THE WAR ILLUSTRATED No.13 - SECOND BATTLE OF SHOBDON

15. DEATH OF A PHOTOGRAPHER - EAST!

To the east of Shobdon Village, the Ludlow Expeditionary Force (LEF) advance towards the Shobdon
Instructional Centre. These newly raised Jojoban Trillaleurs are commanded by the Rev. Jones,
Chaplain to the Bishops. The Bishop of Lichfield has already departed in support of Mr Hodges
on the centre table.

Major Sir James Barleycorn MC's counter attack goes in. His truck mounted "roadside" bombs try to take out
an Anglican tank and the Jojoban Trillaleurs. A section of Shobdon policemen guard the Instructional Centre.
The mass of armour that is the Ludlow Experimental Armoured Force is at the top of the photograph, to
the left of the infamous Ludlow Light Lancers, already gearing up for another charge.

At this point, we have to announce the sad demise of the 28mm staff photographer recording the action to the east of Shobdon : it may be that he fell to a BUF sniper, but it is equally possible that he got too close to a truck mounted "roadside" bomb as it exploded.

And thus, to the detriment of the historical record, there are no photographs of the first successful cavalry charge ever carried out by the Ludlow Light Lancers! (There have been plenty of unsuccessful attempts). The BUF "not-roadside bomb" strategem having largely failed and the BUF Armoured Car having been incapacitated (thus placed in the large hole, above) the Lancers girded their capacious loins and charged straight through the gates of the Shobdon Instructional Centre, massacring the Ludlow police guards and capturing the Camp Commandant! 

Chaplain Jones swiftly followed up with his infantry sections, occupying the guard houses and living quarters of the Instructional Centre. Liberation for the VIP Prisoners was now at hand!

But where were those VIP prisoners? And where, for that matter, was the bulk of Major Sir James Barleycorn MC's forces? Intelligence had disclosed many more than the trucks, the armoured car, and a section or two of police...

It was at this point that the Major disclosed that "they'd all gone down the pub" in Little Shobdon...Christian protests that "come on, that's not really within the scenario rules, is it?" were met with a disdainful glare and a flourish of Sir James' Military Cross. "I didn't get this by sticking to scenario rules, now did I?".....[note1]

[1] Military commentators have since sought to analyse Sir James' strategy. The concealed move to "The Red Lion" in Little Shobdon was praised for "keeping his force intact in the face of overwhelming numbers", but equally criticised on the basis that, by moving east, he had disabled himself from coming to the aid of Senior Captain Maynard on the "central table", perhaps by putting pressure on the recalcitrant Mr Jones ("We be Shobdon"!). Transcripts of coded messages from the Senior Captain to the Major have proved impossible to decode, consisting as they do of four letter dots and dashes on a repeating basis, and are recorded simply as the "unbreakable Profanity Code". It may be, of course, that the always complicated internal politics of  HMG within the County (the nascent split between "Royalist" and "BUF" being the most obvious example) meant that Sir James never had any intention of supporting the Senior Captain, but was looking to his own interests and long term reputation....