I will be giving a Herero War talk at the HMGS War College on Saturday at Historicon 2022, and I will be running Herero War and Nama War games on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
HMGS WAR COLLEGE LECTURE:
Impregnable Rock: The Herero Art of War
(German South West Africa)
Speaker: Roy Jones
Type of Talk: Historical
Period: Colonial
Location: Montgomery House - 3rd Floor
Time: Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Description: "The two rock groupings had been extraordinarily shrewdly developed into an almost impregnable defensive position": German official history, 1904. The Hereros were expert at constructing trenches and stone field works that were impervious to German artillery. Herero riflemen used fortifications both for defense and as a base for offensive tactics, charging out of their trenches against the Germans’ flanks. This seminar will focus on the Hereros’ use of field fortifications in the heat of battle.
Bio: Dr. Roy Jones has been researching and writing books and essays on German colonialism in Africa for more than fifteen years, focusing on early twentieth-century conflicts: the Herero War of 1904 and the Nama Wars of 1904-08. In 2014, Dr. Jones and his co-author Eric Alvarado released "The Herero War ", a historical scenario and rules book derived from original German sources: official histories, first-person accounts, and original maps. In 2015, Dr. Jones released the first essay to present and analyze German casualty rates - i.e., the percentage of the total force that was killed or wounded - for the individual Herero War battles. He is currently working on a follow-on rules and scenario book on the Nama Wars. Dr. Jones has won multiple 'Pour Encourager Les Autres' (PELA) Awards for his German colonial games. Roy Jones received his bachelor's degree in physics from Columbia University and his PhD in physics from Rutgers University. Dr. Jones has more than twenty-five years of experience in the development and validation of high-fidelity physics-based models and advanced sensors and signal analysis for defense. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.
HERERO WAR AND NAMA WAR GAMES
The Guns of Gochas (German South West Africa, 1905)
Historical Period: Colonial
Time: Thursday, 7 PM; Length: 4 hrs
No. of Players: 6
GM: Roy Jones
Sponsor: Recreational Conflict
Scale: 25mm
Rules: The Sword and the Flame (Modified)
Nama to right of them, Nama to left of them, Nama in front of them: the Germans are pinned down in a hellish Nama crossfire at Gochas. But the Kaiser's men soldier on, with their cannon racing alongside them. And soon the Nama riflemen face their own hell: cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, cannon in front of them. It's a battle of maneuver for German and Nama alike. From the forthcoming scenario book "The Nama Wars": https://www.hererowars.com/new-the- nama-wars-hendrik.html.
Otjosongombe: Leave no Man Behind! (German South West Africa, 1904)
Historical Period: Colonial
Time: Friday, 7 PM; Length: 4 hrs
No. of Players: 6
GM: Roy Jones
Sponsor: Recreational Conflict
Scale: 25mm
Rules: The Sword and the Flame (Modified)
Herero riflemen and assault forces occupy the deeply cut, dry riverbed of Otjosongombe Creek - a formidable, natural trench line! The Hereros' plan: decimate the German column, withdraw without being routed and leave no man behind. Because the Bastard Detachment will be hot on their heels, hungry for prisoners! From the scenario book "The Herero War". More at: https://www.hererowars.com.
Ambush at Gross-Barmen (German South West Africa, 1904)
Historical Period: Colonial
Time: Saturday, 7 PM; Length: 4 hrs
No. of Players: 6
GM: Roy Jones
Sponsor: Recreational Conflict
Scale: 25mm
Rules: The Sword and the Flame (Modified)
German sailors from a Naval Landing Party march through a narrow defile. The Hereros wait in ambush, hidden in the boulder-strewn hills above. The Hereros realize that the Sanitation Carriage contains more than just medical supplies - maybe cartridges! The Herero plan: shoot the oxen, shoot the sailors, take the Carriage! From the scenario book "The Herero War". More at www.hererowars.com.