Ufag(ettable) Artillery spotting
Pardon the very poor pun but it was the best I could do!
2 Austro-Hungarian Ufags are tasked to spot for their artillery battery that is ordered to make life uncomfortable for an Italian artillery battery. Once the Ufags are spotted bearing down on the Italian battery, 2 Hanriots are quickly dispatched to intercept the enemy aircraft.
For the scenario, we used the following rules:
Aircraft
A two-seater flying the spotting mission with another two-seaters as escort, versus two single seaters.
Start positions
1. Spotter aircraft close to one edge of the play area, in position (within approx. 1 ruler) to observe artillery target
2. Escort aircraft at centre of play area
3. Interceptor aircraft at far opposite edge of play area from spotter aircraft
Rules of engagement
1. A barrage target is identified with a target card and assigned a points value (10 points) to represent the process of getting an artillery battery "zeroed in" on it.
1. The artillery spotting plane flies within a specified distance (1 firing ruler distance, measured from any part of the base of the spotter aircraft to any part of the target card) of the target and enters a holding pattern to maintain that distance.
2. At the end of each turn (three movements) that the spotting plane has been within the specified distance or less of the target, has not performed an Immelmann, and has not been under attack by enemy aircraft, an A deck damage card is drawn and placed face up next to the barrage target to simulate the spotting aircraft observing the firing and impact of an artillery salvo, and radioing corrections back to the gun battery.
3. When the total of all cards drawn for the barrage target equals the points value (10 points) for zeroing in the artillery battery barraging the target, the spotting task is complete and the target is considered to be destroyed for scenario purposes.
4. Special damages are ignored, and drawing the explosion card counts as the gun battery getting perfectly zeroed in, even if the points total has otherwise not been met.
5. If the observer is incapacitated, the aircraft is incapable of continuing the artillery spotting task. Likewise, if the spotter aircraft is shot down.
The second two-seater can continue the spotting mission until the target is destroyed or it is shot down.
If both spotter aircraft are shot down, then the scenario is considered failed for victory points purposes.
6. Upon completion of the spotting task (by whatever cause), all cards drawn for the barrage target are returned to the A deck and it is reshuffled.
After a (very) few opening moves, the first shots were fired which prevents the Ufag from reporting the first fall of shot even though it is perfectly placed over the Italian battery:
And the ‘dance’ continues as the lead continues to fly.
The Ufag finds itself unmolested and so gets a report back to the battery it is spotting for.
But not for very long!!
Things start to get more than a little heated as the lead flies in all directions. The downside of artillery spotting is that your opponent nearly always knows where to find you!
Darn, a near-collision prevents the Ufag rear gunner from hammering the opposing Hanriot though the gun jam would have prevented that anyway – serious words will need to be spoken to the ground crew!!
However, the Hanriot didn’t get off lightly as the escorting Ufag buys into the argument.
At this stage everyone takes a deep breath.
The spotter has finally got a message away but the shooting is pretty average!
And so, the dance goes on.
Which eventually results in one of the dance partners leaving the floor.
And the surviving Hanriot finds itself in an Ufag sandwich.
With an almost predictable result
This left the Ufags able to go about their business of zeroing in their artillery battery and cause a bad case of explosive indigestion for the Italian gunners.
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