The start of something, grand?
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The
runner scrambled down a pile of broken rubble and masonry, papers clenched against
his chest in one hand; his other thrown to the side for balance as he navigated
the uneven terrain. While he had always been most comfortable exploring the
outback, the broken urban terrain had become strangely familiar to him since his
unit first moved in to take the docks from the Reds. Bounding a low brick wall
at the base of the slope, he stumbled to a halt, snatching his slouch-hat from
his head and gasping for breath before announcing his presence to the assembled
men.
‘Major!
Orders from command!’
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Welcome to Rum,
Tears and a .303, a blog dedicated to wargaming a fictional Civil War set in 1930's Australia. This project will draw its motivation from the
concept of the ‘Very British Civil War’, setting socialist workers militia
against a crumbling government being undermined by fascist groups vying for
control in an Australian setting. There will be international support provided to all sides of the conflict, and opportunities for games from section level skirmish right up to large-scale armour battles.
While there
is some fantastic work out there already such as the ‘A Right Bloody Mess’ sourcebook,
and other wargames projects including ‘The Great Antipodean Adventure’, this
project is deliberately vague about the timeline leading up to the clashes of
1938. This will allow me flexibility with organisations, alliances and
personalities without having to ret-con major parts of my alternate history as
the project develops.
My initial
plans involve the New Guard 33rd Provincial Battalion clashing
against New South Wales Trades Hall for control of the Newcastle Docks. This
gives me the opportunity to build both an organised paramilitary force, and an
irregular militia along with some characterful terrain.
While more
detailed posts will come as I continue to stockpile figures and manage to get brush to miniature, here are a
handful of WiP photos:
Until next
time!
Ive been wondering how VBCW would play out in Oz. Whats your take?
ReplyDeleteMy take is still somewhat fluid as to what started the Civil War, and my plan is to try and keep it that way. By 1938 the Civil War has been raging for at least 5 years depending on the trigger, with the conflict divulging into a battle based on deeper political and sociological divisions.
DeleteLooking at possible triggers in the early 30's however, the 1932 constitutional crisis that saw the removal of Labor Premier Jack Lang by the NSW Governor strikes me as a likely candidate for my setting. Had Lang and his supporters resisted his removal, this could have led to conflict between the NSW State Government and the Commonwealth. The other common trigger I have seen discussed for a 1930's civil war is the 1933 Western Australian secession referendum. In this setting WA decided to secede once the referendum results were known, putting them in direct conflict with the Eastern states who were opposed to secession. While Victoria and NSW mobilise to prevent WA from leaving the Commonwealth, QLD is emboldened by WA's actions and follows suit in seceding.
I'll put a post together soon about the more recent timeline focusing on the conflict and my games on the NSW coast.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHey Ben,
DeleteLooking forward to seeing your blog develop!
Will be interested in reading your 1938 'campaign fluff'.
Cheers!
PS sorry accidently deleted first reply thinking I could edit it 🙄...
Looking good.
ReplyDelete