A WW1 Wings of Glory campaign is being played at the Mjölnir Games Roma shop (Via Antonio Toscani 82, Rome, Italy), in three days. The "Along the Piave" campaign started on December 2nd. Here is a short report of the first day of battles, by the game's author Andrea Angiolino, who prepared the campaign and is taking part to the sessions:
The first of the two game sessions start: Austrians advance from the left.
"On the 20th of June, 1918, Italian troops are moving across the Piave river. The Austrian offensive launched early in the month lost all its strength and Italians are taking back the initiative. At the smail airfield of 76a Squadriglia da Caccia nothing happens the whole day, as pilots listen to the far-off roar of guns and wait for a call.
Finally, on the morning of the 21st, the alarm sounds. Tenente Maurizio Siviero and Caporale Andrea Moreschin rush toward their Hanriots and begin rising in the sky, followed by Tenente Havilland - the only US born pilot in the unit, who is allowed to fly a Macchi seaplane and takes off from a channel on the side of the airfield.
Note: The starting date of the campaign is the 20th of June, 1918, and initiative is randomly assigned to the Italians. A card drawn before each playing session gives the time passed and possible initiative changes. So, the first mission is on the 21st and initiative passes to Austrians. The Austrian players secretly draws a mission card: They have to bomb targets A and D of the four set on the table.
Luzelac advances while Köning makes a detour, with Havilland ready to intercept him.
The three planes head North and see the enemy approach - two Ufag two-seaters escorted by a lonely Aviatik D.I. What are they doing here behind the lines? There are at least four interesting targets nearby - a headquarters, a supply depot, a bridge, and a railway station. Did they come here to take pictures? To bomb? To direct artillery fire on the area? In any case, 76a is there to stop them!
This is the first mission for the crewmen of Flik "Double," sent to bomb two targets behind the Italian lines. Leutnant Emil Luzelac with observer Korporal Karl Kaszala heads toward the enemy lines, escorted by the Aviatik D.I of Zugsfürer Kurt Gruber of Flik "Zimmer Frei," while Korporal Martin Köning with observer Franz Rudofer take a large detour on the right. Italian fighters attack frontally and Luzelac is wounded, but he flies forward, shooting back, and then turning left toward their goal. The Ufag is a quick plane and crews are not experienced with it: Köning and Rudofer are on target and drop their bombs, but their high speed brings them too far ahead and the target is missed - an apple orchard is destroyed instead.
Luzelac gives up without dropping his bombs and exits the battlefield from the South side.
While they turn back toward their base, Siviero shoots them down. They manage an emergency landing in a field and run for shelter in a nearby wood, hidden from enemy sight. At the same time, Moreschin is hit and has some trouble with the engine. He struggles with it and, in the end, loses control of his plane, going down in an uncontrollable spin and crashing to the ground. The nearby Italian troops, rather than looking for the Austrian crew, are too busy rescuing him from the wreck; luckily, he is almost safe.
In the meantime, Luzelac and Kaszala reach their target, but realize they came are also too close; dropping bombs would be a waste. So, they start to circle for a second pass, looking for the best way to aim their single load of bombs. But the attention of Siviero and Havilland solely on them, forcing to give up and leave the scene of the battle by fleeing further south, with bombs still in the racks. The two Italian fighters now face Gruber, who shoots down Siviero, forcing him into an emergency landing. At the same time, Gruber's plane is hit and controls are damaged; he is seen disappearing east, unable to turn either right or left. The battle is over, with the targets of the bombers perfectly intact.
The long route the Gotha bombers may complete to exit from the opposite side of the battlefield.
Luzelac manages to bring home his plane after a long detour, tired and suffering from his wound. He is hospitalized and will be out of action for nearly two weeks. Moreschin just has a few bruises in comparison - doctors say he will be able to fly again in a couple of days. Köning and Rudofer manage to sneak across the lines and reach their unit the next day. In the meantime, at dawn on June 22nd, as they reach the Austrian outpost (thanks to the last shadows of the night), the Italian fighters of the 76a Squadriglia are already up in the sky; another alarm has sounded...
Note: When planes are destroyed or exit the table on the wrong side, and when crewmen end the game session with wounds, players draw from a special deck to see their fate. The final score is 2 for each unbombed target, 2 for each plane shot down and 1/2 for each plane exited on the wrong side of the table. So, 7 points to the Italians and 2 to the Austrians. Then, another time card is drawn to see when the next game is set: 1 day passes and initiative is still with the Austrians. It is an escort mission.
Maluccio in the middle of the Austro-German formation, while Marziali has just finished his first pass - he will be shot down seconds later.
Two huge German Gotha are heading South, probably to bomb an Italian city in the hinterland. Venice? Ravenna? There's no time to wonder. Sergente Marziali and Caporale Maluccio are already on them with their Hanriots, while Tenente Havilland follows in his uniquely black-and-white striped Macchi. The daredevil Maluccio dives between the two Gotha and the Aviatik D.I escorting them. At the same time, Marziali decides to attack the darker Gotha on one side, to avoid too much return fire and stay out of reach of the other Gotha's weapons. An burst of flame on his target confirms heavy damage is scored, but the precise hits from the German gunners cause an explosion on his engine and the yellow Hanriot goes down in flames. Maluccio also damages the bombers and wounds the Aviatik pilot (Korporal Josha Köning - brother of the still missing Martin from Flik "Double"). But while zooming through the middle of the enemy formation, Maluccio is shot down by the crossfire of all the enemy weapons.
Now, it's Macchi's turn, the only Italian plane left. After an inconclusive duel with Köning, while the bombers go straight on their way, he leaves the wounded enemy to limp vainly after him and follows the path of the giants at full throttle. He reaches them and sticks to their tails. He targets the darker one again and again, uncaring of the hissing bullets arond him and the growing number of holes in his plywood fuselage. After several bursts, the twin-engine plane points his nose down and dives to the ground, where it sticks in the mud of a barren field. Havilland then turns toward the other G.V, damaging it.
Inconclusive duel between Havilland and Josha Köning, while the Gothas go on their way.
With his plane nearly out of fuel and almost destroyed by the precise shots of the enemy, he finally decides to toward home. But, tired from the long fight, he does not take the shortest route: he turns right instead than left, giving the Gotha tail gunner the opportunity for a last, fatal burst against him. His flaming M.5 crashes out of control to the ground. A group of Bersaglieri on bikes hurriedly reach the wreck, but there is nothing they can do for the heroic Havilland. It is a victory for the Germans, who downed the entire Italian team from the sky, albeit at a high cost - only one of the two bombers is able to deliver its payload and return to its home airfield.
Note: This scenario is a long chase on two game mats adjacent on the short side. The Austrians score 6 points for the three shot down planes, and 2 for the bomber successfully exited from the Italian side of the table. Italians score 5 points for the downed Gotha (usually, in the campaign, multi-engine planes are worth 4 points instead than the usual 2, but in this scenario there is an additional 1 point bonus for them). Final score is 8 to 5 for the Austrians. Total score of the campaign is 10 to 12.
Stay tuned for the next report of "Along the Piave" campaign!
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