Cambrai 1917

Cambrai, November 1917

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A campaign for First Eagles.

This is a historical campaign for the Flanders terrain in First Eagles, to recreate the air battles of late-1917, the time of the debut of the tank, at Cambrai. It follows on from my previous release, "Bloody April" 1917. It requires a standard install of First Eagles, plus Edward's Flanders terrain, and some extra add-on aircraft. There is a TXT file which explains all that is required.

The campaign uses a variety of appropriate late-1917 aircraft, and every mission will provide extensive aerial action, with large numbers of aircraft from different squadrons going about their various missions along the Front.

The aircraft which operate in this campaign are the:

BE.2d

Bristol Fighter F2B

Nieuport 24bis

SE.5a

Spad XIII

Sopwith Camel

Albatros D.III

Albatross D.V

Aviatik C.2

DFW C.V

Fokker Dr.1 triplane

Gotha G.IV

Pfalz D.III

Zeppelin Staaken

Historical Background

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By November 1917 the British Army has been continuously on the offensive in Flanders for four months, in bloody battles at Ypres, Messines and Passchendaele, and most of the German Army reserves have been drawn there. A bold stroke was planned well to the south, in the direction of Cambrai. The Army, spearheaded by a new secret weapon, the tank, would make a major push.

In the air, the start of 1917 had been a difficult time for the Royal Flying Corps, culminating in the disastrous "Bloody April", but by the end of the year, the tide had turned somewhat. Newer machines, such as the Sopwith Camel, SE.5a and Bristol F2B fighter, were coming into service, which were a match for all German machines except for the new and deadly Fokker Triplane.