OTT-EYM Mission 12 – Last Man Home – March 27th 1917 by ShadowDragon
OTT-EYM Mission 12 – Last Man Home – March 27th 1917 by ShadowDragon
EYM Scenario by flash:
https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sh...-1917-by-Flash
The squadron commander, Sir Henry Rumsbottle – or Rumsbottom, as he was referred to by some in the squadron – had called the flying crew together.
“Men, we have a special request from the Admiral at Dover, for two of our best pilots to put on a flying show for his wife’s birthday. The Admiral says further that this would cancel the remaining debt owed for his wife’s broken china.”
Jack Wilde and Jock MacDonald breathed a sigh of relief over the last part. Who knew that fine china was so expensive or that a flight sub-lieutenant’s wages were so low. It had been more than half a year and less than half the debt had paid off – from their already meagre wages.
“That would be you Jack Wilde and Bruce Dundee. See the orderly for what’s needed and be on your way. I want you back here at the station with no dilly-dallying on the way back. Do you understand me.”
“Yes, sir,” both Jack and Bruce replied and left at once. They needed no encouragement for a short vacation in Blighty.
“The rest of you will get on with it. There’s a bombing mission for the tandems and, Nigel, you’ll lead the remaining scouts to provide protection going and coming. One more thing, chaps. Since we’ve bombed all the hospitals, churches, and schools in the vicinity, do try to find a military target this time, um?”
Flight Commander Nigel Flashman twirled his mustache as he sometimes did when he was annoyed. Humph, he thought to himself, two of our best pilots. Sure, Jack record wasn’t rivalled in the squadron, but Flashman’s own score was just one behind Bruce’s. But he sure if he objected to Rumsbottle, the old man would say something about the squadron needing Flashman’s leadership. Ah well, someone needed to do it even if it was, apparently, an unrecognized and thankless job. Not that Flashman minded. He’ have both Jock MacDonald, a solid airman, and Tom Watson, who was as aggressive as they come. Afterall young Tom had two balloons to his credit and that takes a pair of iron balls.
(Note: on the storyline – due to action taking place in groups on different parts of the mats, I’ve included periodic overview photos. In between those photos I follow the action in one area and then the action in another rather than jumping back and forth each phase.)
Later that day…things had gone reasonably well. The Yanks had returned unscathed, but the Frenchies were nowhere to be seen. Before long three Hun scouts appeared near the trench line. Flashman knew they would likely stay their side of the line, so Seadogs would have to stir them up lest they bounce Michel and Louis – assuming the Frenchies weren’t already shot down.
While the Huns were reluctant to cross No Man’s Land, they had no hesitation with engaging the Seadogs. The two sides twisted and turned. Tom got separated from Flashman and Jock – as did the Hun leader – Emil Hess. Finally, Flashman and Jock got the remaining two Huns as sandwich filling. Which ever way they turned either Flashman or Jock would be on their tails.
Flashman was closer and seemed the greater threat, so both Huns, Johann Schmidt and Joachim Joachim Büttner, turned towards him, but it was not enough to evade Flashman’s Tripe. Bullets ripped through Albatros’s engine signalling the end of the battle for Johann.
Jock failed to notice the Rumpler behind him and closed the other half of the sandwich. His fire was at long range and not nearly as effective as Flashman’s.
Johann and Joachim did their best to evade the two Seadogs, but to no avail. Their enemy were on their tails, taking apart their aeroplanes bit by bit. Johann feared that he’d hardly make their side of No Man’s Land never mind the aerodrome.
Despite his damaged machine, Johann managed to reverse through an Immelmann to at least warn of the Britisher. Johann cursed – his machineguns jammed and the damage was minimal. Fortunately for him Flashman noticed the Rumpler and gave it his attention (sharp eye skill used) for even less reward than Johann got – a jammed machinegun and no damage at all. Jock was having a lot more success much to Joachim’s dismay.
Flashman’s Tripe got a wee bit close to the Rumpler but there was not collision as Flashman had been climbing to gain an advantage over the Huns. Both Johann and Joachim finally shook their foes. Bullets flew but to no effect than scaring a bird or two. (Johann shouldn’t have fired here, but the damage was zero, so I left it as is.)
Meanwhile, Tom had found himself well across the lines facing the Hun flight’s leader, Emil. His position was good – not has good has Flashman’s had been but still good. Tom noticed their missing Strutter. Emil was between the Frenchies and safety. It was Tom’s job to distract the red Albatros.
Tom timed his turn perfectly and had the Hun dead in his sights. It would have been a devastating attack if only his machineguns were on the same page. Tom was rewarded – as had been the case for Flashman and Johann.
Regardless, it did distract the red Albatros. It turned towards Tom. The two flew past each other with the Hun heading away from the Strutter.
M…de, thought Michel as they approached No Man’s Land and spotted the melee in the skies. At least Tom drove off the red Hun. That would give Michel and Louis time to at least reach No Man’s Land unopposed.
Tom finally cleared his machinegun, but no found himself rather farther away from the red Hun than he intended. Thankfully the Tripe was a fast machine.
Overview for Turn 2.2: Emil has executed an Immelmann and has the choice of engaging either Tom or the Strutter. Flashman and the Rumpler are finally separating without either being able to get a shot off at the other. Johann needs to return to the barn. Finally Jock is chasing down Joachim off to the south of the other action.
Tom reaches the red Albatros before Emil can engage the Strutter. Tom’s shot scores well (6 points) but Emil scores an engine hit on Tom. The Tripe will need to head back to the station. Michel is close enough to fire at Emil but only gets a jammed machinegun. The Rumpler’s observer gives Flashman a farewell salute but inflicts no damage. (Note: it looks like I forgot to move the Strutter but it’s also possible that the photo for the previous phase had the Strutter one phase ahead. I suspect I forgot to move it.)
The Rumpler crosses Tom’s path. Tom fire but to no avail. Emil passes by the Strutter. Louis fires as he does so but, like a few others, is also rewarded with a jammed machinegun.
Tom and the Frenchies are heading home, as are the Rumpler crewmen, Erich and Kurt. Kurt again fires what amounts to warning shots at Tom.
The two damaged scouts, one German and one British, heading for their respective bases find themselves facing each other. Surprised by this random occurrence, both fire to some effect but not enough to bring down either one. For the Rumpler and the Strutter things are looking good. The Rumpler is well over the lines and nearing safety, the Strutter still has enemy ahead.
Joachim and Jock had paired off. Jock is trying to use the superior manoeuvrability of the Tripe to his advantage.
Joachim anticipates this and turns to intercept Jock. He has his opportunity, but it fails him – yet again jammed machineguns.
As Jock and Joachim, Jock notices Joachim using a hammer on his machineguns. That was an Allied secret, Jock thought. Someone’s been blabbing to the Huns.
Overview for Turn 4.2: Jock and Joachim are turning about for another go at each other while the Strutter strays into the middle of their fight. The Rumpler looks to be clean away. Johann and Tom had their brief exchange and are now separating. The two enemy leaders have paired off against each other.
Joachim is shocked to see the Strutter suddenly cross in front of him. No matter – one target is as good as another. The Strutter suffers (5 points) from Joachim’s attention.
Louis has finally cleared the jam and manages a burst at the Albatros which bursts on fire. However, Joachim has the Strutter’s – and Michel’s - number. Michel slumps in his seat. It does not look good to Louis as looks over his shoulder as his comrade.
The Strutter is finished and the pilot, Marcel is unconscious - perhaps dead. Louis crosses himself and says a quick prayer before the Strutter smashes into No Man’s Land.
Meanwhile, the two enemy flight leaders are in a fierce fight. Flashman uses his stuntman skill to skid his Tripe to the left for a close in shot at Emil but does naught more than use up a couple of B-deck zeros.
No fear – after a neat Immelmann, Flashman makes up for the missed opportunity. Fortunately, for Flashman, Emil has conveniently climbed up to Flashman’s altitude (altitude 5). Below them Johann appears (altitude 4 – so not shot at Flashman). Johann’s Albatros is in perilous shape. Johann warily looks up a the CDL Tripe hoping his enemy will ignore him. (Note: I think there’s a missed +1 for a sequential shot but I’m leaving the story as is. It would change the story slightly but not the outcome.)
Johann is in luck since Flashman continues to hound Emil to Emil’s consternation. How much more damage can his red Albatros take? Not much, Email must return to the aerodrome.
Overview – Turn 5.2: Tom and the Rumpler (just off to the right of the photo) are nearly at their respective mat edges. Johann is a little further from safety but there’s no one in pursuit of him. Two duels remain – Flashman versus Emil and Jock versus Joachim with Jock seeking to avenge his fallen French comrades.
Shortly afterwards, Tom exits the battle. The movement card in front of Tom’s Tripe is the one for turn 5.3. The mat edge is right at the photo’s left edge.
The Rumpler is not quite out of the battle but will exit in Turn 6 and there’s no enemy anywhere near the Rumpler.
A turn later, Johann nears the mat edge. He will exit on Turn 7. As can be seen there are no Seadogs near enough to intercept. (This is a bit ahead of the other action, but it’s included so as not to distract from the two duels going on over No Man’s Land.)
Going back a little to Turn 5.3 – Jock assesses his options. He dearly wants to make the Hun pay for downing the Strutter. The Albatros is on fire and very badly damaged. Jock guesses that the Hun will make a run for home and turn to the right, but Jock’s Tripe might just be fast enough to intercept him.
Joachim assesses his badly damage aeroplane. The fire isn’t doing a lot of damage, but his machine can’t take a lot. The best he can hope for is to get back to friendly territory and land as best he can.
Jock guesses rightly and makes his move to intercept the flaming Albatros.
In a classic movie motif – or what will become a classic movie motif – of air combat, Jock dives on his foe with guns…er, gun…blazing. The Albatros crumples and then glides…er, make that it then plummets to the broken ground of No Man’s Land. A rough end for the enemy, but Jock was in no mood for sympathy.
Over to the other duel – Emil knows he needs to break off the fight. He executes an Immelmann which gives him a fleeting shot at Flashman, but it’s only that a fleeting shot.
Flashman also executes an Immelmann to return the favour for slightly more damage, but slightly more is nearly enough for the red Albatros. Emil will need to be lucky to make it home.
Luck smiles on Emil as Flashman’s machinegun jams.
Emil dives while Flashman hammers away at this Vickers.
Flashman pursues and dives after Emil.
Emil continues seek safety by diving away from his foe.
Flashman’s Vickers finally comes to life but does not damage to the red Albatros.
Both planes continue to dive with Flashman above Emil (altitude 3 versus 2). Flashman continues firing at this enemy. Finally the red Albatros banks with its nose heading towards the earth.
Flashman’s 12th kill – enough to tie Bruce Dundee. Flashman looked at his gruesome handiwork with small bit of satisfaction. The war was becoming a brutal business. Little did Flashman know that April 1917 was just around the corner.
With no more foes in the sky, Flashman and Jock follow Tom back towards the Naval Station. Shortly after they landed, they received word that fate had not been kind to one of their French comrades. Marcel had died instantly – a bullet through his heart – or at least that’s the story his family would be told. Perhaps it was true. Louis was more fortunate and escaped the wreckage of the Strutter with only slight injuries. It left Flashman in no mood to celebrate his victory, but no one in the squadron took Marcel’s death harder than the American, Petty Officer Jim Haviland. That did surprise a few but not Jock MacDonald who was one of the wiser members of the squadron.
Note that I used the AI for all planes in this game.
Result – having lost the Strutter and the Rumpler getting to safety, it’s a Hun win. However, I think the Seadogs did a fairly good job of trying to keep the German scouts occupied. Initial damage to the Strutter and a chance encounter with good damage cards proved too much for the tandem. The Rumpler might not have had a free run if Flashman hadn’t drawn a “jam” on his first go at the Rumpler and if Tom hadn’t received the engine damage. So, good job to the Adlers for keeping the Seadogs off the Rumpler. Fair is fair.
Special damage cards didn’t really have an influence on the game. There were no “booms”. The single “fire” card was insignificant as was the single “wound” card (not even for the C&W roll). It was all hard work through damage points. The Seadogs drew 5 jam cards while the Alders just 2, but the game seemed evenly matched despite that.
Good mission, Dave. Despite jams showing up here and there, there was still lots of shooting going on – almost every phase someone was shooting at someone
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for his continued excellent service to the Kaiser und fatherland 
Originally Posted by Baz
Cannot think who might be responsible for that!
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