Time: June, 1918
Place: Sector 3, near Dixmude, Belgium

Dramatis Personae
Plane	Pilot	Player
Spad XIII	Brendt Bjilandt	Gavin Tovrea
Spad XIII	Armond Arnot	Jay Bevington
Nieuport 28	Frank Rick	Kyle
Sopwith Camel	Winston Thatcher	Mark Swihart
Fokker D-VII	Arnn Von Grunt	Mark Siemens
Siemens Schuckert D-III	Gottlieb Gront	CJ Suchyta
Fokker D-VII	Hans Bader	Jordan Masse
Fokker Dr. 1	Max Bader	Rich Masse

The Allies were out to blind the German artillery by taking out the observation balloon for this sector. Two Belgian pilots, Brendt Bjilandt and Armond Arnot, were accompanied by an American pilot Frank Rick and a British pilot Winston Thatcher. Even though Brendt was still recovering from wounds he received on a previous mission, he volunteered to carry the incendiary ammunition. He would mount the main attack against the balloon while the others protected him from enemy fighters.

Unfortunately for the Allies, four German planes were guarding the balloon that day. A two-plane flight flown by Arrin Von Grunt and Gottlieb Gront, trailed by another two-plane flight flown by the cousins Hans and Max Bader. The balloon started at 3000 feet and the ground crew immediately began to pull it down with its precious observer when the Allied flight was spotted. The Germans were patrolling at 3200 feet. The Allies approached from 3500 feet and at high speed. Both sides spotted the other and the game was on.

Frank and Brendt headed straight for the balloon while Armond and Winston turned to engage the Germans. Arrin turned toward Armond but could not get into a position to shoot. Gottlieb had only spotted the lead Spad and was turning to chase him when Armond fired on the Siemens Schuckert from over 400 yards away! As a rookie, Armond did not realize that he had no chance to hit at that distance. The shot served to jam a gun and alert Gottlieb to his presence but it did have the benefit of diverting Gottlieb's attention from Frank and Brendt and allowed them to press their attack on the balloon. Hans turned toward the Nieuport but was too faraway to shoot. Max climbed in a circle away from the Allied planes. He was waiting for an opportunity to finish off a damaged plane.

Frank began his diving pass on the balloon. His well-aimed bursts ripped large holes in the gas bag and sprayed the gondola, killing the observer. After his pass on the balloon, Frank turned and climbed to get away from the balloon and the surrounding anti-aircraft fire. He had evaded the fire on the way in but he was not so lucky on the way out. Two mid-air explosions severely damaged the tail of his plane. Shrapnel lodged in his forearm and in his engine. Frank made all due haste to escape this unhealthy environment.

Brendt's initial pass at the balloon was only a few seconds behind Frank's. Whereas Frank's bursts were controlled and steady, Brendt's bursts were wild and erratic. The retort of anti-aircraft shells and the smell of cordite had distracted him. His shots had failed to hit anything and he jammed a gun, too. Winston continued to fly top cover, which was highly unusual for a Camel. Much to his delight, Arnn momentarily passed in front his machine. Winston fired but inflicted only minor damage. Hans attempted to stalk the Camel at this time, but was unable bring his guns to bear. Max continued to bide his time.

Meanwhile, Gottlieb focused on the Spad that had fired upon him. He banked right and quickly brought his plane around to fire on the Spad. Armond did not expect the Siemens Schuckert to be so nimble. Gottlieb raked the Spad with bullets, damaging the fuselage and engine and wounding the pilot. Armond tried to dive away but Gottlieb had anticipated this maneuver and continued to pump more lead into the crippled plane as he followed it down. The Spad broke apart and Armond fell to his death in the remains of his plane.

During this time, Brendt half-looped back toward the balloon for another pass. He was determined to bring it down. Diving upon the balloon, he held his fire until he was 100 yards away. This time his gunfire was much more accurate. Unfortunately, Brendt was so focused on shooting at the balloon that he failed to leave himself any room to maneuver if it ignited. Flame enveloped both balloon and plane in an instant. Brendt had destroyed the balloon and himself in the process.

While Gottllieb was chasing Armond, Winston was rushing to his wingman's aid. Just as Armond began his final fall, Winston lined up the Siemens Schuckert in his sights. Winston put a couple bullets into the engine but he was unable to cause any further damage. Gottlieb pulled his plane into a half-loop to face this new threat. Winston, however, had no intention of facing Gottlieb. He put his Camel into a steep dive and sped away back to his own lines, leaving Frank to his fate.

Unfortunately, Frank's future was very short. In his effort to escape from the anti-aircraft fire, he raced headlong into the gun sights of three German planes. First, he passed in front of Hans. Hans jammed a gun but fired enough bullets to damage the fuselage and wings. Arnn was the next to fire, but his guns jammed almost immediately, so his shot was ineffective. Finally, Max, who had spent the whole battle looking for an opportunity to gain an easy kill, fired. His bullets shredded the remains of the Nieuport's tail and the plane tell to the ground. Max's patience paid off.

That evening at the German airfield, Max and Gottlieb were celebrating their recent success, especially Gottlieb who now had two kills in as many missions. Arnn was not as happy. He had claimed partial credit for killing the Nieuport and even though Hans' report gave full credit to Max, the squadron CO did not immediately award Max the credit. The CO knew Max and Hans were cousins and he knew the report could be biased. The CO finally awarded Max full credit when he received the weapons sergeant's report. Arnn had fired too few bullets to bring down the Nieuport. The evening's festivities were cut short when a dispatch was received from Corps headquarters. The pilots received stern criticism for their inability to protect the balloon and its highly trained observer.

The Belgian Corps commander, on the other hand, was quite pleased with the destruction of the balloon. It was the squadron CO who felt the losses were unacceptable. After receiving reports from anyone besides the politically driven Winston Thatcher, the CO recommended that Brendt Bjilandt, Armond Arnot, and Frank Rick be awarded, posthumously, the Belgian War Cross.

Result

No Allied planes were shot down and another was destroyed. No German planes were shot down but the balloon was destroyed. (Editor's Note: C.J. Suchyta runs a Red Baron game at The Soldiery Dayton location on the second Friday of every month. Thisbattle report is from one of the gaming sessions. Great Lakes members are encouraged to join in on the fun!)