RB72003 Colonial British Army 1890

When the British Empire annexed the Punjab in 1849 it found itself with the troublesome peoples of southern Afghanistan as its near neighbours. These various tribes frequently raided within the Punjab itself, and over the next half century and more dozens of punitive expeditions were mounted. Even the most successful only succeeded in stopping raids for a short time, and by the last decade of the 19th century the situation was no different. As is usual with such empires, the British generally used mostly native Indian troops for these expeditions, but often included some European troops, which are the subject of this set.

By the 1890s improvements in weaponry meant soldiers could generally keep each other at bay by rifle fire alone, and the various Afghan tribes also had access to such weapons, which suited their preferred tactic of sniping from higher ground. Consequently hand-to-hand fighting was very rare, yet three of the poses in this set are doing just that. The rest of the poses are more mundane but realistic, although there is little evidence of the use of cover which these troops were urged to utilise. All are in battle poses, so there is no marching figure, which is a shame.

Deze set bestaat uit:

• 48 Britse soldaten in 12 verschillende standen

Afmeting:

• lengte 24mm