OTTDYM Mission7 Dit Fromage - 19th February 1916 - teaticket
Captain Jerome fidgeted with his walking stick that was laying across his desk. He rolled it back and forth, picked at the loose bit of the leather ring below the brass knob that topped the stick. He took a deep breath and pushed his chair back and stood up. With a hand at each hip he pulled down at the hem of his jacket to straighten out the wrinkles. Another deep breath. He picked up his walking stick with his left hand and walked to the door. Just before his right hand touched the door knob he stopped. He could hear the reports of the artillery battery four miles away hurling their death and destruction into the enemy positions. He cupped his chin with his forefinger and thumb for a few seconds then turned back towards his desk.
He quickly strode to the well-worn cabinet behind his desk, placed his walking stick on top of the cabinet and opened the bottom drawer. Tucked in the back corner was a bottle of Cognac behind a picture of his mother. He carefully removed the bottle from the draw and took the stopper out. For a moment he just looked at the open top. He closed his eyes and downed a large swig.
Out on the airfield there was a flurry of activity. Ground crews from several escadrilles were lining up the planes, wing tip to wing tip. Space was left between each Escadrille so that the planes returning from patrol would fit in the formation. A reviewing stand was quickly built facing the airfield.
Two scouts from the Greyhound Escradrille returned from their patrol and were placed in the line up. The pilots were quickly herded to their quarters to clean up. They were to return next to their planes as quickly as possible, debriefing would wait.
All the Escadrille commanders and their adjutants assembled on the stand except for Captain Jerome, who, with his staff, stood where the road entered the aerodrome. Four cars were seen in the distance driving up the road.
“Time for the show to start”, Captain Jerome said quietly to his staff.
The cars came to a stop with the second car halting where Captain Jerome stood. Flags with the Corp emblems adorned the front of the car. The front passenger door opened and out jumped a junior officer. He quickly opened the rear door of the car and stood to the side stiffly at attention.
A slightly greyed officer, covered with medals, emerged. Captain Jerome’s staff were taken aback. Furrowed brows or wide eyes highlighted their expressions. The visiting General was an exact (but older) version of Captain Jerome.
“Welcome to the Aerodrome of the tenth pursuit group, General Jerome”, the captain stammered out mechanically.
“Thank you, Captain Jerome. I’ve been wanting to come here on inspection ever since I had you placed here. I haven’t heard any bad news so I guess that’s a good thing”. The General slapped the Captain’s upper arm and turned to the others that had debarked from the cars and motioned towards the reviewing stand. Without hesitation he led the inspection commission in procession to the stand.
Captain Jerome dropped his head and unconsciously clenched his fists. He immediately relaxed his hands when he realized what he was doing hoping no one noticed.
When all gathered on the stand the Captain explained what Escadrilles were stationed here. Three planes from the Beauceron Escadrille performed some acrobatics to impress the guests.
Below the acrobatics two planes from the Bouledogues returned from patrol and landed at the end of the line-up.
When the acrobatics ended all the pilots were gathered in front of the stand and General Jerome spoke to them. He was not a man of few words. He went on and on from the glory of France to the current struggle for western civilization. As he was speaking a messenger on a motor cycle sped in. He sought out Captain Jerome to give the important news. As the messenger was explaining to the Captain, General Jerome listened in. When the messenger finished, he saluted and rode off.
General Jerome returned to the center of the reviewing stand and hastily yelled out for all pilots to take to the air immediately. Captain Jerome stood like a statue as chaos unfurled. The pilots were a little confused as they immediately made their way back to their aircraft. Captain Jerome’s aids quickly passed on to each Escadrille the sectors they were assigned to cover.
The General strode among each of the escadrille hangars extolling them to hurry and get in the air as soon as possible. Planes took off in ones, twos and threes. A steady stream of planes lifted off of the field as soon as they were ready.
As the commission embarked to leave, General Jerome briskly strode up to Captain Jerome, “This is invigorating! You have such an exciting life here. Much more exciting than at my headquarters”.
Another slap to the shoulder on the Captain and the General turned to his awaiting car.
Remy was furious. Still recovering from his wound, he himself could not fly. He knew he could not confront the General but did so with his Captain.
”We cannot sent out men up like this piecemeal! This is not how it is done and you know this”, Remy tried not to shout but wasn’t successful.
“The General has ordered and so it will be”, meekly replied Captain Jerome.
Captain Jerome turned his back on Remy and went to his office and closed the door. A bottom drawer was opened, a bottle retrieved.
“So, just the two of us are to stop a major Hun bombing raid”, Marcel Joubert joking said to Adinos Roux. “HQ must have a lot more confidence in us than I do”!
Adinos added, “What? You think this will be too easy for us? Our new Bebes with us at the stick are unstoppable. I just hope the Germans can send up enough targets for us”.
They both laughed hard but it tailed off with an uncomfortable feeling.
They lifted off and headed to the assigned sector of the front.
While Marcel and Adinos were approaching the Germans began their photographing mission.
Ground fire finds a two-seater not that difficult to hit on it’s photo run and set it on fire.
When Marcel and Adinos arrived the Hun were already there in numbers. Marcel looked over to Adinos and waved to attack. “I think they have more than enough targets for us”, he thought.
Marcel is quickly engaged with an eindecker.
The burning Rumpler takes more damage from the fort below.
Marcel gets past the eindecker but comes up empty shooting at the Rumpler and jams his Lewis in the process. Marcel’s N11 shudders as the accurate fire from the Rumpler tears into it.
He quickly gets into trouble in the middle of the German formation unable to shoot back.
Adinos closes in head on with another Rumpler. Unfortunately for him the German pilot is an excellent shot and not one bullet misses. Adinos slumps in the cockpit as flames erupt around him. He doesn’t notice the eindecker closing in.
Unaware he is being shot at, Marcel doesn’t realize the Rumpler has jammed it’s gun.
The Rumpler’s fire is minimal as is for Adinos.
The fire on Adinos’ Bebe flares up and consumes the N11. It spins down under an oncoming Rumpler.
Marcel, still working on his jam, flies in front of a Rumpler’s gun to the pilots glee.
Marccel’s N11 may be nimble but it is delicate. The Rumpler pilot has no mercy in his heart and pummels the Frenchman to his front and scores a kill.
The French have done minimal damage but the confusion they sowed does more as two of the two-seaters collide.
With no French around to worry about photos are taken with ease.
One Rumpler is still uncomfortably burning.
Claude Lefevre, Henri Guerin and Marie Dubois burst on the scene. One poor Rumpler finds himself the center of attention. Lucky for him one of the new Frenchmen jams his weapon and the damage is acceptable for a three plane attack.
With a jammed rear gun the Rumpler can only take the punches and hope there is no knock out blow.
Ground fire nips at a couple of the Hun scouts.
Omer Michaud finally reaches the battle and trades ineffectual shots at a foe.
Claude now has an eindecker to deal with.
A close call with a minor brush between foes.
Too closely watching Paul Wolff’s close call Otto and Lothar almost collide themselves.
In the confused fur-ball it was difficult to take a well-aimed shot.
Henri, while clearing his jam, suddenly feels his plane feel like he hit a wall. The engine abruptly stopped, almost tearing itself out of the fuselage.
Claude feels the sting of the Rumpler’s rear gun. Then another. A third is all his N11 can take and the ground’s calling is irresistible.
Claude trades lead with a Rumpler’s rear gunner and again the observer wins the contest.
Claude would have none of it. He refocuses and rips the Rumpler apart. “There’s one set of plates that won’t get back to Hunland”! he screams over the roar of his engine.
Otto again almost flies into one of his own, this time with Konrad.
Two of the camera carrying planes make their break to get the important images back to their HQs.
Only Claude is in any position to intervene.
Marie can only watch knowing he will not be able to catch up with the two-seater.
The Rumpler noses up seemingly for no reason. It stalls and them falls from the sky. Marie’s last shot had a delayed effect that the Rumpler could not outrun. (Oops, I didn’t count the damage from the last shot from Marie. This Rumpler should have fallen a bit earlier.)
A second set of precious photographs that will not get used.
Marie now gains the attention of the eindeckers. First Otto, (another oops drawing from the A deck for a collision!) then Lothar. Lothar fires the final burst and Marie spins to the ground.
Claude tries to line up his approach so that the Rumpler won’t escape.
Claude closes in on the last Rumpler. This time the N11 gives better than it recieives.
Rudolf turns the two-seater unexpectedly and Claude ends up flying to it’s side. Dieter gets a clear shot but misses.
Claude knows his chance is slipping away as he gets deeper over German territory.
Claude closes in and the Rumpler cannot escape this time.
One last shot before he has to turn back. Claude aims well but cannot shoot down the Hun. The Hun though has a lucky shot and hits Claude’s fuel tank. The last Frenchman to be shot down. The sixth of the six that made it to the fight.
The four German scouts can’t find anymore enemy planes in the sky so head for home.
One mission airplane returns with many valuable photographs. The Germans ruled the sky downing 6 Frenchmen while only losing two themselves. Rudolf Muzler is the hero of the day, bringing home the valuable aerial photographs and scoring two kills, while his observer, Dieter Rosenfeldt scored one.
The Boulegogues ranks are devastated. All six planes sent out and one pilot are not to return.
Claude, downed well behind enemy lines quickly flees from the crash site. He hides in some marshy woods along a river. No sooner does he make cover that he hears the engines of a pair of eindeckers above. They circle twice but see nothing except the burning remains of a Nieuport 11. They then continue east to join their comrades in celebration in their mess.
Claude waits until dark to make his way west. He follows the river back through several miles of woods. No Germans are seen until he nears the trenches. The river is deep enough for him to latch on to a large shattered tree branch. Hiding under it he slowly passes through the trenches to the French lines and safety.
Butcher’s Bill
Kaiser’s Eagles
Paul Wolff RTB 0 Kills
Lothar Ochs RTB 1 Kill
Konrad Dahl RTB 0 Kills
Otto Reittinger RTB 1 Kill
Hans Steinhauser SD FT 0 Kills
C 6 -1(sd) = 5 injured, 5 = -3 missions
Gottfried Esswein SD FT 0 Kills
C 11 -1(sd) = 10 OK!
Hals Sturm SD ET 0 Kills
C 3 -1(sd) = 2 KIA
Kaspar Glochner SD ET 1 Kill
C 11 -1(sd) ok
E 6 -1(bel) = 5 in hiding, 2 = -1 mission
Rudolf Muzler RTB 2 Kills
Dieter Rosenfeldt RTB 1 Kill
1 fort photo
4 surrounding location photos
Les Bouledogues de la Republique
Adinos Roux SD FLM WIA FT 0 Kills
C 4 -2(flm) -1(wia) = 1 KIA
Marcel Joubert SD FLM FT 0 Kills
C 8 -2(flm) 6 injured, 6 = -3 missions
Henri Guerin SD EXP FT 0 Kills
C 9 -3(exp) = 6 injured, 6 = -3 missions
Omer Michaud SD WIA FT 0 Kills
C 12 -1(sd) -1(wia) = 10 OK!
Marie Dubois SD FT 1 Kill
C 9 -1(sd) = 8, 5 = -2 missions
Claude Lefevre SD EXP ET 1 Kill
C 7 -3(exp) = 4, injured 2 = -2 missions
E 7 -1(exp) -1(bel) -1(wic) = 4 Captured but escaped! 3 = -2 missions
Victory points
Germans
2 point 1x fort photo
4 points 4x compass photo
6 points 6x French scout SD
Bouledogues
4 points 2x 2 seater SD
+8 in favor of the Huns!
Reply With Quote
At least they can be replaced, pilots however will be a little harder. 
for his two victories & service to the Kaiser
Originally Posted by Stumptonian
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