Waggons, Oxen and Tents

I've been plugging away at various projects this week and decided to complete some logistical items for my British forces. These were relatively easy to complete and gave me time to prepare other models for coming weeks and to research some of the units I want to paint. First off I have painted some wagons and Ox teams for the British.

Lord Chelmsford's original plan for the invasion of Zululand was predicated upon several completely erroneous assumptions. He was convinced that the Zulu's would avoid a direct confrontation with his forces and he believed there was a very real prospect of the Zulu army slipping past his forces and counter invading Natal. In order to bring the Zulu's to battle he concluded he would have to dominate as much of Zululand as he could and to that end he decided to invade with five columns converging on the Zulu capital at Ulundi. The problem was there just weren't enough wagons in the whole of Natal available to equip five columns.

In the end Chelmsford was forced to amend his plan for various reasons (not just lack of wagons) to three invading columns and, although he still worried he wouldn't be able to bring the Zulu's to battle, he was confident that his forces would eventually succeed in crushing the Zulus. Little did he realise that Cetshwayo had no intention of counter invading Natal* and instead was looking for a decisive win against the British to force them back to the negotiating table. (*Cetshwayo gave specific orders not to cross the border, although it didn't stop his younger brother Dabulamanzi from attacking the mission station at Rourke's Drift.)  

In addition to the wagons I also painted 24 Bell Tents. Photo's of period often show rows of these distinctive white tents in the centre of camps. 

8 Wagons each with a six Oxen team to pull them (ie 48 Cattle and 8 Vehicles) should net me 32 points. As for the Bell Tents your guess is as good as mine. Their combined volume (generously calculated!) is about 5% of a 6 inch cube, so I guess they are worth 1 point!