Tangynika ww1

[Sir_Theo]

Hi.

I've just finished reading 'Mimi and Toutou go forth' about the Spicer Simson expedition to Lake Tangynika and it got me interested in the wider conflict in Africa, which I know very little about.

I was wondering if anyone could suggest some good general books on the subject, also from a wargaming point of view, how have others tackled the subject? What figures and suitable rulesets are out there? I'm aware Pendraken do a 10mm range, but how about 15 or 28mm? (if I do anything it's unlikely to be as grand as 10mm would suggest, more skirmish focused)

If you could point me in the right direction, that would be great.

[traveller]

In 28mm, which I think is a perfect scale for this war, you have a lot of goodies to choose from. To mention a few:

Brigade games
Artizan designs
Gripping Beast/Woodbine
Pulp figures

I started off by reading ”Battle for the Bundu” together with the Osprey MAA on the subject

Watching the movie ”Shout at the Devil” with Lee Marvin and Roger Moore also helps to keep the juicies flowing. There is also a series of fiction books by Wilbur Smith that are excellent.

Good luck with your project!

[Will Bailie]

Mimi and Toutou go forth is an excellent read!  For further inspiration, you can follow on with CS Forrester's African Queen or the Bogart/Hepburn movie of the same name, and then consider how truth can be stranger than fiction.  Shout at the Devil is also great.

Old Glory produces a 25mm ship based on Mimi and/or Toutou:

https://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MCL-04&cat=388

There is a book of skirmish scenarios called Tanga 1914 based on the early campaigns in German East Africa (including the Battle of the Bees!):
http://brigadegames.3dcartstores.com/Skirmish-Campaigns-WWI--Tanga_p_2114.html

As Traveller noted, Brigade Games is an excellent place to start, they've got the main factions covered, Lon will take good care of you, for 28mm at least!

Also, look through the LAF archives for Plynkes battle reports! http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=26778.0

[Plynkes]

Unfortunately I don't think any of my old WW1 stuff is on that list, Will, as I posted it all on this board rather than the Colonial one.

Years and years ago we did some fictionalized WW1 lake battles, but it was all so long ago I can't remember details about everything we used. The Old Glory Mimi/Toutou that Will mentions are definitely worth getting if you are thinking of dipping your toe in the lake.

Putting on my Picky Pete of the Picky Patrol hat for a second: it's spelled Tanganyika (sorry about that, I usually get it wrong and have to check myself). 

[has.been]

The book, 'Tip & Run' is well worth getting. It is all about East Africa WW1.
It was recommended by Paul Eaglestone (Empress Miniatures) & our very
own Flatpack got two copies (one for him & one for me) off the internet.
£10- each. It is full of useful ideas for scenarios & background materials.

[Plynkes]

I found Byron Farwell's "The Great War in Africa" to be a good, concise general history. Very readable (his biography of the explorer Richard Burton is very good too, if you are into that sort of thing).

I read a good history of the East African Mounted Rifles, and one of the Jammu and Kashmir rifles too (though I don't remember the authors off the top of my head). Those sort of regimental books are often a treasure trove of scenario ideas and little titbits of local colour, often with hilarious anecdotes about incidents with animals and the like, and nuttiness like painting ponies with black and white stripes to camouflage them as zebras.

[Cubs]

The book, 'Tip & Run' is well worth getting. It is all about East Africa WW1.
It was recommended by Paul Eaglestone (Empress Miniatures) & our very
own Flatpack got two copies (one for him & one for me) off the internet.
£10- each. It is full of useful ideas for scenarios & background materials.

+1 for this. A great big book packed with information.

[Sir_Theo]

This is all great advice thank you!

@Plynkes-I'm just surprised I got the spelling as close as I did!

[Bindonblood]

If you can get a copy of the official history of the war in Africa, part I, it's a cracker. However, the author died before he could publish part II. 

The manuscript does exist, but, from memory, it needs finishing off and editing so will probably never appear.

Colin Rumford (I believe) used it to create some scenarios for Wargames Illustrated back in the good old days of the nineties. 

[BaronVonJ]

Highly recommend "African Kaiser" about Paul Von-Lettow and the German campaign.

[Sir_Theo]

Highly recommend "African Kaiser" about Paul Von-Lettow and the German campaign.

I've put that on the list. I definitely want to read more about him. Is his own book any good? It's come up on my amazon search.

I'll pick up Tip and Run to start with as well.

[argsilverson]

Since wargaming is not only educating but should also be fun, I should recommend to watch Young Indiana Jones chronicles/ Some of the episodes do see some action in WW1 East Africa, with plenty Belgian, German and British Empire soldiers. As it is common in this series young Indiana meta some of the named people of the period like von Lettow and Margarete Trappe and Albert Schweizer to name a few.
Interesting film showing things from French prospective is the french film "Black and White in colour" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074972/ )
Very inspiring for some scenarios.

Old glory Mimi/Toutou come complete with some crew. One of them is depicting captain Geoffrey Spicer-Simson WHO commanded the expedition in his skirt which he adopted during the campaign.

I would like also to recommend the marvellous German Colonial Uniform website http://www.germancolonialuniforms.co.uk/.
They have a thousand of tons of Information on the subject. A definitive site on the subject.

[Etranger]

Probably not the scale you're looking for but North Head Miniatures have 1/600 ships for the campaign, on Shapeways.
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/nhminiatures

[Deflatermouse]

”Battle for the Bundu” by Charles Millar is one of the first (and still my personal favourite) on the Tanganyika campaign.
I even traveled through Tanzania and Zanzibar because of it in 1995, hoping to have lunch at the Kaiserhof in Tanga.
Sadly I caught malaria, nearly died and had to change our travel plans.

I have a few books, the Ice-cream war, the Germans who never lost, Byrons War in Africa, the excellent Osprey, 2 copies of the Phantom Flotilla (for some reason) and Mimi and Toutou go forth amongst others.

I gamed it starting in 1990 using Over the Top by GDW. Greg Novak had a scenario for the three days of Tanga.
I used it to build my forces using Minifigs 15mm colonial ranges. I found approximations for pretty much everything in it.
The rules worked well. We did a couple of games, Tsavo and Bukoba amongst others. I did have plans to do the lake battles but.....

There is a set of rules for the lake battles but I haven't tried them despite having them.
Steamer Wars
https://www.wargamevault.com/product/132076/Steamer-Wars

A “fast play” game covering primarily the naval engagements on Lake Tanganyika during the First World War

[argsilverson]

I would like to remind you that Graf von Goetzen is still alive and operate in lake Tanganyika as the MV Liemba.
some infor from wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Liemba

It is easy to Access lot's of photos online.

On 28mm miniatures I would also bring to notice that Tiger miniatures has a comprehensive range of german colonials that can be used to fill some gaps and there is an excellent von Lettow-Vorbeck, lady this time, by Hinterland miniatures, mounted and on foot,  and female askaris if you want some spicing up in your games.
In case you also need some earlier german colonials Copplestone castings has some excellent ones. Wiesmanntruppen and Zanzibaris.