Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Natal Native Horse and Pathan Horse

During the Zulu War, the British raised a number of "colonial" units, primarily mounted, to augment the regular British Army forces deployed to the Natal region.  One of these was the Natal Native Horse.  Originally formed in 1866 and "regimented" in 1879, the Natal Native Horse was composed, in part, of amaNgwane (or Sikhali) tribesmen, Basuto tribesmen, and tribesmen from the Edendale Mission.  They were armed with Martini-Henry carbines and were used extensively for scouting and escort duties. The Edendale Horse were at Isandlwana where they covered the retreating British refugees as well as at Hlobane, Khambala, and the pre-Ulundi reconnaissance.  [Colonial Wars Sourcebook by Philip Haythornthwaite]

Here is my rendition of this unit.  The mounted troops have been painted for many years but the dismounted troops were just finished.  They are organized per "The Sword and the Flame" with 12 mounted and 9 dismounted figures per unit.

Edendale Horse Squadron of two troops.  On the left are Miniatures Figurines and on the right are Ral Partha.  The officer in the middle is a MiniFig.  I've named him Captain Quigley and he gets a +3 addition to his rifle fire.
The dismounted figures, along with Captain Quigley.  They are a mix of vintage Scruby, Falcon, Ral Partha, and some unknowns given to me by a friend.
I have found a dismounted figure for Captain Quigley, which is currently in my active painting queue.

And traveling from southern Africa to the Northwest Frontier of India, I've added a 12-figure unit of mounted Pathan warriors.

This mounted clan is a mix of Iron Brigade and Miniature Figurines cavalry.
All of these will see action over the coming months in some of our group's games.


1 comment:

flashcove said...

Very nice, Jim. Always great to see additions to colonial armies!