Diablo Jon does Darkest Africa - Royal Navy Gunboat added

[Diablo Jon]

The battle of Fletcher's Boma part 4

The relief column Turns 6 to 8

Turn 6 saw the British relief column of local settlers and their plantation labourers arrive on a roll of a 4. This meant the British received two units of tribal infantry, the Yao wouldn’t receive any more reinforcements, the Yao morale dropped, the British morale was raised for the rest of the game and the British regular units had now run out of ammunition (as happened in the real life battle) and so could now only use their bayonets to attack. The remaining Yao and Lomwe made one last push to overwhelm the Bomas defenders before the relief column could intervene. In the north one Yao unit entered the boma across the undefended palisade elsewhere various Yao units tried and failed to rally or took to infective sniping. In the south a unit of Lomwe tribal infantry hurled themselves at sergeant Bandwe’s askaris after a hard fought melee both sides had equal casualties and the Lomwe fell back to regroup.

For the British Lance Naik Singh lead his men in a bayonet charge against the Yao who had crossed the boma palisade but disaster struck with the Askaris suffered two dead for no reply worse still the brave Sikh lance corporal was cut down in the melee the survivors falling back and becoming pinned. the situation was restored as corporal fletcher and his Sikhs launched a bayonet attack on the same Yao and driving them back across the palisade. In the south with no ammunition sergeant Bandwe and his askaris stood to warily watching the still dangerous Lomwe warriors lurking beyond the Boma walls. Mr Hinde and Starke having arrived in the north commanded their men to move at the double Mr Hinde’s command falling on a small group of pinned Yao who barely slowed the Atonga labourers.





Turn 7 the remaining Yao were becoming scarce now there where no Yao units in the north, to the east and west most of the Yao were pinned and failing to rally, only the south were there were still a couple of intact Yao units plus the Lomwe tribal warriors was there a threat. this was unscored when the Lomwe stormed the palisade killing two of Sargent Bandwe’s askaris and forcing the survivors to fall back into the boma courtyard but passing their pinning test. While the another unit of Yao moved up to the Palisade ready to cross it next turn.

For the British Sergeant Bandwe tried to drive the Lomwe back with a bayonet charge but decided to fail his activation test (despite having a leadership of 4). the survivors of Lance Naiks command failed their rally test. Luckily Corporal Fletcher and the Sikhs were on hand to save the day again forcing the Lomwe back across the palisade at bayonet point though losing a man in the process. Mr Hindes men were clearly looting the Yao the had finished off last turn as they failed to activate meanwhile Mr Starkes men butchered another pinned unit of Yao.



Turn 8 the Yao only had two units off irregular infantry that weren’t pinned one tried to attack the Sikhs across the palisade and failed the other the managed to kill another sikh but lost more men themselves the last unit rushed to the walls ready to enter the boma next turn. The British units moved to occupy the walls above the last function Yao unit while the relief column units moved south. At this point it was clear the Yao couldn’t win and the battle was called as a British victory.



Conclusion

This was a really fun game. for the first few turns as the British player I felt pretty confident but things became a lot more challenging mid game and even up to turn seven it felt like the Yao could possibly still damage the British. the Sikhs and Corporal Fletcher were clearly the British match winners causing a tremendous amount of damage and retrieving the situation every time the Yao threatened to break into the boma. All my house and scenario rules seemed to work well at least in the context of a solo game using Mr Babbage rules. In a one vs one game I feel like the British will have a tougher test as any Yao player worth his salt is just going to mass his whole force against one wall of the palisade in a mass charge.

[FifteensAway]

Nice - though stumbled my way through some lack of capital letters in important places along with some missing punctuation (the thrill of telling your tale, no doubt.  I know, how pedantic of me to notice.  ).  But I muddled through the entire AAR, enjoying the journey to the end. 

As to the comment about the one-on-one issue, a proper scenario design can easily prevent that swarming of one wall with focused restrictions, etc. 

I think I need to build myself some sort of boma.  Pretty easy to put a force together to try a similar scenario - just need to paint up a few figures to go with what I already have.

[Diablo Jon]

Nice - though stumbled my way through some lack of capital letters in important places along with some missing punctuation (the thrill of telling your tale, no doubt.  I know, how pedantic of me to notice.  ).  But I muddled through the entire AAR, enjoying the journey to the end. 

As to the comment about the one-on-one issue, a proper scenario design can easily prevent that swarming of one wall with focused restrictions, etc. 

I think I need to build myself some sort of boma.  Pretty easy to put a force together to try a similar scenario - just need to paint up a few figures to go with what I already have.

Thanks for persevering. Sadly writing is not my greatest strength having been diagnosed with Dyslexia at school I realise my written word can be painful for others. I rely heavily on spell and grammar checkers (thank goodness for modern technology trust me if this was written with a pen and paper it would be a real headache to read) to make stuff readable. Stuff does fall between the lines especially when I spell a word correctly but use it in the wrong place like were and where which are the bane of my life. Writing long stuff like an AAR is a time consuming business for me usual involving several re writes, lots of blue and red underlines telling me stuff is wrong and normally another re-write if I can get a family member to proof read (which didn't happen this time). On the plus side my crappy writing skills are balanced out by the creative side of my brain, Dyslexia gives me, meaning I find painting little men much easier than writing 

With the one to one player issue yes you could fudge the scenario to stop the Yao player just swamping one wall but its a fine line between getting a historical result and making the the Yao player feel railroaded into playing a certain way. Most wargames rules will struggle to get a historical result in a battle were 18 men beat 2000 men without suffering a single casualty in reality its hard to see how the Yao lost this battle given the odds.

I think anyone doing Africa needs a boma its just what sort? It could be as simple as a thorn bush wall or as complicated as a British brick built fort in central Africa both are technically boma. I think the pole palisade that I built for this game is useful piece to have it could probably work for Europeans or Arabs and even some natives.

[FifteensAway]

Well, your creative side sure is on full display - and much enjoyed by many of us.

On the writing front, especially for long posts - I make my own gaffes - I use a word processor  with its editing options and then copy and paste to post here.  Sounds like you are doing that, too.  But editing software only goes so far - one of my challenges is 'two, too, to'.  Sometimes I think my fingers pick words rather than my brain!  The real benefit is not getting 'cut off' by LAF time constraints - I've been sorely frustrated a few times typing away to find out only part of what I typed can post, if at all.  And, of course, even with the word processing, sometimes errors still make it through.  Late night or early morning posts when sleep eludes can be the worst.  It was the 'once upon a time' wannabe college writing instructor in me sneaking out.  .

I do like your bomba, its less substantial nature would work in a lot of settings.  Any tips or tricks on how you built yours you can share?  The photos already here are a pretty good guide.  Maybe a few more close ups - especially of the gate end?

[Diablo Jon]

[quote author=FifteensAway link=topic=121260.msg1867956#msg1867956 date=1721223430

I do like your bomba, its less substantial nature would work in a lot of settings.  Any tips or tricks on how you built yours you can share?  The photos already here are a pretty good guide.  Maybe a few more close ups - especially of the gate end?
[/quote]

I'll try and take some close up pictures at the weekend and do a post on how I put it together for you.

[Diablo Jon]

A few people have asked about my the Boma I used in my recent re-fight of Fletcher’s Boma. The whole thing was constructed in a weekend when I realised I didn’t have a suitable piece of terrain for the battle. The word Boma is thought to be of Bantu origin and used through out the great lakes region all the way down to southern Africa . A boma can mean anything from a simple thorn bush animal enclosure all the way through to the brick forts constructed by the British in central Africa and anything in between. This particular model is based on the sort of Boma the British were building in central Africa in the early 1890s. At this time British expeditions against hostile local elements usual started with the building of a pole fort as a safe base to operate from.

Harry Johnston describes a fort built during an early campaign in his book on the Central African Protectorate

Building fort Johnston” We then took advantage of a moonlight night when the moon was half full to work almost twelve hours on end and by the next morning our camp was completely surrounded by mud and sand breastworks behind a revêtement of bamboo”

A second description of this early fort can be found in Zambezi Sunrise” by W.D. Gale, Timmins

In the meantime, Johnston and his force were busy fortifying their position. Captain Maguire designed a fort and in six days Fort Johnston was established. It was a circular redoubt with an internal diameter of ninety feet. The centre was occupied by a low circular house used as a provision store and cooking place. The magazine, on the side nearest the river, was dug partly underground and protected by a strong platform of earth heaped over a stout wooden framework. On this platform, which was about eight feet above the level of the fort, a sentry was stationed day and night, looking over the immense stretch of flat plain towards Lake Nyasa. The fort was defended by a rampart of bamboo and sand, surrounded by a deep ditch. It was a secure position.

So, it seems something quite substantial could be thrown together in a relatively short time if needed. Below is the stockade at fort hill that was built in the far north of the province



Here are the steps to how I constructed my little Boma

1. I took a rectangle of XPS foam 30cm by 20cm and 3cm deep and cut out the middle and then carved the inside of the rectangle into a slope, using my hotwire cutter and a long bladed knife, to given the impression of an earth bank. Make sure you check that the top of the bank is wide enough for your miniature bases to stand on. I carved out an opening for a gate and cut some indents into the bank for a ladder and two shelters. Then I hot glue gunned the foam to a suitable base board.

2.Next I broke out the bamboo skewers, I had purchased for £1 GBP at my local Home Bargains, and proceed to cut them down, with a pair of side clippers, to a height suitable to sit proud of the XPS foam bank. I wasn’t overly picky with this I could have cut them all the same size but I liked the look of more irregular poles at slightly different heights.
once I’d cut up enough Skewers I hot glue gunned them all the around the outside of my foam rectangle.



3. I used some offcuts from the skewers to construct the shelters and the gate. The roofs of the shelters and the gate were made from embossed plank plastic sheet from a model railway company called Peco they sell all sorts of sheets with tiles, bricks and timber effects technically they are a little undersized, being HO/OO scale, for 28mm miniatures but then who is to say what size a plank is exactly?

4.I now sealed the whole thing with PVA glue and added some sand and gravel to the ground areas. It was particularly important to seal the XPS foam as I was going to paint the model mostly with rattle cans.

5.A quick paint job with some cheap rattle can sprays from the local Poundland first up and orange brown, then some desert yellow followed by a bit of dry brushing with a cream colour for the soil areas. The wood areas got a dark brown and a couple of highlights of lighter browns and that was that.

A pretty simple but effective piece of terrain.

 

[has.been]

Jolly good job.
You seem to be able to build a Boma as quickly as the originals.
Nice & useful bit of terrain.

[FifteensAway]

Being one that asked, thanks for the tutorial.  And timely reminder about bamboo skewers - those will be a solution to my need for some open field barricades - I was thinking doweling but too hard and too 'regular'.  Bamboo skewers will work a treat. 

So, double thanks!

[Plynkes]

Wonderful work, Jon.

[Diablo Jon]

thank you kindly chaps 

[Hupp n at em]

Excellent Fort!  I had an old shelved project in a different period using the same skewers, you've inspired me to pull it back out 

[Diablo Jon]

The British deployed a number of gunboats in central Africa, manned by the Royal Navy, in the late 19th century.

In 1890 the British launched HMS Herald and HMS mosquito onto the Zambezi river. These vessels operated along the Zambesi and lower Shire River to protect British interests and stop the slave trade. At the 1884 Berlin conference the European colonial powers had declared the Zambezi river a free waterway as it was a vital connection to a number of European colonies. In 1899 the Chinde Channel was found as alternative access point, to the river, allowing ships to avoid to Portuguese Quelimene and its taxes. An 1891 treaty between Britain and Portugal allowed the British to lease 40 hectares of land at Chinde for 99 years here the British created a small Naval base for its gunboats.



1891 saw the formation of the British Central African protectorate around Lake Nyasa and quickly became apparent the gunboats on the lake would be essential to enforcing British power in the region. Unfortunately the Zambezi River was connected to Lake Nyasa via the 250-mile-long Shire River in theory boats could travel up the Shire River to lake Nyasa but in practice the upper Shire was very shallow only navigable by boats with a shallow draft and the middle shire had a series of cataracts that were impassable to boats. This meant the Zambezi gunboats could offer only limited help along the lower shire river.



On the lake itself the African Lakes Company already ran the unarmed steam ships the Ilala and Domira (see a slightly fictional account of the Domira in action against Yao Slavers above), the university missionaries also had a steamboat, and the German anti-slavery society operated another steamboat on the north end of the lake. These could be pressed into service by the colonial authorities as transport and supply vessels. Sometime in 1892 the gunboat HMS Dove (see photo below taken of Dove after was decommissioned by the local government when she become a commercial vessel) was sent to the Protectorate she was a shallow draft, side paddle ship. Armed with a 3pdr Quick fire gun and a maxim machine gun her main job was to patrol the upper shire river which other boats could reach.



In 1893 a royal naval contingent of 27 men lead by commander Chas Hope Robinson arrived with HMS Pioneer and Adventure (see picture below after an epic journey by boat and overland. The two boats had been disassembled in the UK transported all the way to Lake Nyasa in pieces and then had to be rebuilt at Fort Johnston by their crews. Each boat had two 3pdr quick fire guns and a Maxim .303 machine gun. These two boats were later replaced by the HMS Guendolen and HMS Chauncy Maples around 1900 who both soldered on into world war one. Pioneer and Adventurer were disarmed and become government vessels carrying supplies and post around the lake. The combination of Royal navy gunboats and civilian steamboats gave the British the ability to move forces and supplies quickly around the lake as well combat the Dhows operated by Arab and Yao slavers.



The Royal navy men were also occasionally found fighting on land. The whole artillery force in the 1895 campaign, against Mlozi and the North End Arabs, was commanded by a Commander Cullen of the Royal Navy, which included a 7pdr mountain gun, a 9pdr gun and a Nordenfelt Machine gun all crewed by Royal Navy sailors. Commander Cullen was later found in the thick of the fighting at Mlozis stockade taking an axe to the main gate during the assault.

Another naval officer was at the British defeat by Yao chief Zarafi in 1892 outside Fort Johnston. Petty officer Inge accompanied the British forces who had allied with a local Maseko Ngoni chief in an attack on Zarafi’s stronghold. Unfortunately the Ngoni broke and fled at first contact with the Yao leaving the small British force in deep trouble. Petty officer Inge bravely mounted a one-man rear guard using a 7pdr gun, in the face of 2000 Yao warriors, to allow the rest of the British to retreat before he managed to make his escape unharmed.

In 1893 British forces in the Protectorate got into a sticky situation along the Shire River fighting against forces of the Yao Chief Liwonde. The local British forces managed to get themselves surrounded in hostile territory but were saved by the timely arrival of both a passing German expedition, which included Sudanese Askari, on their way to the northern end of lake Nyasa. followed a day later by the timely the arrival of Commander Carr, who commanded HMS Mosquito on the Zambezi, with Dr Harper and about twenty blue jackets. The sailors were then involved in follow up fighting to drive Liwonde out of British territory and then assisting with the building, and temporarily garrisoning, of two forts along the shire river.

I picked up this 1/56 resin model off eBay from a company called Actual Sized Miniatures. It is intended to represent HMS Fifi of WW1 fame. Fifi was a captured German ship called SMS Kingani the was launched in 1893 which means its perfect for the era I’m interested in. The kit actually contains all the bits to make either the Fifi or Kingani as the had slightly different weapons and Kingani had a gun shield on the front. As I was building this ship as something generic I just built it with the bits I liked from both ships. The model doesn’t come with any crew but Copplestone and Empress miniatures stepped up with some miniatures from their command packs and the crew of a Empress miniatures RN rocket pack.

[flatpack]

Very nice.

[Freddy]

Great looking boat!

[Captain Blood]

Loads of character - I like that very much