SHARP PRACTICE... 1ST AFGHAN WAR UPDATE!

This week I finally completed my second Afghan group for Sharp Practice; a 12 figure bunch of rogues under the command of the equally roguish local Mullah, Abdullah Shambhani. The Mullah Abdullah is a lowly village cleric who has seized the opportunity to make a name for himself by calling the faithful to arms in response to the British invasion of his country. He is aided in his mission by Amail Domki, who carries the red and black banner, which symbolises the blood of the infidel cascading into the terrible depths of hell!

Abdullah's Ghazi warriors are the Sword of God, protectors of the believers and sworn to rid Afghanistan of the infidel invaders. They carry no firearms and need no shields because they have a higher form of protection! To die in battle is to become a martyr and Abdullah has promised his warriors eternal life should they fall defending their homeland.

The Mullah Abdullah and his right hand man, Amail Domki.

Because they are effectively religious adventurers, being driven by loyalty to a cause, rather than loyalty to the tribe, I have classed them as Wallahs, but, having that religious furver to drive them on, they get the "Big Choppers" characteristic, which gives them ten dice if they do survive long enough to get into Fisticuffs with the enemy.

The Afghans are a mixture of figures from Perry Miniatures and Wargames Atlantic. The Perrys are slightly taller and somewhat bulkier than the Wargames Atlantic figures and I definitely prefer the Perrys. However, having the Wargames Atlantic figures does add some extra variety and they are certainly worth having in the warband.

Eventually, my warband will have a second 12 man group intended principally for Fisticuffs, but they will be a Tribal group, so will have some shooting capability, and will be lead by the Force Leader, Kahn Sheik Jabooti. There will also be three skirmishing groups, two jezail armed and one wielding muskets.

The first jezail armed group is lead by Wakmai Butt and I think will be classified as an Irregular Skirmish Group (Rifles). Most sources I've read so far suggest that the jezail had a longer range than the British Muskets and the jezailmen were able to snipe effectively from cover without suffering in return. In Sharp Practice, rifles require two actions to re-load and I think this balances out the longer range of the jezail.

Wakmai Butt... Leader of the Durrani Jezailmen.

Of course, when you embark on a brand new topic, it's not all about painting the troops...