AoE Campaign
Poland September 1939
Notes
This campaign was a part of a bigger plan that did not go well. Any way this is what happened in the Polish skies in September 1939.
The German war machine did a general rehearsal for what was about to follow in the 1940s. What was in question was how to plan an execute Guderians “Blitz Kieg”. This was a massive push of the infantry backed up with mechanised units coupled with massive air raids and an attempt to overwhelm the enemies airforce and destroying it on the ground. On the 1st September 1939 the Luftwaffe went over the Polish border with a single aim, to destroy the Lotnictwo Wojskowe (Polish Air Force). The attack was devastating, the Polish squadrons scrambled to meet there enemy with there obsolete planes but the German bombers well faster and the exceptional Bf-109E and Bf-110C Zerstorer blasting them out of the sky. The truth is that the Pols went down fighting agents all odds and with the Help from the West never to come. The German high command though that the He-111 and the Do-17 bombers could operate with out escort, something the Pols exploited in the first day for the fight. No matter how the Pols fought there destiny was shield from day one. They were outnumbered, outgund, and with out help from the international community! By the 5th of September only a marginal number of the Lotnictwo Wojskowe planes were flyable and a very high attrition rate the few remaining were quickly wiped out. What was left fled to Romania and Czechoslovakia. Later the Polish pilots found there way to England were they formed the first Polish squadrons under R.A.F.
This campaign depicts this movement over Poland with as much accuracy was possible. The campaigns have been designed in this way to give you the ability to transfer your ROSTER.DAT to the later coming 1940 campaign. Copy this file to the directory of my or other 1940 campaign to continue the carrier you started. SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE IN 1993 BY THE AUTHORS OF AOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Planes
Bf-109C.1
The Bf-109C.1 first sow action over Spain in the Civil war with the “Condor Legion”. As with the ‘Bertas’ the C.1 was powered by a Jumo engine. Its speed and high wing loading didn’t allow it to fly in a WWI style combat but more a high speed hit and run. In Spring of 1939 the DB601A engine was certified and the 109E.1 was becoming available and the Jadgruppen begun to convert to the new fighter. By September only a small number used it mostly by Zertsorergruppen that were about to convert to the Bf-110C.1.
Bf-109E.1
The Bf-109E.1 was the first of the ‘Emils’. Using the same armament as the C.1 it tested the troublesome motor cannon but again it failed. The E.1 was very fast plane. Due to problems with the DB601A the E was delayed but when the engine became available large numbers of the E were delivered to the Jadgruppen. The Emil can’t dogfight the PZL or any other plane it is clearly a hit and run plane so choose your target carefully and hit it hard with all you ‘ve got.
Bf-110C.1
The Bf-110C.1 was the first of the Zerstorers to be produced in large numbers. When it came out in 1938 it was the faster than contemporary fighters! Having practically the same speed with the 109E.1 the Zertorer was an excellent combination of speed and firepower utilising four MG-17s and two 20mm MG-FF cannons. In the 1939-1940 period the 110 would rise and fall along with the Stuka. In Poland the 110 was the top plane capable of devastating the Polish fighter formations and the ground positions. Later in Finland the 110 would actually took on air base alone! Over France the Zertorer had such a reputation that the French pilots would avoid it. But over Dunkirk the signs were but sine the 110 could not out run the Hurricane and the Spitfire, and finally over Britain the 110 would be devastated. It fought though till the end of the war, the 1945 110s would differ only in details from the 1938’s 110C.1.
Ju-87B.1
The Ju-87B.1 was the epitomy of the ‘Blitz Kieg’. Fascinated from the idea of the dive bombing the German high command asked for a pure dive-bomber or “Sturzkampfflugzeug”. The Sutka was the best dive bomber there was steady and manoeuvreable it was found that it could place a bomb within three meters from the target in average. Strangely the Stuka was the first plane to claim a kill over Poland and the first German loss.
Do-17Z.2
The Do-17 was an elegant plane, with a slime fuselage that earned it the name “flying pencil”. It was the first of the Schnell-Bombers. The Do-17 was a durable plane but as all German bombers somewhat undefended. It was substituted in the bomber role from the excellent Ju-88.
He-111H.3
The He-111 was the backbone of the German bomber force. It served though out the war. It was an elegant plane, fast and able to take a lot of damage, had a good bomb load and range. But the use of only flexible MG’s made it vonrable to fighter attacks.
The PZL fighters (P.7a, P.11a, P.11c)
In 1929 Zygmont Pilawski created a series of planes that brought Poland to the top fighter makers. The P.1 was a high wing monoplane with and inline engine. It was very manoeuvreable plane and very fast too, infact the P.1 won on a fighter competition in 1930 the British and the French. Unfortunately Poland decided that will produce only radial engines so the P.7a was realised using the license built Bristol Jupiter. The P.7 first flue in 1931 and it was delivered to Lotnictwo Wojskowe in 1933. The P.7a as its predecessor won in fighter competition the best there was. In 1934 the P.11a was designed using the Bristol Mercury but a tragic accident delayed the use of the new engine. The prototype won again the fighter competition in Konstantinupol even though it used an older engine. Finally the P.11c used an improved Mercury and two more wing mounted MGs. It made improvements at the pilot visibility. The last of this line was not adopted by the Lotnictwo Wojskowe but made excellent sales abroad. The P.24 used a French engine and two wing mounted Oerlikon 20mm cannons. It had only marginally fasted from the P.11 (10mph) but still it was advertised as the fastest and more powerful fighter. The Balkan states like Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey bot it in large numbers. The Greek P.24 met the Italian Air force over Northern East Greece with success. They had there 20mm cannons removed because it was dificalt to find ammo for them.
PZL P.23
The P.23 was an elegant light bomber/dive bomber similar to the Ju-87. But it served under total German air superiority and its success was limited. The first days the Germans were escorting and attacking ground targets so the pilots of the P.23 were not harassed a lot and had some success.
PZL P.37
The P.37 was the most modern plane in the Lotnictwo Wojskowe. Fast and stable the P.37 were sent in some suicide missions against the German positions but were quickly blasted from the sky.
Vehicles
The vehicles have been changed to depict the vehicles of the 1939 – 1940 period so you will fined the :
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* - These vehicles are not used in the Poland September 1939 campaing |
Bugs
Ok the bad news now!!!!
Well that’s the ones I know!!
Acknowledgements
Well first I would like to thank Erik and August for the trust they put in me in 1995 when the EF-43 was in the design phase, and for the work they put in this effort.
Charls Gunst for his work and foe the nice French planes you might have seen in the first Beta version. You will see them again in the 1940.
Steve Cook for the help and moral support. Also for the nice British planes (Defiant, Battle, Wellincton and Blemhime) and for the effort he put in the Bf-109.
Finally to all the people that worked no the AoE.