The Great Martian Campaign

Mars Attacks!

Mission 11 Fall In

Ambush pt 1 and pt  2

June 1919 

Nordholz, Germany 

The world lies battered under the shadow of Martian dominion, but humanity, for the first time in history, has begun to stand as one. Nations that were bitter rivals mere months ago now work hand-in-hand, their differences cast aside by the greater threat that looms above. Once fierce enemies have now united, pooling whatever scant resources remain to resist the relentless advance of the Martian menace. Across Europe, desperate ingenuity has taken hold—rusting relics of old wars, like the mighty Zeppelins, have been resurrected to scout the Martian strongholds from the skies, gathering crucial intelligence at great personal risk. 

Today, however, the Martians have launched a bold counterattack. A massive vessel, sleek and ominous, descended from the clouds and settled near Nordholz, Germany, disgorging legions of their fearsome Tripods. The ground quakes beneath these towering machines as they assume positions around the vulnerable airship base, their metallic limbs glinting menacingly in the fading daylight. The air is thick with the acrid scent of anticipation and fear, as the humans realize that a fierce battle is about to erupt. 

Earlier this morning, a squadron of Zeppelins had embarked on a high-stakes mission, drifting stealthily toward the immense Martian stronghold outside Hamburg. The scouts were tasked with gathering intelligence on troop movements and defensive structures, a mission vital to the human resistance's survival. However, the Martians were not to be taken by surprise—agitated by the daring human incursion, they have deployed a transport teeming with Tripods, each one bristling with lethal alien weaponry, ready to lay an ambush for the returning airships. 

News of the ambush spreads rapidly through the base, spurring the local airmen into action. With little time to waste, they scramble to launch an impromptu defense, taking to the skies in a chaotic mix of aircraft—patched-up Fokker Dr.1s and rugged RAF SE5s that have been hurriedly adapted for battle against a far more advanced foe. The pilots know they are the Zeppelins' last hope; their mission is to clear a path back to Nordholz and to face the towering Tripods head-on. 

As the first wave of fighters roars into the twilight sky, the battle erupts in a cacophony of sound—whirring propellers, the rapid crackle of machine gun fire, and the deafening blasts of the Martian heat rays. The combat becomes a maelstrom of flames and smoke, turning the lands around Nordholz into smoldering fields of death and destruction as the Zeppelins lumber onward, slow yet determined, back toward their embattled base. 

The outcome of this desperate skirmish could turn the tide of the conflict: will the human defenders prove resourceful enough to repel the Martian assault, saving their precious airships and securing vital intelligence? Or will the Tripods crush the resistance, leaving the Zeppelins smoldering wrecks on the German soil, another victory in the Martian campaign? As the skies darken with smoke and alien silhouettes, the fate of humanity’s defiance rests on the bravery of the few who dare to take flight.