Altenburg: the next Lasalle project

The habitual followers of this blog, already know my Argentinian friend Armand d'Arc which, acting like my resident Jomini, is always proposing me new and colourful Scenarios, to be played in the game table. Armand lives at Buenos Aires, and when he is not frantically painting new units for the big annual battle of his post-Napoleonic Serenghetti War, he is delighting us with his humourous wisdom pearls about history and wargaming, in the Hat or The Miniatures Page Forums.
Some time ago, Armand proposed me to re-fight the raid or combat of Altenburg, a small affaire that took place on 28 September 1813 near Leipzig, with the participation of many colorful units for both sides, Imperial and Allied. According to Wikipedia:

 "The raid at Altenburg on 28 September 1813... was carried out by the Streifkorp under the command of Saxon General Johann von Thielmann (see the above picture) commanding seven regiments of Cossacks, a squadron each of Saxon Hussars and Dragoons, and a detachment of Saxon Freikorps numbering about 1,500 cavalry. The objective of the raid was to attempt harassment of the French lines of communication 25 miles (45 km) south of Leipzig shortly before the Battle of Leipzig.
Thielmann completely surprised and routed a larger force of French cavalry, including Cavalry of the Imperial Guard and a small force of 2nd Baden Infantry Regiment (Infanterie-Regiment No.2 ‘Markgraf Wilhelm’) nominally under the command of Lefebvre-Desnouettes numbering some 6,500. The French, completely surprised, broke and fled from Altenburg losing a third of their number (2,100), in the process running over the Baden infantry which was taken prisoner despite attempting to resist. Thielmann's force lost about 200 in casualties."

The raid is also mentioned in the books of Nafziger (Napoleon at Leipzig) and Digby Smith (Napoleonic Data Book) but significant differences between the OOB's, led to me to search help in the Napoleon-Series Forum. Almost at the instant, several very interesting threads developped in the Forum about the subject (see some of the threads here and here), with the help of some of the habituals of the Forum: Steven Smith, Hans-Karl Weiss and many others, including Digby Smith himself! These gentlemen kindly provided me with very useful information, maps included, extracted from contemporary sources and/or unavailable books. A very fine example of internet comradeship!
Using all the accounts, the combat of Altenburg was a fighting retreat, fought bewteen a French force commanded by Lefebvre-Desnouettes and composed mainly from cavalry (6,000 men) and the Streifcorps of Thielmann and Platov (5,500 men), also composed almost exclusively by cavalry. The infantry contingents were very small: the 1/2 Baden and the 3/35e Legere battalions for the Imperial side, and one batallion of the Wallach Grenzer for the Allied.. The artillery was also scarce and the cavalry quality was medium-low.
All in all, and because of the small size of the involved forces and their cavalry-biased composition, this small affaire is a challenge for any Napoleonic ruleset!

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A Russian discovery: Viskovatov pictures

I am searching for Opolchenie flags in order to build the Ostermann-Tostoy corps and to fight the battles around Dresden in October 1813. Some examples can be found in the Summerfield book, but my resident Jomini, my Argentinian friend Armand d'Arc, who kindly made an internet search, has provided me with a powerful solution for the Russian Army.
Amongst the links found by me for Armand, it was a Russian site containing the pictures of the Viskovatov work about the Opolchenie: Historical description of the clothing and weapons to Russian troops. [Viskovatov] (Историческое описание одежды и вооружения российских войск. [Висковатов]). I can't read Cyrillic characters, but luckily the Russian numeration system uses the same digits than the ours! and I was able to match the Mark Conrad's Opolchenie Viskovatov traduction with the corresponding pictures found in the Russian page using the numbers given in the traduction with the depicted in the pictures. The flag shown above is the corresponding to the Pensa Opolochenie regiment as taken from the Russian site.
The method can be applied to all the Viskovatov work, because the Russian site contains all the Viskovatov pictures
A big discovery... at least for me!

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Norden Cotta. An African battle by Armand d'Arc

As many of the followers of thes blog will know, my Argentinian friend Armand d'Arc is running a fictional African campaign, the Serenghetti War, loosely based on a post napoleonic world. Allied (English, Prussian, Austrian...) and Associated (French, Spanish, Italian, Bavarian...) forces are figting a colonial struggle in the African rain forests and plains.
Armand fights a battle every year (using his own ruleset) during austral summer, and the rest of the time is devoted to planning and painting of new and colourful units for the next battle. The battle of this year was Norden-Cotta, fought around the taking and defense of that town, a strategical point in the African plains. During the first day of this battle, my pseudo ancestor the Colonel Pardo and his 'Cazadores de Balbastro' received their baptism of fire, while clashing agaisnt their traditional enemies: the muslim Ottomans.

You can see the arrival of Pardo (with his red over orange plume) and his men to the battlefield, changing for march column formation to fighting order.

The above picture shows the Spanish forming square whereas the Spanish cavalry is running fast to face the advance of the Ottoman cavalry in the far backgorund. Note 'Zeus' near its master!

The next picture shows the bridge connecting the banks of the river forming the left flank of the British (Allied) 108th Volunteers line (backgroun), whereas they are opposing the advance of the the Zulu-Matabeles (Associated), a French led African unit armed with fire arms.

Later in the day , and after the repulsal of the Ottomans, Pardo and his Cazadores voluntareed to take that bridge to outflank the Allied left. You can see Pardo leading his Cazadores in grand style, breaking through the Ottomans covering the approaches to the bridge. At last the bridge was taken and Pardo and his men were cited in the official Dispatch.
Zeus was seen running from the first line but, later in the night, it come back and reported with its master live and well!

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Italian cavalry by Armand d'Arc

This is the newer work of my Argentinian friend Armand d'Arc. This time is the turn of two exotic units.
The 'Dio lo volve' (God want it!) is a 95-men squadron of ultra-catholic volunteers raised by the Pope himself to fight the Turkish Ottomans in the Serengethi War. They are a sort of Crusaders, armed with cuirasses, lance, axes, swords, shields, with a long history going back to the Crusades. This big men riding big horses are a strange anachronism in this horse and musket era. Their uniform is violet with a bishop-like round hat and a cross in the breast and shield.

The 'Caciatore a cheval' (Chasseurs) are a 70-men Neapolitan light cavalry squadron, dressed in green and red brilliant and colorful uniforms, wearing plumed shakos and armed with sabre and carbine.




Both units along the Cuirassiers (still sailing from Europe) form part of the Italian contingent commanded by the Corsican General Sebastiani de la Porta, from Napoleonic fame and a former French ambassador to the Ottoman Empire . He can be seen in the fourth picture, while parading his troops.

Hungarian grenadiers by Armand d'Arc

Again the work of my Argentinian friend Armand d'Arc

This time, Armand show us a batallion of Hungarian grenadiers defending Norden Cota, a fortified advanced post of the Allied (British-German) in his fictional African campaign, near the frontier with the Associated territory.

There are some old Airfix British grenadiers but the ca. 400 men are conversions from different sources, requiring the modelling of the typical chair-shaped headdress.


These men are destined to fight against the Cazadores de Balbastro, the Colonel Pardo's men!

Fatimid mercenaries

Again in bed with flu (not the swine flu, I hope!), so I post a new set of painted figures from Armand d'Arc's African campaign. This time is the turn for a curious contingent: the Fatimid mercenaries.
The historical Fatimids were an Islamic dynasty that reigned in North Africa, and later in Egypt, from 909 until 1171. The caliphate legitimised its claim through descent from Muhammad by way of his daughter Fātima as-Zahra and her husband Alī ibn-Abī-Tālib, the first Shīˤa Imām, hence the name al-Fātimiyyūn "Fatimid".

In the 'Serenghetti War’, the Fatimids are North African mercenaries fighting for the Allied (British-German) against the Associated (French-Spanish).
The mounted Fatimid unit (a company or half-squadron) is 152 strong and ride camels or horses (50% each). They are very undisciplined but also very fierce in close combat, using scimitar, spear, axe and knives. Some of them wear metal cuirasses and small shields, and their only firearms seem to be one pair of pistols.
The Armand's conversion include many different sets (he does not remember which!) and the camels come from Aifix (Hät release) bedouins. The turbans and plumes are made from plasticine.

The Fatimids mercenaries and the Cazadores of Balbastro compose the respective advance-guards of the Allied and Associated armies, so they will fight in the next Armand´s battle... next July!

The 'Cazadores de Balbastro'

By courtesy of Armand d'Arc

The uniform of the 'Cazadores de Balbastro' (Chasseurs de Balbastro) at the time of the 'Serenghetti War’, was a green jacket with red collar and lapels, orange cuffs and turnbacks, white buttons, and yellow leather-work. The trousers were in several colours (including light and dark blue, yellowish white or dark brown) because of provisioning problems. Their hat was very characteristics because of its similarity with the hat carried by the old fashioned Spanish grenadiers, accompanying the Spanish Expeditionary Corps of La Romana and had a yellow pompom.

Some of the 'Cazadores' were veterans of such expedition, and where carried to Spain in ships by their British allied (note that the Alliances are reversed in Africa!). The musisicans wore red jackets with yellow and white lace and cords.
The battalion was 335 strong at his arrival to Africa under the command of Colonel Rafael Pardo. Around of a 60% of the men were raw recruits, and the Colonel and the officiers and sub-officiers were making great efforts to make them profitable to 'form the square', a necessary manoeuvre, because of the Allied superiority in cavalry.

The Colonel Pardo's Cazadores are included in the Regiment 'Duque de Alba' along other three infantry battalions, which is part of the Bernal Diaz de Vivar's Spanish Division.

To be (hopefully) continued...

A history of two (twin) brothers

The history (fictional of course) of my great-great-great grandfather by my Argentinian friend Armand d'Arc

"We are now on the third year of the ‘Serenghetti War’, a conflict fought in Africa between the European powers with the help of their local allies.
The Spanish fleet has managed to break again the English blockade (the British ships have moved to fight in the North-American conflict) carrying the reinforcements sent by the French Empereur to the Spanish King, his main ally in the war on the ‘Black Continent’.
Whereas the men are crowded in the frigates and vessels following, like little bees, the trace of the ships of the line "Santa Maria" and "Madre de Dios", some important officers are travelling aboard these last. Colonel Rafael Pardo is one of them, and on the main deck of the ‘Santa María’ is trying to see through the fog, the African coastline, while thinks about his family assimilating the perturbing news that his father told him at the moment of the departure for African lands.
The old and proud hidalgo, Captain Emanuel Gilberto Ricardo Pardo de Villanueva, engineer officer of the King Guard, chose that moment to reveal him the bizarre and secret history of his marriage with an Otoman Princess as well as the existence of his twin brother.
Don Emanuel was married once with Jasmila, an Otoman Princess and the older daughter of the principal counsellor of the Pasha of Damascus, Hassan ibn Hamill Al Mundi. The youngs were in strong love, but both families were natural enemies, so they had to fought all time against them to be happy. From that marriage, the young and beautiful Jasmila give Emanual two twin sons, but all these happines finished abruptly when the war between Spain and the Moorish tribes of the North of Africa, began again.

The couple was obligated to separate and each one took one of the boys: Rafael went with his father and his brother Ayyub with his mother. Emanuel and Jasmila never meet again and both child grown up without knowing from each other.
And now, 30 years later, Rafael is trying to control his heart: he had a mother and a twin brother!
A familiar mew distracts colonel Pardo from his thoughts. It was Zeus, a fiery little cat, living in the ship, which only accepts his strokes.
"Well my friend... - says the colonel to his little cat- look at our destiny. We can found there my brother and mother or we can dead at the battlefield before. But we had to try it. Did you agree?" and the little "Zeus" move his head and send a happy mewing that Rafael knows it is his own way to say "yes".
The sound of a bell on board woke up both, man and cat, from their dreams. In a few minutes they will have a good lunch, the last on the ship before their arrival to Port "San Ildefonso", the larger Spanish town near the war frontline. "Zeus" jumped leading the way to the inferior deck and Rafael, with a little smile on his lips, followed him."

Se non è vero, è ben trovato... isn't it?

More pictures of Armand d'Arc

This time is the turn of the infantry, fighting during the battle of Ganta in his fictional African campaign. You can see African native infantry fighting along American Civil War style infantry. The depicted units are the regular and irregular infantry elements of the Allied (British and German predominantly) and Associated (mainly French) colonial troops.



A very curious mix, always in his characteristics and naïve painting style!

Armand always fights one annual solo- battle (during Austral winter) using his own wargaming rules on 1:1 scale and takinsg as a basis a coherent and solid narrative, that develops like an adventures story.
Maybe I could persuade Armand to put all his reflections and written reports in a blog!

The great cavalry charge of Armand d'Arc

I am now in the middle of a sort of painting and wargaming lull. Too many academic (at the University) and editorial (at ALKAID) tasks, are scheduled for the weeks to come. However, I can make my regular reading and net surfing, so I am not fully disconnected from the wargaming world. Now is the time to enjoy the work of the friends.
Again I am posting in behalf of Armand d'Arc some pictures of the battle of Ganta. This time is the turn of a great cavalry charge. You can see French Imperial Guard cavalry attacking a Prussian battery: Chasseurs à Cheval at right flank, Grenadiers à Cheval in the center and Dragons de l'Imperatrice at left flank. The cavalry is attacking the front of a battery, and the Prussian balls and shells are falling amongst the heroic riders.

Now two views, the first is from the Prussian side and we can see the front of the attack, whereas the following shows the rear of the French, from the perspective of their supporting Artillery.


Now a view of the sencond wave of French cavalry, composed from Lanciers Rouges de la Garde, Line Chasseurs and Hussars. A third wave of heavy cavalry, Line Cuirassiers, is also preparing to support the attack.

At last, the Prusian cavalry is counter-charging the French.

The battle is raging and the outcome is uncertain. Wait and see!

British rockets à l'Armand d'Arc

Our Argentinian friend Armand d'Arc has kindly sent to me some pictures taken during his last action, the battle of Ganta, fought during the past months (austral winter).

Amongst the exotic military units designed by Armand for his fictional African campaign, I post today his Rocket Corps, composed from home-made rocket launchers and caissons.


Note that all artillery firing in the Armand's battles is almost 'real'. The ammunitions, pellets from hunting cartridges for cannons and pins with a plastic head for rockets, are launched by hand. All the knock down figures become casualties, of course!

Polish and Hungarian uhlans by Armand d'Arc

No, the above title is not an error. Armand d'Arc, our Argentinian friend, has painted a big squadron of Polish and Hungarian uhlans. These last are a poetic license, but in the Armand's ficticious African campaign there are many 'what if' units and personalities... See the Austrian general in the third picture: he is Colloredo during his colonial adventure! The general in the fourth figure is Milos Sztabay, a ficticious Hungarian nobleman and the owner of the Hungarian uhlans.




You can enjoy all the Armand's works in this blog by searching the 'Armand d'Arc' tag

The battalion of Neufchatel by Armand d'Arc

I proudly present the last painting conversion of my Argentinian friend Armand d'Arc.
The batallion of Neufchatel was an unit raised by Alexander Berthier, Napoleon's Chief of Staff, in his Swiss feud. These troops were habitually known as the "canaries" by their disticntive yellow uniforms. They fought in Spain and Central Europe.
The Armand's unit is 250 strong and will play a main role in the next battle of Ganta, always within the context of the Armand's fictional African campaign.
Enjoy some of his pictures!

Rohan cavalry à la Armand d'Arc

This is the last painting-work of my Argentinian friend, Armand d'Arc: the Rohan cavalry.
"The Rohan cavalry was taken into imperial service in 1795 alongside the infantry, the original six squadrons increasing to 12 by 1796. Uniforms consisted of white shakos with rosettes and yellow-black plumes, yellow cords, poplar green dolmans with yellow-black braid, crimson facings, white lambskin trim and yellow buttons, sclaert Hussar breeches, white leatherwork, red sobretache with 'FI' cypher and yellow-black braid."
(Taken from "Austrian Auxiliary Troops 1792-1816" by Dave Hollins and William Younghusband, Osprey Men-at-Arms 299)

The Armand's squadron is 137 men strong. All the men are conversions from HäT 8013 Napoleonic French Horse Grenadiers, and the officers are carrying red tipped plumes. The only varion is that shakos were painted black (instead white) and . The squadron is commanded by the Prince of Rohan, Jallachich De Buzin. The unit was actually part of the Prince Charles bodyguard during the battle of Wagram, and must not be mistaken with the "Hussars of Rohan", an emigré unit at British pay.

These pictures and many more will (hopefully) appear at the ETS page of the HäT web-site
Enjoy!