8210 British Colonial Artillery

Dated: May 6, 2009

Artillery gave Britain's colonial armies a major advantage in firepower, but campaigning in Africa and Asia demanded guns that could move across rough ground with relatively small teams. Heavy European field pieces were often impractical on poor roads, steep slopes and open country without established transport networks. Light rifled muzzle-loading guns therefore remained valuable long after more modern weapons had begun to appear elsewhere in the British Army.

Box

This set represents a British colonial artillery crew with the RML 7-pounder mountain gun. The name referred to the approximate weight of the shell rather than the gun itself. Introduced during the 1870s, the weapon was light enough to serve in difficult country and could be transported in separate loads when necessary. During the Anglo-Zulu War, examples were also mounted on wider-wheeled colonial or Kaffraria carriages, allowing them to be drawn across the long grass and broken terrain of southern Africa.

Line drawing

This set contains 24 figures and four guns in six crew poses. The men wear foreign-service helmets and the campaign uniform of Victorian British artillerymen. Their poses represent the principal duties around the piece, including loading, aiming, carrying ammunition and directing the crew. The gun assembles simply but provides a useful model of the light artillery that accompanied British columns during the colonial campaigns.

Test shot

British artillery played an important role throughout the Anglo-Zulu War. Two 7-pounders accompanied the centre column at Isandlwana and were lost when the British camp was overwhelmed. At later battles, artillery was deployed more carefully behind prepared positions or within defensive formations. Six 7-pounders helped defend the fortified camp at Kambula, where concentrated rifle and artillery fire contributed to a decisive British victory.

The 7-pounder's light shell could not match the power of heavier field artillery, and its effectiveness depended greatly upon ammunition, range and the skill of its crew. Nevertheless, its portability made it valuable in wars where simply bringing a gun onto the battlefield could be a major achievement. Set 8210 can therefore represent Royal Artillery crews in the Zulu War and, with suitable painting, in other late-Victorian campaigns in Africa and Asia.

The RML 7-pounder
- RML meant rifled muzzle-loading: the projectile was loaded from the front of the barrel, while internal rifling caused it to spin in flight.
- 7-pounder referred to the approximate weight of the shell.
- Its relatively light construction made the gun suitable for rough terrain, mountain warfare and colonial expeditions.
- During the Zulu War, some guns were mounted on broad-wheeled colonial carriages better suited to horse transport across southern African terrain.

Where the set can be used
The figures are especially suitable for the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, but light British artillery of this general type also served in Afghanistan, the First Boer War and numerous later expeditions in Africa. The 7-pounder remained in colonial service after it had become outdated for major European warfare.

On the March -> Gun Brought into Action -> Defending a Prepared Position