The following is presented for those OTT fans which would like a sporting chance at the next replay of the Battle of Tanga. The Kings African Rifles was formed in the early 1900s as a means of bringing the different local forces of British East Africa under a central command. A common drill and uniform was adopted by the different units stationed in Kenya, Uganda, Zanzibar, and Northern Rhodesia, and by 1909 the 1st to 4th Battalions of the KAR had been formed. For financial reasons, the 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1911, though as an interesting aside the askaris were immediately recruited by the neighboring colony of German East Africa into the 13th and 14th Field Kompanies. The pragmatic Germans decided that there was no point in teaching these trained and experienced soldiers a new drill and commands, and so between 1911 and the outbreak of World War I these companies continued to use English for all commands, as well as their British Army drills and bugle calls for all formations. The KAR, like their German counterparts, tended to view the Company as the basic unit for fighting, and were organized accordingly. Their organization in July 1914 was as follows: 1st BATTALION, Kings African Rifles In Kenya: Troop Quality: VETERAN, Morale 10 Companies A, B, C, E, each with: 1 Command Stand 2 Infantry Stands 1/2 Machine Gun Stand* In Northern Rhodesia: Troop Quality: EXPERIENCED, Morale 9 Companies D, F, G, H each with: 1 Command Stand 2 Infantry Stands 1/2 Machine Gun Stand* 3rd BATTALION, Kings African Rifles In Northern Kenya: Troop Qualiry: VETERAN, Morale 10 Companies A, B, D, E, each with: 1 Command Stand 3 Infantry Stands 1 Machine Gun Stand Company F, with: 1 Command Stand (Camel) 3 Mounted Infantry Stands (Camel) 1 Machine Gun Stand (Camel) 4th BATTALION, Kings African Rifles Uganda and Zanzibar: Troop Quality EXPERIENCED, Morale 9 Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, each with: 1 Command Stand 3 Infantry Stands 1/2 Machine Gun Stand* In 1914 the KAR was involved in protected the northern border of Kenya from bandits and raiders operating out Somaliland, with the 3rd Battalion bearing the brunt of the conflict. The 1st Battalion used Northern Rhodesia and Nysaland as its recruiting grounds, and rotated its companies back and forth to Kenya. The companies serving there were considered on active service, and after two years there they returned home, while the other companies replaced them. The companies in Northern Rhodesia had just discharged those men whose enlistment was up, and had just started recruiting replacements when the war started. Interestingly enough, most of the discharged veterans returned to their companies once the news spread that the war had started. For machinegun stands, the 1/2MachineGun Stand* indicates that as each company usually (except for the 3rd Battalion), had access to but a single machine gun, to get a 1 die Machine Gun Stand in game terms you would need to have two KAR companies operating together. With the outbreak of the war, the British government initially made no effort to expand the KAR, relying instead on first the Indian Army, and then the South African Army to provide the troops to fight in German East Africa. In 1915 the four companies operating out of Northern Rhodesia were formed into a new 2nd Battalion, but little else was done. It was only in early 1916, when it became finally apparent that the German forces in East Africa were not going to give up, and that neither the Indian or South African troops were suited for "bush warfare", that any serious attempt was made to expand the KAR. (As a historical aside, the German troops serving East Africa did not surrender until November 13th, 1918, and then only after they were ordered to lay down their arms by the government in Berlin.) The old Battalions were transformed into Regiments, and by late 1916 the KAR mustered the following: 1st Regiment (Old 1st Battalion) 1 Battalion and Depot 2nd Regiment (New 2nd Battalion) 2 Battalions and Depot 3rd Regiment ( Half old 4th Battalion) 2 Battalions and Depot 4th Regiment (Half old 4th Battalion) 2 Battalions and Depot 5th Regiment (old 3rd Battalion) 1 Battalion, Mounted Company, Depot The new battalions were organized as follows: KAR BATTALION 1916-1918 Troop Quality: EXPERIENCED, Morale 9 BATTALION HEADQUARTERS, with; 1 Command Stand 1 MMG Stand (2 dice) 1 Engineer Stand 4 INFANTRY COMPANIES, each with; Command Stand 4 Infantry Stands The success of the program was soon apparent to the British government, and two additional Regiments were raised (from captured German askaris no less). and a Stokes 3" Mortar Stand (DS) was added to each battalion. The growth of the KAR can be best seen in the following: Battalions Per Regiment Regiment 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1st 1/2 1 1 3 4 2nd 1/2 1 2 3 4 3rd 1/2 1/2 2 3 4 4th 1/2 1/2 2 3 6 5th (Old 3rd) 1 1 1 2 1 6th - - - - 2 7th - - - - 1 Totals 3 4 8 14 22 I would suggest using the same firing characteristics for the KAR as for the German Field Kompanies in the Tanga scenario. The veteran KAR companies are allowed to "fire into the brown," that is shot at targets not visibility to them within 10". The main reason for rating the KAR as Experienced instead of Veteran is that while individual battalions were quite good, the dilution carried out by the expansion from 1916 on kept breaking up units before they had a chance to settle down as a combat unit. I would also suggest that the command stands of a KAR battalion not be allowed to regroup if lost. Unlike the Germans, who used native officers without any problem, the British based their expansion from 1916 on the concept that all command slots from platoon commander on up were to be held by white officers or NCO's. The problem with this idea was that they was a very inadequate system of said officers and NCO's who knew Africa and its people, with the result that command problems always existed- yet another reason why the KAR battalions had trouble shaking down in the field. Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Newsletter #5 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1991 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com