PensyDerJäger
08-23-2012, 13:56
For your information, everybody, I'm writing a historical fiction novel about aviation in World War I, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II entitled "The Winged Tide". It's about two pilots from World War I, an Army and a Marine pilot, who survive World War I and end up on opposite sides of World War II. I'll post further on it in the Officer's Club. Anyway, I'm creating a campaign based on the exploits of one of the main squadrons in the book, a fictional mercenary unit called the Shadow Legion. The group started in the days of Ancient Rome as a splinter faction of the Roman army that left the service and worked as mercenaries. The Shadow Legion continues their tradition into World War II, this time in the air. Their leader is one of the main characters, Cassius Longinus Booth, the aforementioned Army pilot from the World War I section of the book. Booth's father is an illegitimate son of John Wilkes Booth, making Cassius by extension the grandson of John Wilkes Booth. He joined the Shadow Legion in the 1920s after leaving the army, and quickly became the head of a Shadow Legion detachment hired by the Germans to train the Luftwaffe in the early 1930s, before Hitler went public with the Luftwaffe's existence. Booth leads the Legion throughout the war after Germany invaded Poland, and he and the legion played a vital role in the Battle of Britain. The Legion gets specialized training, and they fly the latest aircraft that Germany has, so they are often used as an "elite" squadron to take on the jobs no one else is able (or willing) to...for the right price, of course. The campaign as I have it planned for now includes the exploits of the Legion in the Battle of Britain. The campaign's title comes from the emblem of the Shadow Legion, an aquila (a golden eagle that was the symbol of the Roman legions) clutching a black pearl.
Campaign notes:
Remember, when naming the pilots, the Shadow Legion in the book is almost exclusively American. Most are young men who joined during the Great Depression, because they had no money and the Legion paid top dollar for their services, and it offered them a chance to see the world. I would suggest giving the pilots American names for the sake of contininuity, but you players do what you want.
If you have minis and you feel the overwhelming urge to repaint them in different colors for the Shadow Legion, here is their paint scheme. The Legion's planes are black, with a gold stripe running down the tail, and on the tail where there is a swastika on the regular German planes, there is the Legion's aquila clutching the black pearl. Their wing insignia (where the Germans have the Luftwaffe cross) are golden aquilas. If you need to know what a Roman aquila looks like, look it up on your favorite search engine or find it in a book for clarification.
You'll obviously need Messerschmitts for the Shadow Legion (it's their standard fighter in the Battle of Britain in the book). I have the Dawn of War base set with all its components and planes, as well as the Flying Legends and Eagles of the Reich squadron boosters, and I do not have miniatures (at the moment, anyway;)) I personally use Hauptmann Wilhelm Balthassar's 109 to represent Booth, and occasionally include Adolf Galland's plane in the fights (Galland and Booth are close friends in the book, as they served together in Spain and again during the Battle of Britain) Remember, Booth in the book is an Oberst (Colonel), so he outranks pretty much everyone on the field. I'll start a thread about my novel on the Officer's Club area soon, until then feel free to post all your comments and suggestions on the campaign and any rules for it. I strongly suggest you have the two aforementioned boosters before you play the campaign, but it's entirely up to you!
Alright, now to the first mission...
June 16, 1940
Planes:
Oberst Cassius Longinus Booth, Bf-109 E-4 (if you have the Eagles of the Reich, Hauptmann Wilhelm Balthassar's plane)
Oberst Adolf Galland (Booth's wingman, he comes with the Dawn of War basic set)
Oberleutnant Michael Browne (can be any 109, he's one of Booth's pilots from the Shadow Legion)
Enemies:
3X Spitfire MkI fighters, any pilots
Description: While out on patrol shortly before the surrender of France, Booth and Galland, along with Oberleutnant Michael Browne of the Shadow Legion, run afoul of a flight of British fighters over the English Channel. Booth, Browne, and Galland, fresh out of the Battle of France, must fight for their lives and defeat their enemies. The Battle of Britain has begun...
Objective: Shoot down all enemy fighters
If you want to see how this mission and subsequent ones turn out in the book, then get it and read it as soon as it comes out!
Feel free to post any After-Action Reports on this mission, and I'll have some more missions ready to go later on! I'd appreciate any feedback on the campaign rules or the mission setup as well!
Good luck and good hunting, Kamaraden!
Campaign notes:
Remember, when naming the pilots, the Shadow Legion in the book is almost exclusively American. Most are young men who joined during the Great Depression, because they had no money and the Legion paid top dollar for their services, and it offered them a chance to see the world. I would suggest giving the pilots American names for the sake of contininuity, but you players do what you want.
If you have minis and you feel the overwhelming urge to repaint them in different colors for the Shadow Legion, here is their paint scheme. The Legion's planes are black, with a gold stripe running down the tail, and on the tail where there is a swastika on the regular German planes, there is the Legion's aquila clutching the black pearl. Their wing insignia (where the Germans have the Luftwaffe cross) are golden aquilas. If you need to know what a Roman aquila looks like, look it up on your favorite search engine or find it in a book for clarification.
You'll obviously need Messerschmitts for the Shadow Legion (it's their standard fighter in the Battle of Britain in the book). I have the Dawn of War base set with all its components and planes, as well as the Flying Legends and Eagles of the Reich squadron boosters, and I do not have miniatures (at the moment, anyway;)) I personally use Hauptmann Wilhelm Balthassar's 109 to represent Booth, and occasionally include Adolf Galland's plane in the fights (Galland and Booth are close friends in the book, as they served together in Spain and again during the Battle of Britain) Remember, Booth in the book is an Oberst (Colonel), so he outranks pretty much everyone on the field. I'll start a thread about my novel on the Officer's Club area soon, until then feel free to post all your comments and suggestions on the campaign and any rules for it. I strongly suggest you have the two aforementioned boosters before you play the campaign, but it's entirely up to you!
Alright, now to the first mission...
June 16, 1940
Planes:
Oberst Cassius Longinus Booth, Bf-109 E-4 (if you have the Eagles of the Reich, Hauptmann Wilhelm Balthassar's plane)
Oberst Adolf Galland (Booth's wingman, he comes with the Dawn of War basic set)
Oberleutnant Michael Browne (can be any 109, he's one of Booth's pilots from the Shadow Legion)
Enemies:
3X Spitfire MkI fighters, any pilots
Description: While out on patrol shortly before the surrender of France, Booth and Galland, along with Oberleutnant Michael Browne of the Shadow Legion, run afoul of a flight of British fighters over the English Channel. Booth, Browne, and Galland, fresh out of the Battle of France, must fight for their lives and defeat their enemies. The Battle of Britain has begun...
Objective: Shoot down all enemy fighters
If you want to see how this mission and subsequent ones turn out in the book, then get it and read it as soon as it comes out!
Feel free to post any After-Action Reports on this mission, and I'll have some more missions ready to go later on! I'd appreciate any feedback on the campaign rules or the mission setup as well!
Good luck and good hunting, Kamaraden!