Ancient Art of War in the Skies, The
©1993 MicroProse Software
Manual
CONTENTS
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BOOK I: INSTRUCTION MANUAL
INTRODUCTION.....................6
GETTING STARTED..................6
OFF TO WAR.......................7
Dogfight Training.............7
Bombing Training.............10
Go To War....................12
CAMPAIGN EDITOR.................20
BOOK II: PLANNING GUIDE
INTRODUCTION....................23
WAR STRATEGY....................23
KNOW THE ENEMIES MIND...........27
DOGFIGHT TACTICS & AEROBATICS...34
BOMBING TACTICS.................38
BOOK III: A HISTORY
INTRODUCTION....................41
THE GREAT WAR...................41
THE CAVALRY LEAVES THE GROUND...46
THE FIGHTERS....................49
THE BOMBERS.....................51
AIRCRAFT OF THE GREAT WAR.......53
THE GENERALS....................55
THE ACES........................58
BOOK IV: APPENDIXES
CAMPAIGN DESCRIPTION............63
BOMBER NAMES....................74
PILOT NAMES.....................76
BIBLIOGRAPHY....................84
1: INSTRUCTION MANUAL
*********************
INTRODUCTION
Book 1 is an instruction manual that will take you step by step through
The Ancient Art of War in the Skies. It consists of five parts.
1 "Getting Started" tells you how to set up the program
2 "Off to War" guides you through the games main features
and leads you into your first campaign. Use this section as
a tutorial for getting acquainted with the game play,
commands and controls
3 "Training Session" shows you how to practice dogfight
ing and bombing
4 "Campaign Editor" takes you to the game generator
and shows you how to make up your own campaigns
quickly and easily. You will also learn how to change
parts of campaigns
5 At "Game Options" you can change the rules that govern
the game
GETTING STARTED
After starting the game, the opening title sequence will play. To skip
the intro press any key. When the intro concludes, you will be at the
airfield. The airfield can be thought of as the "Main Menu" for The
Ancient Art of War in the Skies. From the Airfield you can access all
parts of the program by selecting from these items:
1 Go to War: Play one of the campaigns that comes with the
game or one that you've created
2 Continue Saved Game: Play a previously saved game. After
selecting this, you will see a list of campaigns you have
previously saved. (If this is, your first time, there wont
be any saved games).
3 Training: Dogfight and Bombing training or duel a famous
World War I ace in a one on-one contest
4 Game Options:
Adjust the volume of the music
Make sound when the map scrolls
Enable/Disable Mouse/Joystick
Turn the Intro on or off
Fight Delay Is Short/Medium/Long,
If one of your squads comes close to an enemy squad or
reaches its bombing target, an encounter is announced,
You have a short time to decide if you want to take part
in the dogfight or bombing. This rule adjusts the
amount of time that you have to make that decision,
The delavs are approximately: short: 3 seconds, medium
: 30 seconds, long 60 seconds
Assign a path to your campaign files
5 Campaign Editor: Make your own custom campaigns, etc,
6 Exit: Exit the game to DOS
Note: The Menu Bar has instructions on how to make
your selection.
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE GAME
Available commamds and options appear on the top line of the screen
To activate a command simply press the first letter of the command
displaved, or one of the designated special keys
The following keys are available throughout the game:
Enter = Selects whatever the selector is pointing to
Esc = Continues to next screen or backsup to previous screen. Look
at menu bar at the top of screen for the current function of Esc.
Mouse / Joystick:
Left Button = Enter
Right Button = Esc
Keypad Keys:
Move selector in that direction.
Special Keys:
F1: Boss key (blanks the screen)
Press <F1> again to continue or Ctrl Q to go to DOS
Ctrl Q: Quickly exits the game to DOS
Ins (map level only) : turns game marker on and off. When it is
off, the marker disappears and you can scroll the map
more quickly
Alt S: Sound toggle
AltJ : Joystick enable/disable
Alt M: Mouse enable/disable
A demo will automatically start after about 30 seconds. You
can watch this demo to get an idea of the different features of The
Ancient Art of War in the Skies.
If this is your first time, you may want to go into training to
get familiar with the dogfight and bombing aspects of the game
For more information on training, read the Dogfight and Bomb
ing sections below.
OFF TO WAR
DOGFIGHT TRAINING
There are four types of dogfight training sessions and a one on
one contest.
In all of these training sessions, the goal is to shoot down as
many enemy fighters as you can before your, green condition bar
disappears. The results of each training session will be recorded
on the Stats and Scores sheets. The Stats keep track of how
well you are doing in the basic training levels. It also keeps track
of how much time you have spent training. The Scores sheet
records your performance in one on-one contests against the
various aces and your bombing proficiency scores.
The New Name selection lets you start over with a new
name. Type in the name just like you did at the start of training
All training scores and stats will be recorded under the name that
you select when you enter training.
During dogfight training, the enenmy starts out easy but gets
more difficult as you shoot dowm more planes. New enemy
fighters will arrive to replace any planes shot down. Your current
score is the number of enemy plane symbols on your instrument
panel. A new plane symbol will appear each time you shoot down
a plane. When your plane is shot down, the symbols will turn into
silhouettes to show your high score. Then your condition will
reset to full strength so you can try again to beat your high score.
HOW TO FLY YOUR PLANE
During a dogfight, you can control any plane in your squad (in training
your squad only has one plane). To control the direction of your plane,
press the number on the keypad that corresponds to the direction you
want your plane to go. Ex <7> will cause your plane to climb to
the left, <3> will cause it to descend to the right. Press <8> to pull
the nose up and press <2> to push the nose down. Press <Ins>
to Half Roll.
Use <+> and <-> On the keypad to adjust the throttle. The
throttle lever on the control panel will move up and down as you
make your adjustments.
Use <Spacebar> to shoot. Your gun will automatically adjust
its aim slightly to give you the best shot at your opponent
SPECIAL COMMANDS
All of the special commands that you can use during the dogfight
are shown in the box at the lower right Corner of the screen. The
commands available will vary depending on if you are flying a
fighter or bomber and if you are on a training flight or a real
dogfight. Press the first letter of the command to use it
VIEW - Press <V> to alternate between a Near View and a Far View
of the action. The Far View shows the whole area that the dogfight
can take place in while the Near View only shows the area in your
vicinity. The Far View is useful to see where the enemy is so you
can get your planes into position. When the enemy gets close, you
should switch to a Near View. During the Far View, a white frame
surrounds the fighter you are in. The area inside the frame is the
area you will see in the Close View
NEW PLANE - Press <N> or <Tab> to move to another friendly plane
When you are a bomber gunner , this command will be New
Post and you can alternate between the front and rear gunner
positions on the bomber
Pause Press <P> to pause the game. Press any key when you are
ready to continue
LEAVE - If you want to go back to the map level of the game and
let the dogfight continue without you then press <L>.
ESCAPE - You can try to escape from the dogfight by pressing <E> or
<Esc>. All of the planes in your squad will try to fly out of the battle area
Each plane will try to escape in the direction that is closest to the edge
of the screen. Be careful when you choose to escape, if the enemy is
nearby then your plane stands a good chance of being shot down. You
cannot escape if you are flying in a bomber.
RULES - Press <R> to change any of the dogfight rules. If you want
your rule settings to be saved to disk and used the next time that
you play the game then press <S>.
Your bullets can/cannot hit your planes. When set to
cannot, then any bullet fired by a friendly plane will harmlessly
pass by all other friendly planes.
Bullet range is short/ medium/ long. Adjust this to your
preference. A long bullet range makes it easier for you to hit enemy
planes but it is easier for them to hit you too.
Plane armor is thin/ medium/ thick. This determines how
many hits a plane can take before it is shot down.
Bomber armour is thin/ medium/ thick. This determines how
many hits a bomber can take before it is shot down.
Guns heat up never/ slow/ fast. Your gun heats up as you fire
it if it gets too hot, it will jam. You will then have to wait for it to
cool down before you can use it again.
Your planes climb slow/ average/ fast. Slow is a realistic
setting for the green planes (Sopwith Camel) and average setting
is realistic for the red planes (The Fokker Triplane could out climb
the Sopwith Camel). The fast setting is not realistic but adds
variety to the dogfights.
Enemy planes climb slow/ average/ fast. Adjusts the climb
characteristics of the enemy planes.
Your maximum speed is slow/ average/ fast. Average is a realistic
setting for the Sopwith Camel and slow is realistic for the Fokker. The
fast setting is not realistic but adds variety to the dogfights
Enemy maximum speed is slow/ average/ fast. Adjusts the
speed characteristics of the enemy planes.
Stick ahead and back are normal/ reversed. Set this to your
preference. Normal means pushing forward on the stick ( 8 on the
keypad) tips the nose up, pulling back on the stick (2 on the
keypad) tips the nose down.
You maneuver your plane/ Your plane maneuvers on its
own. This rule lets you just shoot and not bother with flying your
plane. You can maneuver your plane while this option is turned
on althrough some of your commands may he overruled as the
plane is issuing its own commands.
<ENTER> shoots/changes View - The <Enter> key can
either shoot or be used the Same way as the <V> key
QUIT - Press <q> to quit dogfight training
THE DOGFIGHT SCREEN
VIEW WINDOWS
The Main View Window takes up the top two thirds of the
screen. Usually you will use the Far View to see where the enemy
is and to get into position. When the enemy gets close, switch to
a Near View for battle.
Far View: The dogfight takes place within the boundaries of
the Dogfight Battle Area. When in Far View, the Main View
Window shows the entire battle area. The bottom of the battle area
is the ground. If any plane approaches any other edge of the battle area ,
the plane will autotmatically turn around so that it will stay in the battle
area. A white frame follows the fighter you are in. The area inside the
frame is the area you will see in the near view. If there is more than one
friendly fighter, the others will fly and fight on their own.
When the view is set to Near (If you don't see a closeup of
your plane in the Main View Window, press <V>) this window
will always show your plane and any other planes close to you
Your plane will be trailing white smoke to indicate that you are
controlling it Black smoke indicates damage.
If the nearest enemy plane is not on screen, then your plan
will move to the side of the window away from the enemy plane.
For example, if the enemy plane is above and to the left of your
plane, then your plane will be in the lower right corner of the Main
View Window. A small ball will also appear on the screen opposite
your plane on the edge of the screen. To fly towards your nearest
enemy, fly towards the ball.
The Small View Window in the lower left corner of the
screen shows a close up of the nearest enemy plane when view is
set to Near and a close up of your plane when view is set to Far.
The small view window will show you what the nearest enemy
plane is doing even if he cannot be seen in the Main View
Window. If you are attacking an enemy bomber, the Small View
Window shows a close up of the nearest enemy bomber gunner
The name of your nearest opponent is at the top of your
instrument panel along with the name of the pilot whose plane
you are currently controlling.
On the left and right side of the Small View Window are the
green and red condition bars. They show the condition of your
fighter and your nearest opponent. As a plane takes hits, its
condition bar will decrease. When the Condition bar disappears,
the plane is defeated.
FLYING
The planes in The Ancient Art of War in the Skies, have most of the
characteristics of their real counter parts although some flight aspects
have been simplified so that you can concentrate on the dogfight rather
than trying to fly your plane. Here are some things to keep in mind
Gun Temperature: As you fire your gun, the gun barrel will
heat up. If the gun temperature reaches the red area of the
temperature gauge, your gun may jam. You cannot shoot while
your gun is jammed. Your gun will fire again once it has cooled
Air Speed: Your plane will stall if the needle in the airspeed
indicator reaches the yellow area of the dial. Your plane may
suffer structural failure if the needle in the airspeed indicator
reaches the red area of the dial.
BOMBING TRAINING
If you have more than one bomber in your squad at the start of a
bombing mission, you will see the bomber selection clipboard
This lets you choose a bomber to make the first pass at the target
area. Along with the name is the condition and number of bombs
that are on that bomber. If a bomber has no bombs, you cannot
select it.
After selecting your bomber, you will see a black and white
reconnaissance photo of the target area. Your mission is to
destroy all the circled targets in your bombing area.
The X's on the photo show you the location of anti aircraft
guns. If you fly within range of the guns, you will be fired upon.
TRAINING
In training, your targets are bull's eyes painted on the ground. The
goal of training is to drop one bomb on each bull's eye. Aim for
the center of the bull's eye. There are no anti aircraft guns in
training except during Hostile Training and Proficiency Training
In the Proficiency Test, your goal is to drop a bomb only on
the bull's eyes that are circled. Your score will be based on:
1 Accuracy: Your score will decrease if a bomb misses a
target.
2 Efficiency: If you drop more than one bomb on a target,
your score will go down.
3 Completeness: If you don't destroy all of the targets,
your score will suffer.
4 Navigation: Your ability to reach the targets and stay
out of range of the anti aircraft guns is scored.
5 Tactics: The most skilled pilots can destrov all targets on
one pass. Your score goes down each timne that you leave
the target area and make another pass
PREPARING FOR A BOMBING RUN
The bomber symbol on the edge of the recon photo represents the
point where your bomber will enter the target area. You can fly
into the target area from any side. Use the arrow keys to move
the bomber symbol. Your goal is to make a bombing run that will
take you to the targets and avoid the anti aircraft guns.
When you are within range of anti aircraft guns, you will
first see the flashes of the guns firing and, a few seconds later, the
explosion of the shells as they burst close to your bomber.
These explosions shake your bomber and cause damage.
Once your bomber becomes badly damaged, a crack will form on
the upper left corner of the screen. When the crack reaches the top
of the screen, your bomnber will explode.
A BOMBING RUN
When you are ready to begin your bombing run, press <Enter>.
You are now looking down through an opening in the bottom of
the bomber as it flies over the target area. To turn, use the arrow
keys on the keypad. For example, press <1> if you want your
flight path to go down and left, <8> to turn towards the top of your
screen. When you start a turn, a square bronze marker will move
along the edge of the opening to indicate the selected direction. Your
bomber is not very maneuverable and takes time to make turns
Your current position over the ground is at the center of the
opening in the bottom of the bomber.
You can press <Enter> at any time during the bombing run
to look at the recon photo. A dotted line drawn on the photo
shows the path vour bomber has taken so far. A cross at the end
of the path indicates your current position. When looking through
the opening, your current position is the center of the opening
Bombs you drop will land ahead of your current position.
DROPPING BOMBS
Press <Spacebar> to drop a bomb. A small red marker on the edge
of the opening shows you where your bomb will be dropped from
Your bomber can hold up to 25 bombs. The gauge at the right side
of the screen indicates the number of bombs remaining. You will
never run out of bombs in training. When a target is destroyed it
will make a large explosion. It may take more than one bomb to
cause a target to explode so it is a good idea to drop several bombs
on each target, except during Proficiency Training where you are
graded on efficiency.
In World War I bombs were not very accurate. As they drop, you
will see that they may drift. Bombs do not drift in training
Anti aircraft guns can also be bombed in some situations the
best tactic may be to bomb certain anti aircraft guns to clear a path
Any targets or anti aircraft guns that you destroy will be marked
off on the recon photo.
The amount of damage you do to the target area depends on how
successful you are at destroying the circled targets. If you only destroy
half of the circled targets the target area will be half destroyed and you
will have reduced its ability to help the enemy at the front by 50%. It
is not necessary to destroy the anti aircraft guns to destroy a target
Press <P> at any time to pause the action.
LEAVING THE TARGET AREA
Whenever your bomber flies past the edge of the target area, you will
return to the screen with the recon photo. A dotted line will show the
path your bomber took during the bombing run. Press any key and
you can select another bomber to make another run at the targets.
If you have finished bombing, press <D> and your squad will
end the bombing phase and continue to its next destination.
Press <L> if you want to leave this zoom and let the bombing
countinue without you.
The bombing phase will automatically end if all of your
bombers run out of bombs, you destroy all targets, or if you have
no bombers left.
A damaged target will frantically try to repair its damage ( at
a rate that depends on the Rules setting). Areas damaged by one
bomber squad may be repaired by the time another squad arrives
to bomb the same target. The second bomber squad may also be
assigned different areas to bomb than the first squad.
GO TO WAR
---------
CHOOSING A CAMPAIGN
Campaign: A series of military operations that form a war
After selecting Go to War, You will be asked to type in a
word from the manual. Next, you will see a list of campaigns
There are seveual pages of campaigns to choose from. The
campaigns with a year in front of then are based on historical
battles of World War I. The rest are fictional. If you are not at the
last page of campaigns, the top selection will be, Next Page,
Select this to see the next page of campaigns. If you are not on the
first page, <Esc> will back you up to the previous page.
When you decide on a campaign, point at it and press <Enter>.
The Campaign clipboard will appear and you have four choices
1 Begin the Campaign
Select this to play the campaign
2 Read the Story
Select this to read a short description of the campaign
3 Look at the Rules
Select this to look at or change campaign rules. Any changes
you make here are only temporary and will only affect the
campaign this time that you play it. The War Rules are for the
strategic map level of the game. Though the rules have been
preset for each campaign, you can adjust them to make the
campiaigns easier or more challenging.
Computer Plays Red/Green
You usually play the green side (Allies) and the computer
plays the red side (Central Powers). Use this rule if you
want to change sides.
Enemy Is Seen When Close/ When Far/ Always
The enemy squads are normally seen as soon as they take
off from their airfields. For a more challenging and
realistic game, set this rule so that the enemy is not seen
always then, you will only see enemy squads on time map
when they are near your squads.
Aircraft Repair Rate Is Slow/ Medium/ Fast
When aircraft land at airfields, it takes some time for
repairs to be made. This rule determines how fast these
repairs are made
Target Repair Rate Is Slow/ Medium/ Fast
When a target is bombed, it takes time for repairs to be made
This rule determines how fast these repairs are made
Mountains are Low/ High
To fly safely over low mountains, a squad must be above
6000 feet. A squad must be above 12000 feet to safely fly
above high mountains. A squad with bombers in it cannot
fly above 12000 feet.
Your aircraft Range Is Slow/ Medium/ Long
Aircraft range determines how far, your planes can fly
before they run out of fuel.
Your Factories build Fighters Never/ Seldom/ Often
Factories build aircraft and send them out to airfields
This rule affects how fast a factory can build your fighters
Your Factories build bombers Never/ Seldom/ Often
This rule affects how fast a factory can build your bombers
Enemy Aircraft Range Is Slow/ Medium/ Long
Aircraft range determines how far enemy planes can fly
before it runs out of fuel
Enemy Factories build Fighters Never/ Seldom/ Often
This rule affects how fast a factory can build enemy fighters
Enemy Factories build bombers Never/ Seldom/ Often
This rule affects how fast a factory can build enemy bombers
4 Opponents Names
The last selection has the names of your ground and air oppo_
nents. Select this to look at or change your opponents. There
are five Generals to choose from that affect the enemy's ground
strategy and seven Aces that determine the air force strategy
and the dogfight tactics. Read what your opponents say care
fully because they give you hints on what strategy to expect
from them. The opponents for the campaigns are chosen for
strategic reaseons, not for historical accuracy. Consequently,
your opponents may be the German Kaiser teamed with Rene
Fonck, the French Ace.
BEGIN THE CAMPAIGN
Your goal is to defeat the enemy by capturing all his airfields,
capturing or destroying all his aircraft or by capturing or destroy
ing any enemy capital.
When the game first starts, you will see the Overview Map. The
Overview Map shows the layout of the strategic targets and the Battle
Front that seperates your side from your opponent's side. The two
sides are shown in red and green.
On the left side of the Overview Map is your ground
opponent and on the right side is your air opponent. The symbol
below the opponent indicates which side he is playing. If it is a
cross, they are the red side if it is a Roundel, they are playing the
green side. Another way to tell the sides apart is by looking at the
description next to the capitals on the right side of the Overview Map.
The Overview Map is a good place to plan your strategy
From here you can see the enemy's (and your) weak spots. You
can decide which targets you will want to bomb and which of your
supply pieces need protection from enemy attack it is always
helpful to refer back to the Overview Map throughout the game
to rethink your strategy as conditions change and to see the new
position of the front. When you press <Enter>, the Overview Map
disappears and the campaign begins.
You can only see part of the map on the screen at one time.
To see more of the map, move the marker past the edge
of the screen.
THE FRONT: The jagged line that stretches across the map is
the Front. If you don't see the front, you can scroll the map to find
it. The front is the border between your territorv and the enemy
territory. Ground troops are spread out along the front in the
trenches. Each side is trying to push the front forward to capture
more territory. The front will move as the battle progresses.
When troops become stronger than their enemy along any
section of the front, they will attack to try to move the front
forward and gain more territory. When one side is preparing to
attack, the color of the front in that area will change to the
strongest side's color (green or red). The front is gray where
neither side is attacking. As the attack progresses you will see
flashes along the Front indicating intense Fighting.
You will hear a series of loud explosions anytime that the
front passes over a strategic target (city, bridge, airfield, etc).
You can influence the Front movement by weakening the
enemy positions that provide support to the Front. There are two
ways you can weaken the enemy position:
1 Bomb the Front. If your bombers are successful, they will
weaken the enemy in that section of the front.
2 Bomb a strategic target behind enemy lines. When you
weaken an enemy target, you lessen that target's ability to
aid its side of the Front. The closer the target is to the Front
the more effect it has on the nearby Front.
STRATEGIC TARGETS:
Strategic Targets are the locations that you (and your opponent)
can bomb during the game. The importance of each strategic
target is described below. The targets on the other side of the Front
may vary in importance depending on your ground opponent. In
addition, the campaign rules affect some of the targets
1 Capitals: Although Capitals do not affect the strength
of the front, they are your most valuable piece. If any
Capital is destroyed by bombers or overrun by the
front the war is over.
2 Airfields: This is the only location that planes can land
AirFields don't contribute to the strength of the Front
3 Cities: Cities are very valuable since they provide badly
needed supplies to the Front
4 Supply Depots: Supply Depots also provide badly needed
supplies to the front and are very valuable
5 Villages: Villages also provide supplies to the front but not
as much as Cities or Supply Depots
6 Factory: Factories provide no supplies to the Front but
they build fighters and bombers and supply them to air
fields. The more undamaged factories a side has, the
quicker fighters and bombers are built for that side. All
airfields can receive aircraft no matter how far away they
are from the factory
7 Fort: Forts provide no supplies to the front but will
not let the front pass unless it is completely destroyed
by bombing
8 Bridge: Although bridges provide no supplies to the front,
they let supplies from Cities, Supply Depots and Villages
reach the Front more quickly. Once the front begins to
move, it will move farther if a bridge is nearby
9 Front: bombing the front will slow down its advance
into your territory and may cause a stationary front to
advance into enemy territory
MENU BAR
On the menu bar is the game time. Press T or <Enter> to adjust
the speed of the game. Usually, when you are too busy to keep up
you will want to use a slow time. When you are ready, use a faster
time to pick up the pace.
Press < Esc> for the game clipboard. From the clipboard, you can:
1 Display the Overview Map (alt-O)
This will bring the Overview map back up on the screen
Time is stopped while you are looking at the Overview map
Press <Enter> to continue
2 Look at the campaign rules
This will show you the settings. For the rules, but you can not
change them while playing the campaign
3 Show all Flight Paths.
This will show you all the flight paths of your squads. Time
is stopped while you are looking at the flight paths. You
can scroll the map to see all the paths
Press <Enter> to continue
4 Save Campaign (alt-D)
This will save the game you are playing so you can
continue at a later time. Follow the on screen instructions
to save your campaign. You can name it whatever you
want but you may want to name it something related to
the campaign's name so you can remember later what
campaign you were playing
When playing a saved game, the saved game name will be
used on the Overview Map instead of the original cam-
paign name. When you want to play the saved campaign
select Continue Saved Game from the airfield clipboard
5 Restart Campaign
This lets you restart the campaign you are playing from
the beginning in case you are losing and want to try
a different strategy
6 Display Help Window (alt H)
Select this to see the Help window
Press <Enter> to continue
7 Surrender
If you feel your situation is hopeless, you can select
surrender to concede defeat to your opponents
MESSAGE AREAS
At the upper left of the screen is a message area where you will
receive news from the front. A new message will appear at the top
of the message area and any older messages will be moved down
one line. Notice that the picture behind the top message is related
to the most recent message being displayed
At the upper right of the screen is an information area
Usually this shows you the total number of fighters and bombers
on each side. When you put your marker over a strategic target
its description and damage level will appear in this window. If you
put the marker over an airfield, it will show you the number of
aircraft at that airfield. If you put your marker over a squad it will
show you the number of planes in that squadron. Various other
messages will also appear here at times during the game.
THE MARKER
The Marker is the icon you move around the screen to interact
with the game. When the Marker is over Allied territory, it is a red
white and blue Roundel. When it is over Central Powers territory
it is an Iron Cross. Use the arrow keys to move the Marker
The map is over four times larger than what you see on the
screen. Unless you are at an edge of the map, you can scroll the
map by moving the Marker past the edge of the screen. You can
move the map faster by pressing <Ins>. The Marker will
disappear and you can scroll the map with the arrow keys. The
map will scroll until you reach an edge. To use the Marker
again press <Ins>.
Move your Marker over an airfield. The Marker will turn
into a magnifying glass. The menu selection will change and the
message box at the upper right will tell you how many airplanes
are at that airfield. A small airplane next to the hangar indicates
that there is at least one airplane at this airfield. Press <Enter> to
see pilot names, bomber names, and each plane's condition at that
field. The bar behind the bomber or pilot's name indicates his
condition if you are over a friendly airfield, you can select a squad
and send it on a mission (see below)
SENDING SQUADS ON MISSIONS
After pressing <Enter> when over a friendly airfield, you will see
the Squad Roster which lists all the fighter pilots and bombers at
that airfield. The horizontal bar behind the names indicates the
condition of that plane if a bomber or pilot has sustained damage
or fatigue, the bar under the name will get shorter as their
condition goes down. The left colummn lists the fighter pilots. The
center column displays the medals he has earned which reflects
the abilities and experience of the pilot. The more medals he has,
the stronger he is in battle. To the right of the medals is the name
of the bombers.
Time stops while you assign a squad a mission, so dont
worry about losing the war while you are selecting a squad.
Make a Squad
Use the pencil to point at a fighter pilot or bomber that you
want to put in the squadron. Then press <Enter>. The name you
selected will be brighter than the others. Continue until you have
up to a maximum of three fighters and three bombers selected. To
remove a plane from the squad, point at it and press <Enter>
again. When you have completed making your selections, select
Done at the bottom of the window
Flight Settings
After you select the squad planes, the next window you see
is the Flight Settings window
Altitude: Use the pencil to assign an altitude for the squad
A squad can safely fly over low mountains if flying above 6,000
feet and high mountains if flying aboye 12,000 feet. Bombers
cannot fly above 12,000 feet. The lower the squad flies below the
mountain peaks, the greater its chance of crashing. The higher a
Fighter squad's altitude, the more likely they will have the initial
advantage in a dogfight. You will burn more Fuel climbing to high
altitudes which decreases your range. Your pilots will become
fatigued more quickly the higher they fly.
The arrow points to your squad's assigned altitude and the
little plane symbol points to the squad's current altitude. If your
squad is currently at the airfield, its altitude will be at 0. It takes
time for your squad to reach its assigned altitude. If mountains
are nearby, trace a path that will give your squad time to climb
high enough to fly over the mountains.
Speed: Point to the Speed area and press <Enter> to change the
squad's speed. The faster the speed setting, the shorter the distance
your squad can fly. If the squad has bombers in it, the squad cannot fly
faster than Cruising Speed. A squad will reach assigned altitude in a
shorter distance at the slower speed settings.
Formation: Point to the Formation area to change the
squad's formation. A defensive formation will make your squad
less susceptible to surprise attacks but reduce your squad's range
An offensive formation makes it possible for you to surprise the
enemy but you are also more likely to be suprise attacked
yourself. An offensive formation minimizes fuel consump
tion. A cautious formation makes it less likely that you will
surprise or be surprised.
When a squad is surprised, it will not be able to maneuvere
For several seconds when you first enter a dogfight zoom. (The
plane that you control can always maneuver). If you do not zoom
then your squad will be at a disadvantage if it was surprised.
Orders: Fighter squads have two orders, Fixed Flight Plan
or Intercept Enemy. Fixed Flight Plan means the squad will
follow the path you set and then return to base. Intercept Enemy
means that your squad will intercept any enemy squad you target
This option only appears when there are enemy planes visible and
in the air. Bomber squads have two orders, Single Attack or
Destroy Target. Single Attack means the squad will hit its assigned
target (s) and return to its airfield. Destroy Target means the squad
will bomb the assigned target(s), return to base to refuel and
rearm and then it will automatically repeat the mission until the
target is destroyed
Done: When the flight settings are set up the way you want
them, select Done
Flight Path
Once you have set up your flight plan, you are ready to give
your squuad their flight path. The flight path is assigned by
marking a series of vector points
To mark a vector point, move the marker to where you want
the vector point and press <Enter>. Your squad will fly straight to
each vector point until it reaches the last point in its flight path
If the last vecteor point is not a friendly airfield, the squad will turn
around and retrace its path back to its airfield
While tracing a path, <Esc> erases the last vector that you put
down. If there are no vectors then <Esc> will cancel the mission
If you have a squad with only fighters in it and you press
<Enter> on an enemy squad, your squad's orders will be to
intercept that squad to engage them in a dogfight. A small gold
ball will stay with the enemy squad to indicate that it is marked
If there are bombers in the squad and you move the marker
over a target, the marker will become a bomb. If you press
<Enter>, a bulls eye will be placed on the target and the squad
will bomb that target when it reaches it
If your marker goes over a friendly airfield, it will turn
into an airplane symbol to indicate that your squad can land
at this airfield.
Each squad can mark up to 15 vector points and up to 10
bombing targets. When you are done marking a path, press <D>
or press <Enter> twice.
If your squad tries to land at an airfield that is full (13 fighters
and 13 bombers) the squad will land, refuel, take off again and
reverse its flight path.
If the Distance bar at the top of the screen goes below the
green round trip area while tracing your squad's path then you
have gone past the point of no return and the squad will not have
enough Fuel to return safely. There are several things you can do
if your squad is flying beyond the halfway point.
1 Shorten the distance the squad has to fly. If you marked more
than one target for bombing, it may be shorter to mark his
home airfield as the last vector point rather than have him
retrace his path to return to his airfield.
2 Make the last vector point a friendly airfield that is closer
than the one it originated from.
3 Change the squad's flight settings to give them more range
Your squad has more range if it is flying slower, at a lower
altitude or the formation is offensive. A cautious forma-
tion burns a little more fuel than offensive and less fuel
than Defensive
Flying long distances in open cockpit biplanes fatigues your
pilots and will reduce the squad's condition
Your squad can take off from a damaged airfield because they
can avoid the damage on the runway. Your squad runs the risk
of crashing on landing, however, at a damaged airfield. The more
damaged the airfield is, the greater the risk of crash landing
A squad that runs out of Fuel will glide some distance
before crashing, so you should mark the last destination point
at an airfield, even if the squad doesn't have quite enough fuel
to reach it
If your squad has any bombers in it, the squadron will be
represented on the map by a large bomber symbol. Fighter
squads are represented by a small fighter symbol
After a squad is airborne, you can select it to check its
condition, change its flight settings or change its flight path. The
picture of the pilot you see in the binoculars reflects the general
condition of the planes in the entire squad
DOGFIGHTS AND BOMBING
When two opposing squads come together and at least one of the
squads has Fighters in it, the two squads will change into a
Dogfight Encounter icon. When a bomber squad reaches a
target, it will turn into a Bomb Encounter icon. You have about
30 seceonds (depending on the Fight Delay setting in the Game
Options) to decide if you want to take part in the dogfight or
bombing. Press <D> to zoom to the Dogfight or <B> to zoom to
the Bombing. If you Decide not to take part, your squad will do
its best without you, but it has a better chance with you as the
squad leader
If there is more than one encounter occurring, you will
zoom to the oldest dogfight or bombing encounter. If you want
to choose, put your marker over the encounter icon you want to
zoom into until it changes to a magnifying glass and press
D(ogfight) or B(omb)
If you choose not to zoom, the action will begin without you
after a short time. After the actual dogfight or bombing starts, you
cannot zoom in to it
For every Five enemy planes shot down, a pilot will receive
a medal
For instructions on what to do in a dogfight or bombing run
read the Dogfight and Bombing sections of the Training section
of this manual
CAMPAIGN EDITOR
After you select Campaign Editor from the airfield clipboard,
you haye five choices:
1 Make a New Campaign: Design your own campaign
2 Change a Campaign: Make changes to campaigns
3 Copy a Campaign: Copy campaigns to floppy disk or other
directories on your hard disk
4 Remove a Campaign: Erase campaigns you no longer need
5 Remove a Saved Game: Erase saved games you no longer need
1. MAKE A NEW CAMPAIGN
Select this to design your own campaigns. You can save up to 75
campaigns in any one directory whether on your hard disk or
floppy disk. This limitation is only there to make navigating
through the list a little easier. The new campaign will be saved to
the directory specified in Game Options. To change this directory,
select Game Options from the airfield clipboard
Map Editor
The First step in making a new campaign is to Design the map
Every map needs the following:
1 A Front in which both ends exit on the edge of the map
2 At least one airfield on each side of the front
3 Either a capital or a flag on at least one side so the computer
knows which side is which
How to build a map:
There are four tools you use while making your map: the
Mapboard, the Marker, the Overview Map and the Map Pieces
Mapboard: At the top of the screen is a view of a section of
the Map. This is called the Mapboard and is where you will put
Map Pieces as you build your map (At first the map is all
grassland). Slightly less than one twelfth of the total Map is seen
at one time on the Mapboard
Marker: The Marker is the white Frame on the Mapboard. To
move the Marker use the keypad
Overview Map: The Overview Map is at the lower left of the
screen. It is a miniature version of the entire map. The bright
square is your Marker so you can see where you are placing map
pieces in relation to the rest of the map
Map Pieces: To the right of the Overview Map are the Map
Pieces. To place a Map Piece on the map, move the Marker where
you want the Map Piece to go and then type the letter under the
Map Piece. The selected Map Piece will appear under your
marker. To change the selection of map pieces press the 5 key,
the "-" key, or the "+" key, or the "N" key For New Pieces
Another way to place pieces on the map is to move the
Marker From the Mapboard to the Map Pieces is by pressing <Ins >
Use the arrow keys to move the Marker over the Map Piece you
want and press <Enter>
Mouse/Joystick: Move the mouse to move the Marker. Use
the right button to move the Marker from the Mapboard to the
Map Pieces, Notice that a dim Marker is left on the Mapboard
Move the mouse to move the Marker over the Map Piece you
want. Click the left mouse button to place the piece under the dim
Marker or click the right mouse button to select the Map Piece
under your Marker and move the Marker back to the Mapboard.
Then move the Marker where you want the Map Piece you just
selected to go and click the left mouse button.
You can place up to 100 target pieces and up to 25 airfields
on the map. See Designer Tips at the end of this section for more
info. You can change a Map Piece as many times as you want
There are 6 pages of Map Pieces. To select another page,
press +, -, 5 on the keypad, or the N key. When the marker is on
a Map Piece, it is described just below the Map Pieces. Generally,
the strategic target are on page 1, page 2 is Forest and page 3 is
grassland. Page 4 are rivers, page 5 has mountains and page 6 has
damaged ground, target damage and the front
You can also use the first letter of the command on the menu
bar. For example, press N For New pieces, press H for Help, etc
If you decide you don't want to save your work, press C to Cancel
When you are done working on the map, press D For Done
Tips for Designing a Map
When making a map, you will probably find it works best to
lay down the Front First then place Capitals and/or flags on either
side of the Front. Place the airfields, next the target pieces and
finally the rivers, Forest, mountains, and ground terrain
To begin putting down the Front, place your mapboard
marker on the edge of the map and select one of the Front pieces
The color of the Front doesn't matter much at this point because
when the campaign begins, the front will adjust quickly according to
the strength of the target on each side. Next place another front piece
in a square next to the first piece. Notice how the pieces automatically
connect to each other. Repeat this process until you have completed
building a front that is connected with both ends at the edge of the map
To erase the Front, you must start on either end and work
backwards since the Front pieces are all linked together like a
chain. Select the piece labeled "Erase Front" and place it over
either end of the front to erase that piece of the Front. Proceed to
the next front piece and repeat the procedure to continue erasing
additional sections of the front
To add pieces to the front, you must add to the ends of the front
Also, you must leave at least one non-front map square between any
two pieces of the front that are not linked together. A warning message
will be displayed if you try to put a front piece in an illegal square
After you have built the Front add a capital or flag to
distinguish the sides. You need one flag or capital on at least one
side of the front
You can place more than one capital on a side although all of the
capitals on a side must be the same color
The two flags on page 1 of the map pieces are used to designate
territory. If used with a capital, the French flag can only be used with
the green capital and the German flag can only be used with the red
capital. The flags have no strategic value
Next add the target pieces. Target pieces are very important since
their placemnent on the map will determine the primary strategies for
your campaign. Each target piece has it own unique contribution to
the game. The value of a target piece on the opponents side varies
depending on your opponent. The campaign rules also affect some of
the map pieces
Note: For more information on the importance of the Strategic
Targets, see Go to War
Be sure there are adequate airfields scattered around the map
since all squads must take off and land from an airfield. If they are
spread to far apart, squads will be doing a lot of flying before they
reach their target and this will tire the crew
After you have placed the strategic targets, you can decorate your
war map with special pieces, such as die compass, forest, rivers,
mountains, and varied types of ground terrain
Study the war maps in the campaigns that come with the
game. For more ideas on how the pieces can fit together. With a
little practice you'll be creating great maps in no time!
Squad Editor
To build an airforce for your campaign, move your marker
over an airfield and press <Enter>. The left column is for the
names of the fighter pilot. The middle column is the fighter
pilot' medals. The more medals a pilot has, the better he is in a
dogfight. The third column is for the names of bombers
Use the pencil to point at the top of the fighter pilot
column. Type in the name of the fighter pilot and press
<Enter> or press Alt N to let the computer automatically
create a name
See "Pilot and Bomber Names" in appendix IV for a list of
fighter pilot and bomber name suggestions. You can use any name
you want, including names not on the list. A maximum of 50
planes can be in a campaign. A maximum of 26 planes can be at
one airfield (13 fighters and 13 bombers)
The center column is for pilot medals. The more medals a
pilot has, the better he is in a dogfight. You can give a pilot up to
6 medals. Real aces during the war shot down between 5 and 80
opponents. To simulate comparable skills when using authentic
aces, give pilots who had a score of 60 or more 6 medals. If they
had 50 or more, give them 5 medals and so on. Anyone with less
than 10 victories would get no medals.
Use the pencil to change the medals. For your pilot and then press
<Enter>. Press <D> when you are done making squads
Campaign Rules
For a description of the rules, see section 1, Go to War. Press
<Esc> when finished
Choose an Enemy
Here you can choose a General and an Ace to be your opponent
for this campaign. Point at the one you want to change and then press
<Enter>. Press <Esc> when finished
Write the Story
Write a story describing your campaign. Press <Esc>
when finished
Write the Title
Write a title for your campaign. Press <Enter> when finished
2. CHANGE A CAMPAIGN
To change a campaign, select this option and then select the
campaign you want to change. You can slip over the Map Editor
or Squad Editor by pressing <S>. For Skip otherwise it is identical
to making a new campaign
3. COPY A CAMPAIGN
To copy a campaign to a floppy disk or to another directory on
your hard disk. select this option and then follow the instructions
on screen. If you copy a campaign to the same directory that the
campaign is in, a duplicate of the campaign will be made
4. REMOVE A CAMPAIGN
To erase a campaign, select this option then follow the instruc-
tions on screen
II: PLANNING GUIDE
******************
INTRODUCTION
To be a consistent winner at the Ancient Art of War in the Skies,
requires a study of both strategy and tactics
The strategic portion of a campaign involves operations at
the map level
The tactical portion involves bombing and dogfighting
methods
Study this section to become a more competent commander
of your forces
WAR STRATEGY
The phrase wisdom transcends time is a testatment to the Art of
War, the timeless book on war strategy and tactics written 2500
years ago by the great Chinese warrior Sun Tzu, the Art of War
has been studied by many of the most brilliant military minds
throughout history. From the Mongol leader Genghis Khan to the
US Marines in Operation Desert Storm
During World War I, the weapons of war changed dramati-
cally but the basic concepts of strategy and tactics remained the
same. Read this chapter to understand how the teachings of Sun
Tzu apply to the Ancient Art of War in the Skies
BEFORE THE BATTLE BEGiNS
In chapter I of the Art of War, Sun Tzu wrote of the importance
of thorough planning before the battle begins. When playing
chess, even the strongest piece on the board can be quickly lost
due to poor planning. The same is true on the battlefield
In World War I, the French General Nivelle lost 200,000
men with no gain during the spring offensive of 1917. He
possessed enormous manpower but lacked strategic planning
In The Ancient Art of War in the Skies, plan your strategy to
gain maximum advantage before you launch your attack. Do you
want to control territory by advancing the Front, weaken his
flanks or go for his jugular the Capital.
Sun Tzu explained in chapter Waging War, that during
war you are not only fighting the enemy but you are also Fighting
time. World War I was long and drawn out and although it
ultimately ended in victory for the allies, ten million human lives
were lost. By contrast, Operation Desert Storm, in 1991, was
short and well planned by the allied Forces and it resulted in less
than 100 U S casualties
Consider what will move the Front the fastest, but consider
too, that your enemy is likely to retaliate and push you back
Although bombing the front will move it, unless this is
coordinated with bombing strategic targets near the front, the
enemy will counter attack and regain territory quickly. This is
what stalemated the front in World War I. Significant gains can
only be accomplished by a well planned strategy
THE ART OF FIGHTING WITHOUT FIGHTING
Rather than destroy an enemy, subdue him into surrender-
ing, wrote the wise warrior in chapter 111 of the Art of War. Rather
than meeting the enemy head on try to slip your bombers past the
enemy to strike their capitals. "Cut off the head and the serpent
will Die". If you destroy an enemy capital, the enemy air force will
surrender and you can avoid fighting them, minimizing loss of life
and destruction
If you capture or destroy his airfields, he has nowhere to land
and victory will be yours
OFFENSIVE STRATEGY
In chapter III: Offensive Strategy, Sun Tzu described how, when
and where to engage the enemy
In War in the Skies, your offensiye strategy should be based
on your opponent, the layout of the war map, and the makeup of
the forces on both sides. In planning your offensive strategy, keep
in mind that captured airbases can be used for your squads,
captured factories can be used to build new planes, and
captuered Forts will halt the retreat of the front once you have
gained territory
KNOW YOURSELF KNOW THE ENEMY
In chapter 111, Sun Tzu said in order to anticipate the enemys
strategy, his methods must be studied. By studying what your
opponent has done in the past, you can predict what he will do in
the future. Learn the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent
so you can exploit his weaknesses and avoid his strengths
By attacking the targets that your enemy values most and
defending the targets that the enemy is most likely to attack, you
can maximize your forces and concentrate your strength where
it will do the most good
Consider, for example, that while your cities are your main
source of strength for the front, the Kaiser places little value on the
population centers and instead draws his power from supply
depots and factories
If the enemy is good at dogfighting, avoid his fighters. If he
is good at bombing, intercept his bombers. If he is good at both
keep a numerical advantage and let him come to you. To learn more
about your opponent, see the chapter called "Know the Enemy's
Mind"
CONDITION
In chapter VI, Sun Tzu wrote of the importance of keeping your
forces in good condition
Keep your planes in top shape. Wait for your planes to be
repaired at their airbase before launching them on another
mission. Sending a damaged plane into battle should only be done
as a desperation move
If in a dogfight or on a bombing mission, your planes get
shot to ribbons, consider cutting off the attack. Head for home
for repairs rather than risk the loss of more planes
Your squad's condition is affected by many variables: alti-
tude, speed, formation, and distance traveled. Flying your squad
constatly at a high altitude and fast speed in an open cockpit will
decrease the condition of your pilots rapidly. A defensive forma-
tion, while reducing the chances of a surprise attack, reduces your
squads condition because they are constantly turning and strain-
ing their necks while on the lookout for enemy planes
Consider too that your squad becomes battle weary with
each dogfight and bombing mission. Keep your missions short to
avoid tiring your pilots and stressing their planes
Condition can make the difference between a bomber reaching
its target or being shot down by enemy anti aircraft guns
STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES
Your troops should be commanded according to your strengths
and weaknesses. If you are strong in a dogfight, seek dogfights. If
you are strong at bombing, launch as many squads as you can to
bomb the enemy targets. If you are stong at neither, return to
training and hone your skills
MANEUVERING
Maneuvering pertains to tactics and strategy. In tactical maneu-
vering, you are close to the enemy in a dogfight. Strategic
maneuvering refers to maneuvering your forces at the map level
to obtain an objective. While tactical maneuvering is a matter
of your fighter pilot skills, strategic maneuvering requires
planned offensives
Tactical maneuvering should be practiced while in training,
for mistakes made during combat are usually fatal. Study the aces
in Book III, Chapter 8 to learn about their dogfighting skills
Strategic maneuevering will take time to master. You will
improve with experience. Study the ground commanders to
understand their objectives, then set your own offensive and
defensive strategy to counter the enemy.
TACTICS
Sun Tzu spoke of tactics in chapter VIII of the Art of War
When enemy squads encounter each other, they engage in
a dogfight. According to the status of each squad at that point, one
squad may surprise the other. If a squad is surprised, the other
squad will begin the Dogfight in a favorable position (usually
directly behind) and ready to shoot the other squad will be fired
upon before they have a chance to move.
Many factors come into play to determine if a squad is
surprised. The squad's condition, altitude, speed, formation and
the number of bombers and fighters in the squad all play a part
Surprise could be attained from a higher altitude, a faster
speed, or an offensive formation. But if a squad's condition is very
low, they stand more of a chance of being surprised. Set your flight
plan carefully to avoid surprise attacks
Ponder these conditions and be the squad making the
surprise attack instead of the other way around
TARGETS AND TERRAIN
In Chapters X and XI, Tzu discusses how to deal with different
types of terrain and ground objectives. In the Ancient Art of War
in the Skies you must consider the effect of ground targets and
their influence on the strength of the front. The closer a target is
to the front, the more influence it has on the front thus a village
near the front would have more affect on the front then a city that
is farther from the Front even though the city is much stronger
Keep this in mind when choosing your targets
There are eight important strategic locations on the ground
and one type of ground terrain that must be considered
1 Airfields:
Planes require airfields. Airfields contain hangars when
planes are repaired machine gun ammunition and bombs are also
stored at airbases
Airfields supply no strength to the front they are, however
vital to your airforce, so protect them well. A captured airfield can
be used immediately by your planes. It provides a valuable
landing strip close to the front, but beware. If the front is not stable
in that area, the enemy can suddenly advance over your newly
acquired airfield and destroy your planes
After being bombed, airfields repair themselves twice as fast
as the other strategic pieces
2 Cities:
Protect your cities from enemy attacks, for they provide the
most strength to your front. Your opponents will value cities in
different Degrees so consider who you are fighting before target-
ing enemy cities. Foch, like you, values his cities so they are
strong, while the Kaiser would just as soon sacrifice his
population centers
3 Villages:
Villages are your third strongest supply piece. Again
some opponents will value a village highly while others have
less use for them
4 Capital:
The capital is the heart of each side's homeland.Al-
though the capital adds no strength to the front, it is the source
of command for each side's forces. When a capital is de-
stroyed, the war is over the capital is heavily defended and
is difficult to destroy
5 factory:
Factories build aircraft and supply them to airfields. All
airfields receive aircraft from factories no matter how far
away. The more factories a side has, the faster they will receive
new planes
6 Supply Depot:
The supply depot supplies fuel and ammunition to the Front
After cities, it is your most powerful piece. Although your
opponents value the supply depot to different degrees, it is usually
one of the most powerful. Protect them well for they are not
heavily defended
7 Fort:
A fort is a defensive target designed to halt the enemys advance
they are heavily defended and difficult to destroy the front can not
advance past a fort unless that Fort is totally destroyed
8 Bridge:
Although bridges don't supply the front directly, they allow
supplies and reinforcements to reach the front faster. The front
will move farther if a bridge is near
9 Mountains:
Ground terrain matters little to planes with one exception
Mountains can be an obstacle for the planes of World War I
because they have difficulty flying at higher altitudes
Check your altitude carefully before flying over mountains
If mountains are set to low in the map rules, you can fly over them
safely above 6000 feet. If they are high then you must fly above
12,000 feet to clear the peaks. A bomber cannot fly above 12,000
feet. It is possible to navigate through mountains at lower
altitudes, but this is not recommended
It is not enough to assign a squad a safe altitude above
mountains. You must give them a path that allows them time to
climb to that altitude before they reach the mountains. Your
squad's climb rate varies with their speed. It will climb and
descend faster at slower speeds. When trying to climb quickly to
get over mountains, use the slowest speed. Then, when your
squad has reached its assigned altitude, change to a faster speed
KNOW THE ENEMY'S MIND
During the Great War, both sides were served by many ground
generals. Some served early in the war and either died or were
replaced due to incompetence. Others rose to power during the
war Britain, France and Germany are each represented by a
General. The ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu and the not so
famous Helmut von Spike are also included. Each has his own
unique style.
The ground leader you select will lead the enemy ground
troops. As such, the strength of the enemy front will depend on
the ground commander. With some generals, the front will move
forward with a strong central push leaving the flanks weak. For
others it will move forward uniformly strong but slower. In
addition, the ground general will determine the value of each of
his strategic targets (cities, supply depots, villages, factories, etc )
The values of these targets determines the level of strength that the
front receives from each target.
The ground commander also gives offensive commands to
the air commander. These commands could be, Attack airfields
as your first priority, followed by supply Depots and cities. Or
Attack forts as your first priority followed by the population
centers (cities and yillages)
Finally, the ground commander decides when he should
surrender or fight to the last man
Read these strategy notes for each ground commander to
determine what you are up against
KITCHENER - GREAT BRITAIN
Lord kitchener was the British Secretary of State for War and
created a first class British army.
When battling Kitchener, his offensive strategy will be to
target your airbases, followed by your industrial complex facto-
ries, depots and bridges. Defensively, his supply depots, cities,
and villages, followed by his bridges provide the most strategic
value to him. His forts are of medium strength, and his troops
advance at medium speed at the front
Advice:
Guard your airbases and industrial complexes and target his
supply depots and population centers
FOCH - FRANCE
Population centers and supply depots provide the most power
to Foch's front target his strong points and you will weaken
his front
Defensively, Foch will fiercely protect his capital. His forts
have superior strength and are heavily protected
Offensively, Foch's primary objective is to cut off your
factories from supplying planes. He will then target your cities,
supply Depots, villages and airfields
Advice:
Attacking Foch's capital near suicide instead identify his
strongest targets and bomb them to advance the front, thereby
controlling territory
WILHELM II-GERMANY
When fighting the German commander, you can expect his
factories and supply depots to be his strongest asset. Followed by
his cities and bridges. Villages were of little value to him because
of his offensive style, forts were of little interest to him
The German front will move with a strong and fast central
push but this leayes the flanks weak. If the main thrust is halted,
the rear will collapse and retreat
The Kaisers primary offensive objective will be your cities,
followed by your factories, supply depots, and villages
The Kaiser knows when he is beaten, and will surrender
rather than suffer the humiliation of losing his entire airforce
Advice:
Stop his front advances before they start rolling over your
territory. Factories and supply depots are the core of his military
machine. Target these points to weaken his Front
SPIKE - THE FATHERLAND
When you are at war with Spike, expect the unexpected. Above
all, Spike values bridges. He naturally assumes bridges are also
your source of power and immediately targets them for destruc-
tion. While his crack troops are assigned to bridge duty, you can
expect him to randomly hit your targets. His troops at the front
advance like a truck stuck in first gear - slow
Advice:
Spike's strategy like his mind, is in a state of confusion
Dont underestimate his haphazard style for some say there is a
method to his madness
TZU-CHINA
Sun Tzu lived 2500 years ago in the Kingdom of Wu. He wrote
"The Art of War" which outlined the basics of war strategy and
tactics that have been studied by military leaders ever since
Sun Tzu is a superb tactician and military strategist. He will
target your strong points (cities) while attempting to dismantle
your secondary pieces. His forts are nearly impenetrable. Guard
your supply pieces to stop the powerful advance of his front. Do
not underestimate his strategic targets since they are all used to
their maximum advantage
Advice:
Dont let his front start advancing. Protect your capital by
keeping fighters at home ready to intercept
AIR COMMANDERS
The Air Commander determines the offensive and defensive
priorities of the enemy airforce, as well as the tactics of the enemy
planes during dogfights and bombing runs
Your opponent's air force strategy is set according to his
fighting style. For example, a defensive air commander may set
his first priorities to intercepting bomber squads threatening his
capital followed by bombing the front that threatens one of his
targets. An offensive commander might send squads to bomb
your targets near the front to move it forward as his first priority
He also determines how the enemy planes will fight in a
dogfight. Some commanders will try to maintain formation,
others will swarm, others will seek to maintain altitude over you
The air commander also determines the shooting accuracy of the
enemy pilots
Bombing tactics are also determined by the air commander.
This includes the accuuracy of his bombers and his determination
to destroy the target versus the risk of being shot down
Of the hundreds of pilots in the Great War, only a
handful could be called Top Aces. Here are some of the best
(and one of the worst). Study their descriptions to determine
their fighting styles
RICHTHOFEN - GERMANY
As an air commander, the Red Baron is primarily offensive in
nature. If his capital is not being threatened, his top priority is to
advance the front to grab territory. His accurate bombers will
devastate your strongest targets. Forts will get special attention if
they slow his advance
During a dogfight, the Red Baron is usually in a tight
formation waiting for an opening. He has quick reflexes and
is an accurate marksman, An injured foe will receive no
mercy. If you surprise him from behind, he will quickly try to
turn the tables on you
FONCK - FRANCE
Fonck leads his airforce with a strong defense. He will attack only
when he is confident that none of his targets are being threatened
He fiercely protects his capital. His bomber accuracy is above
average
When dogfighting Fonck, it is best to stay out of his sights
for when he fires he seldom misses. His fighters prefer to Duel
independently they will seldom gangup on one of your fighters
MANNOCK - GREAT BRITAIN
Mick Mannock the greatest British ace, was a natural born leader
As a commamnder, he is a cautious planner balancing his offensive
and defensive strategies. While guarding his own positions, he
will attempt too move the front forward, pulverizing anything in
its path
His bombing accuracy is less than average. He will tend to
call off an attack soon after his bombers begin to take hits
preferring to head back to base for repairs rather than risk losing
his crew
In a dogfight, his tactic was to close in tight on his prey and
send the German vermin to hell in flames. When you challenge
Mannock, you will rarely find him fighting solo. Very accurate at
close range, he will attack your squadron at its weakest point.
BALL - GREAT BRITAIN
Other than fiercely protecting his airfields, Ball is all offense. His
bombers are very accurate. While this tactic will destroy many
targets he will lose a lot of bombers to anti aircraft fire
Albert Ball is the classic lone wolf dogfighter. His tactic is to
Dive into an enemy formation and use his excellent marksman
ship to quickly get a kill. He hates formation flying, preferring to
fly alone and attack against any odds. Another tactic he uses is to
fly under an opponent and then fire upwards.
GUYNEMER - FRANCE
On the ground, Guynemer was sickly and frail. In the sky, he was
terror itself
While Guynemer will single out anything that approaches
his capital, he primarily leads an offensive strategy. While on the
offensive, he tends to leave his airbases unguarded this leaves
him vulnerable. His bombers have average accuracy and like Ball,
Guynemer prefers to empty his load of bombs without regard for
hits he is taking
In a dogfight, you can expect Guynemer to be an excellent
marksman. His planes will act individually and tend to attack the
weakest. First Expect him to close quickly and fearlessly
BOELCKE - GERMANY
Boelcke protects his territory with a water tight defense, engaging
your squads as soon as they are spotted. When on the attack, his
bombers are deadly accurate, second only to Richthofen.
When you challenge Boelcke you can expect the enemv
squad to work together. He believed in tight formation flying as
opposed to lone wolf tactics. He taught his Jasta pilots to stick
together in battle and that it doesn't matter who scores the victory
as long as the squad wins. If you dive on him, expect him to turn
to meet you rather than to evade you
LOUPE - FRANCE
A descendent of Thor Foote, tyrant of the ancient seas, Lou was
the black sheep of the French air force. Little is known about this
pilot except that a common phrase uttered in discrete circles was
that in the brains department, Lou's engine is running but there
is no pilot behind the controls" Lou's engine ran for many years
after the war but the pilot never did slow up
Although he tends to get confused between offense and defense,
his strategy is not to be underestimated. His haphazard style is
sometimes used as a diversionary tactic for his real objective
When challenging Loopy, you are challenging the worst pilot in
the French airforce this makes him a good choice for beginners
DOGFIGHT TACTICS AND AEROBATICS
-------------------------------
DOGFIGHT TACTICS
"There are only two kinds of aircraft - fighters and targets
- Author Unknown
The purpose of fighters is to destroy other aircraft. The idea in a
dogfight is to get into a firing position behind your opponent so
he can't return fire
The key to success in a dogfight is aggressiveness. When you
are on the offensive, you are trying to shoot down your enemy
When you are on the defense, you are trying to avoid being shot
down. The best defense is a good offense,
If you get an opponent on your tail and can't shake him, fly
towards friendly planes so they can help you
If you decide to try to escape during a dogfight, try to
manuvereour planes near the edge of the screen first this gives
the enemy less time to chase after you and shoot you down
When you have more than one plane in your squadron,
control the plane with the pilot that has the least medals. Say your
squad has two fighter planes in it. One pilot has 1 medal, the other
has 6. The pilot with 6 medals will fight better than the pilot with
medal
When one squad surprises another, the surprised squad will
not be able to maneuver for several seconds (the plane that you
control can always maneuver)
AEROBATIC AND COMBAT MANEUVERS
These maneuyers can be practiced by selecting training from the
airfield clipboard. Then select "No Enemy" and you will be able
to practice without enemy harrassment
1 Climbing Turn
A Climbing Turn is used to gain height on an opponent
Technique: Use the 7 and 9 key to climb at maximum efficiency
2 Chasing Your Tail
This is a tight horizontal turn used to reverse positions
with an enemy on your tail
Technique: When an enemy is on your tail, use the 4 or
6 key to try to circle behind him to bring your guns to bear
3 Spin
A Spin is used to shake an attacker off your tail
Technique: Push forward on the stick until you are flying
straight down (Press 2 several times) then spin (Press <lns>)
this maneuver can be dangerous. If you allow your speed to
go into the red you have a chance of causing a structural
failure
4 Half Roll
A Half Roll is used to right yourself when you find your
self upside down during combat maneuvers. It is also used as
a part of other maneuvers
Technique: Press <Ins> to Half Roll Press <Ins> twice to
do a complete roll
5 Loop
A loop can be used as an evasive maneuver and parts
of a loop are used in other maneuvers
Technique: Begin a dive until reaching maximum air
speed (Press 3). Pull back on the stick evenly (Press 8) until
your aeroplane makes a complete loop and you are again
flying straight and level in the same direction you began
6 Hammerhead Stall
Sometimes this can be used to shake an opponent off
your tail. This is more effective if your climb rate is greater
than your opponent's
Technique: To get a prolonged climb, dive to gain speed
(Press 3 ) Then pull back on the stick (Press 8) until you are
flying straight up. Soon, gravity overcomes your inertia, you
stall and your fighter will make a 180 degree turn toward earth
You are particularly at risk in this maneuver because just
prior to stalling your airspeed is near zero
7 Split "S"
This is a good offensive maneuver to attack an opponent when
you are both flying level but in opposite directions
and he is beneath you
Technique: Just prior to flying directly over your opponent,
do a half roll (Press lnsert) You are now flying up side down
Immediately pull the stick back to perform the second half of
a loop (Press 8) If performed properly, you will be on your
opponent's tail. You can now commence firing
8 English Bunt
Like the Split S, this is a good offensive maneuver to
attack an opponent when you are both flying level but in
opposite directions and he is beneath you
Technique: Just prior to flying directly over your opponent,
push the stick forward to begin an Outside Loop (Press 2)
At the bottom of the loop when you are flying straight
and level but upside down, Half Roll to right side up
(Press Insert) and commence firing,
9 Half a Vertical Eight
This is used as an evasive maneuver
Technique: Fly straight and level (Press 6) Do a Half
Roll (press Insert) You are now flying upside down. Imediately
pull the stick back to perform the second half of an Inside
Loop (Press 8) When flying straight and level (you just
made a Split S), begin another Split S with a Half Roll (press
Insert), pull the stick back to perform the second half of an
Inside Loop (Press 8) until flying straight and level
10 lmmelman Turn
This is used as an evasive maneuver
Technique: Begin a dive until reaching maximum air speed
(Press 3) Pull the stick back to begin a loop (press the
Up Arrow) At the top of the loop, press insert to Half Roll to
right side up. At this point you can either escape or continue the
loop to reverse positions with the enemy that was on your tail
11 Half a Cuban Eight
This begins as a Defensive maneuver (similar to an
Immelman Turn) and becomes an offensive dive
Technique: Begin a dive until reaching maximum air
speed (Press 3) Pull the stick back to begin a loop (Press
the Up Arrow) At the top of the loop, when you are upside
down and flying level, roll into a dive (Press 1)
12 Defensive Spiral
This is used as an evasive maneuver. Warning do not attempt
this maneuver too close to the ground!
Technique: Alternate between the 1 and 3 keys on the
keypad to dive out of trouble
13 Fokker Bounce
This is an offensive maneuver that, when performed
correctly, will elimninate your opponent in one pass
Technique: Dive on your opponent from behind (Press
1), firing into him. When you pass below him, pull back on
the stick (press 8) and fire into his belly
14 Chondelle
This is a climbing turn at maximum rate used to gain altitude
quickly
Technique: Begin a dive until reaching maximum air
speed (press 3) Pull back on the stick (press 9) quickly
reverse the direction of the climb (press 7) At your
discretion, level off (press 4)
SUMMARY
The preceding maneuvers should be practiced until they can be
performed with ease. A fighter pilot is free to improvise on these
maneuvers as the combat situation requires
BOMBING TACTlCS
The smallest bombs that were dropped during the war were steel
darts that weighed a few ounces the largest bomb was over 3000
pounds. At first, explosive bombs were like falling cannon balls
The Gernman army developed the first true aerial bomb in
1913. It had a cast iron shell, a tear drop shaped body and tail fins
It was more like an air torpedo than a cannon ball. Designed to fall
faster and be more accurate than previous bombs, the fins made
the bomb spin on the way down which helped to stabilize its
flight. Some bombs were carried vertically in bomb bays, some
horizontally.
Anti aircraft fire was nicknamed Archie the term came
from a Bitish pilot. Whenever he encountered anti aircraft fire
he would say Archibald, certainly not! It was a line from a
London show that was sung as the leading lady was fending off a
lecherous suitior
It is usually a good idea to elimninate troublesome anti
aircraft guns first, Then you can concentrate on your targets and
not worry about return fire
The Bomb Indicator to the right of your view screen shows
how many bombs you have left. Use your bombs sparingly or you
may run out before your mission is accomplished
Hit and Run is one style of tactics. Pick your target from the
recon photo and line your bomber up for a straight run at it. Hit
your target and then quickly exit the bombing area. Then pick
another target, eliminate it and then exit quickly again. Continue
this until your mission is accomplished
Remember, you can press <Enter> anytime during a bomb-
ing run to look at the recon photo
BOMBlNG LOCATION DESCRIPTIONS
There are 10 locations that you can bomb
1 Airfield
At airfields you may be called upon to bomb hangars,
headquarters, etc. You can also choose to directly bomb any plane
that is at the airfield.
2 City
The targets circled on the recon photo are where intelligence
reports indicate war supplies, troops, weapons, etc are hidden. It
takes a sharp eye to hit the right target out of a densely packed city
3 Village
Villages are alseo used to hide war supplies, etc. It is also used
as a supply line to the front
4 Capital
Capitals are the center of government. Destroy the Capital
and you "cut off the serpent's head" Complete your mission by
destroying all the targets on the photo and you will win the war
Capitals are heavily defended and are difficult to destroy
5 Factory
Enemy factories supply aircraft to enemy airfields. It is a
good idea to reduce their output as much as possible
6 Supply Depot
Supply depots store materials for the war effort. Destroy the
supplies before they can be used by the enemy
7 Fort
A front cannot move past a fort unless the fort is completely
destroved
8 Bridge
Destroy a bridge and you can slow down the enemies supply
line to the front
9 Trenches
The Western Front consisted of a series of trenches. An
effective bombing run through a section of the enemies line
can create an opening that your army may be able to penetrate.
Machine Gun Nests were dug in positions containing one or
more machine guns.
Listening Post duty was a stressful job consisting of sitting
out ahead of the front line and listening for approaching
enemy soldiers.
These concrete Pill Boxes were used for protection by machine
gun crews.
The Mortar Pits E shape separated the crew from their bombs to
limit damage in case of an accident.
Barbed wire was laid in several rows, wide enough so that
attackers could not throw grenades over it and hit the trenches.
10 Target Practise
In target practise your targets are bullseyes painted on the
ground. Not all bullseyes are targets though, only the ones that
are circled on the recon photo
III: A HISTORY
**************
INTRODUCTION
Book III contains information about the historical period of the
Ancient Art of War in the Skies. Although not necessary for
playing the game, reading this section will provide you with a
colorful glimpse into a bygone era
THE GREAT WAR
It was called the war to end all wars. It resulted in more casualties
than in all the wars of the previous 200 years combined. France
lost half of her male population between the ages of 20 and 32. In
addition to the 16 million casualties, it cost 300 billion dollars
The United States alone spent a million dollars an hour on it and
the total bill was more than the cost to run the government for the
previous century!
Perhaps youve seen the old black and white films of soldiers
and horses marching at a pace that is slightly faster than normal
They were marching off to this war, the Great War of 19I4-1918
Today we know it as World War I.
It has been said that World War I was a war that nobody
wanted and yet everyone participated. The events leading up to
this war teach us one of the greatest lessons of history - how to
do everything wrong
The book, The Guns of August, was the best book I have ever
read because it described how to do everything wrong
- John F Kennedy
In the early 1900's, Europe was ruled by familv dynasties
The Wilhelms ruled Germany: the Hapsburgs ruled the Austria-
Hungarian Empire, the Nicholas family ruled Imperial Russia
and the royal family of King George and Queen Victoria were the
ruling monarches of Great Britain. These powerful families,
which had governed Europe for generations, had long histories of
pride, nationalism, and romanticism. They were not known,
however, for their intellectual brilliance.
Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II enjoyed his power but he
wasn't always sure what to do with it Czar Nicholas II of Russia
ruled the Russian Empire with the help of a mad, self styled holy
man named Grigori Rasputin. King George and Queen Victoria
had no more qualifications for ruling Great Britain than the fact
that they were born into royalty
With the advice of their military, these leaders of Europe
created an intricate system of alliances between their countries
whereby each would come to the aid of the other in case of war
These alliances, combined with the egotistical leadership of
the ruling families, created a delicate situation, like a balloon
expanded to its breaking point. In June of 1914, the balloon hit
a sharp point
Several years earlier before the start of the war, the Austro-
Hungarin Empire anexed a small country called Bosnia. This
shocked and angered the neighboring Serbiains. A group of
Serbian army officers formed a secret society called the, Black
Hand to arm and train resistance forces. In June of 1914,
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and
heir to the throne, visited Sarajevo, the capital of Serbia. Seven of
the Black Hand were waiting for him, each armed with a pistol, a
bomb and a vial of cyanide to swallow in the event of capture. One
of the assassins shot and killed the archduke and his wife. This
started an incredible series of events that ultimately saw all of
Europe, Russia, the United States and Japan at war.
The leaders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire used the
assassination of Archduke Ferdinand as an opportunity to ex-
pand their empire by declaring war on Serbia
The Russians, allied with Serbia, were alerted to the impending
ivasion and began partial mobilization to come to the aid of
their Serbian Allies
At the turn of the century, General Alfred von Schlieffen was
the Chief of the German General Staff. He felt the threat of
enemies on both sides - France to the west and Russia to the east
Fearing a joint attack, he came up with a plan to fight a war on two
fronts against the allied France and Russia. To avoid spreading his
forces thin over two fronts: he believed that "the whole of
Germany must hurl itself against one opponent". Schlieffen's
strategy was to quickly defeat one enemy before battling the other
Since a country as large as Russia could not be defeated quickly,
France became the first target of the Schlieffen Plan
"If he strenthens his right he weakens his left:
If he sends reinforcements everywhere,
he will be weak everywhere
- Sun Tzu 400BC
Having expected hostilities from Germany, France had built
a line of fortifications to protect Paris. Schlieffen planned to avoid
the forts by attacking through Belgium
Germany allied with Austria-Hungary, issued an ulima-
tum to Russia on July 31 to demobilize within 12 hours. The
Russians refused. On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia
Suddenly, things were not going according to plan for
Germany. To follow the Schlieffein plan, Germany needed to
conquer France first!
General Helmuth von Moltke was Schlieffen's successor. He
felt that Schlieffen's plan was flawless and shouldn't be changed
no matter what. Kaiser Wilhelm couldn't decide who to attack
first and gave into von Moltke's desire to hit France by taking
Paris quickly, he thought, France would be out of their way and
Germany could focus on Russia. At least that was the plan
The Germans began their attack on August 4th, 1914
Following Sclllieffens plan, the strong right wing of the German
army charged through Belgium. This angered Belgium's protec-
tor, Great Britain. The powerful German army smashed the
Belgian resistance and marched into the heart of France. The
French stopped the advance of the 60,000 German combat troops
just 30 miles from Paris
The stage was now set. All of Europes war machines were in
full gear as the declarations and ultimatums continued. Japan
entered the war in late August, Turkey in late October and ltaly
in May of 1915. By the end o f 1915 all of Europe was consumed in war.
"In a side street off the Strand yesterday I met a jolly little
dachshund - the dachshund might be called the national dog of
Germany - walking cheerfully along well bedecked
in red, white and blue ribbons. And round his neck
he wore this label "I am a naturalised British subject"
And he seemed mighty proud of the fact too
- London Daily Mirror, August 18, 1914
On April 6, 1917, the United States came to the aid of Great
Britain and France by declaring war on Germany
The art of war was entering the modern age. For the first time
in centuries new weapons were changing the way war was fought
Heavy artillery, tank, machine guns, aeroplanes and poison gas
were new to the soldiers of the Great War. Within months after
the start of the war, the great armies of both sides were unable to
advance and unwilling to retreat. The only direction available to
them was down into the trenches and up into the air
Five hundred miles of Germans,
five hundred miles of French,
And English, Scots and Irish men
all fighting for a trench
And when the trech is taken
and many thousands slain
the losers, with more slaughter
retake the trench again
- Edwin Dwight
August 4, 1915 Life Magazine
Trenches were not a new concept to the art of war. Caesar
had used trenches and so had the American armies during the
Civil War. What was new was the amount of trenches that were
used. Trenches soon stretched from the English Channel through
the heart of France to Switzerland. It was called the Western
front. Millions of soldiers died along this stretch of land during
the war, sometimes as many as 50,000 in a single day.
The Western Front was about 30 miles wide and 475 miles
long. Each side had several rows of trenches along the front. The
front line was the fire trench. It was a heavily fortified and
guarded first line of defense. Behind it was the Support Trench
with the supplies, command posts, medical aid and reinforce
ments. Further back was the reserve trench. These 3 lines of
trenches were connected with communication trenches
Trench Pudding
After putting four hardtack biscuits in a dishcloth, pound on them
with a shovel handle until smashed, Soak in water until soggy
Add one tin of Tommy Ticklers Plum and Apple jam. Stir well
over a hot flame. When the bottom burns, serve with four tea-
spoons of condensed milk. Serves four.
The trenches were 6 1/2 feet deep. They were not in a straight
line but zig zag shaped. This prevented the enemy from storming
through them and reduced the effects of artillery shells
How do you feel as you stand in a trench
Awaiting the whistle to blow
Are you frightened, anxious, shaking with fear
or are you ready to go?
No one is anxious to go, my friend
its a job which must be done
Discipline ensures we obey the rules
Though for many their last day has come
Me I`m scared! Though I try not to show it
Its my third time over the top
I`m a lover of peace but a bullet dont know it
I could be getting the chop
May the Good Lord grant me a nice blight wound
One which allows me to run
Out of this shambles, I`ve had quite enough
Let the Butcher keep his fun
Thats how we feel as we stand in the trech
Awaiting the whistle to blow
Those are the thoughts which pass through our heads
Emotions we are not keen to show
All men react in different ways
Few to heroics aspire
But should a man boast that he never knew fear?
Then in my book that man is a liar!
- Sergent H Fellows
The life of a soldier at the front was not romantic. It was
monotonous hours of boredom interrupted with moments of
sheer terror. Their home was a stinking ditch. It was many days
or even weeks between a bath and clean clothes. In the summer
they were hot, in the winter they were wet and cold. The muddy
floors of the trenches resulted in constantly wet feet which
resulted in trench foot which often resulted in the amputation of
toes. Insects infested the soldiers in the trenches included
particularly aggressive critters called cooties. Meals inclwded
turnip stew and stale bread. When they could, soldier would
sleep in the trench walls and on cots in dugouts. Rats fed on the
corpses in and around the trenches. Mail call was one of the rare
happy moments
You stand in a trench of vile stinking mud
and the bitter cold wind freezes your blood
Then the guns open up and flames light the sky
and, as you watch , rats go scuttling by
The men in the dugouts are quite for a time
trying to sleep midst the stench and the slime
The moon is just showing from over the hill
and the dead on the wire hang silent and still
A snipers bullet wings close to your head
as you wistfully think of a comfortable bed
But now a dirty blanket has to suffice
and more often than not it is crawling with lice
Haig and his mob keep well in the rear
living in luxury, safe in old St.Omer
flashing Red Tabs, Brass and Ribbons golore
what the hell do they know about fighting a war?
- CSM Sidney Chaplin
4th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment
Between the trenches of the two sides was a barren and
dangerous stretch of land called No Man's land, Rows of barbed
wire were strung in front of the trenches deep enough that
attackers couldn't throw gernades from the Front edge of the wire
into the trench. Hanging from the barbed wire were tin cans with
pebbles inside to warn of night attacks.
Two months into the war the fronts became stagtnant. Nearly
the entire war was fought from the trenches with no one making
any progress. By 1915 the world was beginning to think of the
war as a draw.
Stalemated in France, Germany's Schlieffen Plan fell apart
Germany decided to turn toward Russia and the Eastern Front
formed. There too trench warfare developed with a line extend
ing 1900 miles between Germany and Russia. Other battle fronts
developed in the northeast of Italy northern Greece, Serbia,
Turkey, Romania and Arabia.
The airplanes ability to fly over the battle was partly respon-
sible for the stalemate. Since neither side could move large
numbers of troops without the other side knowing, the element
of surprise largely disappeared from the war
The stagnant fronts inspired inventors to devise new weap-
ons to try too break the stalemate
In the spring of 1915 a new weapon was introduced to the
war: poison gas. The Germans fired canisters of chlorine gas at the
trenches of their enemy with hideeous results. Ten thousand allied
soldiers fled and 5000 of them died in the next ten minutes. A
gassed soldier would die a long and painful death. It didnt take
long for the armies to issue gas masks. Various types of gases were
used during the war including phosgene and mustard gas.
Poison gases accounted for 30,000 deaths. Poison gas, flame
throwers, the machine gun, and underground tunnels filled with
explosives were all used for the first time in World War I.
At the start of the war in 1914, the airplane was considered
an unreliable, flying machine that had little value to the military
Over the next four years, encouraged by the desperate needs of the
war, the airplane had begun to change in to what would eventually
be the most powerful weapon of modem warfare.
In the fall of 1915, American voluteer pilots formed
L'Escadrille Americaine. By the next spring they were spotting
German targets for the French artillery at Verdun. France lost as
many as 70 pilots a month on this dangerous mission. They would
look for enemy troop concentrations and hidden artillery guns. If
he wasnt hit by the enemy, the pilot would mark the locations on a map
and then drop the map down to his own artillery.
Their name was soon changed to the Lafayette Escadrille
because the United States felt that using American in the name
implied that the USA was no longer neutral in the war. Its new
name was chosen in honor of the French General Lafayettes
contributions to the American Revolution.
At the end of 1915, German General Eric von Falkenhayn,
chief of the German General Staff, discussed the stalemate with
the Kaiser. He knew that the French fighting style was to throw
waves of soldiers into an attack no matter the cost. They would
launch an unusual winter assault on France not hard enough to
win but just enough to keep the battle going until the French
armies were drained by charging German machine gunners. They
chose to launch this attack at Verdun.
The German strategy worked to a degree. After 10 months
of battle at Verdun, France used 70% of her army and lost 500,000
soldiers. Falkenhayn's plan was not a complete success, though,
because Germany lost 400,000 soldiers
For the last two months of the battle, the persistence of
German attacks in spite of huge losses surprised many military
strategists. The value of Verdun had shrunk since France had time
to set up new lines of defense behind Verdun. Still, day after day
and week after week, the German infantry died in great numbers
at places like Dead Man's Hill
The combined British and French forces planned to relieve
pressure on the French army at Verdun and begin the greatest
joint assault of the war. On July 1, 1916, the Battle of the Somme,
with nearly 250,000 British and French infantrymen, started with
a seven day artillery attack on the German front. Nearlv 30,000
soldiers were killed in the first hour and 60,000 were dead by the
end of the day. The battle lasted 5 more months causing over
500,000 casualties
The Legend of the Flanders Poppy
Some believe that Genghis Khan brought seeds of the white poppy
with him when he advanced into 13th century Europe. Legend
says that when these poppys grow on fresh battlefields, they are
red with a cross in the center of the flower. There were many red
poppys on Flanders Field near Somme
In June of 1917, the war was at a standstill. Russia had
dropped out of the war following a revolution that put Lenin and
the Bolsheviks in power. Germany occupied much of Belgium
and France. France was close to collapse. The spring offensive, led
by General Nivelle, had cost the French Army almost 200,000
casualties with no gain. Morale was at an all time low and 54 combat
divisions had mutinied. Nivelle was removed from power and General
Henri-Phillipe Petain, The Hero of Verdun, replaced him
By the summer of 1917, advances in aircraft engineering let
the Germans create a bomber that could reach London. At first
the Gothas would drop their bombs and then fly safely home
without interference. Soon fighters were being brought back from
the Front to attack the bombers
As the Allies prepared for the great spring offensive of 1918,
it became obvious that cooperation between the Allied armies was
not working. A single unified command was badly needed
French General Ferdinand Foch was named Supreme Com-
mander of the Allied Armies. He would direct allied strategy and
the tactics would be left to each nation's Commander in Chief
In 1918 a new tactic was used by both sides. lnstead of
attacking whole lines of trenches, the Germans sent heavily
armed and highly trained "storm troopers" against weak points in
the line. After piercing the line, they would advance behind the
line to take out the artillery
The Allies used a variation of this tactic. lnstead of using
storm troopers, they used a new British invention, the tank. The
tank was able to cross through terrain of No Mans Land, break
through barbed wire and cross over trenches. It could even
destroy machine guns.
Tank attacks were supported by aircraft and followed by
infantrymen. Tanks led in the final advances of the war. Heavy
fighting in 1918 saw the Germans push the Allies back but their
advance was stopped and then reversed by French and British
troops reinforced by the newly arrived Americans
By September, the tanks had penetrated the Western Front
The government of Germany began to crumble as the allies
continued to advance. Talk of an armistice had begun
In November, dilplomatic agents representing the German
government met in the French woods of Compiegne. Aboard a
railroad car, they signed General Foch's uncompromising armistice
The Great War ended with a cease fire on the eleventh hour
of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. The Great War
left crumbled empires in its wake. Swept away were the monar-
chies of Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. It was then that
the United States emerged as a world power
THE CAVALRY LEAVES THE GROUND
The aircraft is very good for sport - for the army it is useless
- General Ferdinand Foch, 1914
For thousands of years, wars had been fought on land and on sea
Now for the first time, the sky too became a battlefield. In the four
short years between 1914 and 1918, the airplane was transformed
from a flimsy machine that was barely able to get off the ground
to one of the most powerful weapons of war. The airplane was
added to mans arsenal and with it came a new form of battle, aerial
warfare, the third branch of the art of war.
At the start of the Great War on 28 July 1914, the airplane
was nothing more than an unreliable novelty. With few excep-
tions, the old military leaders could see no good use for the
airplane. It might, or might not, be useful for reconnaissance they
thought, but reconnaissance was already done by the horse
troops. There was no reason to believe these 'flying bird cages'
could do a better job than the tested cavalry, which had proven
themselves quite successfully over the past few centuries. Be-
sides, said one cavalry officer, the noise those damn things
make frightens our horses!
In 1908, Orville Wright was the first to demonstrate the
airplane to the military. He and a colleague went up in the Wright
Brothers' Military Flyer. The demonstration raised a few eye
brows but the military was not very impressed. They sent Orville
Wright off with a pat on the back and a few kind words, like
"Thanks, Orv, we'll give you a call.
The US Army experimented with the Military Flyer over the
next four years but could see no important use for it. Finally, in
1912, the army announced it would no longer fund aviation
experiments, and considered the youthful flyers as time and
money wasting dreamers. Consequently, when the United States
joined the war on April 6, 1917, the country that invented the
airplane had no organized air force
In 1910 Orville Wright visited Britain and France to try to
sell the Military Flyer airplane design to their armies. The
enthusiasm for the airplane was greater in Europe than in
America, but not overwhelming. The traditionalists argued that
spending money on airplanes was foolish since that money would
be better spent on the more vital cavalry horses. Orville was
politely turned down
"England might today, had she not shown initial apathy, be the
first nation in the world in the fostering, and develeopment, of
aerial navigation
- Harry Harper 1912
The French military, which turned down the Wright's
Military Flyer, began experiments with their own aircraft in 1910
The experiments ended with six days of aerial maneuvers at
Picardy, France. The military was impressed with the airplanes
performance in spite of the fact that seven of thirteen aircraft
crashed during that week. They argued that someday the airplane
may prove useFul, but no armies could stand to lose 50 percent of
their equipment per week
In 1910, Germany was preoccupied with the lighter than
air (hydrogen filled) Zeppelin. Authorities there believed the
heavier than air aeroplane was sidetracking true aeronautical
progress, the Zeppelin. The aeroplane was regarded simply as a
reconnaissance machine, nothing more. Furthermore, the Ger-
man army absolutely did not want fast aircraft, insisting if the
plane flew too fast, a reconnaissance observer would be unable to
accurately report what he had seen. The Zeppelin could fly farther,
higher, and longer than the airplane - most importantly, it was slow
I hope none of you gentlemen is so foolish as to think that the
aeroplane will be usefully employed for reconnaissance purposes
in war
-General Haig, 1914
Skepticism from the military leaders was only one of the
problems facing the acceptance of the airplane - another was reliability
Aircraft reliability and maintenance were given little consid-
eration in the early years of developmnent until many airmen lost
their lives from aircraft failure. It seems aircraft had the annoying
problem of wings falling off or buckling up in flight. Fabric
ripping off the wing frame during flight was also common
Landings claimed more than a few pilots when a wheel would
come loose, or get caught in a rut and flip the plane over. Engine
failure in flight was also a frequent problem
At the start of the war, the majority of military leaders had
little interest in the airplane. There were, however, an inspired
few who saw the true future of air power. As early as 1909, Major
Giulio Douhet of Italy wrote
aerial warfare demands a solution to the problems of preparation,
organization, and utilization of aerial forces; that is, it calls for the
creation of a third part of the art of war, the art of aerial warfare
The airplane had scarcely demonstrated its ability to stay
aloft when Douhet wrote an essay in 1911 titled, Rules for the Use
of Airplanes in War. In the airplane, Douhet saw the perfect
offensive weapon. It had none of the mobility limitations of
ground or naval power. It had the overwhelming ability to fly
anywhere and inflict heavy destruction on the enemy by bomb
ing. Fleets of airplanes appearing over the enemy's capital and
industrial centers would cause fear and chaos, leading to swift
victory and an end to the war.
Douhet said that generals everywhere tended to look back
wards. They try to solve the problems of the next war on the basis
of how the last one was resolved without taking into account new
realities. The airplane was the new reality.
Conventional war theory as taught by all military experts at
the turn of the century, from West Point to the German War
College, was to concentrate force at decisive defense points (This
led to the years of stalemated positions and the trench warfare of
the Great War). Douhet declared that the air force could weaken
the defensive points by massive bombing raids. But he didn't stop
there; rear bases, factories, railroads, sources of production, lines
of comunication and civilian centers should also be hit. Fur-
thermore, he argued that the air force should be separate and
independent, not merely a branch of the Army or Navy.
Well, these radical ideas had gone too far. The attacks on
Donhet's ideas were vicious and he was labeled a barbarian for
suggesting that cities be bombed. His theories were militarily
sound but his relentless criticism of his superior officers led to his
court martial in 1917. He was found guilty and sentenced to one
year in prison.
Convinced that his theories on aerial warfare were correct,
Douhet spent his time in prison writing. In 1921 he released a
comprehensive book on the theory of air power called The
Command of the Air. In this book, Douhet explained his ideas on
strategic bombing, radical bombing, aerial observation, and the
creation of an air force as an independent branch of the military
Unfortunately, his ideas were ignored by all but a few. Twenty
years later, during World War II, Douhet's ideas were used with
devastating effect.
Another prophet of air power that emerged during the Great
War was US Major William "Billy" Mitchell. Mitchell promoted
his ideas on air power that were years ahead of their time. Like
Douhet, his enthusiastic support for air power caused a backlash
from the old army and navy leaders. Mitchell ultimately suffered
the same fate as Douhet. He was court martialed in 1923 in the
US for his out spoken views on the importance of air power.
Two other proponents of air power during World War I
were a bit more successful in promoting air power. They were
Britain's General Hugh Trenchard, and Germany's Hermann
Goering. Through years of first hand war experiemnce, Trenchard
earned a position as Britains Chief of the Air Staff during the ten
years after the War. Goering was a fighter ace in the Great War and
by the start of World War II he built the strongest air force in the
world for Germany, the Luftwaffe.
"No fortifications can possibly offset these new weapons, which
can strike mortal blows into the heart of the enemy
with lightning speed ,,
- Major Guilio Douhet, 1916
Air power was a grand new concept at the start of the War
Germany led the field with a total of 232 planes and 11 Zeppelins
Russia had 226 planes and 11 dirigibles. Great Britain had 113
airplanes and 6 airships, while France had 138 airplanes and four
airships. Austria-Hungary (allied with Germany) had 36 air-
planes and one dirigible, and Belgium had 24 airplanes. The US
had 100 airplanes but only three were considered military aircraft
But even these numbers are misleading since typically one third
of a country's planes were for training. The rest would be used for
reconnaissance.
Despite the cavalry's objections, military leaders' indiffer-
ence, and aircraft reliability problems, the airplane proved itself
many times over during the war. What started as a rickety flying
machine became the most powerful weapon of modern warfare
By the end of the war on November 11, 1918, the airplane became
a new weapon and with it came a new form of war strategy the
art of war in the skies
"We dont want to carry additional weight merely
to save our lives
- RNAS Commander Boothby, 1915
The Aces of World War I did not wear parachutes. Today it
seems unbelievable but when it came time to bail out, the airmen,
like the valiant captain of a sinking ship, went down with their
airplane hugging a seat cushion. Why didn't they use parachutes?
The parachute had been invented and tested long before the
start of the War in 1914. Since the 1880s exhibition parachute
jumps were performed from balloons. Soon after the airplane
began flying, people made parachute jumps. From them too. As
early as 1912, successful jumps were made in St Louis from a
height of 1,500 Feet. In Engiand in 1913, jumps were made at
Hendon Airbase from 2,000 feet. By May 1914 a compact, quick
action parachute was developed by R E Calthrop in England
which he called the "Guardian Angel. Unfortunately, Calthrop
and his parachute were all but ignored by the military. Military
leaders argued that the Guardian Angel "needed additional
testing and improvements before it could be deployed. One
would think that even a marginally successful parachute would
be better than none at all.
At the start of the War, the airplane was only used for
observation - there were no fighters, bombers, or anti aircraft
guns. Since the pilot had little reason to believe his plane would
be shot down, there was no need for a parachute.
When air fighting began, the need for a parachute was
apparent but certain logistical problems prevented it from being
used. The pilot, and observer in the case of a two seater, needed
to move freely in the cockpit to reach their machine gun and to
look in all directions for the enemy. A bulky parachute strapped
to the pilot's back would seriously restrict this movement. Pilots
were also concerned that the parachute might become tangled,
hindering a quick exit after landing.
The weight of a bulky, canvas parachute was yet another
excuse for not using them. The weight would have been a
significant drag on the 80hp engines of 1914.
By far the most controversial reason for not deploying
parachutes was due to some questionable reasoning by the
military high command. It seems that some chairbound experts
believed that a parachute might encourage a pilot to abandon his
aircraft prematurely resulting in the loss of planes. Unfortu-
nately, many airmen lost their lives before this was proven untrue
It was suppposed to be the war to end all wars" but unfortu-
nately, this was not the case. New military alliances were formed
and Europe was again divided. Three new political groups
apppeared that threatened democrary. In Russia was Lenin's
Bolshevism, Italy had Mussolini's fascismn and Hitler was in
Germany with his Nazis.
During the Great War, the art of war was transformed from
a system of artillery barrages, cavalry charges and marching
infantrymen to battlefields of tanks, machine guns, and poison
gas. New battle fields were opened with submarines under the sea
and aircraft in the skies. The world had entered the 20th century
and the age of global warfare.
No one in high quarters had any time to devote to investigating
the merits of an appliance whose purpose was so ridiculeosly
irrelevant to war as the saving of life in the air
- R E Calthrop, 1916
If any of you wants to go to eaven quick, nows yer chance
They're askin' for volunteers to learn to fly and become officers in
the bloody RFC So if any of you feels like committen' suicide step
two paces forward out of the ranks and I'll take 'is Name But
remember it a `ell of a long way to fall and you only falls once
- RFC British Sergeant Major
Anouncement for volunteers, 1917
Aside from the risks associated with early aircraft construc-
tion, flying was good duty at the start of the war in 1914. Neither
the airplane nor pilots were equipped with weapons. The airplane
was only used for reconnaissance and aerial artillery spotting. Not
having weapons, pilots from opposite sides would wave at each
other when they passed. Airmen were amoung the highest paid in
the armed servces at 53 cents a day
The chivalrous behavior among pilots soon changed, how-
ever as each side realized the pilots they were cheerfully waving
at were carrying strategic information about troop movements
Pilots began to take pot shots at one another with their pistols
carbines and an occasional shotgun. Bricks were thrown in an
attempt to rip thru the wing fabric, break the delicate framework,
or even clunk the pilot on the head with a lucky toss. Bricks were
later replaced with hand grenades. Pilots feared a structural
failure in their own aircraft much more than a random pot shot
from a passing plane
Soon a new idea started to take form. What would it take for
one aircraft to bring down another? A machine gun would give
enough fire power but the 80 hp airplanes of 1914, loaded down
with a pilot, machine gun, and ammo, could barely get of the
ground. Clearly, the aircraft needed improvements
All of the major powers (Britain, France, Italy, Russia, the
US, and Germany) made aircraft improvements in early 1915
Advances were made in engines, structure, speed, and lift these
improvements enabled pilots to carry machine guns and ammu-
nition. In order to avoid the propeller, the machine guns were
mounted on the top wing, in the observer's cockpit behind the
pilot, and in front of the pilot at an angle to avoid the propeller
A French pilot, Roland Garros, began to think of ways to
improve his aircraft. He thought that the best design would have
the machine gun pointing straight ahead in the pilot's line of sight
Unfortunately, the propeller is in the way but Garros had an idea
On April Fools Day, 1915, Roland Garros took to the air in
the first plane that had a machine gun mounted to fire through the
propeller blades. He did it by fitting a metal collar on the inside
of the propeller blades. He figured that most of the bullets would
go through the blades. The seven percent that hit the blade would
be safely deflected away by the angle of the metal collar. His
experiment worked Garros shot down five enemy aircraft in two
week to become the first ace.
Unfortunately, on April 19th Garros went down behind
enemy lines with engine trouble. He was captured before he could
burn his plane to hide his invention the secret was out. Within
two days a Dutch engineer, Anthony Fokker, analyzed Garros'
plane and designed a better method of firing through the propel
ler. This was called the interrupter gear. It mechanically linked
the guns trigger to a cam on the engine shaft that would time the
bullets so the machine gun would fire only when the bullets
would go between the blades and not hit the propeller. It was the
beginning of the Fokker Scourge. By the beginning of 1916, the
British and French also had interrupter gears
Tracer bullets were also introduced during the war. Mixed
in with the normal ammunition, they were a great aid to the pilot
allowing him to watch the trajectoy of his stream of bullets and
adjust his aim
The improvements in aircraft design along with the syn-
chronized machine gun enabled pilots to go one on one in the air
The fighter plane was born and it set the stage for aerial warfare
Fighters were soon grouped into squads and sent on mis-
sions to rid the skies of enemy planes. The enemy would likewise
send squads to counter. The resulting battles became known as
the "dogfight. Groups of planes would dive, circle, climb, and
roll, trying to avoid being shot at or trying to maneuver into a
position to shoot
The biplane armed with a synchronized machine gun was the
basic fighter during 1916. In 1917, a second forward firing machine
gun was added and rapid improvements were made in speed, maneu-
verabiility rate of climb, and performance, especially at high altitudes
(above 15,000 ft) The twin machine gun biplane became the basic
fighter for the rest of the war - with one exception. In February 1917,
the British Sopwith Company introduced the first triplane, reasoning
if two wings provided better maneuverability than one then three
wings would be better than two
The triplane, or Tripe as it was called provided exceptional
maneuverability but it sacrificed speed. Germany soon intro-
duced its own triplane. The Fokker triplane was favored by
Germanys von Richthofen (the Red Baron). It took an excep-
tional pilot to handle the triplane but if flown properly it was
unsurpassed in close combat. Ultimately speed proved to be
more important than maneuverability and the triplane didn't
survive as a war machine
Fighter tactics and strategies were developed during the
course of the war by the pilot who lived to talk about it. Almost
evey form of air combat has its beginnings in World War I. Pilots
freely shared their ideas and experiences trying to make their
squad the best. These open discussions at the end of the day led
to a series of flying tactics and strategies that are still in use today
"The speeds and altitudes, turning radius and weapons have
changed dramatically, but the basic maneuvers are still very
similar to World War I
- Kurt Schroeder
Chief Test Pilot for the F14 Tomcat Time Magazine
THE BOMBERS
Yes we dropped bombs and yes we scared an old woman
- Hauptmann Oswald Boecke. 1916
The thought or aeriel bombing inspired writers as soon as man
dreamed of flying. Visions of huge bombers sailing overhead
raining death and destruction from the sky thrilled readers long
before the start of World War I
The first bombing from an aircraft occurred on November 1
1911 during Italy's war with Turkey, Lt Giulio Gavotti leaned
over the edge of his cockpit and dropped a few primitive bombs
on Turkish troops in Libya. The bombs kicked up alot of dust and
frightened some camel mounted tribesmen, but did little else
Still, the event made international headlines in newspapers
proclaiming: TERRORIZED TURKS SCATTER UPON UNEX-
PECTED CELESTIAL ASSAULT and AVIATOR DROPS BOWBS
ON ENEWY CAMP. Thus began a new in warfare - aerial bombing
By the start of World War I in 1914 bombing was a reality but
few military leaders looked to the airplane to do the job. It simply
wasn't capable of lifting enough weight. Instead, the dirigible was
thought to be the future of bombing. Although it wasn't yet
maneuverable, the dirigible could carry about seven times the
weight of an airplane, fly three times higher, and ten times longer
The most celebrated and widely used dirigible of the war was
perfected by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany, which
he modestly called the Zeppelin. The massive airships were over
300ft long and could lift over 3000lbs of bombs. They were nearly
invulnerable to attack since aircraft couldn't fly as high as the
Zeppelin nor could anti aircraft guns reach that high. The Zeppe-
lin could only be hit when it was on the ground, or rising from and
descending to its base
When the War began, the British population was in near
hysteria over the Zeppelin threat. For the first time an enemy
could fly over British cities and drop bombs on the unsuspecting
population below. Something had to be done. Winston Churchill,
First Lord of the Admiralty, had the answer. The Royal Naval Air
Service (RNAS) would make a pre-emptive strike on the Zeppelin
sheds at Dusseldorf, Germany
On October 8, 1914, RNAS Flight Lieutenant R L Marix set
off in his Sopwith Tabloid with four 20lb bombs. Though he
encountered bad weather, he managed to find the Zeppelin sheds
at Dusseldorf. Marix dropped all four bombs from a height of 600
feet. Only one bomb hit the target, but that was all that was needed
the brand new hydrogen filled Zeppelin Z-9 was sitting inside
The giant airship exploded with flames shooting 200 feet into the
air. Marix took heavy fire from the ground troops but managed to
land his badlv shot up Tabloid about twenty miles from Antwerp,
Belgium. He then borrowed a bicycle from a peasant and peddled
safely back to his base.
After that, the Zeppelin bases were heavily guarded by anti-
aircraft guns, ground troops, and interceptor aircraft. It soon
became very difficult to attack the Zeppelin bases. This meant that
the giant airships had to be attacked in the air. Unfortunately, no one
up to this point managed to shoot a dirigible out of the sky
On January 19 1915, Germany launched the first of 51
Zeppelin bombing raids on England. Two Zeppelins attacked
several coastal towns killing four people and injuring 16. The
populations fears had come true. Four months later on the night
of May 31, 1913 London was bombed. killing seven and injuring
14 others. The public became outraged not so much from the
destruction but from the thought of enemy airships flying over
their country uncontested
It is particularly humiliating to allow an enemy to come over
your, capital city and hurl bombs upon it. His aim may be very
bad the casualties may be few, but the morole effect is wholly
undesirable When the Zeppelins came to London they could have
scored a galling technical triumph over us if they had just
showered us with confetti
- R P Hearne
Aviation Writer
England made a determined effort to defend against the
Zeppelins - searchlights, smoke screens, sulfuric acid sprays
anti aircraft guns and interceptor fighters armed with incendiary
bullets all of which had little or no effect. It wasn't until
September 2 1916 that a Zeppelin was brought down on British
soil. Lieutenant W Leefe Robinson caught up with one in his BE
2 and put three drums of ammunition into it before it exploded in a
giant ball of fire. Englnd rejoiced that the giant air ships could be
brought down. Robinson became an instant hero. He was awarded the
Victoria Cross Britain's highest military award for bravery and valor,
one of only 19 airmen to receive the medal during the war
Strangely, this one victory was the beginning of the end for
the Zeppelin bomber. It seemed to take the heart out of the
German aviators, some of which witnessed the spectacular death
of their sister ship. From other Zeppelins on the same raid
Suddenly the idea of flying high in the air in a highly flamable
gas bag affected the morale of the German aviators. The hunters
became the hunted
By the beginning of 1917, England had an elaborate air
defense network consisting of an early warning system poweful
searchlights for night time spotting, a multitude of anti aircraft
guns, and improved fighter aircraft that could fly above 20,000
feet. The giant Zeppelins were being driven back or brought
down. The Zeppelin raids continued in 1917 but the number of
raids decreased signifcantly. By the summer of 1918 they were
stopped completely. The mighty Zeppelin bomber passed into history
While the Zeppelin raids had a significant psychological
affect on the British population, the bombing did relatively little
damage. The Zeppelins could rarely reach London (the primary
target), and when they did, they often couldn't find it. The huge
airships were difficult to maueuver, and the winds would fre-
quently carry them far off course. Many crashed due to bad
weather, structural failure, or engine trouble. As the airlane was
improved it seemed perfectly logical that more powerful aircraft
become the bomber of the future
On August 30, 1914, scarcely one month after the start of
World War I, Paris became the first major city to be bombed from
an airplane. A single German plane, the Taube monoplane,
piloted by Lieutenant Richard von Thiedeman dropped five
small bombs aimed at a railway station. He missed, but one
woman was killed and several other people were wounded. He
also dropped a propaganda notice attached to a streamer in the
colours of the German Empire which read
'The German Army is at the gates of Paris. You hane no choice
but to surrender
- Lieutenant von Hindelsen
The little Taube caused such a stur in Paris that a single plane was
sent to bomb Paris every day at about 5 PM. Parisians became so used
to the plane showing up every evening that they named it the "five
o clock Taube. Some set up viewing areas to observe the curious
intruder. The five o'clock Taubes dropped about fifty tiny bombs,
causing little damage. The bombing was discontinued after Paris
tightened its air defenses and shot down several planes
The Taube bombing raids hinted of what was to come. All
of the waring countries realized the need for larger aircraft
designed for bombing. A long range, heavy lift bomber airlane
was needed to make a strik deep in enemy territory with enough
destructive force to damage a strategic target. By mid 1915, bomber
aircraft began to appear from France, Britain, and Germany, though
they were not real successful. The Russians, with the Sikorsky IM
bombers, and the Italians, with the Caproni Ca 4 Bombers, were
further advanced but they too needed improvements.
By late 1916, design improvements were made in engine
horse power and the wood airframe was replaced with steel
tube welding. In November 1916, Britain rolled out the
Handley Page 0/400 bomber, a monster aircraft with a 100 ft
wing span. The 0/400 could fly nearly 100 miles per hour and
carry three quarters of a ton of bombs with a range of 650 miles
- a bloody paralyzer as Britain's Captain Murray Sueter
called it. Similar bombers were introduced by Germany with
the Gotha and France with the Voison. By the end of 1916,
bombing was commonplace
Aerial bombardment opened a new chapter in the air war.
Bombing strategy evolved into three basic objectives stra-
tegic, tactical and psychological. Strategic bombing involved
strikes at military targets: factories producing war material,
communication lines, and railroads. Tactical bombing directly
affected the battlefield: trenches, headquarters, supply depots,
troop concentrations, and cannon positions. Psychological bomb
ing was intended to destoy the civilian morale so they would no
longer support the war effort the latter usually meant bombing
cities or targets that would disrupt civilian life
By the end of the war, the bomber emerged as the most
dangerous weapon in the skies. What started as a large, clumsy,
gas filled death trap became a powerful war machine that could
destroy military and civilian targets deep in enemy territory. This
was a weapon from which no one was safe
AIRCRAFT OF THE GREAT WAR
Early in the war it was difficult to identify aircraft from the
ground. So soldiers often fired on their own planes by mistake. By
the end of 1914 airplanes had special markings to show which
side they represented. Germany and Austria-Hungary used the
black Maltese Cross. The allies used roundels. Roundels were
round bullseye like markings. France used red white and blue
the Colors of the French revolution. Great Britain used the same
colors but reversed red and blue so blue was on the outside with
a red center. The United States also used the same colors with
red on the outside. then blue with a white center
Of the dozens of fighters used during the war. the Sopwith Camel
and the Fokker Dr 1 stand out. The Camel was popular because it
was one of the best fighters England built during the war and
because of its widespread use. The Dr 1 was the legendary and
highly manuverable triplane flown by the Red Baron. The Fokker
could outclimb the Camel but the Camel could out run the Fokker
This is reflected in the game when the dogfight rules are set up
properly. The Camel should climb slower than the Fokker and
the Camels maximum speed should be greater than the Fokkers
You can adjust the characteristics of these planes to simulate other
aircraft by changing dogfight rules
Tommy Sopwith was born in 1888. In 1910 he was one of the
first to fly across the English Channel to France. After establishing
the Sopwith Aviation Co. Ltd in 1912 he introduced his famous
Sopwith Camel in 1917. The Camel was the first British scout that
was arrived with two synchronized machine guns. It was very
maneuverable. Outmatched only by the Fokker Dr
The feisty Camel was hard to control but an efficient
weapon to those who could fly her. Among Britains best
fighters, it shot down 1294 enemy aircraft more than any
other aircraft in the war. It was the most common fighter of
many British and American squadrons
The Sopwith Company built a total of 5,49O Camels. In
1933, Sopwith merged with H G Hawker Engineering Com-
pany and after a series of acquisitions over the years.it evolved
into todays Hawker Siddeley Group
Handley Page Limited of London was founded by Frederick
Handley Page before the war. Early in the war the British
Admiralty wanted airplanes that were capable of long range
missions. The Handley page design won Admiralty approval. The
Admiralty asked Handley Page to build a big airplane that could
carry loads over long distances. First Page built the 0/100 with a
100 foot wingspan. The 0/400 was basically the same plane but
with some improvements. It was the standard heavy British
bomber in the latter part of the war Nicknamed .the Bloody
Paralyser. It was one of the largest aircraft in the war
The founder director and chief designer of the Fokker
Airplane Works of Germany was a Dutchman named Anthony
Fokker. His was one of only two German companies that special
ized in single seat fighters. The Eindecker monoplane series (one
deck or single wing) fought in the skies over Germany until 1916
when they became out classed by new allied models that took over
air supremacy from the Germans
A gifted young engineer named Reinhold Platz became the
chief designer for Fokker. He designed the new Dr 1. This colourful
German triplane (Dr. stood for Drei-decker or three wings) was
introduced in 1917 and used by the Red Baron for the last 21 of
his 80 victories. It could out climb the British Camel but its top
speed was only 103 miles per hour. Once a Dr 1 was on your tail
about the only way to shake him was a steep high speed dive
The Gotha was the standard German heavy bomber of the
war. With a 78 foot wingspan it could operate at high altitudes and
was quite maneuverable for a large aircraft. It had twin pusher
props (the propellers faced the back of the plane) and carried its
bombs externally. The deadly Gotha could fly nearly 90 miles per
hour and carry 1100 pounds of bombs. These planes often flew in
formation to protect each other. They were armed with one forward
firing and one rear firing Parabellum machine gun. By June of 1917,
Gothas had sufficient range to bomb London
GENERALS
When a call to arms was answered
by a hundred thousand men.
There were lots of chaps in Britain.
twixt the age of four and ten.
Who`d have answered to their countrys call
and hurried off to war
If Kitchener had but reduced
the fighting age to four
- "Little Folk" poem
Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, Great Britain
Before the start of the Great War, Britain felt that she needed
only a small army because of her huge navy. Compared to
Germanys 4 million soldiers and Frances 3.5 million, England
had only 125,000. To raise an army. Lord Kitchener was called
from retirement to become Minister of War. In the first 8 months,
the British army grew to 750,000 soldiers. Kitchener refused to
send into battle until they were properly trained. The Germans
called this army Kitcheners Mob
Kitchener also appeared on a famous poster. The American
painter James Montgomery Flagg did the classic I Want You
poster in 1917. It showed Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer saying
I want you for the U S Army. This painting was based on an
earlier British painting from 1914. It showed Lord Kitchener
pointing at the viewer and saying, Your country needs you.
In June of 1916, Kitchener was riding on the HMS
Hampshire enroute to Russia when it was sunk by German
mines. He was lost at sea.
In the game. Kitcheners fighting style is a composite of his own
and that of the following British Generals
Field Marshall Sir John French led the British Expeditionary
forces when the war began. At the battle of Marne he forced the retreat
of the German right wing. By 1915, French and Kitchener were not
seeing eye to eye and French was finally relieved of his command.
French was replaced with General Sir Douglas Haig. Haig was a
controversial leader that didnt get along with the French or with his
own British leadership. Some consider him to be incompetent others
consider him to be one of Britains finest soldiers
Sir Archibald Murray once served as Sir John Frenchs Chief
of Staff. He maintained a short supply line and a slow but steady
advance. He defended the Suez Canal from the Turkish forces
General Hugh Montague "Boom" Trenchard tried to make the air
force as efficient as possible. He got his nickname from his
booming loud voice. When he was a young lieutenant in India
he was called the Camel. The nickname referred to the loud
grunting noises he emitted when anyone addressed him and he
had nothing to say. Some said he had trouble expressing himself
but he was a fighter. His motto was the will and power to attack
the enemy, to force him to fight and defeat him. He would send
aircraft in groups rather than flying alone believing that offensive
action was the key to aerial superiority. He wanted an airforce that
could carry the war deep into enemy territory. He convinced the
British War Office that an air force should be organized to attack
important factories deep inside of Germany. As soon as he had his
Royal Flying Corps at the front, he started bombing German supply
lines with everything he had and didnt let up until the war was over
Lord Kitchener, British Secretary of State for War, represents the
British high command in The Ancient Art of War in the Skies
Allied Commander in Chief Ferdinand Foch, France
The French tactic was to rely on the offensive spirit. They would
simply rush headfirst with a great deal of "elan" (spirit) into the
German army. This strategy was based on the School of Attack. In
order to attack only two things are necessary to know where the
enemy is and decide what to do is of no consequence
This resulted in many French soldiers being killed very quickly
General Joseph J C Joffre was the French Commander in
Chief at the start of the war. His tactic was the old style war of
attrition which proved to be less effective in this war because of
a new weapon called the machine gun. In spite of this, he knew
how to handle soldiers and he saved the French Army from defeat
at the Battle of Marne in 1914. He would make a limited retreat
and look for an offensive opening
General Robert Nivelle would concentrate his forces into
one powerful unit. He called this tactic a mighty blow of a
gigantic fist. Unfortunately he drove his gigantic fist into a
massacre in 1917 and was relieved of his command.
General Henri Phillipe Petain had an aggressive though
cautious fighting style and maintained a strong supply line
called the Hero of Verdnn, he was intelligent and skillful. He
felt Verdun must be held as a symbol of French determination
The French soldiers trusted him and had high morale. His tactic
was called elastic defense in depth. He would leave a thin front
line and put his major strength farther back out of range of
artillery fire. This would lure the enemy to advance where he
would go down with machine gun and artillery fire.
Before the war began, Ferdinand Foch was a professor at the
French War College. When war broke out he commanded part of
the French Second Army. In 1918, he became the General in Chief
of the Allied Armies in France. He Favoured the use of a new
weapon, the tank, to lead the attack rather than the artillery.
Near the end of the war, he refused to send the full allied
force against the German offensives and kept a reserve
offensive force. the German effort started to faulter, he
counter punched with the reserve force and forced the German
army to surrender.
Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany
Some of the arrogant German leaders held a belief that they were
a superior race. This caused them to underestimate their opponents
A German tactic was to hit weak points in the Allied line with a
short, hard barrage of artillery fire that was quickly followed by
shock troops
Luftsperre (air blockade) was a concept where they would
spread their air force in a thin line along the front. This proved to
be an ineffective strategy
Although spread thin. the German air force had two things
in their favor. First, they fought a defensive style and let the Allied
planes come to them. The advantage of this was that during
battles they were some times assisted by ground fire and if one of
their planes was crippled but able to land safelv, they would be in
friendly hands. Secondly, the wind was in their favour. The
prevailing wind was a West wind. After a battle, crippled allied
planes had to return to their bases fighting the wind all the way.
The German airmen were expected to follow orders explic-
itly. This restricted them from using their own initiative if the
circumstances changed
The German bombing strategy was weak. At Verdun, the
German artillery had imobilized the French railroads. This left
the French with only one supply and reinforcement line. It was
a road called la Voie Sacree (the Sacred Way). The road was
always crowded with troops and supplies. If the Germans could
have destroyed this road the war might have had a very different
ending. Instead the bombing orders were to bomb railway junctions.
Kaiser Wilhelm II the Supreme War Lord and Commander in Chief of
Germany was indecisive, arrogant, vain and hot tempered. He loved
power but didnt know what to do with it. It was said that he operated
like a ship with a bad steering in a body of water with strong but
conflicting currents.
He reluctantly agreed to the bombing of London. On
November 9, 1918, he abdicated the throne as armed mobs rioted
thru Berlin. The next day he fled across the Dutch countryside to
live the rest of his life in exile.
The Kaisers fighting style represents a variety of German
Generals. The Kaiser's son, Crown Prince Wilhelm commanded
the German 5th army. General Karl von Bulow commanded the
German Second Army and was aggressive against any odds
General Helmuth von Moltkes job was to carry out the
Schlieffen Plan at the start of the War Moltke lost control of his
200 mile long battle front. Joffre took advantage of the situation
and beat von Moltke at the battle of the Marne. Soon after that, von
Moltke was relieved of duty
General Erich von Falkenhayn was the Chief of the German
General Staff. It was his idea to attack Verdun and bleed France
white. Opinion is divided on whether that was a strategic
blunder or a brilliant innovation.
Eric von Ludendorf became a hero during the invasion of
Belgium. He would avoid strong points and move forward
quickfy. This would isolate these strong points that could be dealt
with later. Other times, he would use "hammerblows" against a
point in the enemy line until it broke and then move through the
break. He would use a strategic withdrawal to regroup. Unfortu-
nately he let his troop's morale fall apart. By the end of the war he
couldn't handle the pressure and had a nervous breakdown
Helmut von Spike. The Fatherland
Helmut von Spike is the self appointed Junior General of the
Fatherland. This crazy cross eyed hun is unpredictable, unruly
and flatulent. He is related by marriage to Prince Trench Foote,
the great grandson of the infamous Crazy Ivan conqueror of
many ancient lands. Unpredictable and illogical, some say there
is a method to his madness but that is unlikely.
Sun Tzu. China
Long ago, Sun Tzu lived in the Chinese kingdom of Wu. His
book. The Art of War. so impressed the King of Wu that Sun Tzu
was invited to give a demonstration of his leadership skills at the
Kings castle
The king of Wu wanted to see if the demonstration could be
carried out with women acting as soldiers. Dozens of his loyely
concubines were brought into the courtyard. The king would
later regret his desire to be amused this way
The concubines were divided into two groups, and the
King's two favorite concubines were made the leader of each. Sun
Tzu acting as the general, carefully explained the orders he would
give. However, the first time he gave the orders the women broke
into laughter. He carefully explained the orders again to be sure
that he was not at fault. Then again gave the order again, the
women dissolved into laughter. Sun Tzu announced that he had
explained the orders carefully and could not be at fault. The concubine
leader of each group was at fault and should be executed
The King became very alarmed and announced that Sun Tzu had
proved his leadership qualities and did not need to prove it
furthur by carrying out the beheadings.
Sun Tzu then told the King that as the appointed leader of troops
there were times when he had to carry out certain orders the King
might not think necessary. The concubines were beheaded and two
others move up to take their place.
As you can imagine, Sun Tzu's next orders were followed
very seriously and Sun Tzu became General of the Kingdom of Wu
For nearly twenty years. the armies of Wu defeated their
enemies. After both Sun Tzu and the King of Wu died, the ancient
kingdom soon fell
Sun Tzu's book, The Art of War, has been studied by many
of the most brilliant military minds throughout history. The great
Mongol leader Genghis Khan used The Art of War as the basis for
his own philosophy and created the most awesome army the
world had ever seen. In 1782, The Art of War was translated into
French by a Jesuit priest and some believe this translation inspired
the young Napoleon. Mao Tse Tung was greatly influenced by
Sun Tzus book when he wrote his Little Red Book. Hitler also
studied the book. More recently Marines in Operation Desert
Storm were studying The Art of War. The Art of War is as valid
today as it was 25 centuries ago when it was written
THE ACES
Fly on dear boy.
From this dark world of strife,
On to the promised land,
To eternal life
- Epitaph for James McCudden
The fighter pilots of the Great War were abreed apart. Most were
young men just out of their teens. All were volunteers. None wore
a parachute. They flew delicate planes put together with wire,
canvas and wood that a single spark could set ablaze. They
engaged in combat in the bitter cold of high altitudes with open
cockpit monoplanes, biplanes and triplanes. They were a new
kind of Knight whose duels were called dogfights. They were
heroes during the War and legends forever.
Most of the aces received their country's highest medals. The
German medal, the Blue Max, is called the Order Pour le Merite.
It has a French name because it was instituted during the reign of
Frederick the Great, when French was the official language of the
Prussian court. It has an F with a crown on it which stands for
Frederick. In 1916, Immelman and Boelcke each shot down their
eighth victory and Kaiser Wilhelm II presented them with the
Blue Max. The equivalent medal in England was the Victoria
Cross and in France it was the Legion d`Honneur
The top aces were a motley group. Guynemer was frail and
sickly, Fonck was a braggart and Mannock could barely see out
of one eye. Most were in their early twenties. As young as they
were, the airplane was even younger. At the start of the war the
ability of man to fly heavier than air aircraft was barely 10 years
old! The Wright brothers first flew in 19O3. By the end of the war
the aeroplane was only 15 years old
Pets and mascots were popular at the airfields. Dogs and cats
were common. Richthofen had a Great Dane named Moritz and
Fonck had a stork named Helen. Albert Ball had a hutch of rabbits
The Lafayete Escadrille adopted a pair of lion cubs
All of the air fighters of the war were heroes to their
countrymen. but a select few, perhaps one percent, became
legendary. This tiny minority had the mysterious ability to score
victories far above the rest. The term "ace" was sports slang in
France at the time. It was derived from the high card and meant
champion. While an ace was considered anyone who shot down
5 enemy aircraft, some aces scored 4O, 5O, 6O or more victories
The average life expectancy of a new airman on the western front
was 5 weeks. Who were these men that beat the odds and what
abilities did they possess that allowed them to outscore 99 per cent
of their comrades?
Many skills were needed to become a superior fighter pilot:
flying ability, marksmanship, reflexes, determination, coolness
under fire, good eyesight, and experience. However, even these
qualifications didn't guarantee a top scoring ace. There was
another factor which today we call "situation awareness" - an
almost psychic ability to be aware of everything going on in one's
immediate vicinity, and then to instinctively make the right move
Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen, "Red Baron"
Country: Germany
Medals: Pour le Merite (Blue Max), Iron Cross, Austrian
War Cross
Victories: 80
A charismatic mystique surrounded Manfred von Richthofen,
the infamous Red Baron. Even his closest friends could not fully
understand the popular war hero. He was a compassionate
human being who once refused to fire on a helpless pilot whose
guns had jammed during a dogfight. He was also a devoted son
who regularly wrote to his mother throughout the war. But
Richthofen has also been described as an arrogant egomaniac and
a ruthless killer who enjoyed running up his list of kills as
Germnanys top scoring ace
Richthofen had a strong ego which drove him to do some
rather strange things. At one point, early in his career, he decided
that his plane should stand out above all other planes in the sky
It had to be easily distinguished in a dogfight to his squad and to
the enemy. It was then that he chose the spectacular red color for
his airplane. The French called it, Diable Rouge (the Red Devil)
It soon became his trademark. Soon all of Richthofen's squad
custom painted their planes with dazzling colors and fancy patterns
this led the Allies to call the German squads "The Flying Circus"
Richthofen was also an avid souvenir collector. He would
take anything he could salvage from a fallen plane, a machine
gun, a pistol, propeller fragments. For each plane he shot down,
Richthofen had a silver cup engraved with the date, victory
number, and type of plane. Sixty silver cups were in his collection
before Richthofen was told that due to the war effort there was no
more silver in Germany for cups
Manfred vou Richthofen was the highest scoring ace of
World War I with 80 victories to his credit. He was not considered
a natural pilot but he had the ability to quickly position his aircraft
into an advantageous position in relation to his opponent. He
would then close in to finish his victim off with an accurate burst
of fire. An excellent marksman.
Richthofen's best skill lay in his shooting. He was a brilliant
organizer and tactical leader.
Richthofen was a stickler for military etiquette and a strict
disciplinarian who planned his attack to minimise risks.
On September 17, 1916 he shot down his first plane. In mid
January 1917 with his 16th victory, he was awarded the Blue Max
and assigned to lead his first fighter squadron, Jasta II.
By the end of April Richthofen had 52 victories to become Germany's
leading ace and a national hero. He was soon named to lead Germany's
first fighter wing, Jagdgeschwader No 1, composed of an elite group
of Jasta squads. Richthofen trained this wing to be the most efficient
fighter force of World War I. It claimed 644 victories with only 56
pilots killed and 52 wounded.
Victory belongs to him who is calmest, who shoots best, and who
has the cleverest brain in a moment of danger
- Manfred Von Richthofen, April 1917
Fate! The exact cause of the Red Baron's downing is disputed
to this day. He was shot down April 21, 1918 over the Somme
River while in pursuit of Wilfred May who had broken away from
a dogfight with The Flying Circus. Richthofen's red Fokker Dr 1
triplaue suddenly glided to earth. It landed peacefully in a field next
to the Somme. Australian ground troops found the pilot slumped in
his seat with a single bullet wound through the chest
Canadian pilot Roy Brown, flying a Sopwith Camel, had
been attacking Richthofen from behind while Richthofen was
chasing May. Brown saw the plane go down, flew back to his base
and claimed the victory unaware that it was Richthofen. But an
Australian machine gunner on the grouud also claims to have
fired the fatal shot.
In a waning age of chivalry, Richthofen was buried by the
Allies with full military honors, complete with a gun salute. More
than a hundred pilots attended the funeral of their respected foe
A nearby British air squadron sent flowers to the funeral of their
late enemy. After the funeral, a British pilot flew over Richthofen's
airdrome and dropped this message along with a picture of his
flower covered grave
To the German Flying Corps , Rittmeister Baron Manfred von
Richthofen was killed in aerial combat April 21, 1918. On that
fateful day, Manfred von Richthofen passed into legend
He was 25
a glorious death. Fight on and fly on to the last drop of blood
and fuel to the last beat of the heart and the last kick of the
motor: a death for a knight a toast for his fellows,
friend and foe
- Manfred von Richthofen, 1916
Capitaine Rene Fonck
French Ace of Aces
Country: France
Medals: Legion d`Honneur
(Legion of Honour), Medaille
Militaire (Military Medal)
Victories: 75
Greatest of all Allied Aces, Fonck was cool and aloof, more admired
than liked by his men. He was never at a loss for words to describe
his successes. When he first became an ace in 1917
he described the achievement as my new found glory. After a
few more victories he proclaimed himself a virtuoso.
Although abrasive and tactless, Fonck had the skill to back
up his remarks. He handled his plane with absolute confidence
and was a deadly marksman. Second only to Richthofen in
victories! he was never shot down.
Fonck was one of the war's best aerial marksmen. He alwavs
scored with a minimum of bullets, sometimes only four or five
On May 6th and again on September 26, 1918, he shot down
six planes in a single day. He was the only fighter pilot of the
war to do so.
Fate: Rene Fonck survived the war and died of natural causes
in 1953
Major Edward Mick Mannock, The One Eyed Ace
Country: Great Britain
Highest Medal: Victoria Cross
Victories: 73
Mannock had problems enlisting in the air service because
of his age, 29, and the fact that he had bad vision in one eye. He
managed to bluff his way into the air service by memorizing the eye
chart. His love of England brought about an intense hatred for the
enemy. He did not believe in fighting a gentlemanly war. He didnt
like war, his only goal was to rid the skies of the enemy. When he shot
down an enemy plane, he believed he was exterminating evil
Mannock was the greatest British ace and perhaps the greatest air
fighter who ever lived. He is described as a cool calculating
technician. He had a conservative fighting style and a scientific
handling of his aircraft and guns. He was a firm believer in
formation flying and careful marksmanship. This made him a superb
patrol leader
Fate: On July 26 1918 a bullet from the ground pierced Mick
Mannock's gas tank and his plane went down in flames. He was 31
years old.
When he died every man in the squadron wept
- Captain Ira "Taffy"
Jones RAF, 1918
Capitaine Georges Guynemer "Winged Sword of France"
Country: France
Medals: Legion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor) Medaille Militaire
(Military Medal)
Victories: 54
Guynemer was a frail and sickly young man who twice failed
to pass the army physical. He was given the chance to fly in the Air
Service because of his mechanical ability and his fathers influ-
ence. And yet he was an adored hero of the French people. His
mail was filled with love letters from girls and women proposing
marriage. He was followed in the streets by people requesting
his autograph. Myth and romanticism surrounded him
On the ground he was moody and rarely in good health. In
the air he was terror itself. Biographer Henri Bordeaux described
Guynemer as he prepared for combat,
His face became deathly pale and his eyes flashed with a strange
light. His personality transformed almost in terms of a seizure
He carried fire and massacre into the sky
Guynemer was a technician who preferred to work solo. He knew
every nut and bolt in his plane and was an excellant marksman
Flying with complete disregard for odds and safty he was shot
down seven times, wounded twice, and by some miracle survived
He had a method of combat that almost seemed suicidal.
Fate: The exact circumstances of Guynemer's death are shrouded
in mystery. His aircraft simply vanished while he was on patrol
September 11 1917. Neither body nor plane were ever found
He was 22
He belonged to the skies, and the skies have taken him
- French Cardinal at memorial service, 1917
Captain Albert Ball
Country: Great Britain
Medals: Victoria Cross and Legion of Honor
(posthumous) Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross,
Distinguished Flying Cross
Victories: 44
Albert Ball was a shy loner who hated killing. After he shot down
a plane, he would return to his aerodrome and try to put it out of his
mind by playing his violin. He liked rabbits (he kept a hutch of them
in his hangar) and gardening. Between missions he would spend hours
working in the garden that he planted with seeds sent from his family
He was the only pilot to fly without a helmet and goggles
An ace at 19, Ball was a daredevil pilot who would take on any
odds. He had one rule: attack everything. He would often charge into
a formation of enemy planes with guns blazing. His reputation was of
sheer courage, almost suicidal. He rarely, if ever retreated
On one occasion in August 1916, Ball flew alone in his Nieuport
to challenge a group of German fighters based at Cambrai. When they
rose to intercept, Ball flew straight into their midst, scattering the
squad. He soon shot down two of his attackers. Even with the odds
against him, Ball refused to turn back until his ammunition was
gone. Finally when his engine was spluttering from a direct hit
he pointed his plane towards his lines. As the plane drifted away
he drew his pistol and fired it at the enemy. He crash landed behind
his lines, one of six times he had done so.
Ball was very good at stalking an enemy aircraft. His favorite
technique was to come up from under and behind in the crew's blind
spot where he could fire a close range burst.
Fate: The exact circumstances of his death are one of the most
debated of all World War I pilots. He dove into a cloud in pursuit of
a German aircraft on May7, 1917. When he emerged from the cloud
his plane was out of control and crashed outside the village of
Annoeullin. Pulled from the wreckage, Ball died in the arms of a French
farm girl. Some three weeks after he crashed, Lothar von Richthofen
(brother of Manfred) claimed the victory. It was later discovered that
Lothar was in Berlin on sick leave on May 7th. Another story has him
being shot down from a secret machine gun nest hidden in a church
clock tower near ihe village of Annoeullin. It seems Ball had the habit
of flying over the tower to check his watch after each battle. This made
for an easy ambush. The mystery has never been solved. He was 20
Nothing makes me feel more rotten than seeing them go down. He is
just a good chap with very little guts, trying to do his best
- Albert Ball, 1917
Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke, "Father of Air Tactics"
Country: Germany
Medals: Pour le Merite (Blue Max), Iron Cross
Victories: 40
Oswald Boelcke, Germanys first national air hero, was a kind
man who would often visit his victims in the hospital or bring flowers
to the graves of those that didn't make it. In 1916, less than two years
in to the war, he wrote the Dicta Boelcke the first set of rules for aerial
combat. Through his success as a fighter pilot and his scholarly
character, Boelcke was admired and respected by both his stu-
dents and the pilots on both sides
A superb air fighter, Boelcke flew instinctively. Frequently
he would rise before dawn and set out on patrol alone. He would
often return with a victory and then tell the other fighter pilots
about his adventure
Boelcke was credited with developing the first Jasta (hunter)
squadron, an elite squadron of fighters. A Jasta squadron would attack
a smaller squadron of Allied fighters, thereby disposing of them with
relative ease, while avoiding a squadron that was bigger than theirs
He took advantage of his fighting experiences and passed his
knowledge on to his students. He was regarded as a strategist and
tactical genius with a sharp militarv mind. Many of his ideas formed
the rules of air fighting that are still in use today.
Fate: Ironically, Boelcke was killed as a result of a flying accident
with one of his students, The wing tips of their planes collided. On
October 28, 1916 while both were shooting at the same plane Boelcke
was killed upon impact
At his funeral a British plane flew overhead and dropped a wreath
with the inscription,
To the memory of Captain Boelcke,
our brave and chivalrous foe
After his death, Boelcke's prize pupil, Manfred von
Richtholen, took over the Jasta squad Boelcke was 25
IV: APPENDIXES
--------------
CAMPAIGN DESCRIPTIONS
These historical campaigns are based on actual battles of World War I
HISTORICAL
1. THE CONQUEST OF BELGIUM: AUG 1914
GERMANY VS BELGIUM
The Schlieffen Plan called for a surprise lightning quick strike
through neutral Belgium and on into Paris. 300,000 German
soldiers met 150,000 Belgian troops. A few British troops helped
to defend Mons and Antwerp, while French troops helped to
defend Namur. The fort cities of Liege, Namur and Antwerp
slowed the German advance but didn't stop it. Soon, the Belgian
army, led by King Albert I, was in an organized retreat, heading
West into Northern France
Campaigns
1 CONQUEST OF BELGIUM 2 BATTLE OF TANNENBERG
BATTLE OF MARNE 3 BATTLE OF LEMBERG
FIRST BATTLE OF YPRES 4 BRUSILOV OFFENSIVE
BATTLE OF VERDUN 5 BATTLE OF CAPORETTO
BATTLE OF THE SOMME 6 GALLIPOLI
BATTLE OF MESSINES 7 MEGIDDO
BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE 8 DEFEAT OF SERBIA
BATTLE OF CAMBRAI
BATTLE OF LYS
FINAL GERMAN PUSH
FINAL ALLIED OFFENSIVES
BATTLE OF AMIENS
In this campaign, the fortress cities of Antwerp. Liege and
Namur are represented by a fort and a city. The Western Front
hadn't been established yet so the front represents the border
between Germany and Belgium. The Green Capital is at Brussels
The Red Capital represents the German Empire and is sur-
rounded by mountains that protect it. The campaign begins just
before the German army makes its move. You have the smaller
force but sometimes the smaller man can win.
Difficulty: 9
2. THE BATTLE OF MARNE: AUG-SEP 1914
GERMANY VS. FRANCE
After moving through Belgium, the mighty German army got
within 50 miles of Paris before they were stopped along the Marne
River This line defined the Western Front.
In this campaign. you join the French to try to stop the
forward momentum of the German Army. Supply depots along
the front represent the strength of the German forces. French
bombers are named after the French cities on the map. Early air
tactics are represented by Boelcke
Difficulty: 2
3. THE BATTLE OF TANNENBERG: AUG 1914
GERMANY VS RUSSIA
While Germany focused her strength on the push to Paris, Russia
was moving to strike Germany's rear. Von Schlieffen knew the
Masurian Lakes would divide the Russian army so he planned to
concentrate on one half of the Russian army. When it was
destroyed, they would turn and destroy the other half of the
Russian army. Instead, the German commander von Prittwitz,
panicked and split his forces and then withdrew behind the River
Vistula. Moltke had been concentrating on the Western Front but
when he heard this he immediately replaced von Prittwitz with
Hindenburg and Ludendorff. As the battle progressed, both sides
tried to encircle the other. Hindenburg and Ludendorff made a
good team. Near the city of Tannenberg the Russiain army was
encircled and collapsed
In this campaign, the inpenetrable Masurian Lakes are
represented by forts and high mountains. The green side has no
factories because even though Russia had a huge army, she was
unable to imobilize quickly. Red has no factories because the bulk
of the German army was committed to the Western Front and
couldn't be spared for reinforcing the Eastern Front. You play the
German side (red). The green Capital is represented by Russia in
the Southeast. The Black Capital is the key city, Konigsberg in the
Northwest. Each side is about equal in strength. The bombers are
named after towns on the map. The white Russian airforce is
centred along the front. They could move North, South or split.
Strategy Tip: When you play green, select the Kaiser for the enemy
leader .Since villages are of little value to him, bomb the cities near
the front and ignore the villages
Difficulty: 3
4. THE BATTLE OF LEMBERG: SEP 1914
AUSTRIA VS. RUSSIA
Austria wanted to take advantage of the Russian defeat at
Tannenberg and strike quickly before Russia could further mobi-
lize. The Russian army expected Austria to attack from the East
and felt they could envelope them from the north, striking their
rear. Instead, the Austrian left flank moved north towards Cholm
while its center anchored at Lemberg. The battle went back and
forth with Russia gaining in the north before being forced to draw
back from Lemberg. Then Russia was reinforced by the Ninth
army. By Sep II, Austria was in full retreat. As a result, Austria
lost Lemberg, the center of its road and rail networks. It also broke
the confidence of the Austrian Army. When Germany sent
reinforcements, it weakened her at the Western Front and proved
that her hope for early victory was lost
In the campaign, there are no factories for the red side. This
represents the lack of aid that Austria got from Germany. The
green side has one slow factory which represents the Ninth Army
that arrived late in the battle. Offensive Strategy: Send waves of
fighters out to cover your bombers. Defensive strategy: Leave
bombers on the ground and scramble fighters to intercept and
pick off enemy squadrons. After they are severly weakened, it will
be severly to send bombers up.
Difficulty: 3
5. THE FIRST BATTLE OF YPRES: OCT - NOV 1914
BRITAIN, BELGIUM, FRANCE VS GERMANY
After the battle of Marne, the Western Front became stalemated
along the Yser River. The British army decided to move further
north for easier commuinication with their home bases and to
concentrate her troops near the English Channel. When British
soldiers moved North, Germany followed, taking the fort at
Antwerp on Oct 10. The British had hoped to encircle the
German right wing but Germany made a surprise move to the
coastline hoping to capture the Channel Ports of Dunkirk,
Boulogne and Calais and to encircle the British left wing. It might
have worked except the retreating Belgian army happened to be
in the way. Though retreating, the Belgian armv was still intact
The Belgians stopped the German thrust near Dixmude. Then
they opened the river locks at Nieuport, creating a flood that
forced the German army back. The Germans then focused on
British positions around Ypres (pronounced E pray). After three
days of continuous fighting, the British center retreated to just in
front of Ypres. The British launched a successful counter attack
Soon, French troops arrived as reinforcement to the British and
the front was again at a stalemate
In this campaign you command Allied forces against the
agressive German force. Dixmude is represented by a city near the
river Yser. You are defending Ypres (the green Capital). The
enemy Capital is in the northeast at Bruges, Belgium. The
German forces are spread out along the front and could move
in any direction
Difficulty: 8
6. GALLIPOLI: MAR 1915 - JAN 1916
BRITAIN VS. TURKEY
Turkey entered the war hoping to gain territory from Russia.
Russia appealed to Lord Kitchener for relief. He sent an army of
70,000 men, mostly Australian and New Zealanders, to attack the
Turks at the Gallipoli peninsula. Some British and French soldiers
were also involved. As soon as they hit shore, communication was
lost and each unit had to act independently. On top of that, the
first assault wave landed at the wrong place. A strong current had
moved the ships north. Instead of the expected sandy beaches
there was a rocky shore. Hopes for a quick victory disappeared
The British sent reinforcements but not as quickly as the Turks
did. Soon the Allies were greatly outnumbered. By the time the
Allies withdrew, there had been over 250,000 casualties on each
side. The invasion of Gallipoli could have been sucessful if done
properly. Instead, they ignored strategic high ground when it was
available didn't understand their enemy, did not have adequate
maps, and lost their lines of communication
In this campaign, we focus on the effort to break the
stalemate in the summer of 1915. It was a double Allied assault.
One came from Sulvia Bay, the other from Anzac. They planned
to rejoin on the high ground over the Narrows. Turkish resistance
was fierce and it ended in stalemate. The Turks were able to
reinforce much faster than the Allies. This is represented by their
having three factories and you only having one. The mountains
are high and treacherous so travel through the passes but watch
for enemy fighters
Difficulty: 5
7. THE DEFEAT OF SERBIA: OCT-DEC 1915
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY VS. SERBIA
By October of 1915 Serbia was being pressed on three sides by the
armies of Austria Hungary and Bulgaria. The Serbian army was
pushed back to her West border in a line from Novi Pazar to
Prizren. French and British troops arrived too late to help and
what remained of the Serbian army retreated into Albania. Of
the 200,000 soldiers in the Serbian army, half were either
killed or wounded
In this campaign, the Green Capital is on the West border of
Serbia at Prizren. The front outlines the border of Serbia, to the
north is Austria Hungary and to the East is Bulgaria. Novi Pazar
is represented by a city, Belgrade is a city/supply depot by the
North border and Skopje is a supply depot. You are greatly
outnumbered (as was Serbia) but this campaign can be beaten if
played properly
Difficulty: 5
8. THE BATTLE OF VERDUN: FEB-DEC 1916
FRANCE VS. GERMANY
The German Army with 1000 big guns are across the Meuse River
east of Verdun. Verdun is protected by a series of forts and the
French are determined to defend their city at any score. This long
battle took most of 1916 and resulted in enormous losses on both
sides. In the end, France was sucessful in protecting Verdun.
In this Campaign you take control of German forces to try
to capture Verdun from a determined opponent. Verdun is
represented by four cities split by the Meuse River. Verdun has
one supply line, The Sacred Way, which connects it with Bar le
Duc to the Southwest. Bar le Duc is the Green capital. If you
destroy it, you choke Verdun and in the campaign. The sacred
way is represented by supply depots between Bar le Duc and Verdun
Difficulty: 2
9. THE BATTLE OF KILIMANJARO: MAR 1916
BRITAIN VS. GERMANY
The war spread to Africa when Britain tried to take advantage of
her superior Naval force to take Germany's Imperial possesions
Kenya was British East Africa and Tanganyika was German East
Africa. The Germans had their eye on the Uganda Railroad that
links the British port, Mombasa, with Uganda. The Germans
hoped to cut this supply line and capture the port city. Mombasa
To stop them, the British had to prevent them from moving
through the gap between Mount Kilimanjaro and the Pare
Mountains to the Southeast. The battle was hard fought but the
British finally captured much of the German army. The rest of the
German army hid in the brush, making geurilla strikes until the
war ended.
In this campaign, you control the British Army and try to
stop the German advance through the pass. Your Capital is at
Mombasa. The red capital is at the city of Handeni. You have an
airfield Southwest of Mount Kilimanjaro that represents the 1st
South African Mounted Brigade that turned the German right flank
Difficulty: 4
10. THE BRUSILOV OFFENSIVE: JUN-SEP 1916
RUSSIA VS. AUSTRIA
Brusilov commanded the Russian forces along a front that stretched
through the Ukraine from Poland to Romania. Instead of concen-
trating forces he decided to attack the Austrian army across a
wide front. It started with a short artillery attack that focused on
certain points in the enemy line. Brusilov broke through and left
the Austro Hungarian army in confusion. The advance gathered
speed and over the next few weeks moved ahead 60 miles,
capturing key cities, many prisoners and weapons. Germany took
troops from other fronts to reinforce the Austrians. Then things
went bad when Brusilov pushed too far too fast, straining his
supply lines and suffering heavy casualties. One million Russians
died. This was too much for the Russian people. Russia collapsed
into anarchy and soon into revolution. This led to the Bolsheviks
(with Lenin as their leader) taking power and the beginning of the
Soviet Union.
In this campaign, you are Brusilov. The enemy Capital is
Lemberg. You can concentrate your forces on a point in the enemy
line, put your power into a flank to try to turn the enemy's flank
or do what Brusilov did and attack across a wide front
Difficulty: 1
11. THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME: JUL-NOV 1916
BRITAIN VS. GERMANY
The British initiated this "Big Push", that they thought would
relieve the pressure on the French at Verdun and bring an early
end to the war. It began with five days of heavy artillery bombard-
ment near the Somme River in Northeast France. Instead of
weakening German defenses, it created craters that were hard to
advance through and made good dugouts for German machine
gun nests. The bombardment ended at dawn on the fifth day and
British and French soldiers climbed out of their trenches to attack,
Machine gun fire killed them by the thousands. By midday there
were 100,000 casualties. By September, both sides had taken
heavy losses. The British introduced a new weapon the tank
British infantry followed behind the tanks and gained some
ground but the fighting continued. November brought heavy
rains and both sides lost interest. When it was over, Britain had
gained just a few miles.
In this campaign your British army is on the offensive. You
have a stronger air force but they have more strategic targets to
represent. The defensive strength of the Germans who were on a
ridge and dug in. The enemy has one factory which represents
German reinforcements but you have none
Difficulty: 3
12.THE BATTLE OF MESSINES: JUN 1917
BRITAIN, FRANCE VS GERMANY
Messines Ridge is South of Ypres, The Germans had been dug in
there for two years. On the first day of the battle, 120,000
Frenchmen fell. General Nivelle was quickly replaced by General
Petain. The Hero of Verdun, Petain took a defensive posture,
waiting for tanks and American reinforcements. The British
weren't as patient and moved to Flanders and began an attack on
Messines Ridge. The Germans knew the strategic importance of
the ridge and had a strong defense. The British surprised the
Germans by tunneling under the German trenches and detonat-
ing one million pounds of explosives. The British were sucessful
in taking the ridge.
In this campaign, deep German entrenchment is repre-
sented by two forts to "hold the line. To represent British
explosive power. You are equipped with more bombers than the
enemy. The Germans have more fighters which also represents
defensive power
Difficulty: 3
13. THE BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE: JUL-NOV 1917
BRITAIN VS. GERMANY
By the middle of 1917, the situation looked bad for the Allies. Italy
was unable to advance against Austria, Russia was about to
collapse, German submarines were causing trouble on the high
seas. The allies last hope was the United States. German U boats
were sinking neutral and unarmed ships at sea and this upset the
United States. British General Sir Douglas Haig wanted to beat the
German's before the Americans could arrive and steal his glory
He planned to attack in Flanders and break though the line near
Ypres and then circle the German right flank. Heavy artillery
bombardment mixed with the heavy rains made amess out of the
battlefield. By October, Allied forces had made some gains but
winter was coming and Russia was out of the war. Germany was
rapidly moving troops from the Eastern Front. What followed
was called the muddiest war in history. With the help of Canadian
and Australian forces. Haig achieved his goal and captured the
high ground around Passchendale
In this campaign, British offensive power is represented by
strong air power and little ground power. German defense is
represented by stronge ground targets. The dug in defensive
strength of Passchendale ridge is represented by a series of three
forts. The town of Passcheudaele is the Red Capital
Difficulty: 2
14. THE BATTLE OF CAPORETTO: OCT 1917
ITALY VS. AUSTRIA
The Italian/Austrian front ran through the Alps. Both sides
wanted to move forward through the mountainns and to the plains
beyond. Russia's collapse let Austria focus more troops on Italy.
The Austrians thought they saw a weak spot in the Italian line at
Caporetto. The Italian defenses collapsed and Austria advanced
to 80 miles west of Caporetto. Italy suffered heavy losses. Britain
and France quickly sent reinforcements and a year later, the Allies
split the Austrian army in two forcing her retreat
In this campaign, you play the Italian Commander and try
to protect your homeland from the Austrian invaders. You are
badly outnumbered but if you use every airplane to its maximum
efficiency, you may succeed
Difficulty: 5
15. THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI: NOV 1917
BRITAIN VS. GERMANY
A few tanks had beeu used on the Somme during the latter part
of the battle but most became stuck in the mud or in shell craters.
At Cambrai, the ground was firm and if the British could penetrate
The enemy line, they could force a retreat. Thirty six trains
secretly moved tanks to the front during cover of night. The point
of attack was just South of Cambrai. The German swere taken by
surprise and the British suceeded in breaking the line and moved
ahead six miles. Due to lack of reserves, the British lost most of
their gains within ten days
In this campaign you command German forces. Prepare for
the British on slaught. You have no bombers and no factories to
make any. The British have many bombers to represent their
tanks. You have much greater ground strength though so use your
fighters to destroy enemy bombers before they can destroy your
ground targets and you will prevail. Your red Capital is at Cambrai
and the green Capital is at Gouzeaucourt
Difficulty: 6
16. THE BATTLE OF MEGIDDO: SEP-OCT 1918
BRITIAN VS. TURKEY
The Turkish front line extended from Arsuf on the Mediterranean
Sea to the Jordon Valley. The Turks main supply line ran between
Damascus south to Deraa where it split. One route ran south to
Amman and the other ran West through El Afule, Messudieh
Nablus and Tul Keram. The British wanted to capture these key
cities. The plan was to trick them into thinking they would strike
up the Jordan Valley but instead move the left wing north through
Samarian Hills and hit them from the west. They used there
superior air force to keep the enemy air force on the ground so
they wouldnt see the troop movement to the west. Australian
pilots bombed the railroad at Deraa while Lawrence of Arabia hit
it from the ground. Just before the big push, the Allies bombed Tul
Keram, Nablus and El Afule cutting off Turkish communication
lines. Allenby's left wing was successful in penetrating the Turks
right wing forcing retreat. Bombers attacked the Turks while they
fled East towards the Jordon River. Turkey surrendered much of
her territory which eventually became Israel, Syria and Iraq
In this campaign you command British forces. You have
greater air power than the Turks but will have to use it quickly and
efficiently before they overrun you on the ground. Your Capital
is at Jerusalem. The red Capital is at Nazareth
Difficulty: 8
17. THE BATTLE OF LYS: APR 1918
GERMANY VS. THE ALLIES
Germany made a number of attempts to capture the strategic city
of Ypres dung the war. The time, they planned to hit the Allies
from the Southeast, forcing them back across the river Lys. Then
they would chase the British out of Hazebrouck and Poperinghe
and Ypres would be surrounded. In the end. German troops got
within a few miles of Ypres but were stopped.
In this cannpaign, you play the side of the Germans. The
Allies have a series of lines of defense around Ypres. Ypres is the
green Capital. The heavy Allied defenses Northeast of Ypres are
represented by Forts. The red Capital is at Lille
Difficulty: 5
18. THE BATTLE OF AMIENS: AUG 1918
ALLIES VS. GERMANY
Germany appeared to be on the verge of winning the war by the
spring of 1918. Russia had dropped out of the war letting
Germany move more than a million men to the Western Front.
The French were exhausted, Britain was wearing down and the
Italians had been defeated at Caporetto. The main concern of the
Germans was to move quickly before fresh American forces
arrived, Germany outnumbered the Allies and kept moving
forward. Soon, they had taken 90,000 prisoners and were within
10 miles of the strategically important city of Amiens. A portion
of the German line was protruding towards Amiens and this battle
was an attack intended to push that salient back. Behind tanks and
an artillery barrage, the British advanced on a ten mile front. By
night, they had recaptured nine miles and captured thousands of
prisoners. General Ludendorff called this the "Black Day" of his
army. The British advance slowed after the first day and the French
army hit the Southern side of the protrusion. Pushing the Germans out
of Montdidier. More British forces attacked from the north and
Ludendorff ordered a withdrawal to the east along a 30 mile front
In this campaign, the red Capital is at Peronne. The green Capital
is Amiens. French pilots represent French forces in the south and
British pilots represent British forces in the north. Since it is an Allied
offensive, you have more bonnbers than your opponent
Difficulty 9
19. THE FINAL GERMAM PUSH: MAY-AUG 1918
ALLIES VS. GERMANY
On May 27, the Germans made another major push between Rheims
and Soissons, taking more ground. Now they were almost within
shooting distance of Paris. The next attack was an attempt to Capture
Rheims in early July. Foch had been holding American troops in
reserve but it was now time to use them. On July 18, Foch decided
to counter attack to try to free Soissons. He was successful in
moving the Germans back in the Second Battle of Marnes. This
improved the morale of Allied troops as much as it lowered the
morale of Geriman troops. Then, the Allies attacked at Picardy and
recaptured 110 square miles. By August 21st, Ludendorff knew
the war was lost and went on the defensive
In this campaign the enemy is pushing towards your Capital
at Paris. The enemy Capital is at Brussels. This is a war spread
across a wide front with many strategic targets. For their final
push the Germans have many bombers but few fighters. Their
troops out number you at the front but you have a much larger
reserve force represented by American pilots near Paris. The
French in the South are represented by French pilots, and the
British in the North are represented by British pilots
Difficulty: 5
20. THE FINAL ALLIED OFFENSIVES: JUL-NOV 1918
ALLIES VS. GERMAMY
By Fall of 1918, all of Germanys partners had dropped out of the
war. The Allies were ready to attack from Verdun to the North Sea
An important section of this front, from the river Meuse to the
Argonne Forest was guarded by the American First Army. Pierc-
ing the German front here would disrupt communication be
tween the German left and right wing and interrupt their supply
lines. The rapid attack began in a dense fog. The artillery had a
hard time keeping up with the infantry. Alarmed, Germany
brought in troops from other parts of the front, weakening
defenses elsewhere. Within days, the German High Command
demanded that the Chancellor surrender but he refused. The
American attack resumed again and Germany threw her best
soldiers into the battle. Meanwhile, the British offensive against
the German right wing broke through the Hindenberg line. The
last American offensive was the last Allied push of the war.
Ludenndorff fell from power and chaos threatened his country.
In this campaign the Americans and the French are ready to
attack in the South, the British make up the left wing in the North
You out number your German opponents but don't let your guard
down, there is still plenty of fight left in them. The war is won
unless the German command can find a flaw in your strategy
Difficulty: 4
PILOT AND BOMBER NAMES
You can use any name that you want for fighter pilots and
bombers when you make your own campaigns. They can have
a maximum of between 11 and 18 characters, depending on
what characters you use. For example, a capital W uses more
space than an i.
BOMBERS
You can name your bombers after towns, friends, states, coun-
tries, etc. The following is a list of other ideas including the
German and French translations. Try combining them. For
example, you could name an allied bomber, the "Green Eagle" or
the "Vert Aigle". A German bomber could be called the "Rot
Adler (Red Eagle)
English German French
adventure abenteuer aventure
aero luft aero
airraid luftangriff aeroraid
angry argerlich irrite
animal tierisch animal
annihilate vernichten annihiler
army armee armee
arrow pfeil fleche
arsenal waffenlager arsenal
ass esel ane
assassin atteutater assassin
daring verwegen audace
aviator flieger aviateur
bad schlect mauvais
barbarian barbar barbare
beautiful schon beau
Bee Biene abeille
bird Vogel oiseau
black schwarz noir
blood blut sang
blue blau bleu
boat boot bateau
bold wagemutig hardi
bully raufbold mattamore
buzzard bussard buse
champion sieger champion
cool kuhl frais
crazy wahnsinnig fou
dog hund chien
dragon drache dragon
eagle adler aigle
emperor kaiser empereur
empress kaiserin imperatrice
fort feste fort
fox fuchs renard
breeze brise brise
gallant tapfir vaillant
good gute bon
goose gans oie
green grun vert
hawk habicht colporter
indignant ungehalten indigne
horse pferd cheval
flying fliegen vol
jockey jockei jockey
kite drachen cerf-volant
knight ritter chevalier
lady dame dame
marksman scharfschutze tireur
menace drohung menace
merciless erbarmunglos impitoyable
miraculous wunderban niroculeux
monster ungeheuer monstre
octopus krake pieuvre
parrot papagei perroquet
pigeon taube pigeon
pirate pirat pirate
rebel rebell rebelle
red rot rouge
scorpion skorpion scorpion
scout spaher vedette
ship schiff bateau
sparrow spatz moineau
spider spinne araignee
spy spion espiou
squadron schwadron escadrille
star stern etoile
sun sonne soleil
superman ubermensch surhomme
sword schwert epee
talon kralle serre
turkey puter dindoct
tyraut tyraun tyran
vandal vandale vandal
warship kriegszeit navire de guerre
wasp wespe guepe
FIGHTER PILOT NAMES
For fighter pilots, you can use the names of friends, famous
people. etc. The following is a list of real aces from World War I
and the number of victories they had. To simulate their skill
levels, consider each medal as being the equivalent of 10 victories
So, if an ace had 39 victories, give him 4 medals.
BRITISH ACES
Score Pilot and Rank
73 Major E Mannock
72 Lieutenant Colonel W A Bishop
60 Lieutenant Colonel R Collishaw
57 Major J T B McCudden
54 Captain A W Beanchamp Proctor
54 Major D R MacLaren
53 Major W G Barker
47 Captain R A Litte
46 Captain P F Fullard
46 Captain G E H McElroy
44 Captain A Ball
44 Captain J Gilmore
41 Major T F Hazell
40 Captain J I T Jones
39 Captain W G Claxton
39 Major R S Dallas
37 Captain F R McCall
35 Captain H W Woollett
34 Captain F G Quigley
32 Major G H Bowman
31 Major A D Carter
31 Captain J L M White
30 Captain M B Frew
30 Captain S M Kinkead
30 Captain A E McKeever
29 Captain A H Cobby
29 Captain W L Jordon
27 Captain J E Gordon
27 Captain R T C Hodge
27 Captain H G E Lucford
27 Major G J C Maxwell
26 Captain W C Campbell
26 Captain W E Staton
25 Major K L Caldwell
25 Major R J O Compston
25 Major J Leacroft
25 Captain R A Mayberry
24 Major J O Andrews
24 Captain W E Shields
23 Captain J S T Fall
23 Captain A Hepburn
23 Captain D Latimer
23 Captain E J K McLoughry
23 Lieutenant A P F Rhys Davids
23 Captain S W Rpsevear
23 Captain H A Whistler
22 Major C D Booker
22 Major W J C K Cochrane-Patrick
22 Captain R King
22 Lieutenant McK Thomson
22 Captain C J Venter
21 Captain P J Clayson
21 Captain R P Minifie
21 Captain G E Thompson
20 Captain D J Bell
20 Captain T S Harrison
20 Captain W L Harrison
20 Captain E C Johnston
20 Captain C F King
20 Flight Sub Lieutenant J J Malone
20 Captain I D R McDonald
20 Lieutenant C M MacEwen
20 Major G W Murlis Green
20 Major K R Park
20 Captain D A Stewart
I9 Captain W Beaver
19 Captain H B Bell Irving
19 Captain W MacLanachan
19 Major S M Miles
19 Captain H W L Saunders
19 Major A M Wilkinson
18 Lieutenant L M Barlow
18 Lieutenant C F Collett
18 Captain A K Cowper
18 Captain F R Cubbou
18 Captain E Dickson
18 Captain A J Enstone
18 Captain F L Hale
18 Captain A T Laccaci
18 Lieutenant E V Reid
18 Captain F A Thayre
18 Captain J L Trollope
18 Lieutenant W B Wood
17 Captain J H Burden
17 Captain G H Cock
17 Captain L F Jenkins
17 Captain M A Nounhouse
17 Captain Edwin Swale
16 Captain O M Baldwin
16 Captain W Gillette
16 Captain C R R Hickey
16 Captain H T Mellings
16 Captain T P Middleton
16 Lieutenant S A Oades
16 Major S F Oxspring
16 Major S F Pender
16 Captain B Roxburgh Smith
15 Captain P C Carpenter
15 Captain M H Findley
15 Captain R A Grosvenor
15 Lieutenant H B Richardson
15 Captain J H Tudhope
15 Captain W A Tyrrel
15 Lieutenant C T Warman
14 Captain M Galbraith
14 Captain G E Gibbs
14 Captain S W Highwood
14 Captain F Libby
14 Major N F K McEwan
14 Captain R T Mark
13 Captain C P Brown
13 Captain R A Delhaye
13 J H Hedley
13 Captain A G Jones Williams
13 Lieutenant C H R Lagesse
13 Lieutenant N W R Mawle
13 Captain G P Olley
13 Captain H G Reeves
13 Captain C G Ross
13 Lieutenant Colonel A J L Scott
13 Captain F R Smith
13 Captain O H D Vickers
12 Lieutenant L B Bennit
12 Captain A R Brown
12 Captain R W Chappell
12 Captain E S Coler
12 Captain C M Crowe
12 Major C Draper
12 Captain H F S Drewitt
12 Lieutenant Alan Gerrard
12 Lieutenaut F D Gillete
12 Major P Huskinson
12 Captain H P Lale
12 Lieutenant M E Mealing
12 Lieutenant K B Montgomery
12 Lieutenant Colonel R H Mulock
12 Major R C Phillips
12 Captain L H Rochford
12 Captain W A Southey
12 Lieutenant L T E Taplin
12 Lieutenant F D Travers
12 Captain N W W Webb
12 Major J T Whittaker
12 Captain P Wilson
11 Captain S Carlin
11 Captain R E Dodds
11 Captain G B Gates
11 Captain H A Hamersley
11 Lieutenant P T Laccaci
11 Captain S C Joseph
11 Captain A C Kiddie
11 Captain K M St C G Leaske
11 Captain C N Lowe
11 Lieutenant A McCudden
11 Lieutenant R W McKenzie
11 Captain N McMillan
11 Lieuteuant A J Morgan
11 Captain W R G Pearson
11 Lieutenant A E Reed
11 Captain W W Rogers
11 Captain M D C Scott
11 Lieutenant J E Sharman
11 Captain S F H Thompson
10 Major B E Baker
10 Captain G B A Baker
10 Captain C C Banks
10 Captain A J Boswell
10 Lieutenant G L Graham
10 Captain E T Hayne
10 Lieutenant T S Horry
10 Captain W H Hubbard
10 Captain V Kearley
10 Captain D V MacGregor
10 Lieutenant R M Makepeach
10 Lieutenant R F S Maudit
10 Captain J W Pinder
10 Lieutenant H B Redler
10 Lieutenant L L Richardson
10 Lieutenant T Rose
10 Captain J Scott
10 Captain S P Smith
10 Captain A T B Tonks
10 Lieutenant K R Unger
10 Major G M Vaucour
10 Lieutenant H G Watson
10 Lieutenant W L Wells
10 Major W E Young
AMERlCAN ACES
Score Pilot and Rank
26 Captain E V Rickenbacker
21 Second Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr
17 Major Raoul Lufbery
13 L/Lt George A, Vaughn, Jr
12 Captain Field E Kindley
12 First Lieutenant David E Putnam
12 Captain Elliot W Springs
10 Major Reed G Landis
10 Captain Jacques Michael Swaab
BELGIAN ACES
Score Pilot and Rank
37 Second Lieutenant W Coppens
11 Adjudant A De Meulemeester
1O Second Lieutenant E Thieffry
ITALIAN ACES
Score Pilot and Rank
34 Maggiore Francesco Baracca
26 Tenente Silvio Scaroni
24 Tenente Colonnello Ruggiero Piccio
21 Tenente Flail Torello Baracchini
20 Capitano Fulco Ruffo di Calabria
17 Sergente Marziale Cerutti
17 Teuente Ferruccio Ranza
12 Tenente Luigi Olivari
11 Tenente Giovanni Ancillotto
11 Sergente Antonio Reali
RUSSIAN ACES
Score Pilot and Rank
17 Staff-Captain A A Kazakov
15 Captain P V d'Argueeff
13 Lieutenant-Commander A P Seversky
12 Lieutenant I W Smirnoff
11 Lieutenant M Safonov
11 Captain B Sergievsky
11 Ensign E M Tomson
FRENCH ACES
Score Pilot and Rank
75 Capitaine Rene Paul Fonck
54 Capitaine Georges M L J Guynemer
45 Lieutenant Charles E J M Nungesser
41 Capitaine Georges F Madon
35 Lieutenant Maurice Boyau
34 Lieutenant Michel Coiffard
28 Lieutenant Jean P L Bourjade
27 Capitaine Armand Pinsard
23 Sous-Lieutenant Rene Dorme
23 Lieutenant Gabriel Guerin
23 Sous-Lieutenaut Claude M Haegelen
22 Sous-Lieutenant Pierre Marinovitch
21 Capitaine Alfred Heurtaux
20 Capitaine Albert Deullin
19 Capitaine Henrij H de Slade
19 Lieutenant Jacques L Ehrlich
18 Lieutenant Bernard de Romanet
16 Lieutenant Jean Chaput
15 Capitaine Armand O de Turenne
15 Capitaine Paul V d'Argueeff
15 Lieutenant Gilbert Stardier
14 Lieutenant Marc Ambrog
13 Sous-Lieutenant Omer Demeuldre
13 Lieutenant Hector Garanld
13 Lieutenant Marcel Nogues
12 Sous-Lieutenant Bernard Artigau
12 Lieutenant Jean H Casale
12 Sous-Lieutenant Gustave Daladier
12 Capitaine Xavier de Sevin
12 Sous-Lieutenant Fernand Guvou
12 Lieutenant Marcel Hugues
12 Sous-Lieutenant Lucien Jailler
12 Capitaine Jacques Leps
12 Sous-Lieutenant Jean M D Navarre
12 Lieutenant Paul A P Tarascon
11 Adjutant Armand Berthelot
11 Sous-Lieutenant Jean Bouyer
11 Lieutenant Benjamen Bozon Verduraz
11 Sous-Lieutenant William Herisson
11 Adjutant Maxime Lenoir
11 Sous-Lieutenant Ernest Maunoury
11 Adjudant Rene Montrion
11 Sous-Lieutenant Leon Nuville
11 Lieutenant Jacques Georges Ortoli
10 Adjudant Maurice Bizot
10 Adjudant Andre Chainat
10 Adjudant Marcel Gasser
10 Sous-Lieutenant Andre R Herbelin
10 Capitaine Auguste Lahoulle
10 Adjudant Charles Mace
10 Adjudant Jean Pezon
10 Sous-Lieutenant Charles Quette
10 Sous-Lieutenant Robert Waddington
GERMAN ACES
Score Pilot and Rank
80 Rittm Manfred Frhr V Richehofen
62 0berleutnant Ernst Udet
53 0berleutnant Erich Loewenhardt
48 Leutnant Werner Voss
45 Leutnant Fritz Rumey
44 Hauptmann Rudolph Berthold
43 Leutnant Paul Baumer
41 Leutnant Josef Jacobs
41 Hauptmann Bruno Loerzer
40 Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke
40 Leutnant Franz Buchner
40 Oblt Lothar Frhr V Richthofen
39 Leutnant Karl Menckhoff
39 Leutnant Heinrich Gontermann
36 Leutnant Max Muller
35 Leutnant Julius Buckler
35 Leutnant Gustav Dorr
35 Hpt Eduard Ritter von Schleich
34 Leutnant Josef Veltjens
33 Leutnant Otto Koennecke
33 Oberleutnant Kurt Wolff
33 Leutnant Heinrich Bongartz
32 Leutnant Theo Osterkamp
32 Leutnant Emil Thuy
31 Leutnant Paul Billik
31 Rittmeister Karl Bolle
31 Ober Gotthard Sachsenberg
30 Leutnant Karl Allmenroder
30 Leutnant Karl Degelow
30 Leutnant Heinrich Kroll
30 Leutnaut Josef Mai
30 Leutnaut Ulrich Neckel
30 Leutnant Karl Schaefer
29 Leutnaut Hermann Frommerz
28 Leutnant Walter von Bulow
28 Leutnaut Walter Blume
28 Oblt Fritz Ritter von Roth
27 Oberleutnant Fritz Bernert
27 Vizefeldwebel Otto Fruhner
27 Leutnaut Hans Kirschstein
27 Leutnant Karl Thom
27 Hpt Adolf Ritter von Tutschek
27 Leutnant Kurt Wusthoff
26 Oberleutnant Harald Auffahrt
26 Oblt Oscar Frhr von Boenigk
26 Oberleutnant Eduard Dostler
26 Leutnant Arthur Laumann
25 Lt O Frhr von B Marconnay
25 Oblt Robert Ritter von Greim
25 Leutnant Georg von Hantelmann
25 Leutnant Max Nather
25 Leutnant Fritz Putter
24 Leutnant Erwin Bohme
23 Leutnant Hermann Becker
23 Leutnant Georg Meyer
22 Oberleutnant Hermann Goring
22 Leutnant Hans Riein
22 Leutnant Hans Pippart
22 Leutnant Werner Preuss
22 Vizefeldwebel Karl Schlegel
22 Leutnant Rudolph Windisch
21 Leutnant Hans Adam
21 Oblt Friedrich Christiansen
21 Leutnant Fritz Friedrichs
21 Leutnant Fritz Hohn
20 Vizefeldwebel Friedrich Altemeir
20 Oberleutnant Hans Bethge
20 Leutnant Rudolph von Eschwege
20 Leutnant Walter Goettsch
20 Leutnant Friedrich Noltenius
20 Hauptmann Wilhelm Reinhard
19 Vizefeldwebel Gerhard Fieseler
19 Leutnant Wilhelm Frankl
19 Leutnant Otto Kissenberth
19 Oberleutnant Otto Schmidt
18 Leutnant Hartmuth Baldamus
18 Leutnant Franz Hemer
18 Vizefeldwebel Oskar Hennrich
18 Leutnant Kurt Wintgens
17 Leutnant Walter Boning
17 Leutnant Ernst Hess
17 Leutnant Franz Ray
17 Leutnant Hans Rolfes
17 Vfw Josef Schwendemann
16 Leutnant Hans Boehning
16 Leutnant Hans von Freden
16 Leutnant Ludwig Hanstein
16 Leutnant Rudolf Klimke
16 Leutnant Karl Odebrett
16 Leutnant Hans Weiss
15 Leutnant Albert Dossenbach
15 Vfw Christian Donhauser
15 Vizefeldwebel Albert Haussmann
15 Leutnant Aloys Heldmann
15 Oberleutnant Max Immelmann
15 Leutnant Johannes Kleiu
15 Leutnant Otto Loffler
15 Leutnant Victor von Pressentin
15 Leutnant Theodor Quandt
15 Leutnant Julius Schmidt
15 Leutnant Kurt Schneider
14 Leutnant Ernst Bormann
14 Vizefeldwebel Rudolf Francke
14 Offz Stellv Edmund Nathanael
14 Leutnant Franz Piechurek
14 Leutnant Karl Plauth
14 Vizefeldwebel Wilhelm Seitz
14 Vizefeldwebel Emil Schape
14 Leutnant George Schlenker
14 Leutnant Paul Straehle
14 Leutnant Rudolf Wendelmuth
13 Vizefeldwebel Karl Bohnenkamp
13 Hpt Hans Joachim Buddecke
13 Leutnant Siegfried Buttner
13 Leutnant Heinrich Geigl
13 Vizefeldwebel Robert Heibert
13 Vizefeldwebel Reinhold Jorke
13 Leutnant Johann Janzen
13 Vizefeldwebel Christel Mesch
13 Vizefeldwebel Otto Rosenfeld
13 Oberleutnant Kurt Schoenfelder
13 Oblt Erich Rudiger von Wedel
12 Vizefeldwebel Erich Buder
12 Leutnant Diether Collin
12 Oberleutnant Theodor Cammann
12 Vizefeldwebel Gottfried Ehmann
12 Offz Stellv Otto Esswein
12 Vizefeldwebel Sebastian Festner
12 Leutnant Walter Hohndorf
12 Vizefeldwebel Max Kuhn
12 Leutnant Hans Mueller
12 Vfw Friedricb Manschott
12 Oberleutnant Franz Schleiff
12 Leutnant Richard Wenzl
11 Leutnant Heinrich Arntzen
11 Leutnant Joachim von Busse
11 Lt Raven Frhr von Barnekow
11 Oberleutuant Kurt von Doering
11 Leutnant Xaver Dannhuber
11 Leutuant Heinz Dreckmann
11 Vizefetdwebel Willi Gabriel
11 Oberleutnant Stephan Kirmaier
11 Leutnant Hans von Keudell
11 Leutnant Alfred Lindenberger
11 Leutnant Fritz Loerzer
11 Leutnant Hermann Pfeiffer
11 Leutnant Hugo Schaefer
11 Leutnant Renatus Theiller
10 Offizier Stellvertreter Paul Aue
10 Vizefeldwebel Dietrich Averes
10 Oberleutnant Hans Berr
10 Leutnant Franz Brant
10 Vizefeldwebel Fritz Classen
10 Leutnant Martin Dehmisch
10 Leutnant Wilhelm Frickart
10 Leutnant Justus Grassman
10 Leutnant Max Mulzer
10 Leutnant Rudolf Matthaei
10 Vizefeldwebel Alfons Nagler
10 Leutnant Wilheim Neuenhofen
10 Oberleutnant Hans Schuez
10 Leutnant Werner Steinhauser
10 Leutnant Paul Turck
10 Leutnant Erich Thomas
10 Offz Stellv Bernhard Ultsch
10 Leutnant Paul Wenzel
10 Leutnant Joachim Wolff
AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN ACES
Score Pilot and Rank
40 Hauptmann Godwin Brumowski
32 Offizierstellvertreter Julius Arigi
30 Oberleytnant Frank Linke-Crawford
29 Oblt Benno Fiala Ritta von Fernbrugg
19 Leutnant Josef Kiss
16 Leutnant Franz Graser
15 Stabsfeldwebel Stefan Fejes
15 Feldwebel Eugen Bonsch
14 Offizierstellvertreter Kurt Gruber
14 Oberleutnant Ernst Strohschneider
12 Hauptmann Raoul Stojsavljevic
10 Leutnant Franz Rudorfer
10 Hauptmann Adolf Heyrowsky
10 Oberleutnant Friedrich Navratil
10 Hauptmann Josef von Meir
This list of aces includes only those who scored ten or more
victories.
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Typed by Shard
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