Friday, August 21, 2015

1859 French Infantry in 15mm

Work continues on pushing reinforcements into the 15mm Risorgimento project.  This time, a French regiment of 3 x 12 figure battalions are mobilized and head out to the storage box.  Figures are Lancashire Games and are flagged as the 74th Line.  The French uniform of the Second Empire with its blue jacket, red pantaloons and cap, and white gaiters is one of my favorites.  Strikingly handsome uniform.

Including this latest addition, France can now deploy one division of infantry onto the battlefield.  This regiment marks the beginning of a mobilizing a second division of four regiments. 
A typical French infantry division consisted of two brigades of two line regiments each with one chasseur battalion and two artillery batteries.  Among the masses of Sardinians and Austrians,  I can now field a token French division.  Having a viable French contingent opens up a number of gaming possibilities.

22 comments:

  1. Very handsome indeed, one of my all time favorite uniforms too, like the French Cuirassiers and the Zouaves, ok better stop here before the Francophilia kicks in :0)

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  2. More lovely 2nd Empire troops - love the red trousers and kepis.

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    1. Thanks, Dean! One of my favorite periods to paint. The white tunic with blue trouser clad Austrians are cool too.

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  3. Nicely done, "En avant les enfants!"...

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    1. Thanks, Phil! Hopefully they will marching off towards victory.

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  4. Great work Jonathan. I've just ordered some of these chappies from Allan at Lancashire Games, so it is always nice to see how well they can paint up.

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    1. Thanks, Nate. The Lancashire infantry for this period are excellent. I think you will enjoy painting them. I know I do!

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  5. C'est Magnifique!

    Just needs a Mitrailleuse or two to go with them!

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    1. Merci beaucoup!

      I don't believe the mitrailleuse saw action until the FPW so none of those are scheduled to enter into the French arsenal.

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    2. Good point, but these troops would be usable for the FPW and Crimean War, would they not?

      (Here I plead my relative ignorance of later 19th century uniforms)

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    3. Peter, these French would be usable in both conflicts. During the FPW, collars and epaulettes were standardized with no company distinctions as the 1859 campaign saw. I would cheerfully use these French for the two conflicts on either side of the 1859 war.

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  6. I agree, I like the way this uniform looks. (Especially after painting all those Zouaves) I do think the French missed the opportunity to go with Red Gaiters and White pants to get the proper Tri-colour

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  7. once again, lovely painted figures/regiment... marvelous!

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    1. Do you have 1866 Austrian's painted units? if not I may put some units together myself :o)

      cheers,

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    2. No dedicated Austrians for the 1866 war. For that I would need Prussians too!

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  8. Excellent job on these little guys! I'm still waiting for a nice 28mm range to come along... :-)

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    1. Thank you, Jason! For 28mm. have you considered Mirliton (http://www.mirliton.it/index.php?cName=historical-2528mm-italian-indip-wars)?

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  9. To say you are a prolific painter would be an understatement Jonathan! The look nice btw!

    Christopher

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    1. Remember, quantity has a quality of its own.
      Thank you!

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