NAVAL BRIGADES in In The Heart of Africa

by Chris Peers
I had always envisaged "In The Heart Of Africa" as being mainly concerned with exploring expeditions rather than proper colonial forces, but naval landing parties were frequently involved in small scale operations even before the era of colonial occupation began, and we had already covered their traditional enemies - notably the Zanzibaris and other slaving types, the Native Warlords, and now the Somalis. During the 19th century, of course, the navy which was most in evidence on the coasts of Africa - and everywhere else in the world - was the British. The Royal Navy's campaign against the slave trade on both the east and west coasts involved it in countless small boarding actions offshore, and landing parties were regularly despatched to eliminate the bases of slavers or pirates, to protect European traders, or to avenge attacks on them. Naval personnel also manned small gunboats on inland waterways such as Lake Nyasa. With the establishment of British rule in what was to become Kenya in the 1890s, naval brigades took on a more ambitious role, playing a major part in the suppression of Swahili resistance along the coast. In the 1870s the Royal Navy had also maintained a presence at the mouth of the Congo, where local pirates were in the habit of boarding trading vessels which ran aground on the sandbanks. On numerous occasions landing parties were sent a short way upriver to burn the perpetrators' villages, although the malarial climate and the dense forested terrain made large-scale operations very difficult. The French navy was also involved in similar operations on the west coast. In fact until the late 1880s some areas, such as Gabon, were officially under the control of the navy, and skirmishes were often fought there against the chiefs who tried to prevent traders penetrating up the Ogoowe River. The German navy played an important part in the Abushiri War in Tanganyika in 1888 - 90, when its sailors and marines garrisoned the strategic towns along the coast. They were heavily engaged in street fighting in places like Bagamoyo, Pangani, Kilwa and Lindi, as well as on expeditions inland, in co-operation with other colonial forces. But although most landing parties will undoubtedly be British, French or German, this list could also represent other colonial powers which theoretically possessed the capability to intervene, even if in reality they made less use of their naval forces in Africa. These might be Portuguese or Italians, for example, or even complete outsiders like the Americans, who had once had a strong interest in Zanzibar, and could certainly have got involved again during this period if they had wanted to. The nearest that two rival naval forces came to outright war was probably between the British and the Portuguese on the Zambezi c. 1890, but other "what if" scenarios would be quite plausible, such as the British and the Germans coming to blows over Witu in the same period.

Royal Naval Boarding Party SOME SAMPLE ORDERS OF BATTLE FOR NAVAL FORCES IN AFRICA The Congo Expedition, 1875
A sizeable British fleet was sent up the River Congo in August 1875 to avenge an attack on a merchant schooner by "river pirates". This force comprised: 7 ships: HMS Active (10 guns), Encounter (14), Spiteful (6), Merlin (4), Foam (4), Ariel (4) and Supply (2). 150 Marines were landed on the first day. The campaign lasted for 18 days altogether, with the Marines from the ships bearing the brunt of the fighting, although an unknown number of sailors were also landed.

The Bagamoyo Expedition, 1889

A German assault on the stronghold of the Arab Abushiri in May 1889 involved elements of Hermann von Wissmann's "Wissmanntruppe" as well as Admiral Deinhard's naval forces. Altogether, it consisted of: 200 German Marines and a small number of sailors, drawn from the cruisers Leipzig, Schwalbe, Sperber, Carola and Pfeil. 40 German Army NCOs deployed as sharpshooters (treat these as Regulars in the rules). 4 Companies of Sudanese askaris and 1 of Zulus, totalling about 500 men.

German Sailors at Bagamoyo

4 machine guns. 50 local askaris. 1,000 porters. 100 Nyamwezi irregulars and porters. 1 60mm mountain gun. 2 revolver cannon. 2 more companies of Sudanese and 30 Somali sailors were left behind to reinforce the garrison at Bagamoyo.

The Mwele Expedition, 1895

Rear-Admiral Rawson, in co-operation with General Mathews, the British commanding officer of the Zanzibar Army, was sent to capture Mwele, the stronghold of the Swahili rebel Mbarak, in August 1895. Their forces were composed as follows: 5 Cruisers: HMS St. George, Phoebe, Racoon, Barrosa and Blonde. 400 sailors and Marines from the ships. 60 Sudanese askaris. 50 local askaris. 1 7-pounder field gun. 1 rocket tube.

The Bulhar Expedition, 1890

The British gunboat "Ranger" landed a small force on the Somali coast to punish the Esa tribe, who had attacked the town of Bulhar. This involved: A "small naval brigade" and some Marines from HMS Ranger. Probably not more than about 40 of each. 2 Companies of the 17th Bombay Native Infantry.

2 Maxim guns. 80 "native sappers". 800 porters. Unlike most naval expeditions, which met with little serious resistance, this one very nearly came unstuck. The Somalis attacked its camp at night, broke into the "zeriba", and killed or wounded 20 men before being driven off. A preliminary reconnaissance had been made by 150 Sudanese, supported by some sailors and Marines from Racoon and Phoebe.

The Witu Expedition, 1890

In October 1890 a British naval expedition under Admiral Fremantle was sent against the Swahili town of Witu, a notorious nest of outlaws in the forest north of Mombasa. This force consisted of: 9 ships: HMS Boadicea, Cossack, Brisk, Turquoise, Kingfisher, Redbreast, Pigeon and Humber. Hired merchant vessels SS Juba and Somali. 700 sailors and Marines from the ships' companies.

The Wanga Expedition, 1896

This small expedition marched from Wanga on the East African Coast in February 1896 against another Swahili rebel, Aziz. It comprised: 2 gunboats: HMS Widgeon and Thrush. 40 sailors and Marines. An unknown number of "Indian troops". 2 rocket tubes.

100 Indian police in the employ of the British East Africa Company. 2 Maxim guns. 100 Zanzibari soldiers. 4 7-pounder field guns.

Royal Navy attacking Slaving Dhow, 1892 THE ARMY LIST

NAVAL LANDING PARTY (Aggression 4).
Standard Bearer (50 points) Regulars (28 points each) Soldiers (20 points each) Heavily-armed Askaris (12 points each) Askaris (6 points each) Artillery (50 points each) Machine Guns (50 points each) Gunboats (100 points each) 0-1 2-4 0-4 0-2 0-2 0-1 0-1 0-3 Notes: 1). This list cannot be used before 1875. It represents naval or marine forces operating within a short distance of their ships. It should therefore be employed with caution in a campaign, as such a large body of European troops could not realistically be maintained at the end of long overland supply lines. In practice most African opponents withdrew into the hinterland rather than engage in a standup fight against this sort of firepower, and your native players should be allowed to do the same without too serious penalties. Perhaps, when using the campaign rules, you should not allow this army to actually conquer native players like ordinary Colonial Expeditions do, but at least at first should make it collect "hongos" like the natives. This would represent the improvement of the commanding officer's career prospects as he inflicts increasing damage on the slavers and other hostiles. If its "hongos" fall below 3, the defeated force will be withdrawn by its government and its commander retired on half pay. After 1885, if they exceed 15 at any time, he has been appointed colonial governor of the country, and can now proceed to conquer it like a normal Colonial Expedition. 2). In a campaign a player using this list should add 20% to his permitted points total, like a Colonial Expedition, whatever his current total of "hongos". A native player who defeats a Naval Landing Party should take 2 hongos off it instead of the usual 1. 3). In the rules, White Men generally represent explorers and big-game hunters rather than serving officers, and so are not likely to be found

The commander of a Naval Landing Party may be a Disciplinarian, Eloquent, or an Organising Genius. Home terrain is not really applicable. If this force does find itself on the defensive, it should use the Home terrain of the army it is fighting, on the assumption that it has built a temporary camp in their territory and is defending that.

accompanying a landing party. However the force's C-in-C can be a White Man, complete with Gun bearer, at a cost of 40 points (plus an optional 20 for the Bearer). Alternatively, he may be classed as a Regular. 4). Regulars represent European sailors or Marines, or the occasional exceptional non-European unit such as the Sikhs in British service. Soldiers are other drilled regular troops such as Indians or Sudanese, and Askaris are local levies or the private armies of trading companies or friendly Sultans. Sailors and Marines should be in separate units, but may be fielded in any proportion. A force may consist entirely of Regulars, but most large scale naval operations also involved colonial army units and/or locally raised askaris, and players may find a few units of such cheaper cannon fodder useful. 5). The combined total of artillery pieces and machine guns cannot exceed 3, and no more than 2 of either type can be used. Machine guns cannot be used before 1885. In the 1880s they would normally be Nordenfelts or Gardners, replaced by Maxims later on. Rocket tubes, and German revolver cannon should be treated as ordinary field artillery. 6). Gunboats in "In The Heart Of Africa" are really intended to represent small improvised craft such as might be found on lakes and rivers inland, and not the heavily-armed naval vessels which sometimes appeared along the coast. A typical British gunboat, such as HMS Redbreast (805 tons), which in 1890 became the first armed British vessel on the Zambezi, carried 6 4-inch breechloaders, 2 3pounder quick-firers, 2 Nordenfelt machine guns, and a boat gun. For comparison, the German "Mowe" (848 tons), which took part in the

bombardment of Sadani in 1889, was armed with 5 5-inch guns and 5 37mm revolver cannon. If you really must deploy this sort of firepower, I suggest paying the points for 3 gunboats, but using just one model with 6 shots per turn instead of the usual 2. Its vulnerability is the same as a normal Gunboat, because of the navy's understandable reluctance to have such a valuable ship damaged. In this case you might get away with a model in a smaller scale than the figures (1/300 for example), to represent a ship lying some distance offshore. Alternatively, use one or more ordinary Gunboats to represent converted dhows or other trading vessels, or ships' boats fitted with boat guns. Special Rule: "Double Grog Ration! This rule applies to British sailors and Marines only. Before the game begins, the player may choose to issue a double ration of rum to all or none of his Regular units (there will be a mutiny if some get it while others don't!) This cannot be done during the game, and - needless to say - cannot be withdrawn once issued. Its effect is to add 1 to all hand-to-hand combat and morale dice scores made by these units during the game, but to deduct 1 from all their shooting dice. SOURCES: Orders of battle are from: W. L. Clowes, "The Royal Navy - a History", London, 1903. A. Becker, "Herrmann von Wissmann", Berlin, 1911. In The Heart Of Africa, is available from Copplestone Castings, at 6.99 plus postage. All miniatures form the new Copplestone Castings Return to Darkest Africa range.

British Sailors after capture of Mwele, 1895