A long time ago I acquired a set of rules from Peter Pig called AK47 plus a huge mountain of lead in the form of 15mm figures and vehicles corresponding to the African wars born during the Cold War and that still plague the great continent today.
I cannot hide the fact that this impulse was influenced by a personal interest in one of the most controversial subjects of modern conflicts but still today, surrounded by an aura of epic adventure (sometimes real and sometimes imaginary), and of course, a lot of tragedies, pain and sorrows for the African people. I am referring to the phenomenon of mercenaries, and more specifically that of the soldiers of fortune who participated during the conflicts in the Congo, Biafra and Yemen, among others.
Another factor was that from the point of view of a wargamer, African conflicts have an irresistible appeal. Where else you can find such a diverse number of military vehicles; from antiquities of the Second World War, fighting vehicles with boiler armours manufactured in artisan workshops together with ultra modern weapons products from the first world, like the helicopter, the newcomer to the battlefields born developed after the WWII.
On the other hand, the African conflicts also collect a motley collection of troops that go from the famous and fearsome Simbas, through the European colonial Mercenary together with the soldiers who were part of the United Nations detachments that they were involved in the numerous conflicts, that during the decades of the 60s, 70s and 80s took over the pages of the press.
The simulation of the African conflicts, where the concept of asymmetric warfare takes key stage it’s very well reflected in the AK47 rules with the different mechanism that rules the Militia, Regular and Professional armies.
I must say, first of all that there are several versions (very different from each other) of these rules. The original one, named, AK47 Republic is the most loved by gamers and later had a new (and very different one) called AK47 Reloaded. But both has many good ideas and improvements.
Peter Pig's rules have a reputation for being cumbersome and chaotically edited, and I must recognize that imho, it is strictly true. But it is also true that they collect very original mechanisms that produce very realistic results. With AK47, participants never know if their formations will be at full or below their theoretical strength. Much of the rules reflect the days before the start of hostilities, and everything is possible during this phase; from receiving the support of the superpowers countries to discovering that your men have escaped in search of diamonds in a distant province.
It is true that this phase can be a bit cumbersome to carry out, it requires a large number of dice rolls to determine how your army will be benefited or harmed by the political manoeuvres of the nation you have chosen. And the concept of nation is another very important element in these rules since each player can choose between a large numbers of (very recognizable) fictional "nations". From regimes ruled by a religious leadership, through revolutionary people’s fronts, countries ruled by white colonial settlers, communist regimes, warlords, authoritarian dictators and mercenaries without wages or homeland.
Each of these sides is accompanied by advantages, countries supported by the first world may have modern, state-of-the-art weapons, while pillage and brutality will reinforce warlord units, or militiamen will be highly motivated in revolutionary’s regimes. But there are also drawbacks; Mercenary units will lose their motivation and will withdraw when losses accumulate or insurgent units from colonialist countries will be unreliable and may abandon combat at the most inopportune moment.
So after wait during several years in my work table all these miniatures has been finally painted (Corona confinement times...) so I leave you with some images of the arsenals of the two Imagi-Nations that I have created.
Firstly, the Zolingani vehicle arsenal.
Zolingani is a great country ruled with iron hand by the dictator Banangue, specifically the elite of his army, the "Tangani" armored battalion equipped with obsolete but still threatening T-34/85 , Soviet surpluses from World War II.
But also modern means, which have impoverished the nation's coffers but a powerful asset in the event of conflict as the only element of the Zolingani air force, a Mil Mi24 "Hind".
The reconnaissance units in depth are reflected in the first motorized squadron with their BRMD-2s and the ever-present Toyotas, in this case armed with the ubiquitous ZSU-23-2.
Also from Soviet material come the BTR-60s that carry the "Nsoko" motorized brigade.
Finally, the most inexperienced troops brigades of the Zolingani army are equipped with German Unimog trucks for their movement to the battlefield.
Zolingani shares a border with the Republic of Tampo, recently independent but politically managed by the mining oligarchies of the former colony.
Tampo does not have a regular army as such and has been forced to resort to heterogeneous armed forces made up of an amalgam of militias alongside mercenaries from around the world. Even so, it has a small detachment of M41 tanks, manned by Cuban mercenaries who fought in the Bay of Pigs and supported by the C.I.A.
European mercenaries are transported in the craked but still useful Saracen troop transports, surplus from the Yemen civil war and provided by the United Kingdom.
The heavy reconnaissance units are under the command of Major Raimond Láterguy, a former sergeant major in the Belgian army. The assets under his command are very disparate, here we can see a Ferret, accompanied by a Saladin and a modern Panhard AML-90 armoured cars.
Finally some light units from the "O'Brian" column commanded by the Irish Pit O'brian, who fought for a long time in the South African army and equipped with veteran Jeep Willies armed with 12.7 and 7.62mm machine guns.
I hope you like it and I invite you to visit my blog where you will find several battle reports of many rules and periods plus several reviews.
Please visit;
http://heroicadventuresofeladiator.blogspot.comFinally I want to thank the great inspiration that Jim Jackaman's great blog about AK47 has given me,
http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com