2nd Regiment, Chasseurs a Pied of the Imperial Guard

A second regiment of Chasseurs a Pied de la Garde Imperiale was first raised on April 15, 1806.  It was reabsorbed into the 1st regiment in 1809, only to be re-created again on May 18, 1811. After Napoleon's escape form Elba, the 2nd regiment was raised yet again (along with the 1st regiment, and the new and decidedly inferior 3rd and 4th Regiments in 1815. It was disbanded for the last time on October 1st, 1815. Its uniforms and organization were identical to that of the first regiment, whose origins dated back to the Consulate.

    I decided to add a 2nd Regiment of Chassseurs a Pied to my French Napoleonic army rather late in the process of planning for my two games to be run at Historicon next month. The scenario is based upon the battle of Montmirail, 1814, where virtually all of the Guard, save for some of the newer Young Guard units, saw active combat. My existing 1st Regiment, raised over 15 years ago, used Foundry figures. It turned out that there were still supplies of Essex Chasseurs (and Grenadiers) a Pied available as part of the clearance sale (at 67% off) by Wargames, Inc.  I could have used Old Glory, but those extra figures would have then demanded that they become the Neapolitan Guard or some such, and I didn't want to face that prospect just yet! So, Essex it was!

The 2e Regiment, Chasseurs a Pied de la Garde Imperiale. 28mm Essex figures. Note the casualty figure and spare drummer on the right of the picture - There were only 13 of the base pose available, so I had to fill the rest of the regiment out with a few different Chaseur figures (more on that later). Regardless, they give the regiment a little extra character, I think. 

The flag will be added later. my reading indicated that the drums for the Old Guard units had medium to light  blue rims, instead of the usual dark blue rims commonly used by French units, and that can be seen here. Seen also are the embossed grenades alternating with hunting horns on the brass body of the drum. Neat!

A rather poor quality photo of the rear of the Chasseurs. Eh bien, not a sight the enemy is likely to see anyway, ne c'est pas?

Another view of the 2nd Chasseurs, showing their pointed cuffs, and bearskin without frontal plate or patch on the back, the key features, along with the red and green plumes and epaulets, which distinguished their uniform form that of the Grenadiers a Pied. Partially visible also is a sergeant, with his cords and epaulets of red mixed with green mixed with gold. Guard uniforms were exspensive!

Because I couldn't be sure hoe many of the figures I needed were actually in stock, I got a few extras "just in case". These 2 Chasseurs kneeling may eventually become part of a HQ guard vignette. The center figure is supposed to be a wounded Chasseur. To me, he looks more like he is about to give an impromptu camp rendition of the "Chant du départ", the so called "brother of the Marseillaise", written by Étienne Nicolas Méhul (music), which remained popular during the Empire.

The "singer" might go well with my (still to be painted) Eureka late 18th century string Quartet, or...

this Connosieur cantinière!  It seems that she will have plenty of spirits on hand to keep his whistle wet!

Le chant du depart

Gendarmes d' Elite of the Imperial Guard

Organization:
In 1801, First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte raised two squadrons of Elite Gendarmes, which included an extra large contingent of officers. There were also 2 companies of elite  foot Gendarmes. In June of 1803, the Elite Gendarmes were incorporated into the Consular Guard, and passed into the Imperial Guard upon its creation in 1804. The Gendarmes numbered 632 men in total, decreasing to  467  after the foot Gendarmes were disbanded in 1806. .

The men of the Gendarmes d' Elite were recruited from the departmental police (gendarmes), and also the heavy cavalry regiments. In theory, the qualifications to enter this unit included being at least 1.76 meters tall (5'9"), a veteran of 4 campaigns, being between the ages of 25 and 40, and the ability to read and write. They were said to be highly disciplined and ruthless men.

Duties:
Their many duties included protecting Napoleon's baggage, maintaining order and security in the area of the Imperial headquarters, guarding and escorting senior officers and other important persons in the Headquarters region, escorting and interrogating prisoners, guarding trophies to be handed over to the Emperor, and guarding money, important papers and correspondence, etc. At times they formed the the escort for Napoleon and the Imperial General Staff. They also followed the Emperor on the road  when he was traveling cross country in his carriage. They also attempted to suppress desertion and sometimes looting.

In peacetime, the Gendarmes d' Elite provided security for the Imperial residence and palaces, including Saint Cloud and the Tuileries. From 1800 - 1810, the Colonel of the unit was Anne Jean Marie René Savary, Duke of Rovigo, until he replaced the untrustworthy Joseph Fouché as Minister of Police.

Military Service:
Perhaps unique among the troops of the Guard, battlefield combat was not the primary role of the Gendarrmes d'Elite. This lead to the some what derisive nickname they were given by the rest of the Guard, "The Immortals" (Les Immortels). Napoleon was not pleased by this, and starting at Friedland in 1807, a squadron was assigned to combat duties at most major battles where the Emperor was present, but the sobriquet stuck regardless. The Gendarmes d'Elite of the Imperial Guard took part in suppressing the Dos de Mayo revolt in Madrid (1808), the Battle of Medina del Rio Seco (1808), Siege of Astorga 1810, Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810),  Borodino (1812), The Berezina (1812), Leipzig (1813), Vauchamps (1814), Montmirail(1814), Ligny (1815), and Waterloo (1815).

Uniforms:
The uniforms of the gendarmerie d'élite de la garde impériale were very similar to those of the Grenadiers a Cheval of the Guard. All buttons and lace, cords, etc were white, however, and the lapels were red. Their bearskin was slightly shorter than that of the Grenadiers a Cheval. A white plume was worn for Parade dress, otherwise red. The Elite Gendarmes were mounted on large black horses.

Here's my new, small, six figure unit of Gendarmes d'Elite of the Imperial Guard. The officer's uniform and horse furniture has silver where the men have white, and his aigulette is on his right shoulder instead of  on the left like those of the enlisted men.  

These Connoisseur figures are the only ones I know of currently available in the 28mm scale (I think this line was originally sold as 30mm back in the day). Perry is supposed to be releasing some Elite Gendarmes soon, as are Gringo 40's (in the 1815 helmet) but this unit is needed for the battle of Montmirail, to be run at Historicon in just 5 weeks, so I couldn't wait for those! The slung overcoats were routine practice to give some extra protection against sword cuts, but they partially obscure the glorious red lapels on all but the officer casting. 

I went for a fairly "yellow" color for the breeches and waistcoats; they are depicted anywhere from light tan to rather bold yellow in color in various illustrations. 

The Trumpeter rides the usual white horse. I did the trumpeter (just a paint conversion of a trooper) in the light blue uniform with crimson facings trimmed in silver, based on the results of the small poll I did here on the blog last month. As usual, there are many minor variations depicted in the uniforms of the trumpeters!

Here are the Gendarmes d'Elite brigaded with my 12 figure strong Foundry Grenadiers a Cheval, showing some of the similarities and differences in their uniforms...

as well as the difference in size, which is most noticeable with the horses. And now, off to Montmirail.

Vive l'Empereur !

Plate of the Elite Gendarmes from the Histofig site.

Plate of the pre 1809 Trumpeter's uniform in "reversed colors" (more or less). This and the following image are from the French National Library.

Plate of the uniform of the Band director for the Gendarmes d'Elite; similar to that of the trumpeters, but a bit more elaborate, especially the horse furniture.

Some French re-enactors portraying the Gendarmes d'Elite of the Guard. Many more inspiring pictures on their site.  Note the rather deep yellow color of the pants and waistcoats!

Terran Fleet Part 3 - New Additions

In preparation for my upcoming Galactic Knights games. I have added a number of new ships to my Terran Fleet. Ship pictures are certainly a suitabkle post for the Glorious First of June... even if they are Sci-Fi!

A second Constellation class Attack carrier.

Underside of the Constellation.

Five  additional Swiftsure class Stellar Destroyers.

These are once agaion the old Superior Starfleet Wars Miniatutres, now avaialable as the Galactic knights range from Monday Knight Productions. 

Five new Dauntless class Star Armotred Pursuit Ships (SAPS). There were none of these in my Terran Fleet... until now!

In the Galactic Knight rules, these ships function more like frigates. 

Rear view of the 5 SAPS.

A fistfull of new Comet light Fighters. 

The design of these is a bit suggestive of Colonial Vipers from the original Battlestar Galactica series!

24 new Meteor heavy fighters.

No difficulty telling what *these* are remiscent of!

"The Force is sttrong with this one!"

Also new to my Terran fleet are these Lance class missiles. 

In the original Starfleet Wars rules these were called CAPTACS, a form of towed misiles used by capital ships to add extra long range firepower. 

Bonnets: a Poll

As I finish up the hordes of space ships I've been painting the past month, I will be entering the home stretch for pre-Historicon painting. After my Montmirail playtest game, I decided to use my full 18-figure units for the French infantry (they will be opposed by Barry's 16 figure units of giant Front Rank figures).That means I actually have to add two units of Old Guard Infantry to my existing 1st Grenadiers a Pied  and 1st Chasseurs a Pied.  I'll also use these new units in my Waterloo game next year. For a variety of reasons, I am using Essex figures (chiefly, they were available at a huge discount at Wargames, Inc. clearance sale of their Essex stock). While I was at it I also decided to add another battery of Old Guard Foot Artillery, also by Essex, and a small contingent of six Gendarmes d' Elite (by Connosieur). When Brigaded with the Grenadiers a Cheval (in the same fashion as the Mamelukes are with the Chasseurs a Cheval), that allows me to field 2 8-figure units of each for the Montmirail game.

All of these new troops wear bearskins (French: Bonnets a Poil, literally "fur caps"). I am looking forward to painting Napoleonics again in June. However, I have some painting decisions to make, for which I am requesting the assistance of you, my gentle readers. I am asking your opinion, in what I am calling...
"Bonnets: a Poll". (Groan, I know - deal with it, LOL!). If you are so inclined, kindly leave your votes in the comments section of this post.


Question #1: 
Should Peter paint his new unit of Grenadiers a Pied as the 2nd or 3rd Regiment?

The new Chasseur Regiment will obviously be the 2nd Chasseurs, whose uniform was identical to that of the 1st Regiment. For the Grenadiers, however, I can either paint them up as the second Regiment (same uniform as nhe 1st Grenadiers), OR as the short lived (1810 - 1813) 3rd (Dutch) Grenadiers a Pied in their white uniforms with crimson facings. Both choices are depicted below. The 2nd Regiment is the correct one for Montmirail and Waterloo, and would also preserve the Greandier/Chasseur symmetry within my Guard. However, the 3rd/Dutch Grenadiers appeal my the collector side.

3rd (Dutch) Grenadiers a Pied

1st/2nd Grenadiers a Pied

Question #2: 

Should Peter paint the trumpeters of his Gendarmes d'Elite in red or light blue jackets?

The trumpeters of the Gendarmes d'Elite initially worse reversed colors, i.e., red jackets with dark blue lapels and cuffs (the collar should be red rather than the blue depicted below) - a bit reminiscent of the uniform of the trumpeters of the pre 1810 Horse Carabiniers, actually. Circa 1808, they changed to the uniform pattern used by most of the trumpeters of the Imperial Guard cavalry units, namely light blue jackets with crimson facings. Although this uniform is usually depicted paired with the chapeau, it appears that was also worn with a (black) bearskin, which is how my figures would be painted. Regular readers will know of my fondness for reversed colors, but the other uniform is snazzy too, and reinforces the notion that these are Guard cavalry! It is also again the correct uniform for Montmirail and Waterloo.

Gendarmes d'Elite de la Garde Imperiale

If I were some other blogger, I might have a give away (a "poll prize", as it were) to spur participation in the poll, but I'm far too thrifty for that! While you're considering your votes, here's a little mood music from the period:

La Marche Des Bonnets À Poils

Looking forward to your feedback,

Peter

Entomalian Fleet Part 6: Fighters and Missiles

While I still have several more Entomalian ships to paint, these are the last new types not shown here on the blog before - the Fighters and Missiles.

Mosquito class Entomalian heavy fighters. In Starfleet Wars, the fighters were organized into squadrons of five. However, Galactic Knights uses squadrons of three fighters, so I painted up my new squadrons as groups of three to fit GK. I also have some of their "Flare' three-fighter bases, but haven't yet tried mounting any of my fighters on them. 

Another shot of Red, Orange, and Yellow Squadrons, These ships are quite detailed, especially considering their size. The star mat is the Monday Knight Production 2" hex mat, to give you an idea of the size of the fighters. 

Green and Lilac squadrons (pictures were taken outside on a very bright day, hence there is some fading of the lighter colors. Some of these ships have done a "barrel roll" to show their undersides. 

Another view of these two Heavy fighter (think torpedo bombers) Squadrons.

The next several pictures are Gnat class Entomalian Light Fighters; seen here are Orange, Red and Tan Squadrons

Yellow, Light Green , and Black Squadrons.

and another view of same.

Faded colors don't show well once again, but these are Dark Green, Pink, Turquoise, and White Squadron's.

Another view of the same four  Gnat class Light Fighter squadrons. "Bugs, sir; millions of them!"

Finally we have these Entomalian Barb class missiles. In Starfleet Wars, these were called "CAPTACS", basically towed enormous Capital ship missiles, with extra long range and hitting power. Galactic Knights doesn't use these but although each Missile Salvo only lasts for the turn on which it is fired, their effect gets resolved in turn with the other ships, fighters, missiles, etc, so some transient markers are needed for them, and these certainly fill that role well!. 

Each missile has it's own distinctive color (once again the very bright sunlight makes the  more pastel shades appear faded), with hues similar to those used for the larger ships and fighters. 

"Incoming! Reading multiple drive signatures, Captain!"

Once again, these pictures are shot on the 2" hex GK star mat.

Liebster Blog Award and nominations

The Liebster Blog Award has resurfaced in wargaming circles, and Jon at the Paluose Wargaming Journal has kindly nominated Blunders on the Danube for a Liebster Award. Thanks, Jon!

Actually, this is my second time around with the Liebster, which I encountered previously in November 2012.  It is in some ways akin to a Ponzi scheme, LOL! As I observed last time, as there is no cost to anyone aside from their time, and it may result in discovering some interesting new blogs to follow. The blogs that I, in turn, nominate, are to copy and paste the award to into their blog linking it back to the person who nominated them (Blunders on the Danube).Part of the ritual may include answering a handful of questions, which may be changed by the nominator as desired.


The (semi)  "official" rules:

Copy and paste the award on your blog linking to the blogger who has given it to you 

Pass the award to your top 11 blogs with less than 200 followers by leaving a comment one of their posts to notify then that they have won the award and listing them on your own blog.  I think that eleven is more than a bit over the top, as the nominees would exceed 10,000 by the 4th generation! the previousd iteration suggested nominating five blogs. As I have previously nominated five back ibn 2012 (see above), I'll limit myself to three nominations this time around. 

Sit back and bask in the warm fuzzy feeling that comes that knowing you have made someones day! 

There is no obligation to pass this onto someone else but it's nice if you take the time to do so.


Jon's questions were as follows, and they are at least as good as any that I might think of:

1. Why did you start blogging?

Like Jon, I had (and have) a website (Gonsalvo.com) dating back to circa 2005, but  a blog is much easier to do, as well as cheaper. It is also more interactive. My blog has lead me to new contacts all over the world!

2. If you could change one thing about the wargaming hobby, what would it be?
Standardized basing! I loathe rebasing. Actually, the growing trend towards (relatively) basing independent rules is one answer to this decades old dilemma!

3. Do you read Battle Reports and what makes them inviting to read?

Oh yes, definitely; I write quite a few as well. Things that m\ake a battle report enjoyable to me are a strong sense of  narrative, a healthy sense of humor, and some insight as to how the rules and/or players influenced the unfolding of the drama.

4. Is figure painting a chore or pleasure?

Both, of course! At this point, I have painted well over 12,000 25/28mm figures, as well as any number of ships, etc. My friend Joe once said, in a response to my stating that I would eventually cut down on my painting as I neared retirement  "They'll have to pry the paintbrush from your cold , dead hands." LOL! I enjoy painting the most when a new painted unit rolls of the table. I enjoy it the least when a lot of gluing or assembly are required prior to taking paint to lead!

5. Napoleon once was quoted as saying he preferred a general that was lucky over skilled. In gaming, are you lucky or skilled?
Lucky, for sure!

6. Could you limit your gaming and collecting to one period and one size? If so, what?
Yes; 25/28mm Napoleonics; what else? Still comprises 60% of my collection, all the spaceships I've painted recently to the contrary! Still, I'd miss my other periods beyond doubt - Ancients, Late Medieval/Renaissance for sure! I did decide long ago to stick to one scale - 25/28mm.

7. How do you deal with burn out?
What's that?  :-)
Seriously, time away from the hobby, read a new book, switch periods (not the same as a *new* period, usually) , and/or plan a convention or other big game!

8. If you could only buy from one miniature company from now on, which one would it be?
Old Glory, hands down!  Although not without some flaws, their breadth of coverage of historical periods and their fantastic value for the dollar makes this no contest for me.


Now on to nominating a few blogs for the award myself; in this case, each blogger has fewer than 100 followers. All three are deserving of more. Pay them a visit and consider following those of interest:

And the Nominees are...

1.) Light Bobs and Paint Blobs
Jason doesn't post terribly often, but what he does post is worth reading, and especially, looking at! Past posts feature some of his spectacularly painted troops, including English Civil War, War of the Roses, American Revolutionary war, American Civil War, and 7 Years War.

2) This Life in Lead
Lawrence's blog has featured the gradual painting of his awesome 28mm Napoleonic Spanish army for the past year or more, with the most recent post being a parade of the entire completed project. If you thought you'd never want to own the Rodney Dangerfield ("I get no respect!") of Napoleonic armies, these units are likely to convince you otherwise!

3) My Evergrowing Fleets
Despite the title [and Mateus has a heck of a lot of beautifully painted Sci-Fi fleeets, as well as a (free) set of rules he authored for same], his more recent posts chronicle the efforts of this Brazilian wargamer to build up 25mm Napoleonic armies for Black Powder, using plastic figures.

Entomalian Fleet Part 5: Attack Carriers

In the background to the original Starfleet Wars rules, the Entomalians had the most ships, but their fighter defense was weak, and they had few carriers.  Even those small numbers of carriers were under guinned and vulnerable. Finally, they carried relatively small numbers of fighters.

Here are a pair of newly painted Hive class Entomalian Galactic Attack Carriers (GAC)

The Starfleet Wars stats for the Hive Class Galactic Attack Carrier (GAC) are as follows:

Power    Max Beam    Max Shield   CIDS Factor    Attack Craft    PW Factor  PW reloads

  104              2                5                 40%                  27                 2                4

By contrast, in the Galactic Knights background materials, the Entomalians suffer no such disadvantages, while still having the most numerous ships. These craft are said to be a biological/mechanical hybrid.

In Galactic Knights, the Bug ships lack shields, but make up for it with their extra tough armor. They will likely be difficult to defeat!

Here's the blurb from the back of the Galactic Knights expansion booklet  that deals with the Entomalians:

The Terran Federation has been completely unprepared for the invasion of the Entomolians. So much energy and resources were directed against the Avarians and the Delta Sector rebels that the Entomolians have managed to conquer five heavily populated star systems almost at once. Once Earth realized what happened, all but a few near-renegade admirals pulled out of operations in Delta Sector to protect Beta Sector. All of the doves in parliament were either recalled or switched their platforms to prepare humanity for its true battle for survival. Production levels have quadrupled those at the height of any previous war, and yet the Fed Navy has barely managed to keep up with losses. Unofficially, the war with the Avarians is over. Few incursions by the birds even occur, since many of their own worlds have been crushed by this new threat (one they claim is actually ancient to their own culture).