Battle Report, Late Summer 1915Kolechian engineers, catching up in the lighter-than-air race, have prepared the
Hykib Observation Balloon for mass deployment by the KPAF. Unlike the Sky Eye, it’s a one-man hydrogen balloon, which ascends faster but is correspondingly more expensive. The Hykib also has a more-streamlined kite balloon shape with fin ballonets to the rear, and is a more stable observation platform as it constantly faces into the wind. It also comes with a telephone for the observer to quickly communicate to the ground.
Both sides have also taken their first, suspiciously similar steps into the field of aerial warfare, Verusa with its
Bolt Machine Guns on
Rhino Horn mounts, and Kolechia with
Type 11 LMGs on
Foster mounts. Questions about why it’s named the Foster mount when there is no one named Foster on the design team are met with awkward silences. Nevertheless, both sides now have the capability of mounting machine guns on Rhino and Feather-1914 biplanes, giving them a degree of offensive capability.
The Northern Mountains:The mountain peaks are about as warm as they’ll ever be, and a Verusan platoon uproots the Kolechian flag on Mt Koldova, setting down their own instead. In their warm tents, officers argue about the best trails to supply an offensive over the ridges, and several quartermasters’ mugs are hurled in protest.
In the highlands, Kolechian troops continue their rapid advance toward Derboise. The Kolechian People’s Air Force has deployed two squadrons of Hykib balloons to match two squadrons of Sky Eyes on the Verusan side, while a squadron of Feather-1914s with Type 11 LMGs is detailed to provide air superiority over the battlefield, and another squadron continues photoreconnaissance duty. In comparison, the Sky Crusaders have only a single squadron of Rhinos tasked to shoot down enemy aircraft crossing the frontlines.
Combat in the air becomes a lot deadlier, and soldiers in the trenches below place bets on which aircraft will fall in flames to the ground. Verusan pilots valiantly resist the urge to fly over and stab the temptingly-red Hykib balloons on the opposing frontlines (despite some arguments that their insignia perfectly represents that) as they are ordered to patrol over Verusan lines only. There’s no shortage of targets on this side anyway – older model Feathers, sans ailerons and machineguns, regularly venture across to photograph the Verusan positions. These planes are sometimes shot down by the new Bolt-equipped Rhinos.
The reason why the Feathers are only ‘sometimes’ shot down is because of the other squadron of Feather-1914s on this front. This other squadron is equipped both with ailerons and machineguns, and dispatches flights to secure air superiority on this frontier. After a short period in which no Hykibs are attacked, the squadron focuses its efforts on shooting down Verusan aircraft instead. Where fights aren’t settled by the element of surprise, they tend to become turning contests as each aircraft seeks to get behind their enemy. Given that both sides are matched in speed, disengaging from the turn usually ends poorly as the other pilot will still be in range and has a free shot on the leaver’s tail. Feather-1914s usually win such contests when they occur, using their ailerons to turn much faster than the lumbering Rhinos. The Foster mount on the Feathers requires the pilot to stand up in his seat to lock it in the forward position, and some Kolechian pilots resort to a rudder turn instead of ailerons when performing this operation, momentarily forsaking their advantage over the Sky Crusaders. Gunnery on both sides is still noticeably poor, with many pilots expending all their ammunition for no hits.
As for the various balloon-craft, the Hykib has a slight advantage as it’s more stable in strong winds, unlike Sky Eye baskets which sway alarmingly on windy days, and are sometimes blown out of optimal positions due to their large profile. This is balanced out by the fact that Hykib observers are limited to the Mk1 eyeball for visual observation, lacking the bird-watching binoculars of their Verusan counterparts. Kolechian artillery now has the same advantage of aerial spotting as the Verusan artillery. Overall, the Hykib proves to be the better balloon, but not entirely by design – it’s just that Sky Eyes are a lot more prone to drifting out of the sky once a Feather has filled them with holes.
With the advantages of reliable artillery spotting and air photography (even if lesser than last turn), Kolechia advances up to the outskirts of the Verusan city of Derboise. Infantry brigades are issued grenades and bayonets for close-quarters fighting.
The Central Plains:Along the Koldan River, Kolechian troops learn to dread the sight of a line of Sky Eyes rising. The Sky Crusaders have sent an extra squadron of Sky Eyes here, which are put to work supporting another battalion of artillery. The launching of the Sky Eyes is a sure sign of a heavy artillery barrage soon to arrive, and becomes the impetus for Kolechian infantry to take cover. Sky Eye observers, distinguished by the golden monocles clipped to their collars, enjoy free-flow champagne at the field kitchens.
The lone squadron of Feather-1914s here is equipped with Type 11 LMGs and put on dual reconnaissance/anti-balloon duty. Pilots continue to fly over Verusan lines to take photos, and switch to their Type 11s whenever they see a Sky Eye rising. However, they are far less successful than their northern comrades, owing mainly to the two Rhino squadrons dedicated to clearing the skies of Kolechian planes. The advantage of numbers means that Verusan pilots come out ahead in fights despite the poorer manoeuvrability of their aircraft. It takes multiple attack runs to put enough bullets in a Sky Eye to bring it down, and KPAF pilots engaged in doing so or taking photos are often surprised by Rhinos diving on them. Overall, few Kolechian planes make it back to friendly airfields to develop their photos, and Sky Eye losses are much lower than on the northern front.
The Verusan army, assisted by more accurate artillery barrages, makes advances along the Demisonne-Dreidansk road, although the lack of aerial reconnaissance over enemy supply lines hampers the advance somewhat.
In the Cranve forest, the Kolechian cavalry offensive stalls out due to poor logistics, although infantry do manage to establish a new defensive line to hold onto their gains. South of the Cranve forest, the Verusan motorcycle company continues its thrust southwards.
The Southern Islands:A spirited attack by Kolechian marines on the crossroads outside Basselton is thrown back in the face of naval fire support from the Verusan navy, suffering heavy casualties. The Verusan navy now stations a group of cruisers permanently at the coast near the junction. There are scattered reports of raids on Verusan convoys from Runisu Isle to Basselton and Nadeka, while the Kolechian army advances along the cape and down the north-western ridges. In the southern highlands, Verusan troops capture the entirety of the highlands, reaching the headwaters of the streams supplying Lake Mizogorod, although the city itself is still far away.
The Outside World:A regiment of sepoys in Singapore mutinies amidst rumours of being sent to Turkey to fight fellow Muslims; the mutiny is put down with the assistance of Japanese, French and Russian sailors. Further attempts by the Germans to mount Zeppelin raids on England meet with failure, with some airships lost. The Imperial Russian Navy begins seaplane carrier raids on the Ottoman Empire’s Black Sea coast, while British ships attempt to force the Dardanelles strait. In the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the Royal Flying Corps photographs the entire attack front, creating mosaic maps that allow British forces to achieve local surprise. The SS Manica is converted into the Royal Navy’s first balloon tender. Meanwhile, a certain Sergeant Foster in the RFC draws up plans for a machine-gun mounting based on a series of complaint letters from Kolechian engineers.
It is now the Design Phase, Early Autumn 1915.
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Topic: Knights of the Skies: an Arms Race Game - Early Summer 1916 (Read 14567 times)