OTT BYM Mission 11 - The Goose Gavotte (Turkey) 19th Dec 1916 - by malachi
OTT BYM Mission 11 - The Goose Gavotte (Turkey) 19th Dec 1916 - by malachi
The men were assembled awaiting their mission briefing from Oberstleutnant Krallen but were restless and grumpy from the strain of their long stretch of combat. There had been much activity in the sector along with the expected casualties. Torben Kass, the newest pilot to join Jasta 24 had been taking it particularly hard.
“This is a rotten war. Everything’s rotten. The weather’s rotten. The coffee is rotten – and half cold. Kuttner is rotten on the piano, he barely knows one song. The half-baked Mess caterer is rotten – putrid in fact. In a few days it will be Christmas and there’s no goose for dinner. Mein Oma makes such amazing roast goose – it would make the Kaiser’s belly swell with pride!”
“Well why don’t you go and find us one?” Kuttner snapped back.
“Enough!” Krallen’s voice was barely above a conversational tone, but his steady gaze made the room grow quiet. He momentarily pondered commenting on the low morale and in-fighting but instead moved immediately to the mission at hand and pointed to the map.
“Command urgently needs photos of the enemy fortifications and activity along this road. Willi, take Wal and the new DFW and gather photos. Be sure to cover the area thoroughly, it is high priority. Your escort will be…”
Krallen surprised himself at his brief hesitation. Everything in him wanted to name Kass as punishment for openly complaining in front of the men, but he still blamed himself for the missing Mathias Hauck who was with them all too briefly. Perhaps recent weeks had put pressure on his normally sound judgment. Certainly, they were all tired of turnips and tinned meat, and with Christmas looming and no news of any rest on the horizon, spirits were low. But a more experienced pilot was needed for this mission. Perhaps Bluhm or “…Kuttner.” At least this choice might send a message to Kuttner about indulging in a battle of words with rookie pilots, and perhaps foster some leadership in the talented pilot.
So it was that Kuttner circled back to Willi Esel who sat excitedly at the controls of the new DFW C.V with experimental camouflage.
There was another conflict brewing in Krallen and was the reason he found himself aloft at 2000 meters sitting atop a large goose he had nabbed from a Belgian farm across the lines with a chafing enemy in pursuit. It was uncharacteristic of Krallen to engage in such a reckless effort, but the Jasta’s faltering morale he took personally. He could never sanction this crazy stunt for any pilot, including himself, but something needed to be done to raise the Christmas spirits of the men. He only hoped they would overlook his careless example and celebrate if he could actually pull this off.
In the distance, Kuttner spied two approaching planes and signaled Willi as he turned to check it out. Wal takes his first photo of the road below [card #1].
The wretched goose shifted causing Krallen’s foot to slip off the rudder bar.
The Albatros D.III slows a bit with the weight of the goose and its pilot’s discomfort. Wal adds a photo of the buildings [card #2].
Kuttner gets a well-timed shot into the closest Nieuport.
The Nieuports turn to attack the DFW and Wouters finds the mark.
Krallen attempts to regain control of his plane as Vanhoutte closes.
Wal gets an image of the chalet far below [card #4] as Kuttner reverses to add damage to Wouters.
With much effort, Krallen gets the D.III pointed in the right direction.
Kuttner and Wouters exchange fire as Wal seizes the opportunity to add some damage. The Nieuport begins to burn and Wouters points his heavily damaged plane west.
The fire slowly grows.
Vanhoutte finally fires a burst at long range. Krallen feels his plane falter under a shower of lead as the engine skips a beat then amazingly restarts. [Lucky Pilot skill used]
The combatants separate as Wouters looks for an exit. (I should have played slips not straights for two phases for Wouters as he is on fire but would not have affected the game).
Vanhoutte comes up short at long range…
…but catches the D.III as the goose causes Krallen to shift his weight once again. The rudder controls suddenly feel heavy.
The fire suddenly blossoms on the crippled Nieuport.
It proves to be too much for Wouters to manage as tries to control the flaming wreck as it spins towards terra firma.
Deboeck finds the perfect angle and unloads on the DFW.
Vanhoutte presses his attack on the D.III and adds to its damage.
Wal captures another photo [card #6] as Deboeck can’t quite find the target.
Vanhoutte slips behind the Albatros as Krallen struggles to keep the goose contained.
The Germans catch a break in the twisting and turning that follows. Krallen wonders if he should thank the unruly goose but also is beginning to doubt if this trip was worth it.
Deboeck misses the DFW at long range while Kuttner makes him pay for the target fixation. Wal captures the buildings below [card #5]. Krallen stands on the rudder bar as best he can and turns the Albatros east.
The Albatros shudders as it takes heavy damage from Vanhoutte’s gun.
Deboeck curses loudly as he finds the mark on the DFW but hears his gun fall silent.
[I missed a pic here: the DFW turned left again, and Wal shot Deboeck’s Nieuport at close range for 0 and 2 smoke]
Kuttner futilely presses the triggers and fires at the out-of-range Nieuport. Willi stalls as Wal snaps the last photo of the trucks below [card #3].
Krallen escapes safely across the lines in his crippled D.III as Vanhoutte scores a parting shot.
[I missed another pic here: Krallen’s left turn took him off the board as Vanhoutte fired at close range for a 0 and 1+1]
The smoking Nieuport reverses and Kuttner adds some damage. Willi steers the DFW home.
Deboeck realizes this chase is in vain.
Kuttner fires on the Nieuport again but comes up empty.
Willi nurses the heavily damaged DFW to safety.
Kuttner and Deboeck maneuver for a shot.
Finally both pilots concede the field and RTB.
The first to greet Krallen as he exited his Albatros D.III was a bewildered Torben Kass. Krallen handed the struggling goose to him. “See that the cook gets this immediately” he said as he strode towards his quarters. Then turning back, “and Kass… pass along your grandmother’s recipe.”
Victory Points
Germans
Goose RTB for dinner = 20
All targets photographed = 15
1 plane shot down = 5
Total = 40
Belgians
0
I used John’s random method for card selection for Krallen’s plane and it worked well. I flew as Kuttner had the DFW on a set course until the return trip where I had to intervene to try to get the last two photos. An enjoyable romp!
Butcher’s Tally
Eagles
Fwbl Willi Esel: DFW C.V, RTB 0 kills / 0 probable's
Ltn Roland Wal: DFW C.V, RTB 0 kills / 0 probable's
ObLtn Karl Krallen: Alb D.III stripes - RTB 0 kills / 0 probable's / Goose delivered
Ltn Roman Kuttner: Alb D.II skull - RTB 1 kill (Wouters) / 0 probables
Belgians
Lt Jens Vanhoutte: Nieuport 17 streamer, RTB 0 kills / 0 probables
S/Lt Antoine Wouters: Nieuport 17 aluminum - SD-FLM-FT 0 kills / 0 probables
C&W rolled 8 -2FLM = 6 Injured skip 1D3 scenarios, rolled 6 = skip 3
S/Lt Pieter Deboeck: Nieuport 17 green stripe - RTB 0 kills / 0 probables
Reply With Quote
for his third victory for the Kaiser 
Bookmarks