63rd de la Planta Swiss 2nd BTN

Over the next 10 days or so I will be posting pictures of six new Swiss battalions that made up
63rd de la Planta, 55th Waldner and 90th de Diesbach. This is the 2nd battalion of de la Planta.

All the uniforms were the same except for small differences like collar colour. What I really like is their colouful flags.

We are back here with Crusader figures, although the officer is by Foundry. I have deliberately used the figures with turnbacks for two reasons. First, aesthetics, as I wanted to be able to show the laced waistcoat that is invisible on the figures without turnbacks and, second, I have a view that as the war progressed it was the Swiss and German regiments in French service that started to make uniform changes well in advance of their more conservatively dressed French colleagues. Contemporary, or nearly contemporary, illustrations of grenadiers wearing bearskins are mostly of Swiss units and they always have turnbacks as well. So, in my view, the trend of modernising the antiquated cut-of-the-coat started first in foreign regiments and it started because a) it was more practical to march with the turnbacks turned up and b) the enemy looked more modern and worthy of being copied. But it is a personal view and I welcome any comments either way.

92nd Bulkeley (Irish)

This is the last of the four Irish battalions for this project. The figures are by Foundry and regular readers of this blog will know what I think of these sculpts. The worst thing about them is that most of them do not stand up straight - to get them straight(er) I've had to put a small cardboard wedge under each figure on the left hand side.

Next, some Swiss.

10th Belzunce

The twelve most senior regiments in the SYW French army each had four field battalions. Numerically, regiments 1 to 6 were known as the 'Vieux Corps' (the Old Corps or body)and regiments 7 to 12 were known as the 'Petits Vieux'(the 'little' Old Corps or body). This regiment, number 10, as well as regiment 9 Auvergne, had purple facings. It also had one of the finest reputations for bravery and steadfastness in the entire army and, in almost every battle it participated in, it is to be found in a place of prominence in the front line. On this basis I would rank it as 'veteran'.

The pictures above show all four battalions in line. All the figures are by Crusader (28mm) with the exception of three officers, two of which are by Foundry and one is by Eagle Miniatures.

The livery of the drummers is entirely my own fabrication as I was unable to find out the correct livery for Armand, Vicomte de Belzunce .

115th La Dauphine

Stand by for the briefest of history lessons. La Dauphine was the name given to the wife of the eldest son (the Dauphin) of the regnant King of France. In this case, the Dauphin was another Louis, son of Louis XV, who lived from 1729-1765. His first wife Marie Teresa of Spain gave birth to a daughter then promptly died. This regiment was raised in 1747 in her honour and, for a time, would have had her coat of arms placed on the flags. After her death, Louis then married the Saxon Princess Maria Josepha and her arms are in the first picture and on the flags.

She was to give birth to three Kings of France (not to mention a host of daughters) Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X.

The regiment was probably recruited in Saxony. It disappeared in 1760 when it was amalgamated with another German regiment.

The figures are by Crusader except for a Foundry officer and an Elite standard bearer (the left hand one as you look at them).

114th Saint Germain

Here is the 114th 'German' Regiment in French service during the SYW named after it's colonel-proprietor Saint Germain. This is one of those small one-battalion regiments that was raised in 1747 and lasted until 1760 when it was absorbed into another German regiment.It had a very Swedish look to it and I have searched to see whether he had any connection to Sweden but without luck.

The figures are all by Crusader except the chunky officer with the soup-plate hands who is by Foundry.

108th Bergh

Here is a 28mm SYW 'German' regiment in French service - 108th Bergh. It is a melange of figures from three manufacturers showing that they do all match in size-wise. Most are by Crusader although the officer on the far right of the battalion is from Elite ( a decent range of very active looking figures) and a standard bearer (the left hand one of the pair) from Eagle Miniatures. This latter range is a huge disappointment and, in fact, I threw away all the rankers and just kept some of the command.

These one-battalion regiments were very junior in the French infantry hierarchy and, although some performed creditably, one should not rate them very highly. Over this coming week I'll be showing you St.Germain (114th) as well as La Dauphine (115th). They all wear dark blue coats and have very decorative flags.

AWI pictures

These rather nice pictures were taken by Isabel, the 10 year old daughter of my friend in New York, Jon, and they were, I think, for a school project. I'm posting them because they are such good atmospheric pictures and, if I had the time, that would be the type of picture that should litter this blog.

They were framed against natural woodland which is the best way to blend the wargaming into the natural and I don't think she used any 'photoshopping' techniques at all.