Ros Figures 25mm Napoleonic British Light Dragoons

Getting back to reality and away from orcs and elves for a while, I have just finished the refurbishment of another Ros unit.  They have been given new bases and a bit of touching up:

Another Mystery Figure

A few days ago I purchased a small lot of figures, amongst which were a small group of Minifigs 'One Piece Castings' (OPC) cavalry figures. I was particularly attracted to two Russian cavalry men that I had not seen before. One is a dragoon and the other a hussar (see last picture).  There were two other OPC figures in the group, which I initially assumed to be the British Napoleonic hussar (which I have seen before) and what I considered to be a Brunswick hussar.

However, on closer inspection the Brunswicker did not look quite right:

Looking at his shako it is easy to see why he might be considered to be a Brunswicker, but that is where the similarities end. He is not wearing a hussar tunic and the horse furniture is not right either.

Here is a picture of our man next to the British Hussar:

Our man lacks the hussar braiding across the jacket but on the other hand the pose is very similar to the British figure - assumed to be Napoleonic.

I wonder, if our figure is in fact a Crimean War figure depicting a light dragoon?  The reason I suggest this is that the British heavy dragoon and lancer OPCs have plumes (not worn in the Crimea) and in full dress the 1850s British Light Dragoon had a feathered plume as above.

I took a look at the Lone S ranger site, but alas there is no picture of a Light Dragoon.

here are the four figures from the group lined up together, with the two Russians on the end:

I would welcome any thoughts. Does anyone have another example of this figure?

Back to the Crimea - 13th Light Dragoons

At long last I have finished the fifth and final regiment that makes up the Light Brigade, the 13th Light Dragoons. Like the other four regiments these figures are by Douglas Miniatures:

 And here is the complete brigade. Guess where they are heading!

The Light Brigade

When the Crimean war is mentioned most people conjure up the image of the Charge of the Light Brigade, as this event, as part of the battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854, though of little military significance, became a symbol of courage and valour in Victorian Britain. The charge prompted writers, poets and painters to interpret the glory of what was really a huge military blunder. Debate continues today over who was to blame, but the outcome of misinterpreted orders and personal rivalry was the destruction of the British light cavalry force in the Crimea.

 

The British cavalry was divided into two brigades; the Heavy Brigade, consisting of five regiments of heavy dragoons and the Light Brigade made up of five light cavalry regiments; two hussars, two light dragoons and one of lancers.

The Light Brigade was commanded by Major General James Brudenell, the 7^th Earl of Cardigan (known commonly as Lord Cardigan). The five regiments in the brigade were the 4^th and 13^th Light Dragoons, the 8^th and 11^th Hussars and lastly the 17^th Lancers. Up until Balaclava the Brigade had seen little action and on that fateful day, through a combination of errors and the burning desire to at last get to grips with the enemy a force of around 670 light cavalry charged headlong down a valley defended by the Russians, with over 50 guns, 20 battalions of infantry and a significant cavalry force. The result was inevitable and the Brigade ceased to be an effective fighting force, losing around 278 killed, wounded and taken prisoner, as well as 335 horses.

Douglas Miniatures does a fair job representing the light cavalry, with a light dragoon and a lancer figure. This permits the recreation of three of the regiments, namely the 4^th and 13^th Light Dragoons and the 17^th Lancer. Both the dragoons and the lancer use BH1 Cavalry Horse. There is no hussar figure in the Crimean range, but it is possible to use the Douglas Miniatures Napoleonic range as a substitute.

So far I have painted three regiments for my interpretation of the Light Brigade:

B1 Light Dragoon – painted as the 4^th Light Dragoons:

B3 Lancer, painted as 17^th Lancers.

From the Douglas Miniatures Napoleonic range – NP21 British Hussar in busby with carbine, mounted on NP21a British Hussar horse (both available from John Cunningham). I removed the plume from the busby and replaced the carbine with a sword: