Tanga, German East Africa - 1914

German OOBs and Scenario Notes

German Forces Objective: The objective is to prevent capture of the two town sectors, which includes the railway station.

German OOB

Set-up Instructions:

i) German forces set up in any of the town sectors or outskirts.

Scenario Rules:

i) 13th Rajputs and 61st King George's Own Pioneers were involved in fighting on the 3rd November. They were considered 'too shakey' for the assault on 4th November and were formed into a reserve force. For this scenario, these units should have Defend orders and may only change to Attack orders if they pass a morale test.

ii) The infantry stands of the 2nd Loyal North Lancashire Regiment fight as British Empire infantry with DEF 5 and AI 5. All other infantry stands operate as British Empire African Askari or Imperial Service infantry with DEF 5 and AI 4.

iii) British and German MG stands operate as British Empire MG 14 stands with DEF 5 and AI 4.

iv) The Indian Mountain Battery and the C73 Field Gun Battery have DEF 5 and AI 4. Both batteries may only be used in direct fire mode.

v) The naval 6" guns have DEF 5 and AI 9. Their fire must be allocated by a FO Stand operating on the shore. The stand must have LOS to the Battery and to the enemy target before a call-in can be attempted. A call-in will only be successful on a die roll of 6, reflecting the very limited effect of naval gunfire support in the historical battle.

vi) The British commander may choose to land the Indian Mountain Battery behind the A-A set-up line at any time. The Battery will remain out of action for 6 turns, representing the time taken to land the battery and ammunition. If the Battery is landed, the total number of fire missions is reduced to 5 (including all fire missions carried out while onboard the Bharata).

vii) The German commander must dice for the entry of the 15 Feldkompagnien and the C73 Field Gun Battery. One die is thrown for each unit at the beginning of the game. A die roll of 5 or 6 will permit entry of the unit from the left hand side of the table, travelling along the railway which may be counted as a road for movement purposes. If either or both units do not enter on turn 1, then a repeat die roll may be made for each unit on turn 7.

viii) The dense bush and plantations act as Cover for spotting purposes, and reduce all movement to 1/2 speed. The movement restriction reflects the nature of the bush and the effects of the climate on speed of movement in such terrain.

ix) Defenders in the outskirts on the south side of Tanga may only spot and fire from the edge. Movement within the outskirts is reduced to 1/2 speed. The outskirts can contain a maximum of 1 artillery and 2 infantry stands or 4 infantry/MG stands.

References:

1. "The Battle of Tanga" R Anderson. Tempus. ISBN 0 7524 2349 5.

2. "The Great War In Africa" B Farwell. Norton. ISBN 0 393 30564 3.

3. "Armies in East Africa" P Abbott. Osprey. ISBN 1 84176 489 2.

2. "British Campaigns in Africa and the Pacific 1914-1918" E Dane. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 6 0000 3323 0.