Sunday, March 19, 2017

Brunswickers - better late than never!

This was supposed to be my project for January, but it went on a little longer than anticipated. Hopefully worth the wait - a full regiment of Duchy of Brunswick hussars from the latter period of the Napoleonic Wars.

After making peace with Austria and Prussia, prior to invading Russia, Napoleon consolidated many of the independent German states into the Confederation of the Rhine, with the Duchy of Brunswick losing its status altogether. The Duke led a group of his loyal followers on a march to the sea - north, to a British-controlled Hanoverian port, and fled to Britain. The army regrouped there, and fought as part of the British in the Iberian Peninsular, and then subsequently in the Waterloo campaign, with the Duke himself killed at Quatre Bras, in the lead up to the Battle of Waterloo.

A Brunswick hussar regiment comprised four squadrons, with one armed as uhlan (lancers). Each squadron had a paper strength of 120 men - six figures on a scale of one figure represents 20 men. Thus, we have.......


(Note that the squadron of uhlan would probably move to the front if a charge was going to be attempted. As light cavalry though, the regiment would more often be used for scouting and screening, so the uhlan can be kept safely at the back while the squadrons armed with carbines take the lead. All have swords as backup once the initial charge has been made and the fighting becomes up close and personal.)

When I first started painting Brunswickers (the infantry, a couple of years ago now) I thought the Black and grey coloring might be a bit boring to look at. But the light blue facings and trim really stand out and make them quite visually appealing on the battlefield.


All up, a nice little force. Too weak for offensive action (unless supported by allies) but more than useful as a garrison protecting a defensive position. If I can find an appropriate gun battery, the force will be complete.

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