Friday 2 January 2015

Bolt Action - Went The Day Well

It's spring, 1941.

The Bramley Home Guard Platoon are alerted by HQ and told that a German Fallschirmjaeger landing has been reported in their area. Major Cad (played by Terry Thomas), accompanied by Nurse Pilchard who looks after his ration card (played by Joyce Grenfell) is ordered to secure Bramley village and, in particular the important communications centre in the village - to whit, the public phone box.

Our brave lads take up their positions in the churchyard and by the Post Office. The chap with a sixpenny bit is detailed to man the telephone.

None of the villagers will let them inside the houses on account of their muddy boots.

The Bramley Boys are joined by the Eastgate Platoon commanded by Captain Square.

Major Cad orders them to guard the wheatfields on the right flank, remarking to Nurse Pilchard, "Can't trust that Eastgate lot; a complete shower, what? what?"


Private Pinkle cunningly hides on an island in the commemoration duckpond.

Fallschirmjager are spotted advancing each side of the road. Frantic calls for reinforcement, using up all of the sixpence, alert a nearby airfield who send a Rolls Royce armoured car to investigate. It runs straight into smoke fired by the cunning Hun.

A better view of the defences - I use the word in its loosest sense.

A section of crack Home Guard motorised, well mobile, infantry mounted on bicycles follows the armoured car. Unfortunately they got a bit confused in the smoke and cycled right into the German line.

Alas the mobile unit is taken out by a flamethrower - overkill or what?

Gadzooks! the cunning Boche ran a section or paras around the flank of Our Brave Lads and crashed in through the graveyard in a close assault.

"A typical Hunnish trick," Major Cad remarked to Nurse Pilchard.

Astonishingly, a stupid boy with a Thompson cut down half the attackers with a burst when he tripped over his shoelaces and the survivors broke and ran.

The Home Guard victory was short lived unfortunately as a second Fallschirmjaeger section bayoneted the lot of them while they were having a joint hug.

Major Cad took one look at the German paras coming over the ridge and legged it, outpacing Nurse Pilchard who the uncouth Nazis promptly shot.

Cad thought that a damn shame but consoled himself with the thought that the nursing home was full of potential replacements.

The game ended with lone survivors Major Cad and Captain Square standing back to back by the telephone box surrounded by a rather nasty looking bunch of Fallschirmjaege.

Square (Simon E) and I claimed a draw - no really, we did!

 
 Incidentally, 'Went the Day Well' is a 1942  film about a German invasion of an English village which, unusually for a propaganda piece, is still worth a look.


This was my last game of 2014 before a deadly attack of viryons did for me.

Pip, pip.




18 comments:

  1. Heh. I watched "Went the Day Well" some years ago, since it was the basis for a RPG scenario I was going to participate in. (science fiction setting, one planet invading another, but the lines resemble the movie's plot in general outline)

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  2. A great film that I have on dvd. Nice AAR btw.

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  3. Lovely AAR John.

    All the best for the new year.

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  4. Very entertaining AAR. Happy New Year to you!

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  5. Super batrep. I loved the way you ascribed the characters to actors. The pictures in my head were fab. Although my fav WW2 nurse is Sylvia Syms. I hope you don't mind me using my own casting director. Happy New Year to you and yours.

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    1. Happy New Year and of course you must use your own casting. They are your models.

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  6. A fun game indeed -thanks for all the great post in 2014 and here's to many more in 2015!

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  7. Wonderful report there John based on one of my favourite films

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  8. All that a game of soldiers should be. Excellent AAR.

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  9. Great AAR! I have been working on Home Guard for Chain of Command. Lots of potential what ever the rules.

    WTDW is a surprisingly violent film - well worth a watch indeed.

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    1. I agree, the film is so 'modern' in many ways. Not like a 1942 propaganda movie at all.

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