"4th Bengal lancers" Topic

Hi Friends,
I need some informations about 4th regiment Bengal lancers for 2nd Afghan War.
I looked some pictures of this regiment with "red" uniform and it'll be very beautiful on the table.
So, for my NWF miniatures I'd like paint my lancers with red jacket….is it too many wrong or is it possible?
Have you any informations about???

Thanks for help.

They probably wore khaki but it would be hard to resist the red tunics.I say go for it. I try to be accurate but they are toy soldiers after all.

Always go with the bling I say and do :) its part of enjoying the hobby PANSHIR.
Cheers happy gaming

PANSHIR,

I agree with the Doc Ord and Zargon, do whatever makes you happy, which in this case probably means painting their "akalaks" or "kurtas" (Indian pattern cavalry jackets) red.

That being said, since you asked for more info, I will pass some on…

The 4th Bengal Lancers were not actually "Bengal Lancers" during the Second Afghan War, they were the 4th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry. They became the "4th Regt. of Bengal Lancers" in 1900, then the "4th Bengal Lancers" in 1901, then the "4th Lancers" in 1903 and finally the "4th Cavalry" in 1904 -- trying to track name changes of Anglo-Indian Army units can be somewhat maddening. It's still very possible they carried lances in Afghanistan, as other regiments with the more generic title "Bengal Cavalry" did so.

The 4th Bengal Cavalry were granted an Honorary Standard for service in Sind in 1844, which bore the device of a Lion "passant regardant" -- a Lion walking past with a raised right front paw and its head turned looking back over its shoulder.

Chances are they would not have carried such a special standard with them during the Second Afghan War, but you might want to consider allowing them to do so, as like the red jackets it would certainly look cool.

Their "pagri" (turban cloth) was gold with blue, silver and white stripes around a red "kullah" (the pointed skull cap around which the turban is wrapped).

Hope this is of some help, also hope that when you finish painting the unit you will post some pics for the rest of us to see!

There is a book in the Stanford university library called "The Monthly Army List of January 1908". It lists the 4th Bengal Cavalry during the 2nd Afghan War as wearing scarlet tunics with blue facings. It also lists the officers of the regiment but as far as uniform details that is all it gives us.

Rhingyll,

Great find of an online primary source, thanks for posting it here!

Only thing I'd add to what you say is I don't think the mention of the Second Afghan War and the mention of scarlet tunics with blue facings are connected. I think the reference to "Afghanistan 1878-1880" is simply the regiment's lone Battle Honor, as other regts. have various and sometimes numerous campaigns and battles entered into that same spot on the list. On the other hand, I believe the mention of uniform colors refers to the regt's contemporary dress at the time of the book's publication in 1908.

Still, a great reference to have and filled with a near limitless supply of Victorian/Edwardian British names and also Indian names, as many Indian Army native officers are also listed under the headings of their regts.

Here's a LINK to the online book for anyone interested and thanks again to Rhingyll for bringing it to our attention:

link

Two sources that are really helpful are Indian Army Uniforms Cavalry and Indian Army Uniforms Infantry by WY Carman. They were printed in 1961 for the cavalry and 1969 for the infantry.