Austrian 13th Grenzers - Wagram 1809

Regiment of the Day

Today we look at one of the more colourful units of the Austrian Army at Wagram - the 13th Grenzers, who fought as part of Nordman's Advanced Guard Division at Wagram, 1809.

2 bases of light infantry (Grenzers), with 2 detached skirmisher bases. Figures by warrior miniatures.

Facing colours on this unit are 'pike grey' - which is a dark blue-ish tint of  grey. The grey I am using here is a little more neutral than that ... but then these are Grenzers, who have been out campaigning in the elements for innumerable days and nights. So faded it is !

Hungarian blue trousers with yellow 'bear paws' frogging. Another non-regulation sash on the officer figure, who has scored himself a green sash !

Had a small dilemma with this unit - all of my other Austrians are from warrior minis, and their range does not include a specific grenzer figure, as many other ranges do.

So, it was either mix in another manufacturer, or grab the nearest looking figure to a grenzer, and paint that up with the distinctive brown jackets and Hungarian trousers.

So you can see here that I have used the standard line figure with shako ... not a perfect match for the unit, but at 15mm scale on a big battlefield, it works fine for me.

Another thing I have found useful lately, is to put aside those few figures that end up with a broken bayonet - there is always 1 in every pile, regardless of the manufacturer.

I find that these broken bayonet figures make perfectly good skirmisher bases, as sharpshooters may well have preferred to ply their art without the cumbersome attachment of a bayonet getting in the way.

Grenzers to the fore !  Another simple 'brush conversion' with this line of figures, to get a unit on the table ... and Im happy with the way these turned out.