BUF Motorcycle Recce Platoon

Finished these off the other day. Will be the last of my VBCW figures for a while until I have broken the back of my AWI army painting. The figures are Call of the Cluthu cops. Not a very good picture so I will replace it asap.

VBCW The assault on Wolsingham

We fought the long-awaited Government assault on Wolsingham last night. John played the Government forces from Stanhope and commanded two platoons of the DLI (regulars) with a supporting 18pdr field gun, mortar, HMG and 2pdr anti tank gun. He also had 2 Vickers MkVI light tanks and two troops of cavalry; a troop of BUF and an LDV troop - the Weardale Hunt, complete with foxhounds! Topping this off was a BUF armoured train (which John chose to use to mount the 18pdr on). There was also supposed to be some air support but in the heat of battle we forgot to dice to bring it on. Quite a tooled up force for a hard mission. John's task was to capture or destroy a socialist super heavy railway gun that had been reportedly refurbished and recently rolled out from the steelworks. Not something that could be ignored!!!

Rob and I commanded the defenders. On table were the local Anglican League; a platoon of the Bishop of Durham's guard and the Wolsingham School cadet force. They were supported by an 18pdr, a mortar and an HMG, together with a vintage Vickers MkII tank and an old Rolls Royce armoured car. My combined Shildon Railwayman's and Wolsingham Steelworkers were off table as they were stationed to the east of the town. I had potentially six platoons, a tank and a truck-mounted gun available but only two platoons and the portee were activated - the rest were occupied with a government diversionary attack.

I had envisaged a rapid government thrust to capture the gun using the speed of their train, tanks and cavalry to get them into the fight asap. We used much-simplified Triumph and Tragedy rules with a card-driven movement system, i.e. a black card allowed any government unit to move and if they wished to fire, and the red for the opposition (I was diamonds and Rob was hearts).

We drew a black card first so John's forces began to arrive on table, then we drew another, and another, and another!!!!! In all we must have drawn 18 spades or clubs in the first 20 or so cards! This meant was that John's forces did establish themselves on table and caused some serious damage to Rob's men who were unable to respond. Ah yes, I hear you say! Well the odds are that very soon there will be fewer black cards and the reds will start being churned out. Correct except for one twist. I left the jokers in the deck so when they were drawn we re-shuffled the pack! Went down well......not!

Anyway, it was a hard fought battle. Highlights have to be the demonstration of poor driving skills by one of my militia platoons in a truck that in an effort to avoid ramming the rear of the League's disabled tank blocking Front Street, swerved down a side street and collided with Rob's HMG lurking behind someone's back yard wall, and the valour of the crew serving Rob's 18pdr. Pounded by artillery fire and riddled with machine guns from the enemy tanks the gun crew was so reduced and supressed that the vicar, a passing motorcyclist and my famous Belgian reporter (avec chien) had to help serve the gun. They hung on though and did stirling work holding back the enemy and damaging the train. Less 'stirling' were the afore-mentioned militia platoon who scrambled out of their truck into someone's back yard only to be shelled and machine gunned so heavily that they immediately ran off! (Strangely no pictures of their flight have survived).

John's cavalry and infantry pushed up the road towards the town and the glorious cavalry charge I had hoped for didn't happen (boooo!) as the advance ground to a halt, held up by the tank, the cadets and the timely arrival of my other militia platoon. I think a cavalry charge might have worked and would have been a good spectacle even if it hadn't! The Weardale Hunt galloped over the fields and then dismounted, taking refuge in the church while the DLI platoon retreated under heavy fire. As usual the BUF did little and ended up running away again. Meanwhile John had started the train up in an attempt to ram the railway gun. Good idea but it was foiled by my militia portee that wrecked the gun carriage, bringing the train to a halt. Over on the far flank the other DLI platoon and mortar had been in a firefight with Rob's troops in the steelworks but had made little headway. They were eventually driven off by the Rolls Royce a/c but not without inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.

With most of John's forces in retreat or pinned down we called it a day. Another Anglican League/Socialist victory but one won at some cost, and you can be assured the Government forces will try to take out the railway gun again, but maybe by more subtle means next time? I already have a cunning plan.........

THE GAME THAT NEVER WAS.......WELL YET ANYWAY

No game again this week due to unforseen problems. Never mind though. I did manage to get a few more figures finished at long last, including a troop of BUF cavalry, pictured here moving gingerly up a country lane hoping not to go the same way as their infantry colleagues in recent skirmishes with Socialist and Anglican League forces in the Dale. I've had the table set up for a couple of weeks now so here is a shot of the objective of the next game, a government assault on Wolsingham steelworks. Hopefully we will get to fight the game next week.

AIRWAR OVER THE DALE

Finished the first couple of aircraft for my VBCW war in Weardale. I think my modelling skills left me when I reached puberty but they'll do! Inspired by the RAF's policing of the NW Frontier in the 1920's I decided that one of the most effective ways the Government forces could patrol the high pennine passes would be from the air. The terrain is pretty inhospitable, roads are few and opportunities for smuggling undetected are many, especially to and from the Comminust enclave in Chopwell and Socialist forces around Shildon and the Liverpool Free State.

Government forces have established airstrips at Stanhope and St John's Chapel using the showgrounds. Operating from these strips are a mottley collection of aircraft, few of which are serviceable at any one time. At Stanhope the BUF have a Bristol Bulldog fighter supporting a Government Avro Anson used for reconnaisance and interdiction over the high ground. Currently a Handley Page Heyford is located at Stanhope. Forced down by mechanical problems it is hoped it'll be airworthy in the near future (i.e. when I have worked out how to mount it on a flying base!). There is also a Gloucester Gladiator fighter at St John's Chapel.

The Anglican League operating out of Wolsingham have likewise turned the showground into a makeshift landing ground where the Bishop of Durham's Hawker Fury is based, although it usually to be found flying from the (safer) grounds of the Bishop's palace in West Auckland.

The Shildon Railwaymen are operating an old Russian I-1 fighter off an 'airstrip' located next to the Wagon Works. They also use this landing strip to accomodate aircraft shuttling across the pennines to the Liverpool Free State.

Pictured above are the Hawker Fury being stalked by the BUF Bulldog, who in turn is about to get a nasty surprise from the Socialist I-1. The last photo is of my Heyford heavy bomber. I've just taken delivery of a Tiger Moth and am waiting for a couple of other kits to arrive - not for quantity but for variety........honest! Now to find something to mount the Heyford on.....

Another bad day for the BUF

Just played another VBCW game. Rob commanded a BUF snatch squad charged with escaping off the table with their Anglican League prisoner, the firebrand Reverand Jesmond Parsnip, Vicar of Wolsingham. Closing in were a small force of League troops in pursuit from Wolsingham under the command of John, and allied Socialist Shildon Railwaymens' militia under myself en route from Fir Tree.

BUF forces were all motorised and comprised a headquarters section, a towed anti-tank gun, three platoons of infantry, supported by two armoured cars, a Morris and a 6x Lanchester. The Anglicans were in pursuit with an old WW1 vintage Rolls Royce armoured car, a platoon of the Bishop of Durham's Guard (from the Anthony Bek Company) supported by an HMG, and a platoon of Wolsingham School cadets. The Socialists had three platoons of militia, a Vickers 6-ton tank and an Armadillo armoured truck.

We used Triumph and Tragedy as the basis for the rules but much simplified. I used a random card-driven movement and firing system; one card in the deck for each unit, which worked well and added to the confusion....lots ;o)

The BUF were lucky with the draw of cards and most of their units moved early in the turn. Their Lanchester turned to head off the League forces heading towards them, shooting up the bus carrying the cadets and forcing it to stop, thus blocking the road. It was supported by a rearguard of a platoon of infantry and the anti-tank gun, that moved to outflank the League now bottled up on the road.. The BUF Morris and the other trucks with their prisoner headed for the exit point at the opposite end of the table, but not without demonstrating some really poor driving skills, one lorry running into the back of another, causing some damage and a dead passenger! Meanwhile the Socialist column raced towards the crossroads to cut off the BUF escape. Exciting stuff!!!!!!

Next turn saw the BUF rearguard de-bus and take up position on a hill to enfilade the League forces, but not before the League Rolls Royce armoured car had broken through behind them. A vicious firefight followed by a bayonet charge by the Bishop of Durham's guard and the BUF were driven off and almost anihilated. But between them and the Lanchester they had blocked the advance of the entire League contingent and caused several casualties, including Wolsingham's Head Boy in command of the cadets.

The BUF and Socialists continued their race for the crossroads and the road to safety; the latter got there first. Just. One BUF platoon was dropped off to hold the flank while the Morris and the final platoon (together with prisoner) sped over the bridge at full speed and halted at the Old Mill. The Lanchester acted as rearguard, bottling up the League force, but it came a cropper when reversing at high speed round a bend, ending up in a ditch!

Finding the crossroads occupied the Morris armoured car could not get past the Socialist vehicles blocking the road, and had all its tyres shot out and the Boyes anti-tank gun destroyed. But it kept the much of the Socialist infantry pinned down, immobilising one truck and the Armadillo, while the last BUF platoon disembarked and tried to escape on foot behind the mill and across the fields and behind walls and hedges. The BUF flank guard retired under heavy fire onto the bridge where firstly they were pinned down, suffering heavy casualties before legging it in rout.

The BUF almost made it off the table with their prisoner, but the final Socialist platoon cut them off and pinned them down in the open just inches from their exit point. The BUF force had been almost totally destroyed as a fighting force, only the Lanchester was in a position to escape. League and Socialist forces had suffered heavy casualties, and most of their transport was shot up badly.

An enjoyable and hard fought game that could have gone either way right up to the last turn of the cards, and was almost a rare BUF victory, but not quite. A BUF triumph it wasn't; more like a BUF tragedy! An early good run of the cards had put Rob in an advantageous position, and John and the League couldn't get into the game once they'd seen off the rearguard, but the situation changed rapidly, enabling the Socialists to get into position. The BUF's fortune wasn't helped by some really unlucky dice rolls, e.g. most BUF hits seemed to result in few kills or wounds, just pinned or 'near misses', whereas the League and Socialists seemed to score kill after kill.

SIZE MATTERS!!!!!

Well I thought the guns on both of my armoured trains were a bit on the small side so I cobbled this together from a kit I bought on ebay a few months ago. I need to do some work on a customised flatcar to carry this beast along with its ammunition and other stores but wanted to see what it looked like. I think that if it were to fire the entire train would end up being propelled at a zillion miles per hour back up the railway line, but this is not real life so what the hell!!!!

I seem to have acquired rather a large number of figures for this project and just hope I can get them all finished and on the table soon. I still have my BUF cavalry to finish, along with their dismounts, as well as about 60-odd militia (including cavalry) as yet unassigned to any particular faction, a squadron of Yeomanry and a platoon of regulars or TA. Well at least they are easy enough to paint! Not today though as the sun is shining and the garden needs sitting in!!!!!

War comes to Weardale!!!!!

Played my first (solo) VBCW game last weekend to try out the rules and get my figures on the table. Basic premis was that the uneasy peace found to that date in the Dale was was about to be broken. A small Government force was holding a roadblock controlling a bridge dominating a key level crossing on the Weardale railway. Socialist forces from Wolsingham (steel workers and quarrymen) had been tasked with taking control of the area to permit their newly-converted armoured train to pass unmolested out of the dale and back to its owners the Shildon Railwaymen's Peoples' Militia.

The Government had a platoon each of LDV and BUF. The BUF had just arrived and were camped quite some distance from the bridge but had brought with them an anti tank gun and an armoured car. The force was supported by a 3" mortar manned by TA members of the DLI. Local police were also present. Somewhere in the area were the Wear Vally Rangers, a motorised militia unit raised by a local landowner and former MP. Attacking this small force were four platoons of Socialist militiamen, supported by an improvised portee and a 'liberated' Vickers 6-ton tank.

The Socialists drove their main attack across the bridge with a flanking force including their tank to their left. The police on the bridge checkpoint were overwhelmed, the survivors running as fast as they could. Meanwhile the BUF platoon mustered and advanced towards the bridge under heavy fire from the enemy. The socialist portee managed to knock out the BUF armoured car with its first shot but then missed with every subsequent one! Caught in heavy fire from militiamen lining the walls to their front the BUF broke and ran.

Meanwhile, the LDV platoon and mortar were unobserved in the churchyard and not in any hurry to expose themselves, although the mortar did manage to bracket the portee on the hill over the river, putting their aim off at the very least! Over on the left, the militia and their tank had crossed the river unopposed. The much vaunted (in their eyes) Wear Valley Rangers appeared in their nice posh touring cars and came under fire straight away from the tank and supporting infantry. They suffered no casualties but discression being the greater part of valour they turned tail and fled, having failed their pluck test. The BUF anti tank gun was knocked out, and most of the Government forces were in full retreat or lurking under the cover of the churchyard walls. It was all up and the remaining LDV to beat a hasty retreat just as the armoured train from Wolsingham appeared.

Well, I got almost all of my troops on the table and the game was ok but I didn't like the VBCW variant of WGW so next time I will try Triumph and Tragedy.

VBCW - My first figures completed

Well after a long period of inactivity thanks to a slipped disc I have managed to finish the first of my VBCW units. The Weardale Rangers are an LDV unit led and sponsored by former MP and local land owner Sir Joscelyn Shuttleworth JP. The unit are equiped with three touring cars that they use for patrolling the roads between Frosterly and Alston. Ostensibly royalist they might show their true colours as my storyline evolves. I've also finished a section of local Police and some socialist militia. I've completed my Anglican League Wolsingham School cadet force, complete with a mixture of battledress and blazers (coincedentally the name of their monthly newsletter!) led by their redoubtable CO who is also the school chaplain (pictured). Finally, I have finished a couple of tanks and armoured cars, together with an improvised portee. As usual I probably have too much armour, but what the hell! They look good. Also pictured is a certain Belgian reporter and his dog. All I need now are figures to represent Captain Haddock and the Thomsons! Next up will be a couple more lorries and some regulars together with more militia when they arrive from Musketeer.

figures arrive, well some anyway

spoke to Renegade last week. They are swamped which is understandable given their current brilliant offer, hence the delay in me getting my stuff. I don't mind though as Mr Postman delivered some Artizan figures to use as VBCW militia or LDV and two Warbases terraced houses. All very nice. I also picked up a dozen figures off ebay. Allegedly 28mm they are much smaller 25mm max so not v happy. Anyeway, decided i have a use for them as a School Cadet Force. In my case thy could be from Durham, Barnard Castle or Wolsingham Grammar schools all of which had cadet foreces in the '30's. Add a 28mm officer and NCO and away we go. but what side? Durham would have to be the Anglican League whilst Barney most likely to be be Royalist. Wolsingham? I am going to have them as Royalists. Will post pics when done.

MY NEXT PROJECT

Well I have recently taken advantage of Renegade's current offer of 5 for the price of 4 regimental packs to finish off one project (post WW1 Freikorps and RCW) and start another one (VBCW). I have had all the source books for VBCW for ages but I have now decided on the wider scenario in which i shall set my games. The source books make a passing reference to the Chopwell Communists' sphere of influence extending as far as Wolsingham and Hexham, and there is also a mention of arms etc from the Liverpool Free State coming through Alston. I live in upper Weardale between Wolsingham and Alston and it seemed like a good idea to set my games literally in my own back yard! The terrain is very tough going, roads are minimal although there is a railway from Darlington through Bishop Auckland and all the way up the Dale and another from Alston to Hexham and further east. I think there was also a mineral railway that went to Consett. East-west travel not generally an issue but north-south or indeed travel between other points of the compass is another matter altogether!So what am I planning? Faction 1 is straightforward - I thought a small Royalist force tasked with intercepting the arms trade through Alston and upper Weardale, based in Alston but with posts further down the valley as far as Stanhope. They are also required to keep the lead and mineral mines in production, or at least ensure that the produce finds its way into Royalist hands. Some of the stuff mined in the Dale like Fluorspar is quite rare and is used in iron and steel making (I think). Maybe a company of regular infantry (DLI) and maybe a troop or squadron of cavalry (some horsed given the terrain). Not sure if these should be Yeomanry or regular. Quite fancy some Northumberland Hussars if only 'cos I served with them years ago when i was much younger, and fitter! I guess I would beed to throw some LDV into the pot as well. Airpower will also play a part as a plane is the best way of reconoitering the bleak high moors that make up most of the terrain. I will keep the BUF out of it for now.I think the main oppossition will come from the Anglican League, with forces of the Bishop of Durham based in West Auckland (where he has his now heavily fortified palace - will there ever be a garden centre there as there is now?). Interestingly, the villages of Eastgate and Westgate used to form the boundaries of the Bishop of Durham's deer park in medieval times so i might try and weave that in somehow.I will need a left wing element seeing as they are the ones transporting equipment through the area, so communist forces from Chopwell and Liverpool will find their way into the area. The lead miners might also rebel at some point.Finally, there might also be the chance of raids from over the Scottish border.We shall see how this develops. I have a week off work so hope to get some painting started once the figures arrive. Just waiting for Mr Postman!