The KAR vs Askaris 1914

My second East Africa 1914 game.  This time the KAR go up against the German Colonists and Askaris. (and Lions)

Terrain notes/ Bush Warfare

War in the bush

Firstly disease and pests, tsetse flies, malaria-bearing mosquitoes, burrowing jigger fleas, ticks and as well as dangerous wild animals. 

Water was often scarce, and frequently
bad. Fever and dysentery endemic. 

South African and Rhodesians troops were no more immune to these ills than the British or Indians, and most of the European and Indian units had been reduced to mere cadres by October l916.  The incidence of disease was increased by the privations imposed by the land itself. 

The bush

waterless steppe 

razor-edged grass shoulder height,   

thickets of impenetrable thorn scrub.  

Jungles and swamps (by the coast and along the river
courses)  

steep, rocky hills with plunging escarpments further inland. 

Troops did fortify positions with pits rather than trenches.

Allied troops were forced to depend on provisions
brought forward along increasingly tenuous supply lines. The tracks were poor to start with, and rapidly collapsed under the weight of traffic.

Food, ammunition, clothing and boots were in short supply. 

Scenarios

Supply track ambush

Hold the position

Rearguard

Battle in the razor grass

Skirmish line encounter

Machine gun ambush

This Game

MEETING ENGAGEMENT : Machine gun ambush

This scenario represents two forces  coming into contact with each other.  The Germans favoured the Machine Gun ambush, and as such three objective tokens will be deployed prior to any units going on table.  At any point the German may swap a single token for the machine gun, which may then fire immediately.  It becomes to objective for the Imperials.

Setup: Both players roll a D10. The player with the higher result chooses what side of the table they want to deploy their troops on. The deployment zones for each player are 12” to 18” from the centerline of the table. The player who lost the roll must deploy 1 of their units first, followed by the winner. The players alternate like this until all units are deployed. The game begins once all tokens and units are deployed. 

Game Length: 6 Turns 

Victory Conditions: The goal of this scenario is Army Destruction, but the Imperials gain a VP ifvthe machine gun is knocked out. If there are models from both armies on the table at the end of turn 6, the player with the most Kill Points is declared the victor.

The Forces.

150 points

BRITISH EAST AFRICA UNITS:

British Captain Command Team:

BRITISH Captain  (COMMANDER) Shoot 6 C/Combat 6 Shoot  Save 5 Close Combat Save 7 Resolve 6 Cost 0 Initiative 2 Command Range 8" Command Points 1.  UNIT COMPOSITION: 1 Commander, 2 Riflemen SPECIAL RULES: Assault Experts WEAPONS: 1 Pistol (Commander), 2 Rifles

BRITISH KING’S AFRICAN RIFLES (CORE) 

Shoot 7, Close Combat 6,  Shoot Save 6, Close Combat Save 6,  Resolve 5,  Cost @16 Initiative 2.  UNIT COMPOSITION: 4 Riflemen (add models for 4pts. each, max 12 models in unit) SPECIAL RULES: Blood Curdling Charge WEAPONS: Rifles

Captain +2 runners @0

3 groups of 8 KAR.  @96

1 Company HQ group of 8 KAR @32

1 group of 6 Scouts @12

8 porters @0

150 pts

GERMAN EAST AFRICAN 

COMMAND TEAM:

German Leutnant Command Team:  

GERMAN LEUTNANT  (COMMANDER) Shoot Close  Combat Shoot  Save Close Combat  Save Resolve Cost Initiative Command  Range  Command  Point 6 6 5 7 6 0 2 8” 1 UNIT COMPOSITION: 1 Commander, 2 Riflemen SPECIAL RULES: True Grit WEAPONS: 1 Pistol (Commander), 2 Rifles

CORE UNITS:

German Schutztruppe Riflemen Units:

The Schutztruppe was made up of European Germans who lived in Africa for many years.  GERMAN SCHUTZTRUPPE  (CORE) Shoot Close Combat Shoot Save Close Combat Save Resolve Cost Initiative 5 6 6 7 5 20 3 UNIT COMPOSITION: 4 Riflemen (add models for 5pts. each, max 12 models in unit) SPECIAL RULES: True Grit WEAPONS: Rifles 8pts. – Add a Light Machine Gun model to this unit (max 12 models in unit) 

German Askari Riflemen Units:  The Germans built up a strong force of native Africans to help them fight during the campaigns in eastern Africa. These units performed much better than their counterparts that fought for the British. While they were equipped with very poor rifles during the war they excelled in close combat.  

ASKARI RIFLEMEN (CORE) Shoot Close Combat Shoot Save Close Combat Save Resolve Cost Initiative 7 6 6 6 5 16 2 UNIT COMPOSITION: 4 Riflemen (add models for 4pts. each, max 12 models in unit) SPECIAL RULES: True Grit, Blood Curdling Charge WEAPONS: Rifles

German Heavy Machine Gun Team:

The German Army used the Maxim Machine Gun as their primary mounted machine gun.  GERMAN HEAVY MACHINE  GUN TEAM (SUPPORT) Shoot Close Combat Shoot Save Close Combat Save Resolve Cost Initiative 6 6 6 7 6 20 1 UNIT COMPOSITION: 3 Soldiers, 1 Machine Gun SPECIAL RULES: WEAPONS: 1 Heavy Machine Gun

Leutnant + 2 runners @0

1 group of 8 Schutztruppe @ 40

Maxim team of 3 men @20

2 groups of 8 Askaris @ 64

1 group of 4 Ruga Ruga @ 12

1 group of 4 Ruga Ruga fetish men @16

152 pts

The Game

(Note: I'm using a roll of 10 on initiative as a bush hazard roll.  Beware the lions and crocs!)

1. Lion attack
2. diseased pests, 
3. tsetse fly swarm
4. malaria mosquitoes, 
5. burrowing jigger fleas, 
6. Warthog family
7. Snakes
8. Leopard
9. Giant termites
10. Rhino

The bush

Imperials win initiative 

The KAR deploy

The Askaris deploy

The Ruga Ruga on the flank

And the kAR run a group forward into some flanking rocks.  Hard cover that is elevated enough to shoot into the defile where the German MG has deployed.

And the MG which looked good now looks vulnerable.

The KAR push on the right flank, away from the MG.

That MG is only killing the odd guy.

The RugaRuga cause some problems from the defile.

The MG is backed by German Colonists Shutzetruppe.  Excellent soldiers.

The KAR rush the defile killing half the RugaRuga.

And the KAR group in the rocks kill four of the Shutzetruppe with rifle fire.

Turn four initiative, its the dreaded 10.  A roll of 1 and a lion grabs one of the KAR scouts.

That's going to hurt!

The KAR volley down the Askaris on the right.

And a Reckless charge by the KAR group in the rocks.  A devastating bayonet attack wipes out the MG crew.

Over on the right the Askaris are reeling back.

The Shutzetruppe attack the defile and are driven back.  They are out of favour tokens and roll a terrible volley.  

End game.  Its turn 6 and the Germans have lost 3/4 of their troops.

Good game.

Not sure if it looks like Africa though, so I have some work to do.