Horses in VBCW

More VBCW nonsense here.

Civil war in the 1930’s is a strange affair. On the one hand, modern inventions such as radio, tanks, air planes and the machine gun have fundamentally changed the way war is fought, but on the other hand, a lack of supply lines and military infrastructure means that all factions in the war are forced to fall back on many of the tried and tested methods of warfare.

One such example is in the use of horse on the battlefield. Although full frontal cavalry charges are something of the past, horses still have a role to play. Some units use horses for manoeuvrability while others use them to transport goods to the front line or tow artillery pieces around.

This picture depicts a postal worker from the Liverpool Free State, who is working as a courier, transporting vital documents behind the front lines. In the days when radio communication is not secured, such a job is of the utmost importance to the war effort.

LFS Mounted Dispatch Rider

Here we can see Captain Webster of the BUF, who has been seconded to the General Staff of Lord Winterfield in Somerset, where he is acting as his intelligence officer. Captain Webster is not a natural cavalryman, but as Lord Winterfield insists all his staff ride into battle (mostly for propaganda reasons- because it looks heroic) Captain Webster is doing his best to learn.

The mounted postman is, I think, a Renegade Miniatures WW1 British Cavalryman. My pal Tym, of the Gentleman’s Wargame Parlour, painted it for me. The horse is a plastic horse from Warlord Games. All I have done is add a base so that it matches the rest of my army.

Captain Webster is a BUF officer from Musketeer Miniatures, and the mounted officer is a Spanish Civil War figure from Empress Miniatures. Although they are both sculpted by Paul Hicks they are from different ranges, hence they are not exactly the same, but they are close enough for what I need.