FC World Guide

Pilot’s Companion Guide to The Western Front Flanders & Northern France by Micheal Shackelford Document No.FC-1918 • War Intelligence Office 1 Contents Introduction .................................................. Page 3 Map of Western Front ................................... Page 4 Descriptions of Northern Region .................. Page 5 Descriptions of Central Region .................... Page 6 Descriptions of Southern Region .................. Page 7 For Further Reference ................................... Page 8 2 Introduction Air fighting was born during World War I. The chaotic fighting in the air stood in stark contrast to the stalemate in the ground war. Both sides had dug in. The attacker was at such a disadvantage when assaulting a dug-in opponent, that a protracted stalemate resulted. Since the actual location of the front lines did not move often, quickly or very far during the four years of war, the designers of Bullseye Software’s Flying Circus opted to leave the front stable, in a posi- tion that approximates the front lines in 1916 and again in 1917 and 1918. BSFC is more concerned with the air war. Armies of hundreds of thousands fought for control around Ypres and in the flatlands of the Somme River region. Because of the huge stakes involved, both sides concentrated their air forces in the same area in determined efforts to control the skies. It was there, in 1917 and 1918, that Manfred von Richtofen commanded his Jagdgruppe I. The British nick-named JGI “The Flying Circus” be- cause of the color paint schemes the German pilots used. The BSFC “world” for flying in is 60 miles wide (east/west) and 110 miles long (north/south). In the interest of performance, no land is mod- eled beyond those bounds. For the time being, this means you will not be able to fly to Paris or London from the “world.” The terrain in Flying Circus is based on, but is not a slavish re-creation of the Flanders/French countryside. This region is very flat in reality. More and higher hills were included, especially near the edges of the ‘ world’ to make for a more interesting flying environment. The designers have included three pairs of air bases, one each Allied and German, in the north, middle and south. Also included are several land- mark towns and villages. There were, of course, hundreds of tiny villages dotting this area, and many dozens of actual airfields, but in the interest of performance, only a select few…