News: Coldstream Guards Capture Tank Factory

30th November 1988: ITN News reported that 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards had captured the Vickers Defence Systems factory in Leeds where the Challenger MBT was produced. This was a major blow to the Cranwell Government and led to a number of army units declaring support for the mutineers against the National Unity Government. Fighting started to break out across the country and units loyal to the Government were tasked with stopping rebel troops joining up with the Guards in the north.

Miniatures: British Infantry

My Red Star Chechen's/Docker's Militia arrived a little while back and have been sat on the workbench waiting for me to organise some British weapons for a couple of them (whilst the Militia will have easy access to Soviet weapons, typically from Ulster, I want some to have British or US weapons for variety). The nice thing about the Red Star miniatures is that a number come with separate weapons so it'll be quite easy to replace an AK74 with an SA80 or whatever...

Finding a source of British and US weapons was surprisingly easy with The Assault Group not only have a nice selection but also a reasonable range of modern British infantry. I must confess the latter don't look wonderful in the photos but I am a big fan of Richard Ansell's sculpting so in a leap of faith I've ordered a squad of helmeted infantry and a squad of paras (plus some spare weapon packs).

My 28mm 2ECW excursion will be for some urban skirmishes primarily set in Liverpool so I need to hunt out some suitable Dinky cars to burn out for scenery. Not sure about AFV's, a few wouldn't go amiss and the Britannia/Inkerman Saracen is very tempting. I am toying with some SCW style home made AFV's but not sure if that's a bit too Mad Max...

Blogs: The Winter of '79

First off apologies for a month of no updates on England Prevails but real life work has become somewhat tiresome and heavy which coupled with a few health problems led to some inactivity. However I'm on the mend and will be back on the update and gaming trail very soon.

Secondly, and more interestingly is we are not alone! No, I don't mean the little grey men have landed but Mark of Dropship Horizon fame has set up a similar themed blog to this called Winter of '79, wargaming an alternate timeline in Thatcherite Britain which looks really interesting and I hope you'll all follow as well.

Scenario: The Battle of Catthorpe Interchange

Background: Rebel Guards units are advancing up the M1 towards Leeds and the Royal Ordnance Factory. Having seen Loyalist Territorial troops brushed aside at Milton Keynes by the rebels, the Government swiftly moves elements of the loyal 2nd Parachute Regiment to positions around Catthorpe in an attempt to delay the rebel troops and allow stronger units to be moved into position to intercept the Guards before they seize the Royal Ordnance Factory.

Rules: this scenario has been written with Cold War Commander in mind.

Guards Battlegroup:

1 x CO
2 x HQ

2 x Guards Mech Inf Battalion each of:

6 x platoons in FV-432
1 x 81mm Mortar in FV-432
1 x Milan ATGW
1 x Blowpipe SAM
1 x Recce Scorpion

1 x FAO
3 x Abbot
1 x FAC (CV 6)
1 x Jaguar GR.1

Paratroop Battlegroup:

1 x CO
3 x HQ
6 x Para platoons in trucks (2 x LAW-80 upgrades)
2 x GPMG
2 x Milan ATGW
2 x 81mm mortars

1 x FAO
1 x 105mm w Land Rover 1 tonne

1 x FAC
1 x Harrier I

Victory Conditions: the victory conditions for scenario 5 (Breakthrough Attack) should be used.

Terrain: as per map. The Guards enter from the south and must exit to the north.

Notes: the command value of the Guards FAC is lower than normal as the loyalty of the RAF has not been confirmed and at this point they are less likely to side with the rebels.

News: BBC Reports Battle At Catthorpe Interchange

28th November 1988: BBC News reported news of a "major battle" between rebel Guards forces and loyalist troops from the Parachute Regiment in the area around the Catthorpe Interchange where the M6 motorway joins the M1.

The battle lasted most of the day before the Paratroops withdrew having inflicted heavy casualties on the Guards. Prime Minister Cranwell praised the "loyalty and honour of the Parachute Regiment in fighting for the maintenance of democracy in England".

News: Cranwell "State of War Exists"

27th November 1988: Prime Minister Cranwell announced to the nation that "a state of war now exists in Britain" as the Guards Division attacked and defeated Territorial Army units outside Milton Keynes positioned to block their advance up the M1. Cranwell appeals to other army units to "remain loyal to the democratically elected government and not dishonour their traditions by deserting to support the old establishment elite".

Miniatures: Liverpool Dockers Militia

I've been thinking a bit further about ideas for gaming in this background and have decided that initial battles in the late '80's and early '90's will probably be in 10mm as I really like the look of Minifigs N scale range, however as England collapses into chaos in the early 21st century I have decided that it will not be possible to resist the lure of 28mm...

Whilst I envisage the Royalists controlling large swathes of Northern England, there will be Republican hold-out cities such as Liverpool and Sheffield, under almost constant siege. This would mean that the Republicans would need to supplement their garrisons with militias and inspired by the VBCW Red Workers Militia Unit on Jim's Wargames Blog I've ordered some Chechen troops from Red Star Miniatures which I think will paint up well as a group of "Bolshie Scousers" (anything too Chechen will need removing and I will look to replace some of the Russian weapons with British and American ones if I can find a good source).

Rules: Gaming the 2nd English Civil War

As the country is poised on the bring of civil war I've taken a quick breather to consider gaming the conflict. The original idea was to use my old 20mm moderns and this still is a primary driver, but as I've been developing the background various other ideas have occurred to me.

First off, with the Guards moving up the M1, is using Cold War Commander. I bought a set a while back to allow me to use my 6mm Soviets, possibly in Afghanistan but it occurred to me that some of the larger 2ECW battles with adhoc battlegroups would be a lot of fun (especially as I like tanks!). As I only have Russkis in 6mm I am pondering whether to go 10mm which will allow more character to the forces or maybe the other end of the spectrum with 3mm...

For small scale infantry actions I intend to use ColdWar: 1983. Mike Baumann did a great job converting Panzerfauste to modern infantry combat and I love the GUTS mechanism which recreates the 'friction' of combat so elegantly.

Skirmishes between regulars, territorials, militia, para-militaries and foreign volunteers in 28mm are very, very tempting especially with some of the excellent 28mm moderns on the market.

Another idea is to use AK-47 Republic. This may seem a bit weird but I envisage that the infrastructure breakdown across the UK will be pretty extreme in part. Not quite Twilight 2000 but not far off in parts.

The political element of the game may also suit what I am trying to achieve with a lot of ideologically motivated troops of varying military ability. I haven't got a copy so will need to pick one up sometime soon...

Finally when considering the split in the Army I was pondering the response of the RAF. For the most part I anticipate the (newly renamed) Republican Air Force will remain loyal to the government, although there will be elements that join the rebellion and of course, foreign volunteer forces (how can I resist the idea of A-10's flying over our "Green And Pleasant Land"?).

Obviously I will plump for AirWar: C21 here.

News: National Unity Government Formed

26th November 1988: BBC News announced the suspension of Parliament and the creation of a Government of National Unity under Prime Minister Cranwell as Britain slid into civil war with elements of the Armed Forces attempting to seize control of centres of industry and other important resources from the Government. Cranwell appeals to the British public to remain calm and "report any incidents of insurrection or disloyalty to the Police of Security Services".

News: Guards Division Rebels

25th November 1988: the crisis in Britain deepened and Civil War loomed as elements of the Guards Division and Household Cavalry Regiments resisted attempts by the Security Service to arrest senior officers in the units as small arms fire rocked London. The rebels subsequently decamped from the capital moving northwards up the M1 towards Leeds with the aim of securing the Royal Ordnance Factory there.

News: Government Suspends Habeas Corpus

24th November 1988: BBC News announced that Habeas Corpus, allowing the Judiciary to order the detention of individuals without trial. The Home Office claimed that this extraordinary measure was "temporary and undertaken to ease the huge strains put on the legal system in the country arising out of the anti-establishmentarian factions bent on destroying the rule of law and democratic traditions of Great Britain".

News: Cranwell Announces Republic

21st November 1988: Prime Minister Cranwell announced to the nation on ITN News the intention of the Government to set up a Republic following the abdication of the Queen. He explained that the Government had found evidence of that "clearly implicated the Royal Family and members of the old Establishment in attempts to overthrow the elected Government of the country by illegal means". He added that following the abdication and the fact that the Prince of Wales actions in fleeing to the United States "clearly demonstrated his guilt" that it was impractical to have another Royal on the throne and that "a modern republic in a modern Europe was clearly the only sensible option open to the Government".

News: Queen Abdicates

20th November 1988: The Queen abdicated following a series of meetings with Government officials including Prime Minister Cranwell rising out of the BBC siege and General's Mutiny. The involvement of the Royal Family in the opposition to the Cranwell government led to making the Queen's position untenable in the United Kingdom. Following the abdication she flies immediately to Washington D.C. where she met outgoing President Reagan.

News: BBC Television Centre Stormed

18th November 1988: Loyal troops stormed the BBC Television Centre and regained control of BCC broadcast facilities after the rebels were alleged to have threatened to destroy the building and the hostages within. Over 50 people were killed in bloody room to room fighting including a number of BBC staff and journalists.

News: Army Hijacks BBC News Broadcast

17th November 1988: British troops storm the BBC Television Centre taking over news output and broadcasting a message from the Chief of General Staff calling on the British public to oust the Cranwell Government which is "denying individual liberty, attacking the Royal Family and putting the nation's security at risk". The Security Service attempted to jam the broadcast part way through distorting the picture and sound before eventually blocking the signal.

News: Chief of Defence Staff Flees UK

17th November 1988: BBC News reported to the nation that the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of General Staff had been charged with being absent without leave and that the Military Police leading the investigation into their disappearance.

News: Prince of Wales Arrives in USA

15th November 1988: the Prince of Wales arrived in Washington D.C. following his escape from incarceration and met President Reagan and President-elect Bush in the White House. The British government is outraged that the leader of the U.S. would publicly meet a fugitive wanted for trial on allegations of attempting to overthrow a democratically elected government.

News: Police Raids Against Enemies of the State

14th November 1988: BBC Breakfast News reports on a series of dawn raids carried out by the Security Service and Police arresting dissidents and "suspected enemies of the state" on the orders of the Home Office. The Government had become increasing concerned at the actions of certain right wing politicians and leading establishment figures including judges and senior members of the armed forces and took this pre-emptive action to prevent a coup d'etat.

News: MoD Announce RMP "Attachments"

13th November 1988: Whilst the "General's Mutiny" of 5th November was not universal, the Ministry of Defence acted swiftly to prevent a repeat by announcing that Military Policy officers, operating under the prefix Inspector before their standard rank, would be attached to Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy command units. In an interview with BBC News the Provost Marshal Brigadier stated that, "whilst such a move was unprecedented, it was important for the nation, for the public, to see that the Armed Forces were not above the rule of law or the country's civilian masters".

News: US/Soviet Non-Aggression Pact Signed

12th November 1988: Soviet President Gorbachev flies to the White House to sign a Non-Aggression Pact with the United States. In the surprise move, the Soviets agree to withdraw all their forces from Afghanistan by the end of February 1989 and the Americans to respect British neutrality and evacuate their UK bases by the end of 1988. Both leaders hailed this pact as the first step in improving relations between the two countries and "improving peace and stability across the globe".

News: Rogue SAS Break Prince Out

9th November 1988: Rogue SAS troopers launched a daring assault on Clarence House rescuing the Prince of Wales where he had been under house arrest awaiting trial on charges of treason. Six Security Service personnel were killed in the attack and the Prince was quickly evacuated to a British Army base in Germany where he was met by sympathisers in the British Army on the Rhine, before being flown to the United States.