Planning an Air Campaign

In between painting Zulus, I am up to 180 now, I have finally managed to put together all my Battle of Britain campaign notes for use with the Blood Red Skies rules. The games will feature my small collection of 1:72 scale aircraft and will be played either indoors on the tabletop or, weather permitting, outside in the garden (see here).

Here are the campaign rules...

A campaign tracker I made.

This is a solo campaign where the player takes the RAF role. The campaign is played over 17 turns with each turn representing one week during the period from 10 July to 31 October 1940. The RAF objective is to minimise Luftwaffe bombing success against London, industry and Channel convoys.

Each tabletop game is a key encounter that determines the campaign outcome for the entire week. A very "bath-tubbing" approach with my handful of models.

Turn Sequence

1. Luftwaffe Target Selection: Determine the Luftwaffe’s objective for the week.
2. Mission Briefing: Note campaign modifiers and set up the tabletop.
3. Engagement: Play the game using the Blood Red Skies rules and a Solo Flowchart.
4. Debrief: Record the result and update the Campaign Calendar.

Luftwaffe Target Selection

At the start of each campaign turn, roll 1D6 to determine the Luftwaffe’s primary target.

• 1 = Bombing industrial areas.
• 2 = Sorties & Reconnaissance - Probing defenses and fighter sweeps.
• 3 = Bombing London (Mandatory Target on Turn 17).
• 4 = Bombing Airfields
• 5 = Bombing coastal Radio Direction Finding (RDF) Installations.
• 6 = Bombing Channel Convoys.

Note: If you roll the same target as the previous turn, the mission is scrubbed due to weather. Mark a dash (—) on your calendar; no game is played for that week. A reprieve for the RAF!

Record the target selection on the campaign map’s calendar. For example, cross off the week and write “3” at the end of the week if the target was London.

An example of a campaign game turn ticked off with a line through the week. The target selection was a Sortie game indicated with a "2" that was won by the Luftwaffe shown with an "L".

Mission Briefing

Once the mission is decided the next step is to create the forces involved. The forces are based on my limited 1:72 scale collection.

A couple of Hurricanes chase down a Messerschmitt 109.

Force Composition for Mission Engagements

• Bombing industrial areas - Luftwaffe (1x He 111, 1x Do 17, 3x ME 109) vs. RAF (2x Hurricanes, 2x Spitfires).
• Sorties & Reconnaissance - Luftwaffe (1x Me 110, 3x ME 109) vs. RAF (2x Hurricanes, 2x Spitfires).
• Bombing London - Luftwaffe (1x He 111, 1x Do 17, 3x ME 109) vs. RAF (2x Hurricanes, 2x Spitfires).
• Bombing Airfields - Luftwaffe (1x Do 17, 4x ME 109) vs. RAF (2x Hurricanes, 2x Spitfires).
• Bombing coastal RDF Installations - Luftwaffe (1x Ju 87, 4x ME 109) vs. RAF (2x Hurricanes, 2x Spitfires).
• Bombing Channel Convoys - (1x Do 17, 3x ME 109) vs. RAF (3x Spitfires, 1x Boulton Paul Defiant).

Weather & Defences

Bombing Targets - For all missions except Sorties, place a target marker/objective on one tabletop edge.

Barrage Balloons - For bombing missions on Industry, RDF installations, or London missions, the RAF player can place 2 barrage balloons within their half of the table. This is reduced to 1 balloon if London was successfully bombed within the previous 2 weeks.

Flak - For bombing missions on Industry, RDF installations, or London missions, the RAF player may place 2 Flak units anywhere within their half of the table.

Weather - Roll 1D6 for the number of clouds. Players alternate placing clouds (the Luftwaffe place the first cloud). Clouds must be 6” (or 2 hexes) away from other clouds or targets.

• 1 = Poor (4 Clouds)
• 2 = Fine/Overcast (3 Clouds)
• 3-4 = Fine (2 Clouds)
• 5 = Clearing (1 Cloud)
• 6 = Clear (0 Clouds)

Aircraft Deployment and Pilot Skills

Aircraft Placement - The Luftwaffe starts by placing their aircraft along one tabletop edge (opposite the target if a bombing mission). The RAF may then deploy anywhere within the opposite half of the table.

Starting Advantage Levels - All bombers begin Neutral. For all other aircraft, roll 1D6:

• 5-6: Advantaged
• 3-4: Neutral
• 2 or less: Disadvantaged

The RAF roll 2D6 and use the lowest score if an RDF installation was successfully bombed in the previous turn.

Pilot Skills - Roll 1D6 per aircraft for their pilot’s skill level. Subtract 1 if a Sortie mission was lost in the last two weeks.

• 6+ = Ace
• 5 = Veteran
• 2-4 = Regular
• 1 or less = Novice

The Luftwaffe adds +1 during weeks 1–5; subtracts -1 during weeks 13–17.

At the beginning of the campaign the Luftwaffe had the edge in pilot skills having on hand combat veterans who had already fought in: Poland, Norway, France & the Low Countries. However, they were fighting over enemy territory and overtime they lost their edge in experience. While the RAF pilots were fighting over home territory, that meant a safe landing in friendly territory with quick rescue on land or by the Royal Navy.

Airfield Damage - If the Luftwaffe successfully attacked an Airfield last turn, the RAF begins this game with 1 Boom Token.

A He 111 on a bombing run.

Gaming Notes:

1. The use of aircraft traits in the game allows players to gain advantages with their aircraft. However, the Blood Red Skies full version of the game from Warlord Games uses trait cards, so all aircraft do not always get to use their traits. As I have no trait cards with the Airfix version, where traits can always been used, I have opted to limit the use of traits. Players can use up to 2 traits in a game turn, then must roll a dice and score 4+ to use any more traits during the game turn.
2. When any of the games are played solo, I will be using a Blood Red Skies solo flowchart for determining the actions taken by the Luftwaffe. I found the flowchart in the files of a FaceBook Group “Blood Red Skies Ready Room”.

Campaign Victory Conditions

At the end of Turn 17, count the total number of Luftwaffe Successes (L) involving London, Industry, and Convoys.

RAF Victory - 3 or fewer Luftwaffe successes.

A draw - 4 Luftwaffe successes.

A Luftwaffe Victory - 5 or more Luftwaffe successes.