The Wurttemberg Chevauxlegers had their origin with a first regiment in 1802, which was formed from a nucleus of the prior Wurttemberg mounted troops. A 2nd regiment was added in 1805.
Rawkins has this to say about the apparent mismatch between the title and the appearance of these troops: The Chevauxleger Regiments had their origin as part of the Kreis-Dragoner-Regiment. The first chevauxleger regiment formed in 1802 was raised from the three squadrons of ‘chevauxleger’ from the disbanded Kreis regiment. Despite the ‘chevauxleger’ title both regiments retained distinct features of their dragoon origins reflected in their uniforms and equipment. The Duke of Wurttemberg, later King Frederick, was strongly drawn to the light cavalry regiments being formed in he Bavarian army but also wanted to build both heavy and medium cavalry units for the Württemberg army. It has long been speculated that he may have wished to leave open the option of converting the chevauxleger regiments back to dragoons at a later date.
The uniforms of the two regiments were quite similar. As is the case with other units of the Wurttemberg army, there were fairly frequent changes of designation for both. This regiment, the first raised, was designated Chevauxleger regiment "Kurfurst" from 1805 - 1807, but thereafter if was referred to as the Leib Chevauxleger regiment (#2)
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The biggest differences between the two regiments were the addition of white "litzen" to the button hoes on the lapels, collars, and cuffs of the Leib regiment, and and the fact that the buttons and metal on the helmet were white metal for this unit, as opposed to brass for the other.
The flag is downloaded from Lucas' website, and is somewhat speculative. It looks as though it was designed to hang down "vexillum" fashion, but that didn't suit me, hence the somewhat odd orientation. I think it still looks great!
If you look closely, you can see that the turnbacks on the jacket are yellow piped scarlet. These are of course more great figures form Lucas and Piano Wargames in Germany.
Another unusual feature of the uniforms of both regiments was wearing a cummerbund; scarlet for this regiment, and yellow for the other.
Wow, more pretty ponies. Nice unit, soon you'll have to parade the Wurttemberg Army.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joe; only about halfway through. Yet to do - 3 more line infantry, Footguards, 3 Guard cavalry, High Command.
DeleteI accidentally deleted a comment by Brisbane Napoleonic Napoleonic Models and Stuff (there was storm of spam comments by a single spammer on 20+ old posts):
ReplyDelete"Imposing figures, they look great and I can imagine them charging into a Russian/Austrian/Prussian unit on the tabletop."
Der Konig von Wurttemberg agrees with your assessment! :-)
DeleteHi Peter, thanks for doing that and I agree with the positive subsequent comments. A dream but I would love to have a tabletop army consisting of all the units of the Confederation of the Rhine. It would be way out of scale due to some of the smaller contributions but a nice concept.
DeleteA bit like my Mamelukes which were only a tiny squadron in the French army but they look so great how can I resist not having them as a prominent feature? Now, Berg lancers, Lithuanian Tartars, Westphalian Royal Guards are just so attractive to paint and show and that is just some of the cavalry. Keep inspiring us Peter!
Hi Chris,
DeleteI too have a strong collector streak. :-)
I'm considering some Gringos 40;s 28 mm Mamelukes even though I already have them in Minifigs from 30 years ago, and yeah, them Berg Lancers are coming some day...
With all the fantastic Piano Wargames figures plus what I already have, I have far more then enough CoR figures to field a very large army. Indeed, I have the germ of an idea for my 2024 Historicon game. A "Historical Fantasy" set in 1809. The Emperor appoints his Imperial ADC, General Jean Rapp, born in Alsace and thus speaking both German and French, to command an ad hoc Corps of CoR troops. I will have enough (in my terms) for 2 Divisions of Bavarians, 3 of Wurttembergers, one of Badeners, and one of Hessians and assorted other CoR troops. They will battle the Austrians. Tentative title - Rapp n' Raupenhelms! :-)
Hi again, nice to know someone else has some (now vintage) minifig figures. They were so easy to paint in the 1970's with my tins of Humbrol (taking me back). Your idea of a 'historical fantasy' game appeals to me as I must admit I like to see a variety of uniforms and flags on the tabletop. How many figures would make up one of your divisions? On my 8x10 table I find I am severely limited in the number of units that can be reasonably used.
DeleteChris, I still have quite a few Minifigs in the collection; all of my Kingdom of Italy, Portuguese, Saxon, Brunswicker, Danish, Swedish and Westphalian troops are Minifigs, as well as, many of my Austrians, Russians, and Prussians,
DeleteI do my units as 18 infantry, 8 cavalry, or 6-8 crew with 2 guns. I call them "Regiments", so to me a "Division" is usually 4-5 infantry units plus a battery, so just under 100 figures.
While I almost never use more than 12 feet of my 6 foot wide table, it is 20 feet long. I'd just have to clear off all the junk that has accumulated on the unused surface. over the years... not likely unless I had to!
Hi again Peter, thanks for that info and it is nice that Minifigs figures are still being used. I am very impressed with your range of nationalities. My infantry regiments consist of approximately 24-30 figures. I don't have enough artillery to really define them into units and my cavalry is very ad hoc. I think the most figures I have had on the 6x4 table is around 300 for both sides.
Delete50 figures per foot of table side is probably about the limit. So 300 figures per side sounds about right. basing is very individual, but I like smaller units =- allows more on the table, costs less, and I can have a bigger variety of uniforms and flags!
DeleteThey have a distinctly " Cuirassier" look to them, Peter. The Austrian Cheveaux Lefere was similar - in fact, its almost impossible to tell them from dragoons - they look almost identical!
ReplyDeleteI agree, they would seem to have been better designated as Dragoons from the start. Along those lines, I actually mixed up the horses for them and the Jagers ze Pferd, despite trying carefully to NOT do so!. The Chevauxlegers should have the square shabraques and the Jagers the pointed ones, still further emphasizing the "heavy cavalry" appearance.
DeleteAnother excellent Wurttemberg cavalry unit!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks, iain, glad you like them! I wasn't able to bring out the monograms in the corners of the shabraques; the detail is there, just beyond my ability to paint accurately. :-)
DeleteGreat work Peter. You are doing Lucas's figures proud.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lawrence. Couldn't quite manage those monograms!
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