Talking with Rich Kapustancek in the late stages of the game, your editor commented that "I suppose its possible that I've seen a turnaround like this in a Dawn Patrol game before, but in 22 years of playing I can't remember one." Rich agreed.

The 20th anniversary of the Indy Squadron's famed Red Baron Fight was celebrated in style with a great, 10-player crowd at Rick's house on Saturday night, May 2, 2009. After a brief warm up game of only three turns, everyone rolled percentile dice for airplane choice and selected aircraft in much the same way as its been done since the spring of 1990. Red Baron Fight is unique in that the event has evolved very little over its 20-year lifespan. The game today is very much the same as it was 20 years ago, making historical comparisons and score evaluations very meaningful and fun. When aircraft and pilots were chosen, it became apparent that RBF XX would be laden with aces and major pilots on both sides yet again:

Two Germans, Stephen Dale and Ken, moved first. Stephen Dale wisely led them around behind their own flight in a retreating pattern where they boxed up, secure in the knowledge that if any British followed them, they would get hammered. None did.

Rick moved first for the Brits and set a similar trap by swinging away from the Germans, only this time, someone took the bait. Dory's all-red Triplane, flown by 20/5 ace and 15-year combat veteran Reinhold Strauss, took off in full pursuit and hammered Rick's Camel from above for 9 hits. The Camels of Stephen and Kevin followed. Kevin missed but Stephen scored 7 hits. Michael, the final Allied player, followed his wingmen but was unable to fire. 

The resulting situation was just what the Brits wanted. Through no fault of their own, Stephen Dale and Ken had taken themselves out of the game when they moved one way and the fight gravitated the other. Dory's Tripe was outnumbered four to one and taking damage and the rest of the Germans were strung out in between the two main groups of planes. It was a picture perfect start for the outgunned British. 

Turn 3 passed with another exchange of gunfire between all parties while Ken continued to work his way back toward the fight. Stephen managed a 4-shot burst at Dory without effect. Michael and Kevin's Camels were now badly outnumbered and taking damage from the well-flown Albatri team. Another round or two like this and the outcome was a foregone conclusion, like scores of other games that we've all seen before... the outnumbered team becomes totally defensive and isolated, while the winning side chases them down and picks them off one by one. Perhaps a straggler will declare escape and make it home, but the result is an overwhelming loss. 

On Turn 4 and 5, Stephen's Camel ace closed in for consecutive tail shots on Dory and fired a 5-hit burst, killing Fokker pilot Reinhardt Strauss instantly. After more than a decade at the Dawn Patrol table, everyone was sad to see Strauss' Fokker spin into the ground and crash. Kevin also managed to put a critical hit into Wesley's Albatros. Although no one knew it at the time, it was a propellar hit that would come back to haunt Wesley just a few turns later. This certainly helped the British cause, but the Camels were still outnumbered 5-3 and in serious trouble. 

Then Turn 6 arrived, and with it came one of the more remarkable comebacks in the history of Dawn Patrol in Indianapolis. Wesley and Wayne's Albatri still had Michael cornered, but their shots were off the mark and did no serious damage. That was the first stroke of luck for the Brits. Ken's Fokker was still too far from the fight to engage, he had just rolled another set of lousy initiative numbers and would not fire a shot this turn. Lucky stroke number two. Stephen's Camel jammed its right Vickers gun while he "maxxed out" on Stephen Dale's Albatros, which had flown away from his wingmen and been caught off guard. Stephen's 6-hit burst put a light wound into Stephen Dale's pilot and forced him to declare his escape... lucky stroke number 3. While Wesley's Albatros was fighting in the midst of the frey, he fired a burst and shot his own propellar off... courtesy of the critical propellar hit inflicted by Kevin a few turns earlier. Lucky stroke number four. And Michael's Camel supplied the coup de grace by firing at Rich's 8-mission Albatros veteran, inflicting a critical wound. Rich flew back toward German lines to bail out two turns later. He survived the bail out attempt but his pilot was incapacitated for life. 

All three of the British pilots had fired, and all three had scored game-altering hits on their target. The Brits had lost Rick's Camel early in the game, but the Germans were now on the defensive. Dory's Fokker pilot was dead. The Albatros pilots of Rich and Stephen Dale were wounded and fleeing the fight. Wesley's game was over after his Albatros shot his own propellar off. Ken was still struggling to get decent numbers and return to the fight. In a matter of moments a 6-3 slaughter had become a 3-2 advantage for the British, and one of the truly incredible momentum swings in all of Dawn Patrol had taken place. 

Kevin finally cleared his jammed rudder and regained control of his battered Camel. He joined forces with his wingman, Michael, and they began a new assault on the remaining Germans of Ken and Wayne. Stephen dove hard to rejoin the fight, but it was getting late and the game was soon to be called on time. 

On the game's final turn (15), Stephen fired a top shot at Ken and scored only minimum damage while Kevin and Michael's Camels sandwiched Wayne's Albatros and delivered a fatal blow. Wayne's pilot was wounded and forced to land behind German lines where he survived to fly again. The points credit was split between both Camel flyers while the victory score went to Kevin. 

Of the original German flight that enjoyed at brief 6-3 advantage early in the game, only Ken managed to fly his plane back to his home airfield while the death of Rick's pilot turned out to be the only British casualty. Michael earned points credit for 1.5 kills while Stephen scored two solos, but Michael's fantastic shooting combined with Stephen's mid-game gun jam made the difference in the game. Had Stephen rolled for just three more hit factors on his final burst on the game's last turn, he would have won the Silver Goblet. Instead it went to Michael for a well-deserved victory. As always, good shooting pays off.

Half of the pilots in the air for Red Baron Fight XX were aces, and 70% of the pilots aloft had 8 or more missions. Even with this level of competition, Michael became the first player to win RBF in his rookie year since Stephen Dale did the trick in 1999. And this particular event remained in question through the final shot of the last turn. 

After 20 years its evident that Red Baron Fight remains a great draw that everyone looks forward to. The enthusiasm at the table was second to none, and the game has not lost its momentum as one of the best events in Dawn Patrol. 

Be sure to check out the updated "Red Baron Fight" section of this site and see the RBF Records page for an updated look at the all-time statistics of this great game!