British 4th Dragoon Guards in 28mm
For the Peninsular War project, the 4th Dragoon Guards march off from the painting desk. The 4th DG, you say? Why choose a hapless horse regiment that barely saw action during the war? To give you a brief overview of its history during the Peninsular War, below is a time table during the Peninsular War:
- 04 AUG 1811 Disembarked at Lisbon where they suffered from gastric problems
- 01 JAN 1812 Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo - little activity
- 06 APR 1812 Missed Battle of Villagarcia due to losing their way
- 22 JUL 1812 Missed Battle of Salamanca
- 21 SEP 1812 After failure of seige of Burgos, sent to Lisbon
- 17 MAR 1813 After suffering through a miserable winter, regiment ordered to hand over surviving horses and march home on foot
Even though the 4th had a less than stellar historical record, I figured the 4th DG might be the perfect regiment to lead to victory on the table. Really, how much worse could it get? If defeated in battle, I have a legitimate excuse!
The figures are Front Rank.
Looks very nice!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil!
DeleteWell, they look mighty purty, anyway! :-)
ReplyDeleteDon't usually see the older uniform (as opposed to the later one with the helmet. The bicorne would seem to be relatively impractical; head wear for Cavalry, although the Brits were hardly alone in wearing it during the early years of the wars of the Revolution and Empire.
From my notes, the helmet was not introduced until 1812 so the cocked hat would have seen service at least until 1812 and probably later. Since these troopers will see duty in earlier campaigns too, I am at ease with the cocked hat.
DeleteAs for impracticality, I'm with you, how do charging horsemen keep that cocked hat fore-to-aft? When wet, it likely becomes a soggy mess with little form.
Very nice work Jon, I have a couple of regiments of these guys in my to do box from AB, and I am looking forward to doing them as a break from all the infantry!!
ReplyDeleteAfter all of your British infantry, you probably are very ready for a change of pace.
DeleteEither they were very unlucky or genius slackers they do look nice and like you said you can't do much worse!
ReplyDeleteChristopher
Good point! A little like the Bernadotte syndrome. That is, always maneuvering your force to be nowhere rather than somewhere!
DeleteGreat looking chaps, and their story is quite sad! It can only get better from here!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Monty! Hopefully, their performance WILL improve on the gaming table. As you state, it couldn't get much worse.
DeleteGreat looking figures that have come up a treat with your lovely painting Jonathan. I really like the horsehair helmet—very powerful—but somehow the bicornes still look good!
ReplyDeleteThanks, James! Maybe one day, I'll add a few squadrons in helmet?
DeleteGreat looking troops, Jonathan. I went with the helmeted Perry guys, but the bicornes look great (especially with the plumes); and are historically more accurate for the Peninsular. Best, Dean
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dean!
DeleteFor the earlier periods, I like the look of the bicorne. My hunch is that helmets are more often seen on the gaming table due to popularity of Waterloo and the 100 Days.
They do look great. as for their history, if they spend months or years languishing on the shelf that is simply "historical authenticity"
ReplyDeleteHa! Excellent point!
Delete