epower

Mike, Check out this SimHQ thread HERE It will explain how to edit your ui.xml in WOFF\OBDWW1 Over Flanders Fields

DiD IV campaign - Player Instructions Introduction Back by popular demand! Welcome to the fourth iteration of the Wings over Flanders Fields DiD campaign. As with the previous campaign, this will be an opportunity to follow your pilot day by day throughout the war and share his story with the rest of the WOFF community. We have been treated over the past few years to some ripping yarns from pilots of every nation, and we are looking forward to meeting your newest recruit. There are some new rules in DiD IV. Our intent is to make it more difficult to rack up three-digit scores and to bring us back to a point where there is a genuine thrill from every confirmed victory. The name of the game in a DiD campaign is survival. Pure glory seeking is a surefire way to cut your campaign short. DiD stands for “dead is dead.” If your man is killed, you will have to start again with another pilot. If you’re using Robert Wiggins’s splendid “User Files Backup Program, you may revive your pilot only if you lose him to an accident not related to flying in the sim (e.g. a home emergency pulls you from the sim without properly pausing, a power failure occurs when you are over enemy lines, the cat eats your joystick cable while you are flying, etc.) The hand of fate Raine and epower and will serve as campaign moderators (CMs). The CMs will play the role of Fate and will, in accordance with historical plausibility: Assign you to a squadron. You may find yourself spending some time in unfamiliar aircraft. As happened to pilots in real life, you may not always be assigned to the strongest available machine. There is a very good chance that your career will begin in two-seaters, especially as the campaign will feature a short spell in 1915. You're sure to have new experiences. The campaign may see you fly in machines you’ve never spent much time in before, or in unfamiliar sectors of the front. Initiate transfers. If you have a particular request (for example, not to fly in Flanders in 1918 because your PC is not up to it), please email the CMs and we will consider it. Once approved by the CM, you will have to request the transfer in the game. Award medals, which will be conferred by RAF_Louvert (AKA “The Gong Fairy”) in the campaign thread. In addition, the CMs may email you from time to time with instructions. For example, they may advise you to take leave, or may transfer a British pilot to home establishment. The campaign moderators will do their best to be fair and will try to balance any bad luck with good, so that you won’t always be flying an inferior aircraft. Campaign start and the 1915 calendar: DiD IV will get underway on 2 January 2022. For the first two months, we will play a compressed schedule of 1915 missions. During each calendar week from Sunday, 2 January 2022 until Saturday, 5 March 2022, each week of real life time will be one month of time in 1915. During each week, you may fly as often or as seldom as you wish, using the manual time advance button (T+) in the campaign screen to ensure that you space your flights out throughout the month of 1915. The following schedule will guide you through this process. During the week of… Fly missions in… 2-8 Jan 2022 Jun 1915 9-15 Jan 2022 Jul 1915 16-22 Jan 2022 Aug 1915 23-29 Jan 2022 Sep 1915 30 Jan - 5 Feb 2022 Oct 1915 6-12 Feb 2022 Nov 1915 13-19 Feb 2022 Dec 1915 20-26 Feb 2022 Jan 1916 27 Feb - 5 Mar 2022 Feb 1916 Starting on 6 March 2022, you will fly missions for that same day in 1916. Thus, on Sunday, 6 March 2022 you may fly missions for 6 March 1916. Playing catch-up Because you didn’t fly missions for 1-5 March 1916, you may fly extra missions if you wish to catch up until you are flying “today’s date” in 1916. Don’t forget that we do this for fun, so if real life takes you away from the campaign for a little while, it is perfectly fine to fly a number of catch-up missions and/or advance the campaign date in-game. Straight into combat Unlike the previous campaign, we will not fly training missions in DiD IV. Enlistment name Each pilot is to be given a first, middle, and last name. To avoid repeating the same old names as our previous campaigns, your first pilot’s MIDDLE name should begin with A, your second pilot’s MIDDLE name with B, and so forth. You may fly one pilot at a time, and when he’s dead he stays dead. You may begin a new career with a new pilot on the following day. As an option, you may wish your new pilot to be the same nationality as the pilot who shot you down. Enlistment ranks Use manual enlistment and choose your pilot’s name, nationality, birth date, place of birth, and the assigned squadron for operational deployment. If you wish to start as an NCO pilot (common for Germany and France, less common for the UK,) start as: German Luftstreitkräfte: Feldwebel German Kaiserliche Marine: Flugmeister France: Sergeant RFC: Sergeant RNAS: N/A. (The RNAS did not have NCO pilots). If you wish to start as an officer, choose the above NCO rank in-game, but in your accounts give yourself junior officer or senior warrant officer rank until promoted in-game, for example: German Luftstreitkräfte: In game, start as a Feldwebel, but in your written accounts you will remain an Offizierstellvertreter until promoted Leutnant. German Kaiserliche Marine: In game, start as a Flugmeister, but in your written accounts you will remain Oberflugmeister until promoted Leutnant zur See. France: In game, start as a Sergeant, but in your written accounts you will remain Sous Lieutenant until promoted Lieutenant. RFC: In game, start as a Sergeant, but in your written accounts you will remain a 2/Lieutenant until promoted Lieutenant. RNAS: In both game and accounts, start as a Flight Sub-Lieutenant. For your written accounts, any subsequent promotion to higher ranks (e.g. Captain, OberLeutnant, Flight Commander) will come only from the CM. American enlistment Americans may enrol into the French Aviation Militaire or into the RFC or RNAS (enrolment in Canada – at risk of loss of citizenship due to taking a loyal oath to the Crown). Enrolment in or transfer to the USAS will become an option in early 1918. Your first posting To start the campaign, send a PM to epower, preferably on or before 24 December 2021, with the name and nationality of your new pilot and a brief biographical sketch. State whether you will begin your career as an NCO or junior officer. The CM will send you by return PM details of you first posting, including, your first operational squadron, and confirmation of your starting rank. The CM may assign your first pilot to fly two-seaters. Because the campaign starts in June 1915, choice is limited. Expect that your first assignment will last a while, as quick transfers to single-seat units are not historical. Later pilots may find that their first squadron is a single-seat unit, especially later in the war, but that’s up to fate (i.e., the CM). In-game aids While flying “full real” is preferred, you may use the following three aids if you must. TAC. If used, TAC must be set for surface units only. May not be set for balloons or aircraft or all, F5, and Cntl Z. Workshop Settings Read this section carefully, as some settings have changed since the last campaign. Campaign date advance: Manual Persistent weather: Off Weather: Historical Wind: On Wind Affects Player: On Rain / Snow: On Over G Visual Effects: On Regional Air Activity: Heavy (with Forced Encounters off) or Medium (with Forced Encounters at Medium). Players may, however, select lighter air activity if required by their PC. Campaign Mission Frequency: Historical Campaign Date Advance: Manual Log: Campaign Only, unless otherwise directed by CM Transfer requests: Subject to Review, unless otherwise directed by CM Historical Mission Types: On AI Never Backs Down: Off AI Enhanced Skill Levels: Off AI Reduced Vision: On AI Damage Affects Skill: On Player Flight Position: By Rank Player Flight Altitude: Historical Target Range: Historical Claims: Normal Promotions: Normal Outcomes: Normal Main Guns: Normal [Note – this is a change from the previous campaign] Rear Guns: Less Accurate Player Guns: Normal Gun Jams: On Ground Gun Accuracy / ROF: Hard Invincible: Off Flight Model: Realistic Unlimited Fuel and Ammo: Off Auto Mixture: Off (except for aircraft which historically did not have manually adjusted mixture) Random Craft Failure: On Map Waypoints: Off is strongly recommended. Download RAF_Louvert’s maps set to navigate realistically. It is available from https://thatoneplease.co/WOFF.html Labels and Dot Visibility Read this section carefully, as some settings have changed since the last campaign Fly with labels set to “dots only.” You may briefly go to “Information” labels to check the name of a witness when you down an enemy machine, but must return to dots only afterwards. In Workshop, set the distance at which dots are visible as follows. This will simulate gradual gain of air vision: 3000 m @ New Pilot start 3400 m @ 30 hours flown in combat 4000 m @ 70 hours in combat <was 100 - epower edit 5 Feb 2024> 4600 m @ 100 hours in combat <was 200 - epower edit 5 Feb 2024> 5000 m @ 200 hours in combat <was 300 - epower edit 5 Feb 2024> Views and Head tracking devices Head tracking devices (TrackIR, etc) are allowed Gun sight view F6 is allowed. External view not allowed if you have a head tracking system. Exception: Screenshots of a clearly defeated enemy or scenic non-combat atmospheric shots. Frequency of Missions All pilots must be given one day’s rest per real-life calendar week commencing with the week starting Sunday, 13 March 2022. This day off can be cancelled during any week in which flying is cancelled due to bad weather. Furthermore, there will be no days off granted during an offensive in your pilot’s sector. An offensive is deemed to be underway when the campaign missions screen shows the frequency of operations to be “High.” This will appear near the top left corner of the screen and will be accompanied by the words “Local Battle Support.” If your pilot is forced to land away from your home aerodrome in a field, or if his machine is heavily damaged and he lands at another aerodrome, you will fly no more missions that game day. Balloon Busting As in the previous Campaign, players may only claim an enemy balloon that is the assigned target in a balloon busting mission. Players may, if they wish, skip a balloon attack mission if they have already flown such a mission earlier in the game month. This simulates the tendency of most squadron commanders to even out the assignment of these difficult missions. As you will see under the “Special Rules” section, we are using the Balloon Archie Mod to make these missions considerably more dangerous. <epower edit 27 Feb 2024. Recon Wars update increased balloon defensive Archie sufficiently> Leading Flights Player may not lead a flight until reaching 60 50 combat flight hours. <epower edit 9 Feb 2024> Should the game assign the player to flight lead before this time, the player will takeoff, form up, climb to altitude at waypoint U as normal then engage the SPLIT command. At this point the AI will assume flight lead and player may manually rejoin the flight. Restricted use of Auto-pilot Because Autopilot can detect enemy aircraft which the player might not normally see, the use of AP may be used only for forming up, and climbout. Once the flight turns for the lines, or designated patrol target, the player must disengage AP. Aerodrome Transfers When your pilot receives a Transfer mission and flies to a new aerodrome, he will not fly combat missions for the next two days in game. Although the game will assign your pilot to missions, you should set all aircraft except your pilot’s to 5% fuel so you will fly alone. <epower edit Jan 31, 2023> With Recon Wars the 5% fuel trick may result in your two-seater squadmates fatally crashing. Instead, use the following procedure: In Workshop, set 'Player Flight Position' to 'Always Lead.' Take Off, Form up then lead flight back over home aerodrome. Type CTRL-L when over field. Flight will acknowledge 'Land -OK' Proceed with solo tour of the the lines. You may fly familiarisation flights over the countryside around your new aerodrome. Of course, there is a small chance of running into enemy machines, but that’s war! N.B. Remember to set Player Flight position back to "By Rank" when you've completed your familiarization flights. Squadron transfers After 35 hours of flying time with your initial squadron you may, but are not required to, request a transfer to another squadron. Do this by sending a PM to the CM (Raine or epower), detailing your total hours and specifying the desired squadron. The CM will either deny the request (in which case you must wait for 10 more hours of flight time), approve the request, or demand that you transfer to another squadron that you will be assigned. Once your request is approved, you may request the transfer in-game. Because transfers are set to “Subject to Review” in the Workshop, the game may still refuse your request. Sorry, but higher command sucks... Once in a new squadron, you may ask for additional transfers, but the longer you wait, the more likely the CM will be to approve the request. There may come a time (especially if you're playing the French) when your squadron becomes unplayable due to lack of usable aircraft. If that happens, you have three options: 1. Emergency transfer: Your pilot sits for a week (7 days). After that, you may restart him in a new career with any squadron from his country. You'll need to manually track the pilot's combined record. 2. Wait: If this is a problem that will eventually correct itself (such as a squadron switching to a different plane), you can choose to wait it out. Your pilot will simply be inactive until he can play again. 3. Retire: You can retire the character and start a new one. Long transfers The CM may assign a pilot to a period away from the front for a period of time. You can also request a break like this if you're going through a busy time in the real world. As CMs, we'll simply assign an explanatory story, which you can work into your written accounts. RFC pilots should expect a required period on Home Defense or instructors after a combat tour of about six months. We'll PM any special instructions when this happens. If you hate this idea, PM us and we'll work something out. Special Rules for DiD IV The following rules are put in place to increase the difficulty of amassing an unrealistically high score, and to make it a real thrill to receive confirmation of a claim. Restriction on attacking disengaged enemy at low level: The intent of this rule is to reduce the number of easy victories, and it focuses on one of the easiest of all – closing in on an enemy aircraft that has given up the fight and is heading home over the lines at lower altitudes. It forces the DiD pilot to disengage rather than get caught low over a near enemy lines. Put precisely, the rule is this: A pilot may not claim a victory over an enemy aircraft that is – 1. not flying in formation; 2. below 1200 m / 4000 feet in altitude; 3. over its own territory or over no man’s land (i.e. beyond the player’s own trench lines); AND 4. is “clearly disengaged.” For the purpose of this rule, an enemy aircraft is clearly disengaged when is heading toward its own territory in a straight line and has not been fired upon with effect for more than approximately 15 seconds. An enemy aircraft is NOT clearly disengaged if it is still maneuvering, or if the player has been firing at it with effect continuously, i.e. without a pause exceeding approximately 15 seconds. Firing “with effect” means that the player has seen some evidence that his rounds are hitting the target. Because we are using the DID IV Guns mod, such fire will normally come from closer ranges. <epower overdue housekeeping edit 16 Jan 2024> The following examples will illustrate this rule. After a couple of missions, it will become fairly intuitive when this rule applies and when it does not. See examples below. Player engages an enemy aircraft (EA) in a dogfight. EA spirals downwards to evade. Player dives after EA, continuing to fire every 10 to 15 seconds. Player sees puffs of smoke as his rounds hit the EA. The EA, now under 4000 feet, heads straight towards its own lines. Both the player and the EA are over no man’s land. Ruling: The player may continue to engage the EA. Because the player was firing at the EA with effect continuously, the EA has not clearly disengaged. Player engages an enemy aircraft (EA) in a dogfight. EA spirals downwards to evade. Player dives after EA but loses sight of him against the background of no man’s land. After circling about a couple of times (about 20-30 seconds), the player sees the EA heading homewards in the distance. The EA is under 4000 feet and over no man’s land. The player believes he can follow the EA and catch up with him in a couple of minutes. Ruling: The player should refrain from engaging EA (and even if he does engage the EA he may not claim a victory). Because of the time consumed circling about and looking for the EA, the EA has not been fired upon with effect for more than 15 seconds and is clearly disengaged. Player spots EA at 1500 feet. EA is heading homeward over no man’s land. Player dives on EA, and EA reacts by going into a climbing turn. Ruling: The player may continue to engage the EA. By maneuvering to meet the players approach, the EA demonstrated that it had not clearly disengaged. Player spots a formation of enemy two-seaters at 2000 feet over enemy territory. The EA are heading toward and aerodrome that is still some distance away (i.e. They are not circling to land). Ruling: The player may engage the EA. Even though they are heading home and low over enemy territory, they are still in formation and are therefore “fair game.” Vulching prohibition Players may not attack enemy aircraft on the ground or taking off at an aerodrome unless assigned to attack that specific aerodrome. Players may not attack enemy aircraft that are clearly circling to land at an aerodrome. The intent of these rules is to avoid cheap victories. EA deep in their own territory This practice has been a house rule of sorts for many DID participants. Before claiming a kill in enemy territory player MUST be able to name his witness (i.e. a specific friendly AC in visual range) and how he came to see your kill. No friendly AC in visual range = No Claim. Required mods: None as of Dec 2022 (epower edit 12/22) Dec 2022 - Recon Wars addon significantly increased AAA fire in balloon defense thus rendering the Archie Mod unnecessary. For the campaign, players should install and activate via JGSME, Old Hat's Balloon Archie Mod (click to activate link to Sandbagger's Mod site) Remember to install the 1915-1916 folder not the 1917-1918 version. This mod introduces a real gut-churning fear into balloon attack missions, especially when combined with the new requirement to set Ground Gun Accuracy and ROF to Hard. ** On hold as of Dec 2022 pending further tweaking. Do not use until further notice.**Also, players should install and activate the DID IV Guns Mod (click to activate link) (200m forward gun range, 300m rear gun range). This mod makes it difficult to snipe at a two-seater from long range and prevents players from firing at long range at a fleeing enemy to force him to turn back. Optional mods: The idea of this campaign is to be as historically accurate as possible. Mods that focus on adding historic details or ground textures, like the Consolidated Custom Facilities Mods or Buckeye Bob's cloud mods would be fine. So would JJJ's realistic tracer effects mod be okay, as long as you don't introduce tracer too early (From late 1915 on RNAS Home Defence, April 1916 in general RFC use, and mid 1916 in French and German use. Mods that don't affect combat like user interface mods are also fine. If in doubt contact the CMs. VonS has created some excellent flight model (FM) mods, available HERE (link edited to address in VonS post below) It is permissible, in fact preferred, for players to use early versions of their assigned aircraft. For example, a downrated version of the Morane Parasol would be historically accurate and therefore preferred during 1915. It is not permissible, however, to use tweaked or operated versions of your assigned aircraft without special permission from the CM. Some of these versions were quite rare. The list below, compiled from a 2019 post by OvS, shows the clearly permissible FM tweaks. Note that any tweak will affect AI aircraft of the same type. Fokk. E.II(a) 100-105 hp - July/Aug. 1915 to Mar./Apr. 1916 (E.II was best but most difficult handling of Eindecker types) SPAD 7 150 hp - standard service dates (Aug. 1916 to Jan./Feb. 1917) SPAD 7 180 hp - standard service dates (Mar./Apr. 1917 to Feb./Mar. 1918) Nieup. 11 80 hp - Jan. to Apr./May 1916 Pfalz A.I - standard service dates (of mid/late 1915; somewhat uncommon) Pfalz E.III 95hp - standard service dates (of second half of 1915, appeared before the E.I and E.II Pfalz variants, by the way, and is rare; use the stock 100hp E.III for first half of 1916, also rare) Morane Parasol L early - used from beginning of war to about the end of 1915 (common) Flight reports The essence of the campaign will be the flight reports. Ideally, we’ll get to know your pilot and read the “ripping good yarns” you will write about him. Please try to breathe life into your character and give us an idea of who he really is. We’ll do our best to keep it historically accurate. Don’t hesitate to write the CMs if you have any historical questions. We both love being sent down those historical rabbit holes. Campaign Moderator and flight reports From time to time, the CM may PM players with plot suggestions, interesting facts, or other ideas for your narratives. You are free to ignore these or use them as you choose. The intent is to add to the unpredictability of the campaign. Because the game award system is not tremendously historic, the CM will PM players with announcements of awards at appropriate moments. RAF_Louvert will play higher command. The CM will send him a message recommending a decoration, and he will have to approve before it’s final. At that point, RAF_Louvert will play “Gong Fairy” and will post his wonderful investiture photos and medal art and you may then mention the award in your written accounts. Best Practices (ed.- not a complete list and one we can add to in future.) Rule Zero - (Optional but highly recommended. Use at your own risk.) Whenever possible, DID Pilots will fly with a partner (e.g. friend, spouse, creditor) positioned behind them holding both a button activated blowtorch and a pellet pistol. When wounded in game or set on fire the partner will determine the enemy angle of attack then apply the aforementioned blowtorch to and/or fire the pellet gun at the appropriate body part for both the initial and any subsequent reductions in pilot health. At their discretion the partner may discharge the pellet pistol past the player’s ear into an appropriate receptacle/target so as to simulate incoming enemy fire. Shooting holes in the monitor/windscreen, while immersive, is not recommended. Level flight and time interval for Lewis Gun reload – Current Lewis reload, especially for those early war aircraft lacking Foster mounts, is unrealistically quick given that the pilot had to stand up in the slipstream, swap out the Lewis drums, while still maintaining control of his aeroplane. Until OBD hardcodes this requirement into the game, it is recommended that players fly straight and level and do a slow count of 20 seconds when reloading any fixed overwing Lewis gun. Line Spacing tips and Tricks - The Line spacing here at CombatAce can be LARGE when hitting the RETURN Key. Example. However, using SHIFT+ENTER allows a normal line spacing... Example.

A Legionnaire’s Tale – Part 4 9 April 1919 American Hospital Mueilly, outside Paris It was not until we reached the intact wire fronting the Horseshoe Wood that I realized I no longer wished to die. But I am getting ahead in my tale, or rather those parts of it that I can remember. My wound knocked my memory about. Some parts I can recall vividly. My journal is of some help in this regard but other bits remain foggy. Was it really six months ago? ____________________________ 26 September 1915 Before Navarin Farm Souian, Champagne. France. We will move forward soon. On the 25th, our brother Regiment, the 2er Étrangère took their place in the second wave of the attack. Reports come down of heavy losses. The Farm of Navarin remains in German hands. We, the Premier Étrangère, sat in reserve and dined on German shells. Not to be outdone by the Boche, a barrage of our own 75s fell short, landing directly on our position. More dead Legionnaires. If we don’t move soon, we will die without seeing the enemy. Merde! Most of the men grumbled at the issue of new steel helmets, those designed by the famous Colonel Adrian, but with the steel splinters falling like rain no one is grumbling now, at least not about the new equipment. I see Capitaine Junod and the other officers joining us in our bayou. “En Avant!” The cry comes down the line. I suddenly feel calm and move amongst the men of my section. We are heading up the line at last. 28 September 1915 Before Navarin Farm Souian, Champagne. France. We’ve been hammered in these forward trenches for 2 days. 146 men and 6 Officers killed. Colonel Cot demanded we be allowed to attack. His request was granted. It will be a sacrifice, to fix the enemy’s attention so that two other regiments can take the Farm of Navarin from behind. An hour ago, all the officers suddenly appeared in the frontline trenches. At last, something will happen. The refrain of ‘Le Boudin’ springs unbidden to my mind: Nos anciens ont su mourir Pour la gloire de la Légion. Nous saurons bien tous périr Suivant la tradition. Our ancestors knew how to die For the glory of the Legion. We will all know how to perish Following tradition. Our ancestors most certainly knew how to die… I remembered the wooden hand of Capitaine Jean Danjou, the most sacred relic of the Legion, sanctified in blood at the hacienda of Camerone. There, on 30 April 1863, 65 Legionnaires under the command of Capitaine Danjou held off over 3000 Mexican regulars for an entire day. Two hours into the fighting, Capt. Danjou was mortally wounded. His place was taken by Lieutenant Napoleon Vilain. At 1400hrs with only 20 effectives, Lt Vilain was killed. Lieutenant Clément Maudet assumed command. At the close of day with their ammunition exhausted, Lt. Maudin and the 5 unwounded Legionnaires, fixed bayonets and charged the enemy. Two fell immediately. Legionnaire Victor Catteau shielded Lt. Maudet with his body and was killed in the fusillade. The remaining men were surrounded. Only when the awestruck Mexican commander, Major Campos, agreed to leave them their weapons and equipment and attend to their wounded did the Legionnaires surrender. ­­___________________________________ This cursed time of inaction, just before combat, where thoughts can run riot, some men write letters, others pray or sit serenely. For myself, I scribble in this chronicle which I now realize no one will ever read. Strangely, I am at peace. Soon I will be free from the fell voice and hideous memory. Free from the nightmare thing lurking in the shadow. Free from my cafard. All of us will die today. “Baionetts au cannon, Mon Capitaine?” inquired Adjutant Le Roi, surprised at there being no order to fix bayonets. “There is no need.” replied Capitaine Junod. “We will be killed before we can use them.” Oblivious to enemy fire, he stood on the parapet and addressed the company. 'Mes enfants, nous allons a une mort certaine, mais nous allons tacher de mourir en braves.' (' My children, we are going to certain death, but we are going to try to die like brave men.) Here it was. My chance to die well and not be damned to Hell as a suicide. Mort Pour La France. So be it. I felt the fear as other men. One’s instinct for self-preservation is not some electric light to be switched off at will. Yet such emotion felt distant. A calm descended upon me even as duty and desire compelled me forward. Checking his wristwatch a final time, Capitaine Junod put the gendarme’s whistle to his lips and blew. “En avant!” he cried, waving his arm. As one man, the entire company surged out of the trench. Forward. Forward to death. Capitaine Bernard, commanding B company was the first officer cut down, hit just as we left the trench. “Gradés a moi!!” Capitaine Bernard, mortally wounded, called his NCOs to him, and gave them his final orders. He shook hands with many of his men as they moved forward. We charged over the dead bodies of the first and second waves. The enemy machine guns spewed fire into living and dead alike. Men died all around me. The lifeless corpses of our predecessors rolled backwards like logs under the weight of lead. “En avant! Forward boys, forward!” From some detached awareness, I recognized that it was my own voice shouting these words. So many fell before we got near the German wire. Those left alive mixed together irrespective of unit, just as they had in Artois. I saw Capitaine Junod die. As we reached the wire entanglements before the Wood, a machine gun burst tore into him. He fell, shouting, “En avant, mes enfants! A la mort!” ('Forward, my children! To death!') then lay still. Goddamn wire was untouched! We took to it with our rifle buts, beating down a narrow path through to the Wood. We were too few. I called my section to me, or any men about. Time, in defiance of physical law, held almost to a stop. Machine gun fire slashed over my head. Rounds fell all around us. I dreamed of this moment. How many times had I sought this instance through reckless action in the face of the enemy? I had begged God for the opportunity, for the mercy, for an end to the darkness of mind. This was it at last, the hour of my death. I thought of my mother. I heard then, like music, the Djinn’s laughter riding the shell-rent air. What bitter irony that I could finally understand his words at this end of all things. A line of mortar rounds landed in a string, walking inexorably toward me. A blast, a flash behind my eyes, then oblivion I should have died with them. Died with Capitaine Junod and the others. Was it God who spared me for some impenetrable purpose of his own, or was it the Djinn Who Spoke to Me? Spewed from the blast, a jagged hunk of metal tore into my right knee. Another split my helmet, tearing my scalp and cracking my skull. A fortnight before it would have taken half my head away. Thank God for Colonel Adrian. Whether Deity, Elemental, or Colonel Adrian’s invention, it was Dr. David who became the earthly instrument of my salvation. Dr. David Everett Wheeler, a man not content with treating the wounded in hospital, he joined the Legion in late 1914. It was he who dragged me out of the Horseshoe Wood, bandaged my wounds, then carried me on his back toward the clearing station. His right calf was shot away but he bandaged himself and limped us back through the carnage. As we moved to the rear, he treated wounded men and using the medical supplies he always carried. Bandages for those who might survive, morphine to ease the passing of those mortally wounded. It was Dr. David who saved me. A journey not without incident. We ran into a group of Senegalese who believed the good doctor, having discarded his greatcoat and looking decidedly Hunnish, was a German spy carrying a wounded Legionnaire to some grisly end. Speaking little French, Dr. Wheeler was not able to defend himself properly and I fear my brain-addled ravings didn’t help matters. He was about to be shot when an officer of the 170th happened by and put things right. We were both shipped to Chalons-sur-Marne, after which Wheeler arranged for us and many others to travel with him to the American Hospital in Neuilly, where his wife is a nurse. We have quite the Cadre Étrangère here. The disgraced Englishman Elkington, Dr. Wheeler himself, Genet, myself and a host of others. How many others survived I don’t have any way of knowing but of the first two companies to charge forward, 500 men in all, only 31 remained to answer the roll. Seeger wrote me in November. On the 11th of that month, the survivors of the 1st and 2nd Foreign regiments will now be reformed as a single Regiment du Marche.

<<Taps microphone>> "Hey, is this thing on? It's been a minute, eh? Thought it was over did you? Fat chance!" __________________________________________________________________ A Legionnaire’s Tale – Part 3 13 September 1915 La Chapelle-sous-Chaux Alsace, France We bivouac in the blissful cool of the Vosges. When the weather is clear we can see Mont Blanc in the distance. I feel at peace here. I haven’t heard the fell voice whispering for many days. Such a beautiful place but we will not be here for long. We are soon to join the Fall offensive, wherever that may land. Capitaine Junod has returned early from his convalescent leave at his home in Switzerland. He is not entirely recovered from the wounds from May 9th but hearing that a big push was afoot he had to participate. Today the entire Moroccan Division, the Legion, the Zouaves and the Algerian tirailleurs, passed in review before President Poincaré, General Catelnau and a large group of general officers I didn’t recognize. As was fitting, it was our own Colonel Cot who presided over the ceremony and when the bugles sounded “Au Drapeau!” 20,000 rifles snapped as one to present arms. New tricolor battle flags were unfurled and presented to the marching regiments of the First and Second Étrangère. They replaced the old motto, ‘Valeur et Discipline,’ with a new one: ‘Honneur et Fidélité.’ The Croix du Guerre, awarded for the Legion’s action in Artois, adorned the new colors. A scene of great pride and emotion. Tears welled in the eyes of every one of us Anciens. I wept without shame. I saw Capitaine Junod completely overcome and crying like a child. 14 September 1915 La Chapelle-sous-Chaux Alsace, France Mail. The first in many weeks. A letter from Jacko! _______________________________________________________ What a cast of characters at the ‘Point. We Four Musketeers, all members of the Class of ’15 ***, and the Fencing Team as well. John Percival Livingston aka Jacko – He was our Athos. Scion of the wealthy Livingston family, his distant grandfather had signed the Declaration of Independence. Two splendid holidays we four spent at his family home up the Hudson River. Never was one for the books. A true sportsman, mad in love with a Curtiss pusher monoplane which he flew in all weathers. There was a second tandem seat but I’d be damned before I went up in that rickety thing no matter his entreaties! In Winter, it was Ice boating on the frozen Hudson. David Owen Morgan – Aramis. Grandson of a Welch coal miner. Gorgeous Tenor voice and sometime tailback for the Westpoint freshman football team. Festus Wheeler – Porthos. The amiable Texan. No surprise indeed that he graduated last in his class. Never one to exert himself beyond the minimum necessary, except when it came to the ladies. What a card! The others: The Garter Snake – Elliot Winthrop Garner. Upper class nemesis and general pain in the arse. Two years ahead of us he used his position as company commander to annoying effect. The Garter Snake: reptilian, but harmless, mostly. His father is the NY State Senator for Manhattan District 28 comprising the middle and upper East side. Elliott took it poorly when he lost his starting position on the fencing team to our group of freshmen. Myself to be accurate. I defeated him in all three of our qualifying bouts. The duel as well but that’s a longer story. Sophie Montgomery – Jacko’s cousin. What a vile piece of work. Oh, how I fell for her and how she did use me, all to secure the Garter Snake’s affection… I hope the bitch is happy with her choice. Many women like scars, or so I hear, and I left him with a dandy. May God damn the Harpy. She is the kind that make men despise all women. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_________________________________ A home in the Legion? My ‘home’ such as it is now is so very different from the one which welcomed me in 1912. Before Artois it was a godawful mess with all these green volunteers. I admit I doubted them. Even more so after I spent a week with these Americans of the 2nd Étrangère at Craonelle in January, just after the raid where Corporal Weidemann was killed. Weidemann… he was my Corporal when I arrived in Sidi-bel-Abbes. 15 years in the legion! He was tough, ignorant, the kind of single-minded hard case as only a German can be, but also scrupulously honest and ever watchful as to the welfare his Legionnaires. I recall him patiently teaching a recruit how to wrap his feet to prevent blisters. Wiedemann was the first of my teachers in the Legion and took me with him in 1912, when the 1st Étrangère sent reinforcements to Colonel Cot force relieving Fez. I asked Seeger, the poet, what happened. Shamefaced, he told me how the Huns had slipped in unawares and how Wiedemann, too late, had raised the alarm. “Aux armes! Aux armes!” he cried just before they killed him. When the boys found him, he lay stripped of insignia as was normal, but also with the top of his skull missing, knocked off by German rifle butts. When the marauding Boche returned to their trenches they set up a god-awful, guttural howling in mockery of Wiedemann’s last words. Curse these fools for their incompetence. Weideman was worth two score of them. These new ‘men’, if you could even call them that, were a poor excuse for soldiers. To call them Legionnaires was an abomination. They were Ivy League dilettantes on their best day. We, les Anciens, the veteran African legionnaires, despised them as amateurs. The antipathy was reciprocated, inflamed no doubt by the moronic decision to place all new men of similar nationality together in the same units. What stupidity! The flood of new men was beyond anything the Legion might absorb. Language barrier be damned, they should have been split up and salted among the various companies and so become Legionnaires in the proper way. To see that Harvard ass Morlae, and some of the others made Corporals and even Sergeants after a mere two months of service was galling beyond the limits of fury. I earned my stripes! Two years in the Legion fighting the Arabs, then the 10 weeks of hell that was Le Peloton Caporal – Corporal school. My second-place finish advanced me one rank to Caporal-Chef. Even so my rise was considered meteoric and not all were pleased by my success. Few of les Anciens could remember so rapid an ascent. What they didn’t know was that I damn near came in as an officer. The possibility existed if one might offer proof of a foreign commission. During the final phase of my enlistment, the Commandant looked for a long time at the letter from Monsieur Duval. It seemed clear that he recognized the name but he remained silent. I gave him the picture of we Four Musketeers at West Point. He stared at it briefly, then at me but in the end he dismissed it with a wave of his hand and replied with a distinct Gallic, ‘Non.’ Exit Lieutenant Felix Moore. Enter Legionnaire 13671. As much as it pains me, I must say that after Artois, I have fewer concerns. These rich boy American countrymen of mine may not have served in Africa and I still struggle to consider them true Legionnaires but they are blooded now. I know they will fight. ___________________________________________ *** The West Point Class of 1915, aka "The Class the Stars Fell On." Of the 164 graduates that year, 59 (36%) attained the rank of general, more than any other class in the history of the academy. Among them, Dwight David Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, and Joseph May Swing (who was my father's CO in the 11th Airborne Division during the invasion of the Philippines. FWIW, the 511th PIR was the very first American unit into Japan in September 1945. Miss you Dad. )

That's how it was though, we like that :) I must dig up the exact primary source references but IIRC, and I do, verbiage to the effect that Pilot XXXX "made the dud engine signal and flew off," does appear in a number of accounts. But hey, if it's intentional then so be it. War is a dangerous place, and I appreciate a turn for the nefarious.

I would like to have a notification that one of my flieger has left the formation. Perhaps using the same notification system as when I issue commands to the flight (e.g. S, L) I don't even need the man's name, just a heads up that "Alb.D.Va(#8502) has left the formation" similar to the way the review mission debrief works. Most distressing to look back and see only 3 aircraft where there were once 5

Bravo Raine. I was wondering if Bell-Gordon would be in Halifax on 6 December. Brilliantly told. You've been carrying DID IV solo for a long time now. I heard a rumor that your man may have some company before long, not to mention another visit from He who Must not be named... Cigar ash and Tulle. Carry on in the finest, and do fly carefully.

Forgive me if I've missed something obvious but I uploaded a number of duplicate images to my album and, attempting to do some house cleaning, I failed to find any way to delete them. No Trash can Icon or anything of the sort. Any assistance greatly appreciated. Cheers! Edit - Found it! That very well concealed delete option in the lower left lower "Manage Image" tab.