Living Playbook (June 2013) For Pte. Wilfred Sharp (6468), 13th Btn. Northumberland Fusiliers, wounded north of Loos on 26th September, 1915. PLAYBOOK Table of Contents Historical Background .................................................... 2 Scenario Setup General Rules ......................................... 9 Timeline of Major Events ............................................... 2 Trench Lines ................................................................... 10 Examples of Play ............................................................ 3 Scenarios ......................................................................... 11 Orders of Battle ............................................................... 7 This is the “Living Playbook” document for the game. It includes errata and clarifications to the original rules. To aid GMT Games, LLC • P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308 readability, errata is indicated in blue text. www.GMTGames.com 2 Bloody April Playbook Historical Background The myth of Bloody April is very powerful. As often told the story is deceptively simple: brave young British pilots of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), with just a few hours of training, were sent up daily to face the “Red Baron” and his ruthless gang of merciless German aces. Outnumbered, lacking even basic flying skills, outgunned and flying totally obsolete aeroplanes, the young boys of the RFC went to their deaths due to blind Timeline of Major Events stupidity, and at the whim of their commanders. They died, like the men on the ground, as sacrifices to the doctrine of 1903, 17 Dec: The Wright brothers fly first controlled heavier- the “offensive at any cost”. There is certainly no doubt of the than-air flight. severity of the casualties suffered by the RFC in April 1917. 1909, 25 Jul: Frenchman Louis Blériot flew non-stop across In that month alone the British lost 275 aeroplanes shot down, English Channel. suffering 421 casualties of which 207 died. It took just 92 hours 1914, Aug: World War I begins. of flying time for every tragic death incurred. And indeed the worst carnage was amongst the new pilots—many of whom 1914, 25 Aug: Lt. H.D. Harvey-Kelly and Lt. W.H.C. Mansfield lasted just a day or two once they actually started flying Task- flying a BE2a from 2 Sqn/RFC force a German Rumpler Taube ings over the front. down by gunfire for the first British aerial kill of the war. The legend of Bloody April is a vital component of the 1915, 1 Apr: Roland Garros installs a forward firing MG on his sentimental view of the Great War (World War I). The com- Morane-Saulnier L, shoots down a German Albatros 2-seater mon theme it shares with other popular war myths is that of for the first kill by a single-seat aeroplane. innocence destroyed in futile attacks carried out for no logical 1915, 25 Jun: Capt Lanoe Hawker awardsed the first Victoria reason against an impenetrable foe. Yet the pilots and observers Cross for air-to-air combat. of the RFC flying over Arras were not helpless victims cast there by some casual whim of cruel fate. They were there as the eyes 1915, 25 Aug: Hugh Trenchard promoted to Brigadier and of the supreme British weapon of battle in the Great War—the becomes Commander of RFC. artillery. The recon and artillery cooperation aeroplanes were 1916, 21 Feb: Battle of Verdun. The war’s first deliberate effort the reason the British fought so hard in the air. For the troops to achieve control of the battlefield by massed concentration on the ground to be effective they dearly needed the support of air assets by any of the combatants. given by the RFC by vigorous and sustained opposition to the German Air Force. 1916, Jun: German Ace Oswald Boelcke is tops among all pilots with 19 kills. The real story behind Bloody April then is one of selfless heroism for a greater cause. The pilots of the RFC showed a 1916, Jul: Battle of the Somme. Germans realize that the willingness to fly obsolete aeroplanes over the lines, knowing British offensive strategy dictated by Gen. Trenchard needs the risks that they were taking, in order to carry out their duty to be countered by concentration of German air assets in to the much larger numbers of men at risk on the ground. And British sector. there is another set of German heroes who need our proper 1916, 23 Aug: First German Jasta formed, increasing recognition. Manfred von Richthofen and his men were genu- concentrated fighter strength from two to five aeroplanes ine heroes fighting and risking everything in the cause of their up to 10 to 14. country. They may have had better aeroplanes, but they were 1916, 17 Sep: Manfred v. Richthofen (Red Baron) scores his badly outnumbered and as the technological tide turned against first of 80 official victories. The victim is an FE2b from 11 them later in the war, they too were almost all doomed to die over the next two years. Any trivialisation of the story of Bloody Sqn/RFC. April as some pointless, murderous farce does not do justice to 1916, 26 Oct: Oswald Boelcke’s score hits 40 kills. On 28 Oct., the men of either side in the tragic conflict in the skies above Oswald Boelcke and fellow pilot Boehme collide in mid-air. Arras. Both sides fought against the odds and both sides knew Boelcke crashes to his death. exactly what they were doing—and why! 1917, 21 Feb until end of March: German ground forces 1917 was the real beginning of modern air power. All the withdraw to the Siegfried Stellung also known as the key components are in place. You have been put in command Hindenburg Line. and the fate of your airmen is in your hands. The tasks at hand 1917, Bloody April: RFC admits losing 275 aeroplanes and are daunting but you must prevail for there is no one else to balloons with 421 aircrew killed or missing while claiming take your place. 160 Germans shot down/ 206 Out of Control and 24 balloons (Excerpts from Background taken from Bloody April: Slaughter destroyed. Germans admit losing 76 aeroplanes and 7 in the Skies over Arras, 1917 by Peter Hart) balloons. Germans report 12 aircrew killed, 6 missing and 6 wounded. Germans claim 298 British aircraft shot down and 34 balloons destroyed. © 2012 GMT Games, LLC Bloody April Playbook 3 NEW PLAYERS START HERE Capt Ball decides to fly the patrol at Low +3 (8500ft). Offensive Examples of Play Patrols normally consist of flying between two points at least 10 hexes apart in German territory. Capt Ball decides that your patrol You have arrived in France after months of training in Eng- will go from hexes (3121-3613) and you will fly back and forth land to be greeted by your squadron mates of 56 Sqn flying SE5 between those points twice for a complete patrol. scout aeroplanes. After meeting with the Commanding Officer and getting a feel for the aerodrome and your new aeroplane, he You have donned your “fug” boots, leather coat and flying states that it is time for your first combat mission, an Offensive helmet, and have climbed aboard your SE5 and now are ready Patrol by three SE5s into German territory looking to take the to takeoff. Capt Ball gives the signal and off you go. Since this fight to the enemy. The date is late April 1917 and your Squadron is the first game turn you will skip the first three phases in the has been preparing for combat the last few weeks. The weather Sequence of Play (SOP) and with the Movement Phase you for today (rolling on takeoff and remain in your current hex Vert Galand aerodrome the Scenario Weath- (0428) and mark your flight with a Deck +0 TtC marker (you er Table) results in may also mark the flight with a Takeoff marker to help you re- Mostly Sunny with member that you are still under takeoff restrictions for speed and Broken Cloud layer manoeuvering). The last two phases of the SOP are also skipped. between Med/High On the second game turn, you must check for a Random Event by and 15 MPH wind rolling a D10 modified by the –2 for every multiple of 10 flights out of the NW. The airborne (which in our case is one flights so no DRM). Rolling time is 08:00. (Place D10 results in a “5” so no Random Event. We skip the Weather Wind (15MPH/+.5) and Detection Phases and for 2nd game turn of takeoff you can facing Southeast and fly at Max Level Speed –2 or 1MP whichever is greater. In our Broken Cloud Med/ case the SE5 is quite fast and has a Max Level Speed of 4.5MP High markers on the so our speed for this game turn is 4.5 – 2 = 2.5MPs. We now map on the appropri- move from (0428) to (0328) and can turn up to 60 degrees right ate spaces and a Sun (free turn 90 degrees – 30 degrees (takeoff restriction)) to now marker on the 8:00- face North. Continuing with our last MP we move into (0327) 10:59 spot). and turn another 60 degrees right to now face Northeast while also climbing one tick on the TtC which changes it to Deck +1. However you may have noticed that our Speed was 2.5. What NOTE: Not all phases of the Sequence of Play (SOP) will happens to the extra +.5MP? We get to keep it until it is mated be noted in the play examples for brevity and to cover only up with another +.5MP so we will mark the flight with a +.5 the high points of game turns. Please follow the SOP when marker. The map sample below shows our position at the end of playing the full game.