Needed for action on Saturday, here we have General Bernhard Erasmus von Deroy (on the nimble little horse...) and his General-Adjutant; the figures are both from the old Falcon range, now marketed by Hagen. The Adjutant has the Quick-Reference Sheet handy. The gentleman in the cloak is easily recognisable as the ubiquitous Minifigs FNX1, rescued from the spares box and repainted as an officer of cavalry attached to the Bavarian staff - he's obviously seen it all before. The white edging to the base allows quick location of a divisional general.
The mounted figure has a toy-like, Noggin the Nog air, which I find rather appealing. There is a joke here - one of the few stories about Deroy (who was an older officer, and a bit of a traditionalist) describes his fury when he found that his troops were growing all sorts of non-regulation facial hair on campaign - orders of the day appeared very quickly. This casting has a very luxuriant moustache, so poor old Deroy can hide behind a Full Groucho - maybe it's a move to gain the affection of his men?
Sorry the Arctic light has dimmed down the colours a bit - these Bavarian chappies are pretty vivid normally.
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| Deroy - no whiskers here |
Deroy commanded the 3rd Bavarian Division in the VII Corps on the Danube. A well respected veteran and a good leader, he was mortally wounded at Polotsk in 1812.
I do like the mustaches! and the over all look of the command stand.
ReplyDeleteThey are rather fun, aren't they? One thing about the Bavarian uniform system intrigues me - generals have silver lace and buttons, adjutants gold; throughout the list of regiments (in almost all cases), where two regiments have the same facing colour, the senior regiment will have silver lace, the junior gold. I don't know why that precedence should feel counterintuitive, but it does - maybe it's because of sporting medals, and the fact that most nations did it the other way round. Since white was one of Bavaria's national colours, maybe silver was given a special status - or perhaps they mined the stuff themselves. Yes - that could be it - King Maximilien maybe owned all the silver mines...!
DeleteDeroy was a solid Divisional General, and a worthy choice to lead your Bayern!
ReplyDeleteAssuming that life and enthusiasm last, I hope to add Wrede's division once the 3rd Division is complete. Wrede was pretty good too, I think, and whoever it was who did the thinking for the Crown Prince seems to have been sound enough.
DeleteIm Treue fest.
Those guys look like they know what they're doing (which is always a good trait for commanders) - very smart!
ReplyDeleteThe Adjutant says, "The QRS says 'crossed sabres don't count in melee' - what does that mean?" The staff officer has a bad hangover. Deroy can't see past his moustache. Nothing can go wrong.
DeleteMy first thought on seeing the photos - is the General riding a shetland pony?
ReplyDeleteAlso - my favourite comic line about moustaches. Alexi Sayle on "The Young Ones" - in his scouse accent - "Is that a Zapata moustache?"- still makes me smile although it looses a bit when out of context.
Yes, it's a Shetland pony. And your point is......?
DeleteScouse accents have lost their bonus hilarity points somewhat since Kelvin Mackenzie fell from grace. If we're not careful, the possible return of the dreaded Derek Hatton may bring it all back into fashion - better get our permed wigs to the cleaners. Of course, dey don't do dat, dough, dese days, do dey?
No - dey don't.
I think they might be discussing the lunch menu. Whatever the case, very nicely done, Foy.
ReplyDeleteBest regards
WM