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.

 

Raw Generals and Green Soldiers-A Review

 

I first came across Padraig Lenihan's work decades ago when I bought a copy of his Catholic Confederates at War.  

I recall there was minor confusion at the time with some expecting a tome on Dixie. Lenihan's Confederates were of course the Armies of the Irish Confederation in the War of Three Kingdoms. No Emerald Guard or Louisiana Tigers then. 

I found Catholic Confederates at War interesting but something big was missing.  I still have my copy.  In Raw Generals and Green Soldiers he offers a retrospective explanation. Here we go:

" Thirty years ago, when I wrote Catholic Confederates at War, I was certain that class was the key to unlocking the meaning of the 1641 rising." 

He continues "Today I would give more weight to recent experience of official expropriation and to religion, a bitter grievance in itself, and a badge of convenience for other issues."

Quite so and who knew? Not to mention the ongoing destruction of the native legal and social structure. To put it plain Ireland was in the process of becoming an imperial colony and the majority of the Irish of all classes resolved to resist that outcome. We might call this context.

Enough of that then. To Raw Generals and Green Soldiers, which is rather good.

Should you want a handy volume to introduce you to the Confederate War this is it. While maintaining a national overview Lenihan gives us tasty chunks of local detail. The footnotes and bibliography bespeak of a serious endeavour.  They are also very useful should you wish to pursue the subject further.

Obviously this is a relatively slim volume compared to the hefty books of old.  There must have been hard choices for the author on what to include and exclude.  What he gives us is accessible and well written.

Not least of Raw Generals and Green Soldiers attractions are 8 colour plates. these are by Seán Ó Brógain and are very good indeed.  If you want to know how the soldiers of the Confederacy looked Seán shows you here. Think Trews not Breeches. 

Should you have wondered Khurasan Miniatures capture it best.  Even then you will have to press some Tyrone's War Irish Light Cavalry into the ranks to best represent the Irish cavalry. Not an ideal match but close. I'd like to think Peter Pig would do an Irish Lancer based on Seán's illustration.

There are black and white illustrations too. This sort of thing below is very good.

A useful book to have if you are interested in the period. Published by Helion and widely available as far as I can ascertain.

Next week we are back in the Sudan.

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.

Sudan Progress-TMWWBK

 

Things proceed apace. Mike Snook’s Book has arrived. I’ve not read it yet but I have paid attention to the pictures.  All very helpful.

I wanted to get my British infantry finished. The first “Company” above. It carries the Colours which makes the officer the Colonel or at least a Major.  I may have to paint him a bigger moustache. All Peter Pig and 12 figures in all.

 

Another 2 “Companies” each of 12 figures in the same uniform. My Sudan British Regular infantry are done. 

They are versatile too. This uniform will do for the North West Frontier as well.

I had thought of varying my British Companies, Marines, other regiments sort of thing. On balance I chose not to. By way of compensation I may add some Sikhs. That will depend very much on whether Lancashire Games Archive figures match well with Peter Pig. I will be reporting back on that.

A unit of Jihaddya Rifles next. These fellows are Sudanese  originally in Egyptian employ.  Everyone agrees that they were first rate soldiers. In fact, Dan Mersey gives them the same stat’s as British Regulars. Only when under regular command mind you.

All the same they remained formidable when fighting for the Mahdi. He inherited them when he defeated the Anglo-Egyptians. I’m fielding them as Irregular Infantry with an upgrade, not sure which one yet.

The point being they were well trained men who knew how to use and look after their rifles. As for motivation, swopping sides seemed not to bother them. Twelve figures per unit. I will run to 2 or 3 units of them.

It is a bit of a caution to find out this was still the age of the Slave Soldier. All very Mamluk and seemingly non the worse performing for that.

Still with firepower here is a Beja rifle unit. The Beja got loads of Remington rifles from their defeated foe. Ammunition too. They liked to mass skirmish effectively screening and shooting in the charges of the Beja warriors. I wonder if that tactic can be pulled off on the tabletop?

Depending when, we might rate these lads as poor shots. They didn’t know how to maintain their rifles and as time went on might be forced to use the wrong ammunition for want of supply.

Another Beja Warrior unit here. Peter Pig again.

I'm using different shades/colours on the Beja robe. That seems to be right.

I have much more on this project to come.  By way of more TMWWBK fun I have discovered an unpainted Afghan force long forgotten.

From The Deserts of Sudan 1-TMWWBK

 

Fresh from learning to love Lion Rampant v2. I turned my attention to The Men Who would Be Kings(TMWWBK).  Another Dan Mersey production. I’ve had a copy from the get go. I also have a bunch of Peter Pig figures for the Sudan. Badly painted because back then I was using ink wash for the first time. And getting it wrong.

Turning to the sample Army Lists I saw I could field the British one, A Beja variant and nearly the River Arabs. I was 3 cavalry short for them. I set about repainting the little fellows.

I think there is a knack to painting Peter Pig figures. They have a lot of detail. Getting that right is the difference to between a good result and a bland one. Fortunately I now have a lot of Peter Pig painting (SCW,RCW) experience to stand me in good stead.

I decided to paint the British infantry as two units (Companies?) of infantry and one of Marines. The cavalry were to be Hussars.

British uniforms in the Sudan were eclectic. Some in khaki, some in red coats, grey, blue/grey sometimes in the same unit. Add tea stained topis and what’s not to like? I wanted a pair of regimental flags and didn’t want to buy them. Online I found a pair of 19th Century Colours for the Enniskillen’s. That is what you will eventually see here. At this scale they suit any blue flag British regiment. 

The Royal Irish were in the Sudan we just need to squint a bit and it is their Colours we shall see.

 

For the Mahdi’s men I did some visual research. Skin tone varied a lot in the Sudan. Sometimes simply by region and sometimes because of a historical mixing of African and Arab peoples. I wanted to reflect this. 

The Mahdi (above) was a Sufi, a mystic strand of Islam that seeks spiritual enlightenment. He, I read last week, was Shia rather than Sunni as I had wrongly assumed. Sufi devotees can be found among both sets of Believers. 

Forgive me a digression. Another famous Sufi of the period was British soldier, explorer and diplomat Richard Burton. He practiced the Sufi way with enthusiasm. Should you want a good read the most recent Burton biography delivers in spades. 

Burton, is well known for his translation of the Perfumed Garden and the expedition to find the source of the Nile. There is much more to know about Burton. There is also a lot we will sadly never know. His wife burned his papers to "protect his reputation". End of digression.

Anything else on books? Yes, and directly on point. The Mahdi of Sudan by Fergus Nichol is informative drawing as it does on both  British and Mahdist sources. Well worth reading.

Basing made me ponder. Not so much the shape, squares for regular Infantry and round for everyone else. No, it was the terrain. I have settled on rocky sand as it makes the uniforms and Jibbas stand out nicely.

Here are the Beja who "broke a British Square” as Kipling noted. We might pause a moment and think of those men who waded, sword in hand, through a storm of bullets to accomplish that.  Brave barely covers it. 

It inspired Kipling's poem. He knew what Lee-Metford rifle bullets could do to human bodies. I often think that poem must have come back to him after his son died in the 1914-18 War. There firepower met firepower rather than swords and spears. Men fell like autumn leaves.

Here are some Baggara Cavalry. A British officer who saw them charge wrote "You never saw anything so stirring or so recklessly brave." Eventually I will have two units of them. 

As the Mahdi regime continued the characteristic Jibba became more highly decorated. The originals were patched by necessity rather than choice. Mine are sort of mid way.

In theory I only needed to buy a single pack of Mahdist cavalry and it was job done. Too easy by far.  

What about Beja camelry? Well yes, you have to have them,

Shouldn't the British have a gun? Of course they should.

Isn't Mike Snook's book reputed to be very good? Everyone says so. A must have for Sudan Gamers apparently.

In for a penny, in for pound then. I ordered the lot.  After all I had saved on the flags.

Much more on this project soon.

Perchance the Gardens of Japan have popped into your mind.  We might get there yet. I have some Samurai mostly painted.

League of Augsburg- Great Danes

 

My Danish collection began life as a contingent for the Williamite Army in Ireland.  Since then it has grown into its own.  I now have enough Danes to take the Swedes on in The Great Northern War. Above and below the first battalion of the Garden til Fods.

Below we see the second battalion Garden til Fods.  All flags by David at Not by Appointment. Figures mostly from Essex and Irregular.

Next, Regiment Fynske/Funen, figures from Irregular and Flag from David at Not by Appointment. 

One battalion of Fynske served with William in his Irish Campaign. These are they attired for that theatre according to Mr McNally in his Boyne book. The regiment appears to have had a range of attractive uniforms in our period. White on green seems best for Ireland.

Once more figures from Irregular and the flag is from David.  A winning combination I find. These boys have been hard at it. Only one Grenadier survives and the officers have lost their red coats.  Regiment Fynske had more than one battalion and as it happens I have another too.

This one carries the Colonel's and the regimental Colours and will be good for Continental engagements. The Flags are from Barry Hilton 28mm and shrunk to size.

Here are two often found in English or Dutch Service.  First the Sjællandske Infantry Regiment.  I have used light blue facings, others prefer a mid blue.

The Prinz George Infantry in grey and red.

Flags from Mr Hilton, scanned and reduced.  The Danes had given up the pike in favour of added fire power. Consider that the Swedish Army often fielded forces with a plurality or even a majority of hard charging horsemen.

The Danes didn't take any artillery to Ireland.  They do need some if they are going to fight the Swedes.  

Two pieces here from Irregular. The violet and green uniform was hard to resist.  Below the Danish Grenadier Regiment created in the early 1700s.

All from Dixon who seemed the best match for the cap and with a flag from David.  A striking colour combination.

Below we have the 1st Squadron of the 3rd Jyske Cavalry. I'm not sure who made that flag.

Here you see the 1st and second squadrons of 2nd Sjællandske Cavalry. 

David of Not By Appointment blog provided the flags.  

Just the ticket, thank you David. 

I recently came across a definitive answer to the Danish cuirass question.  Not in Ireland and no buff coats when in Foreign Service. Yes to both when at home.  My source, a post from the late, and much missed, Dan Schorr on the League of Augsburg's Fighting Talk.

Permit a GNW diversion if you will. It happens that most of my GNW Collection is from Dixon. Consequently they are slighter than most of the Danes you see here.  Not that that will stop me using them together.

My GNW Swedes are all in turnback coats and tricorn. I'm happy with them. That said were I to be starting such a collection I would go with Irregular.  

The reason being that the Swedes could be better represented with a mixture of Irregular Marlburians and League of Augsburg figures. If that's of interest check out Khurasan's Swedish offering. Irregular's Marlburians would make fine GNW Russians. 

For our next League of Augsburg foray we are going to look at the French.  We will start with the Guard infantry.

Before that we may see some plastic Ancients in 15mm. Late Romans and Huns.