Saturday 13 July 2019

Bavarian Line Infantry - 28mm Perry

Four regiments of Bavarian Line Infantry completed, with distinctive lozenge chequed flags and cornflower blue uniforms. Again blue is Vallejo Andeas blue over Vallejo Prussian blue.

 
Flags are from Warflag, reduced and I highlighted each blue area with Vallejo Andreas blue to match the colour of the uniforms - quite painstaking!

 Here's the 6th Regiment, in 1809 era uniform with yellow facings and red piping.







7th Regiment in 1809 uniform with pink facings, and red piping on cuffs. This is regiment to which Franz Hausmann belonged, an officer of this regiment whose letters have been compiled into a book which I detail later in this post.






After painting piping on the previous two regiments, I had enough of it and just did the next two regiments with more generic red facings as higher numbered and later regiments had! :)






Above I mentioned Franz Hausmann, who was an officer of the Bavarian 7th Regiment. He wrote a series of letters to his father while serving in this regiment, the copies of which were handed down through the family until his great granddaughter spoke to a historian about them in the 1990's. The significance of the find was recognised and the letters together with some historical information and context were published in the following book. I picked up a second hand copy of it earlier in the year.

Franz's letters are at first brief notes, but expanded to longer pieces later in the book. They are dominated by details of marches, billets, and food and clothing issues as might be expected of a Napoleonic soldier on campaign. There are also details of various engagements though, and indeed Franz takes part in over 50 actions from outpost skirmishes to full battles during his military career, amazingly managing to survive all of these including the ill-fated Russian campaign! Explanatory sections by the editor provide further context to the these letters.

The book has a number of black and white plates, such as the following.

Appendices at the back of the book include orders of battle of the Bavarian Army, and some advisory notes about life that Franz wrote for his own son.

Another interesting observation, is the fondness and pride with which many Bavarian soldiers, including Franz, had for their time serving in The Grande Armee of Napoleon. As this appendisx notes "...the happiest years of my youth". Something that may be very surprising to most modern readers I imagine, who would find the idea of having to serve though the deprivations endured by Napoleonic soldiers rather horrifying!

I think this book is currently out of print, but you should be able to pick up copies from various sellers online, e.g. here at the time of this post.

24 comments:

  1. Those look great Mark. I have always liked the Bavarians, but have never collected them because another one of our group already has a large force. Seeing these I am sorely tempted.

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    1. Thanks Mark, yes the bright blue is a nice variation!

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  2. You nailed the cornflower blue!
    I thought Bavarian battalions had two flags along the Austrian model, the national flag & the colonel's flag?
    At least mine do!!
    Will you do the chevau legere in their light green?
    Best wishes,
    Jeremy

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    1. Cheers Jeremy, not sure on the flags but only one bearer in Perry packs so that's what I went with. And yes Chavauleger to be done, plus 1809 Dragoons! :)

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  3. Single units are impressive enough, but larger formations of several grouped together like this always bowl me over. Amazing work! Will you add a mounted brigadier and aide to the mix? Interesting sounding book too.

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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    1. Thanks! And yes Generals still to come :)

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  4. Nicely looking Bavarians, Mark! It’s good practice to read something related to the epoch you’re working with. It’s really immersive.

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    1. Thanks Dmitry, and yes interesting to read the experiences of the time!

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  5. Excellent regiments turned out!

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  6. Impressive, and beautiful, lines of Bavarians!

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  7. They are beautiful, mark. You should have done the regiment with the Dark green facings piped red, though! :-)
    I did mine with half carrying the flags as you have, and the other half with the other pattern, all just the blue/white Lozengy pattern.

    In any event, just because a battalion carried two flags, doesn't mean that mine will... in fact, they will not, anymore than the unit will have 10 drummers. Either approach is perfectly reasonable according to individual tastes.

    And yes, you gotta do a unit of 1809 Dragoons in white jackets!
    (Plus the Chevaulegers as well,. of course). :-)

    Did Hausmnann serve in the Tyrol in 1809? If so, I'd be interested in what he said about that. If not, that may have made his opinion of service during the Napoleonic Wars better than it might have been otherwise... although the Russian Campaign had to be bad enough!

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    1. Thanks Peter and yes nearly added that green faced unit!

      Hausmann was in the Tyrol, but his records for 1809 are unfortunately very brief and just a few lines, and add little other than that they were fired upon by the peasantry from buildings in unpleasant fashion. Notes become longer for the Russian campaign.

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  8. Lovely looking Bavarian line regiments! Gorgeous painting and perfect cornflower blue! I really like the Bavarian Napoleonic uniform and you've done a great job on these chaps!
    Best Iain

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  9. Mark, you're a painting genius! Painting monster))) How do you quickly draw! I admire once again.

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    1. Thanks Dmitry, not sure I paint any quicker than you, but thanks for the kind words!

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  10. Beautifully painted Bavarians! I love the Cornflower Blue!

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  11. Fabulous brushwork Mark,

    A great looking army.

    Cheers
    Matt
    French Wargame Holidays
    Mayenne, Pays de la Loire
    France
    "Walk the battlefield in the morning. Wargame it in the afternoon"©

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