WW1 In East Africa

When I saw this advertised there was only ever going to be one outcome….

The back of the box

One of the inspirations for the famous Madasahatta campaign organised by Eric Knowles, in which both Bob Cordery and myself took part in (Bob published the campaign journal, complete with the full back story and a biography of Eric following his death), was the campaign conducted in East Africa by the German commander Paul Von Lettow Vorbeck.

I have a soft spot for many aspects of this campaign - the operations on Lake Tanganyika as well as the hunt for the Konigsberg for example - and given that is it quite low level in terms of the numbers involved (although not the area of operations!) it would translate into a Portable Wargame style set up, complete with a naval dimension.

The game itself features a mounted map board - always a bonus - along with the associated charts etc for initial deployments and reinforcement schedules. A nice touch is that all the key naval vessels get their own counter (including Mimi and Tou Tou!) and also the salvaged guns of the Konigsberg! The rules are quite straightforward and are contained in a 16 page booklet. All in all then, it is an easy game to play and one that is crying out to be used as the basis for the figures/models based table top set up.

I do not have any figures for the period - the block armies would suffice - but I do have a selection of models for some of the naval protagonists as part of the planned Madasahatta: The Sequel, set up.

For the present though, I shall go back to Battle for the Bundu for some extra inspiration!

Returned, Relaxed, Refreshed and Recharged!

The view from the terrace

Our home for the week - very spacious and powered chair friendly

Paella night - it tasted as good as it looked!

One of the two tour minibuses…. 

Another view - the coast is over to the right

Despite the sign the water was perfectly drinkable - greasy as a mountain stream in fact (we were around 1800 feet above sea level)

Laurel and I have just returned from a week in the Andalusian mountains, around an hour from Málaga, and so I am feeling all of the above! It was the first time we have been abroad since our Cuban trip in 2019 and also since Laurel’s surgery in 2022. I am happy to say that, aside from some confusion in Malaga airport on our return, the trip went really well and whilst there were no trips to anything of historical interest we are planing to return next year and with a trip to the Alhambra Palace, possibly Cordoba as well.

As an accessible venue our small hotel was perfect (there were only 6 guest including us!) and the owners and staff did everything they could to make us welcome and keep us well fed. 

For Laurel and I it was very much a trial run - she was nervous about coping with the travel - but I am delighted to say that it all went swimmingly! 

Being knee deep in the heart of what was Moorish Spain certainly served to reignite my interest in the period of El CID and also the events leading up to the fall of Granada in 1492. From a wider perspective my old standby of the Barbary Corsairs has also quietly crept up on me - more of which later.

It is good to be back and we are already planning for next year.

In the meantime though, my next post will outline a few plans and ideas that have taken a more definite shape.