British uniform in the Sudan.

[RJ]

Hi All,

Just a quick question (hopefully)

What was the domminant uniform of British in the Sudan?

Ive seen the WI painting guide quoted in a another thread (this is awesome by the way) and it states Grey and then Khaki around 1885. However i see everywhere that Scarlet is used by most gamers?

Any help is apreciated

[Driscoles]

I chose scarlet after I read an article that the British Soldiers were ordered to wear red coats in battle ( I think at one particular battle, but cant recall the name now ) to scare the Sudanese !

I think red looks much better than Khaki.
On the Perry Website is a Uniform Plate. I think its the same as in WI.

Björn

[Plynkes]

Scarlet was hardly worn at all in the Sudan. I think a handful of red coats were issued to the troops who went down to Khartoum by steamer (to "impress the natives") only to find it had fallen.

Red was worn at the battle of Ginnis, 1885 (but with khaki trousers and puttees). This is often cited as the last time the British Army fought in red, but I'm not sure if that's true.

And that's it. Khaki and grey are the colours of choice for the Sudan, 1880s. Just khaki for the 1890s.

[Paul E]

Plynkes has pretty much hit the nail on the head with his comments.

There was a standing order for British units to take their red coats in their valisse so that they could be worn in battle to impress the natives. Thus the red coats at Ginis.

Both Khaki (mud colour) and grey were worn but both referred to as Khaki - just to be confusing. The grey issue was UK produced and the mud colour that we all now know as Khaki was worn predominantly by units that had been sent from India. Thus it's best to research the unit that you are trying to portray as this should guide you well.

I would say that grey was the most dominant, followed by Khaki and then the option of red just to make things look interesting. 

 

 

[Plynkes]

I seem to recall that the troops sent to Suakin came from India (though I may be misremembering), so if playing that part of the campaign you may well want to stick to khaki. If you want to use just your Fuzzy-Wuzzies (as opposed to the River Arabs), this is the campaign to play, as this was their stomping ground.

In the second Suakin campaign there were Indian troops, and I think Australians, too (this was, I believe, the first time the Aussies sent a force to help out the "mother country"). I have no clue what the New South Wales contingent wore. Got a book about it somewhere, could dig it out later.

[Paul E]

The Australians wore a shade of grey, although there are some original photographs of a few of them in red tunics. The most obvious destinction is that they wore a very unusual style of loose fitting gaters unlike anything that the Brits wore. 

[knoxville]

I'll paint my scots soon and I'll go for the grey/blueish color.

[Yankeepedlar01]

While Grey and Khaki are undoubtedly correct, scarlett is still a good choice for at least one infantry unit in your force, after all, they are British!
David

[Captain Blood]

I thought the camel corps in particular wore a distinctive blue-grey tunic with khaki cord breeches? Sure I remember that from a series in Military Modelling circa 1980!

Also remember there were two Sudan Wars, the first phase (General Gordon etc) 1881-1885 which was at the tail end of the changeover from red coats to khaki, then again in 1898 (Omdurman etc) which would have been a khaki only conflict on the British side.

I think.

[Plynkes]

I believe you are correct, Captain Blood. You mean like this?


This for me is the archetypal British soldier in the Sudan, and is what I think of when someone says "Sudan" or "Khartoum" in a wargaming context.

As for 1898, didn't some of the Sudanese battalions in the Egyptian Army wear dark brown or black jerseys?

[Captain Blood]

Yes - just like that. And of course, the blue puttees - forgot about those.

And yes, believe you're right on the jerseys for the Egyptian troops. Maybe dark blue as well? (Don't know where I got that from, but it's in my head from some old pictures somewhere...)

[Plynkes]

Yeah, something like that. Dark something, anyhow. I was trying to find a colour pic, but looking through all my books earlier I could only find black and white ones.

Let's just say the jersey was dark for now, and not worry about dark what.

[aecurtis]

I frequently recommend this article from "Savage and Soldier" as a concise and comprehensive reference for the Egyptians--including uniforms:

http://www.savageandsoldier.com/sudan/Egyptian_Army.html

But if you're into the Sudan, I strongly (heartily, enthusiastically, frothingly) recommend The Virtual Armchair General's compendium of S&S articles, supplemented with new info and plates, the two-volume "Mahdist Wars Sourcebook":

http://fauxtoys.com/tvag/079-rules.html#MWSB

A little dear, but simply cracking.  If you're wondering how many actual bashi-bazouks were available in a given force before ordering your new Perry figs, this will tell you. 

All good answers above, by the way: well done, Plynkes.  I hesistate to mention that I still have those MM articles!  They're still excellent references, too.

Allen

[RJ]

Thanks alot for all the info guys!

Definately helped me in my decisions 

[Plynkes]

Well that article that Allen linked to sorts out the Jersey question. We were both right. Brown for Egyptian troops, Blue for Sudanese ones.

Thanks for that, Allen.