Battle of Little Tadlow

The **Battle of Little Tadlow** was the first major battle fought in December 1977 between the Federation and the Protectorate during the Civil War.

## Commanders

* Sonia Meadows
* Jenny Richards
* Abby Grant

* Robert Malcolm
* Peter Grant

## Casualties

* Sonia Meadows

* Jiao Li

## Prelude

Six months before the battle, Abby Grant visited Little Tadlow on the trail of her son, Peter Grant. She met orphan Sonia Meadows who was living in the nearby village of Dendlow, and was under siege from Little Tadlow's leader, Abraham. Unbeknownst to her, Abraham was Sonia's uncle, Clive Meadows, and had been attempting to gather children at the community to make amends for his life as a criminal before the Death. Due to his ailing mental faculties, Abraham informed Abby that her son had perished from tetanus not long before and was buried in Little Tadlow's churchyard. *(Journey's End)*

In the intervening months, Robert Malcolm learned of the community, and, after rescuing a settlement at Boscombe, sent Jiao Li to infiltrate Little Tadlow, under the guise of an English teacher. *(Village of Dust)* While gathering the intel from the community, Malcolm began planning the assault on Little Tadlow. He Malcolm organised the Outlaws, a group of child bandits, to ambush a steam train near the Peak District, and then drove them off, appearing the saviour to Jenny Richards and Abby, thus giving him access to Federation resources and transportation. *(Bandit Train)*

After being inducted into Robert Malcolm's Faction, Craig Watkins discovered the truth about Robert Malcolm's organisation, under the leadership of Peter Grant, and their plans for a coordinated assault on the orphanage at Little Tadlow, to swell their ranks with more child soldiers. He informed Abby and Jenny who rushed to Little Tadlow to warn them. *(The Lost Boys)*

Arriving just ahead of the Faction, Abby and Jenny were confronted by Jiao Li, and warned Little Tadlow's new leader, Sonia Meadows, of the impending attack. They fortified the church and Abby attempted to make peace by approaching her son, Peter, for their first reunion in three years. After informing the Federation of the Faction's plans, Ruth Anderson attempted to bring a warning to Abby and Jenny but was attacked by Jiao Li. Already suspicious, Jenny soon realised that Jiao Li was a spy sent by Malcolm to gather intelligence on Little Tadlow and she was taken as a hostage. However, upon the arrival of Robert Malcolm, he offered them terms of surrender before promising to attack the village and take the children, giving the community a fourteen hour amnesty before the battle. *(Village of Dust)*

## The battle

With the countdown expired, Robert Malcolm ordered the attack on the church, opening fire on the building and attempting to break through Little Tadlow's defences. After a heavy sustained assault, he demanded Peter Grant fire grenades into the broken church windows as a test of loyalty after Peter's reunion with his mother. Meanwhile, Abby Grant decided to use Jiao Li as a hostage to force Malcolm to cease firing, but they were caught in the blast of a grenade and Jenny Richards injured. Taking the opportunity to escape, Jiao Li fled the church, killing Sonia Meadows in the process, before being confronted by Abby who demanded the location of Ruth Anderson.

Finding no further resistance at the church, Malcolm captured Jenny and the remaining children, and sent Peter to round up the prisoners. In a barn on the edge of Little Tadlow, Abby released Ruth from captivity but was confronted by Peter. She attempted to reason with him but he refused to listen, eventually conceding to allow Abby and Ruth to escape, in the name of the love she bore him before the Death. *(Village of Dust)*

## Aftermath

Taking refuge in the barn, Abby Grant and Ruth Anderson remained in hiding until nightfall while the Faction continued to sweep through the ruins of Little Tadlow. They learned that a wider force had been spreading across the country following similar patterns of attacks and capturing child soldiers, and Abby decided to return to Retworth to warn the Federation. Ruth realised that this was the start of a civil war. *(Village of Dust)*