Napoleonic Wars British Army - Rifles

With technology improving, rifles were slowly replacing muskets as the infantry man's weapon of choice, and the British had learned the value of light infantry through its experiences in the American colonies during their War of Independence.

The British army therefore had raised two regiments of Riflemen - dressed in a similar green to the jager of the German nations. They lacked the flanking (light and grenadier) companies, but in other respects were organized in much the same way as the regular line infantry.

Napoleonic Wars British Army - Heavy Cavalry brigade

My Heavy Brigade is still a little Spartan, with just two squadrons each (only one of each pictured) of Life Guards and Scot's Greys - the Greys were all mounted on white/grey horses. Both regiments were heavy dragoons.

While the British army was a little short in terms of heavy cavalry, I'm pretty sure there is room for future additions here.

Enjoy the pics - infantry still to come.

British Light Cavalry from the Napoleonic Wars

So far I don't have any British hussars, so the Light Cavalry brigade of my British army only includes British Light Dragoons and King's German Legion cavalry - essentially also Light Dragoons. Light cavalry of other allied nations present, such as the Belgio-Dutch I posted yesterday, can be added to the brigade to boost it up.

Pictured are the British Light Dragoons (yellow lace on their outfits) and the KGL troops. King George III was also Elector of Hanover as well as King of England, and it was the Electorate of Hanover that provided most of the KGL troops.

Artillery from the British army of the Napoleonic Wars

The British army that fought in the Napoleonic Wars had two main types of artillery - foot and horse.

The Horse Artillery was mainly light-weight guns that were easily and quickly transported around the battlefield to meet needs as they arose. In the accompanying photo, one gun remains to continue firing at a nearby enemy, while a second is towed away to another part of the battlefield.

Foot Artillery guns were slightly bigger and heavier, and more difficult to move, although not as much so as the guns of some armies. Pictured is a lone gun sizing up an enemy target and preparing to fire.

Belgio-Dutch contingent for my Napoleonic (Wars) British army (Post 2 of 2)

The Belgian Light Dragoons are in green, the Dutch in blue.

Belgio-Dutch allies for my Napoleonic Wars British army (Post 1 of 2)

Well, it's been a while since I posted here, but I have been busy painting and organizing. Hopefully over the coming week, given I have some time off from my regular day jobs, I'll be able to post some of my recent months' work.

This post features the Belgio-Dutch contingent that will be part of my Napoleonic British army. So far I have one battalion each of Belgian and Dutch Line Infantry, two squadrons each of Belgian and Dutch Light Dragoons (only one of each pictured) and supporting artillery. William, Duke of Orange, leads the force and is pictured here on a white horse, waving his hat to encourage the troops. (Not all the pics will fit on one post, so I'll post the cavalry separately).

I plan to add forces from the Duchy of Nassau (which was also ruled by William) and some Dutch militia, but that won't happen until later next year some time.

Napoleonic Wars - Brunswickers

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.