Since Christmas I have mostly been......preparing for the Battle of Tanga. This Easter break we had a crack at this 'If the Lord Spares Us' scenario from the Too Fat Lardies 2007 Summer Special.
On 3rd November 1914, Indian Expeditionary Force 'B' is attempting to start its conquest of German East Africa by capturing the port town of Tanga on the Indian Ocean coast. Brigadier Tighe (Eton), despite not having all his covering force disembarked, has been ordered to take the town with the troops available, the 13th Rajputs (Havildar Heroes – SR2) and two companies of the 61st King George's Own Pioneers (Skittish Sepoys - SR3), who should be assembling an ordnance park, not going into battle. Both battalions had been issued a machine gun aboard their transports.
Attempting the defence of the town are the askaris of 17th Feldkompanie (Kaiser Bills – SR0) with a machine gun under Hauptmann Adler, desperate for reinforcements.
(Photo1) Tanga viewed from the NW from the ocean. On the left is the German Hospital (tiled roof), to the right the 'Boma' colonial offices (white building).
(Photo2) Tanga viewed from the NE and the roads leading from the Ras Kasone headland where IEF B landed. This would be the British direction of approach.
To be continued.
Very impressive lay out!
Terry
(Photo3) Tanga viewed from the W. The town's European quarter sits within the arc of the railway line, with the native quarter to the south.
(Photo4) The area of the Customs House and the railway cutting beyond. This would be the German defence line.
To be continued.
+1 Martin......looks very impressive indeed.
Must be time for Brigadier Bowler's 26th (Mixed) Brigade to have another tangle soon......
I just googled "tanga". :o
What I was trying to clarify is ... is it Day 1 of the Battle of Tanga, or Day 1 of the refight of the Battle of Tanga?
Great layout, though.
Fsn
The scenario is for the initial attempt (3rd Nov 14) to take Tanga, so yes day one of the battle. The actual game lasted about 6 hours.
Mart
(Photo5) Adler created a defence line under three Blinds, one for his 17thFK with outlying patrols (dummy blinds).
(Photo6) 17thFK took the opportunity to deploy early in the railway cutting and reserved its dice awaiting the advance of the 'sepoy soldiers'.
To be continued.
(Photo7) Expecting and eager for a fight, Tighe kept his advance off the roads. His men slogged through the 'bad going' of the plantations, forming a broad line from the hospital compound to the far dense bush, effectively challenging the Germans to take a pick at spotting.
(Photo8) Easily spotted were a dummy blind and the Pioneers checking the hospital. Even though alarmed at the enemy taking up firing position in the upper windows, 17thFK respected their own hospital's status and didn't open fire.
To be continued.
:-bd =D> :-bd =D> :-bd
Very impressive terrain, looking forward to seeing how this turns out
(Photo9) Tighe had anticipated the German defence in the railway cutting and wanted to conduct a flanking move. He was prepared to gamble with the enemy blind to his left front and ordered the Rajputs to attack the huts. After deploying their machine gun on the cemetery hillock, the German patrol was quickly dispersed, but this brought them under the arc of the German machine gun in the cutting which let rip. The 'soft cover' of the crops enable the Rajputs to get away with suppression on the lead company, but what came next startled them. An attack of killer bees, suppressing all of them! (Card activated, randomly located event. We took turns throwing a cotton ball over our shoulders onto the table!) The disturbance of battle would continue to create swarms of the bloody things!
(Photo10) The Rajputs were then ordered to attack the native quarter and spurred on by the bee stings, raced across the open ground. 17thFK were in danger of being outflanked, but the askari riflemen did manage to take out the Rajput's machine gun with some well aimed fire.
To be continued.
(Photo11) However, all that time cramped-up aboard ship must have taken its toll on the Rajputs and their sprint came to a 'hesitant' stop. This allowed Adler time to re-deploy his machine gun to the end of the cutting with a perfect enfilade shot on the enemy lead company. They must have rushed their set up for they disappointingly inflicted only one kill and some suppression.
(Photo12) Even though the bees followed them (apparently, I can throw cotton wool better then dice!) some of the Rajputs returned fire on the machine gun. To Adler's relief, 16thFK (Loyal Askaris – SR1) under Leutnant von Brandis had conducted a forced march (four turns of the Blank Card) from Amboni and had arrived in the town.
To be continued.
I was about to say "look out for the bees nests" and hey presto they appear ;)
Looks like a great game.
Got a couple of days off work so I am updating one of my 1914 ITLSU scenarios to play once Roy gets the table cloth back after Cheriton (and the current desert game on his table is concluded).
That's quite the board set up!
That's a superb layout !! :-bd
Top notch, that man !
Cheers - Phil.
Wow
What a stunning looking table 8)!!!
That is a really good looking table, all the parts blend together very nicely.
Great looking game, but unfortunately a set of rules I could just not get my head around.
(Photo13) In the hospital the Pioneers were ordered to engage 17thFK in the cutting (the British player was censured for ungentlemanly conduct!) starting an exchange of fire, which the Pioneers, getting used to their machine gun, began to get the upper-hand.
(Photo14) The Rajputs regained their breath and forced the German machine gun to retire through suppression, despite Adler's best efforts. They broke into the native quarter and the town sector around the railway workshops. From here they caught the machine gunners in the street and cut them down.
To be continued.
(Photo15) Fire from the hospital eventually inflicted enough suppression on 17thFK, that Adler had his hands full trying to stem their retreat back through three sectors of the European quarter. Fortunately, von Brandis was able to deploy 16thFK in the sector in front of them towards the enemy.
(Photo16) The Rajputs took firm control of the native quarter.
To be continued.
(Photo17) The fifth turn of the Blank Card provided unexpected reinforcements for Tighe. The 2nd Loyal North Lancashires (Jolly Good Fellows – SR0) appeared on the Hospital Road under a Blind. Tighe ordered them to advance on and commence to clear the town. They quickly crossed the railway and deployed, enabling a two-company attack on 16thFK, with two companies in reserve.
(Photo18) Surprisingly, von Brandis' askaris repulsed this assault after three rounds of 'close combat' with kills to both sides. This forced the two attacking companies to retire to the railway. This provided no respite, for the Lancashire's machine gun and the Rajputs immediately opened fire, inflicting an alarming level of suppression.
To be continued.
(Photo19) Tighe was anticipating success and was determined to be able to influence the action through the town. He moved his HQ from the cemetery hillock to the cutting and prepared his signallers to move further forward. Signaller Jones carrying all his wire and heavy paraphernalia in the stinking heat and the bees, wished he was somewhere else....like Egypt! The Pioneers were also ordered towards the town.
(Photo20) Receiving further fire, von Brandis was killed and what remained of 16thFK ran for it past the Boma, and would exit the battle area. This meant the remaining half of Adler's askaris were again the only German troops.
To be continued.
Just superb, thank you. 8)
(Photo21) Knowing that any further reinforcements would require room to deploy within the town, Adler opted to move forward with his rallied company. A reserve company of Lancashires was pushed forward into 'close combat' to resume their battalion's attack.
(Photo22) Again the askaris proved adept in urban fighting and defeated this second assault despite the British superiority in numbers.
To be continued.
(Photo23) Tighe remained confident in his 'bite and hold' tactics and in order to provide as much fire support as possible, he ordered the Pioneers to occupy the Customs House and engage.
(Photo24) 17thFK fell victim to the volume of enemy fire and were wiped out. As the sole survivor, Adler retreated before the unstoppable British advance through the town.
To be continued.
(Photo25) As the Rajputs followed up and secured the railway station, Adler reported the loss of the town to Oberstleutnant von Lettow-Vorbeck (Prussian) who had arrived along the railway line with Abteilung Merensky, having moved down from the Kilimanjaro area by train.
(Photo26) Von Lettow-Vorbeck was most displeased! He was too late! (Having arrived on the tenth turn of the Blank Card, I forgot to put the German Blinds Card in the deck!) He believed the British now occupied Tanga in too much strength. Not wishing to throw away the lives of men in 6thFK and 6th Schutzenkompanie, he chose to withdraw to fight another day.
The End
Well that was a better result for the British wasn't it! They captured Tanga in 13 turns (6 hours of game time). Empire losses were 220 men (11 figs) and an MG, whilst the Germans lost nearly two complete FKs (17 figs) with an MG.
Lesson learnt: Don't assault town sectors, just use firepower.
Thank you for your comments. Much appreciated.
Leman – Yes, on first reading ITLSU may appear difficult or a different approach perhaps, but I persevered. I like TFL rules. Having been a purely Napoleonic and WW2 gamer, I never thought I would consider the Great War, but using ITLSU with Pendraken figures for the 'forgotten fronts' has become a firm favourite over the last two or three years.
Regards
Mart
Great game, thanks for sharing!
A great write up and a utterly stunning set up! Well done Sir. =D>
:-bd =D> :-bd =D> :-bd
Thanks for sharing a great game Mart
Quote from: Martin1914 on 24 April 2019, 09:17:54 PM
Leman – Yes, on first reading ITLSU may appear difficult or a different approach perhaps, but I persevered. I like TFL rules. Having been a purely Napoleonic and WW2 gamer, I never thought I would consider the Great War, but using ITLSU with Pendraken figures for the 'forgotten fronts' has become a firm favourite over the last two or three years.
We had a similar experience, ITLSU definitely are initially difficult and different but have made the Great War in France/Belgium 1914 and Palestine firm favourites
Great game and report - loved reading it. Glad you like ITLSU, we find them a very good set of rules.
Quote from: Martin1914 on 24 April 2019, 09:17:54 PM
Von Lettow-Vorbeck was most displeased! He was too late! (Having arrived on the tenth turn of the Blank Card, I forgot to put the German Blinds Card in the deck!) He believed the British now occupied Tanga in too much strength. Not wishing to throw away the lives of men in 6thFK and 6th Schutzenkompanie, he chose to withdraw to fight another day.
Von Lettow-Vorbeck was very prudent in husbanding his limited resources. He went on to lead the Allies on a merry dance round Africa till 14 November 1918 when he learnt the war was over. In March 1919 he and his men returned to a hero's welcome in Berlin.