Away from the Western Front is a two year project (2017-2019) funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, with additional grants from the British Institute for the Study of Iraq (Gertrude Bell Memorial) and the Centre for Hidden Histories. The project is being run by the ‘Away from the Western Front’, a registered charity.
https://awayfromthewesternfront.org/about-us/
Lots of information here on some unfamiliar aspects of WW1 from Africa to China, the Balkans, Gallipoli, Salonica and across the Middle East. Fascinating stories here. A WW1 Centenary website to watch for an alternative to the more familiar coverage of the Western Front.
Blogposted by Mark, Man of TIN, April.
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Published by 26soldiersoftin
Hello I'm Mark Mr MIN, Man of TIN. Based in S.W. Britain, I'm a lifelong collector of "tiny men" and old toy soldiers, whether tin, lead or childhood vintage 1960s and 1970s plastic figures.
I randomly collect all scales and periods and "imagi-nations" as well as lead civilians, farm and zoo animals. I enjoy the paint possibilities of cheap poundstore plastic figures as much as the patina of vintage metal figures.
Befuddled by the maths of complex boardgames and wargames, I prefer the small scale skirmish simplicity of very early Donald Featherstone rules.
To relax, I usually play solo games, often using hex boards. Gaming takes second place to making or convert my own gaming figures from polymer clay (Fimo), home-cast metal figures of many scales or plastic paint conversions. I also collect and game with vintage Peter Laing 15mm metal figures, wishing like many others that I had bought more in the 1980s ...
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Man of Tin blog 
These are the biggest ones but interesting that its ‘East Africa’ not ‘Africa’, thus apparently skipping the West and SouthWest Africa campaigns, and no mention of the Caucasus unless they will roll that into Mesopotamia since oil fields were part of it.
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I don’t see East Africa in that screenshot, just Africa?
That said, Tanganika is one of my special interests, and I am hoping to run a skirmish game set in the period for my club this year, with a small painted collection of Germans, Belgians and Askari.
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Jennifer
Sounds an interesting game scenario. East Africa is featured on this Away from the Western Front website in some detail so far with some good links to the Imperial War Museum phot archives. It gets more coverage than the other African WW1 aspects that Ross mentioned which appear neglected.
There are a fair number of (Eurocentric) books on the overall topic of “The Great War In Africa” as well as a uniform and history one – Ospreys Men At Arms 0n “Armies in East Africa 1914-18” – whilst there is another similar Combat format one on “Kings African Rifles vs. Schutztruppe Soldier”.
Random chance cards wiping out or disabling most of your Western troop numbers through disease would probably be relevant.
There was an attractive looking game I saw pictured at Salute 2018 this weekend, showing three aspects of one such a game including an amphibious landing party, the African Queen, naval action of gunboats ‘Mimi and Toutou go forth’ fame (after the popular book by Giles Foden). Well worth looking out – see Bob Cordery’s pics on Wargaming Miscellany and a list of other Salute photo blogs or video reviews from Battlegames Henry Hyde website.
The bush aspects sound like another version of Close Wars rules.
Donald Featherstone mentions the possibility of such an African campaign scenario when WW1 was not really covered by many gamers.
It is strange that the SW Africa Namibia conflict including its railroads are not mentioned. I have been looking at railways in SW Africa Namibia for future 15mm campaigns, with some vintage WW1 colonial Peter Laing figures to paint up, which will probably appear on my Sidetracked occasional blog soon as a change from Lawrence of Arabia blowing up desert trains.
Away from the Western Front is a website to watch anyway.
Best wishes Mark
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https://awayfromthewesternfront.org/projects/the-first-world-war-the-iranian-perspective/
Maybe over time – It will be interesting to see what aspects turn up on this website, especially local ones that are not just about British involvement.
Short mention of Caucusus and Dunsterforce
“As a further aspect of the First World War in Iran, Britain and its ally Russia set about major political changes in the country, effectively partitioning it so that Russia controlled the north and Britain the south.
The British established the South Persia Rifles, made up of locally-raised troops under British officers, to control tribes in the region. With the withdrawal of Russia after the 1917 revolution, Britain also became increasingly active in northern Persia, with a multinational ‘commando’ unit called Dunsterforce operating in the chaotic Caucasus region to frustrate Ottoman forces trying to invade the area.”
Interesting stories …
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