| Wiltshire Saint | 14 Feb 2017 2:27 a.m. PST |
I'm looking to add a couple of Bengal cavalry units to my c.1880 North West Frontier Anglo-Indian army. I'm not sure whether within the units there be a mix of Sikh and Hindu soldiers. I believe each race would wear different headdress? As an aside I'm assuming that at that time they'd be wearing khaki uniforms in the field with just the headdress adding that splash of colour? |
| Sobieski | 14 Feb 2017 2:39 a.m. PST |
Hindu and Sikh aren't actually races. |
| GurKhan | 14 Feb 2017 2:42 a.m. PST |
link – the 9th Bengal Lancers, "Hodson's Horse": In the middle of these troubles an order was issued that the regiment must be composed of one squadron of Sikhs, one squadron of Punjabi Muhammadans, one Troop of Pathans and border tribesmen, and one Troop of Dogras. How this order was carried out while the regiment was split up is hard to imagine. Since the days of the Mutiny there had been a very high proportion of Sikhs in Hodson's Horse. |
| Wiltshire Saint | 14 Feb 2017 2:58 a.m. PST |
Many thanks for the correction Sobieski, you are of course correct. I'm new to the Frontier and my head is already spinning from the different religious cultural and tribal groupings, but that was an obvious error. Thanks for the link GurKhan. Looks like I could indeed have a mix of troops in my unit. |
| Jamesonsafari | 14 Feb 2017 4:23 a.m. PST |
Yes you can.
They'd be in separate squadrons however |
| Sobieski | 14 Feb 2017 10:02 a.m. PST |
I get around the issue by having my Bengal regiment in 10mm. Nobody notices if they've had intimate bits chopped off or are carrying bacon sandwiches that way. |
| Mad Guru | 15 Feb 2017 4:55 p.m. PST |
Historically speaking, as already pointed out, different religions and/or ethnic groups would each be in their own separate units, be it troop, squadron, or full regiment. When it comes to adding a, "dash of color," some Indian cavalry units wore blue breeches (sometimes with yellow or white stripes) and/or blue puttees in the field into the 1890s. |
| oldjarhead1 | 17 Feb 2017 7:49 a.m. PST |
The Almark Publications "Indian Cavalry Regiments" lists the racial composition of all of the Indian cavalry regiments (Bengal, Bombay Madras Hyderabad Contingent etc). I believe that all Bengal cavalry except the Guides wore black or Blue puttees. |
| Botch B | 27 Feb 2017 10:10 a.m. PST |
A very old BMSS Bulletin showed a number of the different styles. I did an up-date to it with a few extra styles I'd found which were not in the original. I can post it in my Blog and put a link here if it would be of use/interest to anyone? |
| Mad Guru | 28 Feb 2017 7:27 p.m. PST |
Botch, Please do post the link! Thanks, -Mad Guru |
| Triplecdad | 01 Mar 2017 7:53 a.m. PST |
What I did with my Bengal lancers – and indeed all my Indian troops – was to very, very carefully paint the cartridges a shade of pink, which I then covered with a darker color so that only I would know they were biting into pig fat-greased cartridges. I am waiting for the day when – in the middle of a game – some of that paint chips off and they all discover this and turn on my British troops. |
