homepage Forums Air Combat & Civil Aviation Wings: Over Flanders Fields Deep Immersion DiD campaign -- Player Instructions (UPDATED 28 Nov 2018)

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Raine – Vogel back in the skies at last, and he’s not lost his edge from the looks of it. Now as to Steinmesser, if things do suddenly go sideways there your man would be smart to adopt the policy of the Impossible Missions Force, and disavow any knowledge of his actions.

Fullofit – Another fine run for Ziggy, he just keeps on raising the tally. But once again, he needs to find himself a nice, hefty piece of swinging lumber and have a discussion with one or two of his flight mates about horning in on another person’s kill.

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2 October 1917
Somewhere in France

The send-off for Captain Frederick Abbott was an epic binge. There was singing and laughter and toasts to the young ace; and heartfelt goodbyes, and countless jokes at his expense. Also at his expense, an exceptional amount of drinking was done, as was to be expected. Freddy took it all in his typical good-natured and self-deprecating fashion, his toothy grin showing throughout the evening. Also shown by him, and most proudly, was the new walking stick that had been presented him by the men in the hangars. One of their craftsmen had fashioned the cane from a piece of lower wing spar that had been replaced on Abbott’s cherished Bristol during one of its numerous repairs. The workmanship was impeccable and its smooth, gracefully curved grip fit his palm perfectly. On the top of the grip was inlayed a silver one Franc coin, reverse side out to show its 1917 date. On the other end, at the cane’s tapering tip, was fitted the last half inch of a spent .303 shell, its brass polished to a high luster. And running along the upper length of the tightly grained, lightly oiled spruce was carved an inscription that read, “Frederick H.B. Abbott – 11 Squadron R.F.C. – La Bellevue France – 25 Victories”. When they had presented it to him earlier that afternoon it nearly brought him to tears, so moved was he by their thoughtful gesture. The man was well-liked by all, be it superiors, peers, or subordinates, of that there was no doubt. And he would be sorely missed.

It was now late afternoon of the following day and Frederick was seated next to a window on the train from Abbeville to Calais, watching the French countryside roll lazily by. After saying his final farewells to everyone in camp he’d had one of the lads drive him and his kit over to No.5 British Red Cross Hospital so that he might visit with Nurse Ellison before he went home to England. But the fates were against him on this score; Lizzie was temporarily away, helping out at a field hospital up near Arras. He was disappointed but took it in stride. Ah well, he would have to catch up with her when he returned to the fight, whenever that might be. When the brass hats at H.Q. were involved there was no telling about the future.


(to be continued)

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While The Great and Powerful Wizard of the DID Campaign, a.k.a. Raine, (pay no attention to that man behind the curtain), works diligently and wizardly on the next batch of gong awards, I am posting the following oversight before it is oversighted yet again.

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Pursuant to Army Order 204, dated 6 July 1916, the following individual is hereby presented the Wounded Stripe:



Your King and Country thank you for your sacrifice and faithful service.

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Thanks Lou. Let's hope you won't have to make out another for Oliver.

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Achtung!



It is the Kaiser's Royal and Imperial command that the following individual be recognized for his valor:



You make the Vaterland most proud.

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Achtung!



It is the Kaiser's Royal and Imperial command that the following individual be recognized for his valor:



You make the Vaterland most proud.

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Marcel Jules Gilbare
ESC. 15 GC 13
Senard, Verdun
1 Victory
5 Unconfirmed

Spad Driver
37 Missions
19.7 Hrs

Walking Wounded End of Month status.

Sept 30, 1917 End of Month Stats:

Captain Oliver Alden Winningstad, DSO, MC
56 Squadron RFC
Estrée-Blanche, France
217 Missions
282.27 hours
68 Victories
94 Claims

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Achtung!



It is the Kaiser's Royal and Imperial command that the following individual be recognized for his valor:



You make the Vaterland most proud.

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Lou, Albert Order! Wow! Danke! The Gong Fairy has been busy, so many decorations flying around. Congratulations to all recipients.
That was a wonderful send off that was prepared for Freddy at his expense of course. Can’t believe nurse Ellison missed out on one more night “on the town” with Freddy. But nothing’s lost. He will be back and with a few more tales to tell, I’m sure.

2 October, 1917 07:45 morning mission
Ceurne, Flanders Sector
Jasta 36
Oberleutnant Zygmunt Dolf Hahn EK2 EK1 HHO PLM
57 confirmed kills
Awaiting two claim confirmations

No word on yesterday’s claims. Still waiting for the verdict.
Zygmunt and the rest of his Schwarm have just joined up with three DFWs from Ss-4 on recon mission of front sector between Ypres and Messines when a trio of Camels showed up out of nowhere. Ziggy engaged one with a large white Q on his top plane. At one point he gave him one good squirt and left him for “damaged and heading for home” and returned to the main battle to help the rest of his flight and make sure the observation birds are safe. Ziggy went after another machine when he felt bullets hitting his plane. Not good! He saw another Camel on his tail. They started to circle each other and Zygmunt realized it was his first Camel with the letter Q on the wing. He pursued him until he realized the Camel was just gliding. His propeller was motionless. It took him a few careful attempts to take the enemy out but in the end the Britisher crashed in No-Man’s Land and Ziggy rejoined the main fight again to find the other Camels have been chased off.

YouTube Link



He observed one of the Albatrosen pursuing his foe at treetops. The Camel turned and came across Hahn’s guns. He squeezed the triggers and watch the English machine dive and crash below. The flight reformed and rejoined the observation two-seaters waiting for them to continue with the mission.

YouTube Link



2 October, 1917 14:30 afternoon mission
Ceurne, Flanders Sector
Jasta 36
Oberleutnant Zygmunt Dolf Hahn EK2 EK1 HHO PLM
57 confirmed kills
Awaiting four claim confirmations

In the afternoon they were ordered to patrol friendly front sector near Halluin. After Ziggy took off and while waiting for the rest of the Schwarm to form up on him, something didn’t sit well with him. He looked back and high above the aerodrome he could see dots moving down. Enemy planes yet again caught them at their most vulnerable. Zygmunt quickly turned around to face the assailants. Camels! They started to circle around each other, weaving between other aeroplanes. Zygmunt was lucky to place a few bursts in the fuselage of his target, weakening him and making him easier to follow. He did just that, continued to follow and hit the unlucky Camel. In the end the Englander went down just on the outskirts of the field. He then quickly acquired another target and crippled it as well. This second Camel crashed right smack in the middle of the airfield. That was it. The Schwarm formed up and continued with their mission.

YouTube Link



Zygmunt led them towards Halluin, their initial waypoint. Again, something didn’t sit well with him and he turned around to check his surroundings. His eyes grew large, his jaw dropped and his sphincter puckered to abnormally small proportions. There, just behind him were two SPADs bearing down on him. He was able to avoid them in the last instant. The two intruders went back high up and out of Hahn’s reach. They prepared for another slashing attack and this time their bullets connected with the Albatros, but this also meant Ziggy was able to catch them at his own level and he took full advantage of the situation. He was now sitting on the tail of one of the SPADs and pumping him full of lead. The Britisher spiralled down and crashed near Menen. That left only his wingmate who had no trouble sticking to Hahn’s rear. The two pilots circled in a stalemate until one of Ziggy’s wingmen showed up and disrupted this orderly duel. It was enough for the Englander to lose his concentration and for Zygmunt to get loose from his grip. He now had the British pilot on the run, flying low over the trenches. The two machines were receiving hits from down below, but Zygmunt was determined and continued to fire at the SPAD. With his last bullets gone the enemy machine began to smoke and took a nose dive into the ground below. His ammunition and strength spent, Hahn gave the signal to return to base.

YouTube Link

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Achtung!



Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, commands that the following individual be recognized for his valor:



Citation to the award reads as follows:

Leutnant der Reserve Willi Aaron Rosenstein has established an unparalleled record for pilots of observation and bombing machines, having destroyed more than forty enemy flugmaschinen during combat. His courage and determination to achieve his missions are an example to all.
Awarded the Ludwigsorden mit Schwertern on 30 September 1917.

A proud people thank you for your sacrifice and service.

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uuuuuh....another Gong. Mighty nice of you.

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Attention!



His Majesty King George V hereby confers the following honour:



A grateful people thank you for your service and loyalty.

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And the Gong Splurge continues! Thanks be to the fairest of them all, the Gong Fairy for her tireless work and impeccable taste.

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A splurge to be sure, but then pilots here have been busy running up their scores, so....

The Gong Fairy, as you all know, is a two-person job. Raine, our Grand Poobah of the DID Campaign, is in charge of deciding who gets what. I offer what insight I have on the various options, and we each try our best to use historical evidence to guide the choices, (example: as the war progressed the high honours were handed out far less than they were early on). Raine then does his outstanding write-ups and sends them along to me, and I build the actual awards and documents and post them, (all except the ones for my own pilot, that falls back on Raine). In this particular round I had some extra work to do as the Grand Poobah went with two medals we'd not seen before in the DID campaigns - the Hanseatenkruz Bremen and the Ludwigsorden. So I was busy yesterday afternoon and evening, first locating historical examples, and then creating the new documents and medals for posting. Fun stuff!

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Grand Poobah lol

Ack-akka-dak...

(Kidding aside, I don't participate in the goings-on here, but I do read over this stuff from time to time. Fascinating, and the work put into it is appreciated by the reader )

Lou, I keep forgetting that the Gong Fairy is an Unholy Duo. Raine, what I said in the previous post, double it and take half. So, which one are you? Gong or Fairy?

KK, good to know that someone else than ourselves reads this drivel and I mean drivel in the most nice and positive way. Cheers!

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Fullofit, we split the title - Gonfa and Giry, with Raine the former and I the latter. Just seemed the equitable way to do it as we both act as a bit of each. It's all about teamwork.

kk, glad you're enjoying the joint adventures. Oh, and "Dak-Daka-Ack" back at you. Now for the secret handshake.

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Oh good, because I thought you were Going Fray.