On to Herat

I came late to colonial wargaming but always enjoyed reading about the period.  Eventually I came to realise that the wars were much more closely contested than Edwardian historians would have us believe and that good games were there to be had.

This led by way of India and the Crimea to collecting a Persian army of the Qajar Dynasty.  Pretty much all of the Great Powers had a go at making friends and influencing the Qajar and the imprint of French, Russians and British can be discerned on their army.

It is not one of those stand out battle winning forces but it has its points.  The artillery was good and the regular infantry could be a tough proposition.  The regular cavalry was somewhat inhibited by its European kit but comprised of good basic material.  For novelty, it’s hard to beat Camel guns and the Qajar had lots of those. As you can see they were a colourful bunch which adds to the attraction.  

There were lots of irregular troops too we will see them next time.

On a couple of occasions rumours swept India that the Shah was on his way to expel the Raj.  It has the makings of a great ‘What if? First of course the Shah would need to take Herat.