Ancient Egyptians vs WW1 Tank - a Frank Perry Inspiration.

 Yes, you read that correctly! There are two places I got this idea from. One was from a fellow 54mm scale wargamer who, long ago, made a whimsical remark that he would like to play a game where he had tanks against ancient Egyptians (or similar). Of course he never actually did it.

  The other was from reading a series of articles in early Plastic Warrior magazines that reminisced about the 1960s, 70s (and earlier, I think)wargames played by Frank Perry and friend Ken and Frank's young son, Ross. The invented world included countries at different levels of technology. (Frank wrote 'The First Book of Wargaming' and 'The second Book of Wargaming'.

  Admittedly, it was suggested to never include tanks and gas in mixed era wargaming, as tribal or ancient opponents could never stand against them. Except, apparently they did! An ancient Egyptian archer shot a helicopter pilot, causing a crash. The ancient Egyptian warriors piled on to a WW1 tank causing its occupants to suffocate!

 In reality there are some historical comparisons. When Mussolini sent his troops into Abyssinia they were equipped with tankettes. Many of the tribal warriors were armed with swords and shields. They still managed, on occasion, to trap tankettes and stick obstructions into the tank wheels and tracks rendering them vulnerable to being set alight. However, planes dropping poison gas on the Abyssinians were something the natives had no answer to.

BELOW: I used AI images to generate this image.

Next is the same image but showing warriors as toy soldiers. A.I can produce fantastic images although with some strange details such as the machineguns on the tank shooting at its own side.

I have stored this idea in my brain and will one day realize it in a wargame. In reality, ancient warriors who had never encountered modern weapons would be thoroughly demoralised. But there are limitations for more modern soldiers. If they materialised out of a time portal we would have to consider how much fuel and supplies they brought with them. If they have travelled from a more advanced country which exists in the same world what are the supply lines and is the force greatly outnumbered? Is another more advanced force advising and even equipping the ancient force? Are the ancients prepared?

  Even a much more advanced army is still composed of humans who can die like anyone else.

 If I was to set up a game like this I have a choice of German, French and British WW1 tanks. Of course I could also use WW2 or contemporary tanks but maybe that would be just too hard for the ancients. But then I have seen War of the World games where humans with Victorian or Edwardian era weapons were able to do some damage to the Martian tripods.

  If I wanted to be kinder to the ancient force I could give them magic and mummies! The former would be the equivalent of artillery. I wonder, could a catapult harm a WW1 tank?