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Thread: OTT BE Mission 20 - Albert to Bapaume - 23rd August 1918

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    Default OTT BE Mission 20 - Albert to Bapaume - 23rd August 1918

    OTT BE Mission 20 – Albert to Bapaume - 23rd August 1918

    Lt Harold Medlicott scanned the air around him for as far as his eyes could see. He was thousands of feet above the fields of France in a place he normally loved to be. The chill was a stark reminder that he was still alive. The view was stunning and the colours vibrant. A patchwork quilt of yellows and greens, marred only by the browns and blacks of conflict that stretched like a scabbed and pockmarked wound from south to north and thereafter to a glittering blue/green that was the sea – the way home! It was a view that few currently bearing his twenty odd years of age had, or ever would, see, during their lifetime. He should feel privileged, elated even. But today he was anxious!

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    Visibility was poor despite there being few clouds around. The air was thick and hazy – ripe for ambush perhaps. And the mood in the mess last night had been fidgety, almost sombre. It should not have been. Ground forces had been successful these last few weeks and there were rumours of the end of the tunnel being in view. But, like everyone else, he knew he was still in that tunnel and there were those, not far off, that were determined he should stay there, for eternity! He shuddered! His enemy was good, very good, and no matter what happened on the ground, they had no intentions of losing the fight in the air!

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    Complacency was a dangerous friend. His concentration was wavering and he realised, with a jolt of fear in his stomach, that he was day dreaming. Snapping back to the here and now, he rapidly turned his head this way and that, his neck chafing against his collar, reminding him, painfully, he had lost his treasured white silk scarf only the day before. His wing man, 2nd Lt John Roberts, a dependable and reliable colleague, was right where he should be, a short distance behind and to starboard, watching his back. The other two pilots forming his patrol, 2nd Lts Hammond and Turpin, were off to his left, the gap between them left by a fifth pilot who had just turned back towards the barn, indicating engine problems. It happened all the time. The others would close up in due course.

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    He stared forward into the haze and picked out the lumbering form of an RE8. One of their own! No doubt on some form of reconnaisance, spotting for the artillery or taking photos perhaps. Oh how grateful he was not to be piloting that thing! An important job he knew, but vulnrable as hell to everything and everybody – archie, enemy two seaters and scouts, even their own artillery. It wasn’t unknown for crews on such missions to be blown to kingdom come by a shell intended for the hun!

    Then, to his horror, he saw the RE8 blow up before his eyes. It lurched to a halt, surrounded by smoke and debris, then slowly gathered speed as it wallowed, clumsily, towards the earth below. Four enemy scouts had launched their ambush and he now saw them twisting and turning in his direction. “Damn”, he should have spotted them earlier; would have done on a clearer day! Or was it his daydreaming that had failed him? He waggled his wings and went into the attack.
    (Benzler, DVII, fires on RE8, Leather/Salford “0”. Brünig, Fokker EV, fires on RE8 – Boom. One kill to Brünig)

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    Oddly enough, the German pilots seemed just as surprised to have two Sopwith Camels suddenly appear out of nowhere, as one of the Germans had just turned back in the direction from whence it had arrived. Medlicott could see why though. It was probably to avoid a collision with his friends, three more of whom had converged on the unfortunate RE8 crew like sharks rounding up a shoal of herring. He opened fire, at close range, on the nearest enemy aircraft, a Fokker DVII, resplendent in its’ pink livery – daka daka daka daka, daka daka daka daka. He was accutely aware of the return fire, but knew he had caught his opponents unawares as their aim was largely ineffective.
    (Medlicott, Sopwith Camel, fires on Benzler, DVII, “3+0” uses ace ability Marksman I to add “1+ LRJ” in place of the “0”: Benzler, DVII, fires on Medlicott, Camel, “”0+1”. Beckman, EV, also fires on Medlicott at LR, “0”.)

    Roberts, keeping station, had followed him in and he too opened fire on a second DVII, also experiencing ineffective return fire, although for a rather more gruesome reason. He never witnessed this, but the pilot of this second, mostly blue, aircraft had been seriously wounded in the exchange and would now turn away, attempting his escape back through the melee, his survival depending on a rapid return to the barn and medical assistance.

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    (Roberts, Sopwith Camel, fires on Parschau, DVII, “3 + 5 + pilot wound: Parschau, DVII, fires on Roberts, Camel, “0 + 0”)
    The idea of “formation” then quickly disappeared as the chaos of battle ensued and almost inevitably three of the contestants collided in mid air. Get behind your enemy and a collision is unlikely to occur, but face him head on, in what later generations would describe as a “chicken run” and you were asking to get yourself killed. As it turned out, lightening fast reflexes, coupled with a few months experience, saved all three pilots, for the time being. But whilst the wounded Ltn Kurt Parschau, whose painful condition may have been the primary cause of this incident, got away scott free, the DVII of Ltn Ernst Benzler and the Camel of Lt Harold Medlicott, were both seriously damaged. (3 way collision resulting in “C” damage [not shown in photo]: Medlicott, Camel, “6”; Benzler, DVII, “8”; Parschau, DVII, “0”)
    Along side this potentially catastrophic event, Roberts, out on the flank, had another shot, at long range, against the receding monoplane; one that he didn’t recognise but had heard rumours of. He missed and cursed, at the same time, because his guns jammed. Why did that always happen just when you felt you had your enemy bang to rights? (To coin a phrase long since fallen into disuse – no sniggering, those who recognise the change in literal meaning). (Roberts, Camel, fires on Brünig, EV, “0”)
    This, of course, was the moment that the remaining two members of the Camel flight decided to add their pennyworth to the confusion. Flying rapidly towards the affray, the two approached, 2nd Lt Arthur Hammond leading the way, with guns blazing, and 2nd Lt Richard Turpin not far behind.
    (Hammond, Camel, fires on Beckman, EV, “5”)


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    As the two newcomers burst into the centre of the fight, so the rest of the pack scattered to the four winds. Benzler and Beckman glared at one another with both fear and anger in their eyes, each mentally blaming the other for yet another near collision between themselves. Bullets flew here and there, sent by desperate men towards fleeting targets that twisted and turned in their efforts to either gain advantage or avoid death. Hammond scored again, raking the luckless Parschau as his DVII lurched across his sights. (Hammond, Camel, fires on Parschau, DVII, “1 + 0”. Hammond plays Marksman I and converts the “0” into a “3”). Roberts, having given up chasing the monoplane, turned about to find Benzler emerging from his near disaster with the other monoplane. With his guns jammed, he could only pray, as the twinkling of the DVII’s machine gun fire projected their unwanted gifts towards him. (Benzler, DVII, fires on Roberts, Camel, “2 + RRJ”)

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    Snap shots were taken by nervous but detrmined pilots, who made their decisions in micro seconds. Relying more on instinct than precision, few of their efforts made much difference to the fight. Then they themselves bacame the targets and their flying skills became far more important. 2nd Lt Richard Turpin saw a pink aircraft flash before his eyes before it disappeared to heaven knows where. In that moment he fired, knowing absolutely nothing of the outcome. He hardly realised he had used the machine gun in anger, so scared was he! (Turpin, Camel, fires on Benzler, DVII, “1”)
    Medlicott, himself just missing Arthur Hammond (“Where the hell did he come from?”) caught a similarly brief view of one of the mono planes heading towards the fight. Daka daka daka daka, he fired, but knew he’d missed. “Far too slow on that one” he thought to himself! (Medlicott, Camel, fires on Brünig, EV, “0”).

    As for 2nd Lt Arthur Hammond, he decided he would have to have words with his flight leader, friend or not, it mattered little! He didn’t seem his usual self today and his distracted flying might just have resulted in the deaths of both of them. It was a momentary thought only, of course, as in fact he had seen the blue Fokker DVII heading off east. Back towards his own lines by the looks of things. He suspected the enemy aircraft was in difficulties and decided he wanted to add to the woes of his foe! So he followed it. Daka daka daka daka. He fired a few more rounds off, this time at long range, more in hope than any realistic expectation of doing serious harm.! (Hammond, Camel, fires again on Parschau, DVII, “1 + RRJ”)

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    So the group of antagonists romped around one another in ever increasing, then decreasing circles, ever seeking that one small advantage that would decide the matter. And always the risk of collision was present, scaring the unwary but refocusing their attention!

    Until the decisive moment arrived!

    Flight leader, Lt Harold Medlicott, went head to head with the Pink coloured DVII, again. But the Fokker had support, which Medlicott had obviously been unaware of, and it cost him dearly. The inevitable ensued. Already badly damaged by the earlier collision, neither the DVII nor the Camel was capable of absorbing the punishment meeted out to them by this new bout of aggression. With a resigned sigh almost, both aircraft gave up the ghost and spiralled gracefully to earth, both pilots desperately wrestling with their controls, in an effort to regain sufficient control to make some kind of life saving landing.

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    (Medlicott, Camel, fires on Benzler, DVII, “3 + 3 + Engine Damage”. DVII shot down. One kill to Medlicott. Benzler, DVII, fires on Medlicott, Camel, “4 + 0”. Brünig, EV, also fires on Medlicott, Camel, “3 + 4”. Camel shot down. Second kill to Brünig).

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    So, with the successful, but forced, departure of Ltn Kurt Parschau, back to the barn and medical aid, numbers in this dogfight were very much reduced. Two Fokker EVs now faced the prospect of a shoot out with three Sopwith Camels. This, the Germans regarded as pretty fair odds, especially Ltn Fritz Brünig who was as certain as he could be that he had now attained the coveted status of Ace. Providing he made it back to the barn there was going to be something special for him and his comrades to celebrate, in style! But first, they must chase off these infernal tommies, who were now circling around, no doubt angry and vengeful, having seen their leader fall from grace!

    First to break the circle was Fritz Brünig, catching out 2nd Lt John Roberts who made an error of judgement and flew straight across his line of flight. Daka daka daka daka daka, daka daka daka daka. Two quick bursts he fired, at short range, before the usual disaster struck and his guns jammed. The air around him turned blue, such was his frustration and anger. Meanwhile, the others continued to circle, cautiously

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    (Brünig, EV, fires on Roberts, Camel, “2 + 2” but Brünig’s guns jam)
    But not for long. Arthur Hammond, returning from his fruitless chase of the blue coloured DVII, circled briefly then made a dash at the remaining Fokker EV. The latter was quick to respond and the resulting head to head did not go Hammond’s way. (Hammond, Camel, fires on Beckmann, EV “0”. Beckmann, EV, fires on Hammond, Camel, “2 + RRJ”)
    “Where the hell is Turpin?” he muttered to himself.
    2nd Lt Richard Turpin was meant to be sticking to Hammond like a limpet. However, Turpin was not having a very good day in Hammond’s opinion. He appeared to be very windy indeed and, it must be said, had made very little in the way of positive contributon to this fight, thus far.

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    But Hammond, like everyone else, was simply wound up like a spring. His nerves were not what they had been a few months previously and he was inclined to be a bit judgemental, when things were going badly! There indeed was Turpin, trying his best to do his bit whilst avoiding the obvious dangers of collision and being shot at. He may be a trifle windy, but no more so than anyone else present, including the enemy!

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    In fact Turpin fired right then and believed he had inflicted serious damage on the approaching EV of Fritz Brünig, although in fact the damage was minimal, despite the bits he saw visibly showering the EV. But it felt good to him just the same! In the distance, he could just make out another Camel, Roberts he thought, also firing on the same enemy aircraft. But that seemed to go wide of the mark*.
    (Turpin, Camel, fires on Brünig, EV, “1”. No return fire as EV guns jammed. Roberts also fires on Brunig, EV, “0”. * In the photo, ignore the +4 damage as Roberts didn’t have the Ace ability Marksman I, which was used in error at the time. The Butcher’s Bill photo shows the same error but the damage has been discounted and, in fact, made no difference to the outcome.)
    During this bout of ineffective fire from the two Tommies, the cool Herr Leutnant Brünig managed to successfully unjam his guns and immediately counter attacked, firing a long range burst at Hammond’s Camel – which missed. More ineffective fire!

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    Roberts tried again, with the same result – missed. This was not going according to plan!
    (Brünig, EV, fires on Hammond, Camel, “0”. Roberts, Camel, fires on Brünig, EV, “0”.)

    However, with rather more competence and greater success, Ltn Paul Beckmann and 2nd Lt Arthur Hammond, had yet another head to head, in which again a German pilot came off best, albeit not by much. (Hammond, Camel, Fires on Beckman, EV, “3”. Beckman returns fire on Hammond “4”)
    Things were getting tight and the contesting aircraft were definitely showing signs of wear and tear. Except for the Camel flown by Turpin. He had managed to avoid being hit even once so far in this fight.

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    N.B. The light is bad in this pic. The “5” is accompanied by a pilot wound.

    Then came the final critical moment of the battle. 2nd Lt John Roberts managed to get on the tail of Ltn Brünig who, despite his best efforts, was unable to shake off the persistant verdammte Tommy. For the first time that day, Brünig’s confidence was seriously shaken and he experienced fear! He twisted and turned, this way and that, all the while knowing that the Tommy’s bullets were hissing and whining around his ears and riddleing his aircraft, tearing at wood, fabric and metal with mindless brutality. Then, suddenly, it was all over. He was seriously wounded and almost passed out. Turning about, in a desperate attempt to fight off his pursuer, from whom he should never have run, he was wounded a second time and this time he did pass out. His aircraft diving out of control to meet its doom below. The irony was, that at the last minute he had fired at his assailant, only to have his guns jam again!
    (Roberts, Camel, fires on Brunig, EV, “5 + pilot wound +1 aim bonus”. Roberts fires again with aim bonus, but misses “0”; then a third time, again with an aim bonus, for “1 + LRJ + 3 + pilot wound”: Brunig returns fire on Roberts “0 + 2” but Brunigs guns jam. With two pilot wounds, Brunig is shot down. One kill to Roberts).

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    Fight over then! It only remained for Ltn Paul Beckman to make his getaway, which he did successfully. Managing to stay marginally out of range, he twisted and turned until the Camels chasing him or trying to cut off his possible lines of retreat, gave up the chase. He made it back to the barn, as the shadows of the day were beginning to lengthen, to report the successes and lament the failures of his comrades. As did the remaining three Camel pilot

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    Authors note:
    On the whole, I would regard the result of this sortie as a victory for the Eagles. They prevented the two seater from completing any part of its operation; they shot down both the two seater and a scout and they only lost two scouts themselves. Technically, the Bulldogs win because a third scout was “forced” to retire. One point in it, with no points awarded to the Eagles for stopping the two seater from completion of it’s operation. Perhaps a fair result would be “honours even”.

    I leave you to make your own judgement.

    The end

    The Butcher’s Bill
    Entente


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    2nd Lt Ralph Leather MC – pilot RE8 / SD-EXP-ET / No kills
    Roll 2D6 = 8 -3EXP = 5 Injured – skip 1D3 scenario. Roll 2 – skip 1 scenario.
    E & E
    Roll 2D6 = 4 -1EXP -1WIC -1 ET = 1 – Captured. The war is over for this pilot
    Result: Captured

    Cpl Mick Salford DFM – observer RE8 / SD-EXP-ET / No kills
    Roll 2D6 = 2 -3EXP = -1 KIA
    Result: KIA (RIP )

    Lt Harold Medlicott MC; CdG / SD ET / 1 kill
    Roll 2D6 = 10 – 1SD = 9 All well when you land well
    E & E
    Roll 2D6 = 5 – 1BEL = 4 Captured and escaped – skip 1D3 scanarios. Roll 1D3 = 5 skip 3 scenarios.
    Result – skip 3 scenarios

    2nd Lt John Roberts / RTB / 1 kill – All good

    2nd Lt Arthur Hammond / RTB / No kills – All good

    2nd Lt Richard Turpin / RTB / No kills – All good


    Central Powers

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    Ltn Fritz Brünig EKII; PB; Wbs / SD ET / 2WIA - 2 kills
    Roll 2D6 = 9 -1SD -2WIA = 6 – Injured – skip 1D3 scenarios – Roll 2 – Skip 1 scenario.
    E & E
    Roll 2D6 = 7 -2WIA -1WIC -1BEL = 3 – Captured and escaped! - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. Roll 6 – skip 3 scenarios
    Result: Skip 3 Scenarios

    Ltn Kurt Parschau Wbs / RTB WIA / No kills
    Roll 2D6 = 3 + 3 RTB – 1WIA = 5 – Skip 1D3 scenarios. Roll 1 – Skip 1 scenarios
    Result: Skip 1 scenarios

    Ltn Paul Beckman WBb / RTB / No kills – All good

    Ltn Ernst Benzler EKII; PB; Wbg / SD FT / No kills
    Roll 2D6 = 10 – 1SD = 9 All good when you land well

    A few notes and pics about the initial setup for this mission:
    1. An interesting way of initiating the setup. Gave me the chance to display part of a beautiful pack of cards, given to me, as a gift, by my son. The following photos are entirely unnecessary, but for me it was part of the fun.

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    2. German aircraft were moved to the opposite side of the table, as per instructions, having been initially drawn to face opposite the Briitish.
    3. Altitude was not used in this mission.
    4. All damage packs used were “double” packs. I think I prefer to do this now. Hope it falls within the rules.
    5. I made yet another mistake in initially selecting McLeod as one of my pilots. He has Marksman I and Acrobatic Pilot I, but of course I found out about a third of the way into the game, that he isn’t available – I should have known without looking – just forgot However, I was able to make a few adjustments and it had no effect on the outcome of the game. On two occassions, the replacement pilot had already made use of AP1, which he doesn’t have, but I compensated by drawing two extra “A” damage cards for him. Needless to say, they were both “0”s – honest they were.
    6. The crew flying the RE8 were 2nd Lt Ralph Leather MC – pilot and Cpl Mick Salford DFM – Observer. Sadly they were not in the scenario long enough to get a mention.
    7. Finally, the position drawn for my two seater gave it very little chance against four CP scouts that spotted it immediately, whilst the support didn’t see anything until too late. It didn’t help drawing the boom card at the first opportunity. I know some argue that this shouldn’t happen and that the boom cards should be placed in the bottom half of the deck, but I don’t agree. For me it’s part of the game, even if it sucks now and then.
    Last edited by flash; 03-16-2018 at 03:28. Reason: Tally Adjust

  2. #2

    Default

    A beautifully presented victory for your Bulldogs, Mike, although I tend to agree that the failure of the RE.8 to do anything at all should make this at least a draw. Love the cards. I , too, had a chance to use some WWII cards I got from the military museum in Honolulu back in 2012.

    I use 3 A decks and 2 B decks shuffled into 4 stacks each.
    I then use an actual 4-sided die to select the draw stack.
    No “stacking the deck” to put the BOOMs at the bottom, hence the results I got at the end of mine.

    Once a BOOM is drawn I reshuffle all of the cards drawn for that aircraft back into the decks and shuffle all 4 stacks again.

    Your playing surface is gorgeous as always.
    Good you got the E.Vs in under the wire. I don’t think we can use them again intil they come back as D.VIII late in the campaign.
    REP on the way!

  3. #3

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    Great AAR Mike ! Loving the artwork, great story, superb scenic's as usual but what a story. Huge loss at the beginning, you must have been gutted but you piled in and set about the Hun anyway. Like you I'd say the Hun tipped the balance by bagging the Harry Tate but you edged the subsequent brawl so take the victory the scenario provides while you can !

    Uncle says:


    A victory of sorts but a heavy loss to bear with one of our veteran pilots in the bag and one of our top air gunners in the ground. A sad day for the Bulldogs. What is there to celebrate -
    Lt Harold Medlicott MC; CdG: achieved his tenth victory he is awarded the DFC and promoted to Captain effective on his return to duty - and we'll need an ace skill for him Mike (PM me please)

    For the other side Ltn Fritz Brünig has attained ace status with his fifth & sixth victories he's awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class & promoted to Obltn His ace skill will be Marksman I.

    Couple of issues with the Tally - entering detail in the first line mostly - though you did take the things into account (like EXP & WIA) though you didn't carry Herr Brünig's 2WIA into his E&E - so he is out a little longer than first thought.
    All fixed now I think.
    Last edited by flash; 03-16-2018 at 03:47.

    "He is wise who watches"

  4. #4

    Thumbs up


    Another superb AAR & story Mike.
    Yes that was a very close result. Losing your RE 8 on the very first exchange is just deadly.
    Wonderful 3D scenery & the story of the swirling dogfights rang so true to real happenings in WW1
    Loved the Card deck as well!

    Rep Inbound!

    I too use multiple damage decks as I am sure do all the OTT pilots & yes I do NOT salt the Booms in the bottom of the decks. Just let them fall where they & lady luck decrees.

  5. #5

    Setarius's Avatar May you forever fly in blue skies
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    Dale
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    Default

    Excellent looking terrain as usual and another great story.
    I'm not sure if it is a win or not because my two seater was only able to call in one good artillery strike while the CP got 3 good ones.
    I play the BOOM card and pilot wounds where they fall and do my best not to intentionally shuffle them to the bottom of the deck.
    Congratulations.

  6. #6

  7. #7

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    Uncle is done

    "He is wise who watches"

  8. #8

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    Thanks for the detailed analysis Uncle! Much appreciated. Celebrations in the mess for both the Bulldogs and the Eagles then. Here's to the promotions / gongs - but here's also a sad fairwell to Mick Salford RIP and Ralph Leather - at least the latter gets to survive the war I guess Drinks all round chaps. To both sides of the coin huh!

  9. #9

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    Early BOOMs can throw a battle one way right from the get go but you hung in there and duked it out with the Kaiser's boys. A costly battle to say the least losing two, one never to be seen again.

    A well told tale of a grim encounter, thank you for the wonderful read. The cards are beauties. Glad you decided to show us after the battle.

  10. #10

    Default

    Thanks Pete - always seems very strange when a pilot / observer goes missing, especially if they have been with you since the start Still, bring on the next mission huh



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