Askari Miniatures 80mm Mountain Gun and Artillery Mules

One of Askari Miniatures virtues is their focus on ranges outside the standard British Colonial paradigm, on the less well known areas of Victorian campaigning.

One of these less-well-known areas is late 19th century French artillery. In 1889, the French were using several types of field guns, including the De Bange (pron. de baunj) 80mm mountain gun. This weapon crops up on many Coloniale orders of battle, from Chad to Tonkin.

Askari do a nifty model of this gun, shown here with Seneglais crew.  There are also two European officers which I can't show at the moment, because they are still being painted.

Askari also make a set of artillery pack mules which will accept the dis-assembled guns for transport. Also included are pack "bits" (ammo boxes and marching packs) for fitting out a supply mule.

Often, I use the ammo mules as a general supply proxy. I'm of the opinion that as wargamers, we don't always pay enough attention to the supply train. In the 19th century, the colonial forces were often operating well away from their supply base, and including elements of the supply train is both accurate and tactically challenging, as one must task miniatures to guard the train or risk ruin.

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