The 73rd were marching to join Wallmoden's Corps when they were met on the road by the famous "Uprising Dörnberg".
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| Dörnberg: Zank Gott, you haff come. Zere is not a moment to lose! |
Wallmoden's troops were drawn up in line. As the Germans looked on, General Lyon formed his men into quarter column and began his demonstration of the "19 Manoeuvres".
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| Lyon: Right Lads, let's show these Jarmins how it's done! |
To the beat of a single drum, the British recoats marched, wheeled and countermarched flawlessly.
Wallmoden's Germans watched in silence.
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| Dörnberg: Jah Jah, very pretty. But can zey fight? |
With the demonstration complete, the whole Corps formed up in review.
It was not a moment to soon. The sound of gunfire could be heard echoing over the hills. The French were approaching.
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| Lyon: England expects, Lads! |
But where were the Prussians?
WM
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As seen in "A plan of the nineteen manoeuvres by Lieut. J. English, of the 9th Foot, as published by authority in 1801".
The Prussians will arrive once the battle is engaged ... that's where they are the best! Meanwhile splendid troops in formation!
ReplyDeleteThey may....or they may not, Phil. We'll find out tomorrow.
DeleteSo they've finally arrived in their flashy red jackets, very nice, and don't they know it. I see they've already started spreading aspersions about their allies being late, no doubt to ensure that any glory from the imminent action is all theirs (and to lodge an early excuse in the event of failure). As if red jackets are not enough, I see they've got two colours, one more than anyone else. I suspect they'll probably claim that an extra colour is worth a +1 on all dice rolls; a slightly better excuse than their extraordinary belief that God is an Englishman.
ReplyDeleteOn a more mundane note I see you have some figures mounted on 6-man bases. I suppose putting the drummer in the back rank of the command base was rejected on aesthetic grounds because you didn't want to hide your light (delightful paint-job) under a bushel (front rank)?
Looking forward to seeing how well they fight; the performance in the first battle always seems to set a precedent for my units.
*Laughter*. I'm a completely open book to you, Rob. The answer is yes to all of the above.
DeleteIt is true that units tend to be typecast early on. I wonder if we subconsciously effect the results in the way that we use them, and thereby queer the odds.
Superb stuff. Perhaps you could post all the manoeuvres with an apple ropriate rubric??
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure what that is, LG, but if it is a recreation of the said manoeuvres that you require, this will not be easy with only four stands of six figures. Nevertheless, I'll have a look!
DeleteWonderful Matthew!
ReplyDeleteCheers, Ian. One's first regiment of Brits is always a bit special, don't you think?
Delete'Stunning' is my go to adjective whenever a new unit appears on your blog Matt. They look the part, the red is vibrant and the painting of the white straps and lace has been done with great precision :)
ReplyDeleteThank you 'Lee. The Lammings have much higher relief definition than most Hinton Hunts, so this was actually not too difficult to do.
DeleteIn period the ability to fight a battalion by adopting appropriate deployments was a huge part if tge art of colonel or more likely major. Although we are pkaying a game in which battalions matter rules rarely take into account the ability of different national armies to move from one firmation to another. Apparently tge French Grande Armee of 1805 were brilliant at moving from jarch column to fighting column, line or square, skirmishers out ir grandes bandes and in coordinating these formations into divisional deployments, such as ordre mixte or a large column. Its one of the things we do not generally do in games, but would give a huge advantage over say Spaniards who did not drill efficiently and did not practise in large formations
ReplyDeleteI used to be massively resistant to the idea of national characteristics as it just seemed to add unnecessary complexity and unfair handicaps. My experiments with special Prussian rules, however, have been such fun that I'm very tempted to have a go with some special British rules.
DeleteSumptuous.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Mark. Redcoats are real scene stealers, and no mistake.
DeleteYes, 'stunning' was the very word that came to me as well. For the entire corps. Lovely work.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
Thank you Stokes. The corps is still not finished, believe it or not. There are a least three more units required. The second cavalry regiment is on the painting table right now.
DeleteBeautiful...
ReplyDeleteI think that with them looking that good, whatever they do on the field of battle will be glorious.
All the best. Aly
I like your thinking, Aly. As for what they can do, I have a couple of special rules in mind to make them fight in a more classically Wellingtonian fashion. All will be revealed in the forthcoming battle report if my guest generals agree to them.
DeleteMagnificent! The shiny old school look just seems to fit the British uniforms so well and your painting of them is masterful. With the larger base I assume you have something other than Hinton Hunt here. Les Higgins?
ReplyDeleteDavid
They are Lammings, Dave. My apologies. They've been so long in production that I should have put in a reminder about this.
DeleteI thought about calling this post "The Silence of the Lamms", with the idea that they would be stand-offish and uncommunicative, but thought better of it as it would not have been very characteristic of the British when abroad.
Superb! I have enough trouble doing the horizontal white lace on the front of British infantry jackets, never mind black lining them. I guess this must be the 2nd battalion, I understand the 1st were in Ceylon at the time of Waterloo following service in New South Wales (where they were commanded by the husband of the daughter of William Bligh no less!). Also the 2nd bn were recruited from Nottinghamshire, my original stamping ground.
ReplyDeleteThey are indeed, Dave - the Notts Highlanders, as I like to call them. As General Picton explained a couple of posts ago, they were eventually re-absorbed back into the Black watch. One of their soldiers, George Rose, was an escaped Jamaican slave. By the time he was discharged in 1837 he had risen to the rank of sergeant in the 42nd, making him probably the most senior Black soldier in the British Army. If you look very carefully you may be able to spot him in the front rank (my sincere thanks to Count Goya, by the way, who alerted me to George's story a few weeks ago).
DeleteSpotted George, obviously if your 73rd take casualties he can't be one as we know he survived until at least 1837. Done a bit more research and apparently the redeployment of the 73rd to Ceylon was diplomatic, as the commander was married to William Bligh's daughter and Bligh had been the governor of NSW who's mismanagement led to the 'Rum Rebellion'. Bligh might have been a great navigator but clearly not an effective leader!
DeleteJudging by his record of service, George was certainly wounded a few times. He got an extra two years on his pension for the wound he got at Waterloo.
DeleteThey are magnificent. Even if not entirely Scottish. I love the way their General is leading them, just ahead by a nose.......
ReplyDelete..which is not to be sniffed at, Archduke, but one shouldn't stand within 40 feet when he sneezes.
DeleteAnother beautiful unit, your collection is growing quite well.
ReplyDeletePaul
Cheers Paul!
Delete