Volume 37, Number 5
Mike Carr Visits Indy
The creator of the Dawn Patrol board game and masters-level veteran player Carl Priest visited Indianapolis for the Gen Con gaming convention on July 30th, and Stephen met them in the downtown area for dinner and a quick Fits scenario.
The evening began with a distinctly underwhelming dinner at The Hangar near South and Madison Avenue in which we served ourselves in an unpleasant atmosphere without utensils while trying to pay via QR code. After consensus determined that we would not return, we walked to the nearby Hyatt Indy where Mike and Carl were staying. There we played a quick, 3-player balloon mission in which Stephen's Albatros pilot was credited with shooting down Carl's SPAD VII. Lacking a fourth player, we called it a night.
Mike Carr Visits Indy
The creator of the Dawn Patrol board game and masters-level veteran player Carl Priest visited Indianapolis for the Gen Con gaming convention on July 30th, and Stephen met them in the downtown area for dinner and a quick Fits scenario.
The evening began with a distinctly underwhelming dinner at The Hangar near South and Madison Avenue in which we served ourselves in an unpleasant atmosphere without utensils while trying to pay via QR code. After consensus determined that we would not return, we walked to the nearby Hyatt Indy where Mike and Carl were staying. There we played a quick, 3-player balloon mission in which Stephen's Albatros pilot was credited with shooting down Carl's SPAD VII. Lacking a fourth player, we called it a night.
Mike and Carl send their best greetings to all the local Indy players, with a special shout-out to 2023 Armistice Day champion Ethan "The Python" Skinner. It was the game's creator who dubbed Ethan as "The Python," so the nickname is recognized at the highest levels of officialdom.
Jon (L) and Ben in full WW1 gear September 20 Gaming Report
Four players gathered in Lewisville for a total of four games, with Nelson Skinner again serving a great lunch and dinner which was universally appreciated.
Game 1 was a random mission in May 1918 matching the Albatros DVa's of Ben and Stephen against a pair of 130 hp Camels flown by Jonathon and Rick. Ben's Albatros hit Jon hard enough to cause him to instantly turn for Allied lines while Stephen's second shot scored a light wound on Rick's Camel pilot. Jon's Sopwith suffered an engine mount hit and safely escaped, while Rick's lightly wounded pilot managed to survive an emergency landing at a forward field, awarding Stephen's 12-mission Albatros pilot his second kill.
Game 2 was a preview of an upcoming Pages From the Past column in Aerodrome. The mission is called "The 94th Gets an Alb" and featured the Nieuport 28's of Rick and Ben against the Albatri of Stephen and Jon. The Germans were dominated by the faster Nieuports despite the fact that both Stephen and Jon randomly rolled up 200 hp engines for their Albatros DVa's.
The Nieuports flew extremely well and the Germans were spared only by the odd placement of American bullets. Stephen's Albatros suffered 8 rear fuselage hits and manged to survive multiple critical hit rolls to the engine, most courtesy of Rick. Ben repeatedly hit Jon's Albatros until it dove away with a smoking engine. By this time even the Americans had had enough and didn't follow the Germans as they dove toward their own lines.
The mission was technically a draw, but the Americans clearly held the upper hand and cleared the skies of the enemy.
Game 3 was Indy's rendition of Pages From the Past #18, "Fighter Battle Over the North Sea," a delightful mission drawn up by Mike Carr and featured in Aerodrome 190. The scenario date was December 1917.
Choice for sides was rolled randomly and ended up pitting two veterans, Rick and Stephen, flying 150 hp Camels against two relative rookies, Ben and Jon, in 180 hp Albatros fighters. To correspond with the historical mission, Rick and Stephen both chose the Royal Naval Air Service Camel pilots on their rosters (Neville Higham 29/12 and Squadron Commander Christopher Foxxe 77/61, respectively). This turned an already difficult mission into a lopsided train wreck, so Rick and Stephen quietly agreed to go easy on their opponents. Neither of them ever took a shot closer than 300 feet.
The game opened when Jon's Albatros took a 300 foot head-on shot at Rick's double ace. Stephen's super-ace flew in to assist with a 300 top shot on Jon, whose engine instantly quit after he missed and both aces scored. Rick followed Jon's gliding Albatros while Stephen's Camel took shots from 400, 500 and 700 feet on Ben. Jon's pilot reached the Allied-held beach but died in a landing crash. Ben's Albatros overdove and successfully escaped.
Rick drew his cut for the kill and told Stephen, "You got this one." Stephen replied, "I never win cuts. Especially with Foxxe." Rick threw a 2 of spades on the table and sure enough, Stephen's pilot got his 61st kill.
Four players gathered in Lewisville for a total of four games, with Nelson Skinner again serving a great lunch and dinner which was universally appreciated.
Game 1 was a random mission in May 1918 matching the Albatros DVa's of Ben and Stephen against a pair of 130 hp Camels flown by Jonathon and Rick. Ben's Albatros hit Jon hard enough to cause him to instantly turn for Allied lines while Stephen's second shot scored a light wound on Rick's Camel pilot. Jon's Sopwith suffered an engine mount hit and safely escaped, while Rick's lightly wounded pilot managed to survive an emergency landing at a forward field, awarding Stephen's 12-mission Albatros pilot his second kill.
Game 2 was a preview of an upcoming Pages From the Past column in Aerodrome. The mission is called "The 94th Gets an Alb" and featured the Nieuport 28's of Rick and Ben against the Albatri of Stephen and Jon. The Germans were dominated by the faster Nieuports despite the fact that both Stephen and Jon randomly rolled up 200 hp engines for their Albatros DVa's.
The Nieuports flew extremely well and the Germans were spared only by the odd placement of American bullets. Stephen's Albatros suffered 8 rear fuselage hits and manged to survive multiple critical hit rolls to the engine, most courtesy of Rick. Ben repeatedly hit Jon's Albatros until it dove away with a smoking engine. By this time even the Americans had had enough and didn't follow the Germans as they dove toward their own lines.
The mission was technically a draw, but the Americans clearly held the upper hand and cleared the skies of the enemy.
Game 3 was Indy's rendition of Pages From the Past #18, "Fighter Battle Over the North Sea," a delightful mission drawn up by Mike Carr and featured in Aerodrome 190. The scenario date was December 1917.
Choice for sides was rolled randomly and ended up pitting two veterans, Rick and Stephen, flying 150 hp Camels against two relative rookies, Ben and Jon, in 180 hp Albatros fighters. To correspond with the historical mission, Rick and Stephen both chose the Royal Naval Air Service Camel pilots on their rosters (Neville Higham 29/12 and Squadron Commander Christopher Foxxe 77/61, respectively). This turned an already difficult mission into a lopsided train wreck, so Rick and Stephen quietly agreed to go easy on their opponents. Neither of them ever took a shot closer than 300 feet.
The game opened when Jon's Albatros took a 300 foot head-on shot at Rick's double ace. Stephen's super-ace flew in to assist with a 300 top shot on Jon, whose engine instantly quit after he missed and both aces scored. Rick followed Jon's gliding Albatros while Stephen's Camel took shots from 400, 500 and 700 feet on Ben. Jon's pilot reached the Allied-held beach but died in a landing crash. Ben's Albatros overdove and successfully escaped.
Rick drew his cut for the kill and told Stephen, "You got this one." Stephen replied, "I never win cuts. Especially with Foxxe." Rick threw a 2 of spades on the table and sure enough, Stephen's pilot got his 61st kill.
Game 4 was a barn burner with a new and previously untested setup mission. The Germans had gathered one dozen balloons together to test each one prior to an offensive, with two actively flying and the other ten partially inflated and sitting on the ground in pairs.
Jonathon (Sopwith Strutter) and Stephen (RE 8) flew into German lines, laden with bombs, while the Halberstadt DII's of Ben and Rick lay in wait. In an extended, 18-turn mission, the British bombers took out all ten balloons on the ground using a combination of bombs and machine gun fire. Just as Stephen's RE 8 turned toward the first of two airborne balloons, Rick cleared a jam and fired on him to cause a critical hit that disabled the Englishman's front machine gun. Unable to effectively fire on the last balloon, the RE 8 hit the deck and scrambled safely home.
Meanwhile, Ben continually fired on Jon's Strutter despite a carburetor hit and forced the Sopwith to escape as well. The damage on Jon's plane wouldn't permit him a safe run at the other airborne balloon. So the Brits were successful against the ground targets, but entirely unsuccessful against the balloons floating above the battleground. All four pilots returned home safely.
Albatros DVa in Flight
Jonathon (Sopwith Strutter) and Stephen (RE 8) flew into German lines, laden with bombs, while the Halberstadt DII's of Ben and Rick lay in wait. In an extended, 18-turn mission, the British bombers took out all ten balloons on the ground using a combination of bombs and machine gun fire. Just as Stephen's RE 8 turned toward the first of two airborne balloons, Rick cleared a jam and fired on him to cause a critical hit that disabled the Englishman's front machine gun. Unable to effectively fire on the last balloon, the RE 8 hit the deck and scrambled safely home.
Meanwhile, Ben continually fired on Jon's Strutter despite a carburetor hit and forced the Sopwith to escape as well. The damage on Jon's plane wouldn't permit him a safe run at the other airborne balloon. So the Brits were successful against the ground targets, but entirely unsuccessful against the balloons floating above the battleground. All four pilots returned home safely.
Albatros DVa in Flight
Book Review: Verdun 1914, The Opening Moves
by Christina Holstein
Pen & Sword Books, $28.95
The gang at Pen & Sword has done it again, this time providing an expert tourist guide to the early days of the Verdun area battles in 1914.
The book brilliantly blends three critical elements - historical photos, modern "then and now" pictures, and battle maps - to produce a clear and understandable volume that is indispensable for the 21st century tourist. Holstein's fluid writing style easily summarizes the historical action at each location and then seamlessly transitions to driving directions and walking tours that canvas each site.
This author has been to many of these locations, including Apremont, Romaine, Rembercourt and others. Even as a seasoned traveler in this area of France, I can say with certainty that I won't return again without this book. "Verdun 1914" is part of Pen and Sword's long-running "Battleground" series that serves as a visitor's guide to various war sites around France. Highly recommended.
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