The idea of a civil war or a coup d’etat taking place across Great Britain is something I have been playing with over many years. I recently wrote about this and some ideas for scenarios. I also have been thinking about some scenarios with other forces intervening in the coup or civil war.
As for the idea of a 1974 coup, a few decades back I wrote an article about a modern era English Civil War that was published in Issue #43 of Wargames Illustrated in April 1991.
” … its six o’clock, on Tuesday the 27th October 1998. This is the Royal Somerset Broadcasting Service, and now the news from Wessex and around the world. The headlines: Scotland has seceded from the British Republic, fighting has broken out along the border. Royalist army and volunteer militia units have pushed back across the border an armed incursion by Democratic Guards into south-west Dorset last night. Bristol Docks were once again the target of bombing over the night, but damage has been minimal. The United States has once again confirmed its commitment to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Wessex and Duchy of Cornwall.”
The main inspiration for the background was the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and wondering if a similar scenario could play out in a disunited broken Great Britain. It was also an opportunity to bring in modern armoured trains as well.
Another idea is revolution, the start of which is usually a coup d’etat. Was there going to be a coup d’etat against the Labour government in 1974? Or more specifically was there going to be a coup against Harold Wilson? In this opinion piece from 2006 in The Guardian, the view was that yes there was some planning for one.
The great and the good feared that the country was out of control, and that Wilson lacked either the will or the desire to stand firm. Retired intelligence officers gathered with military brass and plotted a coup d’etat. They would seize Heathrow airport, the BBC and Buckingham Palace. Lord Mountbatten would be the strongman, acting as interim prime minister. The Queen would read a statement urging the public to support the armed forces, because the government was no longer able to keep order.
It sounds fantastic, almost comic. But watch Greenwood talk of setting up his own private army in 1974-75. Listen to the former intelligence officer Brian Crozier admit his lobbying of the army, how they “seriously considered the possibility of a military takeover”. Watch the archive footage of troop manoeuvres at Heathrow, billed as a routine exercise but about which Wilson was never informed – and which he interpreted as a show of strength, a warning, even a rehearsal for a coup.
Then there was that episode of Netflix’s The Crown. The fifth episode of the third season, Coup, covered this as well.
While the Queen travels abroad to learn about horse training, unhappiness among the British elite with the devaluation of the pound involves Lord Mountbatten in a plan to oust Harold Wilson.
Regardless of the reality, the idea of an attempted (or even successful) coup in the UK in the 1970s provides an interesting background for scenarios and games. There is an assumption often made that regular British forces would always obey orders given by senior officers. However as was seen in 1919 following the end of the Great War there were many occasions when soldiers would not only ignore orders, but would act in their own interest. The book 1919: Britain’s Year of Revolution provides an insight into the revolutionary troubles that faced Great Britain.
So here are some ideas for scenarios if there had been a coup in 1974 and then there is foreign intervention.
Soviet incursion
After the coup and the removal of the Labour government, there was condemnation from across the international community. There was a strong negative reaction from the USSR who threatened to reinstate the previous government. As a result there were demonstrations against the USSR including a storming of the embassy at Kensington Palace Gardens, which the police failed to intervene. The USSR then took the decision following various similar incidents to intervene and land troops and armoured vehicles at various locations across the UK.
It was under the pretext of protecting their socialist comrades and their embassy.
Soviet influence
This is a less confrontational scenario, but in this background, the USSR decides to support an armed resistance against the new government in power. They provided not just arms, but also advisers and in some cases armoured vehicles.
The Peacekeepers
Following the coup, there followed an outbreak of fighting across the country. Forces loyal to the original government were fighting forces behind the coup. However neither side had the edge and rhetorical fighting continued. Following a resolution in the United Nations, peacekeepers were send into the country to attempt to maintain peace. There were often three way conflicts as the UN peacekeepers
The Europeans take action
In a similar scenario, following the coup, there followed an outbreak of fighting across the country. Forces loyal to the original government were fighting forces behind the coup. In an attempt to restore order, armed forces from across Europe were sent in to intervene in the conflict and try and impose a peaceful solution on the situation. Troops and vehicles, supported by air power were sent in by sea. However it didn’t all go to plan, when the Bundeswehr attempted to contain the BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) with the support of other forces from Europe, notably the French and the Belgians. The BAOR were mixed in their support and all British forces wanted to return to the UK to take opposing sides in the civil war which was emerging from the coup. The Germans wanted to avoid the conflict in the UK spreading to the continent. Despite extensive negotiations, there were many different firefights across western Germany.
Send in the Marines
This is akin to the Soviet scenarios, however this time it is the Americans who decide to intervene and send in a Marine expeditionary force to intervene in the conflict. These Marines who are veterans of the Vietnam War have the experience, aircraft, helicopters, and tanks to deal with the British forces fighting them.
