Sergeant - 93rd Sutherland Highlanders - Balaclava 1854

The "Thin Red Line" is one of those evocative episodes of the history of the British Army.

This episode happened in 1854, during the Battle of Balaclava, one of the major clashes of the Crimean War. A Russian cavalry force of around 2500 men was about to advance over the British encampment, and the only force available to stop them was a small 500 men contingent from the 93rd Highland Regiment, aided by a few Royal Marines.

They were so few that their commanding officer, Sir Colin Campbell, formed then in a two lines depth, in an attempt of stretching the front, while the normal order would have been to form in square to defend themselves from the charging cavalry.

The highlanders managed to fire three volleys that dismounted several enemies and the Russian thought that their determination was nothing more than a mere trap, that they surely must have more troops behind waiting for them, so they retired.

A correspondent for The Times, a witness of the action, wrote that nothing was standing between the Russians and the defenseless encampment except for that "thin red streak tipped with a line of steel". The public condensed the line as "The Thin Red Line" and quickly became a symbol of the British soldier composure in battle.

Our miniature portrays an NCO of the 93rd Highland Regiment during that glorious episode. It can be painted as a member of other Highlander regiments on the same conflict.