British Infantry of the Anglo-Zulu War 1879

Officers and men of the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot at the Battle of Isandhlwana. In 1881, the 24th Foot became The South Wales Borderers. The miniatures are wearing the British 1871 pattern valise equipment, and they are armed with Martini-Henry breech-loading rifles which were introduced in the same year. The troops are mounted on 38 × 29 mm infantry stands compatible with Fire and Fury and Complete Brigadier game systems. Multi-figure stands like these are also suitable for The Sword and the Flame (TSATF) and similar skirmish wargame rules which are normally played with individual figures representing three to five men. These ESCI figures may be painted khaki to represent British infantry of the Second Anglo-Afghan War or Sudan War.

Contents

50 Figures in 15 Poses – 24 mm equal 173 cm Height

• Officer with Sword and Flag (2)
• Officer with Sword and Pistol (2)
• Bugler with Martini-Henry Rifle (2)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, waving Helmet (3)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, standing, firing (5)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, kneeling, firing (5)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, loading (5)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, charging (5)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, charging (5)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, bayonetting (3)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, kneeling (3)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, prone, observing (3)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, prone, firing (3)
• Soldier with Martini-Henry Rifle, falling wounded (2)
• Soldier with Ammunition Box, kneeling (2)

Evaluation

Highly detailed figures; the uniforms, weapons, and “1871 valise equipment” are, for the most part, accurately represented. Instead of the “home service” uniform, featuring a single-breasted “pattern 1874 tunic” with seven buttons, collar patches, pointed cuffs with “Austrian knots” (Schoitasch), and piped edges, these soldiers are depicted in the field wearing the more comfortable “undress frock”, which lacks piping and has only five buttons. The “Austrian knots”, rendered in flat cord, are sculpted in low relief and can easily be removed or painted over if one wishes to represent earlier tunics featuring a simple “cuff loop” (introduced in 1872) or a “trefoil” design instead.

Officers preferred the lighter “Pattern 1872 scarlet undress frock” (also known as the “Indian pattern frock” or “scarlet patrol jacket”), made of wool serge and featuring a standing collar in the regimental facing colour. In place of the standard facing-coloured cuff patch, this garment displayed a stylized “crow‘s foot” design fashioned from flat gold braid. It was worn with brown corduroy trousers, brown shoes, and knee-length gaiters made of light-colored linen, brown leather, or black leather. Since officers were responsible for procuring their own uniforms and equipment, they were, by definition, clearly distinguishable from the enlisted men in their units.

Good casting quality, very little flash.

Compatible with A Call to Arms, Accurate Figures, Imex, Italeri, Jacklex, Revell, Reviresco, and other 1:72 scale miniatures.

The haphazard way in which the equipment is worn — some soldiers carry the black ammunition pouch on the right side of their waistbelt, while others incorrectly place it on the left, where the haversack should be — is typical of ESCI figures, though it unfortunately contradicts standard military practice. Furthermore, several figures are depicted with incomplete gear; some soldiers lack a bayonet scabbard, while others are missing the ammunition pouch into which a soldier would empty a packet of 10 cartridges, allowing him to then retrieve individual rounds to load his rifle.

The missing sword scabbards on the officers can be represented using short section of metal staple. The officer with the undersized flag, might be given a new flagpole from 0.6 mm piano wire to which a more realistic regimental flag may be attached. The officers also require canteens like “Bryan‘s Army Bottle”, a lenticular glass flask with a felt cover, or the popular felt-covered wooden canteen produced by “SA Silver & Co” of London. Both types can easily be crafted from scratch using modeling wax, “Green Stuff” epoxy putty, or an epoxy repair putty like Pattex “Repair Express Power-Knete”.

The bugler is depicted as an ordinary soldier, even though the musicians of the British Army were equipped quite differently. The shoulder wings are missing, and the drummer/bugler should, in fact, be armed only with the “Pattern 1856 Drummer‘s Sword” – issued to drummers, fifers, and buglers — rather than a Martini-Henry rifle. Musicians were non-combatants; they did not fight in the “thin red line”, but instead provided medical support. Even if musicians had taken an active part in the firefight at Isandhlwana — perhaps by picking up a weapon from the battlefield — there would likely have been little time to properly strap on the regulation ammunition pouches. This error is all the more regrettable given that the bugler is, in fact, a very well-crafted figure. We might console ourselves, however, with the notion that this is simply an ordinary, musically inclined soldier who has been compelled to step in for his unit‘s fallen drummer/bugler.

At Isandhlwana and Rorke‘s Drift, the soldiers of the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot fought in “light fighting order” — that is, without their valises. During a campaign, these heavy knapsacks were typically transported for the troops in wagons, but they were invariably set aside before entering into combat. It remains unclear whether the soldiers at Isandhlwana were wearing their “braces” (the shoulder-strap harness for their equipment). Regarding this, the “Instructions for Fitting Valise Equipment” state:

When the two pouches and the ammunition bag are worn, it is necessary that the braces should be worn to support the waist belt, as the weight of 60 or 70 rounds of ammunition is too great for the waist belt alone.

Historical Employment

• British Infantry and Rifle Regiments, 1871–1888
  • The 9th Kaffir War, 1877–1878
  • Second Anglo-Afghan War, 1878–1880
  • Zulu War, 1879
  • Northwest Frontier, 1877–1888
  • The First Sudan War, 1882–1884
  • Third Burmese War, 1885–1887
  • Black Mountain Expedition, 1888
  • Black Mountain Expedition, 1891

Officers and men of the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot at the Battle of Isandlwana. From 1881, the 24th Foot was designated “The South Wales Borderers”. The figures are equipped with the British “1871 pattern valise equipment” and are armed with the Martini-Henry rifle. The troops are mounted on 38 × 29 mm bases for use with the Fire and Fury and Complete Brigadier game systems; however, they are also suitable for The Sword and the Flame (TSATF) and similar skirmish wargames, which are typically played using individual figures representing three to five men each.

The “Pattern 1882 Valise Equipment”, introduced in 1882, is visually distinguished primarily by its significantly larger Mark IV ammunition pouches, each holding 40 rounds, and the omission of the pouch previously used for loose cartridges. Strictly speaking, therefore, the ESCI figures are only of limited suitability for conflicts occurring after 1882. With the introduction of the new Magazine Lee-Metford (MLM) rifle in 1888, the Valise Equipment was replaced in the British Army by the “Pattern 1888 (Slade-Wallace) Equipment” and passed on to British-Indian troops, who were then issued the now obsolete Martini-Henry rifle.

Possible Conversion

• British Infantry with Home Service Helmet, 1871–1888
• French Marines in khaki Uniforms
  A simple painting conversion, using ESCI British Zulu War Infantry without packs.

ESCI 1:72 scale British Zulu War Infantry is well sculpted, and there are many useful poses to satisfy wargamers and diorama builders.

Colonial Wars Miniatures