Indian Mutiny 1857

[nevermore]

Indian Mutiny 1857

Large game at the club and we are only half way more or less of painting up more miniatures for this very colourful period of history.

http://grimsbywargamessociety.webs.com/

Most of the miniatures are Mutineer Miniatures on the table who we would like to thank for the generous discount they gave us for a large order at the York show, we would also like to point out that the Indian Mutiny is not just about skirmish games but the war was mainly about large battles and in some cases the British won by the skin of the teeth.

All the flags you see are available free of charge on the Grimsby website and as you can see they look pretty good on the table and i am now working on more AWI flags and deleting the old ones and so far they seem to look good so watch this space.



One of the most well-known uprisings during the British colonization of India was a mutiny of the native troops known as "sepoys".   When it began on Sunday, May 10, 1857 the Sepoy rebellion was a complete surprise to the British, many of whom were "blind to the unrest that had been created, in part, by the rapid imposition of direct British control over two-thirds of India".  The campaign to suppress the revolt lasted until April 1859.   



Return to "India under British Rule" Chronology

The British East India Company began recruiting native citizens as troops in 1667, in order to maintain control during their trading operations.  In 1748, the British government followed suit and began recruiting and training Indians to fight with their weaponry and methods.  The Indian units were called "native sepoys" and soon became the largest part of the British forces in India, eventually outnumbering European troops ten to one.



After Britain had gained two-thirds of India's land and imperialism had begun to affect every part of Indian life (whether by technology like the telegraph, evangelical missionary efforts, or administrative and land ownership reform), there was an incredible amount of tension that only needed a small spark to set off a huge revolt.  There had been minor outbreaks within the sepoy ranks before 1857, but these had all been quickly and brutally suppressed.  The "spark" that came to begin this period of revolts was the introduction of the new, more accurate breech-loading Enfield rifle.



 The loading of these rifles entailed the biting of a greased cartridge, which the sepoys feared was made with either cow or pig fat - "the first, from an animal sacred to the Hindus, and the second from an animal held unclean by the Muslims.  The Hindu sepoys saw this as an attempt to break their caste as a preliminary to making them all Christians".  The Muslim troops were disgusted and no less insulted than the Hindus: the revolts were about to happen.



The first event was the bloody uprising at the garrison in Meerut, in which the mutineers murdered every European they found.  Then they marched to Delhi and "placed themselves under the leadership of the impotent and bewildered Mogul Emperor Bahadur Shah".    Throughout May and June the idea of mutiny spread through the Ganges valley, the Rajputna, Central India, and parts of Bengal.



 "By June, Cawnpore had surrendered to Nana Sahib, and Lucknow, the only British-held outpost in Oudh, was besieged".  On July 17 it was discovered that 200 European men, women, and children had been murdered a month earlier in the mutiny and siege at Cawnpore.  Vengeance was swift and harsh: suspected mutineers were tied to cannons and executed.  "In six months, the mutiny had been broken, and, within the next year, British power was restored".



 These rebellions would be remembered later by some Indian freedom fighters as the first stages of the struggle for independence from colonialism - whether they were related to later uprisings or not, the sepoy rebellions certainly sent a message to the British that demanded to be heard.

[Atheling]

Wow! And wow again!! 

Darrell.

[FifteensAway]

Alright, this is the last time I'm going to offer this to the Grimsby club - last time, mind you chaps - but I do believe you deserve a place of refuge and I'll see to it you have it here locally.  I mean, what with the pending disaster that is going to impact not only all of the UK but all of western Europe as well, it just wouldn't be right for all those nice miniatures to sink down into oblivion for ever and always.  So, pack them up and get ready so you can make it here before it happens.

Now, before we get back to that disaster, just how is it that a bunch of lads in an agricultural district sort of out in the middle of something akin to nowhere - despite a few nice landmarks here and there, some of which are of a historical nature - manage to create such a dominant table top force of such high quality with such consistency?  The world wants to know.

Okay, back to the pending doom, um, disaster.  No, no, no.  I'm not the one planning to make it happen and no amount of persuasion - or torture - will cause me to reveal otherwise. I'm just saying...

[swiftnick]

How did you find the Mutineer miniatures castings? I bought a load at a Scottish show a couple of years back and they are still unpainted, due to about 50% of the figures missing their bayonets or end of rifles.
There is something about the Highlanders I just can't put my finger on.

Great painting though and wonderful to see a very atmospheric game.

[joroas]

The Indian Mutiny was the colonial period I chose as both sides have similar equipment and training.  That doesn't happen often.  Oh, and the figures look colourful, too.

[Romark]

Great collection,enjoyed the photos and will check out the free flags,as an aside most of the photographs in this post are of AW Miniatures Mutiny figures I think ? With a few Old Glory in the first one.

[folnjir]

That lot look fantastic.

[Traveler Man]

Impressive!   

[smirnoff]

Very nice indeed.
Which rules do you use?

[nevermore]

One of the members is in the middle of writting colonial rules, very simple and great feel for the period, looking to getting them printed out this later this year

[smirnoff]

One of the members is in the middle of writting colonial rules, very simple and great feel for the period, looking to getting them printed out this later this year

Any chance of a shufty when they are done?

[nevermore]

Any chance of a shufty when they are done?

Ican tell you they are for Boxer Rebelion, Sudan, Indian Mutiny Northwest the Sikh wars and Zulu wars we are giving a demo game at Durham show and will be putting up samples of the rules up, very differant and very simple rules to use.

[smirnoff]

Durham...t'other end of this Sceptred Isle to me I'm afraid
Good, simple sets of rules for the Mutiny are few and far between IMHO
Hope a copy may become available sometime?