Death in the Dark Continent Nyamwezi Army List

Here's the army I have based up and will be painting next month for Death in the Dark Continent, based on List 1: Generic Villagers.

1. Skirmishers with Spears (6 bases) @ 24 

2. Skirmishers with Spears (6 bases) @ 24

3. Skirmishers with Spears (6 bases) @ 24

4. Skirmishers, Untrained with muskets (6 bases) @ 30

5. Skirmishers, Untrained with muskets (6 bases) @ 30

6. Skirmishers, with bows (4 bases) @ 16

7. Skirmishers, with bows (4 bases) @ 16

8. Arab nobles, Skirmishers,Elite,Untrained with breechloaders (4 bases) @ 48.

9. Swahili Wangwana, Skirmishers, Untrained with muskets (4 bases) @ 20.

Stratagem: Witchdoctor @ 50 points

Total Points: 298

It's a bit light on close combat capability but does have some decent short range firepower and should be useful when there's plenty of cover to flit in and out of. If it turns out to be a bit fragile, I can replace the last two units with warriors or just swap out the Arab Noble skirmishers for their soldier equivalent. 

Happy Trafalgar Day

.... especially to all my Royal Naval friends and relatives and, of course, the French side of the family 😜

Observer Twin Gun Rules in Algernon Pulls It Off

I've made some tweaks to the rules for the latest scenario featuring the Brisfit and RE8. I would be interested in any feedback you might have.

1. Observer Lewis guns fire in Left, Right and Rear arcs, not just Rear.  This brings it into line with the German aircraft in the data lists.

2.Twin Lewis gun mounting has a FF of 4 instead of 3 (equivalent to a scout with 2 forwards firing guns)

3. Ammo is expended in exactly the same way as if a single gun i.e. treat twin guns as equal firing bursts from both drums and don't track each drum separately.

4. When reloading or unjamming, both drums are reloaded or a gun unjammed at the same time. No single weapon firing or unjamming.

5. A -1 penalty on the reload / unjam roll as two drums are more work than one.

6. Six spare drums carried giving three reloads per game (the Brisfits actually had a seven drum rack, so seems reasonable..other aircraft might only have four drums / two reloads)

All this is designed to avoid book keeping and speed up the game.

Incidentally, the Aussie Brisfit twin mounts were a game changer in Palestine and twin mounts were widely adopted by the RAF in 1918, so a FF of 4 seems justified, I think.

Feedback very much appreciated 👍🏻

Incidentally...some quick googling and a bit of an AI search reveals that RE8 observers could fire to the side quite easily:

'While they couldn't fire straight ahead over the wing in standard level flight, observers could fire broadly to the front-left or front-right (obliquely) past the wingtips if an enemy aircraft pulled up alongside them'. 

An observer in a Brisfit, however...

'...could elevate the Lewis gun high enough to shoot forward over the upper wing, nearly horizontally. The Scarff ring allowed the observer to manually swing and rotate the machine gun a full 360 degrees, covering the entire rear hemisphere as well as wide lateral (sideways) and elevated angles'.

Almost there...

I'm on holiday next week and want to start painting the Death in the Dark Continent army, or at least a test unit or two, so I've decided to leave the Tuta Warrior unit aside for the moment to get the army finished this week. Instead of the Tuta, I'm going to add four more bases of archers to fill up the last space on the workbench shelves and to bring the whole army up to a total of 298 points, just shy of the 300 required for some of the scenarios in the rules. I'll set out the army list and points another time. The plan now is to paint up the Nyamwezi / Generic Villagers by Xmas, which I think is probably a good target to aim for, assuming I don't get side tracked!

A Sting in the Tail

I have now drafted the third scenario for the Algy Flies Down Under project, aptly titled 'A Sting in the Tail' as it features the first successful claim by the No.1 Squadron Bristol Fighter in January 1918. In this dogfight an RE8 under escort by an F2B was bounced by a pair of Albatros scouts of Jasta 1F but both of the German pilots got the worst of it, with one shot down and the other forced to break off the attack. A key feature of the action was the defense fire from the observers, who both put fifty round bursts into their targets at close range. 

At the time, the Australians were up-gunning the Brisfits and RE8 two seaters with twin Scarff ring mounted Lewis guns, giving them a real sting in the tail and the opposition a nasty surprise. I've factored this into the scenario by including a bonus card for the observers, which allows one or other of them and extra chance to fire, in addition to their Fire card, which I've allocated for each observer. I've done something similar before and it does make for a more dynamic game. 

Broadside and Salvo Solo Rules

That splendid chap Mr.David Manley sent me an advanced draft of some solo rules for use with Broadside and Salvo yesterday, which was a very pleasant surprise. These allow you to play against an opponent whose fleet is deployed, manoeuvres and engaged in gunnery controlled by means of an ingenious reaction system, with varying levels of response determined by the 'stance' of the commanding admiral. 

It's a very neat system and I think will make it easier for solo players to set up fleet actions with a degree of uncertainty and an element of autonomy for the opposing side. I only made one slight suggestion for a tweak to the rules as they are clearly written and well thought through in their current iteration. Hopefully, these will appear relatively soon as a result and I'm looking forward to trying then out with my Chilean and Argentinian fleets, which haven't seen much action for quite a while.

Watuta on the Workbench

The task this weekend, aided by the absence of the other half who's in Paris and the spring whose gone off scuba diving in Bali, is to get the last unit of my Nyamwezi army based up. These are the fantastic Ngoni figures sculpted by Mark Copplestone, which are absolutely brilliant but need quite a lot of filing, sanding, sticking and sorting before they are ready to undercoat. I've cut down the number of bases to six, or three if two units, so that I can get them assembled over the next day or so. 

As bog standard warriors each base in worth a measly six points, so a grand total of only thirty six points in total, but better than nothing and I can always add more bases to fill up the quota. The only other thing I need to do is undercoat two or three bases of baggage and then I'm ready to start painting, which I'm actually quite excited about for a change....blimey!

Darkest Africa Naval Landing Party Recruits

                  

I've been planning ahead for the opposition in my Death in the Dark Continent project and have a number of interesting options including an explorer expedition, German Colonial column, a Zanzibari force or a Naval Landing Party,  I have figures set aside for all of these but quite fancy the last one, especially as I could have a gunboat, which would be a cracking force multiplier and would look pretty nifty too.

To fill out the ranks I spotted this lot of Wargames Foundry naval ratings in Sennet hats, which were a good price and would be sufficient for three bases of elite soldiers. I do have some British sailors in naval chaos already but these look much more appropriate for the climate and geography. I can also add a command base of officers and NCO's to make a four base unit, which would give me a good core for a naval landing party army. 

Hoorah!

The Sportsman

Oblt.Gerhardt Felmy (pilot)

Lt.Vautin (left) Oblt.Felmy (right)

The second scenario in the Algy Flies Down Under submission has now been written up and just needs some proof reading to be ready for a play test. This scenario is set in July 1917 over the front lines near Gaza, where an Australian patrol is bounced by two aircraft of Flieger Abteilung 300. It's an unusual set up as all three of the No.1 Squadron machines are different, not to mention obsolescent, while the Germans turn up with an Albatros D.III and a two seater Rumpler C.I, both of which outclass or out gun the opposition. The title is derived from the pilot of the Albatros and CO of FA300, Oblt.Gerhardt Felmy, who was referred to as 'The Sportsman' by the Australians due to his reputation for fair play, including the hospitable treatment of POW Lt.Claude Vautin who was shot down in the action. 

Wackett's Sticky Wicket

I've made a start on writing up the scenarios for the Algy Flies Down Under Lard Mag project, with the first one now drafted and ready for play testing. This is titled Wackett's Sticky Wicket after the pilot of a BE2c that he flew in the action, which took place over Beersheba in November 1916. The unusual thing about this dogfight is the field modification he made to his aircraft to install a 'turret' for the observer, Lt.Turner, which enabled him to fire a Lewis gun in a 360 degree arc. 

The game also features a Martinsyde G.100 fitted with a rearwards firing Lewis gun, although it's practicality is dubious to say the least. As a footnote, Lt Wackett went on to be a celebrated aircraft designer post war, while one of the FA300 Pascha pilots, Offstvr.Morzik, ended up as an ace on the Western Front and subsequently a Luftwaffe general in World War Two.  Crikey!

Jasta 7 1918 (1/600th Scale)

I painted these 1/600th scale Jasta 7 Fokker D.VII's and Dr.I's over the weekend, adding the decals this morning despite the damp weather playing havoc with the setting solution. I've cut a few corners with the personal insignia, most notably on Josef Jacob's triplane, but the majority are accurate. I've had these hanging about for awhile, so good to get them finished even if I have no idea when I'll get to use them though! 

Swahili Wangwana and Arab Nobles for DITDC

The two additional units that I'm allowed for the Generic Villagers army list are now based and undercoated. The first consists of four bases of untrained Swahili Wangwana skirmishers with muskets (20 points) and the second of four bases of untrained, elite Arab Noble skirmishers with breechloaders (48 points). These are all Wargames Foundry figures, either from the Arab Slavery group or Ruga Ruga packs. As before, the supposedly matt black undercoat has come out looking glossy, but I'll give all of the figures a matt black wash before painting anyway, so it's not a problem.

Tuta Warrior Allied Test Base

After a bit of feedback on the Death in the Dark Continent FB group, I've gone back to the idea of having two units each of four bases of Tuta warriors as the back up for my skirmisher heavy Nyamwezi army. I was originally going to use a mix of Black Tree Designs Zulu and Copplestone Ngoni for these units but have opted for the Copplestone Ngoni in headdress instead, as they're much more like the actual thing. I have a Watuta army load of these so I'm killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, by putting together a couple of units that can be used with both army lists. Unfortunately, a new can of Wickes Matt Black spray paint has come out looking more like gloss, but it should fade over time and can always get a cost of ultra matt varnish if it stays shiny. 

Funny Firing Arcs

I'm going to start writing up the first scenario for Algy Flies Down Under which features a Martinsyde G100 Elephant. This was an interesting if unspectacular reconnaissance and scout single seater, with a very unusual armament layout. An upper wing mounted Lewis gun was fitted on a tilting rack, which enabled it to be reloaded in flight, although it was notoriously hard to pull the gun into a vertical position, fit a drum then repisition it to the horizontal.

The other weapon fitted was a second Lewis gun positioned on a pintle mount to the right rear of the cockpit. This could be fired with considerable difficulty into the rear right hand arc but the chances of hitting anything were minimal. One Australian pilot put a chit in to the squadron armourer for 'arms, on pair, extra' after attending to load and fire the contraption. It was often dismounted and left behind for obvious reasons.

The firing arc for the Martinsyde G100 is described in general terms in the aircraft lists in the rules but, to clarify the way they work, I've drawn up a diagram which I will include with the scenario. I'm also thinking of adding a penalty to the dice modifiers when firing the second Lewis gun, as it was not easy, to say the least. It might put off a Fokker or two, though, so it's good to include it in the game.

The Wargames Library and Algernon Pulls It Off!

The chaps at Little Wars TV have set up an online archive of free wargaming rules in order to preserve them from disappearing from the internet. This is a brilliant idea and they have already added some classic sets of rules to the collection, including some of the Perfect Captain's rules, for example, which are all free to download.

I have enquired with the Toofatlardies if they would consider submitting Algernon Pulls It Off! to the archive, as it is long out of print and has already been made available as a free download but not in obvious, accessible locations online. The response this far has been positive and Alex Sotheran of the Storm of Steel channel is going to take it forward, as he knows both the Little Wars TV crew and the Toofatlardies team.

Watch this space....

https://www.wargamelibrary.com/

Aircraft Record Sheets for Digger Dogfight'

Some more monkey business with Chat GPT today to tart up the aircraft record sheets for the Digger Dogfight' game. I've added a bit of technical blurb to the sheets after some excellent feedback from one of the chaps at the club,  but otherwise the format remains the same as the original WORD version. I'm not sure it's worth all the melting glaciers and burning rainforests to be honest, so will probably stick with the vanilla option. 

Hornblower Ahoy!

I was down in Chichester at the weekend for the rugby but had a spare hour or so to pop into town to browse the local bookshops. In one of the charity shops I was lucky enough to find two paperbacks for £1.50 each, which were obviously donated by the same person with an interest in C.S.Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels. These are both in good nick and I'll enjoy reading them, especially the Hornblower Companion as it has some rather splendid sketch maps, ideal material for some wargaming scenarios!

Death in the Dark Continent Nyamwezi Army Update

I've made good progress with preparing and basing the units for my Generic Villager / Nyamwezi army over the last week or two. The core of the army is now completed, with three units of spear armed skirmishers (6 bases each), two units of musket armed skirmishers (6 bases each) and one unit of archer skirmishers (6 bases each), which will allow me to play around with unit sizes later on. I also have a chief and a witchdoctor base for added points, although it remains to be seen if he's worth it. I've ditched a second unit of archers for the moment, so it's onto the allied units. 

I've changed my mind about the warrior units and am going to use Copplestone Watuta figures from my Ngoni lead pile, rather than the Zulu style figures, as the Tuta were allies of the Nyamwezi and have distinctive head gear. I plan to have two units (six bases each) for the Tuta, which should add a bit of punch to the army. 

The alternative option is four bases of musket armed Swahili Wangwana skirmishers using Ruga Ruga figures, which are very cool, and four bases of elite Arab nobles, skirmishers upgraded to be armed with breech loading rifles. I may well base up both the Tuta and the Wangwana / Arabs, as it will give me lots of flexibility and should be a lot of fun to paint.

AI Applications for Algernon Pulls It Off!

 

I've been playing around with Chat GPT this weekend to see how I can use it for Algernon Pulls It Off! resources, including a new cover for the rules and an enhanced card deck for the Digger Dogfight Lard Day game. This has been an uphill struggle at times, principally to stop the robot doing its own thing with the card deck formatting, text and images, but I'm getting there in fits and starts. The cards above are based on my own WORD versions with enhanced graphics, but they contain a few glitches and the deck is missing a sheet that the AI decided to edit for no particularly logical reason. I'm not a fan of AI to be honest and can't stand all those AI generated posters and pictures that are everywhere these days, but it has its uses and definitely can be deployed to soup things up a bit.

Deep Cut Studios First World War Hex Mat

For the Lard Day Algy participation game in January, I really should get myself a new hex mat, my old blue fleece one having seen better days. I do already have a Deep Cut Studios tundra themed hex mat in mouse pad material, which would do the job, but something more appropriate would be a good idea. The current options are a European Fields design or a First World War Battlefield design, the latter probably being the front runner. They're not cheap, however, and I'm strapped for cash at the moment, so this will be an early Xmas present, if and when I can persuade the other half it's a really good idea?

Allied Ngoni Warrior Reinforcements

I have ordered another pack of very nice but very expensive Copplestone AFU4 Ngoni Warriors from Northstar today, to build a larger nine base unit of 'more warlike' allies for the Generic Villagers army. I have an identical set of figures, filled out with some old Black Tree Designs Zulus, so this pack will supplement it with an additional three bases. I put together a test base a while ago which shows how the two ranges mix quite well. I was a bit concerned that the skirmisher heavy villagers wouldn't have any roughty, toughty back up, so nine bases of warriors will be much better than just a measly six. I can also break it down into two units of four or five for added flexibility l. This unit represent Ngoni mercenaries from one of the neighbouring tribal people of what is now Western Tanzania. 

Come and Have a Go if you think you're Lard Enough 2027

I've offered to run a game or two of Algernon Pulls It Off! at the local Lard Day in January next year,  so will dig out Digger Dogfight from the Jasta 18 collection, as it's a tried and tested scenario with a time limit. I've run Bag the Hun games at three previous Cone and Have a Go days, so know how things work and what should be feasible in the time available for four to six  players. 

Sabotag3d Sopwith Cameks

Sabotag3d Albatros DVa

To jazz it up a bit, I'll paint up some 1/300th scale aircraft, rather than using 1/600th scale models, and may well invest in a new, full colour mouse mat hex cloth as my tatty old blue fleece one really has seen better days. The aircraft record sheets and card deck will also get a polish, perhaps with the help of AI if I can find a suitable but of software. Time to Bung on a Blue!

Balloon Busting in Algy Flies Down Under

Capt.Ross Smith / Lt. 'Pard' Mustard

Vfw.Gustav Schniedewind 

A bonus scenario for the Algy Flies Down Under article includes some balloon busting by Albatros DVa pilots of Jasta 1F over the West Bank of the River Jordan in early May 1918.

Two balloons were claimed by two different pilots at this time but the exact location and details are sketchy. As the main activity at the time was the successful withdrawal from a raid over the Jordan by British and ANZAC forces, I've located the action there, just after the retreat across the river had been completed.

To make things interesting I'm going to throw in a pair of Australian Brisfits to intercept the raiders, although there's no historical evidence to back this up.  I'm still working out the crews for these but Capt. Smith / Lt. 'Pard' Mustard and Lt.Tonkin / Lt. Camm are likely contenders, as they were in action at the time, clashing with three Albatros scouts a few days earlier.

The Jasta 1F pilots were Vfw.Georg Weiner and Vfw.Gustav Schniedewind, the latter an experienced Western Front veteran and seven victory ace who was actually shot down by Lt.Paul and his observer Lt.Weir on the 23rd May, surviving the crash with serious wounds.

Tally Ho!