Vistula Legion - Leipzig 1813

Tour de France - Stage 4

Continuing on with the painting challenge, I was struggling to get a bit finished last night.

Quite appropriate, as the high pace of the race so far so many riders struggling to hold their line and stay out of trouble at the front of the peleton.

Part of 2 battalions of the Vistula Legion - Leipzig 1813.

Head tube airbrush work on That Rider's bike.

 The later 1813 period saw the Polish army field a new cut of uniform with slightly less interesting colour scheme - all white lapels, etc.

So I have done these ones with the earlier facing colours to help them stand out a little more on the tabletop.

Figures by Lancashire Games from their 15mm range.

Not a bad range - certainly good value in the larger battle packs, and each set of figures includes some easy to paint raised details. I like the way that the Polish eagle on the  shako is sculpted as well - which is clearly visible on the flag bearer here.

2 small battalion bases (2.5" x 2") with regimental nametag in Polish Purple.

This denotes that these battalions are from the 26th (Polish) Division, Vistula Legion regiment .. of which 2 understrength battalions made it on to the field at Leipzig in the Southern sector.

By 1813, the remnant polish forces were down to very small numbers - roughly around 400 men per regiment, with company strengths down to 60-90 men.

At 1:60 scale, that is almost 1 figure = 1 company.   6 figures here represents 4 companies.

For each of these battalions, I need to finish them off with a Grenadier company of 2 figures and a Skirmisher company of 1-2 figures per battalion.  These elites will fit on the extra space on the battalion sabot base, as shown above.

Note also that the Vistula Legion are rated as Light Infantry / Legere, and basically used as a very small screening force in front of the very tiny Polish 26th Division infantry.

The Polish forces however make up for the lack of infantry in having a rather massive formation of Cavalry, from Cossacks to Lancers to act as an effective screen and flank protection.

Now lets see if I can get the next of the Polish Regiment done today.

Obligatory shot from the Adelaide cycling adventure series :

KOM sign at the base of Willunga Hill.  Only 3km to the top ... pfft .. thats nothing !

By the time you are half way up though, and sitting deep in the redzone, those Km markers seem like they spread out at 10km intervals. Its a fun climb, highly recommended.