First Sting
|
First Sting | |
 | |
| Publication: Coastal Fortress | |
| Location: Tanga, German East Africa | |
| Scenario Date: 04/11/1914 | |
| # of Turns: 5.5 | |
| # of Maps: 2 | |
| Maps Used: 40, 42 | |
| Attacker: British | |
| Defender: German | |
Conflict
Often referred to as 'The Battle of the Bees', the Battle of Tanga, an amphibious attack launched by British and Indian forces, established the burgeoning reputation of Colonel (later General) Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck by the manner in which he successfully beat off the British-led attempt to capture German East Africa.
Some 80km from the border of British East Africa, Tanga was sited on a high plateau in German East Africa, and was its busiest sea port as well as being the site of the crucial Usambara railway.
Already the subject of gunboat diplomacy resulting from a British warship on 17 August, Tanga had been spared from bombardment by an agreement extracted from the town's population to refrain from initiating local aggression.
However the British subsequently changed their minds and ordered General Aitken to capture the German colony via a landing at Tanga in November 1914; it was to be the first major action of the war in German East Africa.
Something of a fiasco from the start, Aitken's force of 8,000 insufficiently trained Indian reserves (from Indian Expeditionary Force 'B') were preceded by the inopportune arrival, on 2 November, of a British cruise, Fox, announcing the termination of the August agreement.
Source: Battle of Tanga
Versions History
- Scenario DH 1.1 on the Coastal Fortress website.
Victory Conditions
The British troops need to conquer most of the buildings on board 42. The scenario has some interesting rules to simulate 'the battle of the bees'. PTO Terrain is in effect (G.1).
Balance
Playtest scenario from the now defunct Coastal Fortress website.
Errata
- VC is determined at the end of the game.
- The British troops can setup on all whole hexes of Board 40.
Analysis
-
After Action Report
-
VASL Logs
- VASL setup file by ASL.NET: Local Download
Download
Original Link on Coastal Fortress no longer available. ASL.NET provides Local Download.
