French Allies - Hesse Darmstadt and Baden , Jena Auerstadt, 1806

Tour de France - Stage 2

Well, its only stage 2 of a very long race .. and already  Im wondering how on earth I am going to get out 1 French-related post per day ... for the next 3-4 weeks.

 Ah wel, lets see how we go.

Last night saw the Tour head through the fortress of Namur, and towards the French border as it heads out of Belgium.

Just over the Rhine are a couple of German states - Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt, who formed an alliance with France, and loyally provided some good regiments from Jena in 1806, to Spain, to all the way out to Leipzig in 1813.

Here we have a small battalion sized contingent of Hessians and Badeners to add to the French forces at Jena.

Prussian Army of the Revolutionary Period

Regiment of the Day

IR 49 - Von Muffling
IR 32 - Hohenlohe

As luck would have it, I managed to score a couple of small batches of extra Prussians for the early Napoleonic campaigns. Can never have too many early war Prussians !

For the actual Jena/Auerstadt campaign in 15/18mm, nothing comes close to ABs in terms of figures. They are spot on, and a joy to paint.

Prior to Jena / Auerstadt, there is the French Revolutionary period, with a great variety of very intriguing little mini-campaigns of the First and Second Coalitions. For the Prussian involvement during these earlier campaigns, the cut of the uniforms was quite different to those used by the army at Jena / Auerstadt.

So, I grabbed a few Revolutionary period Prussians with a view to covering this gap, and a at pinch ... maybe fielding some of them in the older cut of uniform for the Jena Auerstadt campaign.

They also make a great subject for trying out some new ideas on basing, sabot bases, and 1:60 Battalion organisation.

Introducing ....
Revolutionary Period Prussian Infantry

1 Battalion, IR 49 of the Prussian Army, 1792-1801. Figures by Lancashire Games.

Army of the White Citadel

Horde of the Day

Every 3,333 years .. the planets align in such a way as to bring into existence a gateway to an ethereal Kingdom known simply as -

The White Citadel

From this White Citadel come warriors who are true of heart, and as brave as lions.

They fight against injustice and oppression, righting wrongs and rescuing damsels in distress .... before the planets once again begin to un-align ... and whereupon the White Citadel fades away for another 3,333 years.

They have been known to appear during several famous conflicts, such as :

• Pretty much any 18th Century battle
• They were at the Berezina during Napoleon's retreat from Moscow
• They appeared briefly at Jena to cover the withdrawal of the Saxons
• They appeared in Berlin during the Kapp putsch, and convinced the Freikorps to head back to barracks.
• They appeared at Rouke's Drift to save the Welsh Choir from being washed on the spears.
• They opened the gates of Palermo to Garibaldi.

This is their story.

Von Kochitsky Karabiniers

Regiment of the Day

Getting on with posting my monster backlog of forces

Some 1806 Saxon Heavy Cavalry - Karabiniers von Kochitsky.

These are around 5 squadrons at full strength, attached to Zechwitzs 2nd Division (Saxon), part of Hohenlohes Army  Group South.

In Republique scaling ... that comes out to 1 base of Cavalry. Yay !


It was the Southern army group that ended up getting smashed at Jena by several combined French Corps.  By all accounts, the Saxons had a favorable position on the flank, and came out of the engagement in better shape than the Prussians.

The Saxons managed to extract themselves from the battlefield in good order, never once falling to pieces in the same fashion as the less fortunate Prussian brigades.

Napoleon was so impressed by the Saxons, especially their heavy cavalry, that he went out of his way to sign up Saxony in an alliance and incorporate their forces into the Grande Armee, where they continued to serve with great distinction pretty much up to the end in 1813.

As always .. my history lesson is probably a little off there, but that interpretation makes for a ripping yarn if ever there was one.

Saxon 2 Div - 2nd Brigade

Regiment of the Day

Another unit of Saxons before going for a big re-org to 1:60 scaling.

French Infantry of the Revolution

Regiment of the Day

Some more early period French in bicornes ... using some figures from an exciting new range from Lancashire Games.

French Infantry in Tarleton - Ancien Regime

Regiment of the Day

Some more 'early French' - French line troops in the pre-Napoleon Ancien Regime uniform.

All white, regimental facings, and tarleton helmets with imitation leopard skin headband.

Brilliant !

Early French Line Regiments in Bicornes - 1806

Regiment of the Day

Starting to knock off quite a few early French troops now .. ready for the Jena Auerstaedt mini campaign.

Going to need quite a few as it turns out.

These are marked (underneath the bases) as different  regiments, but really they are just a generic mass of early French that can be configured however to fit the battle at hand.

This type of uniform should cover most French line troops from the Glory Days of Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena Auerstaedt, Eylau .. and maybe even later.

French 16eme Legere

Regiment of the Day

... and some more French legere for good measure.

5 bases of troops in march attack pose, with 5 matching skirmisher bases - mostly double based Carabiniers.

Saxon Boguslawski Fusilers

Regiment of the Day

A few more Eureka Saxons out the way today ... this one is a small detachment of sharpshooters to provide a token skirmish screen for the main line troops.

Again, I have gone with a distinctive non-regulation jacket colour for these light troops. Same colours as the Saxon artillery uniforms in this case.

And the little green plumes to denote that they are sharpshooters.

Saxon 2 Div - 1st Brigade

Regiment of the Day

Just documenting a Saxon 'brigade' at the moment - currently set up as 5 bases of figures for Republique, before I expand them out at 1:60 into a set of large Battalions

All figures from Eureka's excellent 18mm range

Varnishing II - French 27/50e Ligne - Jena Auerstadt 1806

Regiment of the Day

Second experiment with varnishing ... this time hitting them after the gloss coat with a very very light airbrush spray of vallejo matte varnish.

Back to a full matte - works nicely I think.

Saxon 1st Division - Jena 1806

Division of the Day

Today we look at taking all of the units so far in Grawert's 1st Division, and putting them together to see how they operate on the battlefield.

44eme Ligne - Jena Auerstadt 1806

Regiment of the Day

Today we have some earlier French line infantry in pre-shako times.

The 44eme Ligne, which fought as part of Augereau's VII Corps at the battle of Jena-Auerstadt.

Also useful for all campaigns prior to 1809 - Marengo, Austerlitz, Eylau, etc, etc.

Whilst the typical sight of a 'Napoleonic French Soldier' is common shako wearing troops seen in most collections, this bicorne wearing troop captures  the look of French army that first won glory for Napoleon I, and created the French Empire.

Saxon Heavy Foote and Medium Horse Batteries - Jena 1806

Regiment of the Day

Today we look at the interesting mixture of artillery pieces used by the Saxon forces of Grawert's 1st Division, as part of Hohenlohe's Southern Army Group at Jena, 1806.

Cavalry Brigade Henkel - Jena 1806

Regiment of the Day

Today we look at the Cavalry Brigade Henkel, comprising of the most rightly famed Krafft Dragoons, which fought with Grawert's 1st Division, as part of Hohenlohe's Southern Army Group at Jena, 1806.

Saxony - Erichson Fusilers - Jena 1806

Regiment of the Day

Today we look at the Erichson Fusiliers, which formed the vanguard of Grawert's 1st Division, under Hohenlohe's Southern Army Group at Jena, 1806.

Saxon Infantry Brigade von Schimonsky - Jena 1806

Regiment of the Day

Today we look at the Saxon Infantry Brigade von Schimonsky, comprising the Sack Grenadiers., Zastrow & Grawert Musketeers, which fought as part of Grawert's 1st Division in Hohenlohe's Southern Army Group at Jena, 1806.

Saxon Infantry Brigade von Müffling - Jena, 1806

Regiment of the Day

Today we look at the Saxon Infantry Brigade von Müffling, comprising the Hahn Grenadiers, Hohenlohe & Sanitz Musketeers ..  which fought as part of Grawert's 1st Division, under Hohenlohe's Southern army group.

1st West Prussian - Dresden 1813

Regiment of the Day

Today we look at the impressive 1st West Prussian Infantrie Regiment, who fought with the 9th Brigade under Von Kleist's Corps at the battle of Dresden, 1813.