The Sun Never Sets - Chinese Part 2

In this group will be found some of the command elements of the Chinese army, along with their artillery, and some of the more exoticly armed troops.

Chinese Command - Here are a group and individual photos of the command group. The mounted commander, a ts'an-ling, led around 1,500 men or a regiment. Higher ranking commanders get to carry the small pennant.

He also has a parasol bearer. The parasol he is carrying is a photo of an oriental parasol I found on the internet. I cut a slit in an undecorated area to overlap and glue it back together to form its shape.

The trumpeter and gong beater are also used as command figures of individual units.

The drummer I reserve for the regimental commander

The final figure is the "firecracker commando" (I do not know what his Chinese designation is). His job is to move out to the flanks, stealthily. Then from his hidden location, set off his fireworks, in order to make his enemies believe they are being attacked on the flank, sowing confusion in their ranks.

Light Jingals - These are two man "light" jingal teams. The Chinese were very fond of oversized firearms and a large proportion of their missile-armed troops used the jingal. I have represented these troops in all three uniforms that I did for the regular infantry.

Heavy Jingals - They even had a more oversized version of the musket. The tripod mounted "Heavy" jingal is the Chinese version of a battalion gun, so is manned by an artillery crew.

Medium Cannon - At least early on, when China first started producing European style artillery of their own, they used much more metal that necessary in their barrels. This made for some really big looking guns that fired an undersized ball. It should also be noted that they did not use horses to transport their cannon. It was accomplished by gangs of men with tow ropes. This helps to explain their lack of mobility, once on the field of battle.

Light Cannon - Pictures of this gun have been seen in numerous books and articles, so it seemed a necessary inclusion for the Chinese army. Red is a typical color used for Chinese artillery carriages, though many are left in natural wood.

Heavy Cannon - In a nod to the movie "55 Days At Peking", I made this large dragon headed cannon. All of the artillery, including the heavy jingals, are 3D prints.

The "Ever Victorious Army" - The Chinese employed foreign trained and led troops during the Tai Ping rebellion. The most famous of which was the, "Ever Victorious Army". They are pictured here in the summer uniform. The officer is a conversion of one of my commissariat officers from the Zulu wars range.

Shanghai Volunteer Corps - The commercial interests in the various ports of China raised volunteer units to protect their property during the various rebellious periods of Chinas history. Shanghai Volunteer Corps was the only unit to see formal action. Note, this officer is also a commissariat officer conversion from the Zulu wars range.

That about covers the Chinese for now. I think all that is left are the Ashanti, Maori, and Abyssinians.

The Sun Never Sets - Chinese

 Sorry for the delay in getting this post up, but I've gone through everything I've had painted and sculpted now, so the posts will come slower now. So without further ado, Chinese for "The Sun Never Sets".

Bannerman Troops - These are the main permanent army forces of China. There are various uniforms for the Bannermen, and this is just one. The first two pictures show the rank and file and show troops armed with matchlock firearms and polearms. The third picture shows the unit's command of a leader, standard bearers, and musicians.

 Yung-Ying (Brave) Infantry - The Yung troops were raised when needed, but were better trained and equipped than the Bannermen units. These troops are based on the uniform shown in the Osprey Boxer Rebellion book, but this uniform would not be out of place in the Opium Wars or Tai-Ping Rebellion.

Bannermen Archers - All Bannermen were supposed to be cavalry, but by the mid 19th century, few had horses. The cavalry were to carry a bow and arrows, a matchlock firearm, a sword, and a lance. Again few carried all this equipment. The above three photos show Bannerman archers. A unit of Bannermen would contain light jingals, melee armed men (with swords and polearms), and matchlock men or archers. These archers would generally make up one quarter of a Bannerman unit.

Tigermen - These are the Chinese skirmish troops. It was their job to break up attacking Cavalry with their acrobatics, frightening shields and uniforms, as well as weapons which could include grappling hooks! These four photos depict my Tigermen in their frightening shields and uniforms.

Bannerman Cavalry - The regular cavalryman wore the typical Bannerman uniform jacket, though the clothing underneath was civilian. The unit pictured above is well armed, with sword, bow and arrows, and sword. All the equipment is separate from the horse and rider castings and are 3D prints. 

Irregular Mongol Cavalry - Much of the Chinese cavalry was made up of these men. They are armed similarly to the Bannerman cavalry. Because they were not subject to the same corruption of the Banners, they were better troops.

This is it for round one of the Chinese army for "The Sun Never Sets".