Big Brothers V - End of Phase 1

The completion of the Brigade commander and his staff officer brings the first part of my 2015 Heavy Cavalry Division challenge to a close.

2e Regiment de Cuirassiers

To recap, 23 Cuirassiers were created in 1635 from an Ordnance company of Cardinal Richelieu and were initially called Cardinal-Duc. However, in 1643 they were renamed the Royale-Cavalerie and in 1791 the 2e Regiment de Cavalerie. Their name changed once again in 1802 when the Regiment became the 2e Regiment de Cavalerie-Cuirassiers and, finally, in 1803 they take on 2e Regiment de Cuirassiers.

In 1812, 2e Cuirassiers were led by Colonel Pierre Rolland, but came under the command of Général de Brigade Bruno. Despite being wounded in October 1813 Rolland went on to command his own brigade a month later, having been made Commander of the Legion d'Honneur earlier the same year. A former Hussar officer, Adrien François Bruno also survived the invasion of Russia. He took command of the 1st Heavy Cavalry Division after Borodino, but his career was curtailed when he was captured in 1813 after the battle of Dresden.

Here, Bruno is represented by Alan Perry's 28mm L'Heritier model.

As you can see, I've made a start on their commander and the 3e Cuirassiers and 1e Chevau Légers are all prepped for painting. The box to their rear contains two batteries of horse artillery, 9e Cuirassiers, and associated commanders.

Finally a plea to anyone going to Salute who might be willing to part with the event special sculpted by the Twins...