Very British Civil War at the Bayou

The game I ran on Saturday morning (June 14) at our regional convention, Bayou Wars, was a scenario from my Very British Civil War "universe."  In that "universe" the Royalist and their British Union of Fascist allies based around Colchester, Essex, are in a constant state of raids and skirmishes against the loose coalition of Anglican forces from Bury St. Edmonds, local defense groups from East Bergholt, and "red" Royal Navy sailors from the Harwich Maritime Defence Force, all in Suffolk.

This particular scenario involved the gathering of supplies from an area of the River Stour valley, including a derailed goods wagon (box car to us Americans) from the London North Eastern Railway.  There was also a farm and a petrol station in the vicinity which must be searched for supplies.

The Royalist/BUF forces consisted of a company of the 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment; a company of the BUF Colchester Fencibles, a troop of the Essex Yeomanry (light tankette and two armored scout cars); and  BUF Special Assault Section with an armored truck.

The Anglican Coalition consisted of a company of the Cambridge Fencibles, a company of the American volunteer Liberty Bell Legion, a company of local defense forces, and an Anglican Special Combat Section.  Also aiding the Anglicans was a company of the Harwich Maritime Defence Force with a truck mounted naval cannon.

I used a slight modification of The Sword to Adventure variant of Larry Brom's The Sword and the Flame.

So let the action begin!

The scene of the action with the farm house in the foreground, the derailed goods wagon in the middle ground, and the petrol station in the background.  The Anglican Coalition entered from the left while the Royalists/BUF entered from the right.

The Anglican Coalition commanders - Dave, Chris, Mick, Richard, and Josh.

The Royalists/BUF commanders - Bill, Phil, Mark, and Ken.

Anglican Fencibles and Liberty Bell Legion troops advance towards the farmhouse and goods wagon.

Bill, commanding the regular Royalist infantry, watches as his "red" sailor opponent moves against him.  Bill provided the hedges in the foreground through which the BUF Fencibles are moving.

The Anglican Fencibles and Liberty Bell Legion encounter the BUF Fencibles along the stream.

The regular Royalists move towards the petrol station and the house across the road from it.  A ubiquitous call box sits prominently along the roadside.

And at the same time the "red" sailors (center and right) and part of the LDF (left) advance into the petrol station/house complex.  A cache of petrol barrels can be seen in the right corner of the station lot.

On the right, the Royalist trucks and the BUF Special Assault Section with their armored truck advance to contest the goods wagon and its cargo with the Anglican Special Combat Section and the LDF chaps.

But the BUF didn't do too well as a well aimed Boys anti-tank rifle from the Anglican Special Combat Section set it ablaze.

The final scene of action as the "red" sailors and LDF secure the petrol station and house supplies in the background and the Anglicans and LDF overpower the BUF at the goods wagon, securing those supplies as well.  Only at the farmstead were the Royalists and BUF successful, primarily thanks to Ken's tankette and armored scout cars which were too much for the Cambridge Fencibles one heavy machine gun and rifles.

The game, from my perspective as game master, went well.  All of the participants seemed to be having a good time.