Newly promoted Obltn Günther Giesebrecht and wingman Ltn Felix Eisenhardt are crossing No Man’s Land toward the Entente trenches.
Their plan is to cross into enemy airspace and catch any stragglers returning to base.
There have been rumours circulating that Giesebrecht will be moving on to greener pastures leading his own Jasta.
Fearing the inevitable order to fly a desk in future he wants to enjoy what time he has remaining in the cockpit rather than staring at reports ….
Just as they are approaching enemy territory Eisenhardt fires a short burst.
Expecting enemy closing Giesebrecht instead sees Felix pointing at his engine and waving back toward home.
Looks like this will be a solo flight from now on.
Eisenhardt drifts off to the right and turns away.
Giesebrecht sees the terrain beneath him change from mangled mud to green and knows he has left No Man’s Land behind.
What he doesn’t see is another aircraft behind him.
This one seems to be missing the crosses identifying the aircraft as a member of the Luftstreitkräfte …
Giesebrecht has a feeling he is not alone.
A Sixth Sense, or is it just Situationsbewusstsein ? <Situational Awareness> learned from flying 28 missions like this one over the last year.
Exactly a year, as a matter of fact, since that first one with his fellow rookies, some of whom are no longer flying ….
The Albatros D.III is a far cry from the flimsy Fokker Eindecker he started with.
Seeing his pursuer Giesebrecht lets the Albatros meander to the right and begins a slow stall …
The Sopwith Pup follows and Giesebrecht hopes to startle him with a Split-S
Tikka tikka
He gets off a burst and damages the Sopwith
Both pilots have Sniper Skills and Itchy Trigger Finger but Giesebrecht’s finger is faster.
Just not fast enough …
[I rolled a D6 for each to see who got to use the advantage]
Da da da da
The Pup pilot retaliates – this is no beginner he is facing. A Critical Hit!
Or is it …..?
Giesebrecht’s Lucky Pilot saves his day.
What a start!
Giesebrecht nips just in front of the Pup.
Giesebrecht performs another Split-S and catches the Pup again.
Tikka tikka
[The Sniper Skill at least saves him from a jammed gun]
[I gave the Pup pilot a 50% of playing a turn or Split-S for the previous card. Also note that both of these pilots are Super Aces which means the recovery time after using skills is cut in half]
The Pup evades Giesebrecht.
“Wer ist dieser Kerl ?”
< Who is this guy ? >
Giesebrecht realizes he is facing an experienced pilot.
Tikka tikka
The Pup flies a sharp right but Giesebrecht manages to get a few bullets into it.
The Pup get out of Giesebrecht’s sights and avoids a subsequent hit.
Expecting a reversal from the Pup, Giesebrecht turns to the right.
The Pup indeed flies a Split-S but the pilot is flummoxed to see his target has eluded him.
“Crikey this beggar is good …” he concedes.
Both pilots turn to face their opponent.
Little, for this is indeed Australian ace Robert Alexander Little, gets the Itchy Trigger edge this time.
Da da da da
He sees some damage to the Albatros.
Not as much as his Sniper skill should have done, perhaps, but his Perfect Aim gives him an extra bit.
Tikka tikka
Giesebrecht’s Sniper ability strikes home and a spark is seen to flicker from the Pup
Or perhaps not ….
Little’s a Lucky Pilot as well it turns out.
Both pilots are fixated on their opponent and very nearly end each other’s day!
Giesebrecht’s Split-S catches Little off guard
Tikka Tikka
Bits of wood and canvas fly from the Pup and Little’s rudder slackens.
Little’s Pup can’t take much more of this.
Little performs an Immelmann and heads away from the Albatros.
[No Photo: camera battery died as I was taking the shot and I forgot to retake]
Giesebrecht flies yet another Split-S and is surprised when the Pup flies a sharp right turn.
Little continues to turn and keeps out of Giesebrecht’s arc.
Giesebrecht looks over his shoulder.
Another joust?
Giesebrecht stalls in preparation for another quick Split-S
Giesebrecht reverses, expecting to face the Englander* again, but Little surprises him by turning into a cloud bank.
[* he can be forgiven for not realizing he was facing an Aussie]
On a Wing and a Prayer, Little disappears, hoping he has seen the last of the D.III
Or any others. His aircraft cannot afford to take any more damage, no matter how slight.
Giesebrecht considers following his prey.
But then decides it might be best to follow suit and head back to the barn.
“Es wird immer einen anderen Tag geben ....“
< There will always be another day >
At least he hopes there will.
Butcher’s Tally
Adler
Albatros D.III
Obltn Günther Giesebrecht: RTB 0 Kills, 1 Probable
Entente
No. 8 Squadron RNAS
Sopwith Pup
Lt Robert Alexander Little: FRTB-D 0 kills
Rolled 1 & 1 : Crashed !
C&W: 8 -1FRTB +1RTB +1ACE = 9 - All well when you land well.
Victory Conditions
Per the scenario rules:
The Enemy Ace is FRTB : A Propaganda Victory
========================================================
Well that was an interesting matchup, Paul.
I had been leery of your challenge to Giesebrecht, so when I drew the Boom on the first shot my fears came right to the forefront!
(Luckily I did not have to use the Double Ace skill which would let him be a Lucky Pilot again, if needed.)
It was then a back-and-forth between two evenly matched pilots: Each has five ace skills.
Although Little didn't really begin to shine until April when the RNAS received the Sopwith Tripe, a single encounter like this could very well have happened.
Had a b*tch of time posting this - the site stalled on me several times. I had better have a good look at the result in case it needs fixin' ....
Got this in just under the wire. I see John has posted Mission 2. I hope to get the next one in the bag before the Christmas Crazies are upon us.
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