Napoleonic Bavarians
The Bavarian army of the Napoleonic wars for me has to be the nicest looking army of the entire period. Unusual Raupenhelm helmets with a
woolen caterpillar crest of epic proportions. Unique mid blue ('Cornflower') uniforms of the Line regiments contrasting with the dark green of
the light infantry battalions, and dark blue of the artillery. The eye catching mid, or dark, green of the Chevau-Legers and white of the Dragoons,
red shabraques with blue and white edged dicing. But to top it all are the wonderful infantry flags of blue and white lozenges surely amongst
the most colourful flags of the era. From a figure painting point of view, what's not to like?
My Bavarians were originally conceived as Deroy's 3rd Division of Lefebvre's VII Corps with which to fight my Austrians for the 1809 Danube
campaign. However, since the Austrians have more or less been sold off the Bavarian contingent now mostly serves opposition to my
Prussians as Raglovich's 29th Division of Oudinot's IX Corps.
I am still considering buying some more French in shakos and greatcoats to serve as Bavarian Landwehr for late 1813-14 campaigns which
will double my Bavarians to two Divisions worth and make them fight against their former French allies.
These figures are all by Essex Miniatures and as with my Prussians were originally all block painted and washed. I've tarted them up a bit and
added some Silflor MiniNatur 6mm Autumn grass tufts and flowers, in an effort to make them look better.
The Bavarian army of the Napoleonic wars for me has to be the nicest looking army of the entire period. Unusual Raupenhelm helmets with a
woolen caterpillar crest of epic proportions. Unique mid blue ('Cornflower') uniforms of the Line regiments contrasting with the dark green of
the light infantry battalions, and dark blue of the artillery. The eye catching mid, or dark, green of the Chevau-Legers and white of the Dragoons,
red shabraques with blue and white edged dicing. But to top it all are the wonderful infantry flags of blue and white lozenges surely amongst
the most colourful flags of the era. From a figure painting point of view, what's not to like?
My Bavarians were originally conceived as Deroy's 3rd Division of Lefebvre's VII Corps with which to fight my Austrians for the 1809 Danube
campaign. However, since the Austrians have more or less been sold off the Bavarian contingent now mostly serves opposition to my
Prussians as Raglovich's 29th Division of Oudinot's IX Corps.
I am still considering buying some more French in shakos and greatcoats to serve as Bavarian Landwehr for late 1813-14 campaigns which
will double my Bavarians to two Divisions worth and make them fight against their former French allies.
These figures are all by Essex Miniatures and as with my Prussians were originally all block painted and washed. I've tarted them up a bit and
added some Silflor MiniNatur 6mm Autumn grass tufts and flowers, in an effort to make them look better.
General ('Deroy') General ('Raglovich') (L-R) 7th ('Gunter') and 5th ('Buttler') Light Battalions The 7th Light was largely recruited in the Tyrol (in revolt in 1809) and its poor performance, and high desertion rate in the subsequent 1809 campaign means I tend to rate them D Class, Sk 1, TLI, Brittle. 5th 'von Preysing' Infanterie Regiment One of the main issues with Bavarians is how to represent the 'Cornflower Blue' tunics of the infantry. Many people seem to go for a light blue. I chose to paint my Bavarian infantry Vallejo Mid-Blue, with a lightened version as highlights. My figures look lighter in the pics than they do on the tabletop This is my favourite Bavarian unit. I must be in touch with my feminine side as I always find pink facings fetching. 14th Infanterie Regiment 9th 'Ysenburg' Infanterie Regiment 10th 'Junker' Infanterie Regiment 2nd 'Taxis' Dragoons 1809 In 1811 this unit was converted into Chevau-Legers 4th 'Bubenhofen' Chevau-Legers 1809 The colour of the Chevau-Legers tunic was changed from mid green to dark green in November 1809. As my unit was intended originally to fight the 1809 Danube campaign I chose to depict them in the earlier colour. Artillery Westfalian Garde Chevaulegers (Lancers) Okay so not Bavarians but in 1813 they were brigaded with Bavarian and Hesse-Darmstadt Chevaulegers in XII Corps, 26th Light Cavalry brigade under Beaumont. I used a French line lancer figure and filed away the fur turban from the helmet. I also had to do a headswap as the trumpeters wore busbies. All figures Essex Miniatures, owned and painted by yours truly. |
