Storm Above the Reich – After Action Report – Missions #4 & #5

This is another combined report of Staffel Roy’s campaign in Storm Above the Reich with two missions in it, mainly because Mission #4 basically had nothing happen.

I mean, things happened, but at the end of the day, nothing was shot down, no bombers fell out of formation, none of my pilots got any experience, and none of my pilots were killed or wounded.

Since I didn’t want a report of basically “nothing happened,” I waited until I played Mission #5.

A lot more happened on this one, though. It wasn’t a barn-burner and I think I realized some mistakes I’ve been making (tactical mistakes, not rules), but that’s why we play the game!

So click on the “more” below and see whether the fortunes of Staffel Roy have changed at all or not.

(You can also click on any picture to see it at full size)

If you want to see more about how the game works, check out my report about Mission #1 & #2.

Sadly, Mission #6 is really going to have to be awesome if I’m going to save everything.

Like I said, Mission #4 wasn’t really anything to write home about.

Claussen was still wounded (seriously, I think he might be marrying one of the nurses now), the Staffel was tasked with hitting the bombers as they were returning home. A bunch of P-38 fighters were going to be showing up on Turn 3.

I sent Ruhl, the expert Knoken and Ehrhoff (the rookie Ehlers replacement) out to try and shoot some bombers down!

I equipped the three with cannons (really, I’m thinking I should have spent the Operation Point on another fighter) and brought Knoken along because his expert skill is to evade Escorts. Of course, it forces him to abort his strafing run, but at least the Escorts won’t really hurt him.

Essentially, his “Wily” skill means that if the aerial combat result with the Escorts results in going to the “Dogfight” box, the Escort goes away and he can either Exit or he can go to any Return box.

Knoken got jumped twice, so while he was uninjured, he didn’t really get to do anything.

Ruhl and Ehrhoff try to damage some bombers but have little effect. Ehrhoff thankfully only gets a superficial hit and Ruhl has one last attempt at a bomber before the sixth (and final) turn is up.

Sadly, he only does a bit of damage and nothing really happens.

Mission #4 ends with no damage or wounded pilots but also no downed bombers. No Victory Points either.

With Mission #4 a bust and the Staffel being a long way from “not losing” with only two missions left, Mission #5 was important.

Mission #5 started with Claussen still wounded (I heard his mom was spending 18 hours a day with him at the hospital) and four more Operation Points.

Again, I probably should have taken another fighter but I instead took cannons again.

I wanted to take Rockets, but Map 5 doesn’t allow Rockets.

I chose Knoken and Ehlers again (really trying to get him some experience) and chose Bär this time to join them.

I chose Knoken due to the Escort possibility…and there were no Escorts!

Still chasing after outbound bombers on Map 5, though.

Turns 1 & 2 have the fighters approaching.

Bär comes in at Tail – Level while Knoken comes Tail – High. Ehrhoff comes in at Nose level.

Is that smart for a rookie?

We’ll see!

Knoken and Bär almost collide coming into the same space as all three decide to attack the same bomber, just to make sure it goes down. Their Position Advantage nullifies the Hit that would happen, though.

Ehrhoff goes first, and he hits the Wing! Not only does he hit hit the Wing, but it causes the bomber to fall out of formation! He has to make a Collision check though with any debris or the plane itself.

Thankfully, no harm done.

One experience point for Ehrhoff and one victory point for the Staffel!

And this is my first mistake, though. With all fighters attacking the same bomber, the other two don’t have anybody to fire at.

But they still have to draw a fire card and they could take a hit (debris or maybe the desperate firing of the Tail gun).

Knoken takes a hit to his fuel line but also runs out of ammo! Oh no!

Bär takes a hit to the fuselage and also gets a “Riding the Tail” result, which means he goes back to the Tail Level box where he started without taking Continuing Fire.

Not a bad start other than Knoken not being able to fire anymore.

In Continuing Fire, both Knoken and Ehrhoff take another hit, both of them to the cockpit.

That could be deadly.

Ehrhoff is also Green so he gets disoriented easily. His posture turns to Evasive, meaning it will take him longer to get back in the action.

Knoken’s fuel line hit takes him out of the fight, but Ehrhoff’s hit is superficial. So is Bär’s.

With Ehrhoff taking more time to return and Bär already being back in position, Bär decides to attack again by himself.

He comes in behind the bomber, fires his guns, and does a piddly amount of damage to the bomber’s fuselage. He also takes a superficial hit.

The final turn, Turn 8, and both remaining fighters can coordinate again.

Ehrhoff comes in from the tail and Bär from the front.

Ehrhoff goes first and hits the bomber’s engine, causing it to fall out of formation! He also gets a Ride the Tail result, and he avoids his one hit.

Bär takes a fuel hit as he passes by, but it’s also superficial.

What a day for the rookie Ehrhoff!

No bombers shot down but he knocked two of them out of formation, getting two experience points (it takes 3 to remove your Green status) and he gets the Staffel two of the needed four victory points to avoid losing.

Victory!

Two bombers fallen (one was also previously fallen before the mission started).

The only semi-sad part is that Knoken’s fuel line hit caused a fire. While he was able to bail out, he was wounded.

That’s two of my expert pilots wounded now.

Maybe Knoken can talk Claussen into coming back.

At the end of Mission 5, the Staffel has 8 victory points (10 is required to “not lose” though 20 is required to win).

Mission 6 will be the deal-breaker.

Will the campaign continue (as long as you don’t lose, you can continue into the next phase if you want)?

Or will it end in shame?

Stay tuned in the next two weeks to find out.

Staffel Roy Campaign

1943 Early
Missions 1 & 2
Mission 3
Mission 4 & 5
Mission 6

1943 Mid
Mission 7
Mission 8
Mission 9
Mission 10
Mission 11
Mission 12
Mission 13
Mission 14
Mission 15
Mission 16

1943 Late
Mission 17
Mission 18
Mission 19
Mission 20
Mission 21
Mission 22