British KAR vs. German Askari Uniforms in East Africa

[jeffreythancock]

I've been Googling for inspiration on uniforms for East Africa 1914-1918.  How does one differentiate British KAR from German Askaris on the wargame table?  Both wear a khaki hat (pillbox or short fez) w/ or w/out sun shade, khaki uniform, and blue puttees in some cases.

Thoughts and suggestions?

[juergen c. olk]

This was a problem in reality,then throw in the Belgian askaris. Blue puttees,are one thing also the german askari's did not for the most part wear shorts ,but long trousers instead ,now as the war drug on it got real muddled with germans using more captured equipment than german,also you have the german eagle on the fez's or the Kompany number,.rank were different, I have had games where after a few toomany libations by some of the gamers they did not pay attention and assumed enemy troops were theirs,and got caught in a ambush,we use simultaneous movement,so there usually is not much confusion,it is what it is-"Heia-Safari",my friend.

[juergen c. olk]

one of my favorite askari pictures,plus webbing differences,if players notice

[joekano]

I think Juergen has done a really good job covering some of the differences.  For me, I did the following to make them stand out more on the table:

1) My standard German uniforms have a bit more yellow tint than the KAR
2)  I put battalion badges on the KAR headgear, but left it plain on the Germans
3) My Germans look much more ragtag, with bits of homemade or captured kit as Juergen mentioned

KAR


German Askari

[Plynkes]

As said, they do already look a little different. The KAR gear worn in the field was a low pillbox hat and shorts with British webbing or leather equipment, while the Germans had a high fez and trousers (KAR only tended to wear their fezzes for parade order once the war got going). They did tend to come to resemble each other more as the campaign wore on, though.

In most photos of them on campaign the KAR askaris don't seem to bother with the neckflap covers on their pillbox hats that figure manufacturers always give them, or they fold them back up against the hat, leaving the neck uncovered. I can only guess that they were uncomfortably hot, and they preferred the sun on their necks to having a cumbersome flap covering their head.


So some conversions along those lines could be in order if you want to distinguish them a little more on the tabletop.


Examples:






Note the mix of boots, sandals, bare feet, khaki and dark blue puttees, various smocks, equipment, different hats and three different types of rifle (one appears to have a Martini of some description while another has a state-of-the-art SMLE).




Later in the war some KAR units adopted large, shapeless brimmed sunhats. That's another option if you like doing conversions. There is even a photo of a KAR askari wearing a Wolseley sun helmet. With a few weeks in the bush, units on the British side looked every bit as ragtag as their German foes, but they did have the possibility of easier resupply, so it isn't a bad way to thematically distinguish them for tabletop purposes.

[Plynkes]

Another option is to put your KAR in their pre-war blue uniforms. You do occasionally still see the dark blue jersey cropping up in wartime photos...

Looking smart:


Looking slightly less smart in the field:



It isn't a particularly difficult conversion to do. When I did one ages ago I went with the covered fez rather than the pillbox hat:

[Leapsnbounds]

Nice work, it is inspiring for me to get back into this theatre