ROCKETMAN Chronology

Here follows the time line of all ROCKETMAN campaigns thus far;

1935

2 September
At RAF Brookhurst, the immediate staff of Project Meteor are called to a meeting by their chief; Professor Summers who informs them that he intends to undertake the rescue of an old friend, Professor of Archeology, Aaron Rosenblum who has recently made an astonishing discovery somewhere in the desert regions of North Africa but who, as a Jew, has since run into serious trouble with the German authorities. Amongst those present is the former fighter pilot, and now test pilot, Daniel Mansfield, his fiance, Audrey (who is Prof Summer's daughter) and George Macarthur who is the engineer charged with maintenance of the Meteor rocket pack. Also present is a tall gentleman named Sir Gerald Hesketh who has influence at the highest levels of government. Daniel Mansfield agrees to rescue Professor Rosenblum.

6 September
Unbeknownst to Professor Summers, Rosenblum is also being sought by a powerful Prussian organisation known as the Brotherhood of the Black Cross. Headed by Baron Von Schöenberg, the Brotherhood is both independent of the Nazi regime and interested in the discoveries made by Rosenblum in Northern Sudan. Using their airship Graf Frederik, and their elite 'Black Arrow' paratroopers, the Brotherhood abduct Rosenblum from the steamer SS Diana en route to Alexandria.

9 September
Arriving in Alexandria, Mansfield and his companions meet Marcel Messnier who has extensive local contacts. The British learn the SS Diana was diverted to Haifa and Professor Rosenblum has gone missing. With no further place to search for Rosenblum, Mansfield asks Messnier to find the location of Rosenblum's dig hoping to find a clue there.

10 September
Messnier identifies Rosenblum's local guide as an American of dubious reputation, named Joe 'Mad Dog' Mitchell who resides in Alexandria. Only Mitchell knows the exact location of Rosenblum's dig, but the Germans are closing in on Mitchell too. The British act at once and manage to save Mitchell from an assassination attempt.

17 September
Having captured Professor Rosenblum, the Prussians learn of the location of La Vallee Maudite and the Graf Frederik flies south.

28 September
After flying over the endless desert, the Graf Frederik arrives at La Vallee Maudite and unaware of the eastern entrance to the secret cave, the Prussians enter the valley to the west. Here they encounter a variety of horrific giant insects and unusual plants and must fight their way through to the cave entrance.

28 September continued
Unaware that the Prussians have reached the western entrance to the site of Professor Rosenblum's discovery, and as yet still unaware of the nature of the discovery, Daniel Mansfield and his companions battle the scorching desert, and a few bandits along the way, to reach the eastern entrance (as identified by 'Mad Dog' Mitchell).

29 September
Entering the secret caves from either end, the British and the Prussians encounter each other and naturally a fight breaks out. At the same time, the denizens of the caves, hideous giant insects with psionic abilities attempt to defend their home from this unwanted intrusion. Eventually, Daniel Mansfield penetrates the insect's egg chamber and here he comes into contact with a strange, lurid ball of glowing energy that hangs in the air. Bewildered touches the energy ball and it passes into his body, envigorating him and confering super human senses and stamina upon him.

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4 November
Sir Hugh Sinclair replaces Sir Gerald Hesketh as Head of Project Meteor.

1936

23 February.
MI6 Section VIII intercepts a strange radio transmission from a hitherto unknown German base on Franz Josef Land.

29 February.
The SS Kristianna Maria leaves Norway and heads north for the polar ice pack. On board are Daniel Mansfield, Audrey Summers, Professor Summers, George Macarthur and five German agents with numerous Norwegian conspirators.

12 March.
Rocketman and his companions arrive at Ice Station X on Rudolf Island. They find the installation has been over run by zombies and the original German personnel are all dead, except for the notorious Doctor Metzger. After a terrible fight for survival, Rocketman and his companions leave Metzger to his fate and return to London.

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9 April.
Whilst enjoying a holiday aboard the yacht Starling in the Adriatic. Audrey Summers is kidnapped by a Bolshevik agent named Yuri. For her return, Professor Summers is ordered to hand over the Meteor rocket pack to a secret Soviet science bureau named ONB7.

1 May.
Daniel Mansfield, George Macarthur and 'Mad Dog' Mitchell arrive in Yekaterinburg and whilst buying tickets for the train to Omsk, stumble across Yuri on the same train. A gun fight erupts with the train guards, having been bribed, taking the side of the British against what they perceive to be ‘foreign militia’s’.

3 May.
Having defeated, but failed to capture Yuri on the train, Rocketman and his companions arrive in Omsk where they meet with a local British agent; Lady Carfax. Here they learn that ONB7 is a renegade militia that has broken from Moscow and the rule of Josef Stalin and is trying to reestablish the Bolshevik revolution by means of secret weaponry and black mail. Lady Carfax introduces the adventurers to 'The Colonel', who agrees to ally himself with Rocketman in order to defeat ONB7, and its leader Viktor Korsakov, aka, 'The Iron Czar'.

4 May.
Rocketman and his companions attempt to rescue Audrey Summers from the clutches of Korsakov's Uighur side kick, Olga, but find she has been moved to a secret ONB7 base in Eastern Kazakhstan where the rebel Bolsheviks have built a terrifying energy weapon so powerful it can threaten Moscow with destruction!

11 May.
With soldiers and armoured cars under the command of The Colonel, Rocketman and his companions infiltrate the outer regions of the ONB7 base and discover the secret road which leads to the rear of the installation.

13 May.
Calling up more troops and air support, Rocketman and his allies attack the ONB7 base and in a protracted battle, destroy the death ray and rescue Audrey Summers. Viktor Korsakov is defeated but along with Yuri and Olga, makes his escape.

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12 July.
Project Meteor is reactivated, but as an operational government agency rather than an experimental rocket programme.

1 August.
After marriage to Audrey Summers and a protracted summer holiday, Daniel Mansfield returns to London where he learns the Meteor rocket pack has been reclaimed by the British government. Accepting the role of government agent, Mansfield is given the code name Rocketman by Sir Hugh Sinclair.

25 August.
Daniel Mansfield, 'Mad Dog' Mitchell and George Maccarthur arrive in Macapá, Brazil, where they rendezvous with Sancho Gutiérrez. Their mission is to track down a mysterious statuette named the Golden Anaconda which a villain named Moros has stolen. Inside the statuette are hidden documents containing biological and scientific secrets that must not be allowed to reach the black market.

29 August.
Having recruited some local militia, Mansfield and his companions travel up the Amazon River to a small settlement where they encounter Moros, his men and a small contingent of the Brotherhood of the Black Cross under the command of Helga. A three way battle takes place, ending when Moros flees deeper into the rain forest.

29 August continued.
Mansfield and his companions follow the road to a local airfield where they find Moros and his remaining forces. Another three way battle takes place with Helga and the Germans attacking Moros from the rear. Rocketman is victorious and both Moros and Helga (wounded) retreat into the forest. The Golden Anaconda is eventually discovered, hidden in a bush.

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2 September.
Having intercepted radio transmissions which indicate the presence of a mysterious German U-boat hidden some where on the Amazon, MI6 sends Rocketman and his companions, who are still in Macapá, to investigate.

4 September.
Having found the U-boat, Daniel Mansfield and his companions launch an attack and capture it. On board they discover charts and a log book which indicate the Brotherhood of the Black Cross has a secret island base in the Southern Seychelles.

7 September.
Daniel Mansfield returns to London where Sir Hugh Sinclair briefs him on a new mission to investigate Farquhar Island. Due to political considerations, it is decided the mission cannot be seen to be sanctioned by the British government and local mercenaries must be employed.

21 September.
Mansfield and Co. arrive in Port Victoria where thanks to Marcel Messnier and Joe Mitchell's networks of contacts they are able to join forces with a large crew of local mercenaries on board the tramp steamer Le Mollusc.

24 September.
Le Mollusc reaches the northern lagoon of Farquhar Island and attacks the sea-plane station there. After an intense fire fight, which includes an aerial duel between Rocketman and a Heinkel He 51, the lagoon is secured and Mansfield takes half his force and crosses the strange and lurid landscape of an island upon which obscene experiments have been carried out. During the night, Baron von Schöenberg departs the island, abandoning Doktor Metzger to his fate and ordering an attack to cripple Le Mollusc to ensure his get away.

25 September.
Metzger's garrison. The battle is hotly contested but eventually the British regain control of the island. Metzger is captured.

26 September.
Daniel Mansfield is urgently recalled to London.

29 September.
The Royal Navy shells and then burns Farquhar Island until there is nothing left alive. Doctor Alfred Metzger is taken back to the United Kingdom.

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13 October
Daniel Mansfield arrives in Bombay and meets with General Sir Michael Keating who explains that Viktor Korsakov has turned up in Northern Afghanistan along with a sizable force of men, tanks and an armoured train.

14 October
Mansfield, Mitchell and Macarthur arrive in Peshawar where they meet Colonel Sir John Napier and his Special Operations Unit.

17 October
The British column arrives in Kabul only to find the friendly government has been replaced by covert Bolshevik sympathisers.

19 October
Travelling north, the British column is ambushed by a Bolshevik artillery and infantry attack. Though Rocketman and his friends are all some what battered, the British manage to defeat the Bolsheviks but learn later that their Royal Afghan allies have been almost entirely annihilated.

21 October
In an attempt to outflank Korsakov's main force, Colonel Napier leaves the remaining Afghan Royal army to hold the road to Kabul and using a little known pass, crosses the Kunduz mountains with his armoured infantry units.

23 October
The British armoured column arrives at Wadi Suhib where they encounter an armoured Bolshevik unit guarding the entrance to the Qala I Zal Valley. A serious tank vs tank engagement takes place ending in a British victory.

26 October
Whilst paused to repair their remaining vehicles, the British encounter a Bolshevik counter attack. Both sides suffer losses and the Bolsheviks eventually withdraw.

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29 October
Adolf Hitler is killed in a car crash orchestrated by the British Secret Service on orders from the Temporal Council. Rudolf Hess becomes acting Reich's Chancellor.

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30 October
Pestered by small skirmish engagements along the way, the British finally move into the Qala I Zal Valley where they come to a railway track. Realising this must be the means by which the armoured train is moving they damage the track and stage an ambush and after an intense fire fight, they capture the train.

31 October
In the cold early hours of the morning, the British arrive at Qala I Zal and are met by Viktor Korsakov in his armoured suit and with his remaining tanks. A battle ensues and Korsakov is defeated and seriously wounded by Rocketman. The British win the battle but Korsakov's lover Olga fakes his death and removes him to Northern China.

1 November
Unaware that Korsakov is still alive and has escaped, Daniel Mansfield leaves Sir John Napier to dismantle the secret factory town at Qala I Zal.

22 November
Daniel Mansfield returns to Bombay and informs General Sir Michael Keating that the mission has been successful.

25 November
MI6 learns a rumour that Viktor Korsakov may still be alive.

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27 November
Desiring a seat on their High Council, Baron Von Schöenberg issues an ultimatum to the Lords Temporal to accommodate his wishes or face the consequences. The Lords Temporal refuse.

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22 December
In reaction to reported incidents of border skirmishing between The Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu and remant forces of the Russian warlord Viktor Korsakov, operating in Aksai Chin along side Uighur communist forces under the patronage of Sheng Shicai, Warlord of Xinjiang (formerly known as Chinese Turkestan). Selected units from 17/21st Lancers and 8th Royal Dragoon Guards under command of Colonel Sir John Napier are despatched to assist His Highness Maharaja Hari Singh.

1937

7 January
Kashmiri forces, patrolling in coordination with Colonel Sir John Napier's Special Operations Group, come under sustained heavy fire in the hills north of Tangtse.

10 January
MI6 Intercepts NKVD communications that confirm Viktor Korsakov is alive and in Aksai Chin. Sheng Shicai severs all diplomatic relations with the USSR.

29 January
As regional tensions increase, British Imperial forces on the border of Aksai Chin and the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu, encounter a sizable force belonging to the Warlord Sheng Shicai. Initial reports indicate local Chinese forces are equipped with superior Russian equipment, possibly supplied by the remains of ONB7.

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1 March
Under mysterious circumstances, American Airlines Flight 1091 crash lands in the Florida Everglades. On board is a former member of Project Meteor; Professor Wokinghouse. Since Wokinghouse had recently been contacted by a group with links to Baron Von Schöenberg, known as the Alligator Cult, Sir Hugh Sinclair immediately calls upon Daniel Mansfield to investigate.

2 March
Daniel Mansfield takes a group of specialists to Florida with orders to destroy the Alligator Cult and their leader who is known as The Kingpin.

3 March
Having learned the last known location of the downed aircraft, Mansfield and his companions travel to Oyster Bay, only to find Professor Wokinghouse and two other survivors are in the clutches of the strange cultists who are about to sacrifice them. The British engage the cultists and after a fierce but ultimately one sided firefight which sees the Kingpin flee in a fishing boat, discover that the cultists are not human at all. They take to referring to the cultists as 'the plant people'.

5 March
Daniel Mansfield arrives in Jamaica where he reports to Sir Robert Bullington-Smedley who is the local section chief of MI6. Sir Robert sends Mansfield to Cuba where MI6 Signals Intelligence have located the Kingpin.

6 March
With his team in tow and a Royal Navy gunboat lurking in the nearby darkness, Mansfield arrives in Santiago de Cuba harbour where the Kingpin is meeting with an Italian mafioso named Don Vito Scarlatti. As the British approach the pier upon which the meeting is taking place, a Sicilian renegade named Il Conte de Vulcano arrives and and a battle breaks out. Rocketman kills the Kingpin, but is himself wounded.

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8 March
Along with several other right wing officers General Franscisco Franco is taken prisoner by the Second Spanish Republic and charged with treason. In London, Sir Hugh Sinclair notes this as a deviation from the Lords Temporal agenda.

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10 March
Daniel Mansfield returns to RAF Brookehurst where he is greeted by Sir Hugh who tells him to take a holiday so he may recuperate from his injuries.

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15 March
With Bolshevik incursions from Aksai Chin now regularly threatening the stability of The Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu, Colonel Sir John Napier establishes a regional headquarters at Leh with four outlying forward operations camps to pacify and control the region.

25 March
Sheng Shicai launches an unprovoked offensive into Kashmir and Jammu with the initial spear head over running local defences at Saracks but being slowed down by the superior British defences. Anticipating a second heavier attack, Colonel Sir John Napier orders his forces from Saraks to withdraw and strengthen Leh.

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26 March
Daniel and Audrey Mansfield arrive at the Anthropological Institute of Doctor Schlumberger in Paris where they have been invited to celebrate the anthropological and archaeological discoveries of Mansfield's old school chum; Percy Worthington.