AUTUMN BIG GAME 2023 - PART TWO

It is impossible to form even some kind of coherent narrative from the chaotic events in Little Hereford. The best that can be done is to record that :

(a). everybody (and we mean everybody) started off by bombarding the Big Men and their forces of farmers. Whether this was due to carefully planned strategy, vertical-axis jealousy or simple mindless bloodlust is now rather difficult to tell. It seemed to be only later in the morning that the players discovered that the "Intelligence Phase" also involved throwing dice, and then the carefully prepared "Spies and Intelligence Men" slowly came into action;

(b). on the West Table, Alan's Criminal Entrepreneurs and Jon's Independent Labour Party both headed for the same Farm, thereafter entering into an epic two Platoon battle. This left Jim and Roo to snaffle a Farm each in a relatively undisturbed manner, and then skirmish away quite happily, including such delicacies as casually blowing up A/T milk churns with shots from a Boyes A/T rifle;

(c). on the East Table, after an opening of all bashing all, JP's Fascists beat LAF Moriarty's Irish Legion of Leprechauns to a strategic Farm, while Peter J's forces and Rob's Bolsheviks took over the remaining two Farms. Judging that JP had his hands full stomping all over Leprechauns, Peter and Rob then formed a "Satanic Alliance" to capture the Convent of St. Mary Magdalene and discover its hidden treasure, ensuring bitter resistance from the psycho-Nuns...

As always, a variety of Fleet Street's finest staff photographers were there:

The Independent Labour Party advance at the start of the day.

A long shot of the table, with the advance of the ILP
at the bottom left.

Alan's Criminal Entrepreneurs advance against the ILP,
"Shoddy Tank" conversion to the fore.

Farmer Green-West, with a much reduced section of defending farmers,
awaits anxiously.

Battle is joined -  Farmer Green West in the middle, the ILP to the left, the first
infantry sections of the Criminal Entrepreneurs to the right.