Well Dang!
Back in chicago in the early 1940's we used wooden swords and garbage can or peach crate lits reinforced with cardboard shields to have "wars" against the "enemy gang" that were at the north end of the long alley that ran in an L-shape on the 4100 block of Kenmore Avenue. Out gang was in the middle of the block on both sides of the streets--the Pirates on my side, the east, the Indians across the way. Of course we'd team up is any "strangers" came around
My older brother was in high school, had some big friends, Jack Markam being the largest at around 6'4" and near 300 pounds. when cleaning the basement as was his usual Saturday chore, my brother put Jack in my old baby carriage and wrecked it, so mother had him take it out to the trash. thus came into possession our War Wagon.
I had gleaned a rug pole from the alley, that being about 9' long and around 2" diameter...a marvelout lance! I was elected to ride in the sprung baby carriage, and armed with the lance, two of my pals serving as the team pushing the vehicle, and another couple of stalwartf flanking it to right and left, we forayed up to the dogleg in the alley where the "enemy kids" held sway. They spotted us porming up, got their shields, swords and rocks ready, and formed up to drive us away. The war wagon was too much for them, though. We were at least 50' from them and charging when the lot of them broke and ran for it.
That bloodless defeat ended their challenging our right to ranging the alley even though the war wagon was soon gone with the trash pickup and the mighty lance lost who knows where.
The defeated forces made the circular park across from St. Mary's of the Lake their new domain, but they didn't challenge us in armed combat again
The year after that we got into a serious fracas with a big gang of boys from further north, there were at least 30 of them to out dozen, but that's a whole different story, and the main reason my father decided to move from Chicago
Cheers,
Gary