Disclaimer: Mass Effect does not belong to me. It belongs to it's respective owner, namely Bioware.
The skies above Arras, Pas-de-Calais region, Northern France, Europe, Earth, Sol System, Unknown Cluster, Milky Way Galaxy.
14th April, 1917 CE.
Lieutenant Jonathan Frampton looked briefly to his left, as he continued holding the stick of his Sopwith Pup, and saw his wingman, Lieutenant Edmund Owen Badley, flying close in his own Pup.
Adjusting the googles and the scarf on his face, with one of his gloved hands (the other still on the stick), John continued scanning the skies for the German Albatross fighters, which completely outclassed every fighter the Royal Flying Corps had.
And to think that the Pup was the best fighter we had on the Western front till last year….., John lamented.
Sometimes, the New Zealander from the city of Nelson thought that it was even madness for Major General Trenchard to insist on having the Royal Flying Corps continue to adopt an offensive posture against Fritz, given the huge losses of men and machines to the Germans.
But of course, this is a war, John, so you better get on with the task on hand, old chap…..
But then as he concluded this thought, and his ears strained against the noise of the winds and the roar of the nine-cylinder, air-cooled rotary engine in the front of his Pup, John could swear that he could hear an aircraft noise from a certain distance away.
Noting that Badley was on his right and close by, hence ruling him out, John began scanning the skies, squinting his eyes though his flying goggles, trying to spot the source of that far away noise.
And then, he spotted it.
Coming right at him, slightly to his left, was an Albatross fighter, it's main fuselage, and wings, coloured in black and white, adorned with the Cross pattée.
And it was slightly banking to the left, and descending.
John took that as a sign that it was moving to engage him and Badley, so he looked over to his wingman and started quickly performing hand signals to communicate to Badley his intent on engaging the enemy. His wingman, nodded his head, indicating his understanding that John was going to engage, and that he would stay on his wing.
As John manoeuvred to get into position, Badley maintained position to John's right, and soon John lined up the gunsights of his single synchronized Vickers machine gun, and pulled the trigger.
The .303 rounds fired, the Sopwith-Kauper synchronizer working perfectly, and flew right through the air, but found that they only clipped the right wing of the Albatross.
Oh, what a rotten bit of luck, thought John.
Badley also opened fire, hoping for some better luck. However, the Bosch flyer was now fully aware that he was under attack, and thus began manoeuvring his Albatross.
Time then all became a blur to John, as he subconsciously began manoeuvring himself to defend against the Albatross, even though his Pup was quite obsolete, and couldn't really stand much of a fighting chance. The only hope John really had, was that he wasn't alone, and had Badley as his wingman, against the lone German.
He just hoped that it'd be enough.
But then, John was brought out of his musing, when he then saw that Badley managed to gain more hits on the Albatross, by hitting the fuselage,
However, he found himself under attack from two more Albatrosses, who had just arrived.
And before long, Badley was attempting to climb up, but having two Albatrosses on his tail meant that there was nothing that John could do, not that he didn't try, for as John attempted to get his wingman out of bother, he soon spotted a smoke trail coming out of Badley's Pup, which meant that the Albatrosses' twin 7.92mm machine guns had managed to score hits around the engine.
John became so intent, on saving his wingman from those two, that he was unaware of the third Albatross, that had strafed him from seemingly nowhere, and landed rounds all over his Pup, including John himself.
The rounds had hit his legs, his abdomen and his right hand, causing him to lose an absurd amount of blood, which started spraying all over the place.
Slipping in and out of consciousness, and in agonising pain, John registered that his engine was now ablaze, and spreading all over his aircraft. Rather quickly.
The last thing that John remembered, were the flames swarming all over his body, as his Pup was engulfed in fire, plummeting towards the ground.
Thankfully, his world went black, before he hit the ground in a ball of flame.
Arras, Pas-de-Calais region, Northern France, Europe, Earth, Sol System, Unknown Cluster, Milky Way Galaxy.
14th April, 1917 CE.
"And you're certain of this, sir?"
Lieutenant William Randolph Herbert Badley, stood in front of his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel R. J. P. Anderson of the 11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars, and an Captain from the Royal Flying Corps, who was the commander of B Flight, No. 54 Squadron, the same flight and squadron that the now-deceased Lieutenant Edmund Owen Badley belonged to.
Displaying his sympathies, just shifting awkwardly, the Captain responded to William's query, "I'm afraid so, Leftenant. Your brother, and his wingman crashed near our frontlines, allowing our lads to recover whatever they could. Your brother's wingman, they were able to recover, but your brother, erm, well, let's just say that there wasn't much left to recover. But that's what happens after your plane explodes upon crashing".
The Captain probably was trying to offer some comfort to William, but his words just made it seem like someone dying in a fiery plane crash was like, 'Oh, well, can't be helped, old chap, can't be helped'.
Gently taking a seat, William stared blankly at the thought of his brother not being present in the world.
The Captain offered his sympathies by saying that Edmund Badley was a fine pilot, a fine man and that they'd miss him deeply.
Still staring blankly, William asked to be left alone.
The Captain nodded, while the Lieutenant Colonel wordlessly escorted the Captain to see him off, leaving William on his own, as he dealt with the news of his brother's death.
He could never imagine it. His younger brother gone.
His younger brother, whom he shared a close bond with, always looking out for him, always playing with him in the gardens of their country home of Badley Hall in Worcestershire, and joining in playing pranks on the housestaff (much to the consternation of mother and father when they were younger, but relieved when they grew out of that).
It hadn't been until the war started, when Edmund, like everyone at the start of the war, was eager to 'do his bit for King and Country', and had done so by following William into joining the army, becoming part of the 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, until he seconded to the Royal Flying Corps about a year ago as an observer, before becoming a pilot.
William was no stranger to loss, for he had close friends who had died on the 1st of July at the Somme the previous year, friends whom he had known for years before the war, but Edmund's death hit him hard, not just because he had lost a brother, but the fact that, probably to some official stuck in a desk in the War Office, Edmund Owen Badley was now a mere name on the huge list of casualties of this war, a war that just seemed to have no wish to stop.
The Captain's attitude in relaying the news to William, did not help in this regard.
Pretty soon, William expected that Badley Hall would be getting a telegram regarding the death of Edmund any time now, before he then came to the realisation, Oh god, what are mother and father probably thinking right now?
Then suddenly, William noticed a stray tear running down his check, and hurriedly got a tissue to wipe it, before trying to compose himself and pull himself together.
Straightening himself up, William wanted to prove that he was still up for duty, by putting his brother's death aside for the moment at hand.
But looking out at the ruins of Arras, William had one thought lingering in his mind, Just, how many more must this war take, before this will all end?
With this chapter, it's mostly an introduction of a character who'll be prominent later, Lieutenant William Randolph Herbert Badley. And with him being in the cavalry, this means that the cavalry will be making an appearance later.
The cavalry was one aspect of World War One that I wanted to explore. Despite popular opinion being that cavalry having had their day in the mobile stages of the war in 1914 and never mounting their horses again, this is actually not the case.
Throughout the war, the cavalry still found use in various areas of the war.
For example, during the Battle of Arras, the Household Cavalry (consisted of the Life Guards and the Blues, accompanied by the 10th Hussars) made their last charge, on a diversionary attack on the Hindenburg Line, which resulted in their slaughter from barbed wire defences and heavy machine gun fire.
During the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, a charge by the 5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade of the 1st Indian Cavalry Division ended successfully, even though the position was defended by barbed wire and machine guns, thus this successful charge was an unusual occurrence during the war.
During the German Spring Offensive of March 1918, cavalry took to their horses to stop the German advance, including one instance, during the Battle of Moreuil Wood, which the Canadian Cavalry Brigade attacked the 23rd Saxon Division on the banks of the Avre River, forcing them to withdraw to Moreuil Wood, where the commander of C Squadron, Lord Strathcona's Horse, Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew, would later earn the Victoria Cross, and his charge be depicted in a painting by Alfred Munnings, known as Charge of Flowerdew's Squadron.
Then, British cavalry had their most successful day throughout the duration of the war, at the Battle of Amiens, and success continued throughout the Hundred Days Offensive.
In the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, of the Middle Eastern theatre, the ANZAC Mounted Division, supported by the Imperial Camel Brigade attacked an Ottoman Army garrison at Magdhaba, continuing to find success in battles that included, Beersheba and Megiddo.
Anyways, don't forget to leave a review whenever you can, and see you next time!
Update (12/5/17): Made a mistake in regards to Lieutenant Badley's cavalry regiment, which I had mistakenly identified as being the 11th (Prince of Wales' Own) Hussars, but was actually, the 11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars.
Update (29/6/17): Did a restructuring of the chapter, trying to make the paragraphs not all bunched up. Special thanks to Apollonir for pointing this out. Also, added additional lines in regards to William being informed of Edmund's death.
