB / 0 Kill
Ltn Christian Koch (D.II Blue detail): SD EXP NML / 0 Kill -
Rolled 6 -3EXP -1NML = 2 KIA
2Lt Brad Hammer: RTB / 0 Kills
Lt Don Keye RTB / WIA / 1 Kill
Rolled 5 +3RTB -1WIA = 7 Bruised skip 1 scenario
and Cpl Tommy Gunn: RTB / 0 Kills
Lt Ben Downe (Silver N.17): RTB / WIA / 0 Kills.
Rolled 7 +3RTB -1WIA = 9 All well when you land well.
2Lt Bill Board: SD EXP / NML / 0 Kill -
Rolled 7 -3EXP -1NML = 3 Severely Injured - Skip 1D6 Scenarios. Rolled 6 ! E&E: Rolled 7 -1WIA +1NML = 7 Landed almost home! - Skip 1 Scenario. TOTAL Skip 7 !
and Cpl Jack Pott: SD EXP / NML / 0 Kill - Rolled 10 -3EXP - 1NML = 6 Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. Rolled 4 = skip 2
E&E: Rolled 8 -1WIA +1 NML = 8 Landed almost home! - Skip 1 Scenario. TOTAL Skip 3
Southern Target (survives)
Spot the rogue C deck card - how did that get in there ?!
Northern Target (destroyed)
Only one target fully engaged - rolled D6 decider:
Rolled 2 = Partial Entente success - French offensive pushes Germans back
That came as a pleasant surprise - I thought rolling low was a loss !
Allowed long range shots by the gunners but mostly tried not to shoot so as to get the draw on the target - Not as easy as it looks - played it right way round second time but the end result was the same. One down each side, both to Booms on the same turn, and one target KO'd.
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The D.III seems to have a combustible nature - I thought the problem was cracking wing spars 
Glad to see all the chaps made it back (even if some were on foot).
Originally Posted by Archidamus
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