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Author Topic: Australian Frontier Wars - 24FEB23 (update) - MANY New AFW books…  (Read 34651 times)

Offline carlos marighela

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 10JAN18
« Reply #30 on: January 10, 2018, 07:58:58 AM »
You may find this interesting. It provides not only the cartography of these conflicts but the introduction provides a summary of their nature.

https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/introduction.php

I did have the first part of Greg's article. I can't remember much of it save that it was accompanied by one of Greg's trademark illustrations. It may indeed have been unique in that it didn't contain a recognisable image of Greg himself in the tableau. His book on Eureka is notable for his self portrait as Peter Lalor on the front cover.



Em dezembro de '81
Botou os ingleses na roda
3 a 0 no Liverpool
Ficou marcado na história
E no Rio não tem outro igual
Só o Flamengo é campeão mundial
E agora seu povo
Pede o mundo de novo

Offline Plynkes

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 10JAN18
« Reply #31 on: January 10, 2018, 09:46:49 AM »
Fair do's, the point has been made. But that's enough. If you don't like Happy Wanderer's thread or his historical position or whatever, I would ask you to please ignore the topic and move along, rather than having this thread descend into yet another bloody row like all the other ones did.

Thank you.



With Cat-Like Tread
Upon our prey we steal...

Offline carlos marighela

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 10JAN18
« Reply #32 on: January 10, 2018, 09:58:13 AM »
Not my intention. That resource is a useful tool if you are researching the topic. The intro provides a useful summary of the nature of conflict by region and period. The map purports to show all scenes of conflict involving  six or more fatalities. In some instances the detail ascribed to each incident is considerable. I happened to live in the vicinity so I looked at the Lake Jack Smith cluster, something I am familiar with and found that the detail included the type of shotgun used by Angus McMillan, the ringleader of the Warrigal Creek/ Gammon Creek/ Red Hill massacres. For those interested, it notes that the culprits described themselves as the 'Highland Brigade'.

I'm purposefully not commenting. My views on the topic are known. This thread is likely to stay more civilised (ironic in light of the subject matter) simply because the progenitor is more thoughtful than the previous ones.
« Last Edit: January 10, 2018, 10:00:39 AM by carlos marighela »

Offline Munindk

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 10JAN18
« Reply #33 on: January 10, 2018, 10:43:01 AM »
I've just read the second part of the timeline and it was as interesting as the first part. Possibly even more so as the resistance seems to become more organized and they're actually winning a few (short term) victories.

This makes the 1840's look like an interesting time to place a campaign as you can keep it historically accurate and still allow either side to win or lose. Territory changes hands as native land is settled, settlers are  driven off and it gets resettled with the help of police/mounted police/army or gets ignored for a few years. The natives cant win in the long run, but if successful they can keep their land a little longer.

I already have an idea on how I might run a campaign:

I'd go with a situation where the settlers didnt have any trouble initially, but then an expansion will trigger an attack from the natives, which then leads to an escalation of raids from both sides and ending with a big decisive battle. This is, very simplified, a pattern that seems to repeat itself in several of the conflic areas.

Both sides will get to raid the other, with different objectives like killing sheep/cattle/settlers, clearing a part of the battlefield of native forces and so on. Each victory will give the player some resources or advantage in the final battle, things like tribal alliances, a contingent of mounted native police or soldiers, a fort, control over good hunting grounds that lets the tribe  use more resources on warfare, alliances with other tribes.

If running the game for a group I'd like to make 3 maps, one showing tribal boundries, sacred sites, good hunting grounds, the second showing settlers farms, outposts and grazing areas, the third map being an overall map which only includes details as they become known to all players. In regular warfare the combatants are usually after the same areas for the same tactical reasons, but I think not knowing which areas the enemy is interested in attacking/controlling could be interesting.

I'm thinking something like 5-20 combatants per side for most the raids a few larger raids with double that amount and somewhere between 50 and 100 a side in the final battle.
I'd need a few civillians, some cattle and sheep too, not to mention terrain.
« Last Edit: January 10, 2018, 10:45:26 AM by Munindk »

Offline von Lucky

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 10JAN18
« Reply #34 on: January 10, 2018, 11:03:53 AM »
Not a bad idea for a campaign - simple and yet complex.
- Karsten

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Offline Happy Wanderer

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 10JAN18
« Reply #35 on: January 10, 2018, 12:51:51 PM »
Some really good ideas in there Munindk - very interesting.

You are right that by the 1830s -1840s greater organised resistance made conflict more widespread and sustained. Weapon technology had not advanced and the smoothbore musket/carbine was still predominant in colonial forces, unlike the dominance breechloading and repeating weapons would have in the later half of the century in places like Africa, North America as well as Northern parts of Australia.

Even though weapon technologies remained largely unchanged the mounted trooper tilted the battle space in favour of the colonial forces when pursuit took hold and this was a major factor in countering the natural cross country advantages the aboriginal forces initially, and to a degree, always had.

It is also clear by the 1830s -1840s that tribal clans/bands became well aware of the impact white settlement had and what was in store for them if they did not resist, so the intensity of confrontation rose on both sides as the stakes became higher. Therefore, relative to the aboriginal coalition clan sizes and/or larger tribe populations, extended periods of warfare were more sustainable than in the initial confrontations around the turn of the 19th century.

Your campaign ideas might fit in really well with my thoughts on the use of Congo, Smooth & Rifled and/or TMWWBK. You could also make the campaign area generic or non specific, basing it on a certain type of campaign such as the recovery of land or access to a major river which happened many times. Pitting one group of Aborigines against a local combined settler/native police/army force would all be historical in one way or another - just as we would do for any other colonial ahistorical campaign ala Science vs Pluck type stuff.

I’ve also put together some ideas about a mapless campaign but I think your suggestions about tribal boundaries  sacred sites, good hunting grounds, settlers farms, outposts and grazing areas sound really good. Congo would be a good vehicle for AFW small campaign and scenario clashes and my up coming post will deal with the use of Congo in some detail so keep an eye out for that. I picked up the discounted Congo campaign supplement from Foundry a week ago and might have a closer look at that and see if there is a suitable campaign structure in there that could be worth pinching.

Lots of good stuff there Munindk, keep those thoughts coming...and yes von Lucky, simple yet complex!


Cheers  ;)

Happy W

« Last Edit: January 10, 2018, 10:49:16 PM by Happy Wanderer »

Offline Munindk

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 10JAN18
« Reply #36 on: January 10, 2018, 02:18:07 PM »
I dont have any useable rules at the moment, but I might pick up both Congo and TMWWBK, since both have gotten great reviews all around.

I might lean towards Congo as it looks more story/scenario focused, uses fewer miniatures the TMWWBK, and I've seen a few posts on the forums about shooting being overpowered, though the muskety nature of the AFW might mitigate that. Also TMWWBK seems to have a sort of dark humorous undertone, which might be inappropriate for this particular setting. Not that colonial warfare was a jolly thing in general, but the AFW seems a bit more grim than a lot of other settings.

On the other hand TMWWBK isnt quite as tied to the African setting as Congo, I think it has a campaign system built in, its a lot cheaper and it looks like it supports larger forces better than Congo.

If I ever get the project started, I'll probably buy both and hack something together using bits from both.


Offline Munindk

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 10JAN18
« Reply #37 on: January 12, 2018, 07:45:00 AM »
I've been thinking about fire. A brushfire as a campaign element that is, I'm not a pyro.

Somewhere in your timeline there was a mention of the aborigines setting fire to settlers houses and it sparking a brushfire. A local fire here got me thinking that a brushfire could be used in the campaign.

It could be a terrain hazard, a fire moving from one board edge toward the other at a pace of D6+X inches a turn, influencing the players tactical choices. This would turn a shallow water feature or a river into a safezone from the fire.

It could also be an element in a scenario, where the aborigine player has to start a fire, or put out a fire. Maybe its the settlers trying to smoke out the aborigines instead? Alternatively it could be an escort scenario where one player has a group of civilians that have to be escorted to safety from a raging brushfire, I could see either side as the defender/escorter.

A third option would be to make it an advantage gained from a raid. You get to arm a few of your models with torches that can start fires if applied to certain terrain elements (huts, dry bush etc), fires then spread in random directions. Or it could be that you get to choose which board edge the fire starts at in the next scenario?

Or a combination of the above.
Say the aborigine player has won a raid and gained torches as a weapon for 3 warriors. He elects to use them to burn a settler farm. First part of the raid is sneaking up to a building to start the fire. Second part is the settlers trying to escort civilians to safety. The third part could be a straight up fight with a fire raging across the board, or it could carry over into the next scenario instead, with the brushfire being a terrain hazard?
« Last Edit: January 12, 2018, 07:46:52 AM by Munindk »

Offline Happy Wanderer

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 10JAN18
« Reply #38 on: January 12, 2018, 12:02:30 PM »
Fire is most definitely a weapon of choice for tribal warriors. In a number of raids they set fire to crops, usually just before it was ready for harvesting, which could cause severe food shortages depending on the location and dependance of the crops by the local population. Early clashes along the Hawkesbury River in Port Jackson (Sydney) for example plunged the settlement into a food shortage from aboriginal raids burning crops in the early years.

Setting fire to buildings to smoke out the occupants was also a well used tactic by tribesmen. Once out the occupants would then come under spear attack and with luck the building would also be burnt down.

Both of these types of actions are typical of the Frontier Wars clashes so in anticipation of such I made sure one of my warriors came equipped with a flaming torch  ;)



 
« Last Edit: January 12, 2018, 12:13:34 PM by Happy Wanderer »

Offline Happy Wanderer

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 10JAN18
« Reply #39 on: January 14, 2018, 01:21:41 AM »
Ok,

We’ve had a look at some background to get a feel for frontier conflict up to the mid half of the 19th century - lots going on.

Now a return to some miniatures! In this post I’m showing the conversions I did from the Eureka Denisovan range to create a diverse looking aboriginal war party out of less than 10 figures.

Naturally enough other conversions would be possible but the examples show how easily the Denisovan minis are able to be made into figures that look different enough too create an ‘in motion’ warrior force.

Plenty of pics in this post so pop over ;-)

https://wp.me/p1YrZG-19E

Cheers

Happy W






Offline Munindk

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 14JAN18 - figures!
« Reply #40 on: January 14, 2018, 05:52:59 PM »
Another excellent post!

After lost of reading its good to see some miniatures, and some lovely ones at that. You've made some fairly simple but very very effective conversions.

I'm curious to see the Denisovan models you've decided not to use. If one was more adventerous with the green stuff, I think the new Perry plastic Zulus might make good aboriginals.

Offline carlos marighela

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 14JAN18 - figures!
« Reply #41 on: January 14, 2018, 09:42:49 PM »
It's worth noting that fire was a normal part of Aboriginal land management in various ways. Fire was used to clear pasture for grazing prey like kangaroos and wallabies. In some parts of the north, where native grasses grow to six or seven feet it was used to clear sight lines for hunting or drive prey towards a hunting group. Whilst that's not to say it wasn't used in warfare you can readily understand that European observers might conflate it's normal use with hostile intent.

By the by, research has revealed that a number of Australian birds may be contributors to the phenomenon of wildfires. Various types of kites have been observed in multiple locations and on multiple occasions picking up burning twigs at the edges of wildfires and then dropping them in other parts to refresh or expand the blaze. On at least one occasion this behaviour was repeated several times, suggesting it was deliberate.

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2018/01/this-is-why-aussie-firehawk-raptors-are-spreading-bushfires

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-03/smart-bushfire-birds/7216934

As if there wasn't enough to be scared about our native fauna already.


Offline Happy Wanderer

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 14JAN18 - figures!
« Reply #42 on: January 14, 2018, 11:04:54 PM »
Hi Carlos,

As you say, the use of fire by aboriginals in a range of ways certainly made its use in warfare a natural progression. Research by Dr Ray Kerkhove also has shown that tribes used smoke as a means of communication and signalling in frontier contacts.

I didn’t know about birds being contributors to wild fires...interesting. I’m not sure I can include ‘fire birds’ in any army list though  :D  ;)

Cheers

Happy W

Pic below
Camel train with Aboriginal signal for "strangers who have crossed into neighbour's territory" - near Uluru, NT c.1940
« Last Edit: January 14, 2018, 11:09:10 PM by Happy Wanderer »

Offline carlos marighela

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 14JAN18 - figures!
« Reply #43 on: January 15, 2018, 12:10:21 AM »
Maybe not pyromanical kites but you should incorporate birds into your game. Disturbed flocks of Galahs or cockatoos are a surefire method of detecting something moving in the lanscape and they are audible and visible for a long way off.

Offline Happy Wanderer

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Re: Australian Frontier Wars - update 14JAN18 - figures!
« Reply #44 on: January 15, 2018, 12:48:38 AM »
Disturbed flocks of Galahs or cockatoos are a surefire method of detecting something moving in the lanscape and they are audible and visible for a long way off.”

Something like this might blend in nicely with my Congo adaptation...nice one  ;)

Clans also used domesticated dogs as a quasi early warning system against approaching enemy...something I had included...but I guess they both achieve a similar effect.



« Last Edit: January 15, 2018, 01:00:33 AM by Happy Wanderer »

 

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