Dawn was still over the horizon for the poor infantry in the tranches, but up here, Luther Martin felt the warmth of the sun trying to fight through biting wind. He was joined by Willhelm (Dokker D.II) on his right, and Kristian Nachtfalter (Albatross D.III) on his left. Their objective, to help wake up 2 French reconnaissance balloons before they have had their morning coffee.
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As discussed in their pre-flight meeting, all three banked to focus on the northern most balloon. It was not fully aloft, and obscured by several clouds wafting by, but with careful maneuvering they broke through one last cloud and pounced, only to have a suicidal Nieuport sacrifice himself to save the helpless gasbag! Under the hail of 6 spandau machine guns, the brave Frenchman and his plane bore the attack (the cards dealt were 2 Pilot killed, 5, 2 explosion, 0, and 3 - i was so focused on trying to get the ballon, i honestly didn't see him coming, and he just... flew right in front of all three planes! :O )
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The brave French pilot had saved the first balloon, and the subsequent flak from the artillery below, and now more French pilots joined in. One on the tail of Nachtfalter, so the three German pilots dispersed so as to not make themselves easier targets. All three got a good straffing run on the second balloon, Nachtfalter setting it afire before having to break for home because the enemy had riddled his plane with bullets (only 2 damage points remained). Willhelm misjudged his approach and overshot his target ruining his follow up (the Fokker D.II is faster than i am used to, and accidentally flew him right off the edge of the map). Oberleutnant Martin danced like he was on strings, getting 2 good passes at the now burning gas bag, but was not able to bring it down faster. As he was lining up for a 3rd pass, a long burst from a British DH.4 riddled his tail, and sent a bullet through his lower back. In desperation, Luther threw his plane up into an Immelmann to bluff the on-coming attacker. It worked and the enemies passed mere feet down their respective left sides. The rear gunner was too surprised to get off a shot immediately, but did get one parting salvo to say "Auf Wiedersehen". Gasping for breath, and a glance over his shoulder revealing that his rudder was in very bad shape, Luther Martin dived for the German lines.
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