Mission 9 - The Last Gasp of the Somme - 15th September 1916 - by FarEast
The Last Gasp of the Somme - 15th September 1916
Hptn. Jakob Von Machin was elated as his inquiries and inability to give up on his missing airmen was paying off. Apparently Taube had been taken alive to a Hauptverbandplatz where he had stayed several weeks before being sent back to Germany. He had only just got off the phone with the assistant to the Armee-Arzt who had done some serious leg work and found out where Taube was convalescing.
It was incredible he had survived not only the explosion but also the 3000 feet plunge to earth and he would tell the rest of the men about the incredible news that morning before he briefed the men on the mid morning sorties. No doubt it will entrench the feelings of Ltn. Werner Taube being the ‘lucky charm ‘of the squadron further and the thought of it raised a smile on his face.
As he got up to leave the phone on his desk rang and he looked at it quizzically as he picked up the receiver. “Ya, Hptn. Jakob Von Machin’.
The receiver lay were it had been hastily thrown as the claxon for the general alarm wailed its call. The aerodrome was alive like a hornets’ nest that had been poked with a stick by an unsuspecting school boy and just as dangerous.
5 aircraft were already on the grass outside their engines idling to warm up the oil, while airmen were hastily helped in to their flight suits by ground crew who fussed over them like nannies.
Von Machin had done away with the formal briefing and addressed his men over the purring of engines.
“Right now all I have is that the British have launched a surprise offensive, our first lines are in full route and if things continue the second lines will fall as well.”
The men were aghast as Von Machin continued.
“The British are using a new type of secret weapon that is impervious to our counter attacks; attempts to engage at close quarters have failed due to heavy ground support as well as enemy air support. Your job is to get in and take them out and support our ground forces so that they can retreat to the second lines, reform and organise a counter attack with us providing air support.”
Ltn. Gerhardt Reiher the most senior pilot and who would be leading this sortie raised his hand, Von Machin nodded.
“What is it, do we have any further information?” he asked.
“Right now command has said that it’s a heavily armored and mechanized, they are slow moving but able to traverse all obstacles and is well armed and everything and as I said everything we have thrown at them has been repulsed. You will have to engage them the same way you do when trench strafing as well as play decoy for any aerial support they have as an aerial observation group will be going up to direct artillery on to them, it seems to be the only thing able to stop them.”
Reiher rubbed the thick stubble on his chin pondering what he had heard, “Right, I think the best bet is to just harass them and allow our ground units to get in to the second trench lines safely”
The others including Von Machin nodded their consent, “Good Luck” he said looking Reiher in the eye, “No heroics, get the job done and get back here as we have no idea what command will want us to do next” They saluted and the men ran to their machines.
Hptn. Jakob Von Machin cursed, he’d completely forgotten to tell them the good news regarding Ltn. Werner Taube lucky escape, maybe it was for the best he pondered, as he walked back towards the mess where he was to brief the next sortie.
Down In the mud
Gefreiter Karl Teichmann peered through the trench periscope at the bedlam that was unfolding in front of him. The first line had completely broken two of those monstrous mechanical beasts had straddled Flers trench and were raking it up and down with machine gun fire and what looked like a whole battalion had completely over run the area. The men that had managed to escape were in full route and all along the lines he could hear the officers issuing orders to keep the moral up and prevent a complete route from happening.
He looked around his own section of trenches and whispered a small prayer, they and as he crossed himself and looked skyward in offering he saw the 5 specs that rapidly got larger, along the trenches a cheer went up as 5 German aircraft roared low directly over head as if in answer to Teichmann prayers.
2 minutes as the crow flies to the German Lines
Ltn. Gerhardt Reiher peered down on the scared earth of the Somme, even from here he could see what looked like giant beetles slowly crawling along in the mud, like mechanical ‘Motorradhelm’ or Wooddlice as Tommy called them. He fired a green flare into the air and tipped his wings diving towards the earth.
The rest of the squadron spread out and dived earthward passing low over the German trenches that were crowded with soldiers. They were so low he could make out the faces and of the waving men and as he passed over them he put his aircraft through a roll. They had been through hell that morning and no doubt appreciated the stunt.
As he got lower he could make out the British lines of advance as well as scores of German Infantry trying to make it back through the trenches and even over the top of them, some would make it, others wouldn’t.
Ltn Manfred Spatz couldn’t believe what he was seeing, those things were huge. They moved with slow menace like some blasphemous creature from the pits of hell and he crossed himself as one raked the fleeing men with its guns harvesting their souls.
He was transfixed by the evil of it and he shuddered.
2Lt. Lay Miller claimed his first kill with ease, he couldn’t understand why the German pilot hadn’t reacted and it was an image and a thought that would stay with him till his grave. He craned his neck around in time to see another aircraft bearing down on him; an instant later it opened fire on him racking his machine with accurate fire.
2Lt. Norman Wellwood came diving out of the sun, catching the German unaware. He knew he only had the shortest or margins to make his shots count before the German would be on him.
Ltn Wilhelm Struddelhoff hadn’t seen the enemy diving on him and he cursed himself for his school boy error, he put his thumb up to blot out the sun so he could make out the oncoming threat and fired a ranging shot at the ever increasing spec.
Sgt. George Malley cursed as his shots went just wide of their mark, the pilots were good and the new Albatros D.II’s that were slowly making it to front line units and they could stand on their tails out climbing anything the Entente could throw at them.
Taking advantage of the Albatros’ superior handling Ltn Gerhardt Reiher and Ltn Otto Hahn put their aircraft in to steep climbs to engage the oncoming Nieuport 17 hammering it with their twin Spandau LMG’s.
Above the trenches the brave men of the Royal Flying Corps and Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches battled for supremacy above the trenches.
Reiher was a tenacious pilot and believed in the glory of war, he desperately wanted to follow in the footsteps of the rising stars of the Air Force the death of Max Immelmann had come as a shock to most but Reiher knew that all men must die and that only the name could live on forever. He dreamed that his name would be carried on in history books through the annuals of time and the way to do it was to be the Ace of Aces.
Before the war had broken out he had high hopes of following his father and grandfather in to law school and eventually the family business, but the Keiser had called him to arms and so in this duty he would become the sword of the nation and the sharpest in the arsenal. He took no pleasure in the killing, but he had his duty and he would do it.
Pressing down on the trigger he unleashed a long burst of fire in to the Nieuport 17 and as he gained on it he saw wing spars shatter and the lower wings part from the fuselage joints. The aircraft unable to maintain lift nosed down in an uncontrolled dive and crashing just behind the German lines.
As Reiher passed over the crash site he tilted the aircraft so he could get a good look, they were fighting low over the fields and pastures and there was a good chance the pilot had survived. No doubt he would find out later and he made a mark of the crash site on his map, tucking it back inside his flight jacket breast pocket that was stitched at an angle making it easier to access in the cramped space of the cockpit.
While his wingman Reiher was busy with that demandable RFC pilot Ltn. Otto Hahn focused his attentions on the mission, he was annoyed that Reiher was putting personal glory over that of the mission, it was no secret that he wanted to be an ace and win the Pour le Merite but they flew combat patrols for a reason, this was air support and he needed to focus on that he would file a complaint with Von Machin when they returned, damn him!
He put his aircraft in a dive raking the advancing British with his machine guns. He was trying to hit the tanks but as he fired he saw men running in all directions obviously thinking they were safe behind those monstrous machines. He took great satisfaction in the slaughter as he saw droves of men fall to his guns and he wished he had brought some grenades with him.
Further down the lines Ltn Jurgen Koch was also strafing the infantry as they tried to make a break across ground towards the Germans second lines of defense. He saw some of his tracer rounds strike a tank a ricochet off its armor in to the air impervious to his guns.
Ltn Wilhelm Struddelhoff opened up on tanks that had straddled the trenches; he was shocked to see the rounds have no effect on them as they continued to rake the trenches oblivious to their airborne attacker.
Ltn Jurgen Koch circled around to make another run on the tanks advancing on to the German lines just as an artillery strike bombarded the area throwing huge gouts of mud and debris in to the air. Some of the shells made direct hits on the tanks will others stopped in their tracks and abandoned by their crews.
By now the British troops supporting the advance were more wary of the menace in the skies above them and as Struddelhoff made another run on them he saw them dive in to trenches, craters and behind the tanks making them almost impossible to hit.
Reiher focused his attentions on the tanks below him watching the artillery walking its rounds across the battle field leaving the carcasses of some tanks behind while other sat there smoking or immobile with no visible damage as he sprayed the area with machine gun fire he was disheartened as his guns jammed and he went to work trying to clear the obstruction.
Please ignore dice – Reiher was not an A.I although I actually rolled the dice for him on every attack.
Ltn Wilhelm Struddelhoff was not having any as much luck either as he made yet another pass on the advancing troops his guns jammed without being able to fire a single shot.
Ltn Otto Hahn dropped low over the trenches and fired at the British troops from behind, they didn’t see him coming and those that did thought him to be one of their own and he laughed as he poured fire in to the waving smiling faces, that suddenly turned to faces full of fear and loathing.
Reiher spotted another of the aircraft supporting the British ground forces as they continued their relentless act on the German lines that looked like they were being breached in numerous places along the front.
The other members of the squadron continued to harass the advancing Tommy’s with more strafing runs, however the tanks kept rolling and the battle raged on below them.
However the continued harassment brought down the fury of the RFC, Ltn Jurgen Koch had to take evasive action to shake the Nieuport 17 that was on his tail. Hohn saw the predicament of his friend Koch and swopping down on the unsuspecting pilot fired off two long bursts.
Within a matter of seconds Koch went from being the hunted to the hunter as he found himself on the unsuspecting tail of another N.17. Obviously the pilot had no idea he was there and the young German pushed his aircraft closer to his intended prey.
When he was within 50ft he fired off a long burst watching as the smoking trials of the tracers spiraled towards the aircraft and suddenly a long plume of flame trailed behind it.
2Lt. Norman Wellwood reacted instantly as the flames erupted from the engine cowling and threw his aircraft into a tight turn in the hope of preventing the flames from catching on the delicate canvas and wooden structure of the aircraft.
Reiher saw the Koch had things under control and ducking underneath he raked the infantry men, who scurried away like roaches as his guns cut through them. As he pulled up he checked the fuel gauges and his clock, they were running out of time and under normal conditions he might have been tempted to continue the fight until he was completely out of fuel and land in a field somewhere. But with the their lines breached and with no visible way of destroying those tanks with the means at their disposal the prudent thing would be to return to the aerodrome, refuel, rearm and maybe get the Roland’s up with some bombs.
He had time but not a lot and he turned his aircraft for another run on the marauding tanks.
Ltn Otto Hahn with no other ground targets in sight bore down on one of the aircraft, here he had the advantage, low altitude dog fighting and with the ability to out climb the nimble N.17 he could get up and away before turning back in on the fight.
The streaking ball of flame passed in to his peripheral vision just before crossing his sights, instinct took over and before he knew it he had pulled the trigger a second or so before the mass filled the ring of his Spandau’s aiming device.
Turning with his target he dropped his altitude to close in on his prey it would be foolish of him to throw away his chances with long range shots. Leaning in to the weapon he squinted through the hole cut in the wind shield that was now smeared with oil and grease from the engine. As he turned inside the enemy aircraft he slowly pressed the trigger mechanism attached to his control column and the Spandau’s barked to life. Pulling up and away he went to work clearing a jam on his right gun, mindful of the Nieuport 17.
2Lt. Norman Wellwood felt he had a guardian angel looking over him as he continued to keep the blazing aircraft in a tight turn. He scanned the skies around him as he turned, knowing full well that he was a sitting duck to any of those blasted Hun that were playing merry havoc on the ground troops below.
Oblivious to the easy kill circling the skies around him Ltn Wilhelm Struddelhoff dropped his altitude as he strafed the advancing troops again. He was positive that there advancements were slowing as more artillery rained down on them and the second line of German defenses organised themselves repulsing the infantry units were they had got ahead of the tanks they were supposed to be supporting.
The flames slowly crept back in to the cowling and with a sudden puff of acrid black smoke the flames died, Wellwood let out a sigh of relief and offered a silent pray to whichever saint was presiding over him.
Running low on fuel and unknown damaged caused by the fire Wellwood slipped away from the fight and headed for home.
With the enemy air cover dwindling the Germans quickly went about focusing their attentions on the targets below.
Ltn Jurgen Koch punched the air as he witness another salvo of artillery pounding the advancing British, he hoped that they were in time as although he had a bird’s eye view of the battle it was hard to make out what was happening.
It had got to the point now where the squadron was lining up to strafe the units on the ground, with no visible threats in the sky and the ground units caught up with hand to hand fighting and storming trenches or trying to counter attack they were able to rain death down with impunity.
As the sun set on the Somme the exhausted pilots of Eagle Squadron turned for home, they had given it their all but the British had broken through shattering the German second line of defenses in several locations with tanks running far behind lines.
One had made it to Flers flattening everything in sight, pushing down walls and thoroughly enjoying themselves, with the British infantry coming up behind them, taking over the village, or what was left of it, and digging in on the line prescribed for them before the attack. Thousands of prisoners were taken and sent back to British lines escorted by Pioneers armed with shovels.
Central Powers:
Ltn Gerhardt Reiher (RTB, 1Kill) - Beige
Ltn Otto Hahn (RTB) – Camo
Ltn Jurgen Koch (RTB) - Camo
Ltn Wilhelm Struddelhoff (RTB) - Beige
Ltn Manfred Spatz (EXP, FT) –Brown
Entente:
C: Sgt. George Malley (SD, ET)
B: 2Lt. Norman Wellwood (RTB)
D: 2Lt. Lay Miller (RTB)
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Well done James ! 
Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte
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