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Thread: OTT DYM Mission 9 - Timing is Everything - 6th March 1916 - by Zenlizard

  1. #1

    Default OTT DYM Mission 9 - Timing is Everything - 6th March 1916 - by Zenlizard

    {Note: for this scenario, I didn’t do any fancy scenery, I just tried to get the essentials correct. Hence, the use of the metal ruler as a straight-edge for the railroad track; and somewhere between designing the scenario, and running it, I managed to lose the train silhouette I printed out, then my printer broke, so I just cut another rectangle of cardboard. Also, at a couple of points, I manage to displace both the train and the hole in the clouds, so I had to replace them as close as I could to where memory said they were when I moved them too much}

    7. März 1916 7 March 1916
    Irgendwo in Frankreich Somewhere in France


    Mein lieber junger Bruder Wolfgang:
    Es ist schon eine Weile her, dass ich direkt an dich geschrieben habe, aber ich hoffe, Mutter und Vater haben die Geschichten, die ich ihnen von vorne geschrieben habe, wiederholt. Denken Sie daran, dass ich immer mein Bestes tue, um Sie, unsere Eltern und unser Heimatland zu beschützen, auch wenn Sie eine Weile nichts von mir hören.


    My dear young brother Wolfgang:
    It has been a while since I have written to you directly, but I do hope Mother and Father have been repeating the stories I’ve been writing to them from the front. Remember, that even though you might not hear from me for a while, I am always doing my best to protect you, and our parents, and our homeland.

    Das beigefügte Foto zeigt Leutnant Hugo von Flugsaurier und Feldwebel Kurt Gharial in ihrem Albatros C-III. Wie Sie wissen, ist in unserem zweisitzigen Flugzeug der Beobachter das wichtigere Besatzungsmitglied und erledigt den größten Teil der Arbeit. Ltn von Flugsaurier hat gestern sicherlich gute Arbeit geleistet.

    The enclosed photo is of Leutnant Hugo von Flugsaurier and Feldwebel Kurt Gharial, in their Albatros C-III. As you know, in our two-seater aircraft, the observer is the more important crewmember, and does most of the work. Ltn von Flugsaurier certainly did his job well yesterday.

    Unsere Mission war es, einen Tunnel zu bombardieren, den die Franzosen benutzt hatten, um viel Munition und Soldaten für die andauernde Schlacht zu schützen, von der du zweifellos gehört hattest. Ich sollte zwei Albatros-Flugzeuge eskortieren und alle Franzosen aufhalten, die versuchten, uns aufzuhalten. Der andere Albatros wurde übrigens von Vizefeldwebel Ludwig Dinosaurier mit dem Leutnanten Michael Brückenechse als Beobachter geflogen. Es war ein sehr bewölkter Tag, und die Franzosen zählten darauf, um uns auf dem Boden zu halten, sodass ihre Züge häufig fuhren. Unser Plan war, in letzter Minute zum Tunnel zu fliegen und zur Bombe abzutauchen, um uns vor Grundfeuer zu schützen.

    Our mission was to bomb a tunnel that the French had been using to shelter much ammunition and soldiers for the ongoing battle you’ve no doubt heard about. I was to escort two Albatros aircraft, and stop any Frenchmen who attempted to stop us. By the way, the other Albatros was flown by Vizefeldwebel Ludwig Dinosaurier, with Leutnant Michael Brückenechse as the observer. It was a very cloudy day, and the French were counting on this to help keep us on the ground, so their trains were running often. Out plan was to fly to the tunnel, and dive down to bomb at the last minute, to keep us safe from ground fire.

    Natürlich haben wir starke Abwehrkräfte in der Region erwartet: Die Franzosen sind weder dumm noch arme Soldaten. Wir wussten, dass sie viele FlAK und Maschinengewehre haben würden, und als wir uns ihrer Eisenbahn näherten, sahen wir auch zwei Doppeldecker vom Typ Nieuport.

    Of course, we expected heavy defenses in the area: the French are not stupid, nor are they poor soldiers. We knew they would have many antiaircraft guns and machineguns, and as we got near their railroad, we also saw two biplanes, of the Nieuport type.
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    Die Franzosen schienen uns zunächst nicht zu sehen, obwohl sie einen großen Vorteil hatten: Nur einer von ihnen ging direkt auf uns zu, aber der andere folgte schließlich, als ich kletterte, um meine Kameraden zu unterstützen. Die Franzosen hatten die Höhe, was bedeutete, dass sie die Initiative hatten: Sie konnten auf uns tauchen, während ich an Geschwindigkeit verlor und versuchte, sie davon abzuhalten, auf unsere Bomber zu schießen.Ungefähr zur gleichen Zeit bemerkten wir, dass sich ein Loch in den Wolken geöffnet hatte; Wir konnten das Ziel klar erkennen und bedankten uns, dass wir nicht ins Zentrum der französischen Verteidigung eintauchen mussten.

    The French didn’t seem to spot us at first, although they had a height advantage: only one of them headed straight for us, but the other did eventually follow as I climbed to support my comrades. The French had the altitude, which meant they had the initiative: they could dive on us, while I was losing speed, trying to stop them from shooting at our bombers. At roughly the same time, we noticed that a hole had opened up in the clouds; we could clearly see the target, and we gave thanks to fortune that we would not have to dive into the teeth of the French defenses. {Notes: I have accumulated two climb counters, and the Fokker E-III takes six to gain a new altitude level. In pic #4, the more southerly AA gun might have been able to fire, but the Nieuports are very much in the way. In pic #5, all aircraft guns are still out of range}
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    Der nähere der beiden Nieuports tauchte auf uns ein, aber ich kletterte immer noch und konnte das nicht und drehte mein Flugzeug schnell genug, um auf ihn zu schießen. Gleichzeitig begann die französische FlAK auf uns zu schießen. Dieser erste Franzose flog an uns vorbei und drehte sich um, um uns von hinten anzugreifen. Ich war in einer schwierigen Position. Wenn ich mich umdrehen würde, um dem ersten Franzosen hinter mir auszuweichen, würde ich den zweiten mit einem guten Schuss auf meinen Schwanz geben. Gleichzeitig würde ich ein leichtes Ziel für ihn werden, wenn ich den ersten Franzosen einfach ignoriere. Ich traf die schwierige Wahl und drehte mich um, um den zweiten Franzosen zu treffen, und sah, wie meine Kugeln ihn trafen, als er an mir vorbei schoss. Natürlich schoss auch die französische FlAK weiter auf uns: Sie wollten sicher nicht, dass wir ihre Eisenbahn bombardieren!

    The closer of the two Nieuports dived on us, but I was still climbing, and couldn’t do that and turn my aircraft fast enough to shoot at him; at the same time, the French FlAK began to shoot at us. This first Frenchman flew past us, and turned to try and get at us from behind. I was in a difficult position. If I turned to avoid the first Frenchman behind me, I would give the second at good shot at my tail. At the same time, if I simply ignored the first Frenchman, I would become an easy target for him. I made the difficult choice, and turned to meet the second Frenchman, and saw my bullets hit him as he dived past me. Of course, the French FlAK also continued to shoot at us: they certainly didn’t want to let us bomb their railroad!
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    Sowohl Dinosaurier als auch Gharial flogen auf das Ziel zu, während ich mich umdrehte, um die beiden Franzosen im Blick zu behalten. Ich konnte auch sehen, wie Gharial sich in Richtung Eisenbahntunnel drehte und der Eisenbahn folgte. Außerdem bemerkte ich, dass ein Zug, der wahrscheinlich Munition trug, so schnell wie möglich in den Tunnel fuhr. Von Flugsaurier und Brückenechse warfen beide ihre Bomben gleichzeitig ab, aber in ihrem Eifer, das Ziel anzugreifen, stießen Dinosaurier und Gharial fast zusammen. Inzwischen hatten mich die schnelleren französischen Nieuports zurückgelassen, und die FlAK schoß noch, die Franzosen schossen, und als er seine Bomben fallen ließ, sah ich von Flugsaurier auf den Nieuport schießen. Sein Schießen war ausgezeichnet; Die Flügel des Nieuports lösten sich auf und das Flugzeug fiel sofort. Einen Moment später sahen wir alle, wie seine Bombe den Tunneleingang einstürzte.

    Both Dinosaurier and Gharial flew on towards the target, while I turned to keep both the Frenchmen in sight. I was also able to see Gharial turn towards the railroad tunnel, following the railroad. Moreover, I noticed a train, probably carrying ammunition, heading for the tunnel as fast as it could go. Von Flugsaurier and Brückenechse both dropped their bombs at the same time, but in their eagerness to gte at the target, Dinosaurier and Gharial nearly collided. By now, the faster French Nieuports had left me behind, and the FlAK was still shooting, the French were shooting, and right after he dropped his bombs, I saw von Flugsaurier shooting at the Nieuport. His shooting was excellent; the Nieuport’s wings broke up, and the airplane fell immediately. Moments later, we all saw his bomb collapse the tunnel entrance. {Note: I ended up accidentally deleting the photo that showed the whole mess with airplane base on top of airplane base on top of card on top of card on top of...you can get a mental picture. In fact, I had to leave the bombs cards in place (and for one of them, actually substitute the window bomb card I made from scenario 8 to be sure of whether or not the second card hit. Picture #13 shows it did, although the first bomb badly overshot. My timing was a bit off, though, and the train had safely reached the tunnel by the time the bombs had gotten there, that I was sure of. }
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    Dinosaurier tauchte weise in die Wolkenschicht ein, unmittelbar nachdem wir sicher waren, dass das Ziel zerstört wurde; Ich habe wieder gesehen, dass Gharial und von Flugsauriers Flugzeug vom verbliebenen Franzosen angegriffen wurde. Aber jetzt hatten wir beide ihn in der gleichen Position, in der mich die beiden Franzosen früher hatten. Er schoss kurz auf die Sieger und verschwand dann selbst in den Wolken, bevor ich auf ihn zukommen und ihn abschießen konnte.

    Dinosaurier wisely dived into the cloud layer immediately after we were certain the target was destroyed; I again saw that Gharial and von Flugsaurier’s aircraft was under attack by the remaining Frenchman. But now, the two of us had him in the same position the two Frenchmen had me earlier. He fired a brief shot at the victors, then disappeared into the clouds himself, before I could come up and shoot him down. {Notes: Dinosaurier & Brückenechse are in the clouds at level 2, and the close-range shots by de Bonald are at +1 for aim; but the jam soon ended that. The was one more flight phase technically, but I deliberately deleted that, there was no point: de Bonald was in von Flugsaurier’s blind spot, I was just a little out of range, and Gharial’s plane was out of de Bonald’s arc by quite a bit, even if the latter didn’t have a jammed gun.}
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    Ich hoffe, du hast diese Geschichte aufregend gefunden, und achten Sie darauf, das Foto meiner Abteilungskamaraden aufzubewahren. Sei immer fleißig in deinen Schulstunden und gehorche Mutter und Vater gut.
    Dein liebender Bruder,

    Leopold


    I hope you have found this story exciting, and be sure to preserve the photo of my section-mates. Always be diligent in your school studies, and obey Mother and Father well.
    Your loving brother,

    Leopold
    Last edited by flash; 09-23-2019 at 01:23. Reason: Title adjust

  2. #2

    Default

    Butcher’s bill:

    Vzfwbl Ludwig Dinosaurier/RTB/-/0 victories
    Ltn Michael Brückenechse/RTB/-/0 victories
    {Note: undamaged aircraft, did not attach picture, saves account space}

    Fwbl Kurt Gharial/RTB/-/destroyed tunnel
    Ltn Hugo Dinosaurier/RTB/-/1 victory, destroyed tunnel
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    Ltn Leopold Säugerjäger/RTB/-/0 victories
    {Note: undamaged aircraft, did not attach picture, saves account space}

    Asp Jean Thierrens/SD-EXP-FT/-/0 victories
    C & W roll: 10-3 ( Exp) = 7: injured, skip 1d2; roll 1, skip 1 mission
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    S/Lt Antoine de Bonald/RTB/-/0 victories
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    German Points:
    10 for destroying the tunnel
    2 for shooting down Thierrens
    Total 12

    French points:
    5 for saving the ammunition train (Hey, it can be dug out of the tunnel, eventually)
    Total 5

    German victory.

  3. #3

    Default

    Onkel Says:


    Wunderbar ! Job done, everyone home safe and the bonus of a victory, who can ask for more...Well a firework show perhaps but we can't have everything !

    Ltn Hugo von Flugsaurier awarded his air gunner badge for his victory
    Last edited by flash; 09-23-2019 at 01:21.

  4. #4

    Default

    An excellent victory for the Fatherland!

    Quote Originally Posted by zenlizard View Post

    French points:
    5 for saving the ammunition train (Hey, it can be dug out of the tunnel, eventually)


    German victory.
    I suppose I could have given the French a token 5 points as well in my version which turned out very similarly to yours.

    I was looking forward to your 'take' on this mission and you did not disappoint.

    I had a similar kerfuffle with the photos at the critical point of bombing, with the moving cloud ring, planes, AA cards, the train and the bomb cards to contend with, so I can definitely relate to your situation.

    Well-played, Sam. As I mentioned previously your timing in the setup was spot-on.
    REP is on the way, assuming it makes it through the cloud layer.
    Last edited by Stumptonian; 09-22-2019 at 15:43. Reason: speelnig

  5. #5

    Default

    Well done Sam, you just missed the train but a successful mission anyway and capped off with a victory, you must be very pleased with your boys exploits !
    Hoping to get this one done this week some time if I an get a moment or two, had a look at the maps and done some measuring, hoping to run the train along the tracks of the mat if I can so it looks a bit more natural. Undecided on the cloud issue yet.
    Last edited by flash; 09-23-2019 at 01:33.

    "He is wise who watches"

  6. #6

    Default

    Congratulations to your Eagles Sam. A very efficient job and all safely back to the barn. Job well done. A cause for celebrations in the mess I would think

  7. #7

    Default

    Nice AAR! Glad your Eagles got home safe!

  8. #8

    Default

    A successful mission for your lads, well done. Seeing your game has given me an idea as to how I can play my version more easily.
    Cheers

  9. #9

    Thumbs up

    Well flown Sam.
    Congrats on a successful mission.

  10. #10

    Default

    well done Sam. So, thats how it was supposed to go. I botched all the timing somehow but still had a good time flying the mission. Your boys flew with typical German clockwork performance. Well done!

  11. #11

    Default

    Actually, the PM I send should have been posted herer, so the repeat:
    A minor disappointment that the train didn't also go up, but with the vital ammunition sealed up in the tunnel, the French are going to be hard pressed to resist the tide at Verdun.



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