Kepis and Bayonets- Italian Wars of Independence

 

Pleasingly Old Glory figures for this period match nicely with those of QRF. Today  we have Piedmont troops and Garabaldini. Let's start with the cavalry, Lancers from Old Glory.

Piedmont Regular infantry. These were an ebay bargain, sort of. There were equal numbers of command and private soldiers. I hadn't noticed. Good castings mind you.

Still, scope for expansion.  They are from Old Glory.

QRF Bersaglieri above and the two pics below. Good troops that can skirmish and form line.

They fit perfectly with Old Glory 15mm.

Next, my penultimate unit of Redshirts.

I need to work on the multi-bases to get a satisfactory look. They are new to me. All part of the fun. They are from Warbases who enjoy a justified good reputation.

Not much left to do for these chaps. A gun and crew, the command figures and the final unit of Redshirts.  Then we will have a parade. On the other side I await the Papal Zouaves from Blue Moon. Happily there is a lot of manufacturer compatibility with this project.

Back to the French and Indian Wars next week. I'm putting the finishing touches to my Compagnies Franches de la Marine today.

 

 

Kepis and Bayonets -New Opportunities

A few years ago QRF produced a range of “big” 15mm figures for the Risorgimento. It sort of coincided with Rebels and Patriots. I thought why not? Not many figures needed.

Also I knew a bit about the Papal Zouaves who went on to fight for the French Republic in the Franco -Prussian War.  Myles Keogh who died with Custer. Myles was one of the Pope’s Irish soldiers- St. Patrick’s Battalion. Commanded by Myles O’Reilly.  They had an interesting time of it. 

The Irish boys got medals for stalwart service. Some Lakota lad ended up with Keogh’s medal. Small world. 

Also Garibaldi, QRF do the figure. Three variants I think? Very nice and we will soon be seeing all of them here.

I ploughed ahead and bought sufficient figures. Then I fell at the first fence. I didn’t like QRF’s Papal Zouaves. What to do? Peter Pig provided a nice ACW Zouave in kepi. But! The figures were a bit small by comparison with the QRF biggies.

Something to sort out later and somehow I didn’t. The project stalled. This happens now and then.  Progress cannot be forced.

Fast forward and I ordered Studio Tomahawks Kepis and Bayonets supplement for ACW and the FPW. Before completing this post Kepis and Bayonets arrived complete with cards. Two working days. I know people who could learn from that.

Anyhow, it happens I have some Battle Honours ACW that were too big for my true 15mm ACW collection. Also, I have a somewhat under developed Franco-Prussian collection.  True 15mm. Surely they both can have an outing now.

That’s not why I bought Kepis and Bayonets though. No, the prime motive was gaming the Risorgimento and The Fenian Invasion of Canada. For both I have small collections I had thought never destined for completion. 

Now I’m looking forward to all kinds of fun. Naturally I will report back. I should mention the Greek War of independence looks susceptible to the Studio Tomahawk treatment. I already have the figures.

Meantime I have resolved the Papal Zouave dilemma. Blue Moon Zouave in kepi is just the ticket. Lots of figure variation and a good fit with the QRF biggies. Of course with command that is 40 figures. Luckily there were 4 battalions of Papal Zouaves so that is fine. I will field 3 such once the figures arrive.

This led me to look at what else I might add. Old Glory have a 19th Century Europe range with an Italian sub set. I have just received some of their Lancers. For the moment here are some of Garibaldi's Red Shirts.

I'm intending 4 units of Red Shirts.

Above and below QRF Papal Heavy and light Dragoons. I'm not sure if QRF will sort itself out. I'd like to think so.

If you are thinking of Dunne's British contingent I wonder if the Blue Moon Mutiny British infantry sans visor might not do? They have a havelock and I'm not sure Dunne's lads did. Mind you unaccustomed Italian hot weather might account for them adopting havelocks. 

My version of Dunne's fellows above are from QRF. Alright I think. Lively even.

More as we go along. You see my progress so far on this page.

Boxer Rising-The Price of Tea

“Not for all the tea in China” was an expression when I was a child. Also, “As far back as the Chinese.” These were Victorian echoes and they are gone now. All the tea in China indicated colossal wealth. As far back etc indicated the lack of modernity in China. Gone are the days.

In the 19^th Century the British working poor were greatly immiserated. Only one thing brought any comfort. It was tea. Tea was great, it soothed the masses and didn’t inflame or excite them. Gin had been tried previously and hadn’t worked at all.

The Poor had a discerning taste in tea. We are told they would not accept inferior product. A small price to pay you might think for peace of mind of the Rulers. Alas, it was not so.

The Chinese would only sell tea for Silver. This is where the seeds of the Boxer Rising take root.  We must tell the tale if we are to understand the Righteous, Harmonious Fists and the like.

The British didn’t have sufficient silver to sustain the trade. Suspending the trade was unthinkable. The Poor were pacified give or take Transportation and Starvation. They might, denied tea, revolt. Something had to be done.

With some skill and a great deal bribery the British managed to smuggle tea plants out of China to India. All very well but it would take time for production to meet need.

Bengal Opium looked like an option. Enjoying opium was a well-known international recreation. The Chinese Government was well aware of its dangers. Consequently while a senior Mandarin might puff away a peasant farmer couldn’t, save as a pain killer or a rare treat. Importing Opium into the Celestial Empire was forbidden.

The British needed to flood China with cheap opium to break the Tea for Silver paradigm. This they did in a series of wars. The French joined in and the victors got inventive. The Chinese would pay for the cost of the British and French military actions. Also, territorial concessions would be made. Free Trade including opium would replace Chinese Regulations. 

The destruction to Chinese society was truly immense. Should you ever have lived or worked in an area with a serious drug problem you will understand precisely what happened.

At the top of Chinese society sat the Manchu providing Emperor and aristocracy. Below sat the Han Chinese and various minorities.  It was from the Han that the Boxers arose. The last great conflict to wrack China had been the Tai Ping. Mainly a non Han enterprise.

By the time of the Rising China’s predators had multiplied and the future looked bleak. As is the way of things the cost of paying off the predators fell increasingly on the common folk.

Enter the Boxers. 

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.