I will be giving a Nama War talk at the HMGS War College on Saturday at Historicon 2025, and I will be running Nama War games on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
HMGS WAR COLLEGE LECTURE:
Morenga's Private War: Fighting the Kaiser, 1904-07
Speaker: Roy Jones
Type of Talk: Historical
Period: Colonial
Location: Montgomery House
Time: Saturday, 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM
Description: “Morenga believed the moment had now arrived to crush the tiny [German] throng. More and more he reinforced his [Nama] left wing, so that the weak German [right] wing was shot at not only from the flank but also from the rear…now threatened a new, serious danger [to the Germans]." (German official history; the Battle of Aob, March 3, 1905). Jakob Morenga, a relatively well-off Nama leader (he had worked in the British mines of South Africa), was the child of a Herero mother and Nama father, and he commanded Nama and Herero troops. Morenga's battles with the Germans began in the summer of 1904 (thus predating the beginning of the Nama Wars proper in October), but his personal guerilla campaign against the Kaiser's troops merged with the larger Nama struggle in short order. Morenga was a skillful tactician and master of using deception to maneuver the Germans out of position, inflicting severe casualties on German forces. Defeating Morenga was a major objective for Germany, and he thus became the focus of special efforts. Morenga fought on for more than three years until his death in combat against a combined German-British force in September 1907.
This HGMS War College lecture is paired with the Thursday game "Seize or Die: Storm at Aob!" and the Friday Game "Gunfight at Narudas Gorge".
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 thirty 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.
NAMA WAR GAMES
Seize or Die: Storm at Aob! (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 rifle fire sweeps the battlefield of Aob, and German officers and men are cut down like grass. The Germans have only two choices: fix bayonets and seize the Nama-occupied trench on the ridge to their front, or die out in the open! And for the Nama riflemen facing the German bayonets, the choices: stand and fight defending their trench, or charge out to meet the enemy! The Germans have machine guns and cannon to back up their bayonets. But Jakob Morenga, the cunning Nama commander, has a few tricks up his sleeve. From the upcoming scenario book "The Nama Wars". More at: https://www.hererowars.com/new-the-nama-wars-hendrik.html.
This game is paired with the HMGS War College lecture: Morenga's Private War: Fighting the Kaiser, 1904-07.
Gunfight at Narudas Gorge (German South West Africa, 1905)
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)
Jakob Morenga leads a column of horse-mounted Nama troops racing south through the gorge at Narudas. The outnumbered German Fussabteilung (Foot Detachment) confronts Morenga and his men. The objective for both sides: the hill that dominates the right flank. The horse-mounted Nama are faster, but the German foot infantry have a head start: who will reach the top and seize the hill first? Meanwhile on the left flank, the German horsemen of the berittene Abteilung (Mounted Detachment) assault the outnumbered Nama foot troops of the Morris Brothers. How long can the Morris’ men hold the left flank? This gunfight at Narudas Gorge will be fierce! From the upcoming scenario book "The Nama Wars". More at: https://www.hererowars.com/new-the-nama-wars-hendrik.html.
This game is paired with the HMGS War College lecture: Morenga's Private War: Fighting the Kaiser, 1904-07.
Battle at Hartebeestmund (German South West Africa, 1905)
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)
It's a trap! Nama riflemen in the heights of Hartebeestmund have been waiting for the Germans all along. And now the Germans have arrived on the valley below, trapped between the hills and the river. It's German Mausers, machine guns, and cannon against concealed Nama rifles and Nama guile, in a brutal fight at Hartebeestmund. Can the Germans defeat the Nama and escape the trap? Or will the Nama close the door and destroy their foe? Whether German or Nama, no one's coming out of this fight unscathed! From the upcoming scenario book "The Nama Wars". More at: https://www.hererowars.com/new-the-nama-wars-hendrik.html.