Working on a small booklet and need information

[Torben]

Greetings all!

As you might have seen on these boards, I recently started to gain an interst in gaming the Dark Africa. This prompted, like so many other times before, that I also began working on a set of rules for this period. My choice this time around was to adapt the good old and trusty - not to mention my personal favourite set of rules - VOID engine from the old i-Kore days.

What I am actually working on is a set of skirmish rules for around 5 - 20 figures a side, with a very character driven campaign system to boot. However, I've run into a bit of a snack in regards to what forces I should include. I've attempted to be fairly generic in the overall design of units and thus so far only the Brits are getting some special units (like Sikh Infantry, Better trained soldiers and gatling cannons!) and here then comes my question:

How often were Lancers and Dragoons present in the periode of 1870-1890? Were there at all dragoons in Africa at that time?

The nations that the campaign list is going to include are: Zulus, Britain, the Boers, Belgium, Germany and Arab Mercenaries - as well as a generic blend of support personell and "Minor Nation/Tribe" lists for any other area not covered. However, I have this strange nagging that I'm leaving something out in this set up?

Anyway, I hope that there are some out there who can help out a fellow gamer with a few quieries or at the very least point me in the general direction of easily accessible websites that I can browse through for 'research'

[Plynkes]

The French colonies in Africa covered as much area, if not more, than the British, so it seems a bit harsh to leave them out.

What area are you covering? In wargaming terms "Darkest Africa" has come to be a shorthand for East and Central Africa (the classic area of the most famous explorers), but I notice you have Boers and Zulus, so more than just that? There are loads of peoples and conflicts you could include, but it is hard to know where to start and stop. Africa is a big place.


The Brits used lancers in the Zulu war, and the reconquest of the Sudan (late 1890s). The so-called 'Knights of the Savannah'  (the Fulani, the Empire of Bornu, etc.) also had lancers, and colourful quilted armour for both horse and rider.

As far as Dragoons go, the concept had died out centuries earlier. Some cavalry units called themselves Dragoons but it really didn't mean anything, just a traditional name. However, the idea was resurrected during this period, and cavalry were being trained to dismount and fight as infantry as and when needed (though traditional cavalry types resisted this idea). Also you would have infantry units being mounted to give them more mobility, but who would fight on foot (Mounted Infantry). By the time of the Great War, all cavalry would be trained to fight as infantry like old-fashioned dragoons, even though they weren't actually called Dragoons.

[Torben]

Whoops! Leaving out the French was merely a matter of not typing "France" in the dramatis personae. They're most definately in for this booklet as well

Well, the areas covered are more or less what everybody else have been covering already in minute detail (Crisis in Sudan, First Boer War, Zulu War, Stanley and Dr. Livingstone-ish adventures and much more) but slated with a more character driven view than others. Ideally, the game would remind you of an episode of Sharpe (in lack of better comparison) where you would have 3 - 10 colourful characters, a small contigent of troops (roughly 10-30 or even more if playing as the tribes) going about on "quests" to fulfill the various ambitions of the persons involved.

Mind you, it is still in the rough and some ideas are still just that - ideas. Right now, I'm working on the various templates of units to include and have so far; Regular Infantry (colonial soldiers), Askaris, Naval/Marine shore parties, various mercenaries (slavers, tribesmen, explorers, hunting parties and missions) and finally Lancers.. and maybe dragoons?

Anyway, I'm starting in 1870 and ending in 1890 because it seemes that most of what I like to think of as "Darkest Africa" happens in that periode, and it's also a broad enough period to let it gain a pulp-theme of its own. And will allow for future Victorian Science Fiction stuff as well as Dinosaur Hunting should it strike my fancy.

Thanks for clearing up in regards of the lancers in the Zulu War; I saw them in the 'Zulu'-film but figured I better ask around before simply handwaving and say "Of course they're there".

EDIT: Aha! Thanks for clearing that up. I saw references to Dragoons here and there and wondered what happend to them. Looking at Wikipedia gave me more questions than answers (something I find happens more frequently upon visiting that page). So the Dragoons are basically out, but provisions could be made for the mobile infantry instead.

[Plynkes]

Well, cavalry would quite commonly be used like dragoons during this period, they just might not be called dragoons.


Or they might. Such as the King's Dragoon Guards in the Zulu war. Despite the name though, they were pretty much like any other cavalry outfit. Not specially trained to fight on foot or anything. It was just a posh old-fashioned name for a cavalry regiment.

Can be confusing, can't it?

[Torben]

Definately confusing to say the least. Especially for someone being born outside of the British Empires sphere of influence and other fancy ways of saying I'm not a native englishman.

But thanks for clearing it up; will have to tinker on how to include the possibility of lancers/dragoons in this booklet. They've got to be there for the sake of completeness, but now to find out how to ease the idea of dismounting lancers into the rules...