The 10th (The Duke of Cambridge's) Bengal Lancers (Hodson's Horse)

 

Here is my interpretation of the 10th (The Duke of Cambridge's) Bengal Lancers (Hodson's Horse) of the latter part of the 19th Century and early 20th Century for The Men Who Would be Kings. All figures are from Perry Miniatures. The 10th Bengal Lancers is one third of the original Hodson's Horse. William Hodson was serving on the staff of the Delhi Field Force in 1857 during the Great Mutiny and was also commanding the Corps of Guides. Whilst holding these jobs he was asked to raise a regiment of irregular cavalry which came to be called Hodson's Horse. 

Officer and bugler for the 10th Bengal Lancers. All figures by Perry Miniatures.

"The Major Sahib is a dandy and wears dress uniform items with his field uniform and is fastidious in his appearance; but he is the Whirlwind of the Tiger when he orders us to duty and the charge!"

The gathering of wild men, brought in to join this force, in the vicinity of Delhi was a cause for concern, so Hodson had to relinquish his other jobs to take command of the regiment. The regiment went to the relief of Lucknow where Hodson met his death. Soon the force was so large that it was split into 3 separate regiments in 1858.

Family traditions of service are strong in India with sons following fathers into the same regiment.

Following Hodson's death, command of the regiment was given to Henry Daly of the Guides Cavalry. Daly played a major role in reorganizing the regiment: more troops were recruited, including Pashtuns (Pathans), muster rolls were created, and accounts were organized. The regiment was reorganized into three regiments: 1st and 2nd Regiment of Hodson's Horse on 26 August 1858, and 3rd Regiment on 9 September 1858. 

The 3rd regiment was disbanded in 1861 and the 1st and 2nd regiments became the 9th and 10th Bengal Cavalry. In 1871 the 10th fought in Abyssinia. A squadron of the 10th went to Malta with the 9th regiment in 1878 while the rest of the regiment went to Afghanistan. 

Whilst in Malta the squadron was inspected by the Duke of Cambridge who was so impressed that he conferred his name on the regiment. 

In 1871, the 10th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry fought in Abyssinia. A squadron of the 10th went to Malta with the 9th regiment in 1878 while the rest of the regiment went to Afghanistan. 

Following the re-organisation of 1895, the regiment retained their name and came under Punjab Command. On 10 August 1897, the regiment was ordered to proceed by train from Rawalpindi to Peshawar and became part of the "Peshawar column" of the Tirah Expeditionary Force during the Frontier Uprisings in the Punjab during 1897 to 1898. They participated as part of the Malakand Field Force and the Buner Field Force.

Caught in the open!

Note the variety of pagaris in the Officer Commanding Detachment; don't let anyone tell you that you have the wrong turban or painted it incorrectly. If the British Indian Army was like the detachment I always had with me in combat, the men of the detachment have that sleepy look in their eyes - you know, the killers that allow the commander not to be bothered while he does his job. Now I need to add a dog to my leader figure!

"Well that did not take long. The Major Sahib now has a dog. Did anyone bring doggie bags?"

Listing of Regimental Names up to the period I am gaming:

1857 Hodson's Horse

1858 2nd Regiment of Hodson's Horse

1861 10th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry

1864 10th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (Lancers)

1874 10th Regiment of Bengal Lancers

1878 10th Bengal (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers

1901 10th (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Bengal Lancers (Hodson's Horse)

Battle Honors:

• Delhi, 1857
• Lucknow
• Abyssinia
• Afghanistan, 1878-80
• Suakin, 1885
• Chitral
• Punjab Frontier

I decided to paint my Squadron of the 10th Bengal Lancers as they would have looked during the Frontier Uprisings of 1897 to 1898. They carry no pennants on their bamboo lances as they are on active field duty against the enemy. The 10th also had black puttees while most cavalry units had blue. I also added trailing scarfs from the Perry Miniatures Afghan Tribal Infantry box to their pagari (turbans). Hey, if you are going to have Bengal Lancers, they need to look dashing! I also attached one of the trailing scarfs to the cummerbund of my dapper British officer.