Evesham big game – the Blackshorts graze their knees

Last weekend’s big game at Evesham, hosted by the fine chaps at Gripping Beast and organised by VBCWmeister ‘Mort’, was brilliant! Let me make that clear now, for after reading the following battle report, you’d be forgiven for thinking I had a miserable time!

The town of Causton and its environs was represented by two tables, each resplendent with lovely bits of terrain and buildings. One table represented the northern approaches to the town, the other the south, with the town straddling the gap between the two. This gap represented the largely impassable river, with the exception of when it meandered out into the southern table.

 

The northern table



The southern table

The dastardly forces of the BUF, consisting of me and fellow GWP members Giles and ‘Reiverdance’, were given the job of taking Causton on the southern table.

Having only recently started collecting and painting VBCW miniatures, I had my work cut out building up an army to the 2500 points size required by the scenario. In the end my force – the Herefordshire Expeditionary Brigade – consisted of my battalion of Blackshorts (command, three infantry companies and HMG and anti-tank rifle support), my LPA battalion (command, two companies of shotgun infantry, a team of snipers and a mob of scarecrow protesters) and enough figures scraped together to make a brigade command (including my Edward VIII and Wallis figures – impersonators doubling as morale officers!)

I then cadged two black-clad BUF companies, an HMG team and some command figures from Giles which, together with my hurriedly painted police company, made up another battalion. Finally I borrowed a Vickers MkII medium tank from Giles to supplement my two ‘Evelyn’ improvised armoured vans to create an armoured company. This force, while perhaps true to the amateur spirit of VBCW, was in retrospect severely lacking in heavy firepower, as I was soon to discover!



The Herefordshire Expeditionary Brigade - note the BUf/police battalion bottom right and the circular 'redoubt' top left

We fascists were allowed to set up our forces on three sides of the southern table and I rather unimaginatively elected to bring my troops on at the southern end, opposite the town, taking up the far left flank and thus lining up alongside my fellow bad guys.

Facing me was Rob with his socialist Chester Local Defence Force, complete with HMG-armed motorised Trachankas, LMG-toting sports cars and truck-borne socialist militia. Supporting him was a battery of artillery and a mortar holed up in Causton. My force, a third of which carried only shotguns or farming implements, was rather outgunned.

My first mistake was to bunch my battalions together. The BUF/police were all jammed into a walled enclosure in a small village at my far right; the motorised company took up the road to their left; while in the countryside to their left I put the Blackshorts; leaving my LPA as reserve. Seeing such a tempting target, the socialist artillery in Causton, commanded by ‘Red Rich’, opened up on my BUF/police battalion before I even knew we had started! The bemused Blackshirts were blown to smithereens and I lost an entire BUF company, the HMG and half the command unit before I had fired a shot. The two surviving companies took refuge in the village buildings, joined by the brigade command, lest they be next on the artillery spotters list. Luckily his attention was then occupied by Reiverdance’s advancing tanks and I was spared any further artillery mauling.



The survivors take cover

Facing me, having won the first initiative roll, Rob immediately and bravely took the battle to me by advancing his Trachankas into a circular hedged field that just screamed ‘redoubt’. Backed up by his racing cars, anti-tank rifle team and mortar, he proceeded to shoot up the Blackshorts, who lost their entire HMG/anti-tank support company.

I was left with nothing bigger than the cannons of the armoured company, who singularly failed to take out the Trachankas or indeed much else, and were soon facing fire from Rob’s forces not only in the redoubt but also the company of schoolboys he had placed further back.

Socialist Trachankas begin to occupy the 'redoubt' and knock out the Blackshort support company

My 'plan' was to decimate the redoubt, while the shotgun-toting LPA reserve, screened by the scarecrows, outflanked them. With firepower now seriously unbalanced in favour of the socialists, this sweeping action became a slow slog as the Blackshorts took cover in a nearby cornfield and returned fire against Rob’s machine guns. My only hope was to deploy my reserves only and try to get up close so that the shotguns could do their grisly short-range business. This move would also bring on the LPA sniper team, who, it transpired, were the only ones able to deal with the Trachankas by picking off their crew.

With the landowners forced to support my attack on the redoubt, the now reduced flanking move was slowed down by the scarecrows, who, while being an effective shield, went to ground time after time due to the withering fire they faced not only from the redoubt (now reinforced by a company of militia), but also a company of militia recently deployed along a hedge-line behind the redoubt.

On come the LPA reserves

Meanwhile my armoured company was taking heavy fire while not giving much back (at one point I was forced to declare my vehicles as ‘open hatched’ and thus vulnerable, so that they could successfully spot their targets!) These vehicles, together with the surviving BUF and policemen, did their best to hold the village against the schoolboys’ accurate (I say jammy!) rifle fire, in addition to mortar and HMG fire from the defences of Causton – not very promising since it was me who was supposed to be on the attack!

It's not looking good in the village...

Further along the table, Reiverdance and Giles had advanced slowly, eventually reaching the river but going no further as Red Rich’s dastardly artillery began to zero in on the BUF armour. Of the three of us, Giles was having the better time of it, but still could not crack the defences of his opposite number in time.

The fascist advance stalls

At the redoubt I had managed to deplete the defenders (forcing back the militia company) and silence most of the Trachankas, but only through judicious use of snipers and political officers to stop my forces from breaking. However by now I had lost all my armour to Rob’s fire, while the BUF and police were wavering. The end for them came when Rob’s Light Car Reconnaissance Squadron raced towards the village with machine guns blazing, causing the remainder of the BUF battalion to take to their heels and catch the next train to Hereford.



Speedsters clear the village (bloody boy racers...)

With such a large hole punched in the fascist line, Reiverdance was forced to deploy some of his reserves to fill the gap, lest the socialists roll up his flank. In order to deal with these reserves, Rob withdrew his forces from the redoubt, putting them back into their trucks to drive down to the recently cleared village. Obviously he no longer saw my forces as a threat – I didn’t know whether to be relieved or insulted!

At last the battered but victorious Trachankas withdrew from the redoubt, leaving the route to Causton open for the Hereford Expeditionary Brigade. However they were in no position to take advantage of this. And thus the day ended with my forces well short of their intended target and the defences of the town still intact.

Come back - you haven't finished thrashing us yet!

On the northern table, things had gone a little better for the Royalists, who had taken the hotel (a major objective for one of the factions) and giving the Anglican League defenders of Causton a severe mauling.

However on day two the Anglican League and socialist allies managed to make back much of the Royalist gains on the north table, whilst successfully defending a further BUF attack in the south.

So what lessons did I learn from my first ever big game?

1 – Buy bigger toys. It is only natural that players will want to bring their biggest and baddest kit to these events and one needs to have an effective answer to this unless such big guns are limited in future scenarios.

2 – Don’t lump one’s troops together. You might as well paint a great big target over them!

3 – Be more imaginative with one’s deployment. I could have started at another table edge and thus bypassed such an obvious defensive position as the circular field, although this would risk me being cut off from the other BUF brigades. I would still have got battered but might have had a less static game!

4 – Big games are fun no matter what! Yep, despite being so utterly drubbed, it was great to meet so many VBCW fans and put the faces to the usernames. I was also nice to drool over other players’ toys and have one’s own toys drooled over in return – huzzah for big games!

More of my photos can be found in my Photobucket account, while other player's reports can be found here, here, here, here and here.

Countdown to Evesham

This Saturday I’ll be off to Evesham for the Big Game – a two day event where many VBCW fans mass their armies together for one great big dust up (although some, like me, are only able to attend for one day).

VBCW organiser extraordinaire ‘Mort’ has once again come up with a scenario, based on the fictional county of Midsomer (from the popular TV show Midsomer Murders). The basic gist is this:-

There has been an assassination attempt on Royalist hero Col. J T Dunbar. The colonel, who was wounded in the attack, is now resting after surgery.

King Edward is said to be ‘outraged’ by the attempt on Colonel J T Dunbar’s life. The King met the Colonel earlier this year to honour and promote him for his victories in the battles of Weston-Super-Mare and Axbridge. The Colonel had then taken command of Royalist forces in Chippenham, where the attack on his life took place.

The King has ordered Lord Cirencester to start an investigation in to the shooting. For his part Cirencester has given the task to Chief inspector Barnaby, ex of the Met now working in the British Intelligence Service.

Sources close to Lord Cirencester believe it was the Somerset Freedom Fighters who tried to kill Colonel Dunbar, however the SFF have denied this. News has emerged that the SFF have however ambushed a royalist supply column.

Chief inspector Barnaby’s investigations have led him to the town of Causton – held by the Anglican League. He must have discovered something fishy in the town, for the King has since ordered an attack on the town by his royalist forces and their BUF allies (including my Blackshorts and whatever else I can bring to the table!)

Thanks to a little role-playing via email, my forces have been able to reconnoitre the area, and, while been driven off by Anglican League Piquets in some cases, have gleaned some very useful information.

Using the Brigadier ‘38 rules, each player can field up to 2500 points worth of stuff. Currently I have 1700 points worth painted, so will borrow a few figures and vehicles off Giles to make up the shortfall. This will be my first ever big game and I’m looking forward to it immensely!

The Landowners Protection Association - part 2

Another group of LPA militia:- the Abbeydore Rangers - a more rag-tag bunch of farmers and villagers, rather than an aristocratic shooting party.

Figures are a mix of Gripping Beast, Musketeer, Hasslefree, Artizan and Ironclad.

The Landowners Protection Association - part 1

After finishing my Blackshorts, I thought I'd turn my attention to another idea of mine, the Landowners Protection Association - basically a confederation of rural landowners, toffs, farmers and other modern-day Marcher barons that have emerged during the British Civil War.

Here's a little 'history'...

When the Bishop of Hereford joined the cause of the Anglican League, support from the countryside was muted. While some of the more progressive elements of the Herefordshire set joined his crusade, the vast majority of the people that mattered (wealthy landowners, farmers, the landed gentry and such) remained staunchly conservative traditionalist and, while not necessarily seeing eye-to-eye with Edward’s fascist cronies, baulked at rebelling against the King. Neither did they openly oppose the Bishop, instead preferring to look to their own interests while generally keeping the fighting at arms length.

However the subsequent defeat of the Anglican League in the county bought a new set of challenges for country folk as isolated farms and hamlets, especially along the Welsh border, became targets for the various factions who struggled to fill the power vacuum left by the departing Anglicans. It was only natural that people would band together for protection and soon every farmstead, village and country estate had gathered a group of armed men from the local inhabitants for their defence.

With so many shotgun-toting bands roaming the countryside, clashes between local interests were inevitable. Family feuds, longstanding grudges and petty jealousies turned into low-level fighting, while some of the more unscrupulous landowners tried to forcibly retake land that they had been obliged to sell to pay for death duties after the war. In this atmosphere of survival of the fittest, disparate groups began to coalesce around their more powerful neighbours and soon the Herefordshire countryside was in danger of being carved up by modern-day Marcher barons.

The royalist authorities, grudgingly admitting that their influence did not extend very far from the city of Hereford and surrounding towns, tacitly encouraged co-operation between the most significant landowners, who, themselves recognising that something had to be done, formed the Landowners Protection Association – an umbrella group which nominally controlled all the local bands, co-ordinated any actions and acted as intermediary when serious disputes erupted between members.

At a meeting at the Green Dragon hotel in Hereford, the county’s notables elected Sir Barrington Patchpole QC as chairman and military leader of the LPA. Noted for his organisational skills and impartiality when presiding over the Hereford Assizes, Patchpole was also a WW1 veteran with sizeable holdings and family ties to the county that went back to before the Norman Conquest. He quickly set about organising a ‘standing army’, in which each major landowner would contribute a ‘company’ of men – drawn mainly from their own tenants, gamekeepers, labourers, house staff and local villagers.

Added to these companies, Patchpole also incorporated some less conventional units, including mounted aristocrats from among the local hunts, horse breakers from the hills of the border region and sharpshooters drawn from the many hunters, stalkers (and poachers) in the region. While mainly armed with the ubiquitous shotgun and lacking any heavy weaponry, the LPA could rely upon the support of the local population and a knowledge of the countryside that was second to none.

Using this force to keep the peace in the countryside, bring to heel any overly-ambitious landowner and protect the borders of the county from incursion and banditry, the LPA freed up official government forces to handle the ‘proper’ fighting – occasionally stepping in to provide auxiliary support when things got a little too hot for the fascists (for as long as the LPA deemed it politically advantageous that is…)

The photos are of the first painted LPA unit, the Foley Manor Fencibles - more to come!

Counterattack!

With the outskirts of Ledbury taken, the Blackshorts dug in and waited while the fascists of the Three Counties Legion gathered their forces for the final assault of the town. The MHC, local LDV and the Anglican League decided to counterattack the fascists and drive them out before they could organise themselves.

The table layout

The Blackshorts held defensive positions in the centre of the table (left to right: the Metropolitan company holding a bridge, the HMG, Boys team and ‘Evelyn’ covering the centre road, the Marches company held a stone wall to their right. Behind them in reserve was the Monmouthshire English company.

Blackshort defences

Facing them, the enemy appeared along the entire length of the table, concentrating on the fascists right flank, and not the centre road as they had anticipated. They advanced, threatening to outflank and envelop the Blackshorts.

The MHC prepares to batter the Blackshorts' right flank

Luckily the BUF Three Counties Legion, led by the interim governor William de Braose, arrived at the rear of the Blackshorts, their armour on the right flank to meet that of the enemy. As per previous games, these mechanical monsters traded shot for shot for the rest of the game without really giving or taking much damage.

Reinforcements arrive to support the Fascist right flank

To add further confusion, two groups of Twiggy Mommet scarecrow protestors arrived – allied to the LDV in an effort to atone for their previous treachery and furious at the fascists for duping them. One company turned up at the right flank to support the Anglican League’s Archenfield Amateur Athletics Association, while the other company appeared at the rear of the Three Counties Legion!

Scarecrows at the rear!

On the left flank, a company of militia, the ‘Croydon Crusher’ and two bombers advanced against the bridge. The Blackshorts took casualties, but, supported by the HMG and ineffective mortar fire, eventually drove them back, knocking out the Crusher and gunning down the bombers.

Bloodshed by the bridge

In the centre, a company of militia, supported by an armoured car, Boys team and an HMG, advanced against the Marches company. Both sides took casualties but the proximity of the Blackshorts’ HMG and more ineffective mortar fire saw the attack falter with very heavy casualties (the sole survivor, the standard bearer, bravely withstanding fire whilst pricking Giles’ finger and drawing blood!)

Attack on the centre

Eventually the fighting in the centre had reduced to that of the MHC’s armoured car vs. the Blackshorts’ ‘Evelyn’ and Boys rifle. Both sides blasted at each other across the wall at point blank range, without causing so much as a scratch! Meanwhile to the rear, the BUF reserve quickly turned to face the Scarecrows, who, failing a resolve test to charge, withdrew in the face of superior firepower.

Point-blank range!

The balance of the battle really hinged on events at the right flank, where the AAAA, supported by heavy fire from an LDV-occupied hill and the scarecrows, shot up the Monmouthshire English, who had rapidly redeployed to meet the threat.

Fighting on the right

Unfortunately for the Anglican League, the arrival of the Three Counties Legion meant that they in turn were outflanked – HMG fire quickly taking out their command group. Outgunned and demoralised, the survivors of the AAAA ran for it, joining the routing mob of scarecrows, which had been shot to pieces in their advance against the BUF reinforcements.

Scarper!

With the defenders of the fascist left flank and centre free to support the right flank, the Anglican League and allies threw in the towel rather than continue outnumbered. The final assault of Ledbury was definitely on the cards and a great time was had by all!

The end of play

More photos here.

WARNING: Readers of a squeamish disposition, look away now!

The Road to Ledbury

Recently I was unexpectedly given leave by my good lady to go and play toy soldiers. Luckily Giles was free and so we decided to give the Brigadier 38 rules another bashing, including this time the initiative and command points system, where each commander rolls a D6 to see how many orders they can issue per round.

The scenario (quickly knocked up by Giles) of this battalion level game was thus:-

After opening up a route into Ledbury in the battle of Happy Land, the BUF decided to force another passage into the town’s outskirts. King Offa’s Legion was therefore tasked with breaking the local defences.

The layout (Blackshorts at the bottom, LDV at the top)

Advancing diagonally along the board, the Blackshorts had to defeat the MHC / LDV force at the opposite end.

The Blackshorts' starting positions

The fascists quickly advanced up the road and were on top of the LDV before they could react (thanks to some good dice rolls on my part and some not-so-good rolls on Giles’ when it came to the command points).

Quick advance to the centre

The layout of the terrain meant that both sides found themselves funnelled into the centre of the table. An attempt by the LDV to outflank the Blackshorts by a rapid march to a hill on the fascist right was quickly dealt with by the Metropolitan Blackshorts, who, wading through a swamp, opened fire on the exposed militia, driving them back.

LDV flank attack as firing hots up in the centre

The rest of the Blackshorts took up positions on and around the hill dominating the centre, enabling them to pour a withering fire on the defenders, who returned fire as best they could while sheltering alongside a building. Both side’s armour – in this case the newly arrived ‘Evelyn’ improvised armoured cars, duked it out with no discernable effect, but in the end the defenders of this route into Ledbury were whittled down by the luckier Blackshorts.

Flank attack driven off and heavy casualties for the LDV

Eventually the militiamen conceded defeat and a second road into Ledbury was open to the fascists.

The game lasted a mere 3 rounds, mainly due to the large disparity in command points. This proved that Brig 38 rules are really for larger amounts of figures than what we had on the table. And thus, with plenty of time left we scraped together as many miniatures as we could find and with the time remaining to us, put on a brigade level game – the LDV counterattack!

More photos can be found here.

A Very British VIP

A couple of VIPs for your viewing pleasure.

First off, His Royal Highness King Edward VIII...

Secondly, the interim governor of Herefordshire and modern-day Marcher lord, William de Braose...

Adn finally a little background on this chap...

Ever since the expulsion of the Anglican League from most of Herefordshire by forces royal to Edward VIII, the authorities struggled to maintain order, especially along the vulnerable Welsh border region. Welsh nationalists raided repeatedly into the county and even maintained a garrison in the town of Kington, whilst rendering assistance to the Anglican League enclave in Ross-on-Wye.

Apart from maintaining order in Hereford city itself, the civil authorities failed to make its mark elsewhere in the county, depending on the fascist Three Counties and King Offa Legions to police the countryside. In absence of any central control, prominent local landowners began building their own private armies, unwittingly (or otherwise) presenting themselves as alternative seats of power, reminiscent of the days of the medieval Marcher Lords, despite professing loyalty to the King.

Step forward one William de Braose.

William Brewes, or 'Bill' as he was more widely know, was born in 1885 in Bramber, Sussex, into a family which claimed roots back to the ancient de Braose dynasty - a prominent family of Anglo-Norman nobles originating in Briouze, near Argentan, Orne. Members of this family played a significant part in the Norman Conquest of England and subsequent power struggles in England, Wales and Ireland in the 11th to 14th centuries and once held considerable lands, not only in Sussex, but also along the Marches region.

Little is known about Brewes’ early life, except that he developed an interest in horse racing. At some stage he must have got into a bad crowd, as his name cropped up in a number of race-fixing allegations. Certainly he became a very rich man through race winnings and, after some alleged dodgy dealings, came close to being arrested at the outbreak of the Great War.

A keen horseman, he joined the Indian Army. Records are suspiciously patchy, but he entered the war as Trooper Bill Brewes, and came out as Lieutenant William de Braose. As an officer Skinner's Horse he shared a mutual interest in horses with 'Fruity' Metcalf (future equerry to Edward VIII), with whom he became close friends.

After, in his own words, a ‘distinguished’ military career, Brewes’ fortunes increased (mainly thanks to a silent partnership in a firm contracted to supply fodder to horses during the war). Gravitating into the social circle of the Prince of Wales, William de Braose appeared on the membership roster for the January Club and thence the British Union. Soon he could be seen swaggering through his estates in BUF uniform, his hair and moustache waxed into what was to become known as the fashionable 'Cirencester look'.

His fascist credentials established, de Braose held a number of minor official posts within the BUF and began to petition for a high-ranking position as soon as civil war erupted in 1938. Rumoured to have lent a substantial amount of money to the King, William was awarded the title of 3rd Baron Braose - a nod to his ancestors - and was given the official role of Interim Governor of the Marches - the word 'interim' no doubt a caution to this ambitious man that failure would not be tolerated.

And so William 'Bill' de Braose took up his position as governor of Herefordshire (practically the only portion of the Marches under nominal Edwardian control). If he succeeded in cementing Edward's rule, his position would be assured, for the king had already pointed out that de Braose's ancestors also included the de Bohun family - former Lord Wardens of the Marches and Earls of Hereford. If he failed then... well, it did not do to disappoint the king...