A tiger in the sands!

These dromadaires smell like feed .... where is the First Consul?

More pictures of 'Le Régiment des Dromadaires' at the main website

A break: le Régiment des Dromadaires

The 20 nivôse de l'an VII (9th January 1799) Bonaparte created le Régiment des Dromadaires, i.e. the Dromedary Regiment. It was formed from picked infantrymen from Light Infantry regiments so they were not cavalry, but mounted infantry acting as eclaireurs in the army's flanks. Commanded by the Colonel Cavalier (or Cavelier) it was formed by four squadrons at 100 men each. Le Régiment des Dromadaires was short lived and acted under Dessaix's command in the upper Egypt.
They wore a hussard style sky blue dolman and barrel sash with red breeches and hussard boots. They wore a white turban but some pictures show them in shako or bicorne.
I have used a pre-releasing sprue of the HAT 8194 British Camelry set, kindly provided by HAT staff. The helmet wearing heads of the British troopers were swaped with heads from ITALERI 6006 French infantry set which also provided the kneeling firing figure. The camels were used with only minor adjustments.
See more pictures at the main web site.

More pictures from Oldenburg

Another view of Hougomont combat!
See this and the rest of the pictures at the Benno's Figures site

Modellbahn Total (Oldenburg, Germany)

This weekend, Benno de Groot (owner of the Benno's Figures web site and administrator of the Benno's Figures Forum) and his friends of the Miniatuurweld team, will be present (and painting) at the Modellbahn Total fair in the town of Oldenburg (Germany).
Duringt the fair, Benno will display several posters with contributions of some habituals of his Forum. It's a big honour for me that Benno has chosen some of my figures for that occasion.
See at left the poster he designed, and note that many of the conversions of this blog have been included, so the Rheinbund men are back in Germany!
Many thanks to Benno!

Enjoy Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton together!

No words required

The fate of the Wurtembergers

Like in the real world, the Wurtembergers were severely mauled in my refight of the battle of Wartenburg. The previously weakened 38th Division was deployed in Bleddin to prevent an outflanking manoeuvre against the French rgight flank. At that time, the Division was reduced to two weak converged infantry Brigades (@ 600 men each), a combined Chevaulegers Regiment, and one foot artillery battery. In one-half Napoleon's Battles, the 39th Division was represented by one combined (light/line) infantry brigade with a strength of 8/12 figures, a cavalry unit of three figures and one gun model battery. The Division was commanded by the General Franquemont, a good and brave commander (6"G(6)+1)
During the re-fight, the 39th División suffered the assault of the 1st Prussian Brigade reprsented in the table by a 12 figures Grenadier battalion, a 16 figures Prussian line unit, a 24 figures Silesian Landwehr and a 6 pdrs. foot battery with no cavalry. The Brigade was commanded by Steinmetz, an un-imaginative general (6"A(5)+0).
After a hard fight, during whic the cavalry was dispersed, the 39th Division was finally expelled from Bleddin. In the retreat, the Wurtembergers were again catched by the exultant Prussians that dispersed the reluctant Wurtembergers. During this last combat the General Franquemont was taken prisoner by the men of the Landwehr unit.


See the Scenario and the narrative at the main web-site.

Wartenburg battle is finished!

Today I finished the re-fight of the battle of Wartenburg using my one-half Napoleon's Battles modification . It was an attrition combat and finally the Bertrand's multi-national "French" IV Corps was allowed to retire (the Wurtembergers were virtually wiped out) whereas the Yorck's Prussians got their bridgehead over the Elbe, but at the price of almost one-half of their strenght (2nd and 8th Brigades).

See a picture of the final positions of both armies with Morand's French retiring from Wartenburg in the background under the protection of the Fontanelli's Italians at left, whereas the exhausted Prussians in the foreground watch the retreat: "A enemigo que huye, puente de plata" (Make a silver bridge for a flying enemy).