Solo Campaign: Hats in the Ring - USAS 1918 - Third Mission: Scarlet Snake Strikes!

[max_vale]

(Sorry for the long delay; but the holidays really ate up a lot of my time and this solo campaign DEFINITELY fell off the radar for the past month and a half or so....but now I've got some time again, so onwards we go!)


Toul Sector, France; May 31st, 1918


From the letters and personal journal of 2nd LT Ryan 'Dutch' Van Horn


On the last day of May, Jonathan 'JJ' Jones and I were supposed to fly out to a spot over No-man's land and escort a Salmson 2-seater on a photo-reconnaissance mission ove the German lines. We flew out to the rendezvous point and lo-and-behold there was no 2-seater to be found. As JJ and I were looking around for the plane, we were jumped by a Fokker Tri-plane painted in the same Red paint scheme as the late Red Baron's plane. It was the Scarlet Snake; a German Ace who had painted his plane to look like the late Von Richtofen's kite to strike fear in the hearts of Allied pilots. I can't speak for my Nebraskan wingman, but his paint-job didn't frighten me, but his marksmanship sure did....

-The situation; 2 American Nieuport 28s flown by veteran 2nd LT Ryan Van Horn (flying the '16' plane) and green 2nd LT Jonathan Jones (flying the '10' plane) are jumped by a Fokker Tri-plane flown by an Ace German pilot (with the Marksmanship ability, i.e. any damage card he inflicts that doesn't read 0, inflicts +1 extra point of damage)



I don't know if my guardian angel was looking out for me or not, but as the Hun dove out of the clouds above and behind us, he could have easily chosen me to attack first, but instead he chose my poor, Nebraskan farm-boy wingman who had yet to see plane-to-plane combat and his first bursts tore into JJ's right rudder...



After the initial attack, JJ and I broke towards each other, in an attempt to confuse the enemy and hopefully allow one or the other of us to get free to circle around. It worked for a brief moment as the Snake's next burst missed; but then he stalled and at point-blank range, he cut loose with a long burst that tore into the front-right side of my plane and caused by engine to sputter and cough for a moment. I must confess to thinking I might not make it back at that moment....but after that, the Scarlet bastard broke to the left and stuck on poor Jones' tail like a tick on a hound....






Jones and I circled back towards each other; but poor JJ caught another hail of lead from the Fokker and his engine began belching black smoke. The damnable Hun bore in close and riddle Jonathan's Nieuport from nose to tail and honestly, I'm not sure how poor Jones was able to keep that crate in the sky at all! Finally, I was able to finish my circle as the German flipped his plane over in an Immelmann turn and I was able to fire a brief burst that barely clipped the red Fokker before we passed each other at high speed and almost collided with each other! At about the same time Jones had been able to turn around to face our lines and thus was in a position to get in some licks as well; though if he had missed, he very well might have riddled me with lead instead! Luckily, the Nebraskan's aim was true and he was able to land a good solid burst into the Fokker!









Unfortunately, we were unable to keep the agile Fokker in our sights and as JJ tried to coax his shot-to-pieces plane towards the Allied lines, the Scarlet Snake was able to once again get on his tail and he finished the job he started with a burst from his twin Spandau's that sent the Nieuport falling thousands of feet down to No-man's land in hundreds of pieces. Poor JJ never had a chance; may God rest his soul. I'd love to say I was able to avenge him, but the Hun bastard flipped over in another Immelmann as I sped towards our lines and before I knew it, he was once again over the German lines and I returned to base with a heavy heart. JJ was the quietest and kindest member of our squadron and I'll never forget his courage and sacrifice for our nation. I'll miss him terribly....






-The Butcher's Bill:

2nd LT Jonathan Jones' Number 10 Nieuport 28: Total Damage: 16 (12 +4 for Marksman Ability); Pilot Shot Down and KIA




2nd LT Ryan 'Dutch' Van Horn's Number 16 Nieuport 28: Total Damage: 5



Scarlet Snake's Fokker Tri-plane: Total Damage: 5

[max_vale]

So, some quick thoughts....I've had the idea for a while for a couple of small scenarios (both involving 3 planes); to accomplish two things....

1. Use the Fokker Tri-plane minis I've had for a long time

and

2. Test out some Ace abilities

In this, the first one....I've got a German Ace ambushing a pair of American non-aces. Man...that Marksmanship ability is DEADLY! As is the Fokker's agility....those tight turns are NASTY! OF course, it doesn't move that far (i.e. it's slow)....but that didn't matter much in this scenario. My next scenario idea will reverse the idea....2 Fokker Tri-planes, including the Scarlet Snake; are going to be ambushed by my American Ace Flight Leader with the Marksmanship ability and the Bullet Checker ability (so Jams will be less likely). Let's see how that one goes!


Oh, also....the photos I took don't show every turn/move/position of the planes.....with only 3 planes on a fairly large playing surface, there were a few turns where nobody was anywhere near each other (particularly towards the end).....so I didn't take shots I didn't think would be 'interesting'.

[Flying Helmut]

Good job!

Ace abilities are something I have yet to try - I look forward to your next scenario.

Just one thing, though..........you need to get an old-style 'A' damage deck; the "engine damage" card in picture #4 is actually a gun jam for the Scarlet Snake!
The 'A' deck Engine Damage card is a 3 pointer, not a 2.

[max_vale]

DOH! I think I made the reverse mistake in my last scenario.....one of these days I'll get it right (I hope)!

[Mike George]

It's about having fun and learning every game, nicely played.

[Stumptonian]

I was wondering about this campaign yesterday.
Nice to see it back in the news.

Too bad about your wingman.

[LOOP]

Great AAR Max. A tripe can be a hard nut to crack.

[flash]

Max it's great to see the campaign back in the air and that was some hairy action with the Scarlet Snake !
I'm not sure which rules you're using for your ace abilities but to make them less deadly most of them have a use limit like once per turn or once every x number of phases. This might mean fewer +1's for your chaps so they'll survive a little longer !!
eg: in WoG Perfect Aim seems to match with your marksman - with the rider of when you use this skill, take three recovery counters before you use it again.
Looking forward to the Snakes next outing !

[gully_raker]

Well done Max!
Nice idea for a campaign.
I have the same problem with engine damage & jam cards with the WoG decks. Might I suggest just writing "Engine" on the card to avoid confusion in future.
Look forward to the next episode.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Thanks for that stirling AAR Max.
I thought that your story line was magnificent.
Rob.

[max_vale]

Thanks for the kind words fellas! I have this coming Thursday off and should be home alone....which should be a nice chance to try and give the dastardly Scarlet Snake his comeuppance!

[Nightbomber]

Good job!

Ace abilities are something I have yet to try - I look forward to your next scenario.

Just one thing, though..........you need to get an old-style 'A' damage deck; the "engine damage" card in picture #4 is actually a gun jam for the Scarlet Snake!
The 'A' deck Engine Damage card is a 3 pointer, not a 2.

Yes, Tim.
I wonder how a card designer could spoil such an easy project. It is so easy to make mistakes between engine damage and gun jam on the new ARES cards.

A very nice AAR indeed. Thanks!

[Blackronin]

Excellent scenario!

[BB401]

Great set of AARs. Looking forward to future installments.

[Warhawk]

Great flight and Well written. Looking forward to reading more.