THE LATEST NEWS - MODERN WORLD

The latest edition of "Modern World"

Hereford newsagents have nearly sold out of the latest edition of "Modern World", chronicling the stout defence of the Cadbury's Marlbrook Chocolate Factory by elements of the Combined Corporate Guard (prop. Sir Charles Tite-Wadde, Bt.) against a combined force of Anglicans and Bromyardistas. Full descriptions of the Corporate Guards HERE, and of the Marlbrook battle HERE.

The Combined Corporate Guard defend the Cadbury Factory at Marlbrook.
In the advance are the purple uniformed Cadburys Commandos; in support (L to R)
are the red clad Oxo Brand Guardians and the yellow clad Fyffes Motor Guard.
In the rear (naturally) the white suited and enthroned Sir Charles with his standard bearer.
(photo courtesy JP)

The Cadbury's spotter plane did good service during the battle. Here it "runs interference"
for the advance of the "(Corporate) Guards Armoured Division" - consisting of one tank
each from the Cadbury, Oxo and Fyffes companies. Sir Charles and his standard bearer
peruse the battle from a specially selected sandbag emplacement.
(photo courtesy JP)

SPRING BIG GAME 2023 - DISASTER AT DINMORE (2)

It was now the height of the battle:

Hope under Dinmore, looking north (towards Marlbrook).
Government forces have destroyed Communist resistance
within the village and are advancing rapidly...

The Royalists are now well past the churchyard, BUF Cavalry screening ahead
and an AT Gun being brought up in support...

BUF Infantry race forward on the left flank, following the railway line.

On the right flank, the OFSTED tank races forward.
This is no longer a battle, but an armoured steeplechase...

The BUF in full cry on the left flank.
The Communist 'second line' is easily breached...

Run, Bill, run! A BUF tankette attempts to run down Comrade Winter and his HQ,
who take cover behind a small hedge.

The infamous "Times" photo of Comrade Winter's predicament.
His last forces, behind another hedge, encourage him to "make a break for it"

Go on Bill! The last of the Communist armour sacrifices itself
to ease Winter's predicament. The Communist AT gun has
now been destroyed by infantry fire, and its tows retreat,
hoping to pick up "the Chief" on their way.

                       Winter will make the van pick up and narrowly avoid the ignominy of capture.

                                                      Lets go! Put your foot down, comrade!

The end. Government armour is everywhere, and Winter exiting by van.
The Communist forces have been destroyed, and soon the Government
will be advancing on to Marlbrook, saving the Chocolate Factory
from the joint forces of the Anglicans and Bromyard Republicans.

A smashing Government victory and a disaster for the cause of Herefordshire Communism - upon the news reaching Moscow, it is said that a certain personage made his feelings clear:

Winter? That loser! Pah ! The dustbin of history!

Notwithstanding Comrade Stalin's evident disapproval, Winter has been in worse predicaments and is a proven survivor. This is, after all, the man who escaped from the equally disastrous First Battle of Ledbury by "hiding under a bridge". He still has at least two Shock Armies in the field, screening the Anglican front, a solid industrial base in the Presteigne Motor Works and, according to Government informers, will have very shortly "a vast amount of Red Cavalry". There will come another day, and still there are things to look forward to:

At the conclusion of play, the 1/1 scale Comrade Colonel Professor Winter (Rob) receives
 the Umpires' award (a genuine 1937 "Coronation Cup")  for "Player playing most
in the spirit of the VBCW". We are not downhearted! Meanwhile, back in Presteigne...

The 1/55 Commissar Moody, Chief of Winter's "Bureau Desinformatziya" desperately 
spins the Battle of Dinmore as simply "a retrograde victory" for the cause of Communism.
He will have much work to do in the next few months..

[Note] With many thanks to all who contributed photographs for these Spring Big Game 2023 Battle Reports. On to the Autumn Big Game 2023, VBCW Chaps !

SPRING BIG GAME 2023 - DISASTER AT DINMORE (1)

Comrade Colonel Professor Winter's hasty advance from Leominster to the (ironically named, as it turned out) village of Hope under Dinmore, disdaining the "debauched capitalist distraction" of the Cadbury's Chocolate Factory at Marlbrook in the hope of breaking through the "Dinmore Hill Line" and capturing Hereford, has entered VBCW legend as the "Disaster at Dinmore". 

Quite why the "Disaster at Dinmore" took place is still a matter of debate. Contemporaneous military commentators in Fleet Street (Messrs. Featherstone and Scruby, etc.) pointed to Winter's lack of heavy weaponry and, critically, lack of training of his raw Communist levies. Others claimed that Winter's adoption of a "high line" - including the village of Hope under Dinmore itself - was the key tactical factor. The consensus of opinion, however, identifies the preparations of Major (as he then was) Everard, C-in-C Government Forces, as critical. In a manoeuvre reminiscent of the Great Duke's tactics of the "reverse slope", Everard had concealed a decisive build up of HMG military might behind the Dinmore Hill Line : his own well trained Royalists, a second Royalist Platoon heavy in armour, and an additional well - trained BUF Platoon including cavalry. All were led by highly experienced and, as it turned out, extremely aggressive commanders. With Winter's Communists surprised, outnumbered and outgunned, the result was a gift to Government war photographers:

The outskirts of Hope - under - Dinmore, hastily garrisoned by the Communists.
Royalist infantry and armour move forward from the woods.

On the left flank, a powerful advance guard of BUF Cavalry (the "Ironhooves") support a tankette

On the right flank, Senior Cadet Macken-Chees's "OFSTED" tank leads off the
Hereford Auxiliary Reserve Division ("H.A.R.D.") and the (Literally) Blue Division

Communist troops in Hope under Dinmore, supported by a mortar.

More Communists in Hope under Dinmore, preparing to fortify a house.
Great store is placed by Winters in a "surprise weapon" fashioned
out of a captured Cadbury's tanker convoy, foreground.

The captured Cadbury's tanker convoy, Winters and his HQ in the foreground left.
What can he be planning?

Perhaps a "holding action" in Hope under Dinmore, followed by
a tactical retirement to a 'second line' centred on a concealed AT gun (with tows)?

Another view of the AT gun and tows.

Left flank of the Communist "second defence line". A light tank lies in wait.

Right flank of the Communist 'second defence line' - another light tank, riflemen and mortar.

Royalists right flank Hope under Dinmore, OFSTED tank in the lead.

Major (as he then was) Everard (khaki helmet, red bandana, waving pistol)
organises his troops. A second Government tank moves forward.

Boomps a daisy! Yet another Government tank crashes over the church fence into 
Hope under Dinmore. Royalist sailors and infantry in support.

Comrade Colonel Professor Winter's HQ is being outflanked. His Platoon takes cover...

Time to use the 'wonder weapon' ? BUF infantry advance towards the stolen Cadbury's tanker...

...as the BUF "Iron Hooves" canter forward in support....

Winter's stolen Cadbury's Tanker explodes, splattering molten "chocolate crumb"
across the roadway. But disaster! The BUF Infantry are past, and the Ironhooves evade without loss.

Royalist armour sweeps through Hope under Dinmore, crushing
all Communist resistance.....

With his forces crushed in the centre and flanked both left and right, it was time for Comrade Winter to formulate a new, and infinitely cunning, battleplan:

Beep, beep! Winter's inspiration for his next moves...

SPRING BIG GAME 2023 - CADBURY'S MARLBROOK

 Two tables, two linked battles, one Village Hall:

From north to south - Cadbury's (Marlbrook) battle nearest the camera,
with the Dinmore battle at the other end of the Burley Gate Village Hall.
To the right of the Marlbook table,  the 1/1 scale Mr Benn, Leader of the
  West Midlands ILP (Provisional Wing) "demonstrates the range of his mortar"
 to his esteemed opponent, the 1/1 scale Sir Charles Tite-Wadde, Bt.,
 C-in-C Combined Corporate Guard. At least, that's what we think is happening....

On the Marlbrook table, Sir Charles Tite-Wadde, Bt. led his Combined Corporate Guard and a force of hastily raised farmers, the Marlbrook Agricultural Militia, in defence of the Cadbury's factory.

1/55 scale Sir Charles Tite-Wadde, Bt. and the HQ Section of the Combined Corporate Guard.

The Marlbrook Agricultural Militia parade behind the Cadbury's Factory,
immediately before battle is joined. A Fyffe's Mortar and AT Gun Rifle
provide some support.

Sir Charles combined his tank strength - contributions from Fyffes,
 Cadbury's and Oxo  - into one unit: his very own "(Combined) Guards Armoured Division".

A mixture of forces from the newly allied Anglicans and Bromyard Republicans were determined to take the Cadbury's Factory before Government forces from Dinmore could come to the aid of Sir Charles Tite-Wadde Bt. They deployed three full Platoons - the West Midlands ILP (Provisional Wing), newly arrived in Bromyard from Birmingham; the Company of St. Michael (an Anglican "Free Company" in exile from Malvern), and a unit of renegade sailors, led by Captain Jack Tar, RN (cashiered) (or as he preferred to pronounce it, "Captain Jack TahaHAHAhaR, m'lad, AR.")

The Company of St. Michael deploy in the centre, troop carriers to the rear
and artillery prominent. To the left, the much feared (and advertised) "Storridge Skunk".

To the right of the Company of St. Michael, the West Midlands ILP (Provisional Wing)
deploy, advancing with three tanks under the command of  advised by "General" Patton,
"Armoured Consultant" to the Independent Republic of Bromyard.

To the left of the Company of St. Michael, just visible in the top left of this panoramic shot,
the renegade sailors of Captain Tar (HaHAR!) gather together "mob handed" with a plan to cross
the River Lugg. If only it was so easy.......Note Cadbury's SP "Big Gun" with F/O "Top"
Cover acting as an aerial "spotter", the Cadbury's infantry section garrisoning the factory
buildings at the bottom of this panorama, and the Marlbrook farmers deploying on the
right flank (top) against the anticipated advance of the Renegade Sailors.

Diligent investigation by Fleet Street subsequently discovered that the Anglican/Bromyard Alliance intended to use "Zulu tactics", with their sailors and ILP as "the horns" of their assault, and the Company of St. Michael as the "body", readied for their "killer blow". Unfortunately......

On the left, Captain Jack Tar's sailors were seized by an unexpected pandemic of hydrophobia, sections repeatedly refusing to cross the River Lugg (a 50% chance on a D6 die roll). An armoured car designed to provide support made an early (if forced) driving error ("LET'S OFF-ROAD!") and promptly bogged down for the rest of the battle. Those naval sections that did eventually manage to splash across the River Lugg  ran into Marlbrook farmers in soft cover (woods), well used to the local conditions, camouflaged and rolling hot on the firing dice apparently expert shots. In all these circumstances, it didn't matter how long or loudly Captain Jack "rolled his Rs" - AHAHAR! - his advance on such a narrow front was effectively stalled.

On the right, Mr Benn (late of 52, Festive Road, Birmingham, obviously), the Leader of the West Midlands ILP (Provisional Wing), assisted by his 2 i/c, Peggy Carter, attacked with much greater vigour, supported by a Bromyard "Armoured Brigade" - a T-26 (no doubt liberated from Comrade Winter's Communists in the uprising that led to Bromyard's independence) and two "Trumper & Shellgrove" medium tanks, one commanded by "General" Patton and the second by "Captain Tom", formerly of the 5th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, now of the Royal Tank Regiment.

Mr Benn's problem challenge was that his advance had to be straight into most of his opponents' heavy support ("the Guards Armoured Division" plus SP Big Gun) and against the Cadbury's Commandos, superbly led by Cadbury's Captain "Coco" Cubbe ("astride his charger", as usual) and firing from behind hard cover - some convenient factory walls. The adopted solution was to hold the Bromyard "Armoured Brigade" back, "potting away" at any available target, and send forward the ILP infantry, under cover of woods, in an attempt to destroy the Cadbury's Commandos and flank the Cadbury's factory.

And away they go.....ILP infantry advance with tank support.

The waiting 'reception committee" - Cadbury's Commandos, HMG,
Tank, SP "Big Gun".

"General" Patton was not at all happy that his Bromyard's Tank Brigade was being
deliberately "held back". Goddam Limeys! Sonofabitch! Let's charge up the rail track and
get blown up, then report back!

Captain Tom in his Trumper & Shellgrove (or "TraSh") tank radios in his position.
Possibly unnecessary, as he has hardly moved....

....but the ILP Infantry have. Charge, boys, let 'em have it!

It was slow going for the ILP. Repeated assaults, repeated reversals, a few casualties, repeated "potting away" from the Armoured Brigade: it was all taking too long against such determined resistance. Even in the heat of the action, Mr Benn occasionally looked to the centre for some much needed relief...

And discovered the Company of St. Michael apparently engaged in calisthenics. (GODDAM Limeys!)

This unfortunate impression arose by reason of the Leader of the Free Company, Major Temple-Meades', concern about the open ground between his Platoon and the Cadbury's Factory, and his overriding determination to minimise casualties. His advance was therefore made by "short hops", as the Anglicans advanced, "went to ground" (or dived for cover), recovered and stood up, advanced, "went to ground", etc. etc. A methodical approach of "bobbing and weaving" as the Major waited (in vain, as it turned out) for the "horns" of the attack to "strike home" and draw troops away from the Cadbury's centre. But it was all too slow.....

The Company of St. Michael advance. Slowly.

There were occasional successes. The Fyffes' Corporate Mascot, Bananaman, was cheerfully assassinated before he could sing a note. The Cadbury's Anti Tank Gun rifle and HMG were destroyed. Both the Fyffe's and Cadbury's tanks were battered, one immobilised, both losing weaponry. The Cadbury's Commandos suffered casualties, as did the Fyffes Motor Guard. The Storridge Skunk emitted huge gusts of sulphurous smells as it used up its "home made ammunition". But in the race against time to take the Cadbury's Factory before HMG could assist Sir Charles Tite-Wadde, Bt., it was not enough - and there were disasters, too....

Disaster! Captain Tom's TRaSH Tank is blown up by a Cadbury's Heavy Shell.
No harm came to the good Captain, who was merely "explosively propelled"
from his turret to a 'soft landing' in a nearby field.

Notwithstanding "Zulu tactics", it slowly became clear that this battle was not to be a repeat of Islandlwana. And then the gathered Bromyard/Anglican commanders became aware of a new presence on the field.........Royalist and BUF Forces rushing forward towards the Cadbury's Factory from Dinmore. Cadbury's was saved!

"Saved? Dear boy......" Sir Charles Tite-Wadde, Bt. became fond of repeating the story in his dotage, and to the very occasional VBCW researcher who called upon him. "...dear boy, you could say we were hardly troubled!"

Discouraged Opposition Commanders look on as the Cadbury's Factory stays firmly
in the hands of the Combined Corporate Guard. There is a great deal of "Yank vulgarity"
(and stamping of tiny booted feet) as "General" Patton complains vigorously...

As the combined Anglican/Bromyard Forces began their "tactical retreat", there was but one consolation. While they had suffered losses without attaining their objective, it had clearly been A VERY BAD DAY INDEED for Comrade Colonel Professor Winter's Communists at Dinmore.......HaHaHAHaHAR!