#8209 Zulu Wars: British Mounted Infantry

Dated: April 29, 2008

The British force sent into Zululand in 1879 suffered from a serious shortage of regular cavalry. Colonial volunteer units supplied some mounted manpower, but the army also formed mounted infantry by selecting soldiers from ordinary infantry battalions who were already competent riders. These men retained their identity as infantrymen, but horses gave them the speed needed for reconnaissance, patrols, communications and the rapid occupation of important ground.

Box front.

Mounted infantry were not intended to fight as conventional cavalry. They normally used their horses for movement, then dismounted and fought with rifles on foot. This made them especially valuable in the wide, broken country of southern Africa, where ordinary infantry columns could move slowly and mounted scouts were needed to watch the surrounding terrain. A horse-holder remained behind with several animals while the other men formed a firing line or skirmishing party.

Line drawing

The Imperial Mounted Infantry serving in the Zulu campaign included regular soldiers drawn from several British infantry regiments in South Africa. They retained their regimental tunics and foreign-service helmets, but were issued practical mounted equipment including riding breeches, boots and ammunition bandoliers. The result was a distinctive combination of the red-coated British infantryman and the mobile colonial horse soldier.

This set contains 18 figures and 12 horses in six human poses and two horse poses. Nine figures are mounted, while the remaining nine are dismounted. One of the foot figures acts as a horse-holder, making it possible to show the unit in the historically appropriate manner: arriving mounted, securing the horses and deploying to fight on foot.

Test shot.

The set is especially suitable for the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, including patrols, reconnaissance, convoy escort and battlefield skirmishing. It also illustrates an important development in Victorian warfare. Mounted infantry offered much of the mobility of cavalry without requiring soldiers to master the lance, sword and complicated mounted tactics of a traditional cavalry regiment.

How mounted infantry fought
Mounted movement - Horses allowed infantrymen to scout, patrol and move rapidly across open country.
Horse-holders - When the unit dismounted, selected men remained behind to control the horses.
Fighting on foot - The main body deployed with rifles as ordinary infantry or skirmishers.
Not cavalry - Mounted infantry were not normally expected to deliver traditional mounted charges.

Mounted Infantry vs Frontier Light Horse
The British Mounted Infantry were regular infantry soldiers temporarily equipped with horses and mounted-service gear. The Frontier Light Horse and similar colonial corps were locally raised irregular units whose members were generally recruited specifically for mounted service. Both often fought dismounted, but their origins, organization and military culture were different.

Regular British infantrymen using horses for reconnaissance and rapid movement, then dismounting to fight with their rifles during the Anglo-Zulu War.