Post by tiredwolf900 on Jun 6, 2020 15:51:44 GMT
Posted this on Facebook earlier so sorry if you've already seen it.
Got my first few infantry elements built yesterday and I've been working on some backstory for my army as I wanted something a little different, its not particularly serious and it is in no way based on real life, just something fun that gives me a good excuse to paint an army red.
Originally they were a royal guard force sent to the US to act as personal security for the president as a gesture of good will from King George, but Teddy being Teddy thanked them for coming, shook a few hands, then ordered them make themselves useful on the front lines instead.
Due to the largely ceremonial nature of the regiment however, it originally entirely consisted of veteran infantry and cavalry, which forced their commanders to be creative on the battlefield by setting up elaborate traps in city ruins or using cavalry to bait tripods into assault range of infantry lying in ambush. This gave the regiment a reputation for being brave, if not slightly insane and would lead to the nickname "The Black Tops" in reference to both their large black hats and the general appearance of a tripod after it had taken several skillfully thrown grenades to the head.
Over time though, the regiment took heavy casualties and was eventually diminished to a small core of battle hardened officers, all of whom wore a glittering collection of medals on their chests, each one coming with a gripping, and occasionally slightly exaggerated tale. Rather than disbanding the regiment, British command saw the potential propaganda value of an elite force of veteran soldiers proudly marching into battle to the beat of a drum with the union jack flying over their heads as daring cavalry men drew glittering sabres and charged the dastardly martian foe. So to continue the legacy of the Black Tops, they were merged with the remnants of several other BEF regiments that had suffered similar losses and given orders to train them up to fit that image. What command expected was for the veterans to run training drills and teach their troops how to look good on parade, instead they issued new uniforms to their recruits with red fatigues and white helmets until they could earn their own cerimanial uniforms in combat, took up their old weapons and garb (complete with the hats of their namesake which would now act as badges of office), and went marching into battle once more at the head of a now fully equipped fighting force complete with its own tanks and artillery, proudly waving the regimental colours, beating marching drums and shouting battle cries to the wind as they closed in for the kill.
Please let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate some feedback and model suggestions as right now I'm using napoleonic models to represent the Black Top veterans, I'm also planning to use the colour coding for the hats on my tanks by painting regular vehicles white and command tanks black. I'm also considering a few different designs for a regimental standard, right now I'm thinking of a union jack with the silhouette of a burning tripod over the top but I'm not too sure on that one.
Got my first few infantry elements built yesterday and I've been working on some backstory for my army as I wanted something a little different, its not particularly serious and it is in no way based on real life, just something fun that gives me a good excuse to paint an army red.
Originally they were a royal guard force sent to the US to act as personal security for the president as a gesture of good will from King George, but Teddy being Teddy thanked them for coming, shook a few hands, then ordered them make themselves useful on the front lines instead.
Due to the largely ceremonial nature of the regiment however, it originally entirely consisted of veteran infantry and cavalry, which forced their commanders to be creative on the battlefield by setting up elaborate traps in city ruins or using cavalry to bait tripods into assault range of infantry lying in ambush. This gave the regiment a reputation for being brave, if not slightly insane and would lead to the nickname "The Black Tops" in reference to both their large black hats and the general appearance of a tripod after it had taken several skillfully thrown grenades to the head.
Over time though, the regiment took heavy casualties and was eventually diminished to a small core of battle hardened officers, all of whom wore a glittering collection of medals on their chests, each one coming with a gripping, and occasionally slightly exaggerated tale. Rather than disbanding the regiment, British command saw the potential propaganda value of an elite force of veteran soldiers proudly marching into battle to the beat of a drum with the union jack flying over their heads as daring cavalry men drew glittering sabres and charged the dastardly martian foe. So to continue the legacy of the Black Tops, they were merged with the remnants of several other BEF regiments that had suffered similar losses and given orders to train them up to fit that image. What command expected was for the veterans to run training drills and teach their troops how to look good on parade, instead they issued new uniforms to their recruits with red fatigues and white helmets until they could earn their own cerimanial uniforms in combat, took up their old weapons and garb (complete with the hats of their namesake which would now act as badges of office), and went marching into battle once more at the head of a now fully equipped fighting force complete with its own tanks and artillery, proudly waving the regimental colours, beating marching drums and shouting battle cries to the wind as they closed in for the kill.
Please let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate some feedback and model suggestions as right now I'm using napoleonic models to represent the Black Top veterans, I'm also planning to use the colour coding for the hats on my tanks by painting regular vehicles white and command tanks black. I'm also considering a few different designs for a regimental standard, right now I'm thinking of a union jack with the silhouette of a burning tripod over the top but I'm not too sure on that one.
