Angus Konstam's Edinburgh Wargames
Darkest Africa
The Weisse Mann's Burden
In September 1998 Wargames Illustrated (WI 132) published a set of rules, written by Chris Peers. They were designed to accompany a new range of "Darkest Africa" figures, sculpted by Mark Copplestone and produced by Wargames Foundry. The set was (and still is) posted on the Foundry website. Then in October 2000 the Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company published an expanded version of Chris' rules, now called In the Heart of Africa. The period caught on (and even became something of an "in period" for a while), largely because of the great figures available, and a slew of follow-on articles written by Chris and others in the "anorack press".
When Mark left Foundry to start Copplestone Castings he continued to produce new and even better figures. By the time the 2nd edition of the rules came out in 2002 (along with a book of armies) the wargamer was spoilt for choice, although the period had already slipped in popularity a little, replaced first by Pirates, and then by "Warhamster".
I was slow to sign up for the African adventure, mainly because I was living in the Florida Keys at the time - a wargaming desert. When I arrived in Edinburgh I found that a handful of people played the period, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. My own foray into the Dark Continent began when I built up a German Schutztruppe force, designed to fight games set in German East Africa during the First World War.
After trying the standard Contemptible Little Armies set we decided that In the Heart of Africa - modified to suit WW1 was the way forward. My Germans were allowed "Ruga Ruga" musketeers as allies, and the British could also field Masai warriors. It was almost inevitable that these same figures would form the base for Colonial armies, and so began my expedition into the heart of Darkest Africa.
First, a little background. In 1884 Dr. Carl Peters (a sort of Germanic Cecil Rodes) persuaded several East African chieftains to accept German rather than Zanzibar Arab protection, and within two years the Germans claimed a swathe of territory from Lake Tanganyika to the Indian Ocean - roughly the area now formed by Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. From 1885-91 the administration of the colony was left in the hands of the Peters' DOAG (the Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft, or German East Africa Company.
However, Peters soon found that grabbing land was one thing, but ruling it was a different matter. Three major revolts took place against German rule: the Abushiri (Arab slaver) Rebellion (1888-90), the He-He War (1891-98), then the Maji Maji Revolt (1905-07). In 1891 the German government assumed control of the colony (which officially became German East Africa), and retained control until the First World War. After a spirited campaign against the British Empire, the Germans were forced to give up control of their colony in 1918.
As I already had the WW1 force, it didn't take much build up an earlier DOAG army, as I already had some of the figures. "Colonial" armies in Heart of Africa are usually tiny - the troops are incredibly expensive in points, compared to African forces. For example, a typical DOAG force would contain just 30 figures, plus baggage stands - compared to a typical He He force of around 100 figures! Clearly you don't want the Maxim gun to jam at the crucial moment!
I also built up a He He army to fight them, which looks rather splendid, and not a little ferocious. Meanwhile other guys in the club have their own armies - Masai, Belgian Explorers, Stanley's Expedition, Congo Warriors, and a few others still at the painting stage.
Although we haven't fought a battle between two African armies yet, a clash between the He He and the Masai is inevitable. Beyond that there's the whole range of usual games to play out - clashes between explorers and locals, gunboats exploring the Congo River, raids by Arab slavers ... we've got lots of options.
While this isn't designed as something to game regularly, its certainly a good period to include on the wargaming menu - offering something different every so often. it also lends itself to campaigns, and indeed Chris Peers offered up a simple campaign system way back in WI 132. Darkest Africa will keep us all amused for some time to come!
In the Heart of Africa playsheet
