Besides the seven Land campaigns described last time, Wild Blue Yonder includes two Operations, three Progressive campaigns, and a solitaire campaign.
Operations include one or more missions, often with a fixed order of battle. They can be played as stand-alone campaigns, and also replace one of the “regular” missions when called for in a Land Campaign.
In Progressive campaigns, each mission has a direct impact on aircraft available for future missions beyond the expenditure of Resources. Players assign aircraft to each mission from a roster and fly missions until one side or the other wins. Aircraft lost in earlier missions are not available for later missions. Weather plays an important role, often determining how many aircraft each player may assign. In addition, mission results move a Campaign Progress marker on a track, which may trigger events and ultimately determines victory. Unlike the Guadalcanal Campaign in Corsairs & Hellcats, WBY Progressive campaigns feature Resources and often include random events as well.
Battle of Britain
Unlike the original Battle of Britain Land campaign in Rise of the Luftwaffe, this 2nd Edition Progressive campaign is a much longer and more complex battle of attrition that I consider to be the most complex in the game. Besides the expected aircraft and missions (Hurricanes and Spitfires intercepting four types of Luftwaffe bombers escorted by Messerschmitt 109s and 110s), Boulton-Paul Defiants and Blenheim Mk IF fighters may appear to oppose German very low-level “Treetop Raids,” night raids, and fighter-bombers. The new rules for 3-plane Sections get a workout, as the RAF fighters usually fly in these units against the Luftwaffe’s 2-plane Elements.
Instead of being chosen by the players, weather resources (such as Clouds Over Target) are determined randomly based on the forecast for the week. The importance of radar is highlighted by having the players allocate points to determine the length of the mission in turns, the relative altitude at which the defending fighters begin, and who plays first. Simplified fuel rules reflect the short range of the Bf109s as well as the possibility that RAF interceptors spend time on patrol and/or in transit to reach the German attackers before the game’s action commences.
The massive Adlertag and Great London raids are depicted by “double missions” at appropriate points in the campaign to better portray the scale of those actions. Original designer Roger Horky also included a depiction of the ill-fated Luftflotte 5 raid on northern Britain, but I eliminated it because it was too accurate: the German forces virtually always took a pounding, so it added additional play time in an already-long campaign to little effect. An optional rule allows players to try it, but assuredly it’s something only a masochistic Axis player will want to repeat!
Operation PEDESTAL
This 2nd Edition Operation is a thorough reworking of the campaign by Ian Clarence that originally appeared in C3i #10. Instead of using decks of the aircraft cards themselves to determine raid composition, players plan their day’s aircraft allocation using rosters similar to those in Progressive campaigns. This allows multiple raids by SM.79 torpedo bombers and large formations of Ju88s that featured prominently on the second day but weren’t possible in the original version. The actual numbers of attacking and intercepting aircraft in each mission are still determined by action card draw, just as in the original. To partially offset the larger number of missions, the ahistorical Day 4 action has been eliminated.
The Germans muster Ju87D-3 and Ju88A-4 bombers, supplemented by He111H-6 torpedo bombers and escorted by Bf109F-4 and Bf110D and E fighters. Besides SM.79-II and SM.84 torpedo bombers, their Italian allies contribute Ju87R dive bombers, CR.42 AS fighter-bombers, and MC.202 and Re2001 escorts. Opposing them are Sea Hurricane Mk Ib/c, Fulmar Mk II, and Martlet Mk II fighters of the Fleet Air Arm plus Malta-based Spitfire Vb and Beaufighter IC fighters.
The convoy itself is now represented by a roster of all 14 individual merchant ships. Rather than using the generic Freighter and Tanker targets, Axis bombers now attack named ships, each customized to represent its actual size. Victory is determined by how many of these ships’ damage boxes survive to deliver their supplies to Malta.
Stalingrad Airlift
This overhauled 2nd Edition of Greg Guererro’s Progressive campaign in Eighth Air Force retains the original scheme of one Strike and one Transport mission each week. It adds random events reflecting such things as offensives by both sides (e,g., WINTERGEWITTER, SATURN, and KOLTSO), reinforcements, and the arrival of Bf109 drop tanks. Most importantly, the order of battle better reflects the historical aircraft of both sides, as Bf109G and Bf110E fighters try to protect He111H, Ju87D, and Ju88A bombers and Ju52 and Ju86 transports, while La-5, Yak-1, and Yak-7B fighters strive to intercept them as well as escort Il-2 and Pe-2 light bombers. Resources allow the inclusion of planes that appeared in smaller numbers such as Italian MC.200s, MC.202s, and BR.20Ms, Romanian Bf109Es and IAR-81s, Fw200Cs and He177s pressed into service as transports, Soviet LaGG-3s, lend-lease Hurricane IIb and P-40E fighters, and IL-4 bombers.
Kursk
This brand-new Progressive campaign is one I felt had to be in WBY, as it portrays some of the most intense air combat of the entire war in the East. It also showcases some of the best mid-war fighters and includes many of the top aces of the Eastern Front. The campaign features both Northern and Southern front scenarios, and (if we can test it in time) P500 subscribers will also receive a variant depicting the Soviet Operation KUTUSOV counteroffensive.
Each campaign Day (representing two days of historical time after the opening day) consists of two strike missions, one German and one Soviet. On both fronts, German Ju87D-3, He111H-6, and Ju88A-8 bombers and Soviet Il-2, Il-2m, and Pe-2 light bombers provide most of the forces for strike missions.
In the south, the Bf109Gs of Luftflotte 4 support Fw190F and Hs129B-2 ground attack aircraft, with Hungarian Bf109Gs and Ju87G tank busters available as Resources. A wide range of Soviet fighters of 2nd and 17th Air Armies oppose them, mainly La-5s and Yak-1s, reinforced by Yak-7Bs and Yak-9s plus a P-39D Resource. The new Il-2 Tip 3 improved Sturmoviki also appear here, along with a DB-7 (Boston) Resource.
Up north, the Fw190As of Luftflotte 6 predominate, with Bf110G-2 Resources and perhaps Bf109G reinforcement from the south. The Soviet 16th Air Army consists largely of La-5s and Yak-1s, but also has P-39Ds and DB-7s in its regular lineup, supplemented by La-5FN, Yak-7B, and Yak-9D fighter Resources.
Schweinfurt Raids
Of all the campaigns in WBY, this Operation most closely resembles the original. There are still two variants, depicting the August and October missions. Compared to what appeared in Eighth Air Force, however, the forces and number of turns more accurately reflect history. There are fewer B-17Gs, the Bf109F models are replaced by more ‘Gustavs’ (including one element with 20mm Gun Pods), Bf110G-2 day fighters replace the Bf110Cs, and Spitfire Mk V models form part of the withdrawal escort.
Buzz Bomb
In this solitaire campaign by Ian Clarence, you fly a lone RAF fighter trying to shoot down a V-1 before it reaches its target. You use your card hand to close on your target, fire on the V-1 or try and tip it into an early dive, and dodge the shrapnel in the not-unlikely event the “Doodlebug” explodes. Will you approach from directly behind or attempt an angled pursuit course? Will you close for a better shot to face greater damage if the V-1 explodes? Will you break off when fuel runs low or risk having to make a dead-stick landing? And will you follow the V-1 into the deadly flak barrage surrounding London? These are some of the choices you may face in each fast-paced mission.
The campaign reflects the period June-October 1944 when almost 10,000 V-1s were launched against London before their bases were overrun. This allows us to include some of the late-war aircraft that would otherwise have been excluded from the game, namely the Spitfire Mk XIV, the Hawker Tempest Mk V, and the Gloster Meteor Mk I. And so players can play dogfights of their own devising, we’ve included Wingmen cards for these aircraft even though they aren’t used in any of the game’s campaigns.
And there you have it! Much more than a mere reprint, the WBY box includes revised rules, new action decks, new and improved campaigns, and lots of new aircraft cards as well as improved versions of many previously-published types. We hope it is a worthy addition to the series that both experienced Down in Flames players and those new to the system will enjoy.
Previous Article in the Series: Into the Wild Blue Yonder (Part Five): Land Campaigns
Author: Chris Janiec
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.