Wings of Glory - The Twenty Minuters, part 2

 The Twenty Minuters, part 2

We left of last turn (you can find it here) with the Brown Albatross' observer firing on Berty at close range. The first burst caused no damage passing safely past the plucky aerial newcomer. However, the second burst drew a damage card that saw Berty's aircraft suffer 2 points of damage and his rudder hit. This caused him to lose the ability to undertake right hand manoeuvres for the next three phases. So, for this next turn, Berty's manoeuvring options will be limited.

TURN 3

The Germans, being managed under the scenario AI rules, randomly choose their movement cards for this turn.

Phase 1

The British movement this phase sees Lord Flashheart closes in on his quarry. Whilst Berty sets himself up for an Immelmann Manoeuvrer so that he can turn back on his Hun quarry. Meanwhile the experienced German pilots push to put as much distance between themselves and the British so that they can complete their mission.

Flashheart and the White Albatross' observer exchange fire whilst Berty just manages to avoid another burst of fire from the Brown Albatross' observer.

Flashheart makes use of his Sharp Eye ability firing at the White Albatross at long range as though it were at short range. However, fate strikes Flashheart as his gun jams as he fires. The White Albatross suffers little damage as a result but fortunately for Flashheart his SE.5a suffers very little damage in the return exchange of bullets.

"Blast. Jammed gun. And the Hun in my sights too."

Phase 2

Flash proceeds to work on his jammed gun whilst manoeuvring to get onto the tail of the White Albatross. Berty meanwhile commences the climb on his Immelmann Manoeuvre. Both of the Albatrosses turn to their right hoping to avoid taking more fire from the British.

The observer on the White Albatross fires another short burst at Lord Flashheart for good measure, his SE.5a taking another 2 points of damage.

"Get avay from uz British!"

Phase 3

Lord Flashheart eye's his quarry as it gets out of range, all the while working the mechanism of his gun to expel the accursed jammed bullet.

Berty comes out of his Immelmann Manoeuvre and chases after the Brown Albatross. Both of the German aircraft turn again to their right in an attempt to circle the British and come up on their tails. As a result, the Brown Albatross comes into close range of Flashheart.

The wounded pilot of the Brown Albatross gives Lord Flashheart a spray. Bullets fly around the cockpit of Flashheart, causing splinters and shards of glass from his windshield and instruments to injure the British Ace. Distracted by fixing his gun, the Squadron Commander of the Twenty Minuters didn't see it coming. Checking his nether regions to ensure that all was still intact and well, he lets fly a series of curses at the Bosche for their impudence and for his own lack of situational awareness.

So that's 3 points of damage the SE.5a took in that exchange. Berty, now that the turn has come to an end, is able to fix his rudder issues and will now be able to turn to the right. Turn 3 comes to an end with Lord Flashheart shouting obscenities at both the Bosche and his aircraft.

TURN 4

The British aren't having the best of the flying today. The Germans meanwhile have a few issues of their own, with the pilot of the Brown Albatross injured from earlier gunfire.

Phase 1

Lord Flashhearts' colourful language somehow helps him to finally clear the jam in his gun. However, he has missed a golden opportunity to tell the wounded pilot of the Brown Albatross just how much he appreciated the German's recent gift of bullets as the aircraft escapes from his gun sights. He decides to undertake an Immelmann turn in order to share his feelings with these Hun interlopers.

However, the Brown Albatross' observer / gunner has the SE.5a in his sights and, at short range, lets off another series of unanswered barks from his machine gun. Once again, Flasheart's poor SE.5a gets additional tares in the fabric as bullets pass through them doing just 2 points of damage.

This enrages Flashheart even more. His SE.5a has now suffered a total of 9 hits out of the sixteen hits the aircraft can take before it drops from the sky. And all of these recent hits have gone unanswered due to his gun jam. To add insult to injury, Flashheart is now sporting some wounds himself. Ah well, the ladies will swoon even harder of his risking life and limb for Ol' Blighty.

Phase 2

Flash climbs and rolls over in the Immelmann Manoeuvre getting onto the Brown Albartoss' tail so as to let them know what he thinks of the impudent Hun.

The White Albatross heads for a cloud bank with the hopes of breaking LOS with the British as Berty pursues it.

Flashheart meanwhile now has the Brown Albatross in his sight. Flash's Immelmann turn has him now on the Brown Albatross' tail at long range. However, his Sharp Eye skill grants him the ability to shoot as though the long range was actually short range.

The German observer on the Brown Albatross however is out of firing arc and can't shoot back at Flashheart.

"Take that Hun!"

Berty and the White Albatross exchange fire at long range also.

Incredibly, Flashheart's gun jams yet again doing no damage to the Brown Albatross. Being injured, Flash is going to have to take a total of four phases now to clear this new jam. Moreover, he has now used up his Sharp Eye skill for the game and seen no benefit for it, having a jammed gun on both occasions he has used the skill.

Meanwhile Berty and his targeted White Albatross exchange blasts of machine gun fire at long range. Berty's bullets shoot past the pilot and slam into the observer killing him outright and taking the rear gun out of action. This means too that the White Albatross can no longer gain a victory point for undertaking an observation run of the Entente lines. Berty's Sopwith Camel meanwhile takes a single point of damage.

Flashhearts swearing can be heard all the way back to Ol' Blighty!

Phase 3

Berty and the White Albatross head into partial cloud cover meaning that any shooting can only be conducted at short range and will be treated as though being conducted at long range. That said, both aircraft will get a shot off at one another this phase.

Flash completes the Immelmann Manoeuvre snarling at the smug German crew in the Brown Albatross. Across even this distance and the roar of their engines, he can hear the Hun taunting him. "Ah, ze famous Lord Flashheart. You should have put bullets in your gun before battle!" Then the observer opens fire again at the British Ace.

Dogfight in the clouds.

The observer on the Brown Albatross fires away at Flashheart's aircraft and does a single point of damage. Flash's SE.5a has now taken a total of 10 hits.

Berty meanwhile cops a heavy burst of gun fire receiving 4 points of damage. The spray at short range, even though it's treated as being at long range due to the partial cloud cover, shocks the Twenty Minuter throwing off his aim as he does no damage in return to the German aircraft. Definitely not a good day for the British aviators.

As Turn 4 draws to a close, Berty's Sopwith Camel has suffered a total of 9 points of damage out of the fifteen points it can take. Flashheart's SE.5a meanwhile has suffered a total of 10 points of damage out of the sixteen points it can take.

The German Albatross's however have only suffered light damage. But the observer on the White Albatross has been killed and the pilot on the Brown Albatross has been injured. Should that pilot take another injury it will kill him outright and the aircraft will tumble to the ground.

Flash has also suffered injury, but he has the Charmed and Fated Life special rule for this scenario and, as the Red Barron is not present in this game, he won't be killed here if he takes another wound. He will crash though taking him out of the scenario. Lord Flashheart does have three more gun jammed tokens that he has to remove and so won't be able to shoot through the entirety of Turn 5 either. He will probably shoot one of his mechanics when he returns to the British Aerodrome assuming that the fool didn't load his gun belt correctly as he is a German spy. He would probably be right there too. Two jams in as many attempts at shooting is unacceptable.

Things indeed are looking grim for our British airmen. The Germans on the other hand are feeling upbeat that they can get the intel needed and make it back safely across the German lines. What happens next is anyone's guess. Stay tuned!

Wings of Glory - The Twenty Minuters, part 1

The Twenty Minuters, part 1

The scenario background, mission objectives and house rules can be found here. This battle report was a solo game so that I could learn the rules for Wings of Glory. Ever late to the game when it comes to finding great wargames, I'm often learning when everyone else has long stopped playing the game and its pretty much out of print. Well, better late than never, I say!

TURN 1

The Germans in this battle report will be governed by the scenario Solo AI movement rules. As such, suitable options for their flight paths throughout the game were chosen by a roll of the die.

The Brown Albatross

The White Albatross

The Germans are sporting two Albatross C.III with observer/rear gunners. These will be referred to as the "Brown Albatross", and the "White Albatross" in this battle report. This may cause some confusion as the White Albatross is more of a lighter blue than white, and the Brown Albatross has tan coloured wings. It's confusing, I know, but you'll work it out.

The British today comprise of Lord Flashheart in his SE.5a, and a Rookie pilot named Berty Pemberton flying a Sopwith Camel.

Note of continuity: if one remembers the Blackadder episode correctly, Lord Flashhearts' crashed aircraft looked like a Sopwith Camel and the flying aircraft where Baldrick was fooling around in just before he and Blackadder were shot down by The Red Barron appeared to be a single seater SE.5a. So, because they look good, and because both appeared in the Blackadder episode, I'm running with them. The SE.5a looks too cool for Lord Flashheart to not have chosen it for himself in this little adventure, so he will be flying the SE.5a.

This battle reports contenders

Phase 1 to 3

The opening phases of the battle see the contenders closing on one another.

Lord Flashheart hand signals to Berty to take the Brown Albatross to his 1 O'Clock position whilst he will attack the White Albatross dead ahead. The Bosch meanwhile spot the incoming threat and move to intercept. Neither side however is currently in range and so no shooting can take place this turn.

TURN 2

The combatants have a clear LOS to each other, and the Germans choose their three movement options before randomly selecting the turn's movement cards for each aircraft.

The roll of the dice determines the German movement card pile used this turn.

Phase 1

While the combatants close. Lord Flashheart decides to attempt to attack his targeted Albatross from the side, thus narrowing its options to fire back at him. In order to do this, he is going to attempt to use the cloud bank to his left side to block LOS. Thus, attacking the German aircraft for out of the cloud bank as the Germans pass by.

Phase 2

Berty and his German opposite number close to maximum firing range. Both pilots firing salvos at one another. Berty scores 5 damage on the German aircraft and injures the pilot. His bullets hitting just as the German fired as amazingly Berty suffers no damage in return. "Wow, not bad Rookie", Lord Flashheart quips as he observes the confrontation before the cloud bank blocks his line of sight. If the German pilot suffers a second hit, then he will be either dead or incapacitated, and the aircraft will careen out of the sky. Observers only require one hit to be incapacitated. Pilots are more important you see. Just ask them.

Phase 3

As the aircraft pass one another, the observer on the Brown Albatross fires on Berty at close range. The first machinegun burst (i.e. the first damage card drawn) does no damage, but the second damage card drawn sees Berty's aircraft suffer 2 points of damage. However, the shot also hits Berty's rudder. This causes him to lose the ability to undertake right hand manoeuvres for the next three phases. So, for the next turn, Berty's manoeuvring options will be limited. Not a good start for our Rookie pilot.

With that Turn 2 comes to a close. Berty experiences his first taste of battle and the Germans head relentlessly towards their main objective, the observation of the Entente forces. What will happen next?

Will Flashheart be able to out manoeuvre his opponent? Will Berty survive for more than 20 minutes in their air?* Will the Germans achieve their objective and make it back to their airfield safely. Stay tuned!

* The average life span of a British pilot towards the middle and later part of the war was 11 weeks if I remember correctly. But don't take my word for it.

The Twenty Minuters - A Wings of Glory scenario

The Twenty Minuters

Scenario Background

With low cloud partially obscuring the battlefield, the Central Powers are having difficulty in accurately spotting from their observation balloons. Consequently, things are rather quiet across the battlefield this day. In order to liven things up and guide their artillery, German aircraft have been sent up to assist in the reconnaissance of enemy positions.

This day however sees that the skies over the trenches will not go uncontested. Entente aircraft from the British Royal Flying Corps patrol the skies looking for enemy encroachment. Led by non-other than the ace Lord Flashheart himself (Captain, RFC), two British fighters search for their Hun adversaries.

Lord Flashheart, Captain RFC

The Opposing Forces

Lord Flashheart is currently Squadron Commander The 20 Minuters. A mythical flying squadron of the RFC that comprises mostly freshly trained pilots. On patrol with him today is Berty Pemberton who recently graduated from flying school and newly arrived in France. He is more than a little eager to not be found wanting in the eyes of his hero and mentor Captain Flashheart. Berty accordingly has the Rookie trait in this scenario.

Lord Flashheart pilots an SE.5A whilst Berty Pemberton is flying a Sopwith Camel.

Opposing the British airmen today are two German Albatross C.III's. These are piloted by Fritz and Hanz. But that's unimportant right now. Accompanying each pilot is an observer. This fact however will be important in this scenario.

The Mission

The mission is a simple one. The Germans must get over the Entente lines and make an observation run of their enemy's position. The British must prevent this from happening.

The Briefing

If a German aircraft can reach the Entente lines, which is one target stick's width from the Entente side of the table, and return to their own table's edge and exit the board, they will score 1 Victory Point. This means that the Germans can gain up to 2 Victory Points if they can get both of their aircraft over the Entente lines to observer the enemy.

However, in order to "observe" the Entente line, the German observer onboard the aircraft must be alive. The observer doesn't need to be alive when the aircraft returns to the German side of the table as photos and notes will survive the observer should they be killed. The observer however must be alive when the German aircraft enters the Entente line. If the observer is killed whilst the aircraft is in the Entente line, then it's considered that the observer didn't get the job done. His notes are lost overboard, and the photos aren't taken.

The British must either chase away the German aircraft or shoot them down. Alternatively, if they manage to kill the observers on both German aircraft, the Germans will return to their own side unable to score Victory Points.

For each aircraft that is shot down, 1 Victory Point will be awarded. So, the Germans could win a total of 4 Victory Points for this scenario, from observations of Entente positions and enemy aircraft shot down, whilst the British can score only a maximum of 2 Victory Points for shooting down the German aircraft. If you want to be even handed, then give the British 1 Victory Point for each observer killed before the German aircraft can make or complete an observation of the Entente position.

House Rules

The following house rules apply to this scenario.

Traits

• Lord Flashheart has the Sharp Eye and Daredevil traits.
• Berty Pemberton has the Rookie trait.

Cloud Bank

• The banks of cotton wool cloud block line of sight (LOS). If an aircraft is either within the Cloud Bank, or a Cloud Bank is intervening between two opposing aircraft, then LOS is lost, and the aircraft cannot be targeted by each other.

Height

• Height rules aren't being played in this scenario. But can be used if so desired.
• If Height is being used, the Cloud Bank house rule still applies as the clouds are considered to be extensive enough in height to continue to block LOS.
• By mutual agreement, the Cloud Bank block of LOS can be disregarded if the players agree to a maximum height for the cloud tops. But don't overcomplicate things.

Charmed and Fated Life

• Lord Flashheart is considered to be as having a Charmed and Fated Life. This means that he is only able to be killed in a scenario where the Red Baron is also in that scenario. If the Red Baron is not in the scenario, and Captain Flashheart is "killed" or shot down, he miraculously survives by some twist of fate.

Solo Rules

• For Solo Rules play, choose three sets of the three movement cards for the non-player aircraft and place them in separate piles with the aircraft. Now roll a single d6 dice. On a 1-2, the lefthand set of movement cards will be used by that aircraft for the upcoming turn. On a 3-4, the middle set of movement cards will be used. On a roll of 5-6, the righthand set of movement cards will be used. Discard the non-chosen cards back into the movement card deck so as to not confuse yourself (like I almost did!).
• A logical set of movement cards should be chosen for these three piles each turn, and a pile chosen at random to simulate the pilot of the aircraft attempting to fulfil the mission objective for their side whilst not placing their aircraft in danger from enemy fire.
• Whenever an enemy aircraft is in range and has LOS, the non-player aircraft will shoot at the player aircraft. If there is a choice of aircraft to shoot at, the non-player will shoot at the closest enemy aircraft. If the distance is equal, then roll to randomly choose which aircraft is shot at.

An example of randomly choosing the movement cards of the non-player aircraft that turn.

Set-up

• Aircraft can be set up anywhere on their side of the table within their deployment zone. The deployment zone for each side is one Target Stick's length from their side of the table.

Ignore all my crap at the end of the table. I need to put all that away somewhere.

The length of the scenario will be as long as it takes for one side or the other to reach their objectives.