1813-15 battles in 20mm and for AoE and V&F - (part 10) The Brunswick division at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo

   

These models were one of the reasons for the exchange I made recently between my 28mm armies and TC´s 20mm armies. This small group is some 40 years old and was kept dearly as my first Napoleonics. Then when I switched to 28mm I always felt sorry for leaving these ones behind in card boxes. When a late teenager I only had the rule book 'To the Sound of the Guns', some Napoleonics lists and the two volumes of Napoleonic Uniforms by the Funckens. Then, one day while in downtown I found in a local library my first Osprey book, Brunswick Troops. And fantastic it was as it portrayed excellent color plates an a very rich text as the unit is a relatively small one, so plenty of information was inside.

On those old days of the 80s there were already several Esci Napoleonic Boxes like the British, French and Russian. So all of them were used for this division: 

 The bodies of the Line and Light infantry had the British as base with carved tails and bedrolls; the Light infantry had French Shakoes while the Line had Russian kiwers. Some infantry is also based on Russian bodies without the bedroll on the torso for variety and getting some figures as NCO´s with the sabretache. The running figure was forced to cool down as it had his knees bent with some fire so both legs could touch the base. 

The blue/yellow shako tufts were made with a small pin enlarged with epoxy resin. 

The flags of the Line battalions (the Light battalions had no flags) were hand painted. They are bigger then they should but they were carefully painting in Enamel colors as typical of those pre-internet and Acrylic days. 

They are for sure some of the more beautiful flags of the period. 

The Avant Garde was made from Russian bodies with scratch-built Corsican hats made of EverGreen plastic card.

The artillery guns are Esci British with the Horse artillery made from British Esci due to the braiding and the Foot artillery made from Airfix French, all with new heads as for the Hussars.

The Hussars are Airfix with French Shakoes with tufts made from hardened cotton and pins with superglue. 

The lancers are direct Esci with needles instead of the small plastic lances. There was only one squadron of lancers so one base would be enough but three is better than one.

The duke of Brunswick is a Waterloo1815 figure painted straight from the box. 

 Today Hat Industries has with all these types made in several boxes - Avant Garde; Leib Infantry and Cavalry -  and StreletsR also has the Leib battalion, so all this converting/scratch build work is useless even if it was fun to make. 

Next: French Old  Guard Chasseurs

1813-15 battles in 20mm and for AoE and V&F - (part 9) Vivian´s Hussar Brigade

 

Major- Gen. Vivian´s brigade was holding the extreme left of the allied line at Waterloo and had the particularity of having its own troop of RHA. Later in the battle it was moved behind the center were it saw action against French cavalry. 

The figures are repaints of the old Airfix from TC´s exchange with horses glued to new bases in all legs (otherwise paint will flake). These ones were chosen because all have the Colpacks of two of Vivian´s regiments, the 18th Hussars and the 1st KGL Hussars. 

Next. Brunswickers at Waterloo

1813-15 battles in 20mm and for AoE and V&F - (part 8) Last Hanoverians added

 

This post finishes the four Hanoverian brigades of infantry and the brigade of cavalry necessary for Waterloo. 

This post is about some unknown heroes of the Waterloo campaign. I´m obviously speaking about the Airfix horses from the Hussar box, small animals that endured since 1972 the extra weight Hussars from the same box. Also all shabraques are the ones with pointy ends at the rear so only proper for officers.

 The figures were already painted by TC who made a nice work on them. Just new bases, new facings and minor details were added. The flags are not known and just some smaller models of the infantry flags were added. 

The horses had to be attached to the bases at least on three legs due to the thin plastic these are made of. 

The fantastic site Mont Saint-Jean is a big help for this campaign as it shows clearly all aspects of the uniforms of this campaign. These figures are from the Prinzregenten regiment which was at Hal, some 15km away from Waterloo, during the battle. In fact the only unit of the Hanoverian cavalry brigade that was present at Waterloo was the Cumberland Hussars. And present is an exaggeration as they shamelessly fled the battlefield causing panic in Brussels something that was rare as all other  Hanoverians behaved very well during the battle. 

This is the Hameln Landwehr battalion representing the Hanoverian brigade of Picton´s 5th infantry division. Its entirely made of Italeri British infantry with shakos squashed with fire until the shape of a peaked hat was achieved.

Next: 1815 British Hussars 

1813-15 battles in 20mm and for AoE and V&F - (part 7) Finishing the British line infantry

This post completes the British line infantry necessary for AoE as this is a Brigade level game. All other infantry will be Brunswickers, Nassauers, Belgian, Dutch and one missing Hanoverian brigade. My original idea when receiving this large batch of exchanged figures was to use the Airfix figures but these had received a cut at the top of the Belgian shako and had an inserted plume at the center, Peninsular style. No problem with the plume that can be taken out but the front curved top of the shako was gone making a second life for them in 1815 very difficult. Instead I used the Revell figures. They had suffered the same kind of surgery to become Peninsular infantry but TC (the previous owner) didn´t cut the top of the Belgian shako but just added some paste and the central plume for them to look like Peninsular infantry. So these ones just had the paste taken out. As the side plume was also gone I covered all shakos with a very dark gray color for it to look like covered Belgian shakos. 

The Revell figures are very elegant but its not easy to mix  with other brands as they have tall and slim bodies and small heads and headdress. In the picture you have the 4th Foot (Lambert´s brigade, 6th Infantry Division); 33rd Foot ( Halkett´s Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and two KGL regiments for two brigades of the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions.

There are also a few Hat figures in bonnets and bearskins as drummers, NCO´s and pioneers as these doesn´t impact the small Revell shakos. 

1813-15 battles in 20mm and for AoE and V&F - (part 6) "La Garde meurt mais ne se rend pas!"

 

I always wanted to put this title! In fact it sums pretty well the life and death of these fantastic soldiers, even if this sentence was said by Cambronne of the Guard Chasseurs.  The figures are all from the last batch of exchanged figures and were already painted. Even so I changed a number of details life the blue bedrolls, flags and golden details as these figures started their life as line grenadiers and now are Guard Grenadiers. 

The figures are Zvezda with two Kozak 3d printed. One of the drummers is Esci and one Officer is Hat from the 1805 range. 

A good thing about these figures is that you can use them without any relevant uniform change for most of the Napoleonic wars. 

Next: More British infantry. 

1813-15 battles in 20mm and for AoE and V&F - (part 5) Hanover time

Hanover gave a considerable contribution for Wellington´s army at Waterloo at around 17% of all Allied force. And, with the famous exception of Cumberland´s Hussars, all remained pretty steady in their positions, most in big rectangles, under French artillery fire, suffering many casualties. 

The majority of the infantry was  made of Landwehr battalions. Like their Prussian cousins and Russian Opolchenie, they had a soft hat that many discarded in favour of the British stovepipe. Even so I prefered to use the soft hat on them as they are more distinguishable both on the table and shelves. For that I squashed the Stovepipe of the Hat and Italeri figures after burning them with a lighter. I got used to this with the same figures but in 28mm and it was not difficult. If you use a blade to squash the soft hat its top becomes too flat so the finger is better. Just be careful and let the hot soft plastic become cooler for some 10 seconds. 

The battalions here are the Osnabruck and Verden, representing two Brigades of Hanoverians. 

This field battalion is Italeri and was easier to make as its made of British plain uniforms from the Peninsula period. The battalion is Bremen with its blue characteristic trousers. Some figures could still use the old green uniforms but I´m not a fan of that approach as it cuts the consistency of just a few figures representing hundreds of men. 

Next: The French Imperial Grenadiers

1813-15 battles in 20mm and for AoE and V&F - (part 4) First British arrive

 

These three brigades here are all repaints from the large group I exchanged with a fellow collector from Lisbon. From front to back you have the 2nd Foot Guards (Maitland´s brigade), the 2nd Coldstream Guards (Byng´s brigade) and the 14th Foot (Mitchell´s brigade). 

The 14th Foot is made of old and lovely Airfix figures that the previous owner managed to convert engineously to Peninsular British with Stovepipes. So the original Belgian shakos had to come back to the original but cords and the tall front had been erased so what I managed to make was some Belgian shakos covered in the waterproof material used at waterloo with the help of some paste. 

The Coldstream Guard are all the new Italeri with the Airfix mounted officer and Hat sapper. The main change here was to paint the trousers white but some small details like shoulder straps, eyes and such were also added. 

The Foot Guards are also Italeri with Hat sapper. The mounted officer is Waterloo1815. 

Next:Hanoverians for Waterloo in 20mm 

1813-15 battles in 20mm and for AoE and V&F - (part 3) Finials for the Tricolores

 

Most of the times I forget to place the finials and so I had to come back to them. The finials are made of string,wrapped beneath the Eagle and hardened with superglue. 

Next: British for Waterloo

1813-15 battles in 20mm and for AoE and V&F - (part 2) Four more French infantry brigades based in Airfix oldies but goldies

 

Another mix of brands, this time the usual coated Hat figures together with the old but charming Airfix most of them in yellow plastic! Frankly I get these old figures whenever I can and easily prefer them to newer and more accurate brands. The Hat figures are the only ones newly painted with all other retouched from the large collection I recently exchanged. The new details are cuffs, eyes, some missing white straps, red for the closed lapels, shading and some brass parts. The rest was already there and pretty nicely painted. The previous owner was using these post-1812 figures for the Peninsula and the flags were also taken out and replaced with the tricolores . 

As these figures were initially for the Peninsula the elite companies had large plumes added but I kept them as they look great even if they were discarded by the 1812 Bardin regulations. A funny detail I´ve never noticed on the old Airfix figures is that all figures have engraved epaulettes and large shoulders, which in fact is excellent as you can use them as fusiliers or as grenadiers or voltigeurs, the same happening to the British.  

So this was and easy group as the figures were already painted less a few additions. As usual I painted everything with the figures glued to the new bases and many of them are leaning and glued to each other for extra sturdiness. 

Next: whether more French or Hanoverians

1813-15 battles in 20mm and for AoE and V&F - (part 1) First two French infantry brigades

And so it begins. Better saying, re-starts but in a different scale. As building my 28mm Waterloo armies was becoming complicated (Brexit as main cause and also lack of material here in Portugal) I´m now making it in 20mm having exchanged my collection of a bit over 1100 painted and based 28mm figures by over 1600 painted and based 20mm figures. Also some 20 boxes of 28mm unpainted figures travelled from Coimbra to Lisbon, together with some 50/60 boxes of 20mm which made the other way round. 

These first two brigades were newly painted and represents Charlet and Bourgois brigades of D'Érlon corps. They are made of Italeri and coated Hat figures. The officer on horse is Waterloo 1815.

Not many conversions here as the only change was cutting out the plastic flags and replacing it by  paper ones. The coated Hat figures were glued with electric glue to the base so they could get as tall as the Italeri ones. 

The mix of Bardin and coated uniforms is quite nice as per the 28mm plastic Perry box. 

Next: more 1815 French infantry Airfix and Hat

The 1812 Russian army for AOE/ V&F rules in 20mm size.

Sorry but I did something stupid and if you want to see this video you have to paste it on the bar or see it on my YouTube channel:

https://youtu.be/NhOvhsYHMWc?si=z79kcseEVmnP13LF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhOvhsYHMWc

The British army at Waterloo for AOE / V&F rules in 28mm

 

1st French Carabiniers and 1st Westphalian Cuirassiers at Wagram and Borodino for AOE/V&F in 20mm

French Carabiniers are a must for a battle were Napoleon was present. Together with Cuirassiers they were the heaviest French cavalry in the battlefield. I also used Italeri Carabiniers for the Westphalian Cuirassiers as they were similarly equipped and that included the same type of crested helmet, different from the helmet of the French Cuirassiers. 

The only conversion on these two units was the Westphalian cornet which had a busby taken from the an Italeri French Hussar. Also a tuft of Milliput was added to the Westphalians on the left side of the helmet. Not mandatory as these were probably not used in action but it makes them stand in the middle of others. 

The flags were hand painted (and that shows). 

Next: A video on the Russian Napoleonic army

A wargamer´s trip to Arnhem - (part 3 and final) The Bridge and surroundings

While arriving to Arnhem from the Oosterbeek direction you face the imposing St Elisabeth Hospital, today a block of apartments. Here, two famous ambushes occured: the first, a British one that  surprised a group of Germans parading in front of the hospital, from the initial 70, only 2 survived; the second, a German one made by Kampfgruppe Spindler (from the 9th SS PD) that blocked the British paratroopers and denied the possibility of linking the 1st and 3rd battalion with Frost´s 2nd battalion at the bridge also causing a carnage among the paratroopers which faced fire from three sides, including the fire of ex-French AA 75mm guns from the other side of the Nederrijn. 

Several details will be added to my model of the Hospital, everything under the surveillance of Elisabeth of Hungary. 

This simple AI diagram shows the axis of attack of the main German units against the tight perimeter of Frost´s men. 

The bunkers at the entrance of both ends of the bridge are still the ones from the battle, and at least this one had a 20mm AA gun on top on a wooden structure. The bridge itself was rebuilt after the battle. 

The distance from the houses on the right to the bridge during the days of the battle was much smaller. These new ones were built some 15 meters from the original site from were Frost men fired upon Graebnar´s column. The original ones were reduced to rubble, together with all the 18 houses that housed the 2nd battalion due to the german tactic of clearing with tank, artillery and Pzfaust fire one by one all houses that could but turned into a  British strongpoint. 

 

This is nowadays the place were the HQ of the 2nd battalion stood, around 100 meters to the west of the bridge. All those buildings, and many more all over Arnhem, completely destroyed, were rebuilt into a typical simple and modern Dutch look. 

The Church of St Walburgis, already with both towers (one was rammed by a FW190 during the battle) is an imposing site. Looking at it closely will also help to add more detail into the model. 

More small openings will have to be painted together with more detail on the arches. 

This place some 400m nort of the bridge ramp is the probable site of the assembly point  of  Kampfgruppe  Hummel (with Tiger I tanks)and Kampfgruppe Knaust. The Tiger IIs of 506th Heavy Panzer Battalion must have been around this place too but they were mostly used in reducing the Oosterbeek perimeter as they arrived late for the actions around the bridge. 

On the large square of the Arnhem court there is this beautiful building called the Sabelspoort which I want to model. It started to rain when this picture was taken so I went to the Web to find something better. 

~

And here it is a much better view taken in fair weather. 

The one I really wanted was the Devil´s House but it looks a bit complicated to scratch built. These two pictures are also from the Web as mine were taken during heavy rain. 

If you want to pay a visit to the model buildings I´ve made in the past regarding Arnhem and Ooosterbeek here they are:

https://jpwargamingplace.blogspot.com/2012/07/rapid-fire-battle-of-arnhem-buildings.html

Some are suffering changes while others will have still to be built, like the Oude kerk or the Sabelspoort. 

Next: More Napoleonic cavalry