Maybe I could have picked a better background, but these are my Black Brunswickers from the latter portion of the Napoleonic Wars, supported by a section of their avante-guarde (the guys in grey on the left of the picture.)
Brunswick fought alongside Prussia during the early stages of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, but after the death of the Duke and the Prussian defeat of 1806, Napoleon "reorganized" all the German kingdoms and principalities - totally disbanding some - to form the Confederation of the Rhine. Not wanting anything to do with the "new Germany" the new duke originally sided with Austria, before leaving for England with a small army of loyal followers, the bulk of whom were dressed in the new "black" uniform.
The Brunswickers fought as part of the British army for the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars, playing a significant role in the 1815 Waterloo campaign that ended Napoleon's reign.
I still have Brunswicker cavalry to do, but that will be a little way off yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment