In 1811, the number of Light Infantry (Cazadores) battalions in the Portuguese army was doubled, from 6 to 12.
While the brown jackets and pants were retained, the other details of their uniforms changed significantly.
The yellow lace on the jackets was replaced by black, and many facing colors became in part black; those that were not black were now piped black.
The shako changed from the Barentina to one more like the British "stovepipe shako".
Each Cazadores battalions had 5 companies; one of these were sharpshooter or "Atiradores", and usually had black plumes as opposed the green plumes of the other four companies. The Atiradores were at least theoretically armed with Rifles, and some other men of the battalion might have riles as well, as available.
This unit is the 3rd Battalion of Cazadores. It had black collars and cuffs.
It was based in Beira province, at Aguiar de Beira.
Nice! You must be close to your
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joe...
DeleteProject completion for the Portugese
ReplyDeleteI am; just 3 more infantry units to go!
DeleteNicely done
ReplyDeleteThanks, Neil!
DeleteUsual high standard
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gary!
DeleteLovely work Peter. I have often wondered how many of the Atiradores were actually issued with rifles, but either way would surmise they would have been the elite soldiers of these regiments.
ReplyDeleteThe data provided in the Osprey suggest that enough rifles were provided (2,000 in the spring of 1810) to arm 150 - 200 men of each battalion with Rifles, rather more than the number of Atiradores per battalion.
DeleteVery nice looking unit, another lovely addition to your Portuguese army.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donnie!
DeleteThey look great Ed and the extra information on the reorganization is interesting too. I have always found the Cazadores/Cacadores ( people can't even agree on the name it seems!) slightly confusing. Mine are mainly Front Rank and ALL have rifles! Then I look at the Perry's range, and they have them differentiated as you outline above. I decided just to leave my units as is....6 bases of 2 figures each, all armed with a rifle!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Keith. I don't think it matters much how the figures are armed!
DeleteLovely looking Portuguese light infantry!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thank you, Iain!
DeleteNice work on the Cazadores Peter! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mark! Glad you like them!
Deletevery nice looking unit. What do you use on your bases they add to the overall effect?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peter. The bases are done using Scenic Express "Alpine Meadow" flocking material:
Deletehttps://www.sceneryexpress.com/ALPINE-MEADOW-BLEND-32-oz/productinfo/EX884B/
Thanks
DeleteI love that blend!
DeleteLovely looking troops
ReplyDeleteThank you, Richard!
Deleteyeah! great work as always....those are cool figures. what size bases are you using on those? I like the three men across look
ReplyDeleteThe are Litko Aerosystems 3 mm plywood, 1.75 inches wide x 1 inch deep
Deletewhat are these inches you speak of? hahah thank you!!
DeleteThat's 45 x 25 mm for the rest of the world aside from the obstinate US! :-)
Delete