Napoleonic & ECW wargaming, with a load of old Hooptedoodle on this & that


Friday 12 October 2018

French Cuirassier Division - finished at last

It's taken longer than expected, but what did I expect...?

Command figures all painted, flags and bases sorted out. As ever, cheerful does it every time.

I'd never thought of having a Cuirassier Division, but here it is. Stryker maintains he is going to chase them the length of the Danube. He and whose army, I ask...?

Next week I hope to get a Bavarian general ready for action. Fighting next Saturday. Busy, busy.

2e Cuirassiers
3e Cuirassiers
7e Cuirassiers
8e Cuirassiers
...and the compulsory group photo is faked by the 13e Cuirassiers getting involved in
the background; since they finally got a proper officer out of the figure swaps (after only
30 years waiting) they felt they deserved to be included, even if strictly speaking they
don't belong in the Division.
[I do hope that my old friend Wanko01 does not share this lot with his merry chums on that certain forum that I am not fit to mention, but in truth I don't care a lot.] 

19 comments:

  1. That is a fine-looking, heavy cavalry force, Tony!

    As for your parenthetical comment, we all get Tangoed on occasion. What is surprising is the oft "random" posts that he picks from me. Sometimes I agree with his choice; other times, I think why pick x post and not y? Don't get me started on the "place that shall not be names"...

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    1. The saddest aspect of the Nameless Forum, for me, is that many of the members seem to feel that we should all be grateful for being plagiarised and subjected to unwanted criticism, without permission and outside of any contextual relevance.

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  2. and fine looking fellows they are. You rarely see a mass of such well drilled men and horses these days. I rather feel that such precision makes them seem even more intimidating as they thunder down.

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    1. You see, Ross, it's all about suppression of the individual will in pursuit of a synchronised effort - especially if it takes place on the right, as you see. The horses galloping in step did cause major problems on bridges, of course, which is why the Reserve Cavalry was always far to the rear, having marched the long way round to avoid river crossings. Not many people know that...

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  3. They are all doing an 'eyes right' as they gallop past, in perfect step, in salute to their Emperor.

    A fine looking body of troops and I think it will these chaps doing the chasing and Ian who will be doing a bunk.

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    1. Hi Mark - these are a strange mix of figures, apart from a couple of "proper" PMD trumpeters, and a couple of old conversions, the command figures are mostly recent Art Miniaturen castings, albeit tweaked and with some crafty horse-swaps to attempt some consistency; almost all the troopers in the four "new" regiments came from Clive Richards,, which means they were well painted, needing just a little freshening and some facing changes to suit the organisational line up, and it also means these chaps have been in service since the 1970s, so they are Old School and no mistake, whatever anyone thinks of Les Higgins, and they probably could use a little glory. If nothing else, Clive deserves that amount of respect!

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  4. A most impressive and formidable looking force Sir.

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    1. Thanks Lee. Some strange things have been going through my head. First off, I now have a job for a couple of cuirassier generals who have been underemployed for a while. However, now that I have surprised myself by having a Reserve Cavalry Division, after my initial excitement, I started thinking, "Hmmm - there should be carabiniers...", and had to slap myself quite hard. If I really do need a proper Cavalry Corps I can fill it up with dragoons - I've got plenty of those!

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  5. Dan S sent an email comment which made me laugh, commemorating Les Higgins' rather unusual interpretation of the equine form. Dan says:

    "A remarkable spectacle - there must be a very big carousel somewhere in Valhalla which is short of a lot of horses!"

    Thank you, Dan.

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  6. "Quantity has a quality all of its own" - especially when it's massed cavalry. Don't you just itch to fling the lot into a weak point in the enemy line?

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    1. Indeed yes - I'm itching, I'm itching - it's so long since I saw a weak point in an enemy line that I'm not sure I'll recognise it, but I've certainly got the kit now!

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  7. Lovely figures - they will look very impressive on the table.

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    1. Hi Martin - I can sacrifice cavalry faster than you'd believe - it's become a feature of my ECW games in particular. Excellent scope for throwing away even more now. I shall have to draw up a card saying RESERVE in big letters, to remind me to keep the head.

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    1. Thank you Stokes - I confess I am pleased with them!

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  9. Every French Napoleonic army needs a Cuirassier division! A regiment of Carabiniers is, of course, required as well!

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    1. Get thee behind me, Santa (dyslexic jokes being phased out).

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  10. They've all caught sight of something on the flank, Foy, apart from some of the trumpeters who are clearly not paying attention.

    They are absolutely magnificent. I shall have to look out for some of these. They look a lot cleaner and simpler than the HH versions, which are impossibly fiddly.

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    1. Some of these chaps will be fighting next Saturday - what's the betting they take to their heels, in the time-honoured traditions of new units everywhere?

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