Boxer Rising-The Imperialist Powers

 

Old Glory Russian Dragoons and Cossacks above and below. These are the Ussuri Regiment. Ussuri started off as Cossacks and transformed to Dragoons. Here we have both incarnations. The Ussuri Cossacks are two men light. Did I ever have them? Don't know. Can I find them? Not so far. I need to find a solution.

Obviously, if you know TMWWBK that is, these will be rated as Regular Cavalry and Irregular Cavalry with Modern Carbine respectively. The latter for variety.

Russian Sailors. I'm fielding these as Irregulars with Modern Rifles. Once again I'm missing a figure. This time it is the Russian Officer. I'm using the Campaign Dress excuse by way of justification.

Western Regular Infantry and good quality at that. Italian Bersiglieri who will be Regulars, Modern Rifle and Veteran. Expensive in TMWWBK but formidable.

Russian Regular Infantry, these ones are from Blue Moon. Bigger than the OG ones but workably so.

German Regular Infantry from OG. The Chinese building in the background is a work in progress. 

Many more to come. Including a couple of units from Frontier miniatures. These I bought with some Falcon Imperial Chinese for the Tai Ping Wars. My main reason for the purchase. The "Falcons" are incredibly difficult to find and long out of production.

You might have noticed I've forgone the usual historical context. I will get to it. I like to aim for an objective view and in this case it was eluding me. Inspiration came in the form of a cup of tea. Appropriately enough. That's for another time. Then we will see the rest of my Western Troops. That's a clue. I don't own any Japanese. Yet.

If I had some Japanese I could do the Russo-Japanese War in big skirmish/small battle. Maybe.

Back To China

 

Above Imperial Guardsmen old style. From Old Glory 15mm. As is everything else you will see today.

Long ago I had a big box of Boxers. China don’t you know, and the Century of Shame. I didn’t do much with them. Mainly because I didn’t know if I was big battles or recreating 55 Days in Peking.  I did a fair bit of painting and that was it. An abandoned project.

TMWWBK has worked its magic. Behold the Kansu Braves. Originally raised as a provincial unit the Kansu lads were formidable. That was not unusual in China. Provincial troops often proved to have the edge over the centrally raised professionals. Often this was because they were defending their home province. Better motivation at a guess. Less prone to the vices of the Big City too.

Anyhow, the Kansu, mainly Moslem, were used to supress a Moslem Rebellion. Then they were called to the Capital to shore up the Dowager Empress. Once there they were enlisted into the Rear Guard of the Imperial Army. This meant pay, rations, training and Mauser rifles. 

European sources often called the Kansu Irregulars. Possibly because they didn’t know about their absorption into the Regular Army or maybe because they were newly arrived to Beijing.

How to rate them for TMWWBK? I’m going for Irregulars with modern rifles. if you have a better idea let me know.

Another Imperial unit here. Old style once more. I'm not sure how these fellows were armed. The actual figures have modern rifles but surely that is not the decider. If you happen to know do let me know.

Two of the new Imperial units here. These troops were Western trained and equipped, well motivated too. As you can see by the basing they are Regulars who can form close order and volley.

That's it for the moment. There will be more. Jingals and Tiger Men.  Mongols too. 

Falcon Dayaks and Malays 15mm Complete

 

Yes, they are indeed Falcon 15mm. I found the original listings. The actual codes elude me as the descriptions are a tad generic. Warrior with spear sort of thing. I have two types of those. On to my best guesses.

Dayaks with spear and shield.

My previous post explains how I made the shields.

 

Dayaks awaiting shields.

 

Dayaks with parang and shield.

 

Malays with Kriss.

The fancier dressed leader figures in some of the units you see are Minifigs Indians.

Blowpipes, Grumpy 15mm in the mix.

 

Two units

 

Another pic' of the Rajah and his musket men. The Raja and pals are from Grumpy.  The musket men are from Falcon.

 

I'm pleased to have these and eventually they will star in "Flashman's Lady" type games. I need to work the stat's first. Of course Falcon figures are a rarity these days. I bought them from Colonel Bill's for a reasonable price. It is always worth keeping an eye on what he has in stock. Good stuff just seems to turn up there.

 

I Have Malays and Dayaks in 15mm

 

You don't often see 15mm Malays and Dayaks. So, despite the poor lighting I thought you might like to see these. 

I don’t really know who made these. Maybe Frontier or some other long vanished outfit. Falcon are a strong candidate. I say that because I have some Falcon Manchus and I can see a similarity. For the purpose of this post I'm going to call them Falcon.

Now, the question is what to do with them?  Initially, I thought TMWWBK and I still might try that. On reflection I’ll begin with Pike Mans Lament. It won’t matter as far as basing goes. Of course I could mix and match a hybrid system.

Before we get into that. Let’s think of the opposition. I’m minded towards a touch of Flashman’s Lady.  British Marines and Sailors then. Probably from Minifigs. I intend keeping that Force quite compact 24 Marines, 12 Sailors and a Ships Gun. 

Dayaks with blow pipes.  I have two types Falcon and Grumpy. The Grumpy ones are shooting.

These fascinating weapons blew a poisoned dart into the target. They were also used for hunting.  The poison induced paralysis. I’m going to field these in groups of 6 as high quality Skirmishers or Commanded Shot. Note the plug bayonet effect. Faced with close work the Dayaks liked to plug a blade into the barrel of their blow pipes.  Then they had a spear.

It might be fun to have blow pipes hits take effect in the next rather than current turn. That in turn raises the interesting question of what a unit does with living but paralysed comrades. Carry them and reduce firepower or leave them and reduce morale.  As I write this I can feel the influence of Yellow Ribbon.

Let’s consider skin colour here. I have used Oriental Flesh from Coat d’arms and given it a light wash of nut brown. It looks quite light complected. I’m happy enough with the result as jungle dwelling Dayaks don’t see as much sun as you might think.  Sea going pirates would be another matter. I should say the figure on the left is an Irregular Miniatures African.

On to the spearmen. These look dandy, one pose of course. That's how it was back then.  What they need is the typical Dayak shield.  Quite, but where from? I had a Dayak dilemma. See what you think of this. 

Not bad I think. What I did was take images of actual Dayak shields.  I reduced them and then printed them out two images side by side. Then I cut them out, folded and glued both sides together with PVA White Glue. Once dried they were glued to the Dayak.

The bases you see here are unfinished. I want them to look Jungley.  As yet I know very little of what jungle ground looks like. We will be seeing the complete Malay Dayak array shortly.  I'm working on rating them according to Mr Mersey.

The British Sailors and Marines will take a bit longer. I find uniformed troops mostly do.

An Afghan Field Force- TMWWBK 15mm

 

Last week I mentioned I had found an Afghan Force for TMWWBK.  I must have bought it when the Rules came out.  The contents are interesting, eclectic even.  You see them below. Above mounted Jezails from Irregular. The officer is a Hadji with the tell tale dyed red beard.

I'm aiming for the requisite 24 points.  There are a couple of period paintings too that you may find interesting.

A “Company” of Afghan Army Regulars. I’ve given them red coats. British Army surplus was popular and redcoats especially so.  As you see the uniform is limited to coat and hat. This was not unusual. The figures are from Irregular Miniatures. Note they have the tell tale square Regular bases.

The unit cost 5 points, as they have Obsolete Rifles. Actually, I'm not sure that they used Obsolete Rifles. I am sure that the Regular Infantry style of fighting was not part of Afghan military culture. Obsolete Rifles acts a cypher reflecting that they are doing something new.

All the same they can form Close Order and Volley. A good reason to add another "Company".  I've given these lads Blue facings by way of variety. The Afghan Regulars seem to have reserved their red coats for parades and fighting. While in Barracks or on the march they wore every day clothes.

 

A gun and crew, Afghan Regulars and from Irregular. I really like these fellows. Cost 6 points or 4 if you want some tribal warriors.

 

Irregular Infantry (mounted).  The typical Afghan Jezailchi, mobile Sharp Shooters. I looked up period paintings to get the look right on these lads.  An expensive unit at 8 points.

That's it for 24 points. A challenging opponent I think.

For a more traditional Afghan Field Force consider this. A unit of 16 Fierce Ghazis would cost 4 points. A less motivated unit of Tribal Warriors would cost 3 points.  They are still pretty tough and there are a lot of them at 16 figures a unit. 

I can do both with a mixture of Minifigs and Irregular. They will need painting of course.

That's it and to keep to the required 24 points we have to reduce quality. All the same as a Field Force it has some interesting points.  Not too bad for fire power and with a powerful attack ability.

By way of general interest.  I read recently that the trousers issued to the Afghan Regular Infantry were very short in the leg. So short that straps had to be sewn on (presumably the strap went under the foot) to drag them down to maximise length. I don’t doubt the veracity of this. It is eye witness testimony with more than one witness. A bit of a puzzle to be sure.

What to make of it?  Afghan trouser style was full and long. These clearly were not.  Were they part of the British Army surplus purchase? A job lot in effect. If so had the “Bantam” effect already kicked in for the poor of British Society?

If you are not familiar with the issue here are two salient points that may help. 

Post the Boer War a Government inquiry took place into the physical condition of the British poor. That is where the bulk of soldiers came from. Their often stunted size was found to be the result of poor nutrition. This had military implications.

 A decade or so later in 1914 the British Army was recruiting “Bantam” regiments average size of recruit 5ft.  The Bantam is a fierce little chicken.

I’ve read that earlier in the C19th the British poor were shrinking in size but have never made the possible Afghan connection before. 

There is another possibility, these could have been Sepoy uniform trousers. Pre 1857 the Indians enlisting as Sepoys were mostly fine physical specimens. Well fed since childhood. They belonged to families whose hereditary profession was soldiering.

Post 1857 that changed. Although the recruitment of Sikhs helped compensate. Tall fellows. Though with skinny legs according to British Diaries. So that doesn't help.

Or was the trouser length just another example of the relentless and epoch defying march of crooked Army Contractors?  I don't know.

Beja galore next time.

it is timely to wish you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

TMWWBK British in 15mm

 

My British Collection for the Sudan is very nearly painted . Fortunately my uniform choice fits the infantry for the North West Frontier too. Here is the core of the Field Force.

If you squint a bit at the flag we can call them the Royal Irish who were in the Sudan.  

All from Peter Pig, 36 Regular Infantry, and very pleasing figures.

How about some support? 

Here we have a Gatling and a Gardner Gun. 

The gun crews are also from Peter Pig.

From the Lead Pile I exhumed some bags of Minifigs British Sailors. A little slighter than the Peter Pig figures but otherwise compatible.

  Here are another bunch from Peter Pig.

What with the Sailors, I thought I should paint some of the Regulars as Marines. 

They should not have puttees but I rationalised that they would improvise them. Sharp thorns, snakes and scorpions, in the Sudan you would want puttees. 

By way of variety I thought a unit of Bashi Bouzouks would add a splash of colour. These are intended to represent Mounted Irregular Infantry. With Obsolete Rifles and rated Unenthusiastic the unit costs 4 points. 

I have done the mixed mounted and foot Dan Mersey suggests. Peter Pig figures with all the strengths of that brand. These fellows are likely Circassians or Albanians.

I had hoped to add some Sikhs from Lancashire Games Archive range. Alas, I cannot. They are giants.  As are the Gurkhas I also bought. They would do well enough with Blue Moon I think. For this Collection they will not do. Oddly the Ansar foot from the same range will do.

You have seen my British Cavalry before but here they are again for the sake of completeness.

I do have a pair of Heliograph Teams, Peter Pig figures and Scenario friendly. Not only that, another smallish box of figures turned up. It produced a pair of Naval Brigade Gatlings and crews, another unit of British cavalry and one of River Arab spearmen. There are 4 Baggara riders but no horses! The horses must be somewhere. 

I really need to sort out what I have and sell what I no longer need.  Ebay now doesn't require a fee to sell. I could do that.

At this point I realised I could do 3 British Field Force variants. These will appear here eventually as British Columns 1, 2 and 3. 

Column 1, will comprise of two units of Regular Infantry, a unit of Regular Cavalry and a "crewed Weapon" in this case a Gardner Gun.

Column 2, will comprise of two units of Sailors and one of Marines and a Gatling. If I rate the sailors as Irregular infantry I might add a unit of Dinka/ Ethiopian Scouts or one of Bashi Bazouks. Or a half unit of each.

Column 3, will comprise of two units of Regular Cavalry, one of Bashi Bazouks as Mounted Infantry and a Gatling. 

I keep thinking about Hicks Pasha but really I mustn't go there. Some quite interesting units all the same. He wrote that his officers were a rum bunch and TMWWBK does that well. Hicks worked very hard to good effect and no ultimate avail.

In fact, a gun and crew, Bashi-Bazouks mounted and foot and a unit of Sudanese Regulars and one of Egyptian Regulars and I would be good to go. For Hicks that is.  That would require 6 new packs from Peter Pig.  Tempting.

And, that’s it for the moment. Fun to paint and the promise of entertaining games.

 

Sudan River Arabs-TMWWBK

 

TMWWBK gives us a suggested list for a Sudanese River Arab Force. As suggestions go it is a good one and it is where I began.  It is not where I ended up as you will see. I can in fact field a fair few variants of a a River Arab array. The reason being I found three units I had already painted and put away safely. Very safely, I'd forgotten them.

Here are the Baggara Cavalry.  They were a nomadic tribe with the usual attributes. Tough, fierce, predatory and self interested.  The Mahdi won them over, no easy task, and they fought hard for him.

The first unit here is from Essex. It is one of the foundlings. They are rated Tribal cavalry and could be upgraded as suits.

This one is from Peter Pig. I have another 3/4 done.

Now the Jihaddya Rifles who we have discussed before. I have three units, two from Peter Pig and one from Essex. They are rated as Irregular Infantry.  Contra the list, mine won't be poor shots. Essex above.

Peter Pig next.

Some camelry. They could be a half unit of mounted Irregular Infantry or serve in the cavalry. Figures from Essex. Nice enough I think.

Now for the hard hitters, Ansar Warriors.  Rated as Tribal Warriors and crying out for the Fierce and/or Veteran upgrades. Read the literature. I have three units. An Essex and Peter Pig mix first.

Decades ago I read that Ansar means Pure, it does not. Ansar means Helpers or Supporters.

Nice figures and look, the correct River Arab shield. I dislike the cast on flag. I have another such unit that looks pretty much the same.

 .

Above, something seldom seen. This unit mixes Peter Pig, Essex and Lancashire Games Archive figures. I'm greatly taken by the latter. 

When the Mahdi started out he maintained that fighting was to be done with sword and spear as in the days of the Prophet. All the same he carefully collected rifles and ammo captured from stricken foes. When his policy changed selected men of aptitude were given firearms. They seem to have the most impact in sieges where they certainly shot straight.

The Beja next on this project. I note people are now spelling it Bija.  How ever you spell it, it is apparently pronounced Beejah. Every day is a school day.