The Mutiny: 15th Bengal Native Infantry

I finished basing the latest addition to my Indian Mutiny collection a couple of weeks ago but didn't get around to taking any pictures.  But now here they are:

The figures are from Mutineer Miniatures, they were painted by Roger, based by me and the flag is from Grimsby Wargames Society.

The Mutiny: Ghazis

Here are the final addition to this phase of my Indian Mutiny project (rest assured another phase is in the works) - some Ghazis:

The figures are from Mutineer Miniatures and were painted by Roger.

The Mutiny: Bundalee Native Infantry

Here are some of the latest additions to my Indian Mutiny collection - some native infantry:

The figures are from Mutineer Miniatures and were painted by my friend Roger.

The 7th BNI Mutiny!

Here are the other half of my 7th Bengal Native Infantry and if you saw my last post you'll easily be able to see what I have done here:

The figures are from Mutineer Miniatures and the flag is from Grimsby Wargames Society.

The Mutiny: 7th Bengal Native Infantry

Here are a couple of shots of some of the latest additions to my Indian Mutiny collection - the 7th Regiment of the Bengal Native Infantry:

The figures are from Mutineer Miniatures and the flag is from Grimsby Wargames Society.

The Mutiny: 79th Highlanders

The second standard bearer for the Indian Mutiny project is for the 79th Regiment of Foot (Cameron Highlanders):

The figures are from Mutineer Miniatures and the flag is from GMB Designs.

The Mutiny: 2nd Bengal Native Infantry

I've just finished the standard bearers for a couple of my units for the Indian Mutiny.  Here's the first - the 2nd Bengal Native Infantry:

The figures and the flag are both from Mutineer Miniatures.

The Mutiny: Light Company Sepoys

A few last additions to my Mutiny collection - this time some sepoy from the light company.  Once again the figures are from Mutineer Miniatures:

The Mutiny: HEIC Artillery

And now some support for the British, the Honourable East India Company artillery battery:

The Mutiny: Mutineer Artillery

And now some irregular Indian artillery:

The Mutiny: Sepoy Artillery

Once again from Mutineer Miniatures, the Sepoy artillery (are they loyal or mutinous?):

The Mutiny: Bengal Light Cavalry

Some more additions to my Indian Mutiny project from Mutineer Miniatures:

Wargames Weekend: The Boat Race 1857

Our final game was a quick skirmish set during the Indian Mutiny using the Two Hour Wargames' Black Powder Battles rules (not to be confused with the similarly named rules from Warlord Games!):

The British are fleeing from the hordes of mutinous sepoys. They are everywhere but the river seems to offer the best chance of escape. The only thing standing between them and it is a group of Badmashes who are causing some mayhem around the jetty.

Lenin took command of the three parties of British fugitives, Captain Maurice Oxford and three men of the 32nd escorting Miss Mary Riley, Lieutenance Austen Cambridge and three men of the 53rd escorting Lady Melissa Wolseley and Lieutenant, the Honourable, Percy Riley and three volunteers escorting Miss Margaret Vanden-Plas.  His objective was simple, if not easily achieved - get to the boats at the jetty and cast off.

Three small parties arrived through the woods from Krishnapur via separate paths closely pursued by some mutinous sepoys.  Between them and freedom was a small village currently being searched for loot by several groups of badmashes.

The three groups managed to get close to the village without being spotted but eventually they caught the attention of the ruffians and shots were exchanged.

With most of the badmashes only being armed with tulwars they decided to take the fight to the firinghis; however, Captain Oxford and Lieutenant Cambridge were prepared, and their men well trained, so the badmashes ran headlong into some lively fire.  Lieutenant Riley was less lucky and his party were suddenly fighting for their lives.

With two groups of badmashes having been dealt with Oxford and Cambridge raced toward the jetty.  Unfortunately for Riley, with his party still engaged in a desperate fight with the badmashes, this allowed the sepoys to catch up and they soon came under fire from the rear.  Two of the volunteers were killed and after a short struggle Miss Vanden-Plas was cut down.

The sepoys rushed forward to catch the escaping British but a firing line had been formed to cover the withdrawal making life very difficult for them.

With the remaining ladies safely on the boats the soldiers began an orderly withdrawal and despite some firing from the sepoys managed to move away downstream with only a couple more casualties. 

Tatya Tope

Ramachandra Pandurang Tope, popularly known as Tatya Tope (or Tantia Topee and various other spellings), was born in Yeola in 1814 and his opposition to the British is reputed to have begun when James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie deprived Nana Sahib of Tope's father's pension.

Tatya Tope was Nana Sahib's close associate and general. Following the Siege of Cawnpore the British Forces accepted Nana Sahib's offer of safe passage to Allahabad; however many were either killed or captured. The forces under the command of General Henry Havelock advanced towards Cawnpore and the two forces sent by Nana Sahib to oppose them were defeated. When it became clear that the attempts to use the captives to bargain with the British had failed, an order was given to murder the women and children. The sepoys refused to kill the captives, but some of them agreed to remove the women and children from the courtyard, when Tatya Tope threatened to execute them for dereliction of duty.

Both Nana Sahib and Tatya Tope escaped from the Cawnpore just before it was finally captured by the British. Tatya Tope continued the fight by gathering a large army, mainly consisting of the rebel soldiers from the Gwalior contingent, to recapture Cawnpore. His 6,000 strong advanced guard dominated all the routes west and north-west of Cawnpore; however, they were defeated by Sir Colin Campbell's forces.

Tatya Tope then joined with the Rani of Jhansi but after her death he launched a successful campaign in the Sagar, Madhya Pradesh and Narmada River regions and in Khandesh and Rajasthan. British forces failed to subdue him for over a year but he was betrayed by his trusted friend, Man Singh, Chief of Narwar while asleep in his camp in the Paron forest and captured by General Richard John Meade's troops. After being escorted to Shivpuri, he was tried by a military court. Tope admitted the charges brought before him but said that he was answerable to his master Peshwa only. He was executed on April 18 1859.

These figures, along with the Rani of Jhansi, make up the Indian Leaders pack from Mutineer Miniatures.

The Rani of Jhansi

Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi, was originally named Manikarnika and was born at Kashi to Maharashtrian parents. Her father worked at the Peshwa court of Bithoor and, following the loss of her mother, the Peshwa brought her up like his own daughter.

She studied self-defence, horsemanship, archery, and even formed her own army out of her female friends at court. Tatya Tope, who would later come to her rescue during the 1857 Rebellion, was her mentor.

She was married to Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi, in 1842, and thus became the queen of Jhansi. After their marriage, she was given the name Lakshmibai. After their first son died when he was about four months old they adopted Anand Rao, the son of Gangadhar Rao's cousin, and later renamed him Damodar Rao. On the death of the Raja the British East India Company, under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie rejected Rao's claim to the throne on the basis he was adopted and annexed the state to its territories.

When the Mutiny began in 1857 the British were forced to focus their attentions elsewhere and Lakshmibai was essentially left to rule Jhansi alone. She led her troops swiftly and efficiently to quell skirmishes initiated by local princes and maintained a relatively calm and peaceful city in the midst of the unrest in northern India.

At some point she decided to join the rebellion and Jhansi was besieged by British troops under Sir Hugh Rose on 8th June 1858. An army of 20,000, headed by Tatya Tope, was sent to relieve Jhansi but failed to do so following an engagement with the British. Shortly after the besiegers were able to breach the walls and capture the city. The Rani escaped by night with her son, surrounded by her guards, many of them women.

The Rani decamped to Kalpi where she and her troops joined other rebel forces, including those of Tatya Tope. The two moved on to Gwalior, where the combined rebel forces defeated the army of the Maharaja of Gwalior and occupied the fort there. However, on 17 June 1858, whilst engaging the 8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars in her full warrior regalia she was killed and her body burned.

General Sir Hugh Rose is recorded as saying that the Rani was "remarkable for her beauty, cleverness and perseverance" and had been "the most dangerous of all the rebel leaders".

The figures are part of the Indian Leaders pack from Mutineer Miniatures.

General Sir Henry Havelock

Henry Havelock was the son of a wealthy shipbuilder and the second of four brothers.  Initially pursuing a legal career, a misunderstanding with his father led to his studies being interrupted and this course having to be abandoned.

Through his brother William, who had distinguished himself in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo, Henry obtained a post as second lieutenant in the 95th Rifles and was posted to the company of Captain Harry Smith, who encouraged him to study military history and the art of war. Despite a promotion to lieutenant he did not see much active service and so, in 1822, he decided to transfer to a regiment destined for India.

Havelock served with distinction in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) and the First Afghan War in 1839, these and the Sikh Wars saw him rewarded for his service and his distinguished conduct with promotion to full Colonel and an appointment as Adjutant-General to the British Army in India in 1857.

In the same year, he was selected to command a division in the Anglo-Persian War, during which he was present at the action of Muhamra against the forces of Nasser al-Din Shah under command of Khanlar Mirza. Peace with Persia released his troops just as the Mutiny broke out. He was chosen to command a column to deal with the rebels in in Allahabad, to support Sir Henry Lawrence at Lucknow and Wheeler at Cawnpore. Throughout August Havelock led his soldiers northwards across Oudh, defeating all rebel forces in his path, despite being greatly outnumbered. Three times he advanced for the relief of the Lucknow, but concerned by the condition of his troops he held back until finally, reinforcements arrived at last under Sir James Outram. With these forces Havelock was able to capture Lucknow on 25 September 1857. However, a second rebel force arrived and besieged the town again catching Havelock and his troops inside the blockade. Unfortunately only a few days after this siege was lifted he died on 24 November 1857 of dysentery.

These are the other half of the Mutineer Miniatures British Generals pack.

The picture at the start of the entry is of the statue in Trafalgar Square in London, inscription of the plinth of which reads:

To Major General Sir Henry Havelock KCB and his brave companions in arms during the campaign in India 1857. "Soldiers! Your labours, your privations, your sufferings and your valour, will not be forgotten by a grateful country".

Sir Colin Campbell

Born Colin Macliver, the eldest son of a Glasgow carpenter, he adopted his mother's maiden name when he enlisted in the army.

After a year he was appointed as an ensign in the 9th Regiment and fought in the Peninsular campaign under Wellington including at Rolica and Vimeiro; the advance to Salamanca and retreat to Corunna.

Promoted to Lieutenant he spent time attached to the Spanish army but rejoined his regiment serving at the battle of Vittoria and the siege of San Sebastian. On 17 July 1813 Campbell led the attack on the fortified convent of San Bartholomé and a week later he led the unsuccessful attempt to storm the fortress itself.

His courage saw him recommended for promotion and he was given a company in the 60th rifles; however this rapid rise slowed somewhat with him taking almost another thirty years to rise to Colonel.
After various postings, in 1841 Campbell went to China was involved in the First Opium War. He was mentioned in despatches, appointed aide-de-camp to the Queen and it was then he was promoted to the rank of Colonel.

He became a Brigadier-General in 1844 and fought in the Sikh Wars in India. Wanting to return to England and retire he resigned his command but in 1854 he was offered the command of one of the two brigades which were to be sent to the Crimea; this appointment was extended to commander of the Highland Brigade of the 1st Division under the Duke of Cambridge. This led to his promotion to Major-General. He fought at the battle of the Alma and was appointed as commander at Balaclava;  however, he became disillusioned and briefly left the Crimea but was persuaded to return and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General taking command of a corps under Codrington; but Campbell only commanded the Highland Division for a month and then returned to England.

On 11 July 1857 the news of the Indian Mutiny and the death of the commander-in-chief in India led Lord Palmerston to offer Campbell the post which he accepted. The following day he left for India, arriving in Calcutta in August.

After spending over two months in the Indian capital organising his forces, Campbell successfully relieved Lucknow for the second time; however, following the relief he chose to abandon the position to the rebels finally retaking it in March 1858.  He continued in command of operations in Oudh until the mutiny was finally extinguished.

The figures are half of the British Generals pack from Mutineer Miniatures.

The Mutiny: Defenders of Lucknow

I have just finished basing up some more additions to my Indian Mutiny collection.  Once again they are from Mutineer Miniatures.

First up are the Defenders of Lucknow, six civilian figures intended to represent Dr Ogilvie, Mrs Halford and her daughter, Colonel Halford, Mr Polehampton and Wuzee Khan the servant according to the Mutineer website.

The figures are armed with either pistols or muskets and will make a useful addition to my future games.

The Mutiny: 79th Highlanders

Here is a photo of my latest addition to my Indian Mutiny collection which I just finished basing this morning (a little later than scheduled).  Once again the figures are from Mutineer Miniatures:

The Mutiny: Sikhs

The next unit for my Indian Mutiny project is some loyal Sikhs - once again these are from Mutineer Miniatures.

Next up will be some highlanders (as soon as they are finished!)