Recently, Bruce Geryk posted a detailed and well illustrated After Action Report of the 1942 Campaign of Skies Above the Reich on a Grognard Wargamer thread. We are presenting that AAR here as a series of articles with Bruce’s permission so readers can easily reference it in the future. Enjoy! -Rachel

In the grim darkness of the far future there is only B-17: Queen of the Skies.

You should generally take Flavor Flav’s advice regarding hype, but there are exceptions. I started a 1942 campaign of Skies Above the Reich which is GMT Games’ new solitaire Luftwaffe tactical simulator designed by Jeremy White and Mark Aasted. Here is how the first mission shook out.

The first thing you do is roll the mission situation. Since it’s 1942, I get six Experten, or aces, each of whom will have a special power, like Invisibility or Magic Missile. The campaign length will be six missions. The first mission will be played on Map 1 because I rolled a 4. I roll another 4 to determine the mission type, which means the raid I am intercepting will be “Near Target” – meaning I will have to roll for flak. Then I roll a 6, meaning I will have 4 Ops Points. OP are the things you use to equip your party. I just get four *Me-109s without any attachments like cannons or rockets. I actually can’t get any attachments at all, since they are not available until 1943 at the earliest. The upside to flying in 1942 is that I’ll be facing the more vulnerable formations on Map 1. Once I have purchased my party, I roll for Escorts. A 6 means there will be none. That wouldn’t be possible in 1944-45.

Skies Above the Reich Mission Setup

Then I went to the separate Situation Manual and rolled for Pre-existing Damage to the bombers (there was none), Sun Position (High Flank at 2 o’clock to 4 o’clock), Flight Limit (6), and Tactical Points (1). Because it is 1942, the formation is not Anchored and Contrails are not present.

This is a shot of the setup I have for the game, since there was a question about the footprint. I have this set up on a coffee table in my living room. I measured the table and it is only 21” x 41”. I did use two small tray table on either side, but I really didn’t need them.

My pilots are conveniently labeled on their wooden blocks – I choose the names beginning with A-D. Each one takes a different Experte special power. And that’s it! We’re ready to go.

(NB: This is the first boardgame ever with no setup time. You know why? Because the rulebook says that when you are rolling for all the mission conditions, you have already started playing the game. So there! I guess you still had to open the box and take the stuff out of it. Unless you did an unboxing video.)

Pilots, Start Your Engines!

I have six turns to inflict damage (determined by the Flight Limit). My fighters can enter from any aspect but must be at Low Altitude. I’m going to enter them at Nose (12 o’clock) Low for an initial head-on attack.

The basis for Skies Above the Reich is that the bombers in a B-17 formation are mutually supporting, and some formations are more mutually supporting that others. The four maps in the game depict progressively more defensively powerful formations as the war progresses. Each space has a “lethality factor” that reflects the volume of fire that can be directed against it, which is printed on the mapboard, as are the B-17s.

Map Example

Entering the map is my move for the turn. We then go through the rest of the turn sequence, which really only has Flak Resolution since I have no fighters engaged. I go to the Situation Manual and roll on the appropriate table. No damage.

Since I only have six turns, I want to engage as quickly as possible. My mission setup only gave me one Tactical Point (TP). Tactical Points can be spent to make extra moves or to make bad things go away. In that way they are exactly the same as military mana. Unlike military mana, however, they do not regenerate.

Movement is free, except when it isn’t. I could climb to Nose Level for free, or pay 1 TP to get to High. Since I am under time pressure, I am going to go ahead and get to High altitude. I could attack on turn earlier by coming in level, and frankly, I have no idea if this would be a better strategy. On later maps, the overlapping elements provide additional lethality to certain spaces when attacked from High, but this 1942 element doesn’t have that advantage. So I’ll get to High altitude and make my first attack. That’s my move for Turn 2.

Again, I have nothing else to do since I am not engaged yet, except for a Flak roll. It misses.

Now it’s Turn 3. My move is into the Approach box for Nose High. That will allow me to Engage during the Attack Phase. But first I will have to roll for Flak, and fighters in Approach boxes are vulnerable. Let’s see.

The flak misses the bombers, but would hit fighters in either Oblique Approach Box, or in the Tail Approach Box. Nose Approach? Safe!

So we move to the Attack Phase. In the Approach Segment, we move fighters out of approach boxes onto the map. If there are more than six, you resolve them six at a time (per wave) but I only have four so I can do them all at once. My plan is to attack with my fighters in pairs. That will expose me to Collision but will also gain me the Rotte Advantage for this element (two fighters attacking the same bomber from the same space, at the same altitude, and coming from the same approach box. I also get the Schwarm Advantage for having four fighters of the same type attack the same element coming from the same box (except Oblique which is not eligible) and all being in Determined Mode. These will be useful later. I place my aircraft on the map in attack position. The fighters are all in Deterrmined Mode. They are all Experten (marked with chits).

NEXT: The Luftwaffe’s first pass

Articles in this Series: Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4

Author: Bruce Geryk