THE POISON BOMBS

This scenario occurs in September 1899, the events outlined following on immediately from the timeline given in Aeronef. The events are inspired in part by William Le Queux's serialised work The Poison Bullet (aka The Great War in England in 1897). Introduction: Following the outbreak of war between Britain and France at Fashoda in Africa in 1898, the British soon found themselves also at war with Russia, as the Tsar complied with the terms of the 1892 military agreement between the two countries. For the first few months of the war military action was confined to the colonies in Africa and Asia, with the Russians launching a major expedition against India through the Khyber Pass and the French attacking British possessions in North and West Africa. However, this was merely a precursor of things to come, and in August the unthinkable happened when French and Russian troops landed on British soil. The Russians landed in the north and marched on Scotland and the Midlands, with the French landing in the South and attacking London. The Battle of Birmingham Following on from their successes in Scotland having captured Edinburgh, the Russians under the command of General Sukhomlinov, have switched their attentions to the industrial heartland of England.

Sukhomlinov's plan was simple. Divide England in half by cutting a swathe through the Midlands and then having completed the conquest of Scotland, the twin pincers of the Russian expeditionary force would crush the industrial north of England.

To facilitate the conquest of the Midlands, the Russians need to take Birmingham and destroy the British forces outside the city. Sukhomlinov believes that by launching a massive aeronef assault on the British positions, following up swiftly with a ground assault on the disarrayed British, success is a forgone conclusion.

Russian Force: the Russian force comprises of three separate waves of aeronef. The first enters the table on move one, the second on move four and the third on move six. The first wave comprises of one Sevastopol Class Aeronef Cruiser (the Petropavlovsk), one Isyaslav Class Aeronef Destroyer (the Briatshislav) and three Grosa Class Aeronef Gunboats (the Schkwal, Tifun and Wyuga). The second wave comprises of two Zabiaka Class Dig Destroyers (the Orphei and Pobieditel) and two Grosa Class Aeronef Gunboats (the Grosa and Smertch). The third wave comprises of one Tsarevich Class Dig Dreadnought (the Tsar Mikhail) and two Bubnov Class Dig Cruisers (the Burevestnik and Pelikan). Stats as follows:

Tsarevich Class Dig Dreadnought:

Bubnov Class Dig Cruiser:

Sevastopol Class Cruiser:

Isyaslav Class Destroyer:

Zabiaka Class Dig Destroyer:

Grosa Class Gunboat:

All the bombs carried by the Russian Fleet are poison gas bombs and will effect ground targets as outlined in the Aeronef rulebook.

British Force: the RNAS forces in the Midlands are stretched, valiantly attempting to cope with a series of Franco-Russian attacks. As news of the Russian armada approaching the lines outside Birmingham reaches the British, a scratch force is thrown at them. The RNAS force comprises of just five Achilles Class Aeronef Gunboats (the Agamemnnon, Hector, Menelaus, Odysseus and Theseus) stats as per the main Aeronef rulebook. Each turn after the first, the British player throws a D6 and consults the following reinforcements table:

If the British player rolls the same score on subsequent turns he receives additional Aeronef of the same class up to the maximum stated (so if he is really lucky, he could keep rolling 6 and get all three Zeus Class Dreadnoughts). If the player subsequently rolls the same score and already has received the maximum of a particular class, then no reinforcements are received that turn. The stats for the Artemis and Demeter Classes can be found in the Aeronef rulebook. The Zeus and Athens stats are as follows:

Zeus Class Dreadnought:

Athens Class Training Dig:

The British player also has six "Archie" two Gun Dice batteries to place anywhere on the table, on or behind his lines (see below).

Terrain: the air battle takes place over the British lines just outside Birmingham. The British Army's lines should be represented by a four centimetre (approximately) wide brown ribbon (or similar) about two feet in from the short (western) edge of the table. The British player should place twelve two centimetre square strongpoints (use pieces of card) anywhere along the line. Behind this position (anywhere in the area behind the ribbon) he should then place six two centimetre artillery positions. Both the strongpoints and artillery positions will take two hits to destroy. A two centimetre section of the fortified line (the ribbon) can be destroyed by one successful hit.

Set Up: the Russian force enters the table from the shorter (Eastern) side at half their movement allowance.

The RNAS aeronef can enter the table from anywhere behind their lines, moving at any speed the British player chooses up to the maximum.

Objectives: the Russians must destroy a fourteen centimetre gap in the British lines, any strongpoint in this gap or within ten centimetres either side of it, and all the British artillery positions. The British must prevent them achieving their objective.