"sun helmets so North African types no good"

I have pictures of FFL and Bats d'Af in Morocco in sun helmets, and I made some
mule-mounted companies in sun helmets (mounted and on foot). While
accurate--and they'd work for Dahomey--people think of FFL in the kepi blanc and
they're not terribly popular.

The Senegalese did good service in Dahomey--due in part to their resistance to
disease. Well, duh! They're locals.

Al



Nick Gornall wrote:
> Hi K.C.,
>
> Progressing well thanks, painting in fits and starts due to other
> commitments. Basing my figures for Principles of War with a unit being
> a French company (around 120 bodies)or a Dahomean "Regiment" (about 400
> firearm troops for the regular army or 1000 spears, etc for the levies).
>
> French are fine- I have Dixon & Red Flag (defunct) FFL & Marine- sun
> helmets so North African types no good- plus Dixon and Askari
> Senegallese, Askari artillery and Castaway Sudanese Spahis. The
> supplies were portered so I have assorted half-dressed natives with
> boxes, etc from various makers. All I need to do is make an MG-armed
> gunboat- unfortunately, no French naval brigade in this war.
>
> Yes, the Dahomeans are the problem. The army was uniformed and had been
> totally re-armed with newer firearms. The majority are Dixons
> especially the Amazons but with a lot of Foundry askari/slavers types-
> you are looking for blokes with a gun in shirts and shorts/skirts; the
> village levy/freed slaves are the biggest pain. Now you are wanting a
> few guns, perhaps a third, mostly the old junk passed on by the
> regulars, with the rest armed with spears, clubs, bows, crossbows, etc;
> however, they aren't like the east or central african tribes with lots
> of feathered headdresses and oval zulu-esque shields- Dahomeans wore
> mostly caps, headscarves and pillbox like hats and carried small square
> or rectangular shields (I made most of these from card in the end);
> although I have included the odd few more exotics, such as
> Copplestone's Ngoni naked female archers in the slaves. I forget who,
> might be Castaway, who do Ashantis, a few of those might mix in as well.
>
> I have written my own campaign rules to cover the appalling terrain,
> supply problems and sickness that play a major part in the war (the
> entire Marine company was invalided out by halfway through the war).
>
> You are right to think about the terrain- the first half of the route
> to the Dahomean capital was along jungle trails by the river; most
> actions should have the river (plus gunboat) as one table edge with the
> rest of the table as typical west african rainforest ie,close jungle,
> plus lots of brush-choked streams running across the path into the
> river. This means lots of terrain that just gets in the way so I was
> thinking of leaving everywhere blank except where the French are
> hacking along, when you mark the immediately adjacent landscape- as
> they move, so more is revealed and placed on table, like a curtain.
>
> Once the column reached the uplands they had to leave the river behind
> to cross rolling countryside of 6 foot elephant grass and extensive
> belts of forest; treat it like the jungle for LOS, etc. Into this mix
> the odd village in a small clearing and the extensive earthworks the
> Dahomeans threw up across the trail and you are sorted!
>
> Sorry for the long post; get carried away sometimes.......
>
> Nick
>
> --- In ColonialWars@yahoogroups.com, "K.C. L'Roy" <kelroy.was.here@...>
> wrote:
>
>> --- In ColonialWars@yahoogroups.com, "Nick Gornall" <ngornall@> wrote:
>>
>>> Oddly enough I looked up the article in WI just last year while
>>> deciding which box of figures to dig out of the garage and start
>>> working on- sorry, but the French in Dahomey won!
>>>
>> How far along are you with this project? I was intending to join the
>> Foreign Legion for service in North Africa, but I feel a detour to
>> West Africa calling me first. (Strange, the vagaries of my moods.)
>> Does anyone manufacture Dahomey-ans other than Dixon? I'd be
>> interested in seeing your terrain for a typical game.
>>
>> K.C.
>>
>>
>
>
>
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--
Alfred C. Maurer
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719 330-4284 C
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