Virtual Lard 6: The Valiant Defenders of Bury

After several busy weeks and much procrastination, I present the second game of my VL6 day, The Valiant Defenders of Bury.

This game, hosted by Jeremy (the mastermind behind the affront to god and science known as Virtual Lard), was set during a hypothetical German invasion of the British Isles in July 1942.

In this scenario, the Home Guard and civilian forces of the town of Bury will fight for their home against a formidable German fallschirmjager platoon.

I commanded the Home Guard, with two Senior Leaders, three squads of guard, and numerous tricks up my sleeve. My opponent, John, had four squads of FJs with two LMGs per squad, and a scattering of support weapons.

Outgunned, the defenders of Bury would have to rely on all sorts of nasty tricks to grind down the German numbers and morale.

Due to the virtual nature of the game, decent pictures were relatively hard to get. Jeremy was a wonderful host, but technology has its limits. As with my other VL6 report, I plan to offer and overview, as opposed to a play-by-play.

In the first couple phases, the Germans deployed a bulk of their forces in the center, with two squads under a SL keeping a wary eye out for any British resistance.

On the German right, a squad and a tripod MMG deployed.

On the other flank, a German squad crept toward the church wall, with a Home Guard squad under the command of a SL lying in wait on the other end of the churchyard.

Facing something like nine MG-42s on overwatch, the defenders aren't too keen on sticking their necks out. However, the fighting has to start sometime, and the Home Guard kick off the shooting. A group of men in the neat blue uniforms of the Royal Mail rush from the warehouse, setting up some sort of contraption. Before the Germans can decide what they're watching, the posties have lit the fuse, sending a black powder rocket hurtling toward the Germans by the barn and kicking up all sorts of smoke.

The rocket actually has no effect other than to unnerve the attackers, sending the paratroopers diving into the stream ahead of them. While they are on the advance and out of sight of the makeshift rocketeers, they will not be able to fire until they cross the streambed.

The Germans seem hesitant to commit to an advance, with the base of fire squads in the center of town shifting back and forth along the hedgeline but not making any decisive moves.

Over by the church, the standoff deepens, with neither side wanting to make the first move and expose themselves to overwatch fire.

As the German paratroopers cross the creek on the right flank, the rocket team sends another volley, this time hitting the lone MMG team and inflicting two shock in the chaotic crash of the black powder warhead. At the same time, another squad of Home Guard - veterans of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War - deploy in the warehouse, waiting for the Germans to crest the bank of the little stream.

Sensing that the Germans are off balance in the confusing fighting (or perhaps merely through blind luck) the Home Guard strikes hard and fast. A Lanchester armored car rolls on, peppering the German MMG with fire and killing three Germans.

The neighborhood menace, Wee Alfie Hulme, snaps a shot off at the Germans in the center of town, but misses. Perched in the church tower, Aflie acts as a sort of improvised sniper. Perhaps, though, the British will come to regret using a slingshot to do a rifle's job. The first miss is certainly not promising.

The Germans deploy their AT rifle (visible in the bottom right corner above) to counter the armored car. The first shot pings off the armor, but inflicts one shock and keeps the crew from activating. The battered German MMG fires at the Home Guard troops in the factory, but the hardened men are too busy singing the Internationale to notice the shock they were supposed to take. In game, they are rated as Die Hards.

Needing to get a move on and secure exit off the far table edge, the German paratroopers vault over the hedge in the center and head toward the center of town. As they move, a group of civilians flee across the cobbled streets, two rather stout-looking nuns amongst them. Are those German jump boots they have on under those habits? Could this be some sort of Shabby Nazi Trick?

Continued rocket fire from the brave posties manages to kill one of the German AT riflemen and break the MMG - leaving those support teams in the open while the paratrooper squad advances has subjected them to a lot of hurt.

The third Home Guard squad tries to come on in the center of town to ward off the German push, but another Shabby Nazi Trick, a collaborator posing as an air raid warden, keeps them from coming on - for now.

The Germans make the most of the delay, sprinting to take up positions in the buildings and flank the pesky rocket team.

Over by the churchyard, the German paratroopers open fire first, putting two shock on the Home Guard squad, who reply on overwatch. The inexperienced Home Guard actually get the better of the exchange, killing one German and putting a shock on them.

The Home Guard have been laying in wait by the church for good reason, though - seeing the Germans are not coming any closer, the British SL touches off the charges hidden in the graveyard.

The effect is more startling than deadly - as startling for the German player as for his troops. The bomb puts a shock on each team, and the follow-up salvo from the Home Guard troops put another shock on each team and kill another German.

The bomb could have been more effective, but it bloodied the nose of the Germans coming through the church, and now they have to worry about where the Home Guard may have hidden other explosives.

Amid the chaos, the third Home Guard squad manages to come on, disposing of the crooked air raid warden swiftly. They set up in a building, waiting for the Germans to come into view.

The sprinting Germans make it to the clump of woods near the British table edge, flanking the rocket team - but they seem a little unsure of what to do when they get there. They have to clear out some of the Home Guard troops to secure the advance, they can't just run off the table edge.

Over on the left, the AT rifle fires at the armored car again, but misses and gets wiped out for their efforts. The hand of God descends to take them off to meet their maker...

This loss is the first to effect the German Force Morale, dropping it by one point, to 8.

The lead German squad manages to fire on the pesky rocketeers, killing two, but they find themselves in a sticky situation when a Home Guard Vickers MMG ambushes them, killing two Germans and putting a shock on. In the home Guard phase, the MMG fires again, killing two more men and dumping on more shock.

The Germans have managed to break the rocket team, who eventually rout, and the paratroopers by the church pour fire on the Home Guard, eventually wiping out the LMG team. The two setbacks cost the Home Guard three morale points, putting them at 6 FM.

But it's not all one-sided. The German MMG team also routs, costing them one morale point, leaving them at 7 FM.

From here, the fighting gets confused and desperate (and sadly, the video quality dropped a bit, no fault of our host's). The Home Guard SL manages to keep the Vickers firing, and they deploy a Smith Gun, a type of ad-hoc smoothbore cannon made for the Home Guard. The fighting isn't all one-sided, but the German lead squad gets thoroughly pummeled, and another squad moves up to try and bail them out.

It's only quick thinking (and doling out hard spirits to help morale) from the British leader that keeps the Home Guard in the fight. The tide turns against the German attack.

In a last effort to squeak out a win, the German paratroopers that have spent most of the game in the streambed rush out, making a bold charge at the Home Guard positions. however, the machine guns of the armored car and the rifles of the Home Guard in the factory catch them in the open and cut them to pieces.

This, and the bloody shootout in the town center, convinces the Germans to give it up, and the Home Guard successfully defend Bury.

---

This was an incredibly fun and incredibly bizarre game, with the oddball Home Guard forces going up against the best firepower the German infantry could offer.

The early phases of the game felt like a game of chicken, with each player staring each other down, daring the other to make a wrong move. My opponent had a good strategy with carefully developing a base of fire before moving against the Home Guard, but I think he would have been better served to pick one or two areas and focus their efforts there. The wide array of Home Guard tricks were able to keep one or two German squads at bay, but I think they would have struggled to hold off a concentrated push. But my opponent also had no idea what he was up against, so his caution wasn't unwarranted.