December 1917 had been a bitter month for the men in the Front Line Trenches!
Freezing temperatures, heavy snow then an unexpected thaw & more heavy snow had turned the supply roads into a mix of mud & snowdrifts.
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Vital supplies were unreliable to say the least & British H.Q. were concerned about the welfare of the troops although the cynics thought they were more concerned about Morale rather than the actual welfare of the men.
The request went out to the British public for a collection of Christmas Comfort parcels & the response was amazing. Soon the collection points at Post Officers & Railway Stations were bursting with parcels.
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But how to get them to the Troops by Christmas Eve? Well the Brass had a "Cunning Plan"!
It was Christmas eve morning when the phone in "Fathers" office cum dugout rang.
"Hearts of Oak Squadron" "Ah! Major Symington 14 Sqd RNAS here. May I speak with Major Triggers?" "Sorry Sir but Major Triggers is in Paris for that big conference with the French Aviation Militaire on Co-Operation" "Oh Damn! so who is the ranking Officer?"
"That would be Captain King of C Flight Sir" "Be a good chap & get him to the phone ASAP as this is rather urgent!"
Father sent the Orderly Sgt on the hunt for "Bon" who soon arrived. Handing him the phone after briefing him on the caller "Bon" said "King here Sir, how may I be of assistance?" "Well GHQ have requisitioned my Squadron of Handley-Page 0/100's to deliver these confounded Christmas Parcels to the front line troops by this evening, by parachute no less! Now I wanted to see if your chaps could provide 2 escorts to the HP that is allocated to your sector. According to the Brass all is quite over the lines & it should be a milk run but of course you never know!"
Bon's response was immediate. " More than happy to assist Sir! Where & when do we meet up with your crew?"
" I suggest you assemble at the road junction near Roulliers at 1400. That should give everyone time to deliver the parcels whilst there is ample light"
"Right Sir. I will brief my chaps & have them on station at 1400. Good bye Sir & good luck to your boys!"
"Bon" called 2nd Lt Anthony "Quick" March shortly returned from wound leave & now an Ace together with 2nd Lt Algy Smyth-Browne to his flight office & outlined to mission. "Now I know HQ said it would be a "Milk Run" but you never know the old Hun so keep a good eye out & protect those Bomber Boys!"
"Quick this should be an ideal way to settle you back to flying after your long break, are you up for it?" The Kiwi was quick to respond " B oath Sir cant wait to get my bottom back in a "grid" again!" "Alright then, young Algy is a good pilot & will fly as your wingman." Now go, check your ground crew will have your Camels prepped & ready & then have a rest & a good lunch."
Meanwhile on the German side of the lines at the Eagles Jasta Chateau things were not all Joyeaux Noel. The pilots were still reeling from the mauling they had received at the hands of the verdamm British. After the loss of their Staffelfuehrer they were now faced with the fact that his replacement Ltn Wilhelm Ulmer would be out of action for a few weeks due to wounds he received in the last engagement.
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As they sat around discussing the coming of Christmas they were interrupted by an excited Orderly.
"Herr Ltns, Herr Ltns! There is a General arriving in a staff car!"
The pilots rushed to the windows & indeed there was a German General in full regalia.
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After a round of Saluting & an offer of Drinks the General addressed the officers & men.
"I know vell the losses you have endured at the hands of the Britishers but I bring you news that should give you the chance of revenge!" "Our spies have uncovered a plan by the British to deliver by parachute Christmas parcels to their front line troops. Now imagine the blow to their morale if they see these aircraft along with their precious parcels destroyed before their very eyes! Now I want you to be waiting for them in superior numbers when they approach the front trenches. Now I haff brought a case of Schnapps so a drink or two to fortify you against the cold & the remainder to celebrate your success on your return! Salute!"
The Mission
March & Smyth-Brown took off & met up with the big bomber at the designated point & flew towards the front line of trenches.
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The bomber turned starboard to commence its mission whilst "Quick" flew across its nose to link up with Algy.
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Off in the distance they saw a group of German Aircraft approaching from the North East. "Humm, so much for no activity & a milk run mused "Quick". He waggled his wings & pointed to make sure Algy was aware of the danger.
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The 2 groups of Aircraft closed rapidly & Quick was pleased to see they had drawn the attention of the Hun's away from the Bomber.
The first shots were fired with the Germans getting the better of the exchange.
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The German Kette was led by Ltn Wilhelm Schuster the most experienced of the Eagles pilots fit for duty & he was followed by Ltn Richard Schneider in the black fuselage Albatross whilst off on the sides were Ltn Kurt Walz in the dazzle camo Dr.I & Ltn Kurt Parschu in the other triplane with the black & white tail.
Quick noted that most of the German Aircraft were now sporting some combination of the Black & White colours they had recently adopted after the loss of von Bukard.
The Handley Page now commenced to line up its first drop target & dropped its first load well over the Trench.
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The Scouts continued their dogfight & whilst so far fire from the Trenches had been sporadic & ineffective now a lucky shot hit the fuel tank of Ltn Parschu's Fokker & the aircraft exploded in a ball of fire. First kill to the "Tommies!"
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The Scouts continued to manoeuvre for advantage & finally Quick was able to latch onto the tail of Schneider's Albatross & scored a hit.
Both British Aircraft had climbed up to meet the Germans at the same altitude.
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Schneider immediately Immlemaned but again Quick got the better of the exchange causing damage to the Albatross' rudder.
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The two aircraft continued their duel & Quick again scored a hit but for little result.
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Meanwhile the Bomber had overflown the next Trench & had withheld dropping supplies & now headed for another trench.
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A three way battle had developed between Algy's No.4 Camel & the Albatross of Schneider & the Fokker flown by Walz with Algy getting the worst of it.
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Closing on the Albatross, Algy finally got some good hits whilst the Trenches continued to be ineffective.
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As the Handley Page got ready to drop another load of parcels all 3 of the German Aircraft now started to home in on the British bomber pursued by the Camels.
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Soon Walz's Fokker exchanged fire with the Bomber which gave as good as it got & to rub salt in the guns of the Fokker jammed after the first shots. Again Trench fire was useless.
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Algy had continued to tail the black Albatross but his guns now jammed & he was unable to capitalise on his flying!
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The British Bomber now dropped its second load onto the Trench whilst the Fokker Triplane passed overhead.
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Finally one of the trenches managed to hit a German Aircraft causing damage to Schuster's tail.
He now closed on the Handley Page & they exchanged close range fire. Sadly the Germans bullets killed one of the rear gunners of the British machine.
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Schneider now turned the tables on Algy taking advantage of his jammed guns & managing to wound the young pilot in the meaty part of his right thigh.
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The Bomber now commenced the task of turning to head for another trench.
Schneider took a snap shot at Quick's Camel which was shepherding the bomber but caused little damage.
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The Germans continued to stalk the bomber but to little effect. the Fokker Triplane got a close range burst into March's tail damaging his rudder controls.
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The next round of shooting saw the German cause minor damage to the Bombers tail surfaces but in return damaged the radial engine of the Fokker.
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The H-P now commenced to line up its next Drop point ignoring the harassment of the German Aircraft & managed to drop the parcels at the edge of the trench line.
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Disaster now struck the German aircraft. Perhaps affected by its damaged engine the Fokker of Ltn Walz & his Kette leader Ltn Schuster collided & whilst the initial collision caused no damage in trying to disentangle themselves a second collision followed with catastrophic damage to the Fokker as the Albatross' landing gear pulled the top wing off the Fokker which fell to the ground in ever steepening spirals. The Albatross again avoided any damage.
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As the German pilots reformed after that tragic accident a German Albatross C.III piloted by Fwbl. Wolfram Reimer with Ltn Heinrich Hippert in the Observers seat returning from an Observation flight decided to join the action. It immediately exchanged shots with March's Camel.
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The Handley Page was now lining up for its third drop having shaken off the attention of the German Scouts after the collision & intervention of the British fighters. Again the drop was seen to land within the Trench system.
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"Quick" March was again in the thick of action between the newly arrived Albatross C & Schneiders D.V.
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March's final burst was just too much for the German Aircraft which crashed into the area of the British lines.
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The British Bomber was now a long way away from the action & started to line up its final drop of the mission.
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Tragedy now struck the British scout leader as a front on exchange of fire with the German Kette leader saw the Camel explode & crash to earth behind the British front line.
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Algy incensed by the loss of Ltn March so soon after his return from wound leave made an immediate attack on the Albatross which had shot him down & whilst he scored some good hits on the German aircraft his Bentley engine was damaged by return fire!
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Passing the German Scout he now took out his rage on the Albatross 2 seater & was gratified to see the German pilot jerk up in his cockpit & knew he had wounded him as well.
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The Handley Page was now heading for home with a long lead on any German aircraft with the will to chase it & almost by mutual agreement Algy with a damaged engine, the German Kette leader with a heavily damaged Aircraft & the Albatross C.III with a badly wounded pilot broke off the engagement & headed back to their respective Aerodromes. All with concern for the pilots they had lost on this Christmas Eve!
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However the British contingent could be satisfied with the knowledge they had brought some Christmas Cheer to the shivering Tommies in the front line Trenches.
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Comments & Observations
Well What a Marathon that was! Started at 9am on Saturday morning & finished the game at just after 3pm with a half hour break for lunch. A total of 16 game turns! Twas great fun though!
Couple of interesting comments: Not ONE FIRE card drawn! I think that is the first time in a Solo Campaign game that has ever happened. Not too many Jam cards either. I used flash's D8 charts for the AI aircraft & I flew the H-P.
I flew the Bomber as a H-P 0/100 NOT a 0/400. Used the slower XA deck with 29 damage points instead of 30. Used Zoe's Altitude Rules with the Bomber always at Alt 4 although it looked higher as I was using a Shapeways model with an AA base & not Ares Pegs which meant I could not get it any lower (One piece peg!) Germans came in at Level 5 & the Camels climbed to meet them in the first few turns. Think I missed a few + ones for continuous shooting mainly from the Camels. I did not show many trench fire shots as these were mostly ineffective apart from the spectacular Explosion to the Fokker Triplane early in the game. I was glad I got to use my new Albatross C.III 2 seater.
Moral Points Scoring
Drop Points: 1 x 75% = 4mp
1 x 50% = 3mp
2 x 25% = 4mp
1 Santa returned to base = 2mp
1 German Aircraft shot down = 1mp
TOTAL MORAL POINTS = 14 M P's
Butchers Bill will be posted later this evening or early tomorrow!
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