Stuka Ace: France Mission 4

17 May 1940 

Improvised forward Airstrip, near Bastogne, Belgium

A Trio of Ju87 from Stab III/StG51 on an improvised airstrip, France 1940

French Counter-attack at Montcornet

The pace of the last two days had only been exceeded by the speed at which the Panzer Divisions were advancing. Rommel and Guderian seemed to be in a race to the coast to complete the encirclement of the BEF and French Armies. Rumour mill had it that they were even ignoring orders from OKH to slow down to consolidate their winnings. Their blood was up!

Not for the first time in the past week, Voss wondered how his brother was faring. The slower infantry couldn't keep up with the Panzers, but Johann was in a Motorised unit and Voss knew that meant he would be right up there at the leading edge.

It was foolhardy. It was magnificent. It couldn't last. 

The whole Gruppe was woken by sirens - Scramble alarm! Bleary eyed aircrews were still pulling on jackets and gear in the ops tent when Adler began talking, his own boots unlaced. 

"Guderian's run out of rope. At 4am this morning, the French began a counterattack with massed tanks against the flank of his 1st Panzer Division at Montcornet. They are threatening to break into the Division's rear and run amock through his supply lines, disrupting the whole Corps. 88mm FLAK guns are being used as improvised anti-tank but they are getting hit from the air as well, and now they need us to pull their arses out of the fire.

Its our job to knock out the French forward airbase being used to hit them - Mount up!"

Voss's Kette took off quickly into clear skies, climbing into Vic formation. The countryside below shimmered in early summer heat. Navigation was precise — the field was isolated, surrounded by low hedgerows and marked by a dirt runway and canvas hangars.

Voss’s stomach tightened as they began the dive., and the French AA guns opened up - a mix of 37 and 75mm guns. The fire was light but rapid. The tracers came up thick and fast from sandbagged emplacements near the hangars.

His Berta shuddered. A sharp jolt kicked through the airframe.

“Hit! Port wing — something punched through the skin!” Milo shouted through the intercom.

Feeling an increased vibration in the aircraft, Voss held his line and hoped he hadn't lost any control surfaces that would impact his climb out. His settled his bomb sight over a line of parked aircraft.  Bombs away. Pull up!

The Ju 87 pulled up, but with some fight against him and a pull to the left. Nothing he couldn't handle though, he was most pleased to find!

His string of 50kgers burst across the flight line and fires leapt from two twin-engined aircraft - Breguet 693s maybe? - followed by a fuel bowser. One of the tents detonated in a white-orange flare.

Behind him, the rest of the Kette came in. Clean drops following by almost rhythmic explosions. The airfield was left burning — runway cratered, parked aircraft wrecked, and fire spreading through the camp.

Milo glanced over the port wing. “We’re lucky, sir. I can see some buckling but the control surface is intact. But we should get her checked before the next run.”

The engine coughed during the climb out but steadied. A sign of something more serious? Didnt appear so. They limped home on full alert. No fighters, no more flak.

Ju 87B2 Stuka 3.StG2 (T6+HL) WNr 5582 France May 1940

Back on the ground. Gas hoses were dragged up, bomb trolleys came forward, and Milo found himself an inevitable cup of kafe. As the Berta was being inspected, another message came down:

“French infantry advancing on German flanks — likely elements supporting the counterattack regrouping. Take them out before they dig in.”

There was no time to dwell. The wing damage was deemed minor. Voss and his Kette were airborne again within 25 minutes — this time carrying another set of light fragmentation bombs, ideal for open troop formations.

----------

The weather had turned. Low cloud banks and rising mist hung over the target zone. The air was thick with haze, making map-based navigation unreliable.

Voss dropped altitude to get his bearings. The landmarks were vague, the roads barely visible.

Finally, they spotted dust betraying movement — a platoon-size column advancing through a treeline toward a ridge. French helmets glinted briefly in the sun between breaks in the mist.

“Target confirmed — rolling in.”

The dive was shallow this time, more of a precision skip-bombing run.

Voss released his bombs — they walked the treeline, throwing earth and smoke skyward. Milo swung the rear gun to cover, but the MG jammed after two short bursts. No return fire, but it left him swearing.

“Sorry, sir! She’s stuck solid.”

The rest of the Kette came in smoothly, scattering the column. At least one position was vaporized by a direct hit. The French advance was halted — if not broken outright.

Visibility worsened on the return flight. Thick fog spilled over the low hills. Voss kept low, eyes scanning for landmarks and power lines. Without fighter cover, they were on edge.

Back at the forward strip, the touchdown was rough — uneven ground jolted the gear. The Berta took the jolt, though the port wheel protested with a shriek of stressed metal. Still, they rolled to a stop intact.

Mechanics rushed in as Voss climbed out. Milo was already hammering at the jammed MG.

"Hopefully thats given the Panzer boys the breathing space they needed" he mused.

Ju 87B2 Stuka 3.StG2 (T6+xx) close up France May 1940

From: Luftflotte 2, IX. Fliegerkorps 

Operations Summary 17 May 1940: 

The prompt and effective destruction of the French forward airstrips significantly degraded the enemy’s ability to conduct air support during their ground assault. Follow-up strikes against infantry concentrations and artillery positions helped blunt the advance and allowed 1. Panzer-Division to regain flank security and freedom of manoeuvre. Aerial reconnaissance shows  French advance has lost momentum.

Recommendation: 

Continued aerial interdiction of French staging areas and road movement in support of the armoured thrust toward the Aisne. Reinforcement of forward refuelling and rearmament capability to maintain tempo. 

Signed, 

Oberst i.G. Langemeyer 

Operations Officer, 

IX. Fliegerkorps Luftflotte 2

Game Notes

Target Airfield - ordnance selection was tricky. Went with 4 x 50kgs

takeoff NSTR- Clear Wx /High alt /VIC formation

Approach

1 enemy contact - nil. NAV pass

2 AA Defences - no effect to supporting 3 Terrain Check FAIL. (no additional stamina)

Target

FLAK - formation to Loose.

FLAK - Fighter Support reduced (already 0)

Target LOWEST 

Dive 5-1=4, AA 7 Structural Damage, REL 2+2+3-1-1=5 HIT=5+1-1=5 DAMAGED, Pullup 8

FORMATT 6+3-1-2 = 6 DEST

Return

1 Low Fuel - loose STAMINA

2 Engine Trouble - nothing

Rearm/refuel - no repairs 

Secondary target - INF Positions (4 x 50kgs)

Takeoff NSTR - Clear / High / VIC

Approach

1 Vis reduces - CLEAR 2

2 Formation PASS

3 MG jammed - loose STAMINA

Target

Stay in formation - Pass

LOW

Dive 5+2, AA Nil, REL 4+3, HIT 7+1 DEST, PULLUP 6+3-3

FORM ATT 5+3-0 = 8 DEST

Return

1 VIS Improve

2 Clear Skies

Land - NSTR

VPs 2 + 2+1 = 5

First time with an AA hit!