Introduction
I'm on something of a 6mm roll at the moment, so it seems fitting to document some of my French allies. This time it's the turn of the Bavarians.
During the Napoleonic Wars there was no Germany as we know it now. Instead the land was split up into many different states, some larger and some smaller. The best-known of these are probably the relatively large kingdoms of Prussia, Saxony, Westphalia and Bavaria. Prussia was usually an enemy to the French, but many of the other states were organised by Napoleon into a grouping of client states called the Confederation of the Rhine, thus supplying his armies with a good source of fresh manpower Indeed, I've heard it said of Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia that he planned to fight "to the last drop of German blood"!
The Bavarians
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| Artillery. Either 1 large battery or 3 smaller ones... |
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| A small unit of light infantry in line formation, with skirmishers deployed to the front |
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| 2 units of line infantry. Bavarian line infantry are known for their pale blue uniforms and tall helmets. One of these units has black facings, the other has red facings. |
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| Chevaux Légère: light cavalry. Note the French name for the troop type, even though these are ethnic Germans. |
Conclusion
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| All the Bavarians. |
As with my other 6mm Napoleonics, the figures in this force are entirely Heroics & Ros 6mm models. I've got enough for a good division under the Black Powder rules, though the mixture of line infantry and cavalry in the same formation would be a little unusual, I think.
The Bavarians (and many other Confederation of the Rhine nationalities) fought with the French against the Austrians at Wagram in 1809. With them and my French force (
here), I can easily field enough for a decent afternoon's game - though I'm maybe a little short of being able to portray the entire battle!
Very distinctive the Bavarians with their cornflower blue uniforms and tall raupenhelm headgear.
ReplyDeleteGerman states make interesting Napoleonic subjects:
The armies are often small enough (though not the Bavarians) that you can model the entire army (or at least the part that deployed abroad).
Light infantry (Not necessarily skirmishers, but certainly fast marching vanguard troops) often have a distinctive colour that contrasts with their line comrades.
They provide some contrast in an otherwise monolithic French force.
Other points of interest for a Bavarian force:
They bore the brunt of Andreas Hofer's Tyrolean rebellion - twivce being thrown out if Innsbruck by the rebels.
And let's not forget their excellent beer.
Yes, you're right: the French tend to be rather dull in large numbers. You don't have many options for non-blue infantry unless you take allies (no Rifles, Landwehr, Jaegers or the like :-) ).
Delete6mm and 10mm look so good for big games and these fit that criteria with distinction.
ReplyDeleteIf I were starting over then I might be tempted by 10mm. But 6mm (or even 3mm, maybe :-) ) is the way to go for *big* battles.
DeleteAhh the great "size/scale" discussion.
DeleteAs I see it, you can't beat 6mm for the massed look of close formed troops.
It's also handy if you want plenty of bigger items on your table (Chariots, Elephants, Siege Engines, Artillery, Tanks).
10mm is next up, and probably optimal for slightly smaller hordes and looser formations - I'm thinking about the late 19th century onwards. It seems great if you want one or two squadrons of tanks and wish to paint finer detail than 6mm accommodates.
15mm is a well established "mass wargame" scale, and could be adapted for skirmish type games where space is at a premium.
20mm - mostly plastics, great - if you can find or convert all the troops you require.
28mm - Skirmish, or big battles if you have a massive table. And of course Warhammer.
I love seeing Bavarian units iin a French army, giving that extra bit of uniform variation. These do look very good.
ReplyDeleteI plan on having more Confederation of the Rhine troops - eventually! Baden is on my "to do" list and I could use more Bavarians too...
DeleteYet more 6mm Napoleonic goodness!
ReplyDeleteVery nice looking division, and I'm just (kinda) glad that I CAN'T be tempted by any other projects at the moment ;-)
Thanks, W.A. It's a good-sized division (possibly a little heavy on artillery?), but I need more :-) !
DeleteGreat looking force c6!
ReplyDeleteAs always, thanks!
DeleteGreat looking force c6!
ReplyDeleteI missed congratulating you on the excellent unit standards.
ReplyDeleteThe Blue and White lozenges of Bavaria, are quite a challenge for model makers.
They have forced their way into several popular logos.
The Blue and White quarters inside the B.M.W. logo, and in original lozenge form in the badge of FC Bayern Munchen (The only football club I know with an active Chess team).
That's enough trivia.