More Polish Naval Infantry

 Next batch of six: two riflemen, two comms guys and a MMG:

8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars

Deciding to start from the rearmost regiments for the charge of the Light Brigade allows me to focus on the 8th Hussars.

First raised by Henry Conyngham in Derry in 1693, they were ranked the 8th Dragoons. Disbanded in 1714, the regiment was reformed a year later and saw service in both Jacobite uprisings, and Flanders - the latter as light dragoons. In 1818, the colonel, Banastre Tarleton, was instructed to convert them to a regiment of hussars.

Like most regiments involved in the charge, both squadrons of the 8th Hussars were down to half strength by October 1854. Thus, they have been represented by a single (small) unit of six 28mm Great War Miniatures figures.

In comparison to their splendid 1914-era sculpts, I must admit to having felt disappointed by the quality of the castings. Many of the horses required pinning with brass rods at the ankle, as did the odd tail. However, the figures have been well-researched, and match the dress and equipment indicated by the primary sources for the charge.

Their commander was made by combing the torso and arm of Nolan with the head, lower body, and the mount of the regular Hussar officer sculpt.

In the first of a series of images as I put together the uniform and equipment worn by 13th Light Dragoons in 1854, here's a reproduction haversack, aka bread bag.

Taken some months after the battle, Roger Fenton's photo of the 8th Hussars cookhouse is still a useful reference as is the aquatint by J Harris of the unit in Chobham c.1853:

Imperial Germans XI

I've a few additions to share in regards to the Imperial German project.

First up is a second artillery battery:



Another batch of Uhlans for the 9^th (2^ndPomeranian) Uhlans:



Command Stand - senior infantry officers with attendant cuirassier:



28mm Great War Minis as usual.

I intend to convert come Uhlans into Dragoons to serve as a divisional cavalry squadron, but am other wise holding off in the hop GWMs will release some cuirassiers to allow me to complete the 3rd Cavalry Bde.

A New Year and a New Project

I've been remiss in posting any updates for some time. Moving, buying a house, another horse, another dog, work, and completing my PhD have all taken time away from painting and gaming - nevermind writing about it.

Still, with my WW1 Imperial German force having reached a 'rounded' stage (let's face it, no army is ever really finished!) and only a few units to finish off for the c.1812 Russians, I feel inspired to start something new in both wargaming and living history.

So I bring you, Great War Minitaures' Light Brigade cleaned, based, and ready for undercoating:

Imperial Germans X

The command stand for 41st Infantry Regiment 'von Boyen' (5th East Prussian).

Imperial Germans IX

The fifth battalion of my Imperial German brigade c.1914 is now finished and ready for action.

This represents the second battalion of 41st Infantry Regiment 'von Boyen' (5th East Prussian).

I've found a better tone for the helmet covers, so the other four battalions and machine gun company will need redoing in due course.

After working through some c.1812 Russians, I'll pop back and do the Regimental Headquarters stand before moving onto the 3rd Battalion and the rest of the Uhlans...

Imperial Germans VIII

Some eighteen month after the last installment, I've finally gotten back to field grey!

Two machine gun stands for the 13th (Heavy Machine Gun) Company of 41st Infantry Regiment 'von Boyen' (5th East Prussian) (Infanterie-Regiment von Boyen (5. Ostpreuß) Nr.41).

Next up, the 2nd Battalion of the 41st...

Colonel Demid Mesheryakov

Colonel Demid Mesheryakov took command of the second brigade when his regiment, the Selenginsk, was transferred to 3rd Division. He was wounded at Borodino and succeeded by Major Vasily Bogdanovich of the same regiment.

2nd Brigade seemingly suffered heavy casualties on 7 September with both regimental commanding officers falling wounded and two battalion commanders put out of battle, one killed and the other wounded. By the end of the day, 1st Battalion of the Selenginsk Infantry Regiment was being led by a Lieutenant.

In this composition, the mounted officer, representing Colonel Mesheryakov, is by Perry Miniatures, whilst his dismounted companion, Major Bogdanovich is from Wargames Foundry.

3rd Battalion, The Selenginsk Infantry Regiment - Lead Companies

Lead companies of 3rd Battalion of the Selenginsk Infantry Regiment. 28mm Foundry Miniatures with GMB flags, as usual.

1st Battalion, The Selenginsk Infantry Regiment - Lead Companies

Having given up searching for the flag staffs, I ordered some fresh one's from North Star (along with some Great War British Cavalry - oops!). Prompt service as always from Nick and the team, so no delays in getting the last units of infantry finished off.

The Selenginsk Infantry Regiment were originally part of 23rd Division and brigaded with 18th Jägers, but exchanged places with Korporye Infantry Regiment to move to 3rd Division in the lead-up to the battle of Borodino.

So, onto the 3rd Battalion and Brigade Command stand...

Skirmishing Jägers IV

The fourth and final batch of skirmishers - for this year at least. These represent the 8th and 9th companies of the 21st Jäger Regiment, i.e. those belonging to the third battalion of the regiment.

28mm Foundry miniatures again with the usual spread of head swops as they all originally come in forage caps.

The green trousers are indicative of winter dress, which is not accurate for the lead-up to Borodino, but marks them out better from the line infantry in their white trousers, I think.

Company distinctions are limited to the colours of their sword knots, which have the 3rd battalions red central band edged in blue or yellow respectively.

Their forage caps also carry the blue band of the 3rd battalion.

Next up are the lead companies of the final infantry battalion in the Division...

Rome Revisited

It's been a couple of years since I've been near my Caesarian-Roman project, but here's another 'legion'.

Mostly painted even further back than 2014. So the treatment of the bronze and skin is somewhat different from my current approach.

However, I hope that consistency of basing and weathering will give the army a coherent feel.

28mm figures by Foundry with some GMB shields transfers under the grime and sword marks.

Anyway, back to Imperial Russian Green!

Skirmishing Jägers III

The first batch of figures completed after our move are some more skirmish stands.

These are based on Foundry's firing line in forage caps, but with the odd head swap and the grenades filed off the ammo pouches. Unlike that of line battalions, jäger webbing was black, including the sling, and the have green trousers to match their coats. Facing are also green, discretely piped in red with a line red strip down the outside of their trousers - as per this image:

They are painted up to represent the 2nd and 3rd companies (i.e. 1st battalion) of 21st Jägers in winter dress and their sister skirmishing companies from the 3rd battalion will be following shortly.

As the junior of the two jäger regiment, they sport blue epaulettes.

If better organised, I'd have got a gold pen to write the unit number on the rear of the pouch. Instead, I had to do it with a brush - so some are better than others.

3rd Battalion, The Tchernigov Infantry Regiment - Lead Companies

Next batch of the Tchernigov Regiment see the completion of the lead companies less the colours.

So that's May and June's commitments cracked, time to move onto July!

1st Battalion, The Tchernigov Infantry Regiment - First Company

Onto the First Company and also in this case the Command stand. Having  already packed the flag staves, they have to await the big unpack next week for their colours.