Bloody March 11, 1917

[MengJiao]

Bloody April, scenario 4 (patrol), March 11.  UK and commonwealth forces are advancing on Bapaume.  I've inserted a reporting line for the DLS.  The DLS aircraft mark the three airfields their scout matrix can use and the "Target" the photographic target for the RFC BE2s:

[TacticalWargames]

Still not got around to playing it. Looking forward to the rest:)

[MengJiao]

Still not got around to playing it. Looking forward to the rest:)

Not much so far.  4 turns in and the Pups have climbed to 4000+1 (time to climb increment) and the DH2s are a bit lower.  The BE2s are off and starting their 14-minute climb to 4000 feet.  Visually (as they say) not much to see.

[MengJiao]

Still not got around to playing it. Looking forward to the rest:)

Not much so far.  4 turns in and the Pups have climbed to 4000+1 (time to climb increment) and the DH2s are a bit lower.  The BE2s are off and starting their 14-minute climb to 4000 feet.  Visually (as they say) not much to see.

  turn 11 (22 minutes into the Patrol): The BE2s climb to low altitude and are spotted from the German trenches.  Nieuports have just taken off and Pups and DH2 are already over 10,000 feet.  The Albatross IIs will reach that in 6 turns or 12 minutes and they will be taking off next turn :

[MengJiao]

Still not got around to playing it. Looking forward to the rest:)

Not much so far.  4 turns in and the Pups have climbed to 4000+1 (time to climb increment) and the DH2s are a bit lower.  The BE2s are off and starting their 14-minute climb to 4000 feet.  Visually (as they say) not much to see.

  turn 11 (22 minutes into the Patrol): The BE2s climb to low altitude and are spotted from the German trenches.  Nieuports have just taken off and Pups and DH2 are already over 10,000 feet.  The Albatross IIs will reach that in 6 turns or 12 minutes and they will be taking off next turn :

  Turn 14.  Voss and his Albatrosses are off and at Low +2 (whatever that is for them).  Everybody is detected except for the Pups somewhere over 10,000 feet.  Time to go to the chit pull system.

  I ran Turn 15.  Things are looking scary for Voss and his Albatross.  If he follows the Solitaire Scout Matrix, he will attack two Nieuports at low altitude with 4 pups about 6000 feet above him and 6 DH2 coming in even higher.  Maybe he will roll a good "Wind Up" and not make a suicidal attack.  Maybe Archie will take care of the photography planes.  It's all coming in the next few turns.

 

[MengJiao]

Still not got around to playing it. Looking forward to the rest:)

Not much so far.  4 turns in and the Pups have climbed to 4000+1 (time to climb increment) and the DH2s are a bit lower.  The BE2s are off and starting their 14-minute climb to 4000 feet.  Visually (as they say) not much to see.

  turn 11 (22 minutes into the Patrol): The BE2s climb to low altitude and are spotted from the German trenches.  Nieuports have just taken off and Pups and DH2 are already over 10,000 feet.  The Albatross IIs will reach that in 6 turns or 12 minutes and they will be taking off next turn :

  Turn 14.  Voss and his Albatrosses are off and at Low +2 (whatever that is for them).  Everybody is detected except for the Pups somewhere over 10,000 feet.  Time to go to the chit pull system.

  I ran Turn 15.  Things are looking scary for Voss and his Albatross.  If he follows the Solitaire Scout Matrix, he will attack two Nieuports at low altitude with 4 pups about 6000 feet above him and 6 DH2 coming in even higher.  Maybe he will roll a good "Wind Up" and not make a suicidal attack.  Maybe Archie will take care of the photography planes.  It's all coming in the next few turns.

  Not much to see.  Voss attacked the Nieuports and shot one down.  The Pups bounced the dogfight.  Voss Shot down one and crippled one and they inflicted the same level of destruction on Voss's Albatrosses.  Then the  DH2s came in.  One of them was crippled, but Voss was wiped out.  So that's 4 Albatross (and an Ace) down for the loss of 1 Nieuport and one Pup.  I guess the moral of story is: the Solitaire scout matrix can get you in trouble.

[MengJiao]

  Not much to see.  Voss attacked the Nieuports and shot one down.  The Pups bounced the dogfight.  Voss Shot down one and crippled one and they inflicted the same level of destruction on Voss's Albatrosses.  Then the  DH2s came in.  One of them was crippled, but Voss was wiped out.  So that's 4 Albatross (and an Ace) down for the loss of 1 Nieuport and one Pup.  I guess the moral of story is: the Solitaire scout matrix can get you in trouble.

  Turn 19:  The BE2s are about to make their photography at 4000+ run into some light AA.  An unknown (and undetected) bunch of Halberstadts are coming up.

[MengJiao]

  Not much to see.  Voss attacked the Nieuports and shot one down.  The Pups bounced the dogfight.  Voss Shot down one and crippled one and they inflicted the same level of destruction on Voss's Albatrosses.  Then the  DH2s came in.  One of them was crippled, but Voss was wiped out.  So that's 4 Albatross (and an Ace) down for the loss of 1 Nieuport and one Pup.  I guess the moral of story is: the Solitaire scout matrix can get you in trouble.

  Turn 19:  The BE2s are about to make their photography at 4000+ run into some light AA.  An unknown (and undetected) bunch of Halberstadts are coming up.

   It haven't been taking more photos of the BE2c photography runs, but tactically here are some notes:

   The Germans get to pick whether they move before any RFC or Navy planes....the chit pull just determines how many formations the RFC/Navy get to move in their first (or only, so the chit is irrelevant) segment.  I tried being more cautious as the DLS with the intercepting
Halberstadts (by the way apparently Richtofen sometimes flew Halberstadts after the early Albatrosses began to show stress), but this just let the RFC/Navy set up some really dangerous counter-interceptions, so...now some of the accounts in the Bloody April book were formations see each other but keep their distance are beginning to make more sense.