Napoleonics and Palm Trees

The Sikhs: A Splendid Little War

Uniforms of John Company

by Paul A. Koch

The Honorable East India Company governed India through its armed might. This consisted of units of the British Army which were, shall we say, loaned out to the Company. There were never very many of them. Indeed, so few that the mutiny which came only 4 decade later was a real and dangerous risk (oddly enough the Sikh regiments were the ones that stayed most fiercely loyal to the British Crown during the Mutiny). There were also European units within ,the Company Army. By and large, however, the Company ruled India through the use of natives trained in European tactics called Sepoys.

Not surprisingly, these Sepoys were organized and trained in British methods. They served long periods of enlistment and were verys uccessful against Asiatic foes. They were, however, quite over awed by the Sikhs and in in the early part of the war it showed.

By and large the infantry and artillery uniforms worn were almost identical to that of Her Majesty's troops serving in the same area. Indeed, the only real way to tell was the complexion of the soldier.

The infantry which as usual bore the brunt of the fighting .was brigaded whenever possible with a British battalion for stiffening. They wore the scarlet coatee without tails, and usually blue facings on collars, cuffs and shoulder boards. Loose cotton pants in pale blue and white belted equipment was also universal. Head wear however varied. For the Most part Sepoy and Europeans alike wore a service shako covered with a white cloth cover and "Havlock" or neck cloth. The result looked remarkably like the "Beau Geste" hat of the Foreign Legion movies (the "kepi blanc" for the intelligencia).

Some of the European regiments however wore a "Landwehr cap covered in white cloth. One regiment, the 32nd Foot, combined this cap with a uniform that, while it was of standard cut, was totally white in color. That is very striking and of course a real cinch to paint.

Gurkhas

The Sikh Wars involved the first combat use of Gurkhas. Everybody's favorite mercenaries gave a fine account of themselves, the only native troops to be considered the equal of the British from first to last. As has always been the case, the Gurkhas were riflemen. At this time they favored sub caliber ball which made them no more accurate than standard muskets, but just as quick to load. In addition to being armed with obsolete Brunswick rifles, they wore the distinctive uniform of that famed corps. The jacket and pants were of the same cut as the standard uniform but with dark "rifle" green replacing the scarlet of the jacket and the pale blue of the trousers. Facings were black for the most part as was the strapping and equipment. The Gurkhas also wore a peakless mutze cap which either was white or was covered in white cloth. In addition, they carried. their famous Kukri or heavy curved knives. They were every bit as good at chopping up Sikhs as they later would be at carving Argentines.

Neither the Europeans nor the Sepoys had been re-equipped with cap and ball muskets. They fought with the same antiquated "Brown Bess" their fathers had used at Waterloo and great-grandfathers at Fontenoy. They were all very good at their drill.

The Royal Artillery was not present for the conflict but the Bengal Artillery made its presence felt. This was particularly true of the celebrated Bengal Horse Artillery. This was a specially recruited elite corps within the Bengal Army. All of British India was scoured for the finest physical and soldierly specimens to be found. They wrote a universally excellent record against the Sikhs. If a gamer is going to have a single battery in his Company Army, he should start with the Bengal Horse Artillery. The BHA were issued the strongest horses; they were needed as the guns were the same 9 pounders of the field artillery. For all that, the BHA were extremely mobile and dashed in and out of battle with a speed and elan that mystified and outraged the Sikh gunners.

As be fits such an elite corp, they had a very distinctive uniform. They wore a blue coatee faced red with yellow braiding across the front, white cotton trousers and white belting completed the uniform itself. However, it was topped off by a gleaming brass helmet resembling a Napoleonic dragoon helmet but with a horsehair plume dyed red. They might have worn a white cloth cover, but not in my army!

The Bengal Field Artillery wore essentially an infantry uniform with blue coatee faced red replacing the infantry scarlet. The white havelock, pale blue cotton pants and white strapping remain the same. Their guns were largely 9 pounders with heavier guns brought up only late in both wars. They were, however, horse-drawn and were much more mobile than the Sikhs. There is no evidence to show that the Sikhs had schrapnel either perhaps the Company's gun ' firepower advantage. Oh yes, the Company guns were brass with wooded parts painted grey.

When it comes to color, as we saw with the Sikhs, so it is with John Company - the cavairy takes pride of place. Let us start with the King's regiments. European horsemen were devastating in the combats of the war. Aside from their almost unbelievable gallantry, they had several decided advantages. First, Royal cavalry came from home with their horses. These beasts were much taller, stronger and swifter than anything India could boast. They may have suffered from the ravages of the climate as did their masters, but they remained far and away superior mounts. One must add to this that while-the dragoons and lancers sent to India were classed as light cavalry by the British service, they were large, strong men; sixfooters, weighing close to 200 pounds were not unusual. To other Europeans, they were too big for lights, while by Indian standards they were giants. In game terms then, they should at the very least move as quickly as native light horse but fight as heavies and then some.

It must be added that the 19th Century British cavalryman honestly believed he could simply ride down anything in his path. Arrogant as that sounds, it very nearly seems to have been the case, at least until the Sikh wars. Part and parcel of this arrogance may have been a knowledge that they were superbly well dressed.

Both the 3rd and 14th Light Dragoons saw action during the Sikh Wars; both covered themselves with glory. They wore an almost, identical uniform except for facing colors. The uniform was basically dark blue throughout. A double red seam ran down the trouser legs along with brass shoulder scales and aiguillettes, Their tall shakos or land wehr caps (there is evidence of both) were covered with white cloth. Belting as seemingly universal, except for rifles, was white. Her Majesty's 16th Lancers were to win immortality at Aliwal dressed quite nearly as well as they fought. They were, at the time, known as the "Red Lancers" because they were the only light cavalry regiment in the British Army to wear the scarlet coat. Their blue facings, pale blue overalls, coupled with white covered lance caps and belting made up what has to be a truly handsome body of horse. Brass shoulder scales, white aiguillettes and red over white swallow tailed pennants made for an even grander appearance.

As if the European horse were not enough for color, one must also consider the Company's various sepoy regiments. The Bengal Light Cavalry donned a light blue uniform, faced white. A short coatee and matching overalls each sported a white line down the jacket front and border on trouser seams. They also wore a dark blue mutze cap with a white border tape which was not covered by a white cloth.

To add even more variety there were several regiments of so-called "irregular' cavalry regiments. These chaps were irregulars in name only. They were better trained and had considerably more combat experience than the regular horse. The Company, however, could pay them considerably less if they were considered as auxiliaries and not regular troopers. They also wore distinctive uniforms. The 2nd Regiment wore a bright yellow coatee faced red at collar, cuffs and shoulder boards, the omnipre overalls and the dark blue mutze, this time with a red tape. They were equipped as the regular Bental Light Horse with white belting, light sabre and carbine. The 6th Regiment wore a very similar uniform with rifle green replacing the yellow of the coatee.

All in all, the brightly uniformed armies fighting in the exotic climes of Northwest India produce all the color and romance a wargamer could wish. The warfare too is fascinating, While still basically Napoleonic in style and technology, it is different enough for a change of pace. There are well equipped foes with no real bad guys.

More Napoleonics and Palm Trees: The Sikhs

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